Logging into WoW at the end of the day is a great stress reliever, as it's one of the few times I'm not thinking (at all) about experiments, the future of my career, or anything like that. It allows me to relax, let things from the day go, and find a more healthy state of mind as the day ends. Also, although WoW gives me a list quests to do (sort of like work, in a way), I know I am in control of what I do, and I know that each task is, in the end, possible. Science just doesn't work that way. [WoW, F, 33]

I'm a dentist and my wife is the head of an insurance company claims department. These are 2 fairly stressful occupations - we use EQ to unwind. Neither one of us cares for the trash on television and this is something we can do together in a cooperative spirit. [EQ, M, 70]

There was a time when finances were tight due to a change in employment; this created a lot of pressure and stress until things smoothed out again. Having the game to escape into when I came home in the evening was very therapeutic. [CoH, M, 39]

It provided a way to divide my attention so that I could engage with the game while another, less communicative aspect could chew on what was bothering it. Ultimately, the space provided in that exercise catalyzed some insight and paved the way for change. [WoW, F, 51]

It was an area where I could concentrate on the mechanics of the game and my relation to the game (it was mostly a solo-based MMO) gave me some space to deal with the issues I was dealing with. [WoW, M, 28]

Divorce, troubles with my children, friends and parents. Sometimes I found myself really alone and with a lot pain. The best escape or refuge i found at this time was to go into the game to play and forget all that real life and pain. [Vanguard, M, 43]

Played a lot when my mother was diagnosed and shortly thereafter died of pancreatic cancer; the game was a way to escape from a harsh reality [WoW, M, 26]

The first time I played one (Star Wars Galaxies), I was coping with being sexually assaulted. I wasn't working and couldn't sleep much. My personal life was totally off track and I felt helpless to improve it. It was easier to just play and I think it helped me get some temporal distance from the events so as to be ready to move on with life. [F, 30]

I had a really horrible break up with a long term boyfriend and focusing on in-game objectives prolonged the healing process but also seemed to dull the hurt and let understanding seep in as opposed to being overwhelmed with grief. All-in-all, I believe WoW to have ultimately helped me get through the hardest time I've ever experienced. [WoW, F, 26]

In the past, I have used the game as a proxy for achievement and accomplishment when I felt myself to be at a stagnant point in my life. For example, if I feel aimless in my career, I play WoW for its clear-cut, achievable goals (ie. getting loot, reaching a new level.) I have felt this to be very beneficial. Though I could see how it might become a substitute for real life for some people, I've used it as a way to get past those 'humps' where I don't feel satisfied. It gives me a sense of forward progress. [WoW, F, 23]

Working away several thousand dollars of debt away, for example, takes a long time, and it's hard to feel like one is making progress when one has rent and etc. to pay as well every month. By contrast, WoW seems engineered to make the player feel as though he/she is making 'progress', which makes me feel almost like my time is less 'wasted' because at least I made progress in the game, even when I'm not making a lot of progress in my personal life. [WoW, M, 23]

I use Guild Wars (GW) as a way to escape the stressors of life. There is more control in game. It is much easier, in most cases, to set a goal and achieve it in game. [GW, M, 25]

I hated my job and was constantly dwelling on several disappointments and poor choices I had made. Suddenly I found a world that allowed me far more control than I had in the real one, as well as a place where I could be admired and respected for my skills. I latched onto it strongly. [WoW, M, 36]

During a period of about a year where I was working at a job and role where my work was not particularly engaging, the MMO served as my means to exercise my brain, problem solve and more importantly work with others on problems. In the workplace, I was essentially working alone on most tasks, and have very little background or expertise in the domain I was working in. In the MMO (Wow), it was the reverse, as I frequently grouped with others, socialized and solved challenging in game problems. My game play during this period was very high, often playing late into the evenings, doing dungeon runs, raids; I was essentially filling a void that my job was leaving me with everyday. [WoW, M, 31]

This is a regular state of life for me. I am a worrier, a mother, a full time worker, a wife ... and I suffer from depression, for which I am being treated. I feel my regular life is very boring ... as is my work. WoW lets me feel as if I am doing something interesting. [WoW, F, 31]

It gives a sense of belonging somewhere, when in the RL sometimes you don't know where do you belong. And since all games have clear goals (or at least you make them clear) is easier to achieve them, compared to RL [WoW, F, 27]

