How to prevent WOW addiction?

[zebraman]

I played WOW from august 07-february 08. I quit because i thought it was consuming my life to much. I mostly played because all my friends played. Last night i was with them and I decided to go back to WOW. Now i really wanna play(specially since i have nothing to do summer) but i really dont wanna get addicted again because I feel it is not healthy. As soon as i told my girlfriend she got pretty worried and i promised I wouldnt get addicted. I miss playing with my friends. You guys got any tips on controlling and preventing addiction? or any time managment advice?

[Tallest Skil]

Jeez. What is it with people and addictions?! "Addicted to the Internet", "Addicted to WoW", "Addicted to Facebook/MySpace"... Don't even get me started on cigarettes and beer.

The best thing to do is not play. At all. It's $15 or $20 a month, too, isn't it?! That's insane! Get a Wii or DS and pay nothing for going online. That way you can stop and start whenever you want.

If you want a good way of time management, play Urban Dead. It's a free, browser-based, MMORPG that works on a timed action system so that one person cannot do more than a set amount of things in one day. If you stay in a barricaded building or just stay dead, you can't be hurt and nothing progresses around you. Simple, easy, addiction-preventing.

Stay away from StarCraft... :p

[asme]

Just stop. I really don't see the problem.

I played from April '06 to March '07. I was having a stressful time in teh real life so I was playing WoW as a form of escapism for maybe 3 hours a day. Around March of the new year, I just thought "I don't feel like playing any more. I have better things to do." So I stopped. And hence I no longer play.

Thinking of restarting for a few months though, just for giggles.

[beige matchbox]

Well, i've playing wow since late '05, I've only been in low level instances (Deadmines etc.) my highest level char is 65 or so, i've been part of 2 guilds, none were active in instances, and only mildly so in PvP.

And as such, I haven't been on wow for more than 30mins since i got GTA IV, I don't have any in game commitments that mean i have to be there at a certain time, I'm not going to miss any important guild news so it doesn't matter if i'm there or not.

For me when i was playing TFC with a clan, the biggest thing was having to be online and ready to go for the practice session before the clan match, then onto the main event, I didn't realise with practice every evening, and a clan match at least once a week it was taking up ALL my free time... Really not worth it.

The trick is to not get heavily involved in groups of players who take the game super seriously, go find a casual guild, avoid things that require you to be online and in a certain area at a set time and you'll be set :D



As to playing with people you know, make it clear that you're only playing when you want to, and if a run is going to take X hours, tell them to have fun and go off and do something else, even if it means spending time with people in the real world :o

[Mackilroy]

I'd definitely play either alone or in a casual guild if I were you, I'm in a fairly laid-back guild right now and if I don't want to be on, I don't have to be. I play maybe once-twice a week, if that. Real life is more fun. ;)

[Zwhaler]

Here is what I would do: For me, I just avoid it completely since I know I would get addicted (I have never played). For my friend, what he did is played for awhile, and then just started using hacks and having fun with until his account got banned, and then there is no going back. Or just delete your own account and burn (with fire, not a CD burner) the WoW disk :D

[Xavier]

Ya just dont play. If you dont play you wont get addicted.

Play Super smash bros. thats a classic and my friends and i keep occupied with that for hours.

I never understood how people like WoW so much anyway, I could never get into it

[Cromulent]

I miss playing with my friends. You guys got any tips on controlling and preventing addiction? or any time managment advice?

Don't play. It'll pass after a week or so.

[msbsound]

Yeah I broke free after about 2 years of playing. Been about 5 months now and until a friend, who still plays, sent me the info on the next xpac I had zero desire to return.(I shouldnt have opened the link, damn him and me).

Of course now I am looking at going back towards the end of the year since I gave everything away when I quit so that I can actually build back up some stuff before it launches.

Best thing I can say, is you go in the second time knowing more. Its hard for me to qualify a video game as an addiction, but I could certainly understand how it can feel that way. If/when I go back, I just realize that no matter what, everything in the game is still there the next day, or the next week. True I may fall behind my guild mates in progression a bit, but all the stuff isnt going anywhere, and lord knows even once a place is cleared you have to farm it for a couple months anyways, so you will always have the opportunity later on.

Last time, I felt I had to be there for each "first kill". Couldnt lose out on attendance/dkp, or whatever the hell other system we were using. Truth is, none of that crap matters at all, if you are truly playing "to have fun", just let that crap go and play when it doesnt interfere with seeing friends/family, etc.

Real life keeps on moving. Prioritize.

[TimJim]

Just stop, it's that easy. It's not like it's a physical addiction, so just don't play.

Break your disk and uninstall it, problem solved.

[Razzerman]

Anything can be addictive. WoW, drugs, beer, gambling etc. It's all about keeping it in perspective. Might be an idea to give the g/f the ability to control your playtime. Nothing wrong with playing with yer mates online, and she'd be mighty impressed that you've given her the control aspect.

Like anything in life, moderation is the key - too much of anything is bad.

Good luck.

[lasuther]

I think there are some parental controls where you can set time limits, just do that.

