How to Avoid “MMO Burnout”

Gamers are likely no stranger to the idea of “chores” in video games: those moments like in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker when you stop going into dungeons to fight monsters and instead just sail around all over the map fishing for Triumph Forks. MMO’s, by their very design intend to be long-lasting experiences that eat up time, but that style of gameplay has a side effect in simply wearing players down. However, I’ve found that most individuals who get burned out while playing MMOs are playing in a way that sets themselves up for failure. Today, I’d like to address some of the common missteps that can occur, not only when starting out a new MMO, but also when playing one long-term.

The first rule to avoid burnout is simple: have fun. Only play the aspects of the game that are fun to you. You might think to yourself that this is a bit self-explanatory, but let me paint you a picture. When you get to maximum level and it’s time to do end-game content like large raids or competitive PvP, you discover that an important element of success is the use of potions during fights. To make these potions, you need to go out into the world and gather specific plants. When you gather enough plants, you can use them to craft potions yourself and for your team. You make a daily routine of gathering this resource, creating potions, storing them in the guild bank, and then logging off for the day. This doesn’t seem so bad at first because you know that you’re helping out your friends, but after a couple weeks you realize something: you haven’t had any fun picking flowers. It’s important that you remind yourself that the point is to enjoy the time you spend in this world. Maybe it’s hard to think you are letting down your team, but pursue creative solutions to this. Maybe someone else can be in charge of gathering materials and you can just do the crafting half of it. Or, you can play a different part of the game you enjoy and gather enough money to buy potions off the auction house instead. As soon as you realize you are in a rut, don’t let yourself dig deeper.

Remember when you were a kid and you said “I just want a video game where I spend most of my time working in mines”?

Another example of that unfun feeling that happens quite often is the gear grind week-to-week. In World of Warcraft, when players reach level 100 they can begin gathering stronger gear to participate in raids, which are 25-man groups that fight the toughest bosses in the game. It can be fun when you first get gear strong enough for the easy-mode raid, but after your gear level reaches 640, you can start doing the same raid on normal mode. After you get enough gear to reach gear level 655, you being doing hard mode raids. Then after that, you aim for mythic difficulty. For some, this is the best part of the game. What I have observed, however, is that this is not everyone’s idea of “fun”. At times, waiting for random loot drops off of bosses can become more frustrating than fun, and after dedicating a month to this activity the entire game becomes a slow slog through random number generators.

This brings me to my second tip: try content you haven’t touched yet. Let’s say you’re in the position I just described. You had fun raiding at first, but now you just don’t want to see that same boss ever again. In World of Warcraft, you have two easy options for mixing it up: try playing Player vs. Player content, or start a new character.

Player vs. Player (like you don’t know what “PvP” stands for) often feels drastically different than traditional combat in nearly every MMO. Because you are dealing with other players who have spells and attacks that rival your own it requires a new take on strategy. In fact, on some characters I make I often have two different sets of spells that I alternate between depending on what I feel like doing today. It can sometimes make the game feel new, and World of Warcraft is by no means the only MMO with more than one mode of play to tackle.

Back to that second option: make a new character. It might feel like a step backwards to go all the way back to level 1, but often you will find in MMOs it is easy to overlook nooks and crannies in the world. There is a load of content one can discover just by taking different routes, or not skipping over a zone you leveled beyond. If you pick a new class, it can require a new style of strategy, such as changing from a sword-wielding warrior to a long-ranged wizard. Games like World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic also have different factions to choose from, so you can experience the “good guy” and “bad guy” stories only by playing multiple characters. Between you and me, on World of Warcraft I currently have 8 characters that are maxed out at level 100. Each one with a different race, class, and story to tell.

Look at all this adventuring I have to plan out! I don’t have time to pick rocks!

My third and final tip to avoid burnout is also simple: take a break. Because we pay a monthly fee for some of these games, it can be difficult to turn it off because it feels like a waste of money to not play with every spare second we have. But, as soon as you are just tired of logging in, do yourself a favor and think about why you feel the game has become a chore. It is okay to unsubscribe for a month, maybe play some Evolve or Dota 2 for a change of pace, and in all likelihood you will thank yourself when you get that itch to jump back in where you were. Right now, there is a World of Warcraft player complaining that the current tier of raids feels boring. That player has probably not gotten out of his chair for over 3 weeks and is by no means any sort of role model.

I hope you’ve decided to join us MMO players, and if you have I hope you keep these simple tips at heart. They all seem almost common sense, but I see so many angry rants and frustrated complaints that stem from a sense that the game has become more and more tiresome for players, and the reality is that time management can be easier said than done. As long as you are conscious of some of these pitfalls, it all becomes a lot more enjoyable.

Next week, I’ll be offering tips on making the most of PvE content, and if you have any specific questions you’d like answers on, you can always send me a tweet at @TaurenItUp.