As someone who works in Advertising and is a creative, I feel your pain here I started playing WoW between jobs to and man what a waste of brain power, I am always thinking imagine what else i could get done LOL. But I am hooked, I think this MOD is a really good idea to help people and I would also put it on my Blog to expose to my friends my timewasting.

P.S. It gets worse once you start raiding and getting epics :(

→ Posted by: Pete at May 2, 2006 2:26 AM

It could be worse. You could be hooked on Animal Crossing Wild World. "Must... acquire... more... hats..."

→ Posted by: James Wallis at May 2, 2006 3:29 AM

Coincidentally, I just cancelled my WoW subscription only minutes before I read this post. I'm tired of thinking about all the things I could have been spending that time on and getting depressed. That, and I got bored of grinding somewhere around level 40. EVE Online, on the other hand, looks like something I could really get hooked on.

→ Posted by: Wilson Miner at May 2, 2006 3:58 AM

Tom, I can't tell you how happy I am I decided to sell my character a while a go. I got all the way to 60 and then...started grinding.

WoW is a lot of fun...but its a lot more fun to stop sometimes ;)

→ Posted by: Daniel at May 2, 2006 7:40 AM

Tom, I feel for you man. I did the SAME thing. 4 months of INTENSE WoW play, every night, sacrificing mostly sleep and quality blogging for my dwarf paladin. I didn't quite get to level 51, but I just HAD to stop. So I did it cold-turkey. Actually, I did a full system re-install on my Mac, and decided to simply not re-install WoW. That was over 8 months ago.

But here's the kicker. My level of addiction and my connection with my characters ran very deep, and still does. I refuse to stop paying for my account because I don't want to lose them. So, for the last 8 or 9 months, I have be faithfully paying my $16/month, and I don't even have the game installed! (Honestly, I don't even know my username and password anymore.) And I don't know when I'll ever be able to let them go. Every time I buy a new game or play something new (especially most recently Elder Scroll Oblivion for XBox 360) I think to myself, "I'd really much rather be playing World of Warcraft."

Dear god. Somebody kill me.

→ Posted by: chris at May 2, 2006 7:58 AM

So when you recently said "people who do a lot of punditry on their sites cannot possibly be actually getting anything useful done the rest of the time" maybe you should have added "or playing World of Warcraft"...

→ Posted by: Phil Gyford at May 2, 2006 8:32 AM

My 11 and 13 year old sons would donate a lung rather than give up playing WoW over the weekend for 12 hours straight. And, as my huband states, my daughter is equally addicted to MySpace.

I would like to email you. Do you have a public email?

→ Posted by: leahpeah at May 2, 2006 8:43 AM

on your question of a public badge:
Xfire has a miniprofile you can copy and paste anywhere. heres a link to an example they give.

→ Posted by: Daniel at May 2, 2006 9:20 AM

Tom, 'fraid I've got no new advice for ya.

I deleted my level 59 hunter a couple of weeks ago, cancelled my account and un-installed the game. I'm surprised by how much I *don't* miss it.

Just like you, my 9-5 work had never suffered, but I was more bemused by the fact that 15+ days of my spare time had been wasted levelling a computer character, when it could of been spent learning Ruby on rails, or knitting, or something equally as useful.

I've been ranting to fellow geeks for a long time that there should be a MMORPG that has some kind of real life use, perhaps you would need to learn various rules of physics to be a decent Gnome Engineer, rather than just grind for hours....

(Eve is a lovely looking game, but within 2 hours I got pissed off with the grinding. Deleted, cancelled, uninstalled.)

→ Posted by: Jon at May 2, 2006 9:31 AM

Hey, I'm no psychoanalyst, but I'm guessing that by realising and accepting that you have a problem, you are well on your way to curing it...good luck.

→ Posted by: karl at May 2, 2006 10:00 AM

Well, one answer to your gaming woes is to have a baby, I definitely don't have that much disposable time any more :-)

More seriously, I have played very few of these MMORPGs precisely because of the way they guzzle time and reward behaviour bordering on OCD. And that's despite being a keen gamer and having plenty of friends who play them.

I still want to create some games that represent the counter-culture to always-on-line. Basically, play-by-turn affairs where the main character is driven by game AI, and you set apsects of their desires and personality. The vision for 2050 would be something along the lines of a personalised "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon or video, with the main character's thoughts and goals driven by the player in response to each episode.

Still just a concept, and looking unlikely to ever complete after 10 years in daydream-style planning!!

→ Posted by: Neil Slater at May 2, 2006 10:38 AM

Chris - I've been told that Blizzard doesn't delete your characters even if you don't pay - and I believe that the time limit for that is indefinite from what I've been told by other players. You don't have to keep paying, but if you ever feel like going back, you just have to reactivate the account.

→ Posted by: kelvin at May 2, 2006 11:58 AM

Wow, that's pretty hardcore - and the princple reason I've avoided MMORPGs. I like the fact that a lot of PS2 games now include timers on the save files - I've apparently played Resident Evil 4 for about 16 hours, but if I didn't have that information I'd probably guess half that.

I don't want to know how much time I've spent trying to pay off my Animal Crossing morgage...

→ Posted by: Lee Maguire at May 2, 2006 12:02 PM

Well, I started on Second Life a few months ago and it pretty much killed...

- my involvement with Barbelith, and boards generally, apart from Second Life boards;
- blogging, apart from Second Life blogging;
- my plan to learn Ruby, and in fact programming generally, apart from programming within Second Life.

The thing is, I can do all of the things I like on the web in one place in Second Life - chat with people, rant about politics, show off, examine the formation of virtual communities, write silly software toys, play "let's pretend I'm not me" - in 3D, more prettily. I think that's going to be hard to quit, harder than WoW would be.

It's pretty simple to do your counter thing manually in SL by the way, since you can write in-game scripts that make XML-RPC calls. They could just tell an external PHP script your current total time and hours per day and it could display it in an image or as text. Hmm, might do that.

→ Posted by: fridgemagnet at May 2, 2006 12:20 PM

" Imagine playing WoW was my second job, which is how it has felt at times."

Tom, you probably learn things about community, social software, and interaction designfrom WoW. You then bring this to your other work at Yahoo, not to mention the things you post here. Seen this way, how is playing WoW not part of your regular job? You could probably make a case that it's tax deductible!

→ Posted by: Andrew at May 2, 2006 4:09 PM

That's a good point - and I have learned a lot from it. I'm just not sure that I've learned enough to justify the time!

→ Posted by: Tom Coates at May 2, 2006 4:27 PM

FWIW.. I played WoW for about 6 months before I had to slow down. My play dissipated and I barely got in more than a day or so a month after that until early 2006, when I pretty much quit altogether. I just lacked the motivation to play - it was almost like going to a second job!

With that in mind, I'm a professional software developer. Just a quick note regarding your comparison to Last.fm and with respect to how Thottbot works:

Last.fm is different in that it actually publishes your profile and "listening to" streams via RSS, ATOM and any other number of other external APIs and feeds. They also use the AudioScrobbler plugin to publish that information from iTunes, WinAmp, WMP, or whatnot to your Last.fm profile.

Thottbot is also different in that it requires you to launch a separate application, as well as a bunch of UI mods in-game to pull that information back into their central database.

So.. to get the information you're looking for, you'd need to run at least one desktop app (manually, every time you played, or afterwards) and install a WoW UI plugin to harvest the data and submit it to your site.

WoW doesn't make any of the data we'd all like to see about our characters externally accessible via published APIs (unlike many other MMORPGs; for instance, Dark Age of Camelot publishes a lot of character and guild data via XML.)

Sorry for the long reply, just figured I'd clarify that it's not a matter of just a simple UI mod.

→ Posted by: nick at May 2, 2006 11:33 PM

I'm easily addicted to games, so I had to set some rules to avoid the 11-hour straight gameplay hangovers that come with no self control.

1. If the game is short, I devote a weekend to purge it from my system.

2. If it is an extended game (30+ hours), I schedule the game time in my calendar. Then I pull out a kitchen timer and put it in another room. When it goes off, I save and stop no matter how much I want to finish that level, because I will feel the same way about the next level if I don't. This works well for RPGs.

3. I never play more than two games during per month. This protects my body and wallet.

4. I only play games that end. No soul consuming WOW for me.

Basically, I choose to manage my addiction. I don't dabble in Second Life, but I don't think of it as game. It's an advanced community, and it should be considered as more like a next generation forum or blog.

→ Posted by: Abraxas at May 3, 2006 5:20 AM

Re: SL vs WOW. I'm as likely to spend 12 hours straight playing SL as I am to spend 12 hours screwing around on the internet; I'm much more likely to play WOW for 12 hours straight than either of those.

The only that really worked for me in WOW was getting together with a solid group of friends I play with and making a group decision to only play at certain times. The idea was to make it more like a poker night than a daily thing. If someone did play more than the others in the group, the others notice the new gear and higher levels, so it creates a bit of social pressure to only play within the limits. This worked, and I still get my fix of WOW.

→ Posted by: Jon at May 4, 2006 5:01 PM

Hello. I'm Bruce and I play World Of Warcraft.

I've played since it came out and I have 4 characters the highest being 37. (I'm easily distracted.) I really enjoy wandering around and exploring the immersive world they've created.

My main trouble with WOW is that while looking at what they've created and how imaginative it is, it inspires me to be creative but I'm too busy playing to do anything about it. I'm trying to take that inspiration and make something of it. Even if it's a doodle or just paying as much attention to my own environment as I do WOW's.

Games are relaxing to me and I play when there isn't anything better to do (ie: hang with my wife, eat, etc.) I try to treat it like watching a movie so I'll play for a couple hours. Abraxas' idea of an egg timer is brilliant.

→ Posted by: Bruce Cooke at May 5, 2006 5:25 PM

Hello. I'm Bruce and I play World Of Warcraft.

I've played since it came out and I have 4 characters the highest being 37. (I'm easily distracted.) I really enjoy wandering around and exploring the immersive world they've created.

My main trouble with WOW is that while looking at what they've created and how imaginative it is, it inspires me to be creative but I'm too busy playing to do anything about it. I'm trying to take that inspiration and make something of it. Even if it's a doodle or just paying as much attention to my own environment as I do WOW's.

