The semester having ended, I took a break from work during the first week of May to catch up on WoW. Specifically, I wanted to get my Tauren “one of each class” characters not just into their level 2 Garrisons, but also all the way through Frostfire Ridge. By the time I got to the last of those characters, I went into the system sound menu and turned the dialog slider all the way down to 0 so that I didn’t have to hear it anymore. I’d gotten so, so, so tired of Orcs. What is it that Taran Zhu says in the last of the Isle of Thunder scenarios? Ah, yes: “Every reprisal is itself an act of aggression, and every act of aggression triggers immediate reprisal.” That describes the escalation of the war between the Frostwolf clan and the Thunderlord clan pretty neatly, and after having played through Frostfire Ridge nine times*, I was utterly exhausted by Orcs and their bloodlust.
When I told BTH that I was so, so, so tired of Orcs, he responded, “Why are you still playing that game?”
BTH quit playing WoW himself several weeks ago; the raid time that had worked relatively well when we were in Atlantic Canada was not working very well now that we are in the Mountain West, and he wasn’t really enjoying Warlords raiding enough to want to look for another guild (possibly requiring a server transfer). He has always played WoW primarily to raid, so if he wasn’t going to be raiding, why play at all?
I… am not sure that I have a good answer to that question. Do I keep playing WoW just because I’ve gotten into the habit of using it to fill my idle time, and I don’t want to expend the effort to find something else, something better, to do with that time? That’s not a very satisfactory answer, even if it is an uncomfortably large fraction of it.
Being thus discomfited, I didn’t play much WoW for the next week. Instead, I read webcomics — catching up on ones I hadn’t read regularly for a few months and reading through the archives of a few ones I hadn’t read before — and reread the classic early detective novel The Moonstone (by Wilkie Collins).
Why are you still playing that game?
Syrco has been looking for a reason to log in.
BBB, in his characteristic way, answers with the things that keep him going.
The Godmother asks her audience, “if you’re tired of/angry at the game, why are you still playing it?”, in various forms, constantly. She is also continually asking herself “why am I still playing this game?” and exploring the various forms that answer takes.
When I think about the things I have enjoyed about WoW in the past, and why I’m not doing those things now, I inevitably get tangled up in either the Garrison or the Faction Divide… or both.
In the past, I’ve enjoyed exploring the stories of the World of Warcraft. Now, I’m tired of Orc-centric Horde stories… but I still prefer to play as a Tauren or a Sin’dorei. I’ve played mostly Horde for long enough that when I do play Alliance, the anti-Horde prejudices in the Alliance-side stories alienate me. I enjoyed the Legendary storyline in Mists, but when I found out what was involved with getting Garona for my Garrison, I decided that maybe I’d rather not continue following the Warlords Legendary storyline. When I think about going out with a low-level alt or perhaps back with a high-level alt to play through past-expansion storylines that I haven’t yet seen, I get tripped up by wanting to run through all my Draenor-level alts’ Garrison chores first… and then by the time I’m done with that, my limited playtime is gone.
I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of Transmogrification, but with the LFR gear being uninspiring and the normal/heroic mode gear being out-of-reach** because I don’t want to PuG with the Group Finder, I’ve been lacking in Transmogrification inspiration for this expansion. Some of the crafted gear looks really nice — though the upgraded appearances are, of course, nicer than the Stage 1 appearance. When I’m looking at making crafted gear for Transmogrification instead of just equipping, though, I start thinking about making whole sets, and then the upgrade costs — 150 of the daily CD material, plus 30 of Sorcerous whatever, plus 15 Savage Blood just to upgrade one piece once — start becoming overwhelming. Even with — especially with! — Work Orders, I feel like I’d be spending all of my playtime doing nothing but Gathering. I also can’t bring myself to go farm old raids just on speculation or to make money; my inventory space is crowded enough already that I have to have a specific item or items from a specific raid that I want, for a specific planned Transmogrification kit, that I’m farming for. Even when I do want a specific item for specific set that I’m thinking about, again, tending all my Garrisons usually takes up all my limited playtime.
Time to take a few pages from The Godmother’s playbook, I think.
