WoW Rookie: How to fight the doldrums and not get bored

We featured Wowcrendor's How Not to Be Bored in WoW. Like most of Wowcrendor's work, the video had plenty of satire and community introspection. It also managed to kick off some unexpected discussion.
Both patch 4.2 and Cataclysm as a whole are getting a little long in the tooth for some players. If you've been playing WoW long enough, you may find yourself getting a little bored. Short of enumerating all the reasons for that, it's simply fair to say that people sometimes need a little help getting through the doldrums.
We have some tips to help you get through those blues and keep enjoying the game.
Take a break if you want
While it might seem ridiculous to extend your love of WoW by taking a break, enjoying some time away from the game can do wonders to refresh you. The parts of the game that feel like chores will stop being so onerous, and when you do come back to WoW, the whole thing might feel renewed again.
Taking a break also lets you get away from another source of burnout: people. Sometimes, you can burn out by dealing with folks in the game as much as anything about the game itself. Taking a few months away can definitely help you feel more comfortable when you return.
You should be careful to gauge how long you actually want to be out of game. Sure, you could just wait until it feels right to return, but we might all be playing pandas by the time you come back around. Set a few milestones for yourself so that you know when to come back and test those Azerothian waters.
Pick up a new class
It seems like new characters grow up to level 85 as quickly as you can run across the starting zone. That being said, there's a huge difference between leveling a new character and really playing a new character.
Take the time to do some dungeons, run through some heroic groups, and even explore the raid content. Playing WoW as different roles makes it feel like a different game altogether. The experience of fighting a raid boss as a melee character is much different than frantically trying to keep the raid healed.
Finish up some achievements
Achievements are a huge part of the game. We do have an entire column dedicated to them, after all. Take a look at your achievement list and see if that looks like an attractive list of goals.
The nice thing about achievements is that you can solo the vast majority. At level 85, in contemporary gear, you'll have no problem handling most of the old content on your own. For that matter, you can find PUG groups for most stuff nowadays. Firelands PUGs are perfectly capable of handling even Ragnaros at this point.
Build your transmogrification set
In patch 4.3 (which could be only a few weeks away) includes a new feature called transmogrification. You'll be able to switch the way your armor looks. If you're truly bored out of your skull, now's the time to go back and grab your transmogrification gear.
You can grab your transmogrification set later, of course, but a lot of your aesthetic gear still relies on a random drop. It's possible you could start trying to get it now yet still have not seen the gear drop by the time we're all suiting up our Pandaren.
Try different aspects of the game
If you usually focus on PVE, give PVP and roleplay a chance. Conversely, if you're an Arena junkie, maybe you should give raiding a shot. It's all about switching up the game and trying out new things. After all, WoW really is a massive game. Maybe a change of pace is all you need.
Filed under: WoW Rookie






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Den Nov 10th 2011 7:07PM
Perfect timing on this one, and not just for rookies!
Aids Nov 10th 2011 9:09PM
Nope, too late, my friend already left. *sigh*
Cap Nov 11th 2011 10:39AM
After almost 7 years of WoW, 4 85's and numerous other alts with only one significant break of a month back in 2006, I've logged on less and less in recent weeks and decided to give RIFT an honest try for awhile. I still run a weekly 10m FL but once that's done, I've been back on RIFT.
4.3 has some things I'm looking forward to, so my WoW time will surely increase a bit then, but I'll admit the change of scenery has been nice.
Astrella Nov 10th 2011 7:08PM
I tend to level an alt or attempt to work on my highly neglected Archaeology profession.
Everything mentioned are good tips, but I guess there's only so much that can be done before it just becomes the "same ol' thing" again. :(
Tiqu Nov 10th 2011 8:30PM
When i get tired of the "same old grind", i turn off the computer and turn on netflix and watch a bunch of MST3K. Not only does it cheer me up, i find that after a couple of days, i'm ready to hit the Friendly Skies of Azeroth Airlines (that's what i call my flying mount)
razion Nov 10th 2011 7:09PM
I would also recommend if you want to try something different, and if you haven't tried it before, RP is always great to do. Best of all, the content theoretically NEVER runs out. You can roleplay forever and literally never run out of story. And people are always looking for more people for their groups, trust me.
omedon666 Nov 10th 2011 7:09PM
Honestly, the secrets of my survival have been, In order...
RIFT
LOTRO
CoV
GW1
EQ2
NWN (re-launched my persistant world for bored guildies)
aaaaand...
Re-subbing to WoW just in time for 4.3.... but still on "ugliness strike" until the patch itself drops (I started this strike when transmog was announced: I refused to kill another thing not related to farming transmog gear until I could look cool doing it).
