Dark Clouds Gather

[Roland]

Also, casual is playing once or twice during the week and a few hours on the weekend.  How many people in WoW do you think really qualify as "casual"?  I don't think a single person in Lurkers qualifies.

I do. That is EXACTLY my playstyle at the moment. And it has left me far in the dust in terms of GAME advancement (not just character advancement). I miss out not only on great playing time with friends (who are almost ALL way ahead of me), but also TONS of content simply because I DO NOT have the time nor the energy to devote into this game. If I try, I burn out because then it DOES feel like work, trying to get my character up in levels. I can only take a couple days at a time of this game or I burn out simply because it kills my motivation to play. I get too caught up in trying to advance that by the third or fourth day I forget about just having fun and see only how little progress I've made, and how damn far I have to go.

For someone who can MAYBE dedicate one or two days a week, if only that a MONTH, this game can be a PITA to play if you're in a guild. If you're not in a guild... Well, I'd say if you kept out of a guild, and kept your friends list completely empty, then this game would be perfect for you as a casual gamer. But, then, that kind of defeats the purpose of the game, now doesn't it?

I'm not complaining about the game, nor the players, nor anything. Just giving another perspective that no one seems to understand, probably because no one is in that situation. I work around 50 hours a week in an automotive repair shop. I'm only a parts manager, so you'd THINK I'd have solely a desk job, but I also assist the mechanics, deliver parts, and ferry customers. I also started my own business this summer (as many of you know), which also takes up some of my free time. I also have a weekly Halo 2 session every Sunday, which lasts about 6 hours (sometimes longer), so there goes almost a whole day of the week dedicated to another game. Between all this, I just don't have the time to fit WoW in on a daily schedule. Moreover, I'm too burned out at the end of the day to deal with much stress, least of all from a game. My life and my relationship take care of that plenty (my g/f is an absolute doll, but she's also one hell of a child at heart; I love this about her and wouldn't change it for the world, but sometimes it can be a bit aggravating, like being a parent with a permanent 6-year old - a blessing a lot of the time, but a curse some of the time).

So, I play WoW when I feel the itch, and drop it when I don't. And it keeps me from burning out. Sometimes I'll take a month or three off completely from WoW, just cancel my subscription, and then come back to it. Does it set me even farther behind? Yeah, but it keeps me alive in the game. I don't burnout. And it gives me an interesting perspective on the guild: even just a couple months ago, we only had a few 60's online at any given time. Just the other day, we had over a full page of 60's online - they outweighed ALL other levels online in our guild at the time. I found that interesting, given how only a couple months ago people were complaining about not having enough high-level players to coop with.

Anyway, I just had to pipe up that there is at least ONE person who qualifies as a "casual gamer", especially in the WoW sense. My life just doesn't allow 9 - 5 (that's PM to AM ;)) gaming like I used to be able to do. It's a sad loss, but not something I can change anytime soon, and not something that revolves around WoW.

Maybe it won't work for others, but I have to offer up the idea. Does ANYONE who's getting burned out on this game ever think about just dropping it for a month or two? You all talk about "paying for boredom". Well, if you're that bored, drop the game for a month. It will still be here when you get back. And if you've already capped at least one character, you won't be missing anything or falling behind. I really have to wonder how many people are getting burned out of the Lurkers, and how many are just getting burned out. And of both of them, how many lost players could have been avoided by the person simply taking a month or two off. This game doesn't HAVE to be bought on a yearly subscription. You can pay for a month at a time. It's what I do, and it ensures I never waste more than a month's worth of play (and if I play at all during a month, even if only for a couple days, to ME it was worth the money I payed, compared to the other expenses in my life).

Just my two cents. Sorry for this unexpectedly long post. All I started out saying was "I'm a casual gamer", and look what ended up? :)