Journey Back to Gaming

I took a long break from gaming and blogging after my mother passed away. What initially brought me back was the desire to level from start to finish with a gaming friend.

RIFT STILL FELT FRESH

Our game of choice was Rift. A long time WOW player, he hadn't joined the crush of adventurers when the game launched. The character I created would turn into my third to have made it into level 30 content, third cleric and second to max level.

Although the excitement of highly populated zones was gone, Rift's leveling content holds up exceptionally well. The options are diverse and the content so dense, that I never felt bored from having done those levels before.  For me, Rift’s PVE game ranks right up there with the behemoth, World of Warcraft. 

A RETURN TO WOW

After a few weeks being at max level again, my excitement started to wane.  We ran chronicles and quested in Ember Isle, one of the most beautiful zones I’ve ever seen.   However, with no new levels to  be gained, my interest fell off.  I decided return with my friend to WOW and see what I’d missed by leaving shortly after reaching end game in The Burning Crusade.

As expected, leveling content was good, instances great, crafting worthwhile and an active economy.  It also didn’t hurt to have a wealth of alts to choose from all of whom had decent trade professions to help me along the way.

Although I can't imagine WOW ever being my full time MMO again, I see why and how, many long time players return after completing the leveling experience in other games. You can't rely on keeping your player base at max level by being as good as or comparable to WOW. You have to be BETTER THAN and MORE DIVERSE THAN whatever I came from before. Otherwise, why should I restart the end game treadmill in your game, when I can return to another game where I may have a staple of characters, trade-skills, long time guild mates and in some cases, player houses and guild halls at my disposal?

Many of the so-called WOW tourists aren't that intentionally. I think they want to invest in a new game but get to the end/top and realize they've done this all before and a new skin on isn't enough to keep them around.

UP NEXT IN GAMING

Guild Wars 2 will be my main MMO home for the foreseeable future. Other than time commitments, I know I will be there for the ride to max level. I knew from the beta that I enjoyed Rift enough for a jaunt through and was excited for the launch. The enthusiasm I feel for GW2 is leaps and bounds above what I thought of Rift before launch. I can hardly stand the wait much longer.  ANet please don't break my heart. I need GW2 this summer!!

Comments

[bhagpuss]

Welcome back!

I guess it depends a lot on where you started. Never having played any Blizzard games other than WoW and not having played WoW until five years after it started, I have no particular affection for the game. I also don't find it does anything particularly well and it always puzzles me when people refer back to WoW as a benchmark for quality. I can't actually think of a single thing I saw or did in WoW that I didn't think I'd seen done better elsewhere.

I enjoyed it well enough for about three months, but by then I was finding it repetitive and uninspired. I gave up at about level 70 and have never felt any inclination to go back. By comparison, it took me six months to reach the same stage with Rift and I still go back there - I was playing last night on the Free-to-20 scheme. Then there's EQ2, which I've played pretty steadily for seven years...

[Elementalistly]

Yummm....Rift as always is a great go to game. Trion succeeded in creating an alternate to WoW.

I have taken a break myself from blogging and gaming, but am slowly returning. Rift is part time (with some single player games like Kingdoms of Amalur and Dungeon Siege 3), but my main jones is for Guild Wars 2.

It cannot come soon enough.

Welcome back and enjoy yourself.

[Alysianah aka Saylah]

Thanks. WOW was my 3rd MMO and what I really enjoyed was the reduced harshness for people who like leveling solo. They pretty much leveled the playing field for solo players like myself. While I liked occasional group content such as raiding on specific days, I preferred to level alone.

I played Vanilla WOW from launch and didn't see more than a few instances until I hit 60 and started raiding with the guild. For me, it was a really great mixture. Plus those were the days of open world PVP.

[Alysianah aka Saylah]

Thanks. I can hardly stand the wait for GW2. I HOPE there's a BWE this weekend even though I have plans for part of it.

I didn't think I could find as much class play style diversity and options post Rift. OMG, I loved the Cleric so much I made one any and every time I started a new character. LOL

I believe GW2's weapon and skill system will offer as many choices and change ups without needing to re-roll a different class to experience a different play style. I'm in love with the Guardian and Mesmer.

[fal bak]

I know this is all about breathing, but I am struggling to find a breathing rhythm that works for me. I'll get there. I am sure I will figure out a rhythm that will allow me to run for longer without getting a stitch. What does seem to work is to take 3 breaths in and 3 breaths out. 'Ish. I find having to concentrate on the breathing a bit of a pain and it takes away a bit of the enjoyment of the run.

[Saylah]

Are you doing a warm up? I do a slow pace, equivalent to a cool down first - like 1st 10 minutes. Do you feel relaxed or are you all tensed up? If your muscles are clenched I can see that causing a stitch in your sides. Also make sure you're hydrated. If you're not it can cause charlie-horses and cramping. Try eating bananas. They replace the potassium lost from perspiring.

Notice most of my recipes use bananas. I enjoy the taste but since hydration is a concern of mine I eat them for that reason. I passed out on a horse once because I wasn't hydrated enough. Luckily, i was able to let the rider next to me know I wasn't feeling well and he was off his horse by the time I started falling/fainted.

Lastly, determine if you're speed or endurance. Calories will burn either way and if your body is more suited for one than the other, you could be making it more painful than necessary.

For example, I have bad knees from years of dancing. Running at a fast a pace causes severe pain over time so I avoid high speed. I use the slope/incline to get myself to an aerobic workout state instead. Of course, this assumes you're on a treadmill. :-)

Hope some of that is helpful.