[Silver-Fox]

I played WOW from august 07-february 08. I quit because i thought it was consuming my life to much. I mostly played because all my friends played. Last night i was with them and I decided to go back to WOW. Now i really wanna play(specially since i have nothing to do summer) but i really dont wanna get addicted again because I feel it is not healthy. As soon as i told my girlfriend she got pretty worried and i promised I wouldnt get addicted. I miss playing with my friends. You guys got any tips on controlling and preventing addiction? or any time managment advice?

Don't play it, how people can get addicted to games like this, it is so stupid

How about uninstalling it?
Cancel subscription?

Throw away the discs so you cant reinstall

[NorCalLights]

I played WOW from august 07-february 08. I quit because i thought it was consuming my life to much. I mostly played because all my friends played. Last night i was with them and I decided to go back to WOW. Now i really wanna play(specially since i have nothing to do summer) but i really dont wanna get addicted again because I feel it is not healthy. As soon as i told my girlfriend she got pretty worried and i promised I wouldnt get addicted. I miss playing with my friends. You guys got any tips on controlling and preventing addiction? or any time managment advice?

There are parental controls built into WoW that let you set limits on how much time you can play. As long as you are willing to follow the limits, you can set them yourself... or if you're really concerned, have your girlfriend set them with a password.

[NAG]

The solution is to get a social life (or one that you enjoy more than wow). Wow provides an easily accessible pseudo social life that has a tendency to destroy your real one. If you're finding that wow is doing that to you then you should probably look at your social life and figure out why you need something like wow to fill the void.

That being said, there isn't anything intrinsically wrong with wow. Beer isn't necessarily bad because some people become addicted to it. You just have to learn how to manage it. And if you can't do that then yeah, get rid of your ability to play it.

[Chone]

Stop playing crappy MMORPGs (nevermind the redundancy)

[esXXI]

Uninstall, sell or give away your discs, stop visiting any MMO or WoW related sites. Out of sight, out of mind. After a few weeks it'll be flushed out of your memory and you'll be much more productive. (:

[Delta608]

I might be in the minority here, but I thought WOW was pretty boring. Just the same thing(s) over and over and over.....:rolleyes:

[zebraman]

Yea i guess i would have to agree with you guys. But also like i just want to have a good game to play on my spare time that isnt online. I have GTA4 but my parents dont let me play console games on weekdays. So yea.. some days that i dont have anything social planned I have nothing to do.

[chinarider]

Yea i guess i would have to agree with you guys. But also like i just want to have a good game to play on my spare time that isnt online. I have GTA4 but my parents dont let me play console games on weekdays. So yea.. some days that i dont have anything social planned I have nothing to do.

What, would they rather you play on school days?

[zebraman]

Well im not allowed to play video games at all on weekdays. But its easy to sneak on the mac since i just have the game window in one space and myspace and homework on the other. So if she comes i just switch. So i just want a mac game for on those days i need to kill time. I usually am busy. Usually biking or talking to friends but here in Miami we have a lot of those boring rainy days were u cant do anything...

[mrwindup]

I don't think quitting playing WoW cold turkey will help. If you really want to play, then just play. But if you must stop playing, try setting limits on the time you spend playing. Start with 9-10 hours a day. Weekly, reduce the limit by a couple of hours. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you will only be playing 3-4 hours a day. That's where you want to be. Just below the line of addiction.

[Dagless]

Yea i guess i would have to agree with you guys. But also like i just want to have a good game to play on my spare time that isnt online. I have GTA4 but my parents dont let me play console games on weekdays. So yea.. some days that i dont have anything social planned I have nothing to do.

Get yourself a cheeky little DS or PSP ;)

[zebraman]

I don't think quitting playing WoW cold turkey will help. If you really want to play, then just play. But if you must stop playing, try setting limits on the time you spend playing. Start with 9-10 hours a day. Weekly, reduce the limit by a couple of hours. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you will only be playing 3-4 hours a day. That's where you want to be. Just below the line of addiction.

dude i never played anymore than 7 hours XD thats the most ive played. On the usual days i would play like 3 hours and i still think thats addiction...

Get yourself a cheeky little DS or PSP ;)
My bro has both. I never really liked them much.. Theyll problably get me even more addicted since i can take them anywhere. Im mostly looking for a good PC/Mac game that isnt as time demanding as WOW.

[Senor360]

Yea i guess i would have to agree with you guys. But also like i just want to have a good game to play on my spare time that isnt online. I have GTA4 but my parents dont let me play console games on weekdays. So yea.. some days that i dont have anything social planned I have nothing to do.

How old are you that you have GTA IV? If your old enough to play that, and I strongly believe this game shouldn't be played by youngsters, then you can maybe get a job for the summer. Not only will you be socializing with teh 'real folks', but you'd be making some cash as well. And cash leads to buying your first car.. then you'll be thinking 'wow.. I can't believe I ever played that!'. :p

Now, if any fellow WoW'ers on here are also on Dragonblight, shoot me a message if you need the help of a lvl 35 warlock, Deathmagis. :D

[zebraman]

How old are you that you have GTA IV? If your old enough to play that, and I strongly believe this game shouldn't be played by youngsters, then you can maybe get a job for the summer. Not only will you be socializing with teh 'real folks', but you'd be making some cash as well. And cash leads to buying your first car.. then you'll be thinking 'wow.. I can't believe I ever played that!'. :p

Now, if any fellow WoW'ers on here are also on Dragonblight, shoot me a message if you need the help of a lvl 35 warlock, Deathmagis. :D

Haha good advice.

