My friend is a WoW whore.

[-Psy-]

My friend was a hater of the ever popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft(TM). You might of heard of it.

He could, and he certainly did, rant on for hours on end on how WoW is an evil game created by Nazis who live deep underground, hunched over their keyboards, coding like drunken monkeys.

Christmas Holidays come and go. Monday arrives and he says nervously, "Hey man. I...have something to tell you."

"I'm a WoW whore."

This is the 3rd friend of mine that has become addicted to the dreaded massive multiplayer online role-playing game called World of Warcraft(TM) which is developed by Blizzard which mostly consists of drunken nazi monkeys hunched over a keyboard coding furiously, and now this is getting silly and out of hand.

Has anybody you known become addicted to WoW and had/has it affected their lives to a large degree?

[Ennui]

I know a ton of people that were devoured alive by WOW and never seen again. My roommate is a recovering addict.

[Qonfused]

I know of many people who don't come out and hang out with us anymore because they're playing WoW.

[Emporius]

I know of many people who don't come out and hang out with us anymore because they're playing WoW.

Same, I barely see him anymore, his gf dumped him, and his already ginger complexion has become pasty

[Absinthe]

I'm really starting to miss WoW all of a sudden, despite all my grievances with it.

[BHC]

I still play, oh gawd halp me. Just kidding, I'm still very much able to function socially and still play the game casually every few nights. Though it is true that it's the type of game that rewards you for the amount of time you put into it.. like most mmorpgs.

[KineticAesthetic]

I'm proud to say that the only thing that I know about it is that Leeroy Jenkins thing. Oh and some blood virus that screwed up a server, or something.

[Emporius]

Its an okay game, but I can't play it for long periods of time, it just gets too annoying.

[AHA-Lambda]

I am proud to say I've never played it.

[ĐynastҰ]

I was an addict for 2 years, then had a year off, then the summer holidays came and i thought 'im bored, lets see whats new'

Now im only an addict on tuesday and thursday nights, as well as sunday afternoon. Only play in the evenings really.

Im at the same situation as BHC, i go out with mates, play casually now and again and do raids on some week nights. But if something else comes up, i chose life over WOW.

[Qonfused]

I am proud to say I've never played it.

I've played it twice, each a period of ten days. I don't see the draw that nine million people have to it. I really don't.

[BHC]

...Oh and some blood virus that screwed up a server, or something.

A major boss in the original game before the expansion by the name of Hakkar had an ability called "Corrupted Blood" which was infectious to other players in the raid and barring maniacal "cleansing" from other players and avoiding those that are infected it would kill all those he used it on.

The story goes something like this; Once upon a time a raid group (or several) decided to become infected and portal to the capital city, lo and behold the infection did what infections do best, it spread - wildly throughout the city, unbeknownst to the low level "n00bs" that largely made up the population at the time. Everyone and their grandmother died.

It eventually spread so far and wide and killed so many people that Blizzard was forced to take down the servers and apply a hotfix patch. Here's the wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood) for those interested in the full scoop. Pretty hilarious stuff actually.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fe/WoW_Corrupted_Blood_Plague.jpg/750px-WoW_Corrupted_Blood_Plague.jpg

[Ravioli]

THE WOW PLAGUE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsaaRqmTnrs

[Qonfused]

Ahaha, I forgot about that. Funny shit.

[BHC]

Some interesting tidbits: In March 2007, Ran D Balicer, an epidemiologist physician at the Ben-Gurion University in Israel, published an article in the Journal Epidemiology describing the similarities between this outbreak and the recent SARS and avian influenza outbreaks. Dr Balicer suggested role-playing games could serve as an advanced platform for modeling the dissemination of infectious diseases [2]. In a follow-up article in the Journal Science, the game Second Life was suggested as another possible platform for these studies.[3]

In August 2007, Nina Fefferman, a Tufts University assistant research professor of public health and family medicine, called for research on this incident, citing the resemblances with biological plagues. Some scientists want to study how people would react to environmental pathogens, by using the virtual counterpart as a point of reference.[4][5]

In addition, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had requested statistics on this event for research on epidemics.[6]


So awesome :E BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4272418.stm) even reported on it.

[Naph]

The game is a chore. A chore you have to pay for as well.
Who wants to go fly around doing 10 jobs a day, and sit around a large raid for 6 or so hours.
Where does it get you in life? No where.
It's a shame you have to get to level 70 before you realize the game a load of shit.

[KineticAesthetic]

*WORDS*

Haha, cool. But now I have the horrible feeling I know too much...

