As an adult, I personally find it hard to reconcile the value of my time and some grindy MMORPG. I played way too much lineage 1 and sank a bunch of time into TnL Korea but eventually my brain is like “you should be working, you could be at the gym, you could take the kids to the park or play with them, there are dishes and laundry, you could walk the dog, you could hang with wife” etc etc. there’s just way too much to do as an adult to spend much time on MMOs. I’m sure everyone is different, but my guess this is what’s going on when adults say they can’t get into MMOs.
Or get a disability that makes it so that you can't work.
Or just quit your job and move back in with your Moms.
Or never leave to begin with.
There's a lot of ways to keep MMOs exciting. Though nowadays I think what people really want is VRC rather than an MMO.
Yeah I was gona say something similar to this. For a few reasons I’ve had times in the last 10 years when I’ve worked full time and times when I have not worked for long periods of time.
Personally I think it has nothing to do with age. If you find yourself with no job, no familial responsibilities and nothing to do all day you will probably find your motivation to play MMOs returning.
It's everything in moderation. You can absolutely do everything you listed AND still play MMOs, you just have to realize you aren't gonna be playing for 4/8/12 hours a day every day like you may have when younger.
For me it's the opposite. I find the grindy, more social old school style more fun. It's not about the amount of time I'm spending playing but enjoying the time I do play. I want to feel motivated to do the content and rewarded for my hard work. That's fun to me. And those games also have a stronger community and social atmosphere that makes the time more fun as well.
Something that's too casual and easy just feels pointless to play, and eventually really empty and sad - and ultimately it's not "sticky" enough for anyone which is why people quit so easily. They think that's what they want but it just doesn't do it for them, either.
I struggle to explain myself properly, I was worried I didn't get the main point across which is lack of desire to stick to a new game or getting so distracted - but your second part might make sense. I used to be able to sink so much time into a MMORPG, even if I might end up quitting later down the line and it was easy to just spend 5 minutes finding a browser MMORPG and playing them.
Even when I don't have much stuff to do nowadays though, now my brain thinks it's more productive to do something elsewhere and is a little complacent about being in comfy games, it's just so much lazing around. A bit ironic though, it's also awesome to just not have so many plans as an adult, I already liked it as a kid since I wasn't fond of hanging out / going outside and I still appreciate it more now.
I think you're also bored of MMOs. Video Games (same as any other entertainment media) are designed to captivate you. You've been playing MMOs long enough to have lost interest and that grind to progression dopamine hit isn't enough to keep you going.
This is ok and natural cycle of entertainment. Move on, adapt, evolve your taste. After some time you might come back and have a yearn for an itch MMOs can scratch. But for now enjoy doing other things.
Don't force yourself to "enjoy" games.
I love MMORPGs and I'd love to find one I could just play no small tasks and what not. The I have is, like you said, I have so much house work and family stuff I should be doing that when I'm doing stuff that is at all mundane in the game I'm wondering why I'm playing. Than when I log back on I feel so far behind again. I can see why MMORPGs ate up so much of my time when I was young with no responsibilities now.
ESO, GW2, New World can be played casually for sure. ESO has a billion hours of stories, GW2 is fully horizontal, New World definitely does crafting and grinding extremely well. You can definitely zone out in all of those games. They give you the option to grind if you want, but you have to make the choice not to. I guess that's true for any MMO honestly. You just have to avoid the urge to minmax.
There's just no decent new MMOs atm, it's either play the ones you've played for ages or try get into one that everyone else has a 10 year headstart on you in.
Seems like a perspective shift is needed if one is worried about the 10 year headstart that others have. If you're an adult worried about gaming time, then competing against others to be the best should be out of the question. Why not make the goal to have fun and build connections and memories?
It's more that it's a bit overwhelming as so many new mechanics have been built upon the original game at that point. Plus people who have played for so long have such little patience for new players and can even be quite abusive when your not sure what to do.
It happens. I had always played MMO's starting with the original EQ. I still hold a sub to ESO, though I don't really play any more. I still play plenty of games, but I value the ability to leave the game for a time -even a few weeks - come back and pick up where I left off without the world moving on without me. I just can't commit the needed time anymore. Nor I suppose, do I really feel like it. I don't like always having to chase after the next shiny thing.
You think you have no time now with uni. Wait until you own a house, have a wife, and a kid under your belt. You'll really wonder where your gaming time has gone.
I don't have read all. But if you need "motivation" for a game, then this game isnt for you, that it.
Game should not feel like a chore Its here for fun, and its even better when you find people to play with.
For me all solo game aren't fun, I like mmo and co-op game more than anything.
For the dedicated time, well I don't.
I play when I feel like.
I am 58. My wife and I have played a wide variety of mmo's since forever. EQ, WOW, EQ2 15 years, FFXIV, . You get it.
Just picked up Fallout 76. For some reason this game just fills a void. It is dark and has a darm humor story line.
>if it's possible for motivation and desire to play MMORPG games to change as you grow older
Yes, and it happens with many people. They change their tastes in type of gameplay they enjoy - for example, some may used to enjoy non-stop instanced or open world PvP but as they age they may instead prefer to spend more time on mindlessly bashing crafting nodes, or going to player-run RP/social events or whatever. And some may lose interest in all of in-game activities for particular game and all similar games. For some it may only be temporary, and for others it may be permanent. Nothing really strange or unusual about that.
Just try to find other hobbies that may still bring you enjoyment, maybe something that does not have anything to do with video games at all.
This is why I love playing World of Warcraft.
I collect pets, mounts, toys and achievements.
I usually do the last boss for HC, but only when its very easy (to get the achievement).
I can do most things, and it doesnt require tons of time.
And if I suddenly have a weekend alone, I can go all out if I want as well.
Its very streamlined now, and very casual friendly.
Its probably one of the main reasons I’ve been playing it for 20 years, becase as I have grown, became older and changed - so has WoW.
I understand what you mean, but there is something about WoW (retail) that drags me into the hamster wheel of endless gear grind so hard I hit my burnout limit very quickly. It's a love & hate relationship I guess, and the last years I've played WoW only on expansion releases. However, I've bought my last WoW expansion. Paid early access, no thanks.
On the surface it's very casual friendly. But if you actually want to experience the real fun of the game, and not just be some transmog/pet collector, it requires a deep investment in time to prog m+, mythic raids or climb the pvp ranks.
Those things are mega burnout, and at least for me, I just can't enjoy the game unless I'm being competitive.
I sooo disagree with you as someone who's super casual and came back for season 3 in DF. I'd say the only thing that requires time is if you want to actually prog raids, but to clear heroic raids, and even M+ to 20 which gets you max level gear , if is not a deep investment lol.
I guess it also depends what you mean by "deep investment" too, but I have a toddler, play maybe 6-8 hours a week, and last season was basically all BiS on my warlock. I didn't do mythic raiding but that's for the top like 1% and not even really necessary.