Games are relaxing to me and I play when there isn't anything better to do (ie: hang with my wife, eat, etc.) I try to treat it like watching a movie so I'll play for a couple hours. Abraxas' idea of an egg timer is brilliant.

→ Posted by: Bruce at May 5, 2006 7:25 PM

Sorry for posting twice. I had some trouble with the form going through.

→ Posted by: Bruce at May 5, 2006 7:31 PM

WoW-related social problems are actually really commonplace on the addiction peer support forum (in Finnish) my wife moderates as part of her work. Some people have been practicly widowed - or orphaned - by their family members' WoW-addiction. Maybe Wow is not so much the new golf as it's the new crack.

I think the biggest challenge for the game developers in the years to come is to create games that are while being immersive (WoW definetely seems to have made an important milestone on this) but also socially adaptive. Neils' concept sounds interesting. I'm thinking, what if the caharacters in MMORPGs would age and die of old age in half a year or so? This would not just create both a natural break for players but also add existencial depth and meaning to the game it self.

→ Posted by: Jere Majava at May 6, 2006 6:42 PM

As a fellow addict, I am grateful that work took me away from my desktop for more than a week and some kind of sanity has returned. I was seriously addicted to WoW before this cold turkey, but at the moment I feel slightly nauseous as the thought of going back in there!

→ Posted by: Johnnie Moore at May 8, 2006 12:03 PM

Did you read "You Play World of Warcraft? You're Hired!" in last April's Wired? Maybe WoW is not a waste of time after all...http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/learn.html

→ Posted by: Mariana at May 8, 2006 3:29 PM

"I wish I knew how to quit you." Brokeback Mountain takes on more significance in Tom's life with crossover quotes?

→ Posted by: rich_w at May 8, 2006 8:30 PM

I can't stop. /cry

→ Posted by: Amelia at May 9, 2006 5:13 PM

I have two level 60s in WOW on seperate servers, each of them have been members of high end raiding guilds, I also have several other characters ranging from level 30 to level 55. World of Warcraft has been very fun for me, but recently I had a week of vacation where I spent 80-90% of my waking hours playing World of Warcraft. It was great at the time, but it seemed I over did it, ever since this massive WOW overdose I have been steadly growing less and less interested in this game. But maybe this overdose wasn't the actuall cause of the end of my addiction, maybe it was building all along.

Raiding was fun, but I Realize that raiding becomes less and less interesting as more raiding instances are released. I can recall our guilds first ragnaros kill like it was yesterday, Unfortunatly. That first ragnaros kill was the peak of my WOW experiance. Each new instance that comes out has less and less appeal, the gear upgrades seemed less appealing and the required attedance made the game feel like a second job. It never seriously effected my acidemic life but it completely demolished my social life (When your spending 1/4 of your total time playing a video game something needs to give.)

In the end I don't regret playing World of Warcraft, but I do regret not stopping 3 months ago when I first stopped enjoying the game.

→ Posted by: Law at May 10, 2006 5:47 AM

I have 2 60s on WoW along with many other characters.

I play WoW constantly. You could say I'm an addict.

I don't, however, see anything wrong with this. I enjoy it. It's fun for me. I still interact with people and get the things that need to be done finished. But when that's all said and done and I want to relax, I use WoW.

I really don't see why so many people see it as a bad thing that they're doing something they enjoy "too often". That is, unless it interferes with your obligations in life.

And, as far as I know...

Making any kind of add-on that actively sends game data to the internet while running the game is against the ToS.

→ Posted by: Mike at May 11, 2006 12:33 AM

I don't think it's really a problem that it's enjoyable and that you do it a lot - I think the problem is that it squeezes out some of the other things that we do that are maybe less enjoyable but more 'rewarding' - ie. helping you in your career, or beng creative or whatever.

→ Posted by: Tom Coates at May 15, 2006 12:48 PM

I have played WOW with my friends since open beta. I have more than one 60 chars, one all geared with epic sets. I think i had more fun leveling characters with my friends, than grinding for 6 hours in some dungeons with 40 other guild members. At the end, it was just too much of a grind, and not enough fun. It was all about getting better gears, or moving up in the PVP ranking. I have stopped playing wow for almost 6 months now. When i was playing WOW, I disregarded a big portion of my social life, so i had a lot of catching up to do. Still, many nights i think of going back into WOW, cause it is better than just being a couch potato. I can't possibly be partying or clubbing every night; its just too tiring and too expensive. I am semi-old, so i am kind of done with education. I am not married so i have no child or wife to entertain. And there ain't no better games out there, I've looked(Guildwars, EveOnline, Lineage, CS, etc....). During weekedays, i come home from work, and turn on the TV, and just sit there for hours. Now after 6 months, i am thinking of going back into the WOW. So i am at the activation page, with subscription info all filled out, and i just need to click "Finished" button. Yet, i am scared, very scared. I feel like an alcholic who is about to fall off the wagon... To play or not to play... well i can't tell you whether i am gonna play or not... cause even i dont know... To play or not to play, that is the question.

5/24/06 11:52 pm...

→ Posted by: Dan at May 25, 2006 4:54 AM

Y'know, Guild Wars comes second in my life, the first being my public speaking skills and work (okay well, THIRD. Sue me.). The most I've played on a binge is 27 hours, with breaks about every 4 or 5 hours. Yup, PvP is a devil when you've got a good guild group going and you're all settled in on TS on the weekend.

27 hours is one day and three hours. Think of all the possiblities you can do in just 12 hours, let alone 27. =S

→ Posted by: Matt at May 29, 2006 4:22 AM

Well, when i first heard of WoW, was when kids from my grade 12 uni classes wouldent shutup about it, they even started talking like they would in wow by callin teatchers noobs to sayin lol instead of laughing. i got so anoyed that i went out bought the game and gave it a try so taht i can actually say something about the game and tell them it was a dumb game withought tryin to look stupid by saying things i did not know about it. but it ended up in a bad case of me being the most addicted to it out of all of them. i have forced my self to quit wow but always end up running back to it after 2-3 months. i have actually bought other accounts couse i forget the pass and usernames to the accounts that i stop playing with during the 2-3 months. i now on my thrid acct and with a 60 on each on of the accounts. My parents have acctauly moved the computer from my room to the living room and monitor me and kick me off after 2 hours. Its so frustrating becuase wow honestly takes more time then 2 hours once you get into it, like molten core can easily dry up that time. The only cure iv been able to find, is joining an online clan like WFC (warforceclan) and jus chattin and playin games taht take up less time with them like counter-strike(30minutes for a scrim) and Guild wars which isent as good as wow, but force your self to play it for 2 days and you will like it and continue to play it withought having to be online all the time like world of warcraft, it is not quite as addictive eaither. well theres my life story...enjoy =D

→ Posted by: Jay at May 31, 2006 4:37 PM

Its fun but no offense if your complaining about the game then how come you play it? There is other games you know

→ Posted by: that person at June 1, 2006 8:18 PM

Where to begin
I play WOW. I got into it to spite my husband who plays ALL THE TIME. He skips work to play WOW. He has a WOW girlfriend he runs with all the time, and chats with all night on Ventrilo with. We have no marriage because of WOW. He comes home at night, assuming he has been to work that day, hangs with the family for maybe an hour we have a 5 year old, a 10 month old, and a 13 year old from a former girlfriend of his, the 13 year old comes to our house and plays from noon to 2 am if I let her stay up that long, God forbid he act like her parent and get her to bed at a decent hour, I usually have been in bed for 4 hours at that point), then it's into the game. He goes to bed somewhere in the neighborhood of 2am. If you can call it going to bed, cause he sleeps on the couch, mostly so I won't know what time he DID go to bed at. He can't get up on time to get our son to school on time, he is always nearly 45 min late. When he is not at work, he will rise at 9am, log in and play until 3 or 4 am. I have had to hire people to mow the lawn. I have to do EVERYTHING around the house. Asking him is an AFFRONT, an interruption, and of course I am just being a HAG for asking.

WOW has pretty much ruined him. He also can not see it. He will not admit there is a problem, and will not listen to me.

He's going to end up in an empty house, cosied up to his keyboard, ALONE. That future is fast approaching. How sad is that? He has missed so much of life and doesn't even get it. Hell I play this game too, and I maybe, maybe play 6 hours a week. I can't play it much, I have a family to take care of. Children that NEED their parents. I can not so easily ignore my responsiblities. It is so sad that he doesn't get that he has a family to take care of too. Maybe he will get it sometime after he loses it. I am not going to hold my breath.

→ Posted by: Danae at June 3, 2006 2:14 AM

Hi man what I do when i play wow i set goles to do. Like level up once in a week or a mouth depending on how much time i have and dont over do it with leving up 20 times in a week spending 2 days doing it(in time playing game).Even if i dont get my goal its ok i can get it next week or next mouth.Also find another hobby that u really like that keeps your mide off the game.I may not have your problem so this may not help but i hope it does.

→ Posted by: Brent at June 3, 2006 11:31 PM

I'm a new WoW addict.. just about three months now, I believe. I completely understand the feeling of "what could I have done instead" but I don't really feel that way about WoW specifically. I actually started feeling that way a few months before I got WoW, just about wasting time watching TV and surfing the net, in general. It does keep me from getting some things done, but if it wasn't WoW, it'd be Facebook or VH1 or some other basically useless thing.

In my case however, WoW actually helps my social life. A small group of my friends at school all have the game and we get together at a friend's house once a week or so to do instances or whatever. And now that we've all gone our separate ways for the summer, WoW's a way for us to keep in touch.. we even made a campfire in Elwynn one night and all sat around chatting, dueling, telling jokes, and dancing with our pets.

Another option, which I'm considering, is to just suspend it for a month or two, get some things done, and then dive back in. It's still new to me, so I prolly won't do that anytime soon

→ Posted by: Shanna at June 4, 2006 7:51 AM

This is interesting. You claim that you feel you should be doing something better with your time, yet you continue to play.

I think i have a solution through prevention. When i started playing WoW i started playing with a very good friend of mine. It was the most fun i've had out of a videogame in a long time, and from time to time it still is, but the fun doesn't purely stem from WoW, but from the general interaction with my friend. If i am alone or 'grouping' with people i didnt know, I don't feel like playing the game as much.

Obviously this greatly restricts how much time i play the game for, and it has turned what would be a cronic gaming session into a casual hobby with my friend.
We might as well be watching football.