[harveypooka]

Just stop. I really don't see the problem.

You don't see the problem. That's why you're not addicted!

My advice: know yourself.

[Huntn]

Some call it a compulsion rather than an addiction, but the bottom line is it can be a hard to kick habit. You can suck months from your life with nothing real to show for it. Some tips:

1. Play with dedicated partners or solo *and* limit your play time to 1 or 2 sessions a week, max 3 hours per week. I'd consider a dedicated partner as someone you know in person to be desirable.
2. Find how much play time is too much for your significant other.
3. Manage play time so it does not interfere with important real world social times, something like Friday or Sat nights.
4. Don't commit to raids unless you know it won't interfere with your social life.
5. Or don't play.

[Sun Baked]

Don't worry if you are too addicted to quit.

Just think of quiting Wow as passing a kidney stone ... lots of pain, might need something to kill the pain.

And soon you'll forget all about it, like in a year.

[mahashel]

Played WoW for about 6 months and just up and quit one day. It's a decent game, but it just didn't do it for me. Now StarWars:Galaxies.. that's a different story. ;)

To avoid MMORPG-addiction, it's best to just go outside. Take the 15 bucks a month you were going to spend on a subscription and go buy your girlfriend some ice cream, or take her to a movie or something. You'd be surprised how trivial video gaming seems when your life fills up with reality. :cool:

[zebraman]

Don't worry if you are too addicted to quit.

Just think of quiting Wow as passing a kidney stone ... lots of pain, might need something to kill the pain.

And soon you'll forget all about it, like in a year.

Lol i hope so cause even thought its been 3 months when i think about it i still get tempted to go back lol. I guess im not gonna play. But I gotta find something to do thats not to demanding XD

[Spritey]

Jeez.

The best thing to do is not play. At all. It's $15 or $20 a month, too, isn't it?! That's insane! Get a Wii or DS and pay nothing for going online. That way you can stop and start whenever you want.


I thought it was expensive too, until i realized every time I go to the movies, a 1.5-2 hour thing, I spend $10.50 on the ticket and roughly $10 on a small popcorn and a soda.

Furthermore, you get updates every week more or less, so there's always new things happening or being added to the game.

To address the 'how not to get addicted':

I recently started playing again as well, after 1-year off. My boyfriend and I play together, so to avoid getting sucked in, we agree on a set play-time before we log in. Put on a timer, or download an addon-timer because it's really difficult to keep track of the amount of time you spend. It seems to much shorter.

It's a great game when you set limits for yourself. A countdown timer and decide how long you want to play is really the important part.

Oh, and don't bother too much with the auction house. Set aside 1 hour a week to do that kind of stuff. You'll be amazed how much time you can waste in the AH.

[Spritey]

As soon as i told my girlfriend she got pretty worried and i promised I wouldnt get addicted. I miss playing with my friends. You guys got any tips on controlling and preventing addiction? or any time managment advice?

You could roll a new character with your girlfriend, letting her use a 10-day trial. Then maybe she'll understand the fascination of the game, and it can be a thing you do together if she starts to like the game. Just ask her, despite any negative feelings that she might has towards WoW, to try it for 2 hours. Maybe she'll like it. However, if she likes it, just make sure that you and your gf's character keep the same levels.

If you play together, it's also easier to keep track of the time you spend playing.

I play with my boyfriend, and I have several "friends" in WoW that are also bf/gf teams that then play with their friends again. There's actually a surprising amount of girls that play WoW, and no, they're not just the geeky kind of girls you might picture.

If she likes the game, you could always treat her to a copy of WoW.

I hated computer games before WoW, and constantly told him to stop playing those stupid games - not just WoW. And now I kick my boyfriend's behind in WoW ;c)

[Spritey]

The solution is to get a social life (or one that you enjoy more than wow). Wow provides an easily accessible pseudo social life that has a tendency to destroy your real one. If you're finding that wow is doing that to you then you should probably look at your social life and figure out why you need something like wow to fill the void.


I don't think it's true that by playing WoW you give up your social life by creating a fake social life online which many people seem to believe.

I play with many of my real life friends in there. Some which are scattered all over the world, others which live nearby. Those who I can't see in person because of distance, I meet in WoW instead of catching up over MSN. Those friends who live nearby, instead of going to a club to "socialize" where you can't hear anyone talk anyway, we do a 2-hour instance and chat and catch up over voice chat while working together to beat the instance. I'd still consider that to be a social thing. Furthermore, I've met people in WoW I now socialize with in "real life". So it doesn't have to be destructive to your "real social life".

But yeah, it's about keeping it in perspective and moderation. If you no longer or seldom see your friends in person, then yes, it's obviously become a problem.