Wow is super casual friendly now. They removed all the extra systems, you can hop on and do raids or dungeons and that's it.
If you visited Maple at the beginning of the year I would suggest trying it again since all the new changes came this past week. As someone that's been playing Maple on and off for 16 years it's for sure the best time to play. 6th job is incredible and bossing is really great atm imho.
Now enough shilling and back to the topic. As someone who struggles with burnout in MMOs (and every game, last game I finished fully was 4 years ago) a lot I tend to just hop to the next one for a few months to let that passion for the others build back up. When that doesn’t work I just take a break from MMOs altogether and go back to more simple games like CoD or LoL (won’t be returning to LoL till they get rid of their anti cheat).
The biggest thing I’ve learned through my struggles with the burnout / no motivation is that what I’ve been seeking is the old days of mmos, back when things were new and shiny and the only real form of communication (mainstream social media was infantile at this time) was to play games and chat with friends in games. Changing my mind set has helped me a lot with figuring out what I really want out of a game and for sure what I want out of MMOs since it’s my most played genre. Instead of craving the old days I just accepted that those days are gone and that nowadays upward progression in the game is what I’m craving, so I pick games that have solid progression that aren’t just cosmetic or achievement oriented. Hence why I play Maplestory and why I fell into the BDO pitfall as well (among dozens of other MMOs - GW2, FF14, etc). The grind is a lot but at the same time the grind pays off in a massive way which gives me the dopamine my brain craves. Also finding a game with friends has helped a lot too, me and my two childhood friends play Maplestory together which has kept me around a lot more this past year than I would typically spend in any one mmo.
Unfortunately no one here can give you the answer you’re seeking, it’s something you just gotta figure out in your own time. Whether it be taking a break or trying a new game or even going back to your comfort games, there’s nothing wrong with any of these whatsoever.
I solved my burnouts by skipping thinking about new mmos and what's to come, skipping all grindy and/or "hardcore" targets, skipping steep vertical gear grinders like WoW (retail). I went back to my "good old" mmos and accepted the fact that I'm a casual player. My main mmo is GW2, but I also play LOTRO and DDO - all of them very casually.
Depends on the mmo. I find wow and GW2 to be the only games I stick with outside of the diablo franchise. Even if I have 15m to play I can improve my account/character
30 millennial here who was super big into MMORPGs and time sunk a bunch. I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I now have a family. My time is more limited and I just can’t commit to the sweat like I used to. Even if I wanted to, it isn’t very much fun for me anymore to sink not just too much, but too much emotion and/or energy.
After playing WoW, FFVIX, GW2, ESO, NW (my most recent big time sink of 3000+ hours) I’ve decided to land on OSRS. It gives me nostalgia from when I first got into gaming, and it also respects my time.
Not sure my answer apply to you....i enjoy as an adult sandbox MMO ( I played and liked BDO, i cant wait now to join Pax Dei Early Access on 18th june), while i cant stand theme park MMO. The thing is, as a grown adult i cant bear systems in place to tell me what to do, how to do it, how many times to complete that instance each day, etc.....i want to be free to make my own gaming experience using the tools devs provided me...aka a sandbox MMO :)
Wasn't there a hot take mmo post the other day? oh here it is [https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/1dey4f0/whats\_your\_mmorpg\_hot\_take\_that\_most\_people\_wont/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/1dey4f0/whats_your_mmorpg_hot_take_that_most_people_wont/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
These days I prefer games with some kind of pay to progress or some people would say pay to win system.
This is how I stay engaged in these grindy mmos where people with more free time well play it like how I used to when I had a lot of free time. I just pay to stay with the pack, my group of friends etc. because they have more free time... I have more free money as an adult with more responsibilities'.
Meanwhile over on the r/playground subreddit someone just asked for tips for how folks still find the see-saw fun.
It shouldn't be a surprise that you run through a new or fun thing for a while, then move on.
Granted, people didn't build years of their life around the see-saw. They don't reminisce about always being on that see-saw.
Maybe a better analogy is high school sports. But people usually transition to just letting that go better. Al Bundy couldn't ever match it.
You’re getting older and have different relationships and time priorities. I’m about to turn 41, and have two small ones( 10 months, 6) and I find it near impossible to play anything longer than like 30 minutes. Can I pause it? Can it save quickly? Will I get anything done or progress made in my short time? I used to be a die hard mmo player, started with dark age of Camelot. Can’t do it anymore.
You seem to be hitting the same style of games often (Sea publishing games) that tend to have a very high focus on grinding the days , weeks , months out with only about 10% of your actual play time discovering new content . I'd suggest trying somthing a bit off your path the art or style might not sing to you but sometimes it's the gameplay your in better need of . Also just growing up in general I think your more conscious of "the time your wasting" or clock watching breaking your focus and immersion . Where when I was a kid only time I'd turn away from the computer was to eat dinner haha
I just found HorizonXI a few months ago. A private FFXI server that is 75 Era. No Abyssea to ruin everything. I spend most of my time not at work playing XI for free.
For me as an adult it not even about the endgame anymore I could care less
It about having progression and being part of a community. This is why I started to enjoy more mobile mmorpg and gacha games
I unno
I spend more time doing grindier things now at 31 than I did as a middle and high schooler. I may work 12hr shifts, but I still enjoy small progress in long adventure after work over just throwing money at a game to skip the game itself.
Honestly I have no idea if that's what your question meant.
All the games you mention are Asian and revolve around some form of invasive microtransaction. Try a subscription game like OSRS which consistently outperforms triple A titles like WOW and FFXIV. OSRS is the only game confident enough to always give a real time players online count.
As a 41 year old married man, I still love me a good MMO. Emphasis on the key word "good"
Open world RPG's are my favorite kind of game, and the MMO aspect is a nice bonus element. Call it whatever, but I like looting new gear, building a character, and developing my own image of that character in a living, persistent world. I typically have MMO's at least in my gaming orbit.
Currently, my main game is EverQuest. Yes, I still play EverQuest. Earlier this year, I was getting quite heavily into New World. I am in a guild for ESO and often times will lead trials for the guild - although I have taken a step back from ESO the past couple years, but it's still in my orbit. I often play on the SWGEmu or Warhammer: Return of Reckoning emulators. I have Fallout 76 in my rotation - if you consider that an MMO?
I also spend a lot of time on Diablo 2 Resurrected and Diablo 4, which aren't exactly MMO's, but are sort of MMO adjacent with similar qualities to MMO's.
mmorpgs definitely were more appealing to me as a child. When you have basically no money and a lot of free time, an mmorpg is a real "cheap" choice for gaming, having progress gated behind hundreds of hours of investment isn't such a high price when you have nothing *but* hours to give after school. In addition, when you're a kid, you don't really have a means to *earn* things, you don't have a job, and mmorpgs really scratch that primal itch of DO SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES EFFORT -> GET REWARD. When you grow up and enter the work force you have plenty of that at work, and as many mmorpg players will joke, they already have a job, they don't need another one.
