Can you leave it all behind?

Well...to the OP's question: Yes, I can. When faced with much, much, much more important priorities, I can and will give up Guild Wars. I already have, to an extent. I used to play for at least 7-9 hours a week. I haven't played GW for more than 5 hours in the last 2 months. That would have seemed ridiculous to me a year ago, when this game sucked up all my time to the point that it was embarrassing. When the time came, I realized that I couldn't obsess over GW as much as I used to and basically...stopped.

The way I see it, the point of life, is to be alive and live. Meaning that you should do that you want to do.

We can not all be Gandhi's, or Nelson Mandela's. We are what we are, and we should do what makes us happy.


The only people who fail at life, are does who thinks that there are certain rules that must be followed to have a good life(like having kids, getting married, being rich...).

Do what you wanna do. If you will later regret using so much time on computergames, then so be it. Then you will have learned your lesson and have become so much more knowledgeable, and stronger, having learned from your past mistakes. Or else you will appreciate all the time you spent playing this game, and thinking of the nostaligic values it will bring to you, until the day you die, as a reminder of the era and time you lived in, in this world, where electronic entertainment started to blossom and the vastness of the internetage began to take it's toil, and people from all over the globe banded together for the same entertainment.


People should never wonder about what they are doing. If what they are doing is right or wrong. Because in the end, there is no right or wrong ways to live a "good life".
People calling other people losing losers for example spending alot of time with videogames, merely tells more about the person saying it, than the person being called a loser.


It's funny and clichee, but you can actually get alot of inspiration from commercials. If you feel like quitting the game, then follow, Nike's advice and "Just do it!" or if you wanna keep on playing and having fun, follow Coca-Cola's advice and "Enjoy Life!". It's really that simple really.


Years ago I spent alot of time wondering about how I could justify my time spent on games, movies or music. After hearing about Koreans playing WoW and Lineage 2 for 70 hours straight and then dying from exhaustion, it made me wonder if gaming really would lead to a productive life.

The thing is that, it does not matter. If playing games religiously until you die, makes you happy, then it's what you should do. The thing is, that most people don't. They value friendship, family, job and so on, much more important and that is why the vast, vast majority of people playing these types of online games move on to other things.

You merely sit down, if you'r unhappy and look what you have to do to fix it. "Im sad because I don't have any friends" for example.

Then you ask yourself why you don't have any friends. "It's because I spent all my time playing game X"! Then you just have to play less and find some friends. No need to quit it or something or do other drastic stuff.

I think people these days are generelly really intellegent. Perhaps people these days have a tendency to think TOO MUCH about life. Perhaps our generation has set a too high standard for ourself, expecting everyone to become rich, famous, and as handsome as Brad Pitt, or else we have failed at life. I think that because we think so much about it, and making it much more complicated that it really is, it's hard for us to see the obvious answers that we already know in our mind.
I think thats what triggers the "MMO and Online gaming addiction hysteria".

Wow that's a really nice post!

I personally won't have any problems quiting the game and neither would I care if I couldn't as long as I'm enjoing the game, not hurting anyone, having fun, and not forgetting the other important things in life I'll keep playing.

In a word: yes.

But at least I admit it. I slave away to get stupid little virtual pixels that comprise armor, and it makes me insanely happy anyway. It keeps me from duct taping my coworkers to chairs.

It might not mean anything, but it's fun. Which means it's like anything else. Having fun is good for mental health. It's the same reason why I drum. And yes, there are better things I could be doing with my time than GW - working on my novel is one of them. But writing can be draining, and video games really aren't draining for me. So when it's been a long day when I can't focus enough to get a good story out?

I worry about the people that are TOO obsessed, but that goes for anything in life.

I don't feel like wasting my time.

I've made countless new friends here, age 12 to 52 (yes, they're still playing). And I even visited some of them in Germany/England/Spain. For me GW is a bit more then staring at pixels (wow, paying all those plats for FOWarmor :P ) but it's also:

- a way to meet new (and hopefully) interesting ppl
- a chance to keep up my languages (multilingual ftw!)
- keeping my mind sharp (make the best build / team / etc)
- a nice opportunity to unwind and relax (I still wish I could cast Meteor Storm on some of my coworkers)
- learn about other cultures and how people interact

I have some friends that I know both in person and that I've known for the longest time who play the game. If these people didn't play the game I wouldn't be playing it either. While I enjoy playing the game and normally play for an hour or so a day, atleast, I could almost always be doing something else and normally would prefer to be going out and doing something.

