The Glade 4.0

I recently returned to EQ2 after about a five month hiatus. New expansion was out, and I got "the itch" to play again. So I got back into my old raiding guild and returned to 5x/week raiding.

The old claws had sunk back in, but . . . I'm starting to drift away again. I played hooky last night because I just could not find the motivation to log on.

The expansion has aged, the population has dwindled, and our guild has been hurting because of this. Right now, we're pretty much spinning our wheels until we fill out the roster again (if we fill out the roster again).

I just don't know. I try to rationalize quitting by telling myself that I am being cheated out of RL experiences. But really, what RL experiences? Even if I quit, there's still nothing to do around here. Sure there's clubs downtown, but meh. That said, I could focus on the gym more (my local one is open till midnight now), but really that's about it until the next console/PC game I am looking forward to hits to occupy the video game void.

If I had something definite and fun to do with my nights aside from EQ2, it would be an easy decision. Not to mention that, by quitting, I would feel like I was letting my guild down, especially since we are hurting for people right now, and I am generally one of the top DPSers there.

Ugh . . .

It really is hard to stop gaming habits, of any kind, that involve the evenings. Even from a financial standpoint, it's much cheaper to stay in to game. I fully understand your reasoning.

However, I do believe I left a lot of real life experiences on the table, at least back when I was playing throughout almost all of high school. That said, I wasn't only gaming at night. I guess I can see it both ways.

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Yeah, there comes a point, however, when you have to ask yourself -- is the money I am saving by staying in and playing a PC game worth missing RL interactions/experiences/opportunities?

As I said, there's not a whole lot of those around here that I know of, but still you never know.

speaking of EQ2 - how do you get past the mid 20s? its sorta burnout related, but Ive played like 6 times now (recently with the F2P version) and I STILL get stuck at about 24....

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The 20's were a tough time in a young toon's life in the past, but the newer starting areas (most notably New Halas) make the 20's a much easier and enjoyable time in a young adventurer's life, so they can more freely explore themselves and others around them.

I got out of halas, and got to butcherblock... and now it seems like there's no quests... unless im missing something?

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Hmmm, thought Halas carried you through to near 30, but then again I also have a permanent 60% EXP bonus on all my toons due to having 3 max lvl characters.

Anyway, there is also Thundering Steppes (off of Antonica) and Nektulos Forest (off of Commonlands) that offer quests in that lvl range. World travel was revamped so that you find one of those sparkling globe thingies on the docks of your home city and you can go anywhere there is a bell. Works the same way with druid rings and wizard spires.

If you don't think you'll miss out on any RL experiences, then you wont. That's a vicious circle-type attitude.

That's just it -- I'm not sure. I've never been a big social person, so I just don't have the experience.

I guess I will need to start with finding out what there really is to do around this area.

Yup, unfortunately, life rarely comes and finds anyone (no matter what RPG's tell you). A good place to start is finding people who have common interests with you, or figuring out your interests (outside of MMO's), and THEN finding people who have those in common.

You can try a different MMO. Give LotRO a shot. It's free to play now...at least up to the point that you would decide if it seems like a game you would want to continue playing.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

If it's a chore, it's time to go. It's supposed to be a game, for your amusement and enjoyment.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Indeed. EQ2 has finally become a chore for me after the last expansion and I have little interest in logging in lately. This isn't a matter of RL experiences so much as issues with the game, but like Rori said if its a chore its time to go.

Don't go just to "have RL experiences". That depends on what those experiences are. There's nothing inherently wrong with MMOs being your preferred entertainment especially from a financial perspective. If what you were going to be doing instead was blowing a ton of money going to bars every night and driving home drunk...probably better to stick with MMOs. If it's something else, maybe not so much.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

It's. a. game..

If you're playing it because you want to play it, then go, play, have fun. If you're playing it because there's nothing more worthwhile to do in your life, you need to do some serious soul-searching and figure out how to improve your life.

Don't let imaginary loyalty to an imaginary guild filled with imaginary people who can easily replace you with a similar 'toon become some half-assed excuse to not get a life and make yourself happier.