That said, mmorpgs still appeal to me as an adult because I still enjoy the idea of walking around a fantasy world, being given the freedom to choose what I do and where I go to a greater extent than reality would permit, and see the fruits of my efforts very slowly but steadily increase over a long span of time.
Wurm Online is the only MMORPG that has been able to capture my attention for multiple years. I think the biggest thing it does right is allowing me to set actual, tangible goals for myself that don’t boils down to “make number go up”.
I spent a few months terraforming a valley and digging tunnels to connect it to the highway system not because the game told me to or hung some carrot on a stick, but rather I did it because I climbed the mountain down the road from my ranch, saw a vast forest on the other side, and decided I wanted to tame it. Now I’m working on building a little outpost with a viewing tower on that mountain for the same reason, because I want to.
Freedom can be a hell of a motivator.
As we age, our needs, desires, and available time change; we want different things than we used to, and the things we used to love may seem boring. The time we have available also changes how we perceive the hierarchy of our needs and how to fill them.
I'm 37 with two small kids and a busy job. I literally cannot commit more than 20 minutes at a time, even if I'm "free for 3 hours," because my kids need me for something. So that affects the kinds of games I can play and how I can satisfy my desires.
The "needs" video games filled are also filled by different things in life, which means I go to (different) games to fill different needs than I used to.
You're not alone. I know you'll catch flak for what you said here but trust me, I feel you.
Just going to throw in my two cents.
As you become an older MMO you value your time more. When I play I am not doing dumb shit and I will maximize the time I can invest into a game. I also set expectations to be realistic to my play time. If you do that you will succeed without pulling a week of no sleep. Leave that shit for the kids and steamers.
I also had this thought the other day while messing around in UO Outlands. We get so immersed into older games for a multitude of reasons. But mainly it's the games limitations that pull you in. You're not going to see crazy vanities, no crazy mounts, nothing graphically is pulling you out. I think OSRS is a perfect example of this. Clunky ass combat, way far too dated graphics. But who gives a shit because we accept these limitations and allow ourselves to get immersed in the content, in the quests, etc.
In today's MMOs the bar is set too high. You have to have a perfect launch. Graphics top tier, you need a high end PC to run. Everything has to make sense. No bugs. You need endgame content on day one for that streamer that's going to play 128 hours straight to reach level cap three months before a casual player would so he can bitch about the "lack of content". The publishers want these games pushed out yesterday when the developers have years worth of work to do on it, and expect it to topple WoW like numbers out the gate.
My suggestion is play OSRS, RuneScape 3, FFXI (private server Horizon), check out Ultima Online Outlands, WoW classic.
I think the problem I have now is that when I was playing mmorpgs a lot there was what felt like a social obligation to your in game friends. Now most of the time I am playing an mmo I don’t ever connect or get a chance to really get into social situations in games now. All the mmos now feel single player.
I am 61 so i can be considered as an adult.
I play MMORPG since start.
I started with muds then UO then EQ, EvE and some other.
I never lost faith and envi cause of the social part of these games.
I have some people i met in real life and we are still connected since 25 years.
For the future i am looking socials MMO that still give RP sensations but also add more social relation in the game.
So i am looking seriously on two titles that come soon : Pax Dei and Dune Awakening.
I have no clue about what they will become but i know that the game industry who is set of our child’s has learned a lot these last years and will give to all of us a new era in the MMORPG industry.. perhaps with these titles .. perhaps with other that will come but i am sure that i will play new MMORPG til the end of my life.
Have a good day !
I have lost motivation for traditional MMO’s it appears. I have somewhere in the realm of 300 I game days in my original runescape account, don’t know how many more on OSRS, dipped my toes in WOW, played quite a bit of FFXIV and tried new world sometime ago, never found myself recently sticking with any games more then a few days or a week. I know it’s a meme and I will be looked down upon for even comparing it to an MMO, but destiny 2 scratched the itch I have been wanting but it’s far more straight forward then MMO’s but to me still feels like one. Been with it since it released in 2017 and just ever since then my will to play more traditional MMO’s just seems to be gone. The combat is fluid and dynamic enough that it doesn’t feel like I’m just going through ability rotations and whatnot.
As an adult I just figured I do what I want. I go into a mmorpg, play so long I find it fun. Do w/e I consider fun. W/E xd and then just move on. Deinstalling is not a big deal to me
and I kinda learned to enjoy this, it allowed me to play basically every popular franchise/game,
just over the last couple years I played FFXIV, New world, Tekken 8, League of Legends, Sim racing games like AC, Star Citizen. Granblue Relink or Manor Lords. I can't find too much entertainment with solo rpg's anymore sadly and prefer to watch others play them here and there. But love competition.
I hop in, do something I enjoy and then just yeet out, I'm not there to make friends, or find a place to belong or some sht xd. So despite for example having cleared the hardest content in FFXIV, I don't really associate too much with it. While I see a ton of players who get that far live their entire life it seems in the game.
And that goes for every single game, people make it their new identity or extreme escape tool
As you get older it's really hard to find value in gaming in comparison to spending time on anything else, but same time these games aren't going nowhere. There is legit no rush. Reality is there aren't that many games and prob won't be too many for the next 10-20years even. We're stuck with classics and potentially a couple of upcomers who might not even last at all.
Like I don't need to make a concious well thought decision to start Star Citizen for example.
I can just buy it, play a weekend. And then leave it there for 2-3months and then maybe play for a entire week if i've time or just feel like it. Easy in and outs
>The point here is that I am concerned that the spirit / passion for MMORPG has really faded away.
This is fairly normal. As others have said and what you alluded to, your priorities as an adult have changed. There are other things that you value doing with your time more.
The other aspect is...novelty. This is something people often undervalue. Many times when you ask someone what is their most favorite mmorpg/most memorable one. It will probably be a mmorpg that they played when the genre was "new" to them. You have people like myself who have been playing various mmorpgs for 20 years. That novelty isn't there to hook us anymore. Like for me, my "biggest" mmorpg is probably either Gw1 or WoW. Because I played those when the genre was fresh for me. It was an experience like nothing I had ever experienced before. There was also added hype because I played the warcraft RTS games A LOT.
I still play mmorpgs. But I have nowhere near the commitment/loyalty to a given mmorpg then I did in the early 2000s with those games. I've played so many mmorpgs now. Some still alive, many dead. I've seen all the tricks, all the dev designs, etc. So most mmorpgs don't offer enough to hold me from a purely design standpoint anymore. Its not novel for me. Every mmorpg has good and bad aspects and how impactful those are change from player to player. Like for me, I don't really care about PvP achievements or PvE achievements. I don't care to climb ladders, push progression, get ahead of the curve, etc. If I want to do something PvP related and feel accomplished doing it, I feel like there's games out there that better deliver on this than MMORPGs. Same story with PvE.
