How long do you play an MMORPG?

narfi

I started playing my first mmorpg about 3.5 years ago, I play ~5 hours a day 7 days a week.
I have tried 2 others and didn't like them after a few days.
I would assume that everyone loves their first more than those that follow, but I read alot on this forum of people who give off these long lists of games and compare them with each other.  I am really curious how you can play that many and really spend enough time in them to know them.
Is it because they are all very shallow and easy games, or is it because these people I read about spend 12+ hours a day online? Or is my own experience unique because of a different type of personality or game choice?
I figured just a simple question would help me start to understand my own view on this in comparison to other 'gamers'
So on average, considering all mmorpg's you have played, how long have you spent in each one?
 
thanks,
narfi

Cherise

Really kind of hard to list an average because it's completely dependent on the mmo.  I spent 4 years in EQ1, 4 in EQ2, and one year in DAOC.  The others, if they were even somewhat fun for me, I stuck around anywhere from two to six months, sometimes going back to see what's new.  And then there were a few awful ones which lasted a few days.

Really just depends on how much there is to do that doesn't feel repetitive.

Kyleran

Nice, try with all the poll options, mine still wasn't up there.

Less than 3 months for many, more than 2 years for 2 or 3.

And less than a week for most F2P.

MsGamerlady

Yep that about sums it up for me as well Kyleran.

Sulaa

2 good titles = 1+ year 

rest = anything between 1 week and 3 months

f2p games apart of one particular game = not more than a month usually much less , currently not planing to waste anymore time with those anymore

narfi

Originally posted by Kyleran

Nice, try with all the poll options, mine still wasn't up there.

Less than 3 months for many, more than 2 years for 2 or 3.

And less than a week for most F2P.

Well there were only 10 slots to fill, sorry.

I did get a laugh out of the honest fellow who clicked "I dont play, I just post how bad they are"

Thanks for your feed back.

I am curious, you seem to be the type of person who I have read posts from.

I can understand the less than 1 week ones. You tried them, didn't like them, then quit. (thats what I did with the 2 I tried)

(In fairness, I doubt it was enough time to really get to know the games and grow a true 'addiction' but if you dont have fun at the beginning, why continue)

I can understand your 2+ year games because thats how I am with my favorite. I would like to know if you did end up quitting them though, and how long you did play, as well as why you decided to quit.

What I do not understand is the ones you played more than a week and less than 3 months. They seem to be a majority of the games for you, so what makes you quit so early even though you have time and energy invested into the character?

Thanks,

narfi

Larsa

Can't give you an average.

I played 2 MMORPGs for more than 1 year: DAoC and Ryzom (both for about 2 years I think). DAoC was my first MMORPG, started with the European beta.

I played 2 MMORPGs for more than 6 months but less than a year: LotRO (back when it was P2P) and Xsyon (still playing Xsyon).

I played 1 MMORPG for more than 1 month but less than 6 months: Pirates of the Burning Sea (when it still was P2P).

I played 6 or 7 MMORPGs for 1 month and less, practically only play-testing, mostly via free trials.

That's about it. Just for the record: I never play more than one MMORPG at the same time.

maskedweasel

You forgot the "Until they are no longer fun" option.

 

I played CoX for over a year,  I played SWG for a year or so before the NGE,  I played FE for 4 months,  I played DCUO for 2 months... played WAR for 2 months... so on and so on.  

 

Akiye

I play them till i get bored or see something shiny >_<

I played Asherons Call for 3 years

FF online for about 1

WoW for more than 4

Daoc for around a year

LOTRO for about a few months so far. Though I also played it for the first 6 or so months it was out before my friends got me back to WoW.

Guild Wars i played about a month.

Vanguards less than a week

Anarchy Online for 2 months again my friends went back to Asherons Call and i did too shortly after.

narfi

Originally posted by maskedweasel

You forgot the "Until they are no longer fun" option.

I thought that it was implied that you stoped when it wasnt fun.

