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?
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How to prevent WOW addiction?
- Thread starter zebraman
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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...
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...
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
Bleedin WoW
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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...
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.Get yourself a cheeky little DS or PSP
Age..
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!'.
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.
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!'.
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.