MMORPG's, Do you ever truly quit?
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 04:20AM 
I am making this post because right now I am playing Final Fantasy XI for the Xbox 360 while sitting on my bed. How could I be playing the game if I am writing this blog post? Well lets just say I am currently waiting for a "Notorious Monster" (in short, an enemy in the game that often drops rare and exclusive items) to spawn. I killed him an hour ago, but I still have another half hour to go before he spawns again so I can have another go at trying to obtain his weapon drop for my Puppetmaster, which has only about an 8% chance of dropping form him once he is killed.
This is a day on FFXI, but I am sure other MMORPG's are similar in their brutal ways of holding you captive in their world, even if it often feels more like a second job than a video game. You see I have been playing FFXI since it released on the PS2 back in 2004 and currently nearing 4,000 hours of play time. Granted I have taken many breaks over that time, but that brings me to the point of this post....do you ever truly quit MMORPG's? I realize that some people overcome their addictions to this genre of games, but I am sure they are few and far between. There is just something about obtaining that rare armor piece you worked weeks over to have on your character that keeps me coming back, or leveling up just one more time to get that awesome magic spell.
Getting back to the "breaks", there were many times where I convinced myself I was completely done with the game, never to return, but I always ended up returning to the game because I would get these random cravings to play again, which was usually caused by a new expansion pack or version update. In fact the last time I "quit" was a few months ago, vowing it would be the last and final time I ever played the game, and look at me...back on the game yet again. I am not sure if this will be my last venture into the world of Vana'diel (FFXI's world), or if I will quit and return again a year later.
People often ask me if I play World of Warcraft, and I tell them no because I tried the demo a few years ago and realized I would get sucked into its world, and the only way to avoid becoming addicted to WoW was to completely avoid it. Thankfully I have remained WoW free all these years, because I can guarantee you if I played WoW I would very likely never have started videos on YouTube.
Anyway I gotta get going, the monster should be spawning in a bit, I must be prepared! Do you have any similar MMORPG stories? What is your take on becoming "addicted" to a game like this?
Final Fantasy XI MMORPG in Blog
Reader Comments (22)
OK. This is wierd.
Everybody gets addicted to those great MMORPG's. But I just can't. I'm in to all the fantasy stuff like LOTR and stuff like WoW. Everybody gets addicted. Except for me. I just...............cant. I play The Lord of the Rings Online(It's the same exact thing as WoW, but LOTR style) I love it. But I don't find myself "addicted". I only play like.............1 hour every 2 days. If you call that addicted.. I know i'm not compared to some people who play MMORPG 18 hours a day.
So yeah........Don't get me wrong...I still love MMORPG's
Used to be mad addicted to Runescape when I was young. Runescape Classic (/1) though, F Rs2.
As a psychologist in my day job, and a gamer in my spare time, this is something that interests me a lot, and I think gets a lot of bad press.
I myself absolutely love Guildwars, but would not say I have ever truly been addicted, sometimes I play more than others, I go months without logging in, which is something you can do with GW as its free to play once you have bought the game. I've only played for 500 hours in the 3 years I have had the game, but sometimes its for 5 hours at a time. On the plus side, its always played with real life friends on skype or steam chat so its a social event for me as well as something that occupies my leisure time and challenges my mind.
I find myself turning to a PS3 game at the end of a hard day at work for some escapism, and some would argue thats avoiding how I'm feeling, others would say its a way to vent frustration and allows me to relax.
Much as too much of something...anything... is not healthy, theres a part of me that says there are a lot worse things to be addicted to, but I've heard some awful tales of hardcore addicts and how their health suffers, nevertheless its a question of balance, like all things in life I guess.
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I look back at when WoW first came out and how addictive it was. Over the course of 2 years it was the only thing I played. The funny thing is I was never satisfied with just leveling one character up and getting all the best gear in the game. I would literally delete my characters and start all over again, just because the first experience was so exciting. Pretty scary now that I think of it.
I played RuneScape and ToonTown (It's good once you get into it), although I always say I'll never play them again I play them nevertheless after years of break
Four years ago all I would do was play runescape. I would wake up, turn on the computer and play without Evan brushing my teeth or changeing cloths. Now it has been almost three months since I logged it. The game just got boring to me and one day I just stopped completely.
As you stated, WoW is indeed very addicting...I was on of her victims, I wanted to get into it as it has been "the talk of the town" for a very long while and this had me convinced Id been missing out on something big, the first few days Id sit there, forcing myself to get into it, but as I did, it opened a door to a whole new ball-game.
Before I knew it I would sit on the computer for endless hours fighting monsters and doing quests.. constantly telling myself working towards an item of higher status is doing something constructive and worthwhile, I was wrong, it started to kick in this wasn't a habit when my life started to consist around sleeping, and WoW.
Something comes over you and you start to see everything in WoW terms, so, for two years, I would sit there, from 10am-2pm the next day, playing away.
I dropped out of college..twice, so I could make more room for virtual reality..that was the most appealing thing about WoW for me, I felt my life lacked something, and this magical landscape drew me it, it was the appeal I was missing, and soon it became the main focus in my life..
I guess my case is not very rare.
And I feel its down to perception..I mean, At the time I didn't recognized this addiction, no matter how obvious it was and fully acknowledged it to me a benefit to me and so I kept going.
I think your recognize addiction and know this isn't a safe place to be, thus, you'd be able to draw yourself out of it quicker that someone who deosnt know its there to begin with...Annnyway, sorry for the long story - and Good luck!
- Killerquatch
I played WoW for about 3 years. I had dozens of characters on multiple accounts. It got to the point where I was spending nearly $60/month solely on WoW subscriptions, no to mention the website fees for my guild. Now that I think back on it, I was freaking mental about the game. Finally, I got to a point where I had to step back and look at what I was doing to myself. My grades were at rock bottom, I got fired from my job, and my friends were...well...gone. I tried to give it up. I tried just not playing, but that didn't work. I tried uninstalling the game, but I just reinstalled, and I even tried smashing the discs, but I just bought a new copy. It took a lot of time and determination, but I'm finally free of WoW, which feels great...and terrible. I miss my online friends, and I miss my characters. But I'm getting back into traditional games (platformers, rpg's, shooters, etc), and I'm loving it. I think that I may get back into online gaming someday, but it for sure won't be WoW
I can understand how you feel. I was (and probably, will be again) a FFXI players. I have quitted a lot of time but, i don't know why, i still have some time when i just want to play it again.
I have a lot of great memories of that game :
1: When you get the final item (lot of time the skull) to finish the quest that will let you dual class.
2: the long trip on foot to get to jeuno and get your chocobo.
3: this game introduced my girlfriend to mmorpg. So it was nice to help her out.
4: The long day at work, surfing the internet for quest to do or where NM spawn. Preparing my night or weekend of gameplay.
Like i have said, i have let this game down a lot of time, but each time a receive a notice from playonline, telling me of new thing that happend in vanadiel. It all bring back to nostalgic aspect of the great time i had and it push me to come back.
if we are on the same server, i'll be sure to says Hi!
Will you be playing FFXIV Pete? FFXI is dead in my eyes. I gave up on this game with the addition of Augments. The 3 added game scenarios also killed this game for me. Hopefully 14 will have something more to offer. ~Corey
I was so addicted to Runescape back in 2007 and 2008 when I didn't have a PS3 or 360, there was nothing to play and I didn't feel like playing my PS2. After awhile when I got to Level 138 (highest level) it just got so so boring and it was a chore. When I got my PS3 for christmas of 2008 I stopped playing runescape and I usually go on every 3 months just to check of new updates and who's online.
Maybe put around 1500-2000 hours
This really caught my eye. I just managed to get away from FFXI and here I am wanting to get back... again! I can't even count all the times I've decided to get back into that game and the serious amount of time I have spent playing. More recently most of that time was made up of sitting on the couch and playing Nintendo DS while waiting for a group which sometimes took forever. I've tried a lot of different MMO's but its just something about FFXI that beckons me to come back even though WoW or WAR would be more suitable for someone who doesnt want to invest their entire life in just one game... Im a gamer and collector since childhood, much like Dorr (maybe his Swedish version) and I get frustrated when Im stuck playing only one game. ^^
I played and then was the guild master for a insanely popular guild in WoW called Knights Of Radshire the spin off guild for Totally Rad Show's Totally Rad Guild some people might know it's members/former members like Alex Albrecht (Diggnation etc) and Jerry Trainor (Specer from iCarly). I got extremely into the game for the course of over a year but then after a forced vacation from guild drama i returned and didn't see much point in going forward with the game. So much time spent for very little reward. In the end i made some amazing friends who i still talk to and might never have met outside the game (i majorly shy in person) but the good was not able to out weigh the bad so i quit. I gave thought of returning once the new expansion came out but i feel my character is destined to stay parked forever. Retired to the land of many hours, many memories, but in the end just a unsatisfying experience.
MMOs can be a great place to meet people (some of our members ended up dating actually) and i can see how you could get addicted but it takes an addictive personality. For me i am straight edge so that never really has been a problem for me but it is very easy to see how it could be. Around every corner is another carrot a little more shinny than the next. Sometimes you just have to realize your tired of carrots :D.
Nice work on ur channel i mean u should be in the game channel or something i mean ur game room rocks
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ive been addicted to
runescape
evony
and clubpenguin when i was younger but i take breaks and become addicted again
MMORPG addiction is terrible. I spent a good 7 years on "Ragnarok Online" on the international servers. That game had me addicted on and off for the longest time. Thankfully I'm done with it.
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