Taking a bit of a break from the game and thinking through my current feelings about it (in the form of this Bearwall) has been a good start.
Next, I need to find my own motivation to do something other than just routinely tending my Garrisons. I should also find a reason to be doing the daily profession CDs that’s better than “just in case I want this stuff later”.
So — I should design some Transmogrification kits that use Warlords crafted items — but not full Warlords crafted sets — so that I have specific items that I want to craft. I should prioritize leveling my two Alchemists to 100 and getting their Garrisons to Level 3 so that they can get the Savage Blood transmute from the herb trader***. I should also prioritize Follower missions that reward Primal Spirits so that I can trade those for Savage Blood. The upcoming Patch 6.2 changes to increase the amount of materials, including Sorcerous whatevers, generated by the daily profession CDs will definitely help this plan!
I should shake off the OCD tendencies that have been shackling me to my Garrisons. When I know that what I really want to do on a given evening is farm an old raid for a Transmogrification item, or go Fishing, or do Archaeology, or do Pet Battles, or quest in Draenor with one of my high-level alts, or quest elsewhere with one of my low-level alts, I should allow myself to just leave my Garrisons untended for that evening.
And then maybe I’ll get back to playing this game because it’s fun instead of just because it’s habit.
~*~*~
*Eight Tauren characters plus the Blood Elf Warlock
**Yes, my Followers do bring me normal mode raid gear, but because it is randomly generated and not from the loot table of any specific boss (unless there is a correlation between the various Follower raid missions and the loot tables of specific bosses that I haven’t been paying attention to), it isn’t really a reliable way to collect pieces for Transmogrification. Plus, more often than not (in my experience) it turns out to be a non-visible item such as a ring, necklace, or trinket.
***Or, perhaps, get the Savage Blood transmute from the herb trader when he’s in the Garrison of one of my battlenet friends?
Why am I still playing this game?
Had I been asked this question a month and a half ago, I would not be too sure what to reply. To log in to do Garrison stuff then log out?
I got tired of it. Tired of nothing really sparking my interest so I decided to leave the max level/end game content and restart from scratch. Started a new hunter, no heirloom, no gold, no help from max level toons either(except for some fancy bags).
And guess what, I found my fun again. Something we have forgotten over time as we become knowledgeable of this old game. We forget that this game is about the trip and adventures you have as you level up.
I’ve had more fun on this lowbie hunter than I have had all this expansion at max level. I’ve given sylvana’s necklace back, and she sang lament of the highborne to me, I got to be a questgiver in Hillsbrad, helped Pamela find peace in the plaguelands, and recently punch deathwing in the face in the badlands.
I have more than a few lowbie alts that could use some leveling love — the slow sans-heirlooms “old fashioned” way. My Dwarf Shaman is all decked out in heirlooms, but lately I’ve been thinking that I’ll enjoy leveling her more if I take her OUT of the heirlooms…
Now that I know you’re looking for the herb trader I’ll try and keep an eye out and put it up in my broadcast so you’ll know.
And honestly I have the same problem with the garrisons.I just get so OCD about needing to do them all and even if I’ve limited -what- I do in each one it’s still just so much stuff. π
Thanks! I’ll have to keep an eye on WoWhead, too, for the days when the herb guy is the Trader Of The Day.
Hello! Check out the price of savage blood vs. alchemical catalyst on your server first, it might turn out (as in my case), that it’s more expensive to transmute savage blood than buying it (if you’re in need of extra ones). I personally save the catalysts to craft Stone of Fire, that sells better (and a huge boost to the ilvl of alts if needed), or greater flasks, or just sell the catalysts directly, if the prices are right. π
TL;DR: 50*(the price of alchemical catalyst) is usually > price of savage blood, check the price on your server! π
I did look at AH prices for Savage Bloods on my server a couple days ago, but I didn’t think to check them against the price for Catalysts because I didn’t know what the conversion ratio was. I’m still really a cheapskate for buying anything but a piece of Mog gear that I really REALLY want on the AH, though… I’d rather be self-sufficient and just make the Savage Blood I need myself. (I haven’t bought any of the 44+ Royal Satchels that my characters are using, either.)