I began playing because I had hours of free time, even with a full time job and a family, and I was bored and depressed. It really did make life more exciting and interesting at a time when I was feeling very disappointed in life, and gave me something to look forward to each day and especially on weekends. [LOTRO, F, 50]

The people I met in game became an important support group for me (my only support group) - whether I talked to them about my issues or not. I don't know how I would have made it through that tough time without them. [WoW, F, 21]

Once after an extremely painful breakup. It helped because the friends I had made online were more caring than most of the people I had called friends in real life, who blew me off. [Eve Online, M, 22]

When I went through a depression it was a relief to have the online friends to chat with. For some reason it was easier to break the ice talking about difficult issues with online friends before talking with friends irl. Once I had been warming up talking with online friends it was easier taking the step talking to irl friends. [WoW, M, 25]

There is something about online friends that let you break through walls you normally put up with real life friends. You can be you without judgment and they give you advice the same way. Online people don't have to care about protecting your feelings as much so they give you the benefit of saying exactly what they think without regard to how it affects your relationship (as much). [WoW, F, 26]

When I was in high school I was being raised in a very restrictive religious cult and afraid to tell my parents I was bisexual. I used to cry myself to sleep every night and engage in cutting behavior and a lot of withdrawal from my family. Since I was not allowed to have friends outside the religion and I could not trust those who were cult members I felt very much alone. By playing an MMO I found friends I could confide in who helped me and putting on my headset I could forget of where I was in my life. It made me even more driven to succeed in the game and I met friends who I still keep in touch with. It didn't help me solve my problems but it did help me cope until I was in a better situation to make changes in my life. [WoW, F, 21]

I live in a neighborhood where its dangerous to walk out my front door, and yet I can log onto World of Warcraft and talk to friends who are there for me and are willing to support me. I can in-turn support them in the best way I know how. [WoW, M, 19]

I have many good friends, but they live all over the world and it's hard to keep in touch. Part of my depression stemmed from having no good friends who I could be in consistent *regular* contact with, so I spent most of my days somewhat lonely, and at a loss how to start over making new friends. Gaming provided me with a more stable and satisfying social life. I ended up making many good friends and becoming a well-loved officer in a fun guild. [WoW, F, 33]

Several years ago I lost my husband and my daughter in an auto accident, leaving me the only survivor of my family. The constantly changing world of the MMO and the comings and goings of real live people provided something I needed at the time -- a whole world that I was part of, yet no one there knew of my pain. I could interact with real people and not have the pressure of being 'that poor woman who lost her family', which I hadn't realized was weighing so heavily on me in real life, and which well-meaning friends tended to put on me. [DAoC, F, 48]

When my father was released from prison (after being in since 1986) and tried to make contact with me, I started playing WoW more often than usual. I think, apart from playing too much, Warcraft helped to even out the stress in my life for that period of time. None of my guild mates knew of my problems, and therefore didn't ask me about them (whereas my RL friends would, naturally), which meant I wasn't being constantly reminded of the RL issues at hand. [WoW, F, 21]

I've also struggled with shyness for many years, and have used games as a way to hide from my social problems, which are bad enough to be paralyzing. I'm still shy in the game sometimes, and often have trouble finding groups. However, overall, I think I'm less shy now than I was before I started playing. I've definitely noticed a change in my behavior in the real world, and close friends (in real life) have noticed this change also. I'm a lot more likely to put myself and my opinions out there when I'm around other people, and with new people I've met in the past year, I've been a lot more outgoing. [WoW, F, 31]

I'm an extreme introvert (Asperger's Syndrome) and spending time with others irritates me. I play online games as entertainment that connects me with people 'a little' but not really connecting with people. Sociologists would probably say that this behaviour isn't psychologically sound, so in that sense feeding that would be hurting me more than trying to work out my so-called 'disorder' and socializing with people. [Guild Wars, M, 27]

I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. When it was really bad, I liked playing games on line, because I could talk with people I didn’t know. This was something I didn’t dare in Real Life. It has helped me a bit to get my life going because people listened to me and supported me. [WoW, F, 21]

I suffer chronic back pains, and an MMO can help take my thoughts away from that. [CoH, M, 40]

The RL issue is total knee replacement - pain avoidance is much easier in game than otherwise; in game I can reduce pain medication [EQ, F, 61]