Therefor the question could have also been worded "How long do you find an MMORPG to be fun"

Obviously you quit when its not fun anymore unless you are a masochist. (in which case the lack of fun, is fun for you)

 

narfi

Unknown

UO for 3 years total but after trammel I left and came back a few times.

eq1 for 3 years then left and came back a few times

Lotro 4 years and just now going and coming back but I have a lifetime sub and have always mostly just pvp'd on the monster side.

 

All the rest 3months to 2 years.

 

All games will get dull for you at some point if they aren't open ended. Once your mentality is ..level to endgame then the writing is on the wall. If I find  world I can get lost in then the mmo will last for years for me.

Eladi

Being one of the earlyer mmo gamer itsstill  the same as the rest, except for me its 4 games 1+ years (1-8years) and a whole craplist of games two weeks to 3 months whit a rare 6 months one.

Khalathwyr

Ultima Online: 3 years

Asheron's Call: 4 years

Star Wars Galaxies: 2 years (from beta til NGE launch: If there were no NGE I'd be on year 8 )

DAoC for a year and a few months. Same with Eve Online.

 

Have played every "AAA" MMO since then and at most I only stayed a few months (less than 5). Since around 2004 they just don't measure up to my personal standard of fun like they used to.

Kyleran

Originally posted by narfi

Originally posted by Kyleran

Nice, try with all the poll options, mine still wasn't up there.

Less than 3 months for many, more than 2 years for 2 or 3.

And less than a week for most F2P.

Well there were only 10 slots to fill, sorry.

I did get a laugh out of the honest fellow who clicked "I dont play, I just post how bad they are"

Thanks for your feed back.

I am curious, you seem to be the type of person who I have read posts from.

I can understand the less than 1 week ones. You tried them, didn't like them, then quit. (thats what I did with the 2 I tried)

(In fairness, I doubt it was enough time to really get to know the games and grow a true 'addiction' but if you dont have fun at the beginning, why continue)

I can understand your 2+ year games because thats how I am with my favorite. I would like to know if you did end up quitting them though, and how long you did play, as well as why you decided to quit.

What I do not understand is the ones you played more than a week and less than 3 months. They seem to be a majority of the games for you, so what makes you quit so early even though you have time and energy invested into the character?

Thanks,

narfi

You've got questions, I've got answers.

Regarding the games I played long term, there was DAOC (2.75 yrs), left over the TOA/New Frontiers expansions, WOW (21 months), left because I realized it was going down a path (gear grinder end game) I did not want to pursue, and EVE (3.5 years) which I recently left for a 2nd time since I don't have the time to pursue the content I'm most interested in (0.0 soverienty and combat) 

Games that were in between?  Linegage 2, really liked the game, played for 6 months, but at that time the grind was horrific and i didn't have the patience to stick with it. (wish I had)

Age of Conan, played that one for 3 months, all  of my friends (who leveled to end game much quicker than I) were disgusted by what they found there and quit, so even though I was still having some fun, when my guild broke up I stopped playing too.

LoTRO, played that one for 2 months (3 counting open beta I guess) and just burned out on it quickly, felt too much like WOW, so I left to go play EVE.  (great decision there).

Vanguard, played that for 2 months, the bugs drove me wild, my guild imploded, I went out the door with them.

Rift, most recent casualty, played about 6-8 weeks, burned out quickly when I hit the gear grinding raiding end game, (yet another standard theme park MMO)

Currently playing EQ2, for about 3 weeks now, might stick around until something really new comes out like SWTOR.

 

Puremallace

WoW: 2 years

Aion: 16 months

EQ 2: 4 days

FF14: 4 hours

Rift: still playing since Beta

just2duh

 I'd say about 1 month/month and a half at a time before going to a different one, that seems to be my limit before getting bored of what is offers.

 That's not to say I don't return later on though, been playing some for atleast 5 years, on and off again of course.

MurlockDance

On average, I spend less than 6 months in an MMO.

I used to play games in longer periods of time than I mainly do now since I changed professions to one that offers seasonal work that usually takes me away from the internet.