The only drawback to this is that I havn't gotten the most out of the money i spend on the game, but it isn't too much money anyway. I can live with it.

Making a link between WoW and real life really helps, and will keep you grounded. So if you want to want to quit, introduce a friend. Start again only playing along with your friend.

Just some friendly advice there.

--Jim

→ Posted by: Jim Brown at June 10, 2006 9:53 PM

On wanting a badge to see how long you've played games, XFire works for many games.

On wanting a MMORPG that's more real-world, you could try SFZero (SF0.org) although it's not actually online. All the tasks are done in the real world, and are worth points. They're stuff like telling your parents you joined the CIA, or tipping in a non-tipping industry.

Basically it lets you play you, but as a sort of alternate reality you. And you actually go out and explore the world instead of sitting in front of your computer all day.

→ Posted by: Dracil at June 11, 2006 10:52 AM

Wow, I was going to buy this game because I am a stone cold game lover but holy hell, after reading these posts, I'm staying away. Good luck.

→ Posted by: M1ghtyk0ng at June 12, 2006 2:30 AM

My son is 13 and has been playing WOW for 3 months. I was sceptical about purchasing the game for him as a birthday present (he has to pay the monthly fee himself) because I knew that the game had no end. I see how addictive the game can be. My son had exams last week and leading up to the exams we 'banned' WOW - he had a tough time not playing. He is on a school trip for a week now and won't be able to play for another 5 days. I am going to show him this blog and the comments when he gets back - we three (my son, husband and myself) have to have a discussion about WOW - if I let him, my son would play all day Saturday and all day Sunday and all evening during week nights. He does have friends and a social life - he isn't isolated, but he doesn't read books anymore and it seems like WOW, WOW, WOW all the time. And as mentioned above, you can't just play for an hour - it takes 2 to 3 hours, apparently, to get an instance done. I do so regret buying that accursed game.

→ Posted by: Kathy at June 12, 2006 1:01 PM

While I do find myself playing this game a lot, I also don't feel like it's completely killing my life. I will typically play for 3-4 days of the week for around 3 hours each of those days. I find it easy to pull myself away from the game for the remaining 3-4 days and hang out with friends or work on personal projects. I definitely saw a small period when the time spent playing that game was problematic, but sudden sense of complete personal failure quickly remedied that.

→ Posted by: Matt at June 15, 2006 3:04 PM

I have been playing since 4/4/06. I have never played a game that is so absorbing. I am curious to get home tonight and type /played to see how much time I have spent. I initially started out with a friend already in the mid 20's, and me at level 1. The goal was to catch him, and led to some long nights (9pm to 3am). This is not as long as some of you, but I could relate to the story of the guy who sleeps on the couch so his wife doesn't know what time he went to bed. That has been me on numerous occasions. I have now caught up with my friend, but the compulsion to play has not lessened. I am a level 41, so basically a noob still. I want a horse now, and am looking to load up on plate armor. I love the game, but it is starting to take a toll on my work. I am sleepy, and always reading Thottbot for info on my next quest. My wife has come in at 2:30 am and told me things have to change. I don't know whether to try to cut back, or drop it all together. For the past 2.5 months, it is all I think about and look forward to all day. I have been going to great lengths to prove to my wife that it isn't affecting our relationship, tasks around the house, time with the kids, and for the most part I have done a good job. The part she can't see though is the time wasted at work. Maybe I should get out before I get in any deeper. Anybody want some gold :)

→ Posted by: Charlie at June 15, 2006 8:14 PM

10 Days, 16 hours, hmmm... that is 256 hours or 3.6 hours a day since 4/4/06. That is a lot of time! Just think of all the other things I could have done (paint the porch, read a good book, spend time with my kids, get more sleep). Actually the time with the kids has not suffered because I play after they are in bed. However, I may lack a little energy due to not getting enough sleep when play time with the kids rolls around the next evening. BTW, I am 36. Is that old, young, or average for the typical WOW player? I like Matt's approach of limiting to certain days for a fixed amount of time. My problem is that I don't want to stop when my alloted time is up. And since I am alone late at night, there is nonone to encourage me to stick to my resolution.

→ Posted by: Charlie at June 16, 2006 2:17 PM

I also play WoW. I have a lvl 60, and have done many, many, many raids. It burns a guy out, it's just not fun anymore. It ruins your plans for the future.

The problems:

You can ALWAYS upgrade your character... hence the addiction.

Also,the game was designed to hook you very slowly. It starts you out with tasks that only require a hour or two on your own schedual. The game then moves to schedualed raids requiring 5-7 hours nightly, which could be spent spending time with friends, family, or preparing for your classes.

If you're having trouble, I have some tips to get WoW off your mind, just send me an e-mail.(albu729@hotmail.com) Goodluck

→ Posted by: Alex at June 18, 2006 1:14 AM

I found myself spending way too much time on WOW, maybe around 4 hrs a night and 8 on sat/sun. I did the sanest thing I could. I decided a complete meltdown was in order to get my life back. I deleted a level 60 priest, a level 42 hunter, a level 31 rogue and a level 25 priest. Best thing I did. For the first two days I did have the dt's but it wore off quick. Now I find I have so much time back its great.

→ Posted by: SK at June 19, 2006 1:31 AM

I don't know why I'm commenting here, I was just googling around and I came across this page. I will however tell my story. The fact is, I'm a WoW addict...not as bad as I used to be but still bad enough. I saw that you said you have 15 days time played? That's nothing. On my first level 60 alone, I have over 85 days total time played. I don't even play that character any more and havent in 6 months.

When you add my numerous other characters on top of that, you'll probably get a figure around 150 days or more. I recall a time when I was extremely addicted and I was raiding with my guild. We only raided on weekends so week days were pretty bleak. I remember sitting in the main city, jumping in circles and reading chat. For hours. I mean literally doing NOTHING just staring at a video game screen for 5 or more hours at a time. I had nothing to do in WoW, and since that was my life, I just sat there and did nothing.

However, on my part being a WoW addict isn't quite as bad as other people. I'm semi-sensible, and when I need food/water, I go get it. I'm pretty health concious so I watch what I eat, and I work out every night before bed. I'm quite the healthy WoW addict and I'm in pretty good shape. Therefore, my parents don't really seem to worry much about me, this is just what I like to do. When I feel like stopping, I will like I have in the past.

→ Posted by: Ross at June 20, 2006 6:38 PM

My 15 year old son is addicted to WOW. He has had the game for 10 mos. and has missed days of school, assignments, exams, Dr. and dentist appointments and family events. He has stayed up until 3 or 4 am and I have been unable to wake him until well into the afternoon. I have missed days of work trying to get him to go to school, hoping that I could help him catch up with missed homework, or meeting with counselors and teachers. I tried setting limits on game time and have turned off the computer during the game, after limits have long passed. He has gone around limits programmed into the computer. I took the computer away. The result was that he refused to go to school at all. I returned the computer on his promise to return to school and to control his own time spent on the game. He did not go back to school and will now have to re-do several courses. He rarely leaves the house. Contact with his friends is through MSN and the "game". I hesitate to take the computer away again as that will further isolate him, although a counselor has told me to take the computer away. Period. Forever. He will not meet with a counselor. I am so sad when I see kids going by my house on the way to school, playing sports or just hanging out. I am furious with Blizzard Entertainment. They are just as guilty as any dealer selling crack on the street. I am looking for those who might be interested in launching a class action lawsuit. I am desperate to help my son. Has anyone any ideas? Stay away from these games and don't get sucked in. Please.

→ Posted by: mom at June 20, 2006 9:38 PM

i have a 16 year old son who seems to be addicted to all games using a screen but particularly WoW. He spends hours in front of the computer. He is non-responsive to my telling him it is time to go to bed, or that he has been on way too long ("I just got on."). This game, and others, seem to bring out the worst in him. If he is interrupted by someone talking to him he snaps their head off. He is rude and cranky when not on the game. He does not think he has a problem but that I do. Any suggestions how to intervene and release him from this unbelievable hold?

→ Posted by: sb at June 21, 2006 7:14 PM

My fiance is addicted to WOW. He cannot go one night without it after returning home from work and plays
it over the weekend for hours at a time. I spend every night on my own and i am so lonely. We are
expecting our first child in September. He will not
admit he has a problem nor does he think there is
anything wrong with playing the game every night.
I have threatened to leave him and he is willing to
give up having a family for WOW. Seriously fucked!

→ Posted by: Rena at June 22, 2006 10:58 AM

Oh man let me tell you!

I, like the original poster, bought WoW to bridge a 6-week period where I had moved to another city to start a new job and my family was still back in our old hometown. I was only going to play when I was in the new location, and not at "home". Well that didn't work out so well, I ended up playing whenever I felt like it. Thanfully the time came to move, and with all that activity I put the WoW down.

In January however I decided to play again, and bought a 2nd account for my sons. I think since that time I've logged nearly 40 days (yes FORTY DAYS) in the game. Roughly 1/6th of my waking hours are spent playing WoW. It's sickening.

I have found ways to play at work, know that if I was caught there'd be hell to pay. In one instance my manager's manager came into my cube and wanted to look something up on my screen. I feigned system problems, but that was a damn close call. But, did that stop me from playing at work - nope. And if I wasn't playing, I was researching on Thottbot or WowWiki or wherever to make sure I understood what I'd be doing when I got home to play.

In my home life, my wife is at her wit's end. I used the excuse that I was helping my son's w/ their games to play more and that the time I spent playing with them shouldn't be counted aganist my time. She has gone to bed many times by herself, and that has affected other "personal" areas of our relationship adversely. To put it bluntly I was choosing WoW over sex with my wife.

And, let's not talk bout neglected hobbies. I have been trying for years to become a proficient guitarist. If I had invested 4 hours a day for the past 6 months - I'd freakin' WAIL (well probably not, I think inherently I lack a fundamental level of dexterity and my fingers are too small, but I'd be WAY better than I am now). I also have a few thousand dollars in camera equipment that sits and mocks me on a daily basis. I used to love to cook, and now I want to figure out what I can bust out in 25 minutes so I can get back to the game. I don't want to go out because I could spend that time playing WoW. And, when I do go out in social situations I have nothing to draw conversational topics from because all I know is WoW. I don't read anymore, I see very few movies where I'm not playing while they are running, and I don't stay that up to date on current events.

