How many have you quit?

[Stefan]

I started playing in 2007 and I was a pretty "hardcore" WoW-er. During the years I've tried quitting a few times but didn't succeed until 2 years ago when I finally said that it's taking up way too much of my time. I still have it installed, but I have no "calling" to play it anymore.

 

[tinybutnotfangless]

I don't believe in quitting games that are good, even if they dumb down much of the game, it still takes effort and the right sort of mind to play certain aspects of the game more fully. I prefer PvP and exploration, leveling my crafts and socialize with my guild mates. As someone else has said, ALL MMO games will have some sort of grinding involved at some point. It just depends if that game forces you to grind to progress or not and whether you can choose to do it or choose something else. In WoW, you have many choices and that's a big thing for me.

Many other MMO games don't have much choice. That's why I've stuck with WoW on and off since February 2005. It's a game I will never quit. It's a game I will take breaks on but that's about it. So until Blizzard decides to call it quits or sells it off to some third rate gaming company and screws it up, I will go back to it at some point along the way.

I have played many MMO games since the mid 1990's. Yes you read that right. Since the 1990's. MMO games I played and quit permanently were Dungeons & Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings, Aion, Maple Story and about two dozen others. WoW isn't one of them.

 

[Delusional]

I play from time to time but I don't pay back to back subscriptions. I lost track of most of my characters and don't play in a guild anymore. I just don't have enough time to keep up.

 

[Mabushaw]

I know a lot of people who have quit the game, or at least tried to, with varying degrees of success. Personally, I began WoW sometime around 2006, and I have been playing it on and off(sometimes with months breaks) every single year until 2012. I've put so much energy, time and focus on this game that at times it was a vital part of my life. And I am not ashamed to admit it, because in a way it has helped me grow too, and I met some of my best friends over it.

What's your story?

I quit about every 6 months since 2010 and felt all the more better for it to be fair. You can actually deal with some real world jobs, issues that get lost or put off for way longer than they should. I think perspective is needed so you don't waste too much of your life

 

[Cytomat]

There's a saying that once you start playing WoW, you never quit. You just take extended breaks. I've found this to be extremely true. Every time I think I've quit the game and won't be coming back, I come back some day. You never know what will happen in the future.

 

[DepecheChode]

I have buddies that still play and they're constantly trying to bring me back into it lol. I would just rather play a game you don't have to pay for every month.

 

[Ella]

I started playing WoW in 2008 (After playing Lineage 2 and Guild Wars). I played it on and off for a few months, and then almost full time for 6 months (I had just graduated and was looking for a job). When I finally landed a job, I stopped playing for a few months, but came back to the game late 2009 only to quit again after some months.

I'm playing Guild Wars 2 now, which I love, but I do miss WoW so I'm thinking of coming back

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

I am an interval player. I play furiously until something bright and shiny distracts me and I head off in another direction. I have quit this game before and returned. I have found, however, that while I am initially excited to be back in the game, the magic wears off much more quickly now.

 

[dansmith]

I know a lot of people who have quit the game, or at least tried to, with varying degrees of success. Personally, I began WoW sometime around 2006, and I have been playing it on and off(sometimes with months breaks) every single year until 2012. I've put so much energy, time and focus on this game that at times it was a vital part of my life. And I am not ashamed to admit it, because in a way it has helped me grow too, and I met some of my best friends over it.

What's your story?

I actually started playing around the same time, back in 2006, a friend of mine, whom was also my roommate got me started on it. I was living in the barracks, still in the Marine Corps at this time and was looking for a game to play that had a deep storyline. I saw my friend playing and realized just how deep it was, just from a storyline perspective that I decided to try it out and I’m glad I did.

I’ve met some really nice people on there, and of course, not so nice, but that’s everywhere in the world these days. I also get stretches where I don’t play for months at a time, but have never completely quit it. I don’t know why, I just enjoy it, almost like a friend in a way I guess. I feel content and comfortable playing the game because I feel I can be myself, not like in the business world where saving-face is more and more important these days.

 

[William Quah]

I quit two years ago and never looked back. I was surprised of how much time I regained from quitting WoW. I now have a lot more free time to do other things that are important. I still game other MMOs but WoW no more for me.

 

[thejamal]

I'll quit for a month or 2 at a time, when I really need to focus on accomplishing school work at a high level, but usually I'll always have a sub running. I've always enjoyed having WoW around as a good time waster/destresser and something I can do in my spare time. I've gotten a lot better in the past few years of being able to manage how much I play WoW to where it doesn't affect my RL all that much. When I was younger, I wasn't able to manage my time nearly as well.

 

[Jun Yun]

Sold my account 3 years ago to a friend of mine, realized that WoW was getting a big chunk out of my life and I decided to explore other games, did not regret it so far. But nothing can compare to the grinding I did with WoW, it was that extensive and time consuming.

 

[beki]

I have taken time off from games but I don't think I really quit any, a few I just lost interest in so I guess that could count. The funniest thing I tend to hear from people who quit playing this game end up playing another to get back their free time. Sometimes I think people just get a little burned from a game and need a good break from it to enjoy it again (some, not all).

 

[pebblesxo]

I find it really hard to completely quit a game that i really enjoyed playing. For this game, I've quit once or twice but somehow i find myself logging back in and continue with where i left off playing. I don't play the game religiously anymore though, i don't think i can go back to that phase in my life where this game used to be my life. I still come on to this game randomly when I'm bored and have nothing better to do.

 

[thejamal]

I find it really hard to completely quit a game that i really enjoyed playing. For this game, I've quit once or twice but somehow i find myself logging back in and continue with where i left off playing. I don't play the game religiously anymore though, i don't think i can go back to that phase in my life where this game used to be my life. I still come on to this game randomly when I'm bored and have nothing better to do.

Pretty much the same, at least for right now when there's absolutely nothing new to do in WoW. We'll see how long it lasts when WoD comes out. In the meantime, I've just been looking for new games to try and actually using my free time on things other than playing video games. I won't quit until I at least have the opportunity to try WoD.

 

[firelily99]

I have stopped several times but when I play now I am not nearly as invested in it as I was. Generally when I stop a game I stop and never play it again. I think that I am getting to that point with this one.

 

[valiantx]

Whoa whoa, calm down there OP. I thought this was a forum for gaming, not a WOW Anonymous counseling group, to express our years of servitude to electronic frequencies we and I can never truly embrace the touch or feel for!

Then again, I quit playing WOW years ago, and have turned to other hobbies, like reminiscing about my days as a Level 70 Dranei paladin and facing a .000001% chance of kicking Illidan's hairy butt! Also, I took up writing on forums like this, to ease the pain... of letting go... of playing WOW.

 

[moneyman]

I really haven't quit playing it but I have had some random pauses at playing. I have played maybe for tow years now and my longest pause is maybe one month.

 

[BrokenDownFlier]

I started playing back in Feb of last year but quit around the first of September, partly because I had lost my job and didn't have the cash to waste on games when bills came first. I don't regret it, nor will I go back even if my finances change or the game goes F2P.

Hello, I'm an ex-WoW addict. I'm 30 days free and sober.

 

[sillylab]

I just recently actually managed to get over my addiction to wow. It used to be so fun but after a while I realized I was just going through the same cycle of buying an xpac then getting bored and then quitting then buying the next xpac.

The community really started to change and that was the final straw for me. I remember when I first started playing and everyone was really nice but things really started to change and everyone became an elitist.