[zebraman]

I no longer see them cause they play too much. Im not good at time management so thats why im scared ill become like them. They dont wanna do anything anymore. I invite them to the movies they dont go. I invite them to mall, or parties they dont go. When they are forced to go to something they dont enjoy it. Theyve completely changed and i miss them. Thats kinda why i wanna go back, cause i wanna talk to them since they dont talk outside. But i dont want to become like them. Thats why id rather take them out and get their life and my life back. :mad:

[Spritey]

I no longer see them cause they play too much. Im not good at time management so thats why im scared ill become like them. They dont wanna do anything anymore. I invite them to the movies they dont go. I invite them to mall, or parties they dont go. When they are forced to go to something they dont enjoy it. Theyve completely changed and i miss them. Thats kinda why i wanna go back, cause i wanna talk to them since they dont talk outside. But i dont want to become like them. Thats why id rather take them out and get their life and my life back. :mad:

My brother and his friends were like that, until they discovered a new fun thing to do with their time. They wouldn't do anything but play WoW outside of school, and on the weekends they would all hangout in one place and be physically present while playing. One day I guess they discovered something else to do, they all kept saying how stupid WoW was and how they would never play it again. However, 1 year later, they all start playing, but this time they actually just casually game and meet a few times a year to "binge out on WoW".

Maybe it's this phase some people go through until they get so fed up with the game they stop completely. If they go back, I guess they learn from their mistake in the past and play more casually.

If you do go back though, don't join a serious guild, join a very casual guild, even if it differs from your friends. (You can do instances with your friends, not raids.) Being in a serious guild often require that you spend insane amounts of hours just to keep up with the virtual joneses, and it's not worth it.

Most importantly, ALWAYS set a timer when you play. When you hear that alarm go off, heartstone from where ever you are and log off.

And/or give your girlfriend the parental control password and fill out the time sheet together.

[willcodejavafor]

Sign up for Age of Conan instead.

[CJM]

Sometimes the fear of addiction is worse than the addiction itself. Just be careful with your time. Some people recommend allotting certain hours of the day to WoW, but I think that flexibility, along with common sense, is the best bet.

I repeatedly quit WoW every now and again when I feel I haven't really been spending enough time on it to justify paying. Since I've been into the game since beta way back in '04, it's really interesting to see how far it's come.

I wasn't going to go back until the next expansion. Sadly, my gf recently started playing again and brought me along with her...

I really recommend you get yourself a good friend or leveling partner so you watch how much time each of you are spending. A bit of friendly "You're an addict!" teasing doesn't hurt either ;P

[recoman3]

I have not really been addicted to WoW (played a total of 2 months, 6 months apart), but while playing I guess I did spend a lot of time on it. I'm just going through my 3rd month atm, generally playing 1-3 nights a week depending on work and social committments.

Anywho, if you want to get sick of WoW do what me and my friend did after our 1 months subscription ran out: Hop on a pirate server, with massive exp multipliers, and just grind to level 70 and buy the best goods. As many times as you want.
By the time I was at level 60 I was bored of the game so much that I didnt want to look at it for 6 months.

The main reason I play at the moment is because I trade Oil contracts over the night, and its generally boring staring at a graph go up and down at 2am in the morning (while out of the market). Much more fun when accompanied with windowed WoW...

[NAG]

I don't think it's true that by playing WoW you give up your social life by creating a fake social life online which many people seem to believe.

I play with many of my real life friends in there. Some which are scattered all over the world, others which live nearby. Those who I can't see in person because of distance, I meet in WoW instead of catching up over MSN. Those friends who live nearby, instead of going to a club to "socialize" where you can't hear anyone talk anyway, we do a 2-hour instance and chat and catch up over voice chat while working together to beat the instance. I'd still consider that to be a social thing. Furthermore, I've met people in WoW I now socialize with in "real life". So it doesn't have to be destructive to your "real social life".

But yeah, it's about keeping it in perspective and moderation. If you no longer or seldom see your friends in person, then yes, it's obviously become a problem.

The people who let wow be a problem for them do though. I'm not saying that wow is a universally bad thing, I actually said the opposite.

[duysibo]

well,Im playing wow too and cant really stop playing it. It's an online game, so if you have friends there, you will miss them when stoping playing, it's just simple. If you just play for enjoyment, it's really easy to quit

[Oraichu]

Answer to all your questions:

Don't play the game, and get a life.

[G4DP]

Get a girlfriend?

[AoWolf]

As you can guess by my sig/armory profile I play waaay to much wow. I used to think I was cool getting friends involved but now that I have grown older (and hopefully wiser) I am trying to kick the addiction myself.

btw if you can read and understand my armory your addicted to =p

[zebraman]

Get a girlfriend?

If you read my first post ull see that I already have one :rolleyes:

As you can guess by my sig/armory profile I play waaay to much wow. I used to think I was cool getting friends involved but now that I have grown older (and hopefully wiser) I am trying to kick the addiction myself.

btw if you can read and understand my armory your addicted to =p

Same thing here. I was the first to play and i got all my games into it. Now that im out they dont wanna go out with me DX

BTW saw ur amory..holy crap!!! thats insane.

[Cloudsurfer]

I played WoW because my girlfriend did too. We were pretty hooked. Then suddenly, she didn't feel like playing anymore and I had no problem quitting too.

I guess it varies per person how fast you can just drop something.

[boz0]

Don't play the game, and get a life.

It's sometimes easy to get addicted, even when you've got a life.

The trick is to not get heavily involved in groups of players who take the game super seriously, go find a casual guild, avoid things that require you to be online and in a certain area at a set time and you'll be set :D

True. Though that can also be frustrating : it means that you'll never get a tour of the raid instances, or get your share of the "phat loot" that can make the game much more enjoyable.

I played WoW for about 18 months after the game came out, and half of that time in a raiding guild. At the time, I decided to quit just before moving in with my girlfriend : there's no way I could have satisfied myself with what WoW has to offer to the casual gamer after tasting the whole pie.

[MacRumorUser]

http://blog.wificat.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/WindowsLiveWriter/SouthparkonWorldofWarcraft_14AFC/southpark%5B2%5D.jpg

Someone had to do it.

As others have said, just stop playing it period. There are better things in life.

And if your parents are concerned about you playing GTA IV during weekdays, then they are hypocrites, because to be frank you shouldn't be playing an R rated mature game at all, let alone just not on school days.

:rolleyes:

[zebraman]

It's sometimes easy to get addicted, even when you've got a life.



True. Though that can also be frustrating : it means that you'll never get a tour of the raid instances, or get your share of the "phat loot" that can make the game much more enjoyable.

I played WoW for about 18 months after the game came out, and half of that time in a raiding guild. At the time, I decided to quit just before moving in with my girlfriend : there's no way I could have satisfied myself with what WoW has to offer to the casual gamer after tasting the whole pie.

Best post yet XD

[Gasu E.]

The problem for me was never really addiction, so much as the time demand to play the game fully. There are parts of the game that are essentially closed off to players that are not involved in high level raiding. I was briefly involved (4-5 months) in a raiding guild, but found even 25 hours a week of (inconveniently) scheduled time was not enough to keep up. Once I realized I had progressed as far as I could without putting in crazy hours that impinged on RL, I quit cold turkey.

[Gasu E.]

One day I guess they discovered something else to do, they all kept saying how stupid WoW was and how they would never play it again.


Who says drugs are all bad?:eek:

[Pressure]

The time spent playing that game can be spent better elsewhere.

Just think what you can accomplish with that extra time on your hands.

Don't you have anything you burn for or want to accomplish in your life?

[AoWolf]

The problem for me was never really addiction, so much as the time demand to play the game fully. There are parts of the game that are essentially closed off to players that are not involved in high level raiding. I was briefly involved (4-5 months) in a raiding guild, but found even 25 hours a week of (inconveniently) scheduled time was not enough to keep up. Once I realized I had progressed as far as I could without putting in crazy hours that impinged on RL, I quit cold turkey.

It certainly seems that the wow developers are going out of their way to court people like you. Most newer content and soon to be Wrath of the Lich King content is casual based.

[zebraman]

The time spent playing that game can be spent better elsewhere.

Just think what you can accomplish with that extra time on your hands.

Don't you have anything you burn for or want to accomplish in your life?

Yup ive decided not to go back. Im getting more into drawing which i left years ago. Its one of my strongest talents. Im actually reading now which is pretty rare for 15 yr olds these days to do XD (reading 1984 atm) Also ive been going to the gym even when i played WOW but i guess im gonna go more often to fill up more of my spare time.

[Hawkeye411]

Yea just quit and find some friends that like to do something other than WOW. I'm sure that hanging out with your GF could be fun.

Cheers.

[dirt farmer]

Take up Mountain Biking, or even Road biking. It get's you out of the house and into shape. And it's a blast!!

Soon you'll forget all about such nerdly pursuits as gaming:D

[maxrobertson]

Why don't you not play WoW and instead do something useful, like learn the guitar or get really good at Photoshop? There are a million things to do. I don't get why people waste their time on that crap. If you were already addicted once, you WILL be again. There's no questions. That's like a heroin addict saying "just one last time."

EDIT: Good to hear that you're going to do drawing instead. That's the kind of stuff you want to spend your time on. It'll be beneficial too. Maybe someday you'll work in that area. You never know.

[KingYaba]

How does one prevent a "WOW" addiction? Addict yourself to something else. Pick up an instrument?

[zebraman]

Why don't you not play WoW and instead do something useful, like learn the guitar or get really good at Photoshop?

Thanks i actually have needed to sharpen up my PS skills. I used it a lot before WOW. I actually photoshopped all my friends pics for myspace XD

Take up Mountain Biking, or even Road biking. It get's you out of the house and into shape. And it's a blast!!

Soon you'll forget all about such nerdly pursuits as gaming:D

Dude biking is my fav hobby besides drawing. Even when i played WOW i did this every day. Cant mountain bike thought cause as u can see i live in South Florida


Thanks guys for all the replies! I have greatly enjoyed and gotten good advice from this thread ;)

[katejones]

I was very addicted to wow, in a high end raid guild. I recall waking up at 7am throwing up a few times and still managed to make to AQ40 gates by 7:30am to make my raid, was no way after 5 months of waiting for robes of the battle guard to drop was a little dizzyness and puke going to stop me. I finally got them robes and blizzard was going yo release the expansion and make everything obsolete. So I quit.

Until I realised if I used one of my alts to get to 70 I wouldn't be so sad about my main. So there I was raiding at 70 on my new character and blizzard announced another expansion. So I quit.

