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We're in the full swing of summer, complete with the lurking shadow of a new school year that begins any time now. As guilds plunge headlong into the Firelands, raid rosters get tighter and tighter as faithful raid members eschew the game in favor of playing in the sun, having river shenanigans, and soaking up the heat before it's gone for the year.

August and early September are frequently lulls for many players. This downpoint isn't quite the same as "expansion blues," since it's a normal yearly phenomenon. After all, it's awfully pretty outside; who wants to wipe on Rhyolith all night when you could be outside in the pool? While raid leaders yearn for their missing raid members, the players themselves struggle with balancing outside time and game playtime.

How can you manage to keep up with the game, even while the summer winds are beckoning you? Here are some tips.

Pick a goal and stick with it

The thing about playing WoW is that it's an absolutely massive game. With seven years of history, three expansions, and millions of players, Azeroth has managed to rack up plenty of quests, achievements, and activities. If you don't happen to have been playing the same characters for years, chances are that you're trying to get "caught up" on all your achievements and explorations.

The most important tip to balancing WoW over the summer is to fight that urge to "complete" the game. You can't. You'll never complete the game, let alone tie up loose ends in a single summer. Instead, pick out one or two finite goals and work specifically on those.

Avoid logging into the game when you don't have something specific to accomplish. It's certainly a friendly guildmate who jumps into game and says, "Anyone need help with anything?" But during the summer, when you have so many other things beckoning for your attention, that's probably not a great idea right now.

Are you trying to advance a specific reputation? Do you want to see a specific piece of gear drop? When you log in, do what you need to advance that goal, and then ignore the rest.

Set a time limit for yourself

WoW is a wonderful distraction. You jump in for a quick heroic, and then 24 hours later, you find yourself laying in a pool of your own drool, loot, and gamer funk. ... Okay, maybe you're not that bad off, but the point is, time flies when you're having fun.

While the most highly addicted among us might want to consider setting up parental controls, it's generally safe just to pick a time limit and stick with it. Whether you say you'll only play an hour a day, 10 hours a week, or whatever number you're comfortable with, these time limits will go a long way toward making sure you maintain a healthy life/WoW balance.

Another option when considering time limits is to set a task limit. For example, if you're working your daily quests, just say that you'll only do 10 quests and call it a day. I don't find this method works so well if you include dungeons in your limit. Completing a dungeon isn't under your control alone, and if you have a series of bad groups, you'll end up spending a lot more time online than you wanted.

Ignore it!

When all else fails in your attempt to balance healthy summer activities against fun Azerothian activities, just ignore WoW for a while. The game will still be here when the weather gets cold again. And, hey, we all get sick; save WoW for the days when you're convalescing with a well-earned autumn flu.

Nothing in the game demands you play every day, every week. Admittedly, you'll fall behind the curve in terms of gear and such, but the only way to fight the Body by WoW is to get out in the sun, run around in the grass, and get away from the computer for a while. And heck, summer's only here once a year.

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Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to everything you need to get started as a new player, from how to control your character and camera angles when you're just starting out, to learning how to tank, getting up to speed for heroics and even how to win Tol Barad.

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