Bah... I need opinions!

[Lupis]

Okay. I've been an avid WoW player for four years. Recently, with the start of school and some family problems, I've found the need to stop playing. I couldn't balance WoW with life. So I quit. Boom, done, gone. Let my account run out and said goodbye. I wasn't interested in the game anymore, not even the coming prospect of Cataclysm.

Well, things have changed.

I still don't have lots of time for WoW. I have, in fact, very little time for it. However, when I see all this news about Cataclysm and think about all the fun I could be having on my hunters or my warrior, I feel a terrible urge to restart my account and get back into the game. I even went so far as to think about buying Cata for myself once it comes out and just playing for about 45-60 minutes a day. "Super casual" and all. I wouldn't get back into RP, as that took way too much time, I'd just level and play until it got boring again.

The problem with this is... Most of my friends say I shouldn't play come Cata. Part of my family says I should, the part that plays WoW, and the other half say I shouldn't. It's been pointed out that playing for about 45 minutes a day is nearly impossible with a game like WoW, and from what I've seen that's pretty true. Besides, what if I just get sucked into it like I did last time? With school I really need time for a life.

Options I have come up with are...
-Just don't get Cata. Stay out of WoW.
-Get Cata and try the "super casual" thing. If it doesn't work, quit.
-Get Cata, and only play during the weekends and on vacations. Perhaps just vacations. Let my account run out each time school starts again.

I'm leaning towards that last option. What do you guys think? Any of you that have made this sort of decision already, as I'm positive I'm not the only one, what did you do and did it work?

[Khishay]

I'm having almost the exact same issue. I quit WoW months ago and I'm now having withdrawl. It's definately harder after seeing all the new pets coming out...

But on to the point -I would suggest you save your money and time and not play WoW. I would never trust the super casual playstyle, but only because I know I would become completely addicted again. If you know yourself, and know you can pull it off, then it's worth a shot. The vacation seems like a good medium between the two choices, but you have to be sure that you'll be able to lay off WoW when school comes back and let the account time run out. It may be harder when you're 'oh so close' to that epic mount/pet/armor or whatever.

I would listen to the friends family members that suggest to stay out of WoW, and I would spend time with them if I were in the same position. I've recently realized how much of my life WoW has taken away, and how much time it took away from my family. In the end I don't think it's worth it. I've made my decision and I will probably never return to WoW... Though I may still lurk on the Petopia Forums

In the end, it's your decision. As annoying as that statement is, it's true. Weigh the benefits and losses, consider your options, and do what you feel is best. Just keep in mind the people that are around you and that care about you.

And lastly - I apologize if I got a little into my typings. It's something that's been on my mind for quite some time.

[Lupis]

I discussed with some of the family and I'm seriously thinking about the "vacations only thing", with added parental controls to keep my play time limited. That way I can still have time for life. WoW is a game that I enjoy, and I've been avoiding it - and all topics relating to it - like the plague as of late. I think I'll try this, restarting my account come Thanksgiving Break, and if I don't find having low time to play too frustrating (hopefully I wont, but I'll keep an eye) I'll stay with this. If I start freaking out, though, or turning into a zombie, then no more.

Yeah, I too realized that WoW had taken over my life. O.o Only because I let it, though. At the moment I spend a majority of the day sitting at the computer and being dead. So I'm going to be weak-willed about this. x.x

At least I'm still not thrilled with the idea of clicking through fights, so my inspiration to play for six hours in one sitting is severely lowered.

[Cryptography]

Wow is a great passtime but only if its not at the expense of other things. I play when I'd otherwise be watching TV so I consider that a fair trade!

Try the parental controls, better yet if they can be set with a password that you dont have access to!

[nanix]

You should start a time log of your play. Set some structure up and stick to it. It seems that you are very anxious about your ability to moderate yourself and manage a schedule. If anything I think that you should take this opportunity to maximize your time. Use the built in alarm to set up a restricted play time and then when it goes off immediately logoff. I would then record this and move on to something more productive.

What you should be most careful about is the dead time where you aren't playing WoW, but you aren't doing anything else. We often waste away precious minutes doing nothing truly productive and assume that since it wasn't "leisure" or "play time" it must have been productive. Because of this you should not only log your WoW time but also everything else you do. After a few weeks you can analyze your collected data and easily adjust your schedule for efficiency. With this strategy you can pull hours out of your day you never knew you had.

I would not suggest setting up parental controls because they often lead to inefficient time use. I originally tried that and found myself, after I had done everything I needed to do, wasting time because I was still locked out of WoW. You should be ready to maximize every spare minute. Parental controls will prevent you from doing that.

Good luck with cutting back, I think we have all been there at some point or another.

[Palladiamorsdeus]

I actually quit here recently myself, for various reasons. Still doing the beta, tho'. It all depends on your willpower. If you think you can sit down, do a couple of quests over the course of an hour, then walk away, then there is nothing wrong with that. But if you think you'd be stuck at the computer for most of the day, then it probably isn't a good idea.

I don't see the problem with vacations and weekends so long as you don't completely ignore everything else for it. If you have things you need to get done on those days, then that should come before WoW.

[Bellatryx]

WoW is best in moderation. If you can limit yourself, you should. You can't give up something you love because people say you shouldn't play it. (that is.. if you love WoW)

That said, being technically unemployed and forever hating the idea of going to college (i hated school; was glad to be rid of it.) I use WoW as an anti-anxiety tool. If i'm keeping myself busy, I can't be OCD; so I play.