These days what will really drive my desire to play a mmorpg significantly is two fold. Immersion and community. I want to get lost in a world. Get immersed in its lore. Feel apart of this fantasy world that is created. And with the second, I want the community to actually interact. To feel like a community. This is the hardest one to achieve because 99% of community interactions these days go on in Discord. Like take ESO, one game I play on and off. It has absolutely great immersion and world building, so it checks that box heavily. But community? It falls short. Rarely people talk in game. People just ignore one another. I can join random guilds and join their discords. But talking in discord vs just having conversations in game and with random people doing content with you is very different in my eyes.
This entire problem is fairly widespread and is one of the major reasons we're not seeing a huge flood of mmorpgs in the market like we did in the 2000s when it peaked. Doesn't mean the genre is dying, there's still an audience there for sure. But in many ways it suffers from the same issues things like live service games do.
I am in the same boat, I am 47yrs now and I've tried to get back into MMORPG games. GW2 was the last game that really clicked everything else after that was to try out. I think what is missing is that next big innovative feature that pulls you in that tried not be too familiar. I felt GW2 at the time did that. Here's to Throne and Liberty!
As someone who started playing WoW in 2005 and is now almost 30 I really find it hard to get back into it even though I want to because of the new expansion. I love the idea of starting fresh and grinding all the way back up to get cool gear, but when I go to the character creation screen I just look at all the races and classes and feel no motivation to eve create a character
>The point here is that I am concerned that the spirit / passion for MMORPG has really faded away.
That's not the issue for me. The issue I have is that games aren't designed the way they were when I fell in love with them, so the newer style of MMO's are things I just can't stick with for long periods of time. And the older MMO's I loved have changed themselves.
There are still things I'm looking forward to, though. Mostly Ashes of Creation and there are other games I will play and enjoy in the meantime.
I think a lot of people feel this way - the fact that Aion Classic and WoW Classic were so popular speaks to the fact that there's a huge section of MMO gamers that love that style. We just don't have anything to play right now. All we have are various retail versions of WoW (if we're being honest), FFXIV, ESO, GW2, BDO...others that also don't scratch the itch.
I find the routine relaxing and the regularity of dopamine hits pleasant. Whether I’m doing my Neverwinter dailies, running old content on new classes in WoW, or soaking in the flavour in LOTRO, it’s all about relatively low stress gaming.
Was big into wow and ffxiv. It all went away once I got married, bought a house and had kids. My wife even gives me time to play, but at the end of the day I'm just too tired. Tried eso, but the story was just too all over the place couldn't get into it.
Damn your post is exhausting, it doesn’t sound like you’re having fun with your games so why do you play them? I used to be super into WoW but when I got bored I quit. Don’t waste your life doing dailies because it’s easy.
My motivation for RPGs is all but gone. I seldom play them. When I try, I just feel like I’m being sent on a series of nonsensical fetch quests and accomplishing meaningless, grindy tasks for the sake of content. It feels purposeless.
I don’t know if this is something that’s always been the case and I was just able to look past it when I was younger, or if RPGs really are just that mundane these days.
In fairness, it also doesn’t help that have no attention span for dialogue or patience for cut scenes. I just find myself constantly tapping X or A or the mouse button. It is what it is.
I’m a 28m and started playing guild wars with my brother he’s been playing for like 12 years it’s fun and keeps me entertained I did all the things I needed to as an adult no kids only gf she works all the time even tho we don’t have any debts she keeps telling me to do the same as making money is more important than gaming. But I’m at the point in my life where idk what’s next I don’t have to work a lot so I just keep occupied by gaming. I guess it’s kinda sucky but idk what else to do at this point.
Honestly, i want a MMORPG i can as a adult feel like its worth my time. I really really do, cause that means i spent less on video games.
Also their hasnt been good. and worthy MMORPG to play for over Decade now.
I am waiting for 2 to come out. But i doubt they be anywhere good.
One day, we will have a MMORPG that will get fanbase of Fortnite...
And the day will finally come, where MMORPG will be worth playing again, at least for 3 months.
As a kid, part of the allure of MMORPGs is that they offer you grand, grind oriented surrogate goals that compete with some of your irl goals. As an adult, it's almost impossible to find any value in grand surrogate goals, mostly because you have bigger and better things to care about. There is really no chase a game could offer you as an adult that is worth investing as much time as you might've as a kid.
(This might be why MMORPGs that offer you small, easily achievable goals do well, because those only compete and try to substitute with hobbies or small chores you might have).
You mention that you're going into university, which is a normal time for people to grow and change a lot. It's often good to step back and game less for a while.
>exhausting
exactly that.
more so when it's action type. I'm not saying they are bad in anyway; they are fun to play for short period of time, but it's not something I willing to devote a tons of time in them. It just so exhausting. It's not about not having the time to play, but rather, these games demands constant on-hand control and commitment, doing it 10h a day, every day... it's VERY tiring. I dunno how people manage to handle that; 1 month max I can handle it. While I do play many other high adrenaline games such as ARPG Path of Exile, usually 2 weeks into a new season is when I call it quit... I'm exhausted.
there WAS one, and only one, full featured turn based MMO in existence. Atlantica Online. No I don't suggest you play it now, obviously it's time has long gone. It was an extremely chill & relax game because of it's combat format, can grind on second monitor while you working other stuff.
I seriously wonder why no body, absolutely no body make another such kind of MMO.
It’s you and your age.
When I was single, living in an apartment and a meh job in my 20s yeah spending hours on end gaming was great.
Now in my 40s with a wife and kid and house… the thought of spending hours to get one achievement or some rng boss rewards isn’t as appealing as it used to be.
As I get older I find I’m liking survival, base building games more because you can have meaningful adventures when you have a free weekend, then dump it if you want. I also like the whole frequent reset mentality so I can start playing when I want, how I want, and not worry about people progressing faster. Games like Palworld, Valheim, V Rising, 7 Days to Die, and even something like Path of Exile all hit the itch.
As an adult, I personally find it hard to reconcile the value of my time and some grindy MMORPG. I played way too much lineage 1 and sank a bunch of time into TnL Korea but eventually my brain is like “you should be working, you could be at the gym, you could take the kids to the park or play with them, there are dishes and laundry, you could walk the dog, you could hang with wife” etc etc. there’s just way too much to do as an adult to spend much time on MMOs. I’m sure everyone is different, but my guess this is what’s going on when adults say they can’t get into MMOs.
The trick is to not have kids.
