Sometimes when you're in a relationship, it's hard to let go. It's comfortable, it's safe and whenever you think of letting go all you can think about are all of the good times that you've had together. This is perfectly understandable and it's only human nature, but while it may seem like the right thing to do at the time, the most common mistake that people make is to try and hang on, not because it's good for them, or because they're still having fun, but because it's all they really know.
The bond between gamer and MMO can be a strong one, and it can be difficult to know when enough is enough and it's time to throw in the towel. Stay too long and you risk pain and frustration that could keep you from enjoying another MMO that comes after it. We here at MMORPG.com have been there before, and we offer the following five pieces of advice to help you know when you're just not that into it anymore:
#5 "You're lonely, even when you're together"
One of the biggest reasons that we play MMORPGs, as opposed to single player RPGs and other games out there is because of the friends that we make. Whether it's people that we choose to guild up with, or just people that we meet in-world and jump into a PUG or two with, it's always a pleasure to see friendly faces, hear friendly voices and the like.
It's not just you, either. The game wants you to have friends and interests other than just burning through its content. It only has so much content to give and it knows that eventually, if all it gives you to do is that, you'll finish and eventually become bored with it. Game companies rely on the friendships that you make in-game to keep you forking over your $14.99 a month, even when their content is old and / or sub-par.
So how does any of this help you to know if you're just not that into it anymore? Well, have you been playing while your group of online friends has slowly dwindled away from the game? It happens, guilds move on, and so do individuals. This can sometimes happen so gradually that you don't really notice until you stop to think about it. Then, suddenly, you're left without anyone to talk to and while you're still playing your game and other people are all around you, you find yourself not really wanting to talk to any of them.
;)
WoW, I swear she lookedbetter than that last night.
If you're playing your MMO, and you're finding yourself lonely and don't want to make a new group of friends, you might not be that into it anymore, and may want to move your $14.99 to another game before you burn out entirely.
#4 "Morning after regrets"
Sometimes, when a new MMO catches our eye, it can do no wrong in our (albeit possibly beer goggled) eyes. The graphics are top notch, the gameplay is fluid, the features are innovative and interesting and the combat is strategic and engaging. This, my friends, is the MMO you're going to spend the rest of your life with. Better run out and grab that $200 lifetime subscription before other people realize how great the game is and there aren't any left.
At least that's how you feel at first, right? If it's a game you really and honestly fall in love with, this feeling can last months, years or longer. If not, you'll start to find yourself having morning after regrets about a month in or sooner if you're of the more cynical sort that likes to poke holes in things.
It won't come all at once. Instead, you'll just start noticing things. Maybe it's that you start to notice a crappy animation for one of your lesser-used abilities. Then, you start to see that those career trainers really are placed in a strange and inefficient way and that the crafting system that you thought was the bees knees two weeks ago is actually pretty repetitive and not as much fun as it was before.
If it's meant to be, these things you notice won't bother you. If it's not, they will start to eat at you more and more over time until you finally realize that you're just not that into it anymore.
