dirtyharry50: I keep slogging along in World of Warcraft. I am playing very casually. Some days I don't log in at all. I think I did this to myself by focusing completely on running two characters through all the Argent Tournament dailies, day after day, grinding faction, eager to just get off the faction treadmill and finally be able to buy the very cool heirloom armor and weapons for all my alts to use. They have all the heirlooms needed from the guild vendor. I just need the Argent Tournament ones to complete four sets in total.
On a bright note, one character finally became exalted with all the needed factions and became Exalted Argent Champion of the Horde, got his Crusader title and had enough champions seals at that point to get the caster robe, shoulders and staff. I mailed them right away to my Tauren Priest and boy is he rockin now. It actually made me laugh out loud, looking at how cool he looks with big elaborate shoulder gear, the cool weapon, the OP stats he now has. He is only level 5 and he is now so OP it is ridiculous! lol I want this for all the alts and I want to enjoy leveling them solo through the "new" old world at least. I've though some should visit The Burning Crusade later on and even Northrend. I'm not thrilled about doing any more Cataclysm high level zones. The alts adventures may end there.
I have two characters than can play in the new Pandaria content. One has made it to level 87 so far. The other who just became Crusader in Argent Tournament is almost level 86 just from doing Argent dailies so much.
There is actually a lot of fun stuff ahead for me in WoW if I stick with it. So what's the problem?
Grinding. Grinding dailies for another two months to get the rest of the heirloom gear IF I log in every single day. By the that point, the other toon (the Druid who is 87) will hit Crusader too and between the both of them can in an hour's time each day over more MONTHS clean up and get all the cool Argent Tournament pets and mounts. The pets are pretty easy to do but the mounts cost a lot of time. I'm not sure they are ever happening. I'm not sure how much more is happening period because I am tired of logging in and feeling compelled to grind the boring dailies after which I no longer feel like playing WoW and log.
It is as if I am a very tired old man slogging along on a treadmill at a slow speed and I still want that carrot out in front me but i feel so tired. i hate to give up but then again I sometimes feel really stupid for even subjecting myself to this grindfest excuse for "gameplay." I know, nobody is making me do this. Nobody is holding a gun to my head. But if you've ever play an MMO you can probably relate to what I am talking about here. It can be a love/hate relationship many times. Parts of it are genuinely fun but too much of it is just boring, time consuming, not fun, grinding. In fact part of the drag that is Argent Tournament for me is the gameplay itself. I hate jousting. I've become good at it. I win every time. It is a given now that I will. But it is not fun for me at all. I think it sucks. I just do it in pursuit of the rewards that will be very fun to have later on if I last through this crap.
And I am paying 15 bucks a month for the "privilege" of being served up gameplay for Pavlov's dogs. Again, sometimes I feel pretty stupid really but the allure of reaching a point where it actually is fun has kept me grinding on, however unhappy. If ever there was meaningless filler, daily quests in WoW are it.
Don't get me wrong though, at times WoW is genuinely a good time, there is humor, a cool world to explore and quest in even if the quests are just exercises in killing and collecting this and that. That variety in combat when you casually play different classes spruces things up. I personally am done with MMO "endgame" and raiding. Grouping with guildies I could enjoy at higher levels some but even that not a lot. I just like fooling around, having fun killing stuff and exploring the world. It is a fun place to be at times.
Daily quests are the devil though. i hate them. And WoW is just loaded with them. The end game is gated with them, you need to grind dailies for this faction and that to get things like say your shoulder enchants. I am just not doing it. For me when a toon hits level cap he is probably till next expansion. Time to go have fun with a different class then.
Sorry I ramble on here complaining for so long. I hope this is an interesting read for some who play WoW or MMOs and can relate to what I am talking about here.
Two months more of daily, every single day grind or it takes even longer before I can get all my ducks in a row and get to the fun stuff.
Maybe I am weak and should just man up, stop whining and get that grinding done so I can reap the rewards and have fun with the alts. OR, maybe i am stupid letting Blizzard do this to me for 15 bucks a month when I could buy 2 GOGs a month with the money. I could also change games. I have some characters on LoTRO, own some of the expansions and had some fun there when I was playing it. At least with LoTRO you get some good lore and story along with scripted events at times which make you feel like you are play a real RPG. And Turbine does F2P right. I already bought the bag and bank space I needed. I already own the content I need for a while. I don't need to spend a cent until I am ready for the next batch of content to play though with multiple toons. I can play the game on my own schedule too without wasting any money. Don't feel like playing a few weeks? Busy with other games? It's cool. You aren't spending a cent until you are actually getting something for it.
But there is just one little problem... grinding traits and deeds as I recall. Me thinks there is plenty of grinding stuff in LoTRO too. But maybe that can be ignored if you aren't concerned with end game play, min/maxing, etc. I'd have to check that out to see.
I've been hooked on MMOs since Asheron's Call came out even though there is a lot I can rightly criticize about them. There is something magical about their enormous worlds to explore and that other real people populate them. The RPG elements of gameplay (lacking though they be) are fun for me. That said, I am tired. I am burned out on the mindless grinds that infest MMO games. Maybe it is finally time to let them go and spend my time enjoying games with engaging content and variety to keep me interested, to keep me having fun. There is something wrong (and wrong with me I guess) when I am logging into play something I would complain about as I have here.
I'm interested in what you guys think of WoW, LoTRO and other MMOs in general. Feel free to tell me what you think I should do. I am open to suggestions.
TL:DR - I play WoW and I am so tired of daily quest grinds and any grinds. I am bummed out that months of daily quest grinding will be needed to fully outfit my alts with heirloom gear I want for them so I can then get to the fun part.
If you want other MMOs to try I'm getting Guild Wars 2 at Xmas as it's meant to be grind-free and the dynamic events seem pretty nice. I'll probably get Elder Scrolls Online but that's just cause I'm a sucker for Elder Scrolls lore :P