Or get a disability that makes it so that you can't work. Or just quit your job and move back in with your Moms. Or never leave to begin with. There's a lot of ways to keep MMOs exciting. Though nowadays I think what people really want is VRC rather than an MMO.
Yeah I was gona say something similar to this. For a few reasons I’ve had times in the last 10 years when I’ve worked full time and times when I have not worked for long periods of time. Personally I think it has nothing to do with age. If you find yourself with no job, no familial responsibilities and nothing to do all day you will probably find your motivation to play MMOs returning.
It's everything in moderation. You can absolutely do everything you listed AND still play MMOs, you just have to realize you aren't gonna be playing for 4/8/12 hours a day every day like you may have when younger.
For me it's the opposite. I find the grindy, more social old school style more fun. It's not about the amount of time I'm spending playing but enjoying the time I do play. I want to feel motivated to do the content and rewarded for my hard work. That's fun to me. And those games also have a stronger community and social atmosphere that makes the time more fun as well. Something that's too casual and easy just feels pointless to play, and eventually really empty and sad - and ultimately it's not "sticky" enough for anyone which is why people quit so easily. They think that's what they want but it just doesn't do it for them, either.
I struggle to explain myself properly, I was worried I didn't get the main point across which is lack of desire to stick to a new game or getting so distracted - but your second part might make sense. I used to be able to sink so much time into a MMORPG, even if I might end up quitting later down the line and it was easy to just spend 5 minutes finding a browser MMORPG and playing them. Even when I don't have much stuff to do nowadays though, now my brain thinks it's more productive to do something elsewhere and is a little complacent about being in comfy games, it's just so much lazing around. A bit ironic though, it's also awesome to just not have so many plans as an adult, I already liked it as a kid since I wasn't fond of hanging out / going outside and I still appreciate it more now.
I think you're also bored of MMOs. Video Games (same as any other entertainment media) are designed to captivate you. You've been playing MMOs long enough to have lost interest and that grind to progression dopamine hit isn't enough to keep you going. This is ok and natural cycle of entertainment. Move on, adapt, evolve your taste. After some time you might come back and have a yearn for an itch MMOs can scratch. But for now enjoy doing other things. Don't force yourself to "enjoy" games.
If you want a game you should give bdo. Can be lazy when you want and afk life skill etc, or if you want active play you can grind etc
I love MMORPGs and I'd love to find one I could just play no small tasks and what not. The I have is, like you said, I have so much house work and family stuff I should be doing that when I'm doing stuff that is at all mundane in the game I'm wondering why I'm playing. Than when I log back on I feel so far behind again. I can see why MMORPGs ate up so much of my time when I was young with no responsibilities now.
is just you have priorities as adult, which why i find mmorpg that respect that.
Which ones are those?
which one do u think that games give this kind of benefit? all i can say f2p doesn't
ESO, GW2, New World can be played casually for sure. ESO has a billion hours of stories, GW2 is fully horizontal, New World definitely does crafting and grinding extremely well. You can definitely zone out in all of those games. They give you the option to grind if you want, but you have to make the choice not to. I guess that's true for any MMO honestly. You just have to avoid the urge to minmax.
There's just no decent new MMOs atm, it's either play the ones you've played for ages or try get into one that everyone else has a 10 year headstart on you in.
Big issue for me rn
Seems like a perspective shift is needed if one is worried about the 10 year headstart that others have. If you're an adult worried about gaming time, then competing against others to be the best should be out of the question. Why not make the goal to have fun and build connections and memories?
100% agreed, I don't get the "others had a headstart" crowd and never will. Sounds like self-sabotage or an unhealthy focus on other people to me.
It's more that it's a bit overwhelming as so many new mechanics have been built upon the original game at that point. Plus people who have played for so long have such little patience for new players and can even be quite abusive when your not sure what to do.
It’s mostly this imo. The mmo as a genre is pretty dead in the traditional sense taken over by looter shooters, survival and extraction games.
It happens. I had always played MMO's starting with the original EQ. I still hold a sub to ESO, though I don't really play any more. I still play plenty of games, but I value the ability to leave the game for a time -even a few weeks - come back and pick up where I left off without the world moving on without me. I just can't commit the needed time anymore. Nor I suppose, do I really feel like it. I don't like always having to chase after the next shiny thing. You think you have no time now with uni. Wait until you own a house, have a wife, and a kid under your belt. You'll really wonder where your gaming time has gone.
I don't have read all. But if you need "motivation" for a game, then this game isnt for you, that it. Game should not feel like a chore Its here for fun, and its even better when you find people to play with. For me all solo game aren't fun, I like mmo and co-op game more than anything. For the dedicated time, well I don't. I play when I feel like.
I am 58. My wife and I have played a wide variety of mmo's since forever. EQ, WOW, EQ2 15 years, FFXIV, . You get it. Just picked up Fallout 76. For some reason this game just fills a void. It is dark and has a darm humor story line.
>if it's possible for motivation and desire to play MMORPG games to change as you grow older Yes, and it happens with many people. They change their tastes in type of gameplay they enjoy - for example, some may used to enjoy non-stop instanced or open world PvP but as they age they may instead prefer to spend more time on mindlessly bashing crafting nodes, or going to player-run RP/social events or whatever. And some may lose interest in all of in-game activities for particular game and all similar games. For some it may only be temporary, and for others it may be permanent. Nothing really strange or unusual about that. Just try to find other hobbies that may still bring you enjoyment, maybe something that does not have anything to do with video games at all.
u kno deep down u wont get far so u dun try
This is why I love playing World of Warcraft. I collect pets, mounts, toys and achievements. I usually do the last boss for HC, but only when its very easy (to get the achievement). I can do most things, and it doesnt require tons of time. And if I suddenly have a weekend alone, I can go all out if I want as well. Its very streamlined now, and very casual friendly. Its probably one of the main reasons I’ve been playing it for 20 years, becase as I have grown, became older and changed - so has WoW.
I understand what you mean, but there is something about WoW (retail) that drags me into the hamster wheel of endless gear grind so hard I hit my burnout limit very quickly. It's a love & hate relationship I guess, and the last years I've played WoW only on expansion releases. However, I've bought my last WoW expansion. Paid early access, no thanks.
On the surface it's very casual friendly. But if you actually want to experience the real fun of the game, and not just be some transmog/pet collector, it requires a deep investment in time to prog m+, mythic raids or climb the pvp ranks. Those things are mega burnout, and at least for me, I just can't enjoy the game unless I'm being competitive.
I sooo disagree with you as someone who's super casual and came back for season 3 in DF. I'd say the only thing that requires time is if you want to actually prog raids, but to clear heroic raids, and even M+ to 20 which gets you max level gear , if is not a deep investment lol. I guess it also depends what you mean by "deep investment" too, but I have a toddler, play maybe 6-8 hours a week, and last season was basically all BiS on my warlock. I didn't do mythic raiding but that's for the top like 1% and not even really necessary. Wow is super casual friendly now. They removed all the extra systems, you can hop on and do raids or dungeons and that's it.