So far so good must be almost a year since played.

[macwall]

The best way to avoid the addiction is to quit playing and never go back. Also, if you haven't done so, sell your account. It's a lot harder to get started again if you're facing the prospect of grinding back to level 70 or dropping a few hundred to buy a level 70 character. Also, by selling my character, I managed to recoup all the money I gave to Blizzard to play that game. I sometimes think about playing again, but I just have to think about what a huge dead end it is. It's much better to get your friends out and play a sport or go read some books or maybe learn a new skill like javascript or knitting.

[boz0]

How does one prevent a "WOW" addiction? Addict yourself to something else. Pick up an instrument?

100% guaranteed way to quit an addictive MMO : have a baby :p

[zebraman]

100% guaranteed way to quit an addictive MMO : have a baby :p

Only 15 dude thatll screw up my life.

[motoxpress]

Agreed. I played WoW of and on for two years and I just recently stopped playing again. The design of the game is to suck up time. I just got tired of that aspect of it. If you think about what you could end up if you spent all that time in healthy hobby then it's a little depressing considering the time wasted.

I should say that I don't consider video/computer games a waste of time. I consider 3-5 EVERYDAY a waste of time and WoW seems to drive that schedule.

TF2 for my game time and art/music for hobby time. Eventually, I'll get a dirt bike again as well.

-mx

[nizz]

personally, i think the strength of a wow addiction is right there in between-

alcohol/weed/acid/shrooms < WOW < meth/heroin/coke

just quit

[mrwindup]

Just stop playing.

[mrwindup]

Better yet, throw the game away so you cant play.

[Sijmen]

I started playing again yesterday. Been a year or so, and I'll probably quit after a month or two, but I'm enjoying it so far. Not getting any expansion though, way too expensive.

[bobertoq]

The answer is plain and simple. Don't play. If you really want to play with your friends, and not get addicted, use chat rooms and email. I love meebo because I can [easily] chat with my friends via text, audio, or video and I can play games such as Connect 4, Picture This, and Platform racing. These are not addictive games, but it's a great way to have fun with a friend.

My brother is addicted to World Of Warcraft, and I mean ADDICTED. He plays it from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to bed, he never lets anyone else use the computer, and when he isn't on the computer, he talks AND TALKS about the game... it's extremely annoying. You don't want that to happen to your girlfriend.

[NAG]

I think people are reacting a bit to harshly to this game. Yeah, some people get addicted to it but it isn't physical in the slightest (unlike some of the drugs listed earlier).

[bobber205]

I was very addicted to wow, in a high end raid guild. I recall waking up at 7am throwing up a few times and still managed to make to AQ40 gates by 7:30am to make my raid, was no way after 5 months of waiting for robes of the battle guard to drop was a little dizzyness and puke going to stop me. I finally got them robes and blizzard was going yo release the expansion and make everything obsolete. So I quit.

Until I realised if I used one of my alts to get to 70 I wouldn't be so sad about my main. So there I was raiding at 70 on my new character and blizzard announced another expansion. So I quit.

So far so good must be almost a year since played.

Really? You quit because of an expansion that a year or two away?

[NAG]

It's listed in the earnings report as being released this year. I don't see them being able to delay it much longer than that even though it is only in friends and family alpha at the moment.

[rpaloalto]

Smoke some crack. With in 8 weeks you wont even have your computer anymore, because you will have sold it for more crack.:D

[boz0]

I think people are reacting a bit to harshly to this game. Yeah, some people get addicted to it but it isn't physical in the slightest (unlike some of the drugs listed earlier).

Getting addicted (and by this, I mean *really* addicted, for instance playing 40+ hours a week) to a MMO can have extremely serious consequences. If you're still a student, it's likely your results will drop, and so will your chances to get a job in the long run. If you have a GF/wife, unless she's playing as well, you stand a fair chance of ruining your relationship. If you have kids, you won't be able to raise them because you'll be sitting behind your computer. And the list goes on ...

Of course, I'd much, much rather see my son get addicted to the next MMO than some kind of drugs. That'd even give me an opportunity to get an account for myself :D But this doesn't mean it's benign, far from it.

[NAG]

Getting addicted (and by this, I mean *really* addicted, for instance playing 40+ hours a week) to a MMO can have extremely serious consequences. If you're still a student, it's likely your results will drop, and so will your chances to get a job in the long run. If you have a GF/wife, unless she's playing as well, you stand a fair chance of ruining your relationship. If you have kids, you won't be able to raise them because you'll be sitting behind your computer. And the list goes on ...
Did I say being addicted to an MMO couldn't ruin your life? No. Did I say that equating it to a drug that is physically addictive and will kill you as well as ruin your life is really silly and such hyperbole is irrational? Yes. The truth is for the majority of people this game is not a problem. Is it technically a waste of time? Yes. But so is how most people spent their free time before video games. That was, of course, TV. Do you think TV didn't cause some cases of students getting bad grades and various marital problems?

This is life. We do stuff that we claim is wasting time. Here is an article you should all read. (http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybody/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html) (Which is ironically wasting time because you could be out saving kittens right now!)

Of course, I'd much, much rather see my son get addicted to the next MMO than some kind of drugs. That'd even give me an opportunity to get an account for myself :D But this doesn't mean it's benign, far from it.