Tabletop gaming is always a good transition away from an MMO. Still gives you a sense of completion while gaining gear and levels, but the social aspect is increased tenfold. I know wizards.com has a decent "find a gaming group" type of feature, if you're interested.

Who knows, you could get lucky. I had an ex girlfriend who ran with an all-girl D&D party.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

In that vein:
http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com

May not be SFW, but I don't see anything objectionable on the front page. Could be stuff in the archives, though.

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I took the first step by posting on my guild site that I would probably have spotty attendance this month (which is true with my San Francisco trip) due to RL issues.

And yeah, I know it's a game which has issues that people move on from pretty quickly. But still, I have that nagging feeling that I am letting them down. It's not entirely rational, but it's still there.

As far as what I would do in RL, well like said, I really don't know. True, MMOs are actually very economical forms of entertainment, but you are still missing out on making RL connections, which (IMO) are far more important than virtual ones (because let's face it, what are the real chances of hooking up with the girl/guy you click with online and living happily ever after? Those cases are rare.)

If you were still considering school, that would be a great option on the social front as well. I don't know what I'd really do if I had to move to an area alone and had to start up a physical social life from scratch. School makes it a lot easier. School is a big decision to make and all, but this could perhaps be one factor.

That said, I'm not really against MMOs at all either. It all depends on your individual situation. I've developed a pretty good relationship over the past 3 years a couple people from my current guild, and at this point even if I quit WoW they'd still be people I talk to often. I'd be pretty disappointed if someone told me I should drop them for "real" friends... especially when I talk to someone I met over 10 years ago on EQ some 350ish days out of the year. I think the Glade has sufficient history in this area.

It doesn't really sound like this is the case for you in EQ2 though, but again, I don't really know. If it's just the game, keeping up with raiding and whatnot, then it's probably not doing much for you. A change somehow could improve things... though I suppose it comes back to the question of 'how'.

Lots of stuff out there to try, including many things discussed in this thread. Doesn't hurt to give a lot of them a try. See if the results are as you expect. Perhaps stuff will surprise you. If nothing else, it should make for a relatively interesting time in your life.

****. I thought "GOOMH" was just a turn of phrase. Are you saying I'm an imaginary person on an imaginary message board?

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I only go back and play to do fun stuff. I've given up on progressions and uber gear. I go to lower level questlines and actually read them(!!!) and enjoy the atmosphere they set up. The wife and I are going through the newer TT quest timelines. Those have been fun because now there's actual reasons to go to those islands. There were always TONS of cool places in that game that they never made an incentive to go to. I enjoy the exploration.

Start a new character and don't talk to any old friends (okay, maybe a couple). Don't power-level. Heck, don't be afraid to play a class you've already mastered. If you still can't enjoy yourself, maybe it is time to try something else.

Crim,
To get through the 20's, there are quest timelines in Nek Forest and Butcherblock. If you're only level 24, then I don't think you've done all the quests. A couple more levels and you can start in on the questline in Enchanted Lands and/or Steamfont. The Steamfont questline was TONS of fun.

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The Dude abides.

Yeah, I kind of take issue with this as well. I've actually made quite a few real life friends whom I've met online in WoW.

Now, I mean, that's not to say that there aren't "imaginary" friends, too, that never make the leap, nor do I disagree with the general sentiment of the thread that when you stop having fun with an MMO, you should find something that IS fun rather than let some sense of loyalty drag you into dumping loads of your valuable time into something that's no longer an outlet for you.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Sorry. That's what I was saying. I was intentionally being a bit confrontational in tone, to try to hammer the point across and not let him puss out with that line about the guild "needing" him to do something he's very clearly not interested in doing.

He makes it sounds as though they only want him for his DPS (as accurate, or not, as that may be), and that's not a worthwhile loyalty to maintain, IMO, particularly when it's clear he wants out.

I think what I will end up doing is parting ways with my guild but remain in the game.

I just cannot be tied to 3-hour raids 5x/week (on weekdays to boot).

I'll play stag and see how that goes.

Five days a week?

Holy ****, no wonder you're feeling some burnout. That's a ridiculous attendance demand.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."