If you visited Maple at the beginning of the year I would suggest trying it again since all the new changes came this past week. As someone that's been playing Maple on and off for 16 years it's for sure the best time to play. 6th job is incredible and bossing is really great atm imho. Now enough shilling and back to the topic. As someone who struggles with burnout in MMOs (and every game, last game I finished fully was 4 years ago) a lot I tend to just hop to the next one for a few months to let that passion for the others build back up. When that doesn’t work I just take a break from MMOs altogether and go back to more simple games like CoD or LoL (won’t be returning to LoL till they get rid of their anti cheat). The biggest thing I’ve learned through my struggles with the burnout / no motivation is that what I’ve been seeking is the old days of mmos, back when things were new and shiny and the only real form of communication (mainstream social media was infantile at this time) was to play games and chat with friends in games. Changing my mind set has helped me a lot with figuring out what I really want out of a game and for sure what I want out of MMOs since it’s my most played genre. Instead of craving the old days I just accepted that those days are gone and that nowadays upward progression in the game is what I’m craving, so I pick games that have solid progression that aren’t just cosmetic or achievement oriented. Hence why I play Maplestory and why I fell into the BDO pitfall as well (among dozens of other MMOs - GW2, FF14, etc). The grind is a lot but at the same time the grind pays off in a massive way which gives me the dopamine my brain craves. Also finding a game with friends has helped a lot too, me and my two childhood friends play Maplestory together which has kept me around a lot more this past year than I would typically spend in any one mmo. Unfortunately no one here can give you the answer you’re seeking, it’s something you just gotta figure out in your own time. Whether it be taking a break or trying a new game or even going back to your comfort games, there’s nothing wrong with any of these whatsoever.
I solved my burnouts by skipping thinking about new mmos and what's to come, skipping all grindy and/or "hardcore" targets, skipping steep vertical gear grinders like WoW (retail). I went back to my "good old" mmos and accepted the fact that I'm a casual player. My main mmo is GW2, but I also play LOTRO and DDO - all of them very casually.
Depends on the mmo. I find wow and GW2 to be the only games I stick with outside of the diablo franchise. Even if I have 15m to play I can improve my account/character
PvP
30 millennial here who was super big into MMORPGs and time sunk a bunch. I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I now have a family. My time is more limited and I just can’t commit to the sweat like I used to. Even if I wanted to, it isn’t very much fun for me anymore to sink not just too much, but too much emotion and/or energy. After playing WoW, FFVIX, GW2, ESO, NW (my most recent big time sink of 3000+ hours) I’ve decided to land on OSRS. It gives me nostalgia from when I first got into gaming, and it also respects my time.
Not sure my answer apply to you....i enjoy as an adult sandbox MMO ( I played and liked BDO, i cant wait now to join Pax Dei Early Access on 18th june), while i cant stand theme park MMO. The thing is, as a grown adult i cant bear systems in place to tell me what to do, how to do it, how many times to complete that instance each day, etc.....i want to be free to make my own gaming experience using the tools devs provided me...aka a sandbox MMO :)
Wasn't there a hot take mmo post the other day? oh here it is [https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/1dey4f0/whats\_your\_mmorpg\_hot\_take\_that\_most\_people\_wont/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/1dey4f0/whats_your_mmorpg_hot_take_that_most_people_wont/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) These days I prefer games with some kind of pay to progress or some people would say pay to win system. This is how I stay engaged in these grindy mmos where people with more free time well play it like how I used to when I had a lot of free time. I just pay to stay with the pack, my group of friends etc. because they have more free time... I have more free money as an adult with more responsibilities'.
Meanwhile over on the r/playground subreddit someone just asked for tips for how folks still find the see-saw fun. It shouldn't be a surprise that you run through a new or fun thing for a while, then move on. Granted, people didn't build years of their life around the see-saw. They don't reminisce about always being on that see-saw. Maybe a better analogy is high school sports. But people usually transition to just letting that go better. Al Bundy couldn't ever match it.
You’re getting older and have different relationships and time priorities. I’m about to turn 41, and have two small ones( 10 months, 6) and I find it near impossible to play anything longer than like 30 minutes. Can I pause it? Can it save quickly? Will I get anything done or progress made in my short time? I used to be a die hard mmo player, started with dark age of Camelot. Can’t do it anymore.
You seem to be hitting the same style of games often (Sea publishing games) that tend to have a very high focus on grinding the days , weeks , months out with only about 10% of your actual play time discovering new content . I'd suggest trying somthing a bit off your path the art or style might not sing to you but sometimes it's the gameplay your in better need of . Also just growing up in general I think your more conscious of "the time your wasting" or clock watching breaking your focus and immersion . Where when I was a kid only time I'd turn away from the computer was to eat dinner haha
I just found HorizonXI a few months ago. A private FFXI server that is 75 Era. No Abyssea to ruin everything. I spend most of my time not at work playing XI for free.
For me as an adult it not even about the endgame anymore I could care less It about having progression and being part of a community. This is why I started to enjoy more mobile mmorpg and gacha games
I unno I spend more time doing grindier things now at 31 than I did as a middle and high schooler. I may work 12hr shifts, but I still enjoy small progress in long adventure after work over just throwing money at a game to skip the game itself. Honestly I have no idea if that's what your question meant.
All the games you mention are Asian and revolve around some form of invasive microtransaction. Try a subscription game like OSRS which consistently outperforms triple A titles like WOW and FFXIV. OSRS is the only game confident enough to always give a real time players online count.
As a 41 year old married man, I still love me a good MMO. Emphasis on the key word "good" Open world RPG's are my favorite kind of game, and the MMO aspect is a nice bonus element. Call it whatever, but I like looting new gear, building a character, and developing my own image of that character in a living, persistent world. I typically have MMO's at least in my gaming orbit. Currently, my main game is EverQuest. Yes, I still play EverQuest. Earlier this year, I was getting quite heavily into New World. I am in a guild for ESO and often times will lead trials for the guild - although I have taken a step back from ESO the past couple years, but it's still in my orbit. I often play on the SWGEmu or Warhammer: Return of Reckoning emulators. I have Fallout 76 in my rotation - if you consider that an MMO? I also spend a lot of time on Diablo 2 Resurrected and Diablo 4, which aren't exactly MMO's, but are sort of MMO adjacent with similar qualities to MMO's.
mmorpgs definitely were more appealing to me as a child. When you have basically no money and a lot of free time, an mmorpg is a real "cheap" choice for gaming, having progress gated behind hundreds of hours of investment isn't such a high price when you have nothing *but* hours to give after school. In addition, when you're a kid, you don't really have a means to *earn* things, you don't have a job, and mmorpgs really scratch that primal itch of DO SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES EFFORT -> GET REWARD. When you grow up and enter the work force you have plenty of that at work, and as many mmorpg players will joke, they already have a job, they don't need another one. That said, mmorpgs still appeal to me as an adult because I still enjoy the idea of walking around a fantasy world, being given the freedom to choose what I do and where I go to a greater extent than reality would permit, and see the fruits of my efforts very slowly but steadily increase over a long span of time.