It can be addicting at times but its only a waste a time if you personally thing it is. Some people see it as wasted time just like some people see fishing as wasted time and some people think music is a waste of time and others feel tv is a waste of time. The point is if the game is getting in the way you your real life or living a life with real people then its gone to far. I have close internet friends ill never meet. So what. I also have close real friends too. The key is moderation and if you have a problem with enforcing that on yourself then maybe you shouldnt play mmo's but if you can play a few hours a night but then go back to your regular life then its no big deal. I had a time when It was encroching on real life i realized it and I put the game back on the shelf and when I had the availible time i brought it back out. I have done this twice with GW and thats why its so great. Lets you get away from the game with out having to worry about anything and you can jump right back in.

I just did.
I've been playing pretty much daily since the release of Prophecies.
Two weeks ago real computer died, and I've had to fall back to computer junk from the garage. No guildwars for two weeks now, and I'm feeling fine; just checked in here to see if anything had happened in the last two weeks.

Like someone else said, GW has replaced my TV viewing. Now that I'm not playing GW, I've started watching TV again - and man, I had forgotten how *bad* TV shows are!
The only things worth watching I've found are documentaries and reruns of "Scrubs" and "The IT Crowd", the rest is sheer garbage.

I completely agree with you Makosi, I'd rather be addicted to gaming than Drugs/alcohol.

Sometimes I've wanted to guit gw but meh, would else would I play but i think i will quit within 1-2 years lol.

I have always said that wow is an unhealthy game!!!!


As for other addiction any type of addiction is not good.

couldn't have said it better myself.

[QUOTE=Sorcha ravenlock]Meh, you can ask that about any hobby. Can an avid reader put a book down and not read anything but traffic signs for 2 months? Can a golfer stay away from the green? Can a yoga fanatic be a couch potato for 3 weeks without freaking out?

A hobby is only an addiction when it's a problem. When your work, school, family life or social life suffers, or when you experience health problems. Once there are any signs of that, then you have to re-evaluate your life.



Nicely done. Couldn't have said it better myself.


LOL! just saw someone else said the same thing!

i agree to "better GW than p2pgames/drugs/alcohol". there is no free beer, no free cigarettes, no free drugs and definately no free WoW.

so GW wins.

but the overall theme of that WoW episode is so true. we must take everything in moderation.

one funny quote: "How can we kill someone with "no life" ". LOL

tbh i don't really play that much anyway. and during the time i play theres nothing better to do anyway so tbh even tho i'm addicted i'm wasting time that would be wasted anyway

I have played Eve and GW a while, and after a bit of time in Eve I thought it would be nice to create a character and run through the landscapes of pre-Searing again.

I hit the character creation screen and man, I hit a wall. I *finally* decided on a mesmer female, got her looking pretty good and decided it wasn't worth it.

I logged out and went off to do something else. I can only play a game so much before it bores the devil out of me. I will enjoy Nightfall (definitely), but once I go through it a couple of times I will be moving on to something else.

I agree with all things Diablo has said

I keep playing only because I keep finding new things to do in game. I've decided to focus more on my pvp lately, so hopefully I can finally get to rank5, possibly rank6 sometime soon.


I think the real question is, how would you handle it if Guild Wars suddenly just ended? No more Guild Wars, could you live with that? I know I can.

When I was younger I tried to be good and accomodate everyone, make everyone happy, but it wasn't making me happy. A few months ago, when I broke my ankle it made me realize that life isin't forever, and I need to be happy now. From then on I have tried less to make other people happy, and more to make myself happy. I can be perfectly happy even if others aren't.

I played a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon, basically Guild Wars but only in text) hardcore for 5 years straight, and was forced to go cold turkey because of parents deeming it a waste of time. It hurts sometimes.

For me, it's not really the items or achievements, because I can wipe a memory card of complete Final Fantasy games or anything equivalent without much effect on me. It's the people I end up missing.

Yes, I can. I used to be addicted to a Gameboy game called Dragon Warrior Monsters II. Played 600 or so hours before it died on me. And I went on. Coincedentally, thats how many hours I have on GW lol...

Well, the money and items aren't really important, it's the people I meet. I know people have already said this a lot, but it's true... and online friendships DO mean a lot. At least to me.

When the game stops being fun, I stop playing (and have!).

My friends and guildies keep me playing because ican have a good laugh with them and mess around, once guild wars ends im sure most will just play another game instead until intime that ends or they lose interest. As we all got over Pokemon didnt we?

I was the same way with Final Fantasy III for SNES. My first copy of the game, I had 1 saved game that had actually maxed out the in game clock at 99:99. Most of my characters were maxed at level 99. One day, the game just died. Turns out the internal battery failed, so no more saved games. I was really ticked off at first, but in turn I chucked my cartridge into the trash can, and didn't pick up another copy of the game until I happened to see a used version for sale at an EB a few years ago. Brought back some good memories to play again, but I had no urge to play again until I saw it by chance.

