The deadly thing about gaming breaks

I haven’t been in Azeroth (or Outland, if you want to be thorough) in over a month*.

GASP! SHOCK HORROR! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

But yes, I haven’t. Eilonwyn is stuck at 84, and Talá hasn’t even started anywhere. I’ve said time and again to friends that yes, yes, I will log in tonight, alright already, sorry! and yet I have not gone online.

It’s not that I don’t miss the game, that is is not interesting to me anymore. I actually still check out the feeds I follow, and look at new stuff, and feel wistful at world firsts.

I do, but it’s kind of difficult to get back into the game after being out so long. This seems to be a common thing for a good number of people I know: take a long enough break, and suddenly it doesn’t feel as compelling to go online again. Some people say it’s because wow, I have a lot of free time now as opposed to when I was raiding full time! but it’s not that; I don’t think I’ve really done anything very significant with the “free time”.

It’s more about getting left behind. To be sure, I had no plans to take a break: I brought my gaming mouse with me on my vacation, and was looking forward to reaching 85 by Christmas. Maybe not geared up, but getting there. Sadly, I had not even been able to get my mouse out of my luggage! The two weeks without the game, stretching onward and onward…well, it’s not pretty. I’m still 84 while my friends and peers are likely kicking butt at raids; and I don’t begrudge them that, I don’t expect a raiding guild to wait around on people.

The 84-to-85 stretch, as well as the long hard trudge to get raiding-ready: HOW? Just, how? I started taking stock of the gear I needed, the reps I needed, arcanums and shoulder enchants, spending boatloads of gold for gems and materials, training up to max level professions for the perks. (I do not have the boatloads of gold, by the way. It would actually be a lot more fun if I had. Well, that’s what we always say, life is so much more fun if we have boatloads of moneys.) Just thinking about it, that long hard road…it’s not very fun, not when everyone else and their mother is raiding (literally). It’s a bit hard to stomach going from prime DPS to catcalls of “noob!” (Good-natured and all in jest and good fun, but it’s still not nice to hear.)

I don’t know when I’ll be coming back; I only know that I will, eventually. When I won’t feel too strongly about being left behind, and I can just carry on merrily and enjoy my largely solitary game, most likely.

*give or take a few days

This Curious gamer, World of Warcraft post was published on Friday January 28, 2011, and tagged under .

About the author

Me

Hello, I'm Angela. I cycle through a bunch of obsessions: web, reading, writing, gaming, and traveling. I have a bad habit of getting 110% obsessed with the games I play. You might know me as the mage Eilonwyn (who is also a wizard) or the priest Tala. I play a bunch of casual games at any one time, and enjoy a wide range of tabletop games--I'll play with anyone! But I suck at card games. No, really. I love meeting interesting people and have excellent conversation, so leave me a comment or find me on any of the places below:

5 comments

  • Aiera said:
    January 31, 2011 13:50

    So I stood there by the side of the street watching. Waiting. The traffic before me did not cease. It actually seemed to only get thicker. A torrent of steel skinned salmon swimming on a river of asphalt on their way home. But I knew I had to get moving. I have somewhere to go. Taking a deep breathe, I placed one foot in front of the other. *sigh* This would be so much easier if my magebus was here.

    —

    That long hard road was never meant to be trudged alone! I think you’ll really like the 10man casual setup (We’ve taken to calling it Hawaii One-O) we have at the moment for which Tala’s spot is still being held out in hope from week to week. Eil, you are our only hope! *grin*

    • Angela replied;
      February 1, 2011 00:25

      Haha, are you serious? O_o? You realize Tala is still 80, right? Lol! But is priesty better at healing now, or do I still have to be scared of dungeons while leveling? :p

      • Aiera replied;
        February 1, 2011 13:28

        Well, Tala was definitely part of the healing triumvirate I had planned! =D We’ve only just started in the last 2 weeks or so and still trying to plug gaps in our roster. You don’t -have- to come as Tala (priests are uber now!) as we’ve been auditioning healers to tide us over.

        What I really want to say is I’m really enjoying the setup right now and I want to share it with ya!

        ps: Tell Blood that we sent gnomes after him too. And wish him all the best with his impending young padawan!

  • CuriousLittleBird said:
    January 29, 2011 07:16

    I have found the same to be true, not necessarily for myself, but for friends of mine who play with me on City of Heroes (think WoW with superheroes). One of them logged in after a long time of being off and commented that he just “hadn’t been arsed to get on” and he figured we’d forgotten him. People forget that these types of games are so social, and when you don’t have anyone to play alongside or can’t get on as much as other people, it gets kind of sad after a while. (Thankfully, CoH isn’t nearly as dependent on time-sensitive raids, so you don’t get quite as much of a “they left me behind” feeling.)

    Also, on a completely unrelated note, may I say that your site’s structure and design are all made of win. You are an inspiration to lowly PHP learners such as myself. :)

    • Angela replied;
      January 29, 2011 22:57

      when you don’t have anyone to play alongside or can’t get on as much as other people, it gets kind of sad after a while

      Yes, it does! I’m pretty lucky that my guildmates are great people and I’ve met a good bunch of them already, but they’re a lot more sustainably serious with progression and raiding than I am–my “seriousness” with raiding comes and goes, hehe.

      Thank you for your kind words :)

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