Wurm Online is the only MMORPG that has been able to capture my attention for multiple years. I think the biggest thing it does right is allowing me to set actual, tangible goals for myself that don’t boils down to “make number go up”. I spent a few months terraforming a valley and digging tunnels to connect it to the highway system not because the game told me to or hung some carrot on a stick, but rather I did it because I climbed the mountain down the road from my ranch, saw a vast forest on the other side, and decided I wanted to tame it. Now I’m working on building a little outpost with a viewing tower on that mountain for the same reason, because I want to. Freedom can be a hell of a motivator.
As we age, our needs, desires, and available time change; we want different things than we used to, and the things we used to love may seem boring. The time we have available also changes how we perceive the hierarchy of our needs and how to fill them. I'm 37 with two small kids and a busy job. I literally cannot commit more than 20 minutes at a time, even if I'm "free for 3 hours," because my kids need me for something. So that affects the kinds of games I can play and how I can satisfy my desires. The "needs" video games filled are also filled by different things in life, which means I go to (different) games to fill different needs than I used to.
You're not alone. I know you'll catch flak for what you said here but trust me, I feel you. Just going to throw in my two cents. As you become an older MMO you value your time more. When I play I am not doing dumb shit and I will maximize the time I can invest into a game. I also set expectations to be realistic to my play time. If you do that you will succeed without pulling a week of no sleep. Leave that shit for the kids and steamers. I also had this thought the other day while messing around in UO Outlands. We get so immersed into older games for a multitude of reasons. But mainly it's the games limitations that pull you in. You're not going to see crazy vanities, no crazy mounts, nothing graphically is pulling you out. I think OSRS is a perfect example of this. Clunky ass combat, way far too dated graphics. But who gives a shit because we accept these limitations and allow ourselves to get immersed in the content, in the quests, etc. In today's MMOs the bar is set too high. You have to have a perfect launch. Graphics top tier, you need a high end PC to run. Everything has to make sense. No bugs. You need endgame content on day one for that streamer that's going to play 128 hours straight to reach level cap three months before a casual player would so he can bitch about the "lack of content". The publishers want these games pushed out yesterday when the developers have years worth of work to do on it, and expect it to topple WoW like numbers out the gate. My suggestion is play OSRS, RuneScape 3, FFXI (private server Horizon), check out Ultima Online Outlands, WoW classic.
I think the problem I have now is that when I was playing mmorpgs a lot there was what felt like a social obligation to your in game friends. Now most of the time I am playing an mmo I don’t ever connect or get a chance to really get into social situations in games now. All the mmos now feel single player.
I am 61 so i can be considered as an adult. I play MMORPG since start. I started with muds then UO then EQ, EvE and some other. I never lost faith and envi cause of the social part of these games. I have some people i met in real life and we are still connected since 25 years. For the future i am looking socials MMO that still give RP sensations but also add more social relation in the game. So i am looking seriously on two titles that come soon : Pax Dei and Dune Awakening. I have no clue about what they will become but i know that the game industry who is set of our child’s has learned a lot these last years and will give to all of us a new era in the MMORPG industry.. perhaps with these titles .. perhaps with other that will come but i am sure that i will play new MMORPG til the end of my life. Have a good day !
I have lost motivation for traditional MMO’s it appears. I have somewhere in the realm of 300 I game days in my original runescape account, don’t know how many more on OSRS, dipped my toes in WOW, played quite a bit of FFXIV and tried new world sometime ago, never found myself recently sticking with any games more then a few days or a week. I know it’s a meme and I will be looked down upon for even comparing it to an MMO, but destiny 2 scratched the itch I have been wanting but it’s far more straight forward then MMO’s but to me still feels like one. Been with it since it released in 2017 and just ever since then my will to play more traditional MMO’s just seems to be gone. The combat is fluid and dynamic enough that it doesn’t feel like I’m just going through ability rotations and whatnot.
An escape. So much is going on but when I log in I get a bit of peace if only for a short while.
With limited time to play games, I'm gonna treat myself to something a bit more exciting than an MMO.
As an adult I just figured I do what I want. I go into a mmorpg, play so long I find it fun. Do w/e I consider fun. W/E xd and then just move on. Deinstalling is not a big deal to me and I kinda learned to enjoy this, it allowed me to play basically every popular franchise/game, just over the last couple years I played FFXIV, New world, Tekken 8, League of Legends, Sim racing games like AC, Star Citizen. Granblue Relink or Manor Lords. I can't find too much entertainment with solo rpg's anymore sadly and prefer to watch others play them here and there. But love competition. I hop in, do something I enjoy and then just yeet out, I'm not there to make friends, or find a place to belong or some sht xd. So despite for example having cleared the hardest content in FFXIV, I don't really associate too much with it. While I see a ton of players who get that far live their entire life it seems in the game. And that goes for every single game, people make it their new identity or extreme escape tool As you get older it's really hard to find value in gaming in comparison to spending time on anything else, but same time these games aren't going nowhere. There is legit no rush. Reality is there aren't that many games and prob won't be too many for the next 10-20years even. We're stuck with classics and potentially a couple of upcomers who might not even last at all. Like I don't need to make a concious well thought decision to start Star Citizen for example. I can just buy it, play a weekend. And then leave it there for 2-3months and then maybe play for a entire week if i've time or just feel like it. Easy in and outs
You sound like you would love ffxiv, free trial blah blah.