It doesn't mean it is evil and people can extract no enjoyment from it either. Here, lets provide an alternative to those sentences.

Of course, I'd much, much rather see my son get addicted to alcohol than some kind of drugs. That'd even give me an opportunity to get an account for myself :D But this doesn't mean it's benign, far from it.

Do you see the implication here? Do you see how that sentence basically says "alcohol is always bad but less bad than crack." Can you rationally support this kind of statement? If so, then you really have a negativity problem.

[t0mat0]

Give all your kit away you can, convert the rest to gold, pass to a friend or clan.
Then sell the discs, or bin them. But admit it's an addiction first. get something else lined up to do instead as well. Oh, and make sure you thoroughly delete your accounts.

[Sun Baked]

Yup ive decided not to go back. Im getting more into drawing which i left years ago. Its one of my strongest talents. Im actually reading now which is pretty rare for 15 yr olds these days to do XD (reading 1984 atm) Also ive been going to the gym even when i played WOW but i guess im gonna go more often to fill up more of my spare time.

You can read ...

You have an imagination ...

You actually leave the house ...

Wow, I'm stunned. I thought all teenagers asses were glued to a cushion.

Didn't know what a book or gym was.

And had their imaginations burned out with an electron gun fired at them by hollywood directors.

[NAG]

Hopefully the next generations will continue the trend of not being so passive when it comes to entertainment.

[gfoster610]

In regards to going back to WoW, just don't. I also played for quite some time. I started on release day and played for around two years. I quit once due to changes to classes and such, but mainly it was also realizing that it has inherent flaws to it. I went back for a bit, mainly because my wife still wanted to play ( we played together ) . Then, while on our honeymoon we both decided to quit, since we found so many other things to do. ;)

In regards to what to do with your summer, man I'm jealous. It would be nice to be a teenager again and to have that free time again. Since it is the summer I would do as much outside activity that you can. I saw you mentioned biking, drawing, reading and other activities. Those are great. Continue to do those more. Also, yes, spend time with the girlfriend, I'm sure she is much more worthy of your time.

When there are bad rainy days, do the reading and drawing. If you do have to play a game, what about board games with family, or card games?

Then, when you do get though the summer, Spore will be out, and I would recommend that one. Why? Well, it's not an MMO, but more sim/strategy based that will engage the brain. The best part though is you can walk away and not worry about missing things. The game will be in the same spot when you left it.

Seriously, though, you're young and have time. Enjoy it. It doesn't come around again.

[NilVeres]

I'm a gamer addict so to speak. I love MMOs though they tend to be so repetitive, and many other addictive games.

I try and regulate my game "nutrition" by playing certain days a week, or other kind of regulations, but for the moment my general MMO regulation is to install it in bootcamp (that way when I am working I can't easily access the game XD) and I play, if available, in "private servers" which have a high rate experience ratio. That way I get to, for example in WoW, lvl 70 in a couple of hours, play some instances and I'm satisfied for a while. Then if the urge to play that particular MMO appear I just can retake that account and either make another character, or just keep playing with the old character for another couple of hours.

But anyways, MMOs have their pros and cons. A pro is that you get to interact with other people who share a particular interest that you have.

Of course the cons are lead by the fact that it steals your time mercilessly.

If you do play balance it out with other things, that's my opinion. No need to focus on doing it or not.

[boz0]

(...) Do you see the implication here? Do you see how that sentence basically says "alcohol is always bad but less bad than crack." Can you rationally support this kind of statement? If so, then you really have a negativity problem.

Where did I compare a MMO to actual drugs? I didn't.

What you basically said in the post I replied to is that MMO addiction isn't quite as serious as a drug addiction. I definitely agree with that, but I pointed out that it isn't benign either. Can you rationally say that a MMO addiction has no consequences on your life?

It doesn't mean it is evil and people can extract no enjoyment from it either.

As I mentioned earlier in another post, I used to play WoW, and I still enjoy gaming when I can. The way I see it, gaming is just a choice among others for your leisure time, no better and no worse than anything else : whether you decide to play, read a book, go to the movies or go fishing, it's your pleasure, period. But the subject was addiction, not some kind of ranking contest among hobbies.

[NAG]

Where did I compare a MMO to actual drugs? I didn't.

What you basically said in the post I replied to is that MMO addiction isn't quite as serious as a drug addiction. I definitely agree with that, but I pointed out that it isn't benign either. Can you rationally say that a MMO addiction has no consequences on your life?
Again, you're speaking right past me. I suggest you reread my posts and think "is an MMO only an addiction or can it be other things." You're categorically stating an MMO is an addiction. That is like saying alcohol is categorically an addiction.

As I mentioned earlier in another post, I used to play WoW, and I still enjoy gaming when I can. The way I see it, gaming is just a choice among others for your leisure time, no better and no worse than anything else : whether you decide to play, read a book, go to the movies or go fishing, it's your pleasure, period. But the subject was addiction, not some kind of ranking contest among hobbies.
And I was not making it about ranking of hobbies. You were. I was talking about how people were treating wow as categorically bad. That is silly. Read the article I posted if you want more info on the subject I was actually talking about.