This year I've actually played far fewer MMOs than I usually do, due partly to work reasons and partly to the hacking craze. I can quite easily go through 6 or 7 in a given year, with one as the mainstay. I like trying all of the MMOs out, even F2A ones, but there are really only a handful I play for more than 6 months. So far this year, I've only played WoW Cata, EQ2, and Rift.

My record so far is 5 years in EVE. Second longest has been spent in WoW (3 years), and DAoC (1 year). My latest main game is EQ2, which I've been playing solidly since September of last year, and don't see myself leaving anytime soon.

Looking at the poll results so far, seems like there is about a quarter of the people that answered who exhibit the same behavior. However, an accompanying poll to find out why people drift from game to game would be instructive. Are we, as players, just not very loyal because we think something new and shiny just on the horizon is more worthwhile? Or is it that we don't know what we're looking for in games and when we don't find whatever it is, we move on?

narfi

Originally posted by jeddak

All games will get dull for you at some point if they aren't open ended. Once your mentality is ..level to endgame then the writing is on the wall. If I find  world I can get lost in then the mmo will last for years for me.

So basicly once you have 'beat' the game, then it is no longer enjoyable? And most of the 'themepark' games can be 'beat' within a few months?

Maybe that is why I have a hard time understanding. From what I read here I guess you would classify my game as more of a sandbox game with no 'endgame' or level caps.  Even after playing for 3.5+ years I still have years of goals ahead of me.

The only one I see you guys posting about that might hold my interest in a similar manner would be EVE, does that sound correct?

 

thanks,

narfi

Castillle

Originally posted by Kyleran

Nice, try with all the poll options, mine still wasn't up there.

Less than 3 months for many, more than 2 years for 2 or 3.

And less than a week for most F2P.

I have the same as kyle except take out the F2P part.

If the game doesnt hook me in the first 10 hours, I stop pwaying it >.<

For games that last me over initial 10 hours, I end up playing it for more than 3 months. 

Games that lasted me over 3 years = Ragnarok, Rose, NwN persistent worlds if it counts

Lasted over a year = CoX, EVE, WoW, Fiesta, Flyff

Lasted over 6 monthsr= S4 League (still play on n off), ASda Story, DOMO, Lineage 2, Granado Espada, Champions Online, Dungeon Runners

Notable Ones that didnt get through the first 10 hours = DDO, LOTRO, Aion, SWG(after NGE), Rift, FF14 (only saving grace was my moogle RP), FF11 (the controls were horrid), Allods, Warhammer, AoC.

Others that didnt get through the first 10 hours = a toooonn of free to play games o.o But hey the AAA mmos did badly as well sooo~yah!   If I were to average it out, itll prolly average to something like 1 month a game or even less cuz I tried out a TON of games n they didnt get through the first 10 hours of testing >.< 

Ofc if we were to just focus on the games I decided to actually play instead of test, itll prolly be a lot higher o.o 

narfi

Originally posted by MurlockDance

Looking at the poll results so far, seems like there is about a quarter of the people that answered who exhibit the same behavior. However, an accompanying poll to find out why people drift from game to game would be instructive. Are we, as players, just not very loyal because we think something new and shiny just on the horizon is more worthwhile? Or is it that we don't know what we're looking for in games and when we don't find whatever it is, we move on?

This is really what I am curious about as well, I will run this poll for a couple of days and try to think of a good way to make the poll you suggest as a response to this one.

I really get the feeling that I was very lucky in finding exactly what I was looking for the first time, but maybe I just have a contented personality.

 

narfi

Kalafax

I play MMO's untill I have gotten to max level, done everything in the game, and have what I precieve to be the best gear in the game. For most MMOs made this takes less then a month to accomplish, thats putting in about 4 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week, so thats where I draw the line. A few MMOs such as PreNerf SWG and Vanilla WoW kept me around for multiple years, but those are few and far inbetween. Im currently hoping to find another game that will keep me interested for years, ToR looks like it'll be good for a few months or so, and GW2 seems like it could be good for atleast a year, so heres hoping for the best.

narfi

Originally posted by Dalgor

I play MMO's untill I have gotten to max level, done everything in the game, and have what I precieve to be the best gear in the game. For most MMOs made this takes less then a month to accomplish, thats putting in about 4 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week, so thats where I draw the line. A few MMOs such as PreNerf SWG and Vanilla WoW kept me around for multiple years, but those are few and far inbetween. Im currently hoping to find another game that will keep me interested for years, ToR looks like it'll be good for a few months or so, and GW2 seems like it could be good for atleast a year, so heres hoping for the best.