I haven’t been able to decide if my dissatisfaction is being caused by the game or by the changes in real life. I do know if I MAKE myself leave the garrison and play Ironsally or something things are much more like they were.
I am happy for the changes in real life that have caused my playtime to be so much more limited than it was back in the days of Mists — but the limitation in my playtime makes the Garrison that much more of a trap. I also have more fun when I MAKE myself leave the Garrison to do something totally unrelated to the Garrison (ie, NOT Trapping for the Barn :P).
The major problem is that there are no more small things to do while waiting for raids. I’ve suddenly come across my late-Pandaria blog post and I saw that I was doing Tillers’ dailies, gaining reputation and going for Valor to scenarios and dungeons while waiting for raids. It was fun!
As much as people could have hated dailies back then, they provided progress and they gave it to you in two ways simultaneously. You gained reputation (leading to rewards), and you gained Valor which was used both to improve and upgrade gear.
You could choose for which faction you are doing your dailies, and you are motivated to go around the continent. You could choose which dungeons and scenarios to run – and this made your game different.
Dailies now? Grinding some area, with no specific relation to gear or any other progress.
Now – when you accept missions and send the guys for the new missions, do Salvage Yard, do workorders (routine!) – it’s like: what now? You literally don’t go anywhere and you don’t see any other people at your Garrison. There’s literally nothing to motivate you doing things outside of the walls. And that is discouraging you from active playing.
Waiting for LFR groups yesterday, I found a long-forgotten Druid’s spell which teleports me to Moonglade. And I found myself role-playing with my Night Elf, walking among buildings and bridges and talking to druids there. THAT’S how I am tired of boredom at non-raided Draenor π
I definitely miss faction dailies. In Mists, I did the Tillers and the Shado-Pan with every character, but which other factions I chose to pursue differed from alt to alt. In Warlords, the Apexis area quests don’t really count as “dailies” to me because they are very thinly veiled grinding — and so I haven’t done them even once. I know that the different Apexis areas DO have faction relevance and also allow you to gain Bodyguard rep… but I haven’t bothered with the Bodyguard thing with Kam, either. Perhaps I’ll do Bodyguards with my Mages, though, since they’re such glass cannons.
I doubt I’ll ever be going back to WoW. Blizzard seems to have given up on any pretense at worldbuilding, so any non-raid stuff is simply busywork now. I am very glad that I didn’t waste my money on Warlords, because I know I’d have hit the wall well before now.
Is WoW your only gaming home? Are you willing to discover new worlds, new stories, new characters, or would you simply not game once you stepped away from WoW? I am really impressed with Final Fantasy XIV, from everything I’ve seen and heard it is doing everything WoW has neglected. If you want to keep gaming, but not be in WoW, I would recommend starting there.
It’s more that I’m a “one game at a time” person. I’ve certainly been intrigued by LOTRO, SW:TOR, etc as I read blogs of other folks who play multiple games. I have so much that I want to do in WoW still (mostly involving doing various things with my alts instead of with Kam), though, that I’m hesitant to spend my game time doing something else — even if all that I’m doing in WoW most days is busywork.
I did recently download an NES emulator and ChronoTrigger ROM (at BTH’s suggestion), so I might take a break from WoW to play through that old classic.
Yeah that’s fair enough. I hope a break works for you!
One thing I love about this game is the amount of choice we have but it’s also it’s own downfall as I often want to do too many things so it’s just a matter of prioritising my time and sometimes finding the motivation. This is nothing new but lately I’ve found myself only getting on to do my garrison chores and the menagerie battle for the upcoming pets.
I don’t really play other games (except for the Hearthstone daily) but yesterday I finally installed HotS and Starcraft just to see if I could see myself playing them. It’s sad I’m willing to do this just for the promise of a pet though.
I know — so much to do, so little time! It’s the choosing what to do that’s often the hardest — and when I can’t decide what *else* I want to do, then I default to the Garrison routine. The downside is that even when I DO know what else I want to do, I too often fall into the trap of thinking maybe I should do the Garrison routine first.