[Sedako]

I used to be a huge WoW addict. I was a member of the first guild worldwide to kill Ragnaros 1.0 (Skyfang) and was always on the bleeding edge of content. We shared a server with Death and Taxes and Drama (world first Nefarion kill). Back then, WoW was still a great game. I quit once and sold my account when it became nothing but a daily grind (I couldn't resist an easy $1200), but later decided I was bored and came back again right before Burning Crusade. After getting through Tempest Keep, I decided it was no longer fun and quit for good. My girlfriend still plays casually though, so I got a DS to help her quit.

I have many fond memories of WoW, mostly from the first year or so. I've been so bored lately though with the slow release of decent PC games. Really looking forward to the new wave of MMOs due out in the coming months.

Here's the last WoW vid I made before I quit if anyone cares:

http://www.stage6.com/user/Sedako/video/1466107/Havok-vs-Kael'thas

[Letters]

I used to play but it just takes too much time to actually get any fun out of it... unless you enjoy being cannon fodder for the people who do play enough to actually accomplish anything (and I swear some people do somehow... I don't get it). If you're not on at your server's/guild's scheduled group up times and can stay on for hours and hours from then on, you're ****ed. So plan your life around it or get out!

[ailevation]

I played the beta for a couple days before it had expired. I was hooked, then the time ran out and that was that. Some odd months later I bought the game and that was it, I never installed it and here I am now dozens upon dozens of readings and stories later... It will stay uninstalled. I think i'll keep it, so my kids kids could sell it for millions as this game would be a rare software version of cocaine.

[TheDude]

Never played it.

[nurizeko]

I got to lvl 51 over several months, got onto a public test realm for a while, qwent back to my lvl 51...standing in snowy bit of kalimdor, thinknig wtf am I doing? and quit, laughing.

Oh don't get me wrong, its fun sometimes. Its fun to go about with mates over vent, ganking lowbies, picking fights, exploring, running from mobs in places you shouldn't be, not being a noob anymore, enjoying the scenery, using it as a social platform, your first few nice pieces of kit, raiding darkshire ganking every lowbie in sight and starting a fight, pulling STV mobs to westfall.

But on the other hand its overwhelmingly a boring, expensive grinding chore that makes you go miles around the world looking for quests and then not wanting to do the big boring quests anyway because they suck and all your doing is grubbing for XP and lvls rather then having fun.

Most of my motivation was to play till 58 and get to outland, the promised land of fun and giggles.


I went onto the public test realm, got to have a char full level, got to enjoy some REAL PVP, got to explore everywhere I fancied and tried what I wanted to try, even got to gank other lvl 70 alliance wankers.

I had essentially, in one week of test realm, got to do everything I ever wanted to, and I wondered what was the point anymore.

WoW isn't about fun, its about keeping you paying beyond any logical reason to, the inexplicable "need" to get to a higher level is the only thing that keeps you going.


Me and my best mate quit, but another mate still plays.

He used to be a CS:S player who would bad mouth the crap out of WoW. Complained how sucky it was on his first char. He tried again and he was lost. It was okay when we played, but after we quit all he would talk about was WoW and we barely talk to him now because he barely talks about anything else its so boring.

[Cpt Tenacious]

A major boss in the original game before the expansion by the name of Hakkar had an ability called "Corrupted Blood" which was infectious to other players in the raid and barring maniacal "cleansing" from other players and avoiding those that are infected it would kill all those he used it on.

The story goes something like this; Once upon a time a raid group (or several) decided to become infected and portal to the capital city, lo and behold the infection did what infections do best, it spread - wildly throughout the city, unbeknownst to the low level "n00bs" that largely made up the population at the time. Everyone and their grandmother died.

It eventually spread so far and wide and killed so many people that Blizzard was forced to take down the servers and apply a hotfix patch. Here's the wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood) for those interested in the full scoop. Pretty hilarious stuff actually.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fe/WoW_Corrupted_Blood_Plague.jpg/750px-WoW_Corrupted_Blood_Plague.jpg

in other words http://everyoneaids.ytmnd.com/

[Raziaar]

I was devoured by WoW and I spit it out.

Yes... That's right. You heard me.

[Pesmerga]

Ah, the days 60 used to be the level cap. Those were the good days.

[VictimOfScience]

A kid I just saw on Judge Judy admitted to being a huge WoW freak and ignoring his girlfriend and not paying for anything while he lived with her. He didn't come out on top, needless to say. :P

[theotherguy]

wow, that WoW plague is awesome! That is so crazy how a tiny glitch like that infected everyone in game. I'd really like to see the results of all the scientific studies on that. It's really incredible how something like this could end up being a lightbulb for epidemiologists everywhere. They'll be doing real scientific studies with MMORPG plagues in the future, I'm sure of it.

