I'm back

Rough time in the past month or so, but I made it out okay. Work, real life, etc.

I missed writing in this blog, but I simply could not think of anything to say that was worthwhile. I didn't really like the article I had been writing (part 1 of which is below) and I haven't been doing much in WoW besides levelling a mage, who just hit 80 yesterday.

I've been feeling very burnt out on raiding. I revisited this feeling when my mage hit 80 without me even realizing I was about to do so. I hadn't been paying attention, and it was quite surprising when the achievement and grats from the guild popped up, actually. A mere hour afterward, where usually I would be busy running instances repeatedly grinding for rep, badges, and gear, after a failed bid at Wintergrasp for a VoA run and two heroics--one of which failed miserably--I logged off and went to go play [prototype].

Perhaps it's because my 25-man guild recently dropped to 10-mans after repeated attendance problems crippled our 25-man progression runs, and I just cannot take 10 mans seriously enough to make a determined effort. I know I'm feeling a bit disenfranchised and bored with life at 80. Too often I get feelings of deja vu contemplating running dailies for the 24215345th time, or busting my ass grinding money for raids that are inevitably wipefests on bosses we've already cleared before, or levelling professions again, or starting another alt to do the same quests for the fifteenth time.

All right, I'll say it: WoW is definitely starting to lose my interest. A lot of people would squarely blame Blizzard for that, but in truth, it's as much me changing as the game. Here's what it really comes down to: I simply do not have the resources or inclination to sacrifice social life for the game at this point in my life, although I know I'd enjoy it all over again, at least for a while.

I had considered changing guilds to one that required attendance for raiding slots, but I realized that it wasn't just my schedule that I would be accommodating, but my wife's, and I wouldn't consider choosing to play WoW (raid or not) over spending time with her on any kind of permanent or semi-permanent basis. My wife's schedule is simply not set up for raiding with a new guild either, and finding a guild that will (A) end raids early enough for East Coast people with a 9-5 on a Mountain Time server, (B) take both of us, and not just one or the other, and (C) just happen to accomodate our both (reasonably full) weekday schedules while allowing for my occasional days of working late on top of that... well, let's just say, we were lucky to find the one that we're in now. A hardcore progression guild is simply out of the question, even with the recruiting frenzy going on.

Even if the stars aligned, we don't have the cred or the drive for a hardcore guild at the moment. So, changing guilds is definitely out.

And all of the above is completely disregarding the fact that both of us are reasonably attached to the people in our current guild at the moment.

Is anyone else (subscribers, followers [like i have any], random commentors, or google spiders) feeling burnout on WoW atm? Kyrilean has a post on it on his blog, but what about others? Can you deal with it? Somewhat recently I read the archives of one of the top guilds on Kel'thuzad--Pacifist--and their reasons for quitting in the midst of Burning Crusade (with an excellent and nostalgic retrospective by the members). Pacifist wasn't just one of the top guilds on Kel'thuzad, they were one of the top in the world, at a time when nobody really cared about world-firsts and shit except WoW players: in BWL/AQ40 and Naxx. And you know what? I liked it that way. I also keep remembering the reasons for the breakup of my old Horde guild on Thunderlord, also in the midst of BC, with whom I raiding with throughout pre-BC content, and all of these things seem to echo my feelings now.

I really don't want to quit yet. I'd be a fool not to see where I am headed though.

I really miss life at level 60. It was really the best time for the game.