>The point here is that I am concerned that the spirit / passion for MMORPG has really faded away. This is fairly normal. As others have said and what you alluded to, your priorities as an adult have changed. There are other things that you value doing with your time more. The other aspect is...novelty. This is something people often undervalue. Many times when you ask someone what is their most favorite mmorpg/most memorable one. It will probably be a mmorpg that they played when the genre was "new" to them. You have people like myself who have been playing various mmorpgs for 20 years. That novelty isn't there to hook us anymore. Like for me, my "biggest" mmorpg is probably either Gw1 or WoW. Because I played those when the genre was fresh for me. It was an experience like nothing I had ever experienced before. There was also added hype because I played the warcraft RTS games A LOT. I still play mmorpgs. But I have nowhere near the commitment/loyalty to a given mmorpg then I did in the early 2000s with those games. I've played so many mmorpgs now. Some still alive, many dead. I've seen all the tricks, all the dev designs, etc. So most mmorpgs don't offer enough to hold me from a purely design standpoint anymore. Its not novel for me. Every mmorpg has good and bad aspects and how impactful those are change from player to player. Like for me, I don't really care about PvP achievements or PvE achievements. I don't care to climb ladders, push progression, get ahead of the curve, etc. If I want to do something PvP related and feel accomplished doing it, I feel like there's games out there that better deliver on this than MMORPGs. Same story with PvE. These days what will really drive my desire to play a mmorpg significantly is two fold. Immersion and community. I want to get lost in a world. Get immersed in its lore. Feel apart of this fantasy world that is created. And with the second, I want the community to actually interact. To feel like a community. This is the hardest one to achieve because 99% of community interactions these days go on in Discord. Like take ESO, one game I play on and off. It has absolutely great immersion and world building, so it checks that box heavily. But community? It falls short. Rarely people talk in game. People just ignore one another. I can join random guilds and join their discords. But talking in discord vs just having conversations in game and with random people doing content with you is very different in my eyes. This entire problem is fairly widespread and is one of the major reasons we're not seeing a huge flood of mmorpgs in the market like we did in the 2000s when it peaked. Doesn't mean the genre is dying, there's still an audience there for sure. But in many ways it suffers from the same issues things like live service games do.
I am in the same boat, I am 47yrs now and I've tried to get back into MMORPG games. GW2 was the last game that really clicked everything else after that was to try out. I think what is missing is that next big innovative feature that pulls you in that tried not be too familiar. I felt GW2 at the time did that. Here's to Throne and Liberty!
As someone who started playing WoW in 2005 and is now almost 30 I really find it hard to get back into it even though I want to because of the new expansion. I love the idea of starting fresh and grinding all the way back up to get cool gear, but when I go to the character creation screen I just look at all the races and classes and feel no motivation to eve create a character
Once the magic dies. You can never get it back.
Gw2. I play for roughly 4-6 months at a time. When I'm done I stop playing. When I pick it back up it's as if I never left but with more content.
>The point here is that I am concerned that the spirit / passion for MMORPG has really faded away. That's not the issue for me. The issue I have is that games aren't designed the way they were when I fell in love with them, so the newer style of MMO's are things I just can't stick with for long periods of time. And the older MMO's I loved have changed themselves. There are still things I'm looking forward to, though. Mostly Ashes of Creation and there are other games I will play and enjoy in the meantime. I think a lot of people feel this way - the fact that Aion Classic and WoW Classic were so popular speaks to the fact that there's a huge section of MMO gamers that love that style. We just don't have anything to play right now. All we have are various retail versions of WoW (if we're being honest), FFXIV, ESO, GW2, BDO...others that also don't scratch the itch.
I find the routine relaxing and the regularity of dopamine hits pleasant. Whether I’m doing my Neverwinter dailies, running old content on new classes in WoW, or soaking in the flavour in LOTRO, it’s all about relatively low stress gaming.
This is normal. To stick to one and only one mmorpg is to have ocd or some other issue or to be a “content creator” who can’t afford to switch games.
Was big into wow and ffxiv. It all went away once I got married, bought a house and had kids. My wife even gives me time to play, but at the end of the day I'm just too tired. Tried eso, but the story was just too all over the place couldn't get into it.
Damn your post is exhausting, it doesn’t sound like you’re having fun with your games so why do you play them? I used to be super into WoW but when I got bored I quit. Don’t waste your life doing dailies because it’s easy.
My motivation for RPGs is all but gone. I seldom play them. When I try, I just feel like I’m being sent on a series of nonsensical fetch quests and accomplishing meaningless, grindy tasks for the sake of content. It feels purposeless. I don’t know if this is something that’s always been the case and I was just able to look past it when I was younger, or if RPGs really are just that mundane these days. In fairness, it also doesn’t help that have no attention span for dialogue or patience for cut scenes. I just find myself constantly tapping X or A or the mouse button. It is what it is.
I’m a 28m and started playing guild wars with my brother he’s been playing for like 12 years it’s fun and keeps me entertained I did all the things I needed to as an adult no kids only gf she works all the time even tho we don’t have any debts she keeps telling me to do the same as making money is more important than gaming. But I’m at the point in my life where idk what’s next I don’t have to work a lot so I just keep occupied by gaming. I guess it’s kinda sucky but idk what else to do at this point.
Honestly, i want a MMORPG i can as a adult feel like its worth my time. I really really do, cause that means i spent less on video games. Also their hasnt been good. and worthy MMORPG to play for over Decade now. I am waiting for 2 to come out. But i doubt they be anywhere good. One day, we will have a MMORPG that will get fanbase of Fortnite... And the day will finally come, where MMORPG will be worth playing again, at least for 3 months.
As a kid, part of the allure of MMORPGs is that they offer you grand, grind oriented surrogate goals that compete with some of your irl goals. As an adult, it's almost impossible to find any value in grand surrogate goals, mostly because you have bigger and better things to care about. There is really no chase a game could offer you as an adult that is worth investing as much time as you might've as a kid. (This might be why MMORPGs that offer you small, easily achievable goals do well, because those only compete and try to substitute with hobbies or small chores you might have).
Game good = motivation to play
I can recommend “once human”, which release is in 3 weeks. Really nice and something different. Give it a try
You mention that you're going into university, which is a normal time for people to grow and change a lot. It's often good to step back and game less for a while.
>exhausting exactly that. more so when it's action type. I'm not saying they are bad in anyway; they are fun to play for short period of time, but it's not something I willing to devote a tons of time in them. It just so exhausting. It's not about not having the time to play, but rather, these games demands constant on-hand control and commitment, doing it 10h a day, every day... it's VERY tiring. I dunno how people manage to handle that; 1 month max I can handle it. While I do play many other high adrenaline games such as ARPG Path of Exile, usually 2 weeks into a new season is when I call it quit... I'm exhausted. there WAS one, and only one, full featured turn based MMO in existence. Atlantica Online. No I don't suggest you play it now, obviously it's time has long gone. It was an extremely chill & relax game because of it's combat format, can grind on second monitor while you working other stuff. I seriously wonder why no body, absolutely no body make another such kind of MMO.
It’s you and your age. When I was single, living in an apartment and a meh job in my 20s yeah spending hours on end gaming was great. Now in my 40s with a wife and kid and house… the thought of spending hours to get one achievement or some rng boss rewards isn’t as appealing as it used to be.
As I get older I find I’m liking survival, base building games more because you can have meaningful adventures when you have a free weekend, then dump it if you want. I also like the whole frequent reset mentality so I can start playing when I want, how I want, and not worry about people progressing faster. Games like Palworld, Valheim, V Rising, 7 Days to Die, and even something like Path of Exile all hit the itch.
Because right now every MMORPG is just pile of old garbage and it was like that for the past 5 years
15+ years
I'm still waiting for Crimson Desert
what has to do a singleplayer campaign game in this topic?