[phantomdesign]

The first time I played it I got addicted after a month & 5 months of my life disappeared before I successfully quit.

The second time I successfully played casually for about 3 months, then 1 month of getting adicted (@#$^%$ raiding, rep grind, PVP grind, grind, grind...) then about a month and a half of full addiction. I woke up to how shitty it was and how badly I ws wasting my massive potential and forced myself to quit (with another 28 days left on my account).

[Shodan]

A good friend of mine was taken by WoW, he used to hate MMO's.

I think we should start something similar to the Methadone program so people can kick the habit.

[Eejit]

Played it casually for quite a while, got bored and quit. One of my flatmates plays it quite hardcore, but to be fair to him his girlfriend is at uni in another country, during holidays when he's with her he doesn't play at all.

[Cormeh]

I had a 10 day trial early last year, I played it for about 4 hours over two nights in total.

I can see what the appeal is, but I wasn't impressed at all. I'd probably only be addicted if I was paying for the damn thing. I'd have to get something out of a monthly fee. Maybe Blizzard could send a hooker over every now and then.

[Absinthe]

Who wants to go fly around doing 10 jobs a day, and sit around a large raid for 6 or so hours.
Where does it get you in life? No where.

While I'm not denying there is an element of tedium in the game's constant grinding, I would be lying if I said I wasn't having fun while doing it. The old days of 40-man raids were no different either. Ploughing through a new instance for hours with all my guildmates? Enjoyed it, no question. Even during the nights where we wiped constantly, it was all made worthwhile by the social dynamic of the guild.

Asking where the game got me in life is just ****ing stupid since any game construed as a job once you're not having fun playing it.

[[Matt]]

I had 5 level 70 chars and was in a horde guild that got most of the server firsts. Glad i quit!!!

[Pesmerga]

wow, that WoW plague is awesome! That is so crazy how a tiny glitch like that infected everyone in game. I'd really like to see the results of all the scientific studies on that. It's really incredible how something like this could end up being a lightbulb for epidemiologists everywhere. They'll be doing real scientific studies with MMORPG plagues in the future, I'm sure of it.

It really can't be a helpful study, to be honest. In WoW or any other game run by people, plague bearers would go after other people to **** with them. This is pretty opposite of what happens in real life... you'd have to consider that most people stay with their families inside their own house, only going out to buy supplies and such, and doing so carefully.

[Boogaloo]

Has anybody you known become addicted to WoW and had/has it affected their lives to a large degree?

Yes. Yes I do.

I personally hate it.

[TheAntipop]

My friend got hooked within the first hour of installing it. A few of us were at his house and over the course of the night, as we watched TV in the living room or played our instruments in the practice room, he took his laptop with him and was just glued to it, constantly. We would have to repeat things to him as he wasn't listening. We ask if we coud get a drink and he'd just nod aimlessly, not even drinking himself, then asking us where we got the Pepsi from 10 minutes later, and installing losing attention when we told him. Ordered pizza, he just ignored it, even though he hadn't eaten all day. It was a pretty awkward night. I was getting pretty pissed off at him.

And then strangly, he uninstalled it soon after saying he got bored.

[Spoonoop]

It sucks when your friends abandon you for their guild. :|

I started playing WoW with a large group of friends. We banded together for quite a while, but eventually one by one they became guild crazy and did nothing but hang out with them and join the never ending quest for better loot. I never took the game seriously, and same with one other friend. We tried to get as much dishonor as possible by killing civilians :). But I heard you can't do that anymore, that was the best part of the game.

[Dr0ndeh]

i had loads of fun in old wow, got upto c'thun and a few bosses in naxx before TBC dropped. thankfully TBC was absolute shite, so i stopped. wont be going back.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/2922/nefdedjx2.jpg

[Lamarrfz]

It's quite funny how everyone says WoW steals your life away, I have never played WoW, and I have never had a life, mostly because I just dislike people. :D.

[sinkoman]

My friend's little brother plays, ALOT.

It's actually pretty entertaining. Whenever i'm in a bad mood, I know I can just walk into his room, and lay on his bed, a dim shadow of his figure highlighting the bed, whilst the soft and soothing glow of his mac illuminates his comforting figure.

Tis always good fun to run in on somebody while they're in the middle of a raid or something, lock the door, and start running around screaming "PENIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!"