Ok, if you are looking for a game that you can fully immerse yourself into without 'maxing' everything within a few months, why dont you play the so called 'sandbox' games others have mentioned such as UO or EVE or EU?

I think you have truely hit on the issue behind my original question, but I dont understand why when there are options.

narfi

Siveria

I usually play till I hit max level then quit, reason being is most mmorpg's endgame is totally pointless a good example is world of warcraft, there is nothing to do with the raid gear, so I never bothered, and doing more raids which just turn into chasing a proverbial carrot-on-a-stick is not what I am looking for in a mmorpg's endgame. I want endgame like daoc and aion, where you raid for gear, then use that gear in massive faction vs faction pvp land control which can buff your entire faction, so you have a sense if accomplishment if/when you defeat a enemy force and claim/defend a land area/castle/keep etc. Sadly hasn't been any mmo's since DAoC and Aion that really offers this type of pve raid then mass pvp endgame using the pve raid gear. I consider stuff like DAoC and Aion's endgame meaningful compared to most mmorpgs out there. I honestly don't know why people like to chase the carrot-on-a-stick endgame/raids in world of warcraft, I'll probally never see the draw to it, but thats just me. I suppose they find it fun I guess, which is cool .

Kalafax

Well firstly, I dont play MMOs to fully immerse myself, I'm playing them to find a fun, interesting game to keep my entertained for a long time to come. Now that being said, I look for depth in my MMOs, depth in story, depth in crafting, depth in exploration, and depth in combat, and a good community, and regularly added new content, if you do not have all of these things then the games not going to keep people, or atleast me, around for a very long time. I've played UO( It was fun, but we've move on beyond this. ), Eve ( Its fun but its based around PvP which is not why I play MMOs, plus the real time skill learning system is a cop-out on MMO gameplay IMO. ), and EU ( Its decent, but its outdated, and theres nothing in it to keep me around. ), and they just dont do it for me, just being a sandbox doesnt make it a better game then the themeparks, the truth of the matter is, there really are no good options when it comes to current MMOs, its just which is the best of the bad options.

Personally I dont want levels, I dont want forced classes, I dont want multiple characters per server, I dont want to be forced to pick a faction, I dont want the game based off of gear aquired through means other then crafting, I dont want gear that never gets destroyed, and I dont want useless death penaltys. But thats all they put out nowadays, and I deal with what I have to deal with, I get on, get what little enjoyment I can out of it by doing the PvE, exploring the world, whatever crafting they put in the game, reaching the highest level, and then doing a little PvP, and then Im done with that title.

If I was to stick around in a game for a long period of time you need options in game that do not include vanity crap ( Aka Achievements, costumes, pets, mounts, titles, etc. ).

Have a profession system like SWG that had over 30 professions you had access to, but only enough aquirable skill points to master 2 1/2 of them. With the ability to drop professions and relearn your skills into other professions allowing for ultimate flexibility and no unbalancedness.

One character per server so that people will think before acting or they build up a server wipe reputation because they cannot switch to alts without completly erasing their current characters. This also prevents cross faction spys, aswell as keeping botters/gold farmers to a bare minimum.

Must have indepth crafting that the entire economy is based off of, the world should be in the players hands, not in the hands of npcs that the players "champion" for, so the players should be able to craft everything from food, all equipment, vehicles, and buildings. Everything crafted should also have a duribility that can be repaired a certain amount but at a certain point the item will break down and be destroyed, thus keeping the crafting economy moving and in demand at all times. Reciepes can be hard to aquire, through time, money, and just ingame playing,but should have the best equipment in the game otherwise crafting quickly gets thrown on the back burner no matter how well its implemented and it becomes unpractical to be a crafting only character.

