Let me start this little thread by saying I am a long time gamer, and have been playing MMOGs since Everquest and Anarchy Online. I've always been the type of gamer who can play a good game for months and months, including MMOGs. I might take a break, switch to another game for a time, but it was only for a month or two and then I was back and having a blast. With AO that side-game was DAoC and I had a lot of fun with both for a number of years.

But I started to notice something in the last several years, going back half a decade or more now. I can no longer stick with a single MMOG for more than 3 months. No matter what I do, no matter how I pace myself, I always give up on the MMOG within three months. Now I don't really mind this, as I personally feel if I get 3 months out of an MMOG I consider it money well spent. I try not to restrict my entertainment budget (within limits of course) so I never feel I 'need' to stick with an MMOG simply because of the money invested.

Back on topic it was only recently I finally realized I was a dreaded MMOG hopper. As I’ve said, I don’t have this problem outside MMOGs. I greatly enjoy sandbox games and RPGs. I have hundreds of hours over months in games like Just Cause 2, The Elder Scrolls titles, Dragon Age, Minecraft, etc, etc. It’s only MMOGs I have this issue with.

Problem is I see it coming every time. I see a new interesting MMOG on the horizon and think desperately ‘don’t get bored with this one so quickly!’ I am not a power gamer, I do not grind to cap just to sit around bored. I often don’t get close to cap in these MMOGs.

One possible issue is that most western MMOGs to come out in the past eight years are themeparks and WoW clones and I am dreadfully bored with them. The latest example being The Old Republic; a themepark certainly, but different enough from WoW to have sparked my interest. But within weeks, after a beta weekend and the early access I could feel the old ‘I’m growing bored already’ feeling creeping up. I shrug it off but inevitably there just came a day toward the end of the free month that I just didn’t feel like logging in anymore. I made alts (I’m already an altoholic), I played more sparely, but it just didn’t help.

I make this post because I think I’m only one of a growing number of MMOG players like me, but also because there are several MMOGs coming that I am keenly interested in and that are also quite different from the WoW formula that has so thoroughly bored me. From The Secret World to Guild Wars 2, I am dreadful that I’ll grow bored of these apparently wonderful games within weeks of release and be stuck once again waiting for the next game. I am especially fearful of this happening with GW2.

To add to the mystery of why I do this, I am a very patient and laid back player. Buggy releases really don’t bother me unless they are game breaking. I was ‘weaned’ on Anarchy Online beta and release and trust me, it doesn’t get buggier than that. Even as buggy as it was I still had a blast from the beta on and played AO (with short breaks, generally in the summer) for 2 years. So it isn’t like these MMOGs hit with a lot of bugs and it drives me away.

In the end I think perhaps it’s just the WoW clones I’m this way with. Since the problem has existed in the last half decade, which is littered with WoW clones of varying success. Most that I have bought are different ‘enough’ not to feel directly cloned but are still, in essence, virtually identical in design. If that is the case I guess TSW and GW2 will be the test, as each has taken pains to move away from WoW style themeparks.

I made this post to reach out to others like myself. Perhaps some who have discovered exactly what drives their MMOG Hopper status and can help me shed some light on mine. I am a great fan of the MMOG, it is one my favorite genres, second only to RPGs and I try to beta-test as many as I can in hopes of truly helping them make the game the best it can be. But as much as I love the genre, if I keep going like this I may have to sadly eschew MMOGs or continually be disappointed and bored within months of a games release.

Help me MMORPG.come forum goers, you are my only hope.

I think the problem is that if you've played one game until you're tired of it, and then play a second game that is a lot like the first one, when you start the second game, you're already about 90% of the way to being tired of it.

The solution is to go off the beaten path and try something different.  Try A Tale in the Desert.  Try Puzzle Pirates.  Try Uncharted Waters Online.  Try Spiral Knights.  You might like the games or you might not.  But you won't be 90% of the way to being tired of the game when you first start it.

If you're an altoholic, you might want to give Champions Online or Guild Wars a spin if you haven't already, as they're pretty alt-friendly.  But those were well-publicized releases, so I'm guessing that you already have.

Why restrict yourself to MMOs? There are plenty of OTHER entertainment in the world.

Play some SQO so many different things you cna do/be in that game.

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Why restrict yourself to MMOs? There are plenty of OTHER entertainment in the world.

Not at MMORPG.com, there isn't.  Don't lead them astray! :)