Dealing with surgery and the loss of a whole year athletically was a pretty tough thing for me to take. It was right around then that Guild Wars first came out. Ultimately, I became a better Guild Wars player but a worse person. It effectively made me forget about my injury and enjoy my three months without much pain. Though in hindsight, I wish i had not played nearly as much as i did and it took quite some time to rebound back into sports. [GW, M, 18]

I suppose that one of the reasons I enjoy playing is that, unlike in RL (disabled and a wheelchair user), there are no physical barriers in the game. I can go where I want and do what I want without suffering for it (with the exception of making my painful hands and wrists worse through playing for too long). Also, other players don't know that I'm disabled unless I choose to tell them, so there's none of the awkwardness of RL; most people are invariably unsure how to interact with someone in a wheelchair … still! [WoW, F, 50]

Well, I'm ill and disabled and I can't work. I have plenty of free time on my hands and MMOs have helped me spend that time online where no one can see my state and where I get to be at the same level as everyone else for once. It reinforces my self-esteem since I'm a good gamer ... I think. I tend to be more vocal and outgoing online than in real life. People get to know me better online than in real life because in real life they would probably just ignore me like they do now. I get to have some social contacts online because I don't get to have colleagues or friends in real life. [GW, F, 32]

As strange as it may sound, learning to play and enjoy life in an MMO helped me regain my life outside the MMO world -- not by substituting one fake world for a more painful real world, but by providing me with a much-needed detached environment to revitalize my own personal traits and strengths without the stress of being watched and analyzed constantly by well-meaning friends. [DAoC, F, 48]

The most important reason I play the game is because I've needed a different way of looking at myself since my depression after losing a child -- i find when I visualize myself differently (more positively) then I actually feel differently (more positively about myself) in real life. I wish there were more games for people that don't want to kill so much. Things like putting out fires, and emergency rescue leagues would be awesome. [Runescape, F, 43]

I began playing because I had hours of free time, even with a full time job and a family, and I was bored and depressed. Three years later, I had recovered a sense of myself and my potential, and had a more compatible relationship and an extremely satisfying job. And as my real life began to rival my online life, EverQuest began to fade away. It really did make life more exciting and interesting at a time when I was feeling very disappointed in life, and gave me something to look forward to each day and especially on weekends. [LoTR, F, 50]

The people I met in game became an important support group for me (my only support group) - whether I talked to them about my issues or not. I don't know how I would have made it through that tough time without them, since I had constantly thought about suicide before I had been playing an mmo. [WoW, F, 21]

I was literally going to commit suicide - I had an idea, a method, and had planned it all out (I had recently been hit with the country western song trifecta of house burning down, dogs dying in the fire, and my mom's death shortly after). A friend invited me to try Everquest 2. I became engaged with it - every day I woke up wanting to see what would happen next. I made friends that I cared about, and began to form a community. Little by little, I started to see how what was going on virtually could also go on in my RL, and I began to venture forth there, too. Being involved in adventures and leveling LITERALLY saved my life. [WoW, F, 33]

I started playing WoW in a rough time in my life. I neglected pretty much everything in real life. There were days where I wouldn't even leave my room except to use the bathroom and get something to eat. I would play from waking until I was passing out in front of the keyboard. Real life sucked, but man I was having a blast in the game and it just made me forget about everything wrong in real life. At its worst, I went almost a week without even speaking to one of my room mates ...and things started to sour on that front. We got into arguments, and we couldn't pay any bills. I had to move home for the first time since I started college. [WoW, M, 25]

I hated my job and was constantly dwelling on several disappointments and poor choices I had made. Suddenly I found a world that allowed me far more control than I had in the real one, as well as a place where I could be admired and respected for my skills. I latched onto it strongly. Of course, the real world kept moving, and my wife began feeling more and more neglected. I ignored her attempts to pull me out of the game, and so she grew more and more distant, eventually having an affair which I was blissfully ignorant of for some time. Once the truth came out there was a truly horrible period of time, almost a year, where our home was more or less the site of a Cold War, with both of us staying together only for the sake of our children. I sank even deeper into the game to try and block out the misery of my real life. [WoW, M, 36]

My parents divorced, and although I was under the impression it wouldn't really affect me ... well, after playing the game every waking moment, not pursuing work or school, staying awake playing for 48 hours at a time or worