05-13-2006, 05:33 AM
Monkey,May 9 2006, 02:13 PM Wrote:Summary: What are some strategies that Lurkers use to balance WoW and Life? In particular, how do Lurkers balance the demands of raiding with their regular lives?
In general I don't, because I'm on the tail end of a year long leave of absence from College due to medical reasons. Because of the timing it's something I haven't had to deal with - back at my dorm I didn't have a computer powerful enough to run WoW. It's something I honestly don't know how to deal with, and I very much want to avoid the mistake I made my first year of becoming solitary and not really doing much on campus. As I see it, I have two choices: I can either continue playing WoW intermittently or just stop playing completely.
Although I do still enjoy the game in the small, pure doses that regular raiding provides, I often find myself playing about 2-4 hours a day when I don't raid simply for lack of anything better to do. I'm not a well-balanced individual and I've never tested myself by simultaneously playing a MMORPG or other potentially addictive and comforting activity while trying to balance academics and a "real life". I'm afraid that I'll fall into old habits of staying indoors and the best way to combat that is to throw away all my computing diversions.
On the other hand I also want to be happy and not only is WoW something that I genuinely enjoy, but gaming in general is a huge part of my personality that I'm very happy with. Especially when you consider that the Burning Crusade expansion will be coming out this fall, right as I'm returning to class, which simultaneously offers more "casual" gameplay and also the potential to spend 16 hours straight levelling up.
In truth, I really can't see myself raiding Wednesday and Saturday nights the way I do now that I'm an unemployed, vacationing (of a sort), student. I feel sorry for the East Coasters in our guild who really have to deal with what is IMO a slightly unreasonable raid schedule for a casual guild - Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday 8:x0-12:00, attendance optional. If I'm going to stay up til midnight, I don't think I want it to be with my door closed, inside, playing a computer game.
There's also the slim possibility that the decision could be made for me, with my guild self-destructing over the complexities of the Razorgore and Vaelastrasz fights. We have enormous turn over from one raid to the next, and it's becoming very trying for key members to deal with re-explaining something like Razorgore for the third time, having to deal with the inevitable poor execution due to lack of experience, getting to Vael afterwords and just getting blasted.
A distressing number of members have had to resign from high ranking officer positions like class lead because they couldn't find a balance between their status as parents of a 3-year old and WoW. Several more have quit because they "couldn't find balance in their lives" or whatever (ie. i was addicted and realized what that i was playing this game way too much).
I think it's entirely possible to successfully raid as a truly casual player who can prioritize properly, but it becomes like any other hobby, and sometimes it's good to take time off. Too many people seem to get the idea that they can't stop playing WoW because they'll fall behind, or once they stop they can never play again.