Creeperella gets her groove thang on at the Shrine of Two Moons.
I went and took a break from WoW for a while, opting to hop among my free games and SW:TOR (which doesn’t run very well on my computer) and found that there was something missing — namely the familiarity, the setting I enjoyed, and the friends I had made. This isn’t to say that WoW is perfect or that I’m going to be here forever, but that I never actually intended to permanently leave and that it was nice to get out into something else.
The problem that I find that I have with any game is this whole “keeping it fun” thing. The good thing about games of WoW’s nature is that they tend to have a lot of other, little things for you to do beyond the main game — like pursuing achievements, gathering pretty gear sets, experimenting with different alts, or trying occasional challenges. Roleplay, too, is near and dear to my heart. Previous to taking a break from World of Warcraft, though, I had found it really difficult to step into RP — although I don’t find it an easy thing to do, I’ve been doing it more often and I’ve been enjoying myself. That part, the feeling that I get after a round of roleplay, after having some fun? That’s what keeps me going back to it.
Ta-Kei and Mei-Tan.
When it comes to keeping WoW fun, I find that it comes down to the people that I’m surrounding myself with. If not for the people I’ve met through the game, I wouldn’t enjoy it nearly so much — even if I’m not playing with them, they’re still about. I still chat with them. Some of my most meaningful relationships are because of “that damn game” — I wouldn’t have met my boy if it wasn’t for World of Warcraft, even, and I wouldn’t keep coming back if it wasn’t for adventures.
Most recently, him and I have been occasionally playing a TankMonk/HealyShaman pair and a TankMonk/TankMonk pair (with me healing in both occasions, shock and horror). It’s been fun. Being on Skype at the same time means that communication is faster and easier (though I feel I know him well enough to have an idea of what sort of crap he’s going to pull), plus, if people are being bad we can vent about it and plan our rebellion.
Alanada shows Creeperella some of the sights of Pandaria.
Along with that, Telystra and I have been running dungeons on our 70s druids, with her healing and me tanking. Have I mentioned lately how much I love druid tanking? No? I love druid tanking. To say that she puts up with a lot from me as a tank is an understatement, though she also knows her shit and is pretty damned good at making up for my “oh whoops that other group joined in LOLOL OKAY FACEROLL TIME” shenanigans. Once I latch onto something it doesn’t go away — that’s pretty amazing for me.
Between that, roleplay with people I know and people I don’t, plus pursuing achievements and alts — while taking occasional breaks with other games — I think I’ve been managing to keep it fresh for myself.
Pet-hunting has helped, too.