I must admit I'm heavely addicted to this game. As long as it doesn't interfere with the job, the girlfriend and my daily life responsabilities I don't see a reason why to stop playing. It's a hobby and it gives me plenty of fun.

Yeah, I played several hundred hours on Dragon Warrior Monsters, it died, made a new game, and that hasn't died, then I got DWM II, but I didn't like it as much. There should be a DWM for a new system, or maybe the PC. The important thing to remember is that video games really aren't actually anything but a bunch of 0s and 1s. You do learn stuff by playing them, but in my opinion, whatever is good about a game you can take with you and never have to play it again.

few hours a night+ most likely lots of hours on weekends is kinda alot but we cnat know if you're addicted. If you play this instead of going out with freinds when they ask, that could be a sign of it. And if you determine you are, see a doctor immediatly.

Guildwars is a pure form of escapeism, And best of all it costs little, It has no side affects and works on dialup,

What if your boss plays Guild wars?

Totally true I tried to get off Guild Wars completely when I realized I was spending way too much time on it, but then came back pretty fast realizing I could just moderate my game time

And ya, the game is fun because of the people. I'd even go as far as to say the experience isn't complete unless you have to deal with some annoying pugs every once in a while. I've spend probably well over half of my Guild Wars time just hanging out ingame and in vent doing nothing in particular. If I had spent all that time just doing "productive" things I probably wouldn't enjoy this game very much at all. I'd get bored fast.

And when I do start to get a little bored, all I have to do is dye my armors a new color and I have something new and cool to look at

I think it will finally come down to a question of what is life... and what should you do for your life...

which is different for differnet people...

my moral value is what makes me happy..and doesn't harm too many people

how about you guys?

i quit and moved on w/o any problems.

last i heard, some 14 yr old ebayer is iwaying with my rank 9 account as we speak. good times.

Dependent on food, but your point is well taken.

Google Dragon Warrior Monsters: Joker. I have to buy a DS if it makes it to NA...

Would you rather be addicted to drugs?

Hello, my name is Anthony, and I'm addicted to Guild Wars.
Being a Tabletop Role Player (D&D and others), I saw MMO's as a great concept. Unfortunately, everyone I played fell short. EQ, when it came out, was so sloowww on my PC back then. When I finally had a box to run it, I couldn't usually muster the subscription fee. Dialup killed us as well.

Now that i have a modern box, with a fast connection, I'm still not convinced of WoW. Something about it keeps setting me off; especially when I hear my friends talk about it. It sounds awesome, but not for me.

I played EQ some more; got bored really quick.
I sought out others like Knight Online, got dissapointed at how broken it was.

Then, one day when I was busy working on a NWN persistant world, my buddy who moved to a different city for a job told me him and his roomie started Guild Wars, and they hate MMO's.

I've neglected almost half a year of an Xbox Live account since. (Sorry Shooters were usually my quick online fix)

Anyways, why do I stay?
Because I live in a small town, work 9 hours a day, and during most of the week don't have the disposable income to go out every night.

Guildwars fits my budget.
Guildwars ALWAYS has something to click at :P
And when the day comes the servers go down, it's alright...I'll probably be done with it anyways.

Or will I?
I still play my gold cartidge Legend of Zelda game sometimes.



Actually, in all seriousness, I have a life away from the game. But for those moments when I have nothing else, there's always 1 more quest to do :P

I'd play again probably, the games fun, the people are cool, and I basically rokkzorz

Oh god I can't stop... HELP !

Interesting topic :P

A lot of people have mentioned that it keeps them away from alcohol and drugs; I myself find it a nice balance, if its nice out then I'll go out and be sociable (After all, being sociable in game is pretty different to being with real life friends), but I also like a break from time to time to just sit back and relax on GW with my guildies.

As for being addicted, definitely not. In fact the last few weeks I've hardly touched GW at all, I just didn't find much to do, and school work and friends have kept me busy.

I bet when Nightfall comes out I'll be playing a lot more, but not to the 'addicted' level.

I play every day if possible. Even if its just a few RA matches. But then again I also go to music festivals, go camping, take the boat out for a day, etc etc etc so you be the judge.

On the GW= Over concept... I think GWs servers are so well set up that they will outlive battle.net (look at warcraft 3 for example- no monthly fee there- however I guess now that WOOHOOW is around they have some extra funding for it)

The definition of an addiction or in this case obsessoin is something that you CANNOT function without, or that interrupts your life.


In this sense there have been times where GW has been both, however when this happens i usually putit down and walk away.