If there's one thing that "making the rounds" has taught me, it's WoW's advantages in design and gameplay... for now. ;)
Hob Nov 10th 2011 10:18PM
Allods Online is free, and very entertaining (extremely long download, though, if I recall correctly).
Warhammer: Age of Reckoning is also a good diversion from WoW, free to play for 10 levels, and decent world PvP at around level 10 (when there's pretty much nothing to do that isn't world PvP, or that won't involve world PvP).
I will be very interested to see what Warhammer 40K Online looks like someday, in that random promised future, when I probably won't care anymore... Kind of sorry to hear that Khorne is supposed to be the sponsor of the Chaos faction (instead of Tzeentch, as in Age of Reckoning), but whatever. Can't wait to see the classes they roll out...
Agony Nov 11th 2011 12:44AM
I used to enjoy Allods Online - until they implemented the cursed item crap. I don't know if they've since fixed it, but it was so terrible that they literally lost about 75% (no, I'm not exaggerating) of their user base in a week! I'm willing to give them another chance, though...well, maybe...
Bellajtok Nov 10th 2011 7:15PM
Back when I finally picked WoW back up after my years- long break, a commenter on this site spoke on a very similar topic, and I have remembered their advice still. It is my favorite method of relaxing in WoW.
Very simply: just fly around. Turn off your UI, zoom all the way in, and start flying. Azeroth has the most magnificent scenery, and it's rarely enjoyed to its full extent. Last time I did this, I flew from Org all the way to Un'Goro, and I was fascinated the whole way. It's really the best way to relax that I've ever seen.
Skarlette Nov 10th 2011 7:48PM
That's basically my approach to Archaeology! It really is relaxing.
Bellajtok Nov 10th 2011 8:21PM
:D Me too! As long as I always use Archaeology as a relaxing thing to do, it never becomes a grind. Really, I find that a lot of things become grinds only when you force them to.
Electrium Nov 10th 2011 9:58PM
Just take a break. Seriously, it's the best solution.
Sure, you may want to finish up your current tier set / BoS set / kill that boss or whatever, but WoW never ends. Whenever Blizz adds more content, that BoS head piece you worked so hard for will be old-hat. It won't kill you to *not* satisfy your numbers compulsion, and it'll make it all the more rewarding when you're feeling up to it again.
Jay Nov 11th 2011 7:23AM
Best advice you can give anyone. Breaks have saved my interest in wow on several occasions. I've been on breaks from as little as a week up to eight months. Sometimes it just feels good to cancel your sub, even if you renew it only a few days after it has expired.
I've seen friends with OCDs run wow till they more or less have had a mental breakdown. Whereas myself if real life commitments take alot of my attention I can just cut wow loose. If I'm bored with it I take a break. However for people that have a obsessive personality this game can sometimes really be devastating, with it's system of constant not too distant awards. Not said wow being worse than alot of other things in society, they can all be as destructive to people who have these tendencies.
Matthew Nov 10th 2011 7:28PM
I stopped pugging for 3 months, and it was very good for my mental health. The good news is that people tend to be better now too - win win.
The bad news is that people stopped CC'ing and are treating dungeons like wrath ones again. Hard to heal - but not boring.
Luotian Nov 10th 2011 7:43PM
Or they've started getting mad and deliberately breaking your CC when you do it. I can not tell you how often I've run ahead and fired my....crap...which ever trap it is that your opponent ends up in a block of ice (freezing? I always get them backwards) only to have the tank run up behind me and charge right in to that target.
It is getting really, really, REALLY old. I'm trying to help, and just because we don't HAVE to CC anymore doesn't mean we shouldn't. Makes things a heck of a lot easier.
Boobah Nov 10th 2011 9:20PM
^This.
It doesn't even slow things down, because stuff dies at very nearly the same speed... only your healer spends less time drinking because he doesn't have to heal through annoying mob ability #24601.
dj.clayden Nov 11th 2011 10:10AM
To be fair I would've thought most healer/tank pairings can do almost every pull without CC (or having to drink) now, and CC *does* slow things down.
cursedmonk87 Nov 11th 2011 3:31PM
I get pissed when I cast Repentance on a mob and the damn Mage Polymorphs it right in front of me. I wasted a talent point on my CC, did you? How about letting me use it once in a while?
Luotian Nov 10th 2011 7:37PM
My sister and I have been enjoying playing the game completely in first person perspective, with no music but the sound and ambiance way up. We've been having a great time of it, getting stuck on random things, and avoiding stuff that normally we'd run right through because it doesn't seem like you can from there.
Something as simple as doing quests that way does a great job of fighting off boredom.