It's frustrating because you think you are going to get to Level 60 and then you can chill out. But, it actually is the opposite. Raids take at least 2 hours, most take far more. If you want in a good guild you have to commit time to them. If you want to be competitive in PvP you need to spend time gaining faction etc. At level 60 the only thing you can do for less than 2 hours is BG play and helping out lowbies.

Now, to set some context. I'm an addict. I'm in recovery, and have been clean and sober for nearly 18 years (yes, I'm too old to be playing WoW, but that's another issue). I know what addiction feels like, this is addiction.

I know I need to delete my character, but I rationalize that if I just limit my gameplay to helping my sons level or doing some BG then I'll be fine. But that doesn't work. One hour is too many, and many hours are not enough.

I think I'll put my char up on Ebay, along with his collection of epics, make a few hundred bucks and go buy a new guitar.

Yeah, I'll do that as soon as my Tier 0.5 upgrades are done, and I have Rank 9 under my belt . . . .

→ Posted by: Mike at June 22, 2006 6:14 PM

I am addicted to wow. I think its great. I used to do drugs. I am sober a year now. I think its a better addiction but still a different seat on the titanic. The reason i play is to run away from fear. But I also believe its better than television. Television is complete advertisements. I am addicted and yes i am thats it

→ Posted by: I am addicted at June 24, 2006 12:51 AM

I understand your pain. I was completely addicted ... weekends would pass away with just Wow in our lives! How sad!

→ Posted by: Becca at June 26, 2006 12:10 AM

I have a friend that is seriously addicted to WoW, his gameplay time is OVER 80 hours thats on ONE character, although he does have a "glider" which will actually play the game for him while he is sleeping, but he got that after about 40 hours of gameplay anyways. I feel like I should post his screename, or exploit that he has the cheat, which will get you banned from WoW, he would probably kill himself, (seriously). its pretty bad because his personality has changed, he is now boring, and lacks any sense of humor, and will NOT go outside. This is no joke, if I were to delete his account, I would probably end up dead, because he cares so much about that game

→ Posted by: doesntmatter at June 28, 2006 10:47 PM

It seems like you have hit on a hot topic here. I do not play WoW, but fear that I may become a WoW widow, so to speak. I live with my boyfriend. We have a baby on the way. He plays WoW A LOT. Before I came along, WoW was the only thing he had in his life. For years, he went to work, came home, played Wow, went to bed... that's about it. He played for 16 hours a day at times.

Now that he has me in his life, he has scaled back, so I give him credit for that. It's more like 4 hours a day... and often 7 or 8 hours on days that he doesn't work.

He calls it a hobby... his way to relax after work. He says there is nothing wrong with it and points out that it keeps him at home rather than going out drinking or something like that. (I don't think he means it as a threat, just as comparison)

He also says it's not anti-social like people think. He wears his headset and talks to his friends in his "guild".

He tells me that he doesn't "love" the game more than me or the baby.

He wants me to learn how to play the game with him so that it can be something we do together. I can't imagine wasting all that time on a game when I could be doing a million other things to make our life better, our home cleaner, or getting some fresh air and exercise.

All in all, he's a good man, so I hate to nitpick on this too much. I've been through realationships that were much worse... abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse, cheating... And I trust him more than anyone.

My fears are that the game playing will end up coming between us at some point. He will spend hours on the game when there are bills that need paid, dishes that could be done, trash that can be taken out, etc. He gets home before me most of the time and when I get home, he is playing his game and asks me "What's for dinner?" 30 seconds after I get in the house from work. But before I can cook dinner, sometimes I have to get the dishes washed. I don't mind doing housework, but we need to share the burden since we both work... and especially now because I am having a tough pregnancy (I'm in pain a lot of the time and it often hurts to move toward the end of the day).

So I wonder what will happen when he is alone with the baby. And i worry that our son will look up to his daddy and want to play games all day like his daddy. I am hoping that I can influence him by taking him out of the house to do things and discover new things. (Meanwhile, daddy will probably stay home and play his game).

What's a girl to do?

If I sent this link to him, I am sure he would be on the defensive, so I won't even bother with that. I'm not looking for a fight.

→ Posted by: Livvie at June 30, 2006 8:42 PM

Hello all,
We have opened a gaming addiction treatment center in Amsterdam. We are seeing many WOW players coming to us that are in real trouble.
We are doing research now into the gaming addiction issue.
We would be very grateful for your stories. We want to post them on our new website about Gaming addiction and ( if you are open to it) maybe ask you some questions for the research.
Contact info@smithandjones.nl if you want to. Thanks,
Keith Bakker
Smith& Jones

→ Posted by: Bakker at July 1, 2006 7:52 AM

i am 16 and just wondering if i should start playing wow maybe in a few months time...

i ve been following wow since it came out but have not played it until i think the beginning of last year (it was on a private server and it was quite fun at the beginning but it kinda sucked cos alot of things in private wow dont work properly) so i gave up (private wow) for a while and got back to it another time.

i havent been playing games for months now and i want to play wow...real this time

wow/no-wow

→ Posted by: Josh at July 4, 2006 1:05 PM

instead of wanting to stop WOW i want to start playing WOW.

i am 16, and i am wondering if i should start playing wow or not but theres alot of consequences coming after it. i have been following WOW since it came out but havent played it until the beginning of last year where i started playing priv WOW, but it wasn't that good because lots of spells, quests, functions etc dont work.

so i played it for a period of time then i stopped...and then started again and eventually gave up. but now i want to play the official WOW

i am stil in high school year 10, i have planned if i get WOW, i ll play it for 3 hours, study for 3 hours everyday after school. (i dont study normally anyway, and i just listen to music and daydream.)

do u guys think that will work...or i ll just get so into it that everything will change after i start playing?

the main problem by the way is my parents, they are going to bug me so much and get pissed as soon as i get the game.

i can definately afford the game now i have to dicede WOW/NO WOW

→ Posted by: Josh at July 5, 2006 2:25 AM

hi, for all the person who don't want to play wow any more plzz share it with us the people who do anythink to play it but we don't have eghouth money so plz add me to you contact list and we will talk about it

→ Posted by: gabriel at July 5, 2006 8:52 AM

I have an 18 year old son who is in a situation with his War of Warcraft as well. It is so bad that he is now staying up all night and going to bed at like 7 or 8 in the morning, getting up between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. He has since realized that he has a problem with his sleeping pattern and wants to change it to normal sleeping, ( sleeping when the rest of the world dose ) but I don't think that quiting the game is an option. I do not know what to do but maybe taking his computor away. Is there someone out there that can me with some advice to help my son?

Wits End!
thankful94@aol.com
Pam

→ Posted by: PC at July 8, 2006 6:17 PM

haha - im a total addict, i do nothing with my life anymore but play wow, i play nearly 15 hous a day. i look at my /played and im past 100days played. Now thats an addiction.

→ Posted by: Mart at July 12, 2006 8:15 AM

Hi everyone, recently ive managed to convince myself to give up on my tauren warrior because i had realised that all this time being spent on warcraft was the same thing as/ or worse than just sitting in a corner doing nothing for long periods of time. But my best friend Jo-Anne who used to play tenis is now more addicted to WoW than ever. The sad part is that she cant even admit that she plays too much. I'm sure that she would quit if she realised how much time she has wasted that she could have put in other things such as school $ sports. So how can someone realise that this game isnt any good for them?

→ Posted by: Brian at July 12, 2006 8:40 PM

I was addicted to WOW. It took me a while to put things in perspective. I won't lie to you. I've tried to quit before. After my first character, a 55 Druid, I decided I didn't want to spend more than 1 hour in the game each day. But come on...this is WOW. You can't get away with just 1 hour of WOW each day. Thats crazy talk because in reality....1 hour is 2 hours, "oh wait i'll just play till 9 pm and i'll get ready for sleep." It is now 5 AM and I haven't taken out my contacts for 5 days and haven't groomed myself properly for 3. Well 1 month later i got back into the game. This time, I don't know the exact amount of hours I"ve played WOW. I am an undergraduate at a UC school. I've failed a quarter of school because I played WOW the whole quarter. The thing with me was...I would rationalize to play. "Well I just got home from school, I'm tired and I'll just play for an hour." Doesn't work that way. Honestly, I'm an active outdoor type of person and this game just KILLLED ME. It was guilty pleasure. I was thinking "oh my god I've wasted so much time, i could have solidified myself in Professional School by now...." But no. I am in my 4th year of college. Failed 1 quarter. Acquired C average marks for 1 year. Honestly this was a growing experience for me. I know i had to learn it hte hard way...maybe its because I didn't learn how to take things into perspective at a young age or learn self-discipline. Who knows, who cares. The thing is...Blizzard Entertainment is genius. They've taken a creative idea, Warcraft, and created a game that may as well have ended my ambitions of a Doctorate degree because of the harm done on my undergraduate transcript. What a bottom to hit. Oh well, time to get back up.

→ Posted by: Peter at July 13, 2006 6:39 AM

I am a WoW Widow. I am always glad to find people that have been able to take a step back and realise the importance of REAL life. Congrats!
(for a scary, yet funny, look into the world of a World of Warcraft addict see "widows' revenge", at http://www.gamingsucks.com)

→ Posted by: WidowQ at July 16, 2006 6:40 AM

I have sadly watched my husband's addition to gaming/WOW for five years. Our eight year marriage (what marriage?) and four year old son have suffered greatly. My husband is, of course, in denial.

I have clocked his WOW play time at a consistent 55-60 hours per week. Thank you for the /played tip. I will have great screen shots for the divorce lawyer I am retaining.

Regards,

→ Posted by: Verbs at July 19, 2006 3:42 AM

To all parents who are hoping to limit the time there kids play there is a simple solution. What you need to do is go to the world of warcarft website and logon to childs account.From there there should be a section called parental controls. Here you can set the hours and days which you feel approriate for your kid to play. Now dont get me wrong some kids need to takin off the game all out others let them play for a few hours a day. You need to have more hobbies then wow and sleep dont take no for an answer your the parent so put your fist down.

→ Posted by: Tony at July 19, 2006 7:20 PM

hi guys
I have played WoW for a week(on a cracked server).
After leveling up to lvl 12, I have to say:This game sucks so much,I wouldnt pay even 50 cents for it.

