When The Game Loses Its Flair

Lately my own guild has been pushing a high-level instance called Blackwing Lair. Its one of the biggest pains in the ass I've ever seen in any game, and after a two month push, we've been unable to beat it.

Two weeks ago we lost a long-time member to the stress of it. He said he didn't want to push it, and would rather just go with a guild that already had that raid instance on farm-status.

This really put into perspective to me as to why I play. When I log on to raid with my guild, I just want to log off. I usually don't plug in my microphone while in ventrilio, because I'm shouting so many obscenities at the screen I'd probably get dropped from the guild if they heard what I said about them. I can't be a spec I enjoy, because it doesn't benefit the "raid". Since I only have time for one high level character, and don't want to bother raising an alt to have my own "freedom", I just don't log on.

Defining why I play has been hard, so I wanted to ask some players who have been fucking sick of their guild, raiding or whatever as to what they do when the game they used to love has become a job. What do you do to bring back the enjoyment of the online game you play?

[Runned]

Why you play is exactly why I don't play.

[Frybread]

There is no rule that states you have to stay in your shitty guild. Even more, there is no rule that says you have to raid BWL, grind up to rank 10, obtain level 60, 70, or whatever the current expansion has set it at. Those are only goals that the majority of players have chosen to set upon themselves.

It's an alternate world, man! You can do anything you want!

Make a character whose only goal is to get drunk without having to kill mobs for money. Beg for silver and immediately spend it on booze, make rude comments to all female characters, get in /duels, then /sleep in your own vomit. (That was one of my first Everquest characters) You won't be any closer to "winning" than if you raid every night.

When you were level 25 and getting stomped in Scarlet Monestary, what did you imagine you'd do at level 60? Take out the boss with one shot? Sit in newbie zones and help people? Explore every zone and jump off the highest cliffs?

If you are having trouble getting creative, try drugs. If that doesn't work try joining me for my next mission: War on the Farmers. Everyone talks about how gold farmers ruin the game, but nobody has tried to do anything about it. I want to see what happens when every gold farmer in a certain zone (EPL perhaps) is camped for 5+ hours.* Blart will be there and Blartchat will record the farmer's responses if they say anything.

*(this was miscreantgnomies idea but I am going to carry it through)

[Alihja]

The best sort of game is when you make your own game within the game.

[Eaglie]

On Sullon Zek in EQ, I spent a lot of days as a lvl 5 harassing people within the city of Freeport. Sometimes, I even got Evils to attack me, incurring the wrath of guards. Personally, I really just enjoy roleplaying (whether I was a noble paladin or a vacuum salesman) and eliciting reactions from other players.

[Atlas]

Yea, when Vallon came out I would run my halfy druid through Oasis and taunt everyone then get completely smeared

Helped i was the highest lvl on the server at the time, tho :P

long gone are those days of staying on the top wave of the lvl rush

[isobelle]

take heart.


everything changes in the expansion, and BWL drama becomes moot.

fun 5 mans, and drops that put BWL to shame.


just take a break, and grind an alt, or take up stamp collecting. yum!

[Lesson25]

Lol I feel like I am in a similar boat as you are, except my guild had BWL on farm. Now between MIAs & /gquits & /game-quits we struggle just to put together a competent 40-man raid. We couldn't even get past Razorgore last night, & AQ40 progression has become all but a dream. Really the only thing keeping me going is 1.) I'm an active officer of this guild & know it would be harmful to my friends if I just up & left, 2.) I have a lot of DKP & would like to get a power-item before the expansion comes out, & 3.) I haven't found any other good game to play instead. I intend to keep at it until the expansion comes out, at which point the game will change entirely & I can find a new "walk of life".

If I were in your shoes, I think I would push my guild to get Nefarian down at least once before the expansion comes out, b/c it's a significant accomplishment to both a guild & a gamer that will effectively become impossible to replicate after the expansion comes out. I have been a part of every first-down our guild has ever had (except Broodlord! ), & it's something I will always treasure. If you think as I do, scheme to see what you can do to maximize your raid's effectiveness--post boss strategies on your guild's website & pressure ppl to read them, provide consumeables for new encounters (things like Nightfin Soup & Lesser Mana Oil aren't terribly hard to get), ask your class leaders to start requiring ppl to get enchants, etc. If that doesn't appeal to you, though, I concur w/ the others: find something to do that does. /Gquit & find a new raid, go grind to exhalted w/ all three BG-factions, pick flowers, gank lowbees, whatever. The (virtual) world is your oyster.