I've been playing WoW now for over 3 years and in that time I've experienced so much that the game now barely reprisents the game it was when Naxx, Eye of the Storm and Outland did not exist. In fact, the game is so different now that it feels like a sequel to what I remember more than a continuation of the same game.
I used to have lots of time to play the game. I worked 2 days a week in the local Somerfield and paid my way with the little money I got from that. I managed to keep myself going. I played WoW everyday of the week excluding the time I was in work and this went on for about a year and then I was thrust into reality quicker than I wanted to be.
With reality came responcibility. In many ways, this was a good thing and I've learned many lessons from this experience. I'm still learning and over the next 12 months, I'll be moving from a situation of low income + parents home to having an actual job and finding my way in life with my friends and family there to help me through it all. Sadly, its a moment we are all faced with at some point or another.
Due to this thrust into a world I had barely observed from the comfort of school, my spare time has become less and less. The things I used to enjoy doing sparingly have become activites that I must cram into the day before I sleep and World of Warcraft has finally got to that point. I'm at a level of play where by I no longer have the time to accomplish anything in the game.
Time = Gear and Gold
It's an observation that has been made time and time again. Time = Gear and Gold. In order to get to the high level of gear and in order to be able to afford things when you get there, you need time. I spoke to a few raiders on my server and they spend, on average, 4+ hours playing WoW a night. That's 20 hours in a working week. What is even more shocking was the amount of time they play at weekends - 7+ hours was the general responce. That's a whopping 34 hours on average a week!
Ok... ok... It isn't that shocking. I've been there, done that and got the t-shirt and I guess the stuff about not having enough time was untrue but what happens when you have experienced so much of everything that you feel like you don't have the time? This is a new one for me so help me out here...
I work from 9.00 - 5.00 on 5 days a week. I spend at least 20 hours a week with my friends. Add to that sleep and the other times it is not possible to play and I'm left with about 40 hours a week to cram in all of the other things I like to do here and there such as eating, reading, walking, watching films and movies, shopping, chatting and so on and so forth. Given that the people I spoke to about the game said they play for 34+ hours a week and I'm left with 40 after my general lifestyle is taken into account, discounting the things I do here and there, I'm left with a tiny 6 hours.
Even if I were willing to sacrifice my free time to mindlessly grind in World of Warcraft (which I am not) what would the state of my social life be?
I'd never really thought about it before but I can understand why people with long working hours and little time for anything else end up playing World of Warcraft and having no real life interaction with other people.
I'm left with one major problem however that I have no wish to address but I find myself having to do so...
To Play or Not To Play
We've verified that I require 34+ hours a week to get anywhere in the game and I've acknowledged that that commitment is not of interest to me. The one area of the game that interests me is PvP and PvP requires large amounts of time to progress in, I'm left with the above question. If I'm not going to progress at it and I'm not going to get anywhere because have neither the time nor the inclination to find the time, why bother to continue?
I could spend my time level other characters but why? There is no obvious benefit to doing so. I could turn to PvE but that arguably requires more time than PvP.
At the end of the day, this is a question I have to answer myself. There are obvious bonuses to playing World of Warcraft as I have met some very nice people through it. Sadly, you've had to put up with my presence on Curse.com because of the game :-P
I guess this begs the alternate question which isn't such an ultimatum:
What can you get up to? What in game stuff can you do if you have little time to play World of Warcraft?
So my Cursers - What can you do in World of Warcraft if you have little time?
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trptscottI've been through so many phases in my WoW addiction... I'm not even sure where to begin. For me, it has gotten to the point that I play hour after hour simply out of habit. For those of us who have abandoned the real world save for brief sojourns for work, sustenance, sleep, etc... it can be hard to remember other folks aren't so foolhardy to jump the reality ship. When I was bored on my main, or guild progression had halted, I was hoppin' onto alts and learning new classes, playstyles, etc. Seems to me, if you still want to be connected to the game, try a radical shift from your typical play that is flexible to your current schedule. If you're Horde, roll Alliance or vice versa. If you're dps, roll a healer or hybrid. It was under this philosophy that I rolled both a NE Rogue (to 64) and hybrid horde alts (since my main is an undead Rogue). Sure, leveling isn't as exciting as your first steps into BT, but it is probably more fun than doing 10 dailies every day and running the same 5-mans over and over. At least with alts you get a sense of progression because gear and skill upgrades come pretty easily.
If all else fails, abandon your human companions, move the fridge next to the computer, and build an end-game raiding guild in time for the expansion. :-)