Death Penaltys need to be real penaltys, not just oh get teleported to a graveyard or soul point and travel back, you can take experience hits aswell as equipment duribility hits, you can stack debuffs, anything that has real practical affect. If you have a stat debuff thats time to not do combat and train in other areas of your character, that doesnt mean you dont do anything till the timers up, thats just what current MMOs seem to train people to think.

I think everyone should start off neutral in games and be introduced to the multiple ( preferably more then two ) factions early on, so that they can have all the factions goals and ideals explained to them and then have the choice to join one, or remain on the neutral side. This allows for PvP options for those who want it, aswell as the ability to stay out of PvP conflict if the player wants to go that route, and preferably factions can have stuff for neutral partys to help them with that doesnt involve them in PvP to keep it all balanced as far as quantity of stuff to do is concerned.

Allow for loadless persistent world exploration, guild and faction city building, ground and air vehicle construction, and then throw reguarly( every 2 weeks to every month ) released new content from a good Dev team and you'll have a game that will keep me around for years.

I need something that stays fresh, has new ideas constantly pouring into it, and a player driven evolving game world. Current MMOs have stop adding fresh content on a regular basis and want you to satisfy yourself for quarters or half of a year at a time doing mindless PvP or repetative PvE and that just does not cut it. Its like once they release the game they feel they can just stop and do patching and fixing and that will satisfy the customers, well thats not why we are in the MMO genre and they need to wake up and figure that out.

 

P.S If its TL:DR just check the last part, I got a little carried away with this haha

Eliandal

  Since I generally investigate my gaming choices very thoroughly, I have only 1 game that I played for under 3 months (L2) - Hey - I got into the beta !

 

  Otherwise - Except for WAR which I only played for 2 years - the rest of my games are over 3 - some of them significantly....

  IOK - 4 years

  GS3/4 - 15 years off and on

  NWN (the real NWN) 4 years until it closed

  DAOC 6 years

  WoW - coming up on 7 years

  LOTRO - 5 years (very casually)

 

  I have tested and explored quite a few more games, and they just didn't 'grab' me - so I don't really count them as they wouldn't even count as a 'week'

narfi

Originally posted by Dalgor

Well firstly, I dont play MMOs to fully immerse myself, I'm playing them to find a fun, interesting game to keep my entertained for a long time to come. Now that being said, I look for depth in my MMOs, depth in story, depth in crafting, depth in exploration, and depth in combat, and a good community, and regularly added new content, if you do not have all of these things then the games not going to keep people, or atleast me, around for a very long time. I've played UO( It was fun, but we've move on beyond this. ), Eve ( Its fun but its based around PvP which is not why I play MMOs, plus the real time skill learning system is a cop-out on MMO gameplay IMO. ), and EU ( Its decent, but its outdated, and theres nothing in it to keep me around. ), and they just dont do it for me, just being a sandbox doesnt make it a better game then the themeparks, the truth of the matter is, there really are no good options when it comes to current MMOs, its just which is the best of the bad options.

The game I play is EU, if you havent played it in a while it has changed alot. Cryengine 2,vehicles, Space, Multiple Planets being developed by seperate studios, introduction of the missions systems, etc... (so not really what i consider 'outdated')

Personally I dont want levels, I dont want forced classes, I dont want multiple characters per server, I dont want to be forced to pick a faction, I dont want the game based off of gear aquired through means other then crafting, I dont want gear that never gets destroyed, and I dont want useless death penaltys. But thats all they put out nowadays, and I deal with what I have to deal with, I get on, get what little enjoyment I can out of it by doing the PvE, exploring the world, whatever crafting they put in the game, reaching the highest level, and then doing a little PvP, and then Im done with that title.

Your right, that all sounds booring to me as well.