Seriously people, there is no point in playing this game. Its never going to end. Its a waste of money. Its a waste of time. Its a waste of your life.

Yeah, it can be addictive. You should NOT start playing it.

→ Posted by: deni at July 19, 2006 10:10 PM

I'm a game addict as well as many ppl who have posted here. My doom was neverwinter nights, a game that I think has more depth than wow, but that's not the point.

I have been playing for 3 years. My parents tried to stop me from playing, but I was too stubborn to listen, and they gave up too easily. Now I see it would have been smart to listen to them and stop early. Now listen carefully, I say to all parents: if your child doesn't listen to you, put your fist down, and make him/her listen, and stop. You are the boss, and for a reason. We kids are idiots. We will do anything that is fun, no matter how much it harms us. We are not smart enough to understand. Put an end to multiplayer games NOW.

Get your kids into music. Much more productive than games, for sure.

ohh, and please someone sue game companies, especially blizzard. I have seen too many good ppl lose lives because of Wow.

ps. I decided to stop playing games a moment before making this post :D

→ Posted by: exnwnaddict at July 21, 2006 12:59 AM

I have played WoW for over a year now, i am 15 and have a lvl 52 and several other mid level chars, my closest freinds play it alot too. I am constantly changing characters, and am never happy. I am NOW SICK AND TIRED of the game. I no longer have the motivation to get further. My 52 is warrior on hgh pop sever (normal) and i cant be bothered cos i don't like warriors anymore and ofc its high pop and normal.

I REALLY HATE IT NOW, but i have 7 weeks summer to spare and i don't know what to do in it... But i REALLY DO NOT WANT to play Wow, i feel like smashing the game case and discs and un-installing. THANKS BLIZZARD.

I have played test serevrs and private, and have no awe in getting to 60, but i want to to say "oh im 60" But nah warrior, and i cant be bothered to get to 60 again...

It's a curse you can avoid. Just don't buy it. The difference is other games i play i relax and enjoy, but Wow i feel liek a chore and it takes too long. I AM HOPEFULLY QUITTING THIS ADDICTION

→ Posted by: koy at July 22, 2006 10:16 PM

A couple of days ago, I realized I was really, truly Addicted to WoW. Not in the funny haha its a joke way, but in the drugs/alcohol way. I am 28, have 2 young children and a very concerned wife. I have played 8 months, and during this time my time in the game grew from an hour or 2 a day, to an all consuming desire to play every waking moment. I would wake up at 9 a.m. and play till 2 or 3 a.m. I would dream about it, and think about it when I wasn't playing. During this time, I would do the bare minimum to take care of my family....I spent a lot of time neglecting them. My wife notice this going on,of course, and she asked me to moderate my time played, to help with the kids, to help with the household responsiblities, to pay her attention and spend time with the family. Whenever she brought up the subject of my game playing, I became very defensive and irritable, we would argue over very petty things and I would lash out at her. My marriage was not going well at all, and I couldn't see that it was *me*, that my behavior was the problem. I thought my wife was just being a nagging bitch, whose only desire was to inconvenience me....a far cry from the loving husband I know I once was.

As I said, I noticed a few days ago that I am an addict. I am *NOT* able to moderate myself, I feel like I have lost control. I looked back at the last few months of my life...looked at how little meaningful interaction I had had with my children and my wife...and I was so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I have always prided myself on my self reliance, my ability to see the truth of things...I always felt that people who were addicted to things alcohol/drugs/smoking were people of weak character. I didn't even think it was possible to become addicted to a videogame.

I was so wrong.

Luckily, for me and my family, I was able to do some self examination and recognize theses symptoms of addiction that I was exhibiting. This gave me the strength needed to admit I had a problem; a problem that could only be fixed by completely leaving the game. My account is cancelled, and after this post I will be deleting the game from my hard drive. Its really weird, but I have actually experienced some symptoms of withdrawal; the first day of not logging in and telling myself it was over....I had lots of anxiety/felt anxious, my stomach is kind of turning, and I feel nervous. I will still play games, because games in general are not the problem for me....its the MMORPG's that are the problem because of the open ended/never ending nature of them and the ability to create an online persona who is always accomplishing more and more great things. I had unconsciously given up my 'real life' in favor of an online one. Its tough to explain, but I will Never, ever, go near another MMORPG.

As a side note, I paid for my WoW time in 6 month increments. When I decided I could no longer play the game, I had used 1 month of my current 6 month subscription. When I called Blizzard to cancel my account, they refused to refund my 5 months of unused play time. After informing the customer service rep that I had a serious addiction problem and would like to have back my $60 of unused play time, he informed me that there was no way that Blizzard would put back my money on my credit card....though he was helpful enough to tell me that my characters on my account would not be deleted by Blizzard and that I could log in at anytime over the next 5 months and 'pick-up' where i'd left off. This kind of leads me to believe they know they have an addictive product and are looking to keep their addicts... Kind of like how a person has a gambling problem and the casino's that he visited continue to send him 'perks' to entice him to come to the casino.

BTW, after calling 2 times and making a stink with the Blizzard rep, I was able to use my unplayed game time to purchase items from their online store. Sorry for the long post, but I thought I'd get the word out from the viewpoint of the addicted husband...and I feel much better for confessing my shame to the world. I do feel better for having quit the game.

→ Posted by: shawn at July 23, 2006 5:42 AM

I'm certainly a WoW addict. I'm sitting here reading these comments and comparing my own gameplay and I'm amazed at how addicted I guess I must be...

I've played the game since Feb 2005. I currently have SIX level 60 characters, and several others lower than that. I play many hours daily, often well into the early hours of the morning. According to the combined /played of all my characters, I've been on this game a staggering 159 days, 14 hours. That's nearly half a YEAR of continuous game play and of my life wasted.

Everything in my life is suffering as a result. My family, my work, my spiritual life.

I don't know what to do. I just can't stop. Problem is I haven't even really tried because I'm so damn GOOD at it.

I hate this game. I don't know what to do. I'm such a loser.

→ Posted by: desperate at July 25, 2006 2:00 AM

WoW has become my LIFE all the time 24/7 from the moment I get up to the minute I go to bed I PLAY! I love it so much, but I feel as though its to much and I gotta let go. I dont think I could settle with 4 hours a week when I play 3-12 hours a day. I think I need to let go of it ALL togethe but when you have family who plays you always hear about it no matter what. Some How I wanna give it up but I really am Not sure how. I raid on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays. Every Week I would rather raid than go to the movies with my friends or anything like that and I really need to just give it up for GOOD. I just dont know how.

→ Posted by: Liv at July 29, 2006 11:44 PM

I’ve lost my boyfriend to World of Warcraft. He started playing the game for a year and a half now. Sure, I thought it was just a game, as we all needed free time to ourselves.

About 4 months after playing the game, I realized that he started playing the game more excessively, to the point were he only sleeps about 2 hours a day if even that, he doesn’t shower, or brush his teeth for days. If he has to use the bathroom, he’ll go in a bottle. It’s gotten to the point were we don’t talk anymore or spend time with each other. When I do ask him to stop playing the game, he’ll get upset with me. When we planned on going out to dinner, I would have to wait until he’s done with the game and it usually takes up to couple of hours. Then I end up cooking and eating alone.

We don’t eat dinner together, the few times that he does eat; it’s in front of his computer. He became very abusive, physically and emotional towards me, there we even times when I tried hurting myself to get his attention. He doesn't care, he even said he hope I would just die.

He’s so into the game that he doesn’t care whether I’m hurting or not. He lied to me that he terminated the game several times. Sometimes I woke up at 2 or 3 in the morning just to find out that he’s playing the game. It hurts me deeply to know that he lied to me so many times about not playing the game, and the worse part is that he has no shame or guilt about lying to me. He'll do whatever it takes to play....WHATEVER IT TAKES!

He blames me for everything; he’ll pick a fight just so he can play the game. I got so upset onetime that I smashed his computer to stop him from playing. I got beat up pretty badly for it, he went out the next day to buy another computer.

I am starting to realize that there is nothing I can do about it and have decided to move on with my life without him, after 13 years with him. I’ll never forget the last few hurtful words he said to me before leaving. But I don’t wish him any ill will, just hope that he can somehow get himself out of the mess he has created for himself. He was very ambitious, always wanting to go far in life. And now he throws his whole life away for a game. It's hard for me to let go. Some days are better then others, most of the times I cried myself to sleep. With all the anger and hurt I felt inside, I prayed to GOD that I will somehow get through this. I know this time, I've lost him for good.

→ Posted by: molly at July 29, 2006 11:47 PM

I used to play runscape somthing similar to war craft but not as bad so i know the addiction and the shaking and constantly wanting to play and playing it 12 hours strait no food or water it messed up my life my grades every thing i was constantly thinging about it the same time i was playing i was getting ready for a move to taiwan it did make me a little les depresed about the move but more depresed when i was not playing i got into fights with my principal becouse of it and im not a bad kid i just had a problem with me moving and runescape combined but still it was imposible to quit with a lvl 126 called the old nite doing so well is still hard even as it messed me up more and more i hant stop thanks to a strip of pure luck a month ago my guy was hacked and at first i was realy depressed spending a lot of time in my room thinking about him but know im over that and ill problebly do better when my taiwan school starts in 10 days

but know im thinking of starting wow but the question is will it mess up my life again? or will it be just a side game i play maybe i can get my dad to to a parental control of an hour a day or maybe ill get so adicted that i steal the password and turn parrent control off please somone give me a word of advice on the matter.

P.S please excuse the bad grammer and punctuation like the fact that theres only one period in the whole thing

→ Posted by: Ryan at August 1, 2006 1:26 AM

Hello, again!
A few days ago my friend gave me the trial version of WoW.
My plan was to try and play it casually.This is how it went down...

Day 1 - Installed the game at about 6pm, started playing at approx. 7:30,played for two hours.

Day 2 - Started playing at about 7pm and played for one and a half hours.My Rogue is now lvl 7.

Day 3 - I started playing at 5pm,played for one hour, got pissed,called myself an Idiot and uninstalled the game.

There is no way you are going to balance your real life and WoW. If you want to be a recognized member, you need to play 24/7.

→ Posted by: Deni at August 2, 2006 1:37 PM

Easy this one:

Sell items
Give away gold
Delete software
Shut down pc
Walk away

Fin

→ Posted by: Dr Tim Calton at August 2, 2006 2:22 PM

thank you guys so much i almost bought that game and i listened to ppl's stories and i got scared so scared my friend quit when i showed him this page and now we are going to do more constructive things.

→ Posted by: Cody at August 5, 2006 3:17 AM

ok this may seem little stupid idea but if u really wanna play wow and have a life set the parental lock on yourself.... u may laf at the idea but i could work for you imagine u set it for 1-2 hours a day maybe 3 on weekends then you'd do fine when you got dissconnected you turn off your computer and do something constructive ( that may require you to turn your computer back on lol ;) )

→ Posted by: radaih at August 6, 2006 8:25 PM

I am addicted, but I do not think it is unhealthy.

I recently recieved a letter from a friend saying how she worried, citing the recent case where I neglected to go out to dinner with friends, and then did not join them for a movie afterwards.

What she did not mention, however, was the fact that the day afterwards I _did_ go out with friends, and the day before I was on WoW for only a few hours, and had spent the majority of the day with a friend who had come in to town.

Everyone feels sick when they spend time on wow, saying how many great things they could be doing. Really? Honestly? What would you truly be doing? Watching TV, most likely, or playing a different game. Even incredibly social people tend to spend their free time with passive entertainment.

The problem comes in perception of priorities. For me, WoW is as important as my friends. Not more -- if it were more, that would be true addiction -- and not less. I actively put forth an effort to do other things, and by spending quality time with others I don't feel guilty by playing WoW. I am by nature an introvert -- I do not like social situations. But I go with them time and again because I love my friends and I love spending time with them. But when I spend a week at work and with friends, I should not be chastised for spending a day on WoW.

It is all about self-awareness. If you realize how much you play WoW, you can cut back, or you can play more. If you recognize the quality of your time with friends and others, then you can enjoy the quality of WoW as well. Quitting is pointless -- another mindless diversion invariably would get in the way.

To be honest, WoW helped me learn PHP. My desire to make a good page for my guild spurred me to read tutorials and start work, and my work is still progressing.

I know a lot of people truly are addicted. I know I play more than often. But the difference between addiction and mere focus is one of intention: an addict puts his addiction above all things. WoW is equal to all things. The perception of society is that games have to come last, that people are more important. But what if the game has people? What then? I say to give them as fair a chance as anyone else. It may piss off some social groups, but seriously: imagine someone asked you out on a date, and you agreed, and in the middle of it that person left halfway through because they got a phone call to see a movie?

→ Posted by: Zach at August 7, 2006 4:51 AM

Tom, I am so happy to have found this site. My husband has himself convinced that he is not addicted to Wow. He goes to work and comes home makes sure he does all the little chores around the house. Pats the kids on the head and starts his 6-9 hour raid...on friday, I wake up to him playing sat mornings, he says he has to check his mail and spends another 3-5 hours having team meetings? It is so bad that he made charators for my 6 yr old son and my 8yr old daughter to play with him. It is sad to say that at times I walk by him (plugged in) as I see it and I want to take a bat to my computer...I once tried to uninstall the game and didn't succeed....he put a password lock so I can't get onto the computer with out him... If he does not stop, I might have to leave him with his wow and start a real life without him....

→ Posted by: melina at August 7, 2006 10:02 AM

My soon to be ex-husband and I are recovering WoW addicts. We both quit cold turkey when our marriage fell appart. We both raided and had several lvl 60 characters and were playing 50+ hours weekly. My advice to anyone considering to play this game is to stay far away from it. It is highly addictive. And those of you who are playing and have families you need to quit now before it contributes to the loss of what is really important to you.

→ Posted by: Becky at August 8, 2006 5:14 AM

Kids addicted? Take the computer. End of story. It's that simple. Be a parent.

I am a parent & quit after reaching level 60. Raiding is the only thing to do after that point and it just takes way too much time. The point that got me to quit was when a friend told me to make sacrifices in RL if I wanted to raid. I said no, I'm not going to sacrifice my family for a game.

→ Posted by: Hap at August 8, 2006 11:40 PM

There are a lot of really great comments on here which really make me think. I have a 60 druid that goes to MC, Ony, AQ, ZG, etc. I have worked my way up in the ranks that now I am an officer in the guild and attendance is becoming more and more demanding to these raids. My guild raids on weekdays, leaving the weekend open (but it usually ends up with small "just for fun" raids) I am at work 10 hours a day, and i spend about 5 hours each night or more, probably 10 hours or more on weekends. I know I'm not getting enough sleep, but my reasoning is that I worked all day, why can't i just relax and have some fun? It's summer holidays, not school, I shouldn't have to worry right? After reading these posts I'm starting to wonder if these habits will pursue through university. I went and made my boyfriend start playing too (because I was always secluded at my computer and I wanted to spend some time with him somehow). He is just starting university this fall... I hope I am not going to distract him from his school either, since he is so excited about it.

I am pretty sure I am addicted to Wow, right now it's pretty harmless (I go out, work, eat, etc.) and I'm having tons of fun; yet I feel guilty.

Sigh.

→ Posted by: Nicole at August 9, 2006 8:20 PM

okay so my boyfriend
kyle plays wow
all the time
and hes like obcessed with it and stuff
but he says hes not
but he really is
so anyways
uhmm
he needs to stop
:]
♥

→ Posted by: Jessy at August 11, 2006 3:27 AM

I am currently a wow player but i feel that i have it under controll. only about like an hour a day maybe unless i get in an instance. I am posting this coment for my friend. He despratly neeeds help. I was recently reading an article in readers digest about some1 who could not stop playing wow. THe explanation for this was that in some people playing

video games releases dopamine a chemical that makes you feel good and is produced in the body naturaly. As with any substance you can be addicted to it which brings me to my friend. I feel that he is despratly dependent on playing wow for the dopeamine. He no longer sees any of his friends. His grades have droped dramaticly (straight A's to c's d's and f's). And worst of all wen we force him out to hang with us he can no
lonnger function regularly in a social enviornment. One example is we brought him to a friends house for an all night party and as soon as he got there he complained that he NEEDED WOW.
If you have any sugestions on how i can confront my friend about his addiciton you can e-mail them to me at fairman91@comcast.net.

→ Posted by: Friend in need at August 12, 2006 12:49 AM

I've been addicted for almost 2 years but I dont know what else I would do with all my spare time if I quit..

→ Posted by: Sinkra at August 12, 2006 6:20 PM

can i have the account???? i really want it because i have been playing for 2years and i am only lv 59 that is why i really really want it.

→ Posted by: james at August 13, 2006 6:15 AM

Here are some tips on how to keep ur wow addiction under controll.

-If you have a sn for aim or some other kind of instant messageing system leave that up with a away msg that ses to call u or just without one. So if some1 wants to hang out your always available.

-wen starting to play the game have an understanding of how much time it would take to
get "epiced out" and know that you dont have
to have leet gear to have fun

-play the game to have fun not just cuz u think you need to lvl. grinding is hands down one of the most boaring thing to do in that game so i just dont do it. + instances can be fun if your with ppl u like or friends from rl.

-Stick with one-two characters. Its easy to create another alt and spend days getting to it to lvl 20 or so and than never play it again. I find that if u stick with one character you will lvl them faster and have a more fun time.

-If you feel that your addiction is getting way out of controll i would hand your account information to a trusted friend, husband, wife, ect. Have them put a limit on the amount of wow time you can play. Haveing the controll not to go in and change it yourself is up to you.

-If you are really serious about quitting the best way is to lean off it gradualy. Selling/delieting and acout will not work untill you are ready to give up the game. Try a "trial separation" Quit for a week and try to have something fun to do every day like going out with friends. I think you will find that at the end of the week you will want to play less.

I hope those tips help alot of you out there who are in search of self help. If you know a friend that is addicted to wow but wont admit it here are some ways that you can give them a nudge in the right direction.

-I found that wen i showed my friend from my previous coment this wep sight he started to think differently about his time spent on wow. Web sights can be an important reality check or help resource for those in need.

-Confront them about the addiction with a group of friends or people. THis can help them see how manny people are affected by their addition.

-I know that you may be mad about their addiction but i can not stress this enough. YELLING AT AN ADDICT DOES NOT WORK. You need to be calm and true when you are talking to them.

-Finaly if the best way to lean them off the game is to show them what else they could be doing. I have found that most people that play the game wouldnt know what to do with the spare time they would have if they quit. Show them that being in the real world is alot more fun than being emersed in a fantasy world.

I hope this will help alot of people as they have all helped me in helping one of my good friends.

→ Posted by: Friend in need at August 14, 2006 8:11 PM

i had a decked out high end lvl 60 warrior...93 days invested ...nuff said lol...sold my account tho and happy about it...

you can hang out with bitches
play an instrument
workout at gym
sport
**education**ofcourse
job...save money
and if ur really just bored at home...you can fucking clean ur house u lazy piece of shit...instead of socializing via a fucking video game chat window....kkthx

lol

→ Posted by: coolguy at August 22, 2006 2:38 AM

What is the real problem here? Games and addiction are some things that have always existed. Remember what people like this did before the internet??? They played cards and board games, watched TV or played other computer games every night. At least WoW is an activity that involves others which is far better than passively watching TV or god forbid sitting alone and drinking or drug use. Most people here seem to be able to hold down a job or go to school and even find time for other activities. So what is the HUGE problem here with peeps enjoying video games in their down time. Everyone needs down time and whats SO BAD about playing a game? There are many other ways to spend this time which are far less productive, and I don’t know anyone out saving the world during a time they choose to relax, saving the world is for working hours and that’s why we work. So what does the rest of the world do with their time off that makes them SO MUCH BETTER than those of us WoW players??? Other hobbies…let me see… making models – what the hell for? Extra junk for your room, playing other games? What is everyone else doing with their time that is SO much better than WoW that has them accomplishing SO much more??? Learning a language or instrument – now that’s practical but are you ever going to use it – probably never? Even then that’s an activity to stimulate not to relax and games are for fun and relaxing, we all need to relax. Hanging out with friends… so what do you actually do together? Watch TV go to movies, go out for dinner? Why not work as a team and create a strategy to drop Onyxia? Wow your having fun with friends and learning new skills rather than passively watching someone else’s activities – like watching sport on TV??? Accomplishing nothing and passively watching once again! An addict to WoW in IMO is far better off than a couch potato, model maker, TV- Movie viewer, sports fan, drug/alcohol addict, which out of their boredom seem to be able to accomplish no more in life but have SO much time to whine about those of us playing a fun game. If you really don’t want to play WoW anymore then play something else? You obviously like having fun while you relax so find something else you enjoy equally but RELAX. There are deeper issues for those that can't play and have fun but thats not WoW's fault, thats your own issues which could present themselves in any activity and these people need to seek help for themseves. They don't NEED people telling them WoW is bad its other issues that are the real problem. There really is no problem here with playing WoW!