[zebraman]

In regards to going back to WoW, just don't. I also played for quite some time. I started on release day and played for around two years. I quit once due to changes to classes and such, but mainly it was also realizing that it has inherent flaws to it. I went back for a bit, mainly because my wife still wanted to play ( we played together ) . Then, while on our honeymoon we both decided to quit, since we found so many other things to do. ;)

In regards to what to do with your summer, man I'm jealous. It would be nice to be a teenager again and to have that free time again. Since it is the summer I would do as much outside activity that you can. I saw you mentioned biking, drawing, reading and other activities. Those are great. Continue to do those more. Also, yes, spend time with the girlfriend, I'm sure she is much more worthy of your time.

When there are bad rainy days, do the reading and drawing. If you do have to play a game, what about board games with family, or card games?

Then, when you do get though the summer, Spore will be out, and I would recommend that one. Why? Well, it's not an MMO, but more sim/strategy based that will engage the brain. The best part though is you can walk away and not worry about missing things. The game will be in the same spot when you left it.

Seriously, though, you're young and have time. Enjoy it. It doesn't come around again.

Hey thanks. Ive been dying for spore to come out and i used to be really into the sim and simcity games so i think ill love this one.

[CartoonHeroII]

It's impossible. Just give in and accept WoW. Resistance if futile. :p No, it really is.

Anyway, I think of it as just another way to spend my time. If I want to spend my free time reading a book, I will. If I want to watch TV, I will. If I want to adventure in Azeroth with my brother and friends, I will. Yes limits should be made, but that's a personal decision. I played a lot more in between semesters of college (I waited to subscribe until Christmas break) when I was looking for a job than I do now that I have two jobs and a girlfriend. She's a lot more fun than my bro. ;)

Back to your question, you just have to have some self-control in order to not get addicted. All things in moderation. I do like the idea of using the "parental controls" of WoW's account page to limit your time. I know I've lost track of time and played more than I should have. But then again, it was nice to level up my fishing for hours a week while talking to my girlfriend on the phone (don't tell her).

[NAG]

If you find yourself losing track of time set up your computer to announce the time hourly.

[dramalight]

I played since 05 and I recently quit my self. It took me 2 attempts to quit entirely. The first time I tried to quit I wasn't ready. the first time I came back was due to pvp I liked the idea (still kinda do, but its to much work to deal with). I came back and got heavy into arena/pvp, I got my pvp fill. Before I thought of quitting I did alot of raiding and alot of lvling. id say your best bet if u want to quit would be to do w/e u crave to do on wow to a extreme. If its pvp do 7 hours of straight pvp trust me after about the third wsg stalemate your going to be sick of pvp. Same goes with all aspects of wow. If its raiding go do kara in one night every week. Killing trash mobs sucks
GL with w/e u decide to do. Im much happier now that im off it

[bobber205]

Has anyone posting on this thread ever seen Welcome To The NHK?

[zebraman]

Has anyone posting on this thread ever seen Welcome To The NHK?
nag never heard of it. was is it?

[ReanimationLP]

You all do know burning the discs wont solve his problem when its easily downloaded from www.worldofwarcraft.com right? ;)

I got into it at a request of my two best friends. I find it a fun and challenging game, much better than Guild Wars IMHO.

I'm not addicted at all. In fact, I havent been on in days because I've been so busy.

If anyone plays on Frostwolf, my character name is Hohenheim.

[NatPro]

beer.

mmm, beer

[ssalter]

I played WOW twice. First time very goal oriented and didn't socialize, no guild or anything. Got tired of it. Second time, eventually got into a good guild, had a blast, spent unconscionable amount of time in WOW. Decided real life was superior (even if I don't have spiffy armor and weapons) and quit again. Was a tough decision at first but never looked back.

So, just say no.

[bobber205]

nag never heard of it. was is it?

There an arc in the anime that shows what can happen when someone plays too much of an MMO.

[skye12]

Simple answer-hard to accept. You have to walk away from any
addiction completely. Half measures don't work. You are only kidding
yourself otherwise.

[boz0]

And I was not making it about ranking of hobbies. You were. I was talking about how people were treating wow as categorically bad. That is silly. Read the article I posted if you want more info on the subject I was actually talking about.

And you are completely missing or ignoring my point. I never said WoW in particular or MMOs in general were bad. WoW is an extraordinary game, and one I greatly enjoyed (and I one that I still miss, to be honest). I didn't say either that all players are addicted - I don't even think real addicts represent a noticeable part of the player base.

However, the OP specifically asked about WoW addiction. I am merely trying to address his point, instead of making general comments about WoW.

[NAG]

And you are completely missing or ignoring my point. I never said WoW in particular or MMOs in general were bad. WoW is an extraordinary game, and one I greatly enjoyed (and I one that I still miss, to be honest). I didn't say either that all players are addicted - I don't even think real addicts represent a noticeable part of the player base.

However, the OP specifically asked about WoW addiction. I am merely trying to address his point, instead of making general comments about WoW.

And you're missing my point. I'm saying comparing WoW to a physical (hey, i'm using bold, therefore I must be right! :p ) addiction is needless hyperbole. It is disingenuous to equate WoW to a hard drug because it belittles people.