My last post was just about a year ago, and, while I have no illusions about my importance in the WoW gaming universe, I figured it might be courteous to give my followers an update on my game life, such as it is.
I (or, rather, my husband, who is the sort to actually "pull the trigger" on such decisions) did end up purchasing Warlords of Draenor. The two of us leveled our mains together, enjoying the choices in the story line, while experiencing no dungeon time waiting . . . With him as a tank and me as a healer, our groups formed almost instantaneously. Once we hit max level, he quickly became bored, and I was left to pursue my own endeavors.
Our observations: first, leveling with a partner made everything way too easy. It was so easy that there were times he would run into and pull a group, toss out an AoE damage move on his monk in dps spec, and kill everything before I could even get there. I found that very frustrating. Part of me wanted to ditch him and solo level, just so I could have even a minor challenge. (But, you know, you just don't do that with a spouse . . .)
Next, garrisons were a lot of fun! Once Christmas break ended and school began, it was true that my play time was whittled down to almost nothing. Being able to log in, take care of garrison business, and log back out, feeling like I had actually progressed, was very satisfying. Of course, once I'd managed to progress most things to level 3 and get Pat Nagle as a follower, I started running out of things to do. Garrison quests had managed to help me get sufficient gear to be able to enter lower-end raids . . . but that leads me to . . .
Even though I had gear sufficient to enter low-end raids, I just couldn't bring myself to actually enter them. I'm far too well-indoctrinated in the idea that before one enters a raid, one must read up on and study the fights, so one can do one's part with at least a small amount of competence. I'd never run a LFR group, so I didn't know how much someone needed to know, and I wasn't willing to enter one cold, lest I be that dreaded person holding everyone else back. And . . . I just didn't have the time to sit down and watch a bunch of boss fight videos.
When summer vacation started and I began to have time again, I ran into another obstacle: I just didn't have the inclination anymore to sit down and watch a bunch of boss fight videos. So, while I continued to run around, fish, craft, etc., I found myself running out of things to do. I even started playing an alt, seeing some of the other leveling paths I had not followed previously, but my heart wasn't in it.
In the end, my computer made the decision for me: My motherboard went out. At that point in time, our family was (is) not in a position to buy a new computer or even a new motherboard. (Things like hot water heater, kids' college courses, etc., take priority.) My husband offered me the use of his computer, whenever I wanted to play, but I could not justify taking the amount of time to really play an MMORPG.
As the new school year was just about to begin, anyway, and my life would once again be consumed by students, essays, lesson plans, and grades, I messaged my guild leader to let her know I would once more need to take a hiatus.
I suppose that, come summer vacation, I may be in a position to once more be able to play World of Warcraft, but in the interim, I satisfy my gaming urges by small forays into Skyrim . . . where I can play for a little while, save my place, and return to continue when I can.
Happy New Year, everyone!
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