→ Posted by: GetOverIt at August 24, 2006 1:47 AM

wtf man youre 14 and your goal is to play less when you go to COLLEGE? you really want to still be playing wow in 5 years?

→ Posted by: sinkra at August 24, 2006 12:38 PM

Im 15 and I played WoW for about 2 months, but after a while it got boring doing the same quests over an over again. Also there are much better things to do in your life besides play a computer game 24/7.

→ Posted by: Greg at August 29, 2006 9:52 PM

I’m a 19 year old guy in college. Played the game for about 28days, got a lvl 60 Warlock with almost full Tier2 epic gear. Was playing WoW about 40 hours a week, which is pretty much required by ubber guildes. Recently I just quit the game, cold turkey. It ruins social life and not to metion your physical health. Went from a workout junkie to sitting infront of the computer all day, some life. For those of you that play WoW none stop I highly doubt you are in good shape and are buckled down with all of the other aspects of Real Life. Im done with WoW and will not play any more none-ending games. Honestly when will it end?? They will always give new gear and new instances, you will be on the verge of quiting then they will release new content which you have to beat.

Im back to skating, working out, and practicing Muay Thai. Feeling good and releaved I don’t have to get online at specific times to raid. Get out there in Real Life and do things that others cannot and you will be great.

Quite while your ahead now preferably, become someone great in Real Life and not in some video game.

→ Posted by: Former Addict at September 1, 2006 8:04 PM

My friends are and have been stuck in this game for what seems like 2 years.. they don't go out.. they come over and then user my laptop to Raid and then sit there until 4am on Vetrillo..

Basically... right at this moment I have two friends over.. and they are Raiding.. for once they don't have Vent open so I can talk to them.. (rare when they are in WoW).

As I said.. they have been like this for what I feel like is 2 years... when will it end?

1) Its shafted their social life.. one of the friends has put off meeting girls because he wouldn't have time to as he was raiding... the other friend just doesn't seem interested in girls any more (worrying?)

2) Its shafted my social life.. I need to find new friends because these ones are pointless.

3) It changes the way they eat.. some evenings when they come over.. I cook and they don't even eat.. because they cant leave the game to go and eat! One regularly talks to me on ICQ saying he hasn't eaten the previous day..

4) Its upsetting their families.. The mother of one of my friends is getting annoyed with the time he spends in the game.. and the father is almost angry with rage at the time his son is spending in the game..

5) It IS affecting their job and education.. The above persons parents think the son (my friend) dropped out of University because of Wow.. and having seen the amount he plays.. I think its possible too (although he would never admit to it). He also 2 months after leaving uni.. has not put any effort into getting a job.

However.. out of all of this I can see good sides.

1) At least they are not out getting drunk.. or doing drugs (which one friend did before WoW!).

2) They are saving money.. (as going out etc.. costs more than GBP 8 a month for WoW) and the one who did drugs does seriously need to save money... so I suppose its stopping him do dugs and adding to the money he needs to pay off debts.

I'm still not sure what's best.. Normal friends who do stupid things.. or friends who are "sucked into the Matrix/WoW"?

One of the saddest things is I do not feel I can talk to them about this.. when you bring it up they just play it off as if they don't mind and there is nothing wrong.. and when their parents shout at them they also just avoid the subject :(

--About me:
I've played wow - I have an account which I pay for every 3 months or so when I want to use up a weekend.. I don't find it interesting but sometimes its entertaining (PvP etc..).

I spend most of my time on a computer still but I fart about with my email, listen to online radio, look up technical stuff like how aircraft work and programming html etc.. generally I think im a learning freak :D.. I play games and have the nagging feeling I Should be doing something more constructive to my life.

I also really enjoy the company of others.. and as my GF is abroad for 7 months.. I wish my 2 friends who play WoW friends were slightly more normal.

→ Posted by: Tom at September 2, 2006 9:45 PM

I too got sucked into this game. I'm in my 30's, an executive, have 4 kids, and a marriage of 15 years. I played this game for about 6 months and had a lvl 60 and lvl 45 character. While I won't say that my career was really in jeopardy, it was definitely impacted. My time with my kids was definitely reduced and they felt it. My time with my wife was impacted as well.

Bottom line is this: this game requires big time commitments, more than you should reasonably be willing to give it. Especially at higher levels, you will find that sitting down to play will always chew up 4+ hours at least. It was _designed_ to be addictive and hard to stop. Period.

Don't play it. Play something else (something with an ending) or begin a hobby that will enrich you as a person, or give back to others or both. I absolutely guarantee you will be a happier person for it.

If you are currently stuck playing it and feel like you can't stop... ask a spouse, friend or parent to help you to break away. Odds are that they will be _delighted_ to do so. Spend time doing new or forgotten favorite things instead, limit time on the game, and then stop. I did it and you can too. Eventually you won't miss it and will wonder how you ever could have spent that much time on something so pointless.

Good luck and much happiness.

→ Posted by: Been There at September 3, 2006 6:06 PM

Do what I've just done:

1) Wake up and realise you are pissing your life down a drain.

2) Cancel account, strip all your gear and sell it then give the money away, then...

3) DELETE all your characters.

Now there is absolutely no incentive to ever return to the hell that is WoW even if Blizz (very cunningly for them) never actually remove my account from their servers.

WoW is evil, pure and simple.

→ Posted by: NoMoreWoW at September 7, 2006 5:28 PM

I've found it to be a repetitive cycle of addiction. People migrate from one MMORPG to the next. Using an example i played Dark Age of Camelot for nearly 4 years before giving WOW a 2 Year before realizing i spent way to much time online. Get up and WOW it up with your morning coffee. Playing 4-6 hours per day weekdays and sometimes 7am-3am on weekends sometimes forgetting to eat is definately an addiction.

I mean come on how many million NPC monsters can a person kill *laughs* evidently for me 300 gazillion. I no longer play and to be honest its a life change.. I gave up my nicotine and gaming addiction at the same time. I'm Doomed lol :)

Gaming addiction is definately for real and it it does destroy relationships.

→ Posted by: Kirk at September 10, 2006 12:30 PM

i hate this game. i wish that it would be outlawed. my 22 year old boyfriend spends his every waking minute to play this game. he blows off his classes, he doesn't eat dinner with me, if i talk to him while hes playing he screams at me "he's in the middle of something" he doesn't do anything but play his game, sleep, and occasionally go to class. its absolutely pathetic

→ Posted by: Megan at September 11, 2006 2:20 AM

I'm a 14 year old girl, that goes to Stromlo High school. I've been with a really great guy twice and the reason for both of them ending was WoW...He told me i would act higher than him because he plays and hang out with people who play WoW. For all the high skl boys out there that play WoW and have an awesome girlfriend who really cares about them, GET THE FUCK OFF WOW AND START SPENDING TIME WITH THEM. It's not fair. They love you so much. Don't get offended if they tell you your playing to much because its probably right. and how many of you can't say you've taken off days of school or work to play the game or have forgotten important days because WoW has taken over your life. One of the worst moments of my life was when i found out my guy had gotten a horse...how sad is that. He cared more about the game than me. Please, i beg you, appreciate your girlfriend because if she is smarter than i was, she'll realise your a waste of her time!

→ Posted by: Ex-girlfriend at September 12, 2006 5:48 AM

What's wrong with our lives that we need to do this? i'm 53 yrs old. Does that make me the oldest WOW addict here? I deleted my account and uninstalled the game to show my partner that the it wasn't more important than her. I didn't delete my character and a month later I reactivated and reinstalled. I don't spend all my time playing, my elf hunter is only level 41, but I spend way too much of it that way. Coming in immediately after work I fired up the game and only found this site because the servers were down and I googled up some WOW links.

There is something, some potential in RPGs that draws me back. That potential has to do with living in an adventure like Narnia or LOTR, with being heroic (without the real world costs), with exploring and co-creating a world that is strange and exotic. I don't think we can ever find that in WOW because we remain consumers not really co-creators and what we are offered is often delicious looking but not strange enough - however because we are looking for these things we are drawn back. I need a better game or else to seek/create the heroic, strange and exotic in real life. I talking myself into a character delete. I'll do it. Just not yet ...

→ Posted by: bluemistymorning at September 13, 2006 7:21 PM

I am a WOW addict less than 24-hours into recovery. I have cancelled my account, removed the game from my computer, and broken all of the game CD's to prevent me from reinstalling it. (Yes, undoubtedly I should have deleted all of my characters before uninstalling the game, but I didn't think of that before breaking the CD's, so I have no way of deleting them now.)

After reading all of the entries here, I'm struck by the lack of understanding by some of the people about what an addiction really is. The people who say, "I played it for a couple of months, decided that wasn't what I wanted to do with my life, so stopped playing it" were never really addicted! Because, in a true addiction, you may want to quit very badly, but you find you simply can't.

True addiction means that, even when the game gets to the point where it's really, truly and honestly no fun anymore, you still can't stop playing it.

I can honestly say that, for well over the past month, the game has been only frustration, and NOT fun, for me. Yet I continued to play.

For a real addict, there is no such thing as cutting down. You either play compulsively or you find a way to make it impossible to play at all (and pray that it works).

An addict does not look at his screen and think to himself, "I don't want to do this so much anymore" and, as a result, cuts down on his play-time. An addict may look at his screen and think, "What am I doing? WHY in God's name am I doing this?" But continues to play. (He may attempt to cut down, but those attempts are short-lived at best.) Those thoughts don't matter until he truly hits rock bottom and finally takes the steps required to stop entirely.

Yes, I'm hoping that knowing the fact that I'd have to go purchase another game will make me stop and think about my addiction long enough that I will chose NOT to do that. But I'm also fully prepared to remove the internet from my home entirely if that doesn't work. (I mean, WOW addicts only use the internet to check their e-mail once a week, and to play WOW. OK, so I don't have e-mail for a while. Far better than allowing myself to maintain this addiction.)