If I was to stick around in a game for a long period of time you need options in game that do not include vanity crap ( Aka Achievements, costumes, pets, mounts, titles, etc. ).

Have a profession system like SWG that had over 30 professions you had access to, but only enough aquirable skill points to master 2 1/2 of them. With the ability to drop professions and relearn your skills into other professions allowing for ultimate flexibility and no unbalancedness.

Why unlearn somthing you have already learned? This is something that I dont understand haveing only really played the one game. I really enjoy that I can skill in any profession at any time and use it whenever I want. (I have a pretty well rounded avatar)

One character per server so that people will think before acting or they build up a server wipe reputation because they cannot switch to alts without completly erasing their current characters. This also prevents cross faction spys, aswell as keeping botters/gold farmers to a bare minimum.

Agreed, I dont like the idea of 1 person controling multiple characters. I want to 'know' who I am playing with even if it is just an internet persona.

Must have indepth crafting that the entire economy is based off of, the world should be in the players hands, not in the hands of npcs that the players "champion" for, so the players should be able to craft everything from food, all equipment, vehicles, and buildings. Everything crafted should also have a duribility that can be repaired a certain amount but at a certain point the item will break down and be destroyed, thus keeping the crafting economy moving and in demand at all times. Reciepes can be hard to aquire, through time, money, and just ingame playing,but should have the best equipment in the game otherwise crafting quickly gets thrown on the back burner no matter how well its implemented and it becomes unpractical to be a crafting only character.

Could you explain the differences between EU's crafting and what you want for me? Again, just because that is what I am familiar with.

Death Penaltys need to be real penaltys, not just oh get teleported to a graveyard or soul point and travel back, you can take experience hits aswell as equipment duribility hits, you can stack debuffs, anything that has real practical affect. If you have a stat debuff thats time to not do combat and train in other areas of your character, that doesnt mean you dont do anything till the timers up, thats just what current MMOs seem to train people to think.

Death penaltys would definatly make for a different attitude towards gaming style, I am not sure what I think about it. All I really have experience with is loosing materials in lootable pvp. (lost 500ped worth in space the other day)

I think everyone should start off neutral in games and be introduced to the multiple ( preferably more then two ) factions early on, so that they can have all the factions goals and ideals explained to them and then have the choice to join one, or remain on the neutral side. This allows for PvP options for those who want it, aswell as the ability to stay out of PvP conflict if the player wants to go that route, and preferably factions can have stuff for neutral partys to help them with that doesnt involve them in PvP to keep it all balanced as far as quantity of stuff to do is concerned.

I dont know much about factions either. I do have a network of friends and accointences through out a majority of the varying levels of societies though. I enjoy being able to chat with an Uber about something one day, help a new player out with beginning missions the next, and then chatting with one of the loudmouth and 'hated' members of the Rockstars society the next.

Allow for loadless persistent world exploration, guild and faction city building, ground and air vehicle construction, and then throw reguarly( every 2 weeks to every month ) released new content from a good Dev team and you'll have a game that will keep me around for years.

I do think that the idea of building and destroying of buildings would add alot to a game. Be interesting to see how that could be implemented without being abused in some way or other by the players. (mentioned in another thread on this forum today)

I need something that stays fresh, has new ideas constantly pouring into it, and a player driven evolving game world. Current MMOs have stop adding fresh content on a regular basis and want you to satisfy yourself for quarters or half of a year at a time doing mindless PvP or repetative PvE and that just does not cut it. Its like once they release the game they feel they can just stop and do patching and fixing and that will satisfy the customers, well thats not why we are in the MMO genre and they need to wake up and figure that out.

 What is the typical Update time for modern games? I know that for the past year or so they have been doing Updates an average of every 2 weeks or so. I think this has been helped by the fact that 4-5 different studios are developing content for it now.

P.S If its TL:DR just check the last part, I got a little carried away with this haha

I am not sure what TL:DR is, sorry.

Sorry for all the reference to EU but its the only game I really have experience with imersing myself into, and since you mentioned you had played it figured you could answer some of those comparison questions for me.

 

thanks,

narfi