It hasn't happened yet, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't close. That's right, for over a decade I have been WoW sober, but there is something about it that just keeps tugging at me. It's not my intent to make light of addiction, I have some friends that have struggled through real addiction and I know how horrible it can be.
Every now and then though, I get this "jones" that has me wishing I was still playing WoW. I honestly didn't even realize they had a new expansion coming out until I opened my Blizzard Launcher to get the screen shot for this post.
Newly married and looking to be the best version of myself that I could be, I gave up playing WoW right around the time that Pandara came out.
I had been playing WoW long before that. I remember I was subscribing to a Maxim magazine at the time and they had an add where you could get a free month or three of play. I figured why not check it out.
It was a bit before Burning Crusade came out, but long enough after the initial launch that I was still playing catch-up. Eventually, I found my footing and had several toons in the game. I remember grinding for hours to get enough spell cloth(?) to make my first purple robe for my mage.
This was long before I was married and my wife became a "WoW Widow". I was never a hard core player like some people out there. It was only occasionally that I stayed up all night playing the game. I can actually remember the handful of late nights I had playing the game.
One was spent getting attuned to Onyxia and killing her.
I also remember one long night getting attuned to the Molten Core and running that raid. I actually didn't do much raiding in my day. I was pretty much a lone gun until more of the expansions came out. Particularly Wrath of the Litch King which many felt was much to easy. I think that is why I liked it so much. It was so easy I excelled at it and I could actually hold my own in dungeons and raids.
It was shortly after I got married that my wife's brother (who I had been playing with for a while) decided to call it quits. It didn't happen very often, but there were times that I would let my responsibilities around the house slide because I was busy playing WoW and it wasn't long before decided to call it quits as well. Money was tighter back then and having that monthly subscription was just another nail in the coffin of my WoW "career".
By the time I was done playing my favorite character was a night elf druid and I had him fully geared in purple PvP equipment. He was a beast and absolutely a blast to play.
I think it is pretty clear by the way I talk about it how much I enjoyed playing and how much I miss it.
I tried to spin up my own rogue classic server a couple of times, but I could never quite get it to work. As much as I loved (most) of the expansions, there was really something special about the game in it's purest form. Before the blight, before Naxxramas, before the cataclysm.
Back when there wasn't quick leveling and you spent more time hoofing it up and down Stranglethrone Vale (STV) than you actually did fighting mobs. Back when hitting level 40 and getting that 60% increase mount felt like you were travelling at lighting speed...
I even loved the introduction of flying mounts and the awe and wonder of exploring new lands and coming across new mobs. Anyone remember their first run-in with a Fel Reaver in Burning Crusade? I do!
I'd say there is 95% chance that I won't renew my subscription and start playing again. I just feel like I am too far behind at this point. It looks like I have missed out on about 4 almost 5 major expansions at this point. Sure, now that they fully support "classic", I could maybe jump over there, but I feel like I would have to start all over (which might not be a bad thing).
I was hoping that Diablo Immortal would give me the "fix" I needed for some nostalgic gaming, but I just haven't been able to get into it. There is still something about the world of Azeroth that tugs at me. It was kind of like a second home to me for a while there and as such, I do miss it.
I'd like to think I have a bit more self control these days and I wouldn't fall into the same behaviors of my past, but I can't guarantee that. Thus, I will likely stay on the WoW wagon a bit longer.
How about you? Did you used to play and then quit? Do you miss it? Did you never quit and you are still playing after all these years? Do you ever struggle with that play/life balance? Between my real life and blockchain, I am not sure I would have time for WoW even if I wanted to!
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