Yes, just like alcoholism or drug addiction, I finally am willing to honestly state that I will "go to any lengths" in order to stop this addiction.

Yes, I am an addict. Yes, I am a VERY newly "recovered" addict (less than 24 hours). Yes, I am serious as a heart attack about breaking my addiction. My house has not been cleaned in over six months, my lawn has only been mowed twice this summer, my flower beds are choked with weeds, my treadmill sits gathering dust, and my most recent journal entry is dated April 5, 2006. (Thank God I'm disabled so I am not facing the certain lack of a job I would have undoubtedly exprerienced.) I'm looking forward to getting my life back.

But the point I wanted to make here what that it's not even remotely helpful to true addicts for people to post here about how they cut back on their play time, or just decided to stop playing, etc., and to advise addicts to do the same. People that are able to do that are not true addicts to begin with.

For those people whose posts show that they truly are addicts: I do feel your pain. I'm determined to break free of this addiction, and I pray that you can, too.

P.S. For those who have children addicted to this game: forget the "parental controls." Forget trying to limit the amount of play time. (I can't count the number of times, at 4:00 a.m. I've received "tells" from "WOW-friends" that were in their early teens. Their parents didn't know they were awake and on-line, of course.) It's gonna take some pretty "tough-love" to break your kid of this. To the woman who said her kid wouldn't go to school if she took his computer away from her: Ma'am, there are civil authorities who will MAKE your kid go to school. And, at any rate, once the addiction is broken, your kid will break down and go. Far better that he flunk a year -- if that's what it takes -- than allowing the addiction to continue. I have no sympathy for parents that don't want to inconvenience themselves by giving up their home internet connection, but also want to complain about how their kid is addicted to WOW. You NEED to make it totally impossible for that kid to play. And if that means turning off the internet and taking away the computer, there it is.

→ Posted by: SnoBunny at September 13, 2006 10:42 PM

I no longer have a relationship with my wife and son because of World of Warcraft. They spend every free moment playing this game and interacting with their online friends, I am alone in my own house.

→ Posted by: Is it just me at September 14, 2006 1:16 AM

OK guys heres the thing ya it takes awhile to hit 60 and ya you play all the time and thats all you do!but when u hit 60 and just raid ur not on all the time ur just on when ur guild sets u raids so ur on for 2-3 hours at a time.so i guess what im trying to say is that its goin to take a long ass time to hit 60 but once u do ur game play slows way down because all ur doin is raiding not doin quest after quest or instance after instance...thats just what i have come to realize..but ur right it takes a hell of a long time to hit 60 haha

→ Posted by: Benji at September 14, 2006 5:29 PM

HOw do I get my fiance to stop playing?? I understnad that he should take personal time to do things he wants to do but enough is enough. He graduated college in May and still is unemployeed. If he spent just one fourth of the time looking for a job as he does WOW he would have had a job months ago. I wouldnt care how much he played if he went to work and wanted to spent the rest of the night playing. Unlike the original post our relationship and his work is being affected. We are engaged and he is jobless spending at least 8 hours of the day playing. HEELPPP

→ Posted by: Tracie at September 15, 2006 3:14 AM

I've been a WoW addict for about 2-3 years now, having leveled 3 characters to 60 and progressing one of those characters so far that I have some of the best epics in the game. I quit because I go up north for summer vacation which is away from home, however I've been off the game for approximately 2 months now. My life has taken a big hit during those 2 years of WoW addiction... I've been overweight, my school grades were borderline, and my relationship with my family was almost nothing.

Recently I have been having urges to going back and starting to level a Tauren Hunter for some reason. I want to go back casually however I am afriad I'm going to get hooked again like I used to be. For a while now I've been cold turkey and my life quality is improving. I find that there is more time for things and I workout in the Gym now and have already lost some signifigant weight. The problem is when I have nothing to do and I get bored I feel the need to start playing WoW again. It's a drug. I'm not sure if I'm going to resub...

→ Posted by: Adam at September 16, 2006 11:43 PM

I hate this game. My family is coming undone. I have lost touch with all my old friends.
*
I am in my 30s, 2 kids, wife, good job, nice house, and I feel like such a loser. I have a level 60 rogue and I am in a raiding guild. I do not even enjoy the game any longer but I continue to log in for all the raids.
*
I have been debating all day on quitting the game. Although I only have 42 days played (on my main) that is a terribly long block of life. I used to enjoy fly fishing, running, hiking, and camping. Now I don't do any of these things. I arrange any family outing so as to be back home in time to raid. Its pathetic.
*
I am determined to quit and I thank you guys for posting your stories (so many similarities). I am just so scared to hit that delete key. It took me months to get a regular raiding spot and my gear is just rockin. Oh the agony... I hate this fucking game. You know whats sad? My 11 year old son asking me to come outside and shoot hoops with him, but do I? Oh noooo, Were about to engage Chrommagus or some other such bullshit.
*
Waste of time, and NO, its not the same as whatever else you would be doing (watching TV, reading, or whatever else). You know why? Because those activities can be enjoyed together with your family and/or friends. WoW is a selfish game. It requires ALL OF YOU. I dont even hear my wife talking to me most of the time. I hope its not too late to restore things with her....
*
Good luck to all of you
Owen

→ Posted by: Owen at September 18, 2006 11:54 PM

I have been playing for about 3 months im am lvl 32 i am really like it i would not like to let it go tho.I am not addicted it is a good game you should be able to go on.Time so once i start playing and get hooked i stop for about two days.

→ Posted by: Niall at September 20, 2006 2:55 PM

I have been playing for about 3 months im am lvl 32 i am really like it i would not like to let it go tho.I am not addicted it is a good game you should be able to go on.Time so once i start playing and get hooked i stop for about two days.

→ Posted by: Niall at September 20, 2006 2:59 PM

Ive been playing WOW for just over 6 months now and i think its safe to say i have a problem. My guild raids between 5-6 nights a week for between 5-6 hours a night. We are a lvl 60 end-game guild with MC, ZG, BWL and AQ20/40 on farm status. We are now enterting into Naxxramas and things are really starting to get bad. People are getting really burnt out and we have had a lot of people leave recently. It seems as though the more time i spend playing, the more i cant stop. I know i have to stop playing. Hopefully i can :(

→ Posted by: Slip at September 20, 2006 5:12 PM

People.. show some self control! WoW is a fun game!! If you have nothing better to do then playing WoW is fine. Manage ur time :)
Alliance FTW!

→ Posted by: LB at September 20, 2006 11:07 PM

Sometimes people need help in controlling the amount of time they spend playing? Not just WoW, but for all other things/games as well.

WoW is a fun game, but it's got a lot of addictive qualities...it's inherently reinforcing and you need to work for your rewards (which don't come by on a fixed schedule).

One of the ways to stop oneself from playing so much when you're addicted (good sign of telling how you're on the way there or already addicted - "*twitch* I wanna play WoW/RO/whatevergame even though I have an exam tomorrow which I've not studied for!") is to delete the desktop icon (prevents easy access, and hopefully out of sight out of mind? [yeah right]) and maybe set up a log keeping track of the number of hours you spend playing a day versus the number of hours spent doing stuff that you actually need to do. That's what I'm doing for myself now so that I get to see how bad it is.

→ Posted by: Mifuyuu at September 22, 2006 9:54 AM

I am a WOW addict and have gone cold turkey about a month ago. I was also in the situation where I actually didn't enjoy playng anymore but kept going.

To stop i gave away all my gold and sold all my stuff. I have had 10 lvl 60s and although I have stopped and deleted all gear, inside I still feel the deep urge to play. This morning (actually since i stopped) I got up around 6 and I found myself searching the web for a new game "like WOW" and actually thinking about reinstalling.

I came across this website by accident, but would advise anybody thinking about starting this game not too. This website has some sad stories on it (mine being one)but it has value and I have found strenght within it not to start over in the destructive cycle.

I have been playing for some two years and can honestly say nothing good has come from it. Social life gone and every waking moment is about WOW.

Even now I am suffering from withdrawl and have to find a place for myself in the real world.

While I am typing this I am looking at the box of the game and I will break the discs. I am actually so attached to the game I could not throw away the box.

This is really sad....

→ Posted by: Makesure at September 23, 2006 7:54 AM

Ok I can't break the discs....but will go at it one day at a time and will not start playing again.....

→ Posted by: Makesure at September 23, 2006 8:00 AM

Reading this helped me realise what a pointless waste of time WoW is and how you can never reach the end.

http://www.alibutt.com/?p=272

good luck

→ Posted by: Quitter at September 23, 2006 8:18 PM

i just think all of u WOWers jus need a good ole ass whuupin..yes..ass whipping...I have read stories of ppl killing someone with a clawhammer over those stupid fucking MMOs. id like to play em mabey but...i wouldnt wanna toss my granny down the staris over it (true story).. mabey its just how i was raised, i would have got my ass kicked for over reacting over such things and doing nothing buy play WOW..ever heard of the -gamer widows-? ridiculous? im glad im not addicted cause u have just surrenderd yourself to total nothingness. P.S. please, if u have any children at home, please.. please remember to feed them and dont negletct them like the souless lvl 47 dwarven pally that u may become..

→ Posted by: Jordan Ball at September 24, 2006 10:18 AM

yes i sorta understand what this guy is sayin
but the last post was meen and totaly immature

some WoWers notice the time they have played and play HEALTHY (like not alot)

but like 1 of my freinds (i acidentaly got him into games and i TOTALY regret it) he laggs some times and he is incredably bad he like throws a fit (like screems so loud well actully he just gets realy mad)

theres a sight that is like funney 2 watch its
YOUTUBE.com

then when u get there type at the search bar
angry german kid

its bad if u think were is his mom?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?

but hes sorta is like that well im just saying playing WoW is O.K.if u play it HEALTHY

→ Posted by: Anonomis(or how ever u spell it) at September 28, 2006 12:45 AM

hey guys i have been kind of addicted for a year now playing around 7 hours on weekends and 1 to 2 hours on weekdays but over that year 1 have i played i have came to realise that if u have a lot of self control in ur self to be able to limit ur self. I am 13 but i know a