It's quite funny how everyone says WoW steals your life away, I have never played WoW, and I have never had a life, mostly because I just dislike people. :D.

Sorry, I don't care yet...

[B.Calhoun]

My friend's little brother plays, ALOT.

It's actually pretty entertaining. Whenever i'm in a bad mood, I know I can just walk into his room, and lay on his bed, a dim shadow of his figure highlighting the bed, whilst the soft and soothing glow of his mac illuminates his comforting figure.



that sounded really gay. and then you go on to mention penis'.

[Corp. Sheepo]

My friend plays it constantly, he used to be a great source for talking about good games but now he just tells me about WoW. I really hate that game.

[ktimekiller]

TBC killed it for me. I still play, but im a gimped Enh shammy. Our former glory days are far over. T_T

[Acepilotf14]

I played for a little while, back when it was still smallish. I bought it like the first month it came out.
I remember, I first joined because I wanted to be a Night Elf DEMON HUNTER
LIKE ILLIDAN
WTF HAPPENED TO THAT?
>: (
Got bored, went back to SWG. Till they killed it.
Damn, SWG was soooo fun.

[Operational]

I've got a trial CD lying around somewhere... do I dare?

[Sedako]

I've got a trial CD lying around somewhere... do I dare?

Wait for the next wave of MMOs, current WoW is stale.

[Citrus]

Is This Your Friend? (http://www.break.com/worldofwarcraft/mom-tells-kid-no-more-warcraft2.html)

:|

[Pulse]

I have never played WoW, nor do I intend to in the future. It looks terrible.

[Glirk Dient]

I used to play it...a lot. I had a 60 rogue back in the days before the expansion and did a good deal of raiding. I was always more into PVP and did that a lot, but our server blew chunks and no one ever played PVP. Once the xpansion came out I made a paladin and got him to 70 and did a shit ton of arena/PVP and a good amount of raiding. I almost miss that game, but I know I would lose my social life if I got involved again.

[Eejit]

Is This Your Friend? (http://www.break.com/worldofwarcraft/mom-tells-kid-no-more-warcraft2.html)

:|

:laugh:

[Musk]

yes! i have 3 friends all trying to get me to start playing wow. i've refused knowing that if i ever touch the game i no doubt will get addicted to it as i do with most games i play that never seem to end with the amount you can do in game.
my friends have even gone so far as to share their account with me so i can play :S
i pity them

[LordShadovar]

I've played it twice, each a period of ten days. I don't see the draw that nine million people have to it. I really don't.
Contrary to what Blizz says, the game is boring as hell before level 40, which few newcomers hit during the trial.

Yes I play, at will. Not addicted at all, and it's weird to me how people can become so addicted to it.

[Rico]

It's a willpower thing I guess... Some people can become easily addicted to things. Thrown in a game that's designed to be a bit addicting and sure enough, there will be people addicted to it.

I played WoW for like 4 months or so, made it to rank 10 in the old battlegrounds system with my lvl 60 undead mage. It was awesome, PvP in the game was pretty fun (combat-wise) although it wasn't as hardcore as I would have prefered. I'td been pretty exciting if they had made it so you could loot player corpses.

Anyways I got bored (nobody had to drag me away from the game) and stopped playing. Now that the expansion is out I bought the battlechest and I'm playing with my GF in a private server. I don't know, I've never had the problem of being addicted to a game, I'll play it, put it down, go have fun, come back to it when I get bored/have nothing to do.

I think the best advise I can give people when playing the game is just to take it like this: If someone asks you to go out and have fun, and you make up an excuse so you can stay in your raid and get loot, put the game down, and go out. Seriously, I don't get how killing Ragnaros for like the 50th time, regardless of how close you are to getting whatever loot you want, can take precedence over going out with your friends.

Considering going back to a blizz server since the pvp is all messed up in private servers though.

[99.vikram]

It's a willpower thing I guess... Some people can become easily addicted to things.
I get addicted to an MMO if my ego gets involved. Same thing as with CS or Quake.

[AJ Rimmer]

Contrary to what Blizz says, the game is boring as hell before level 40, which few newcomers hit during the trial.

Could be cause the trial only allows you to reach level 20.

[nurizeko]

It's a willpower thing I guess... Some people can become easily addicted to things.

When I was into WoW I never felted addicted. I was quite happy and in fact liked leaving the game to do other things. I remember playing quite heavily though, but I think that was for the grind if anything.

When does heavy investment become addiction?.

:|

Its puzzling is all, I could walk away from the game, go away for a few days and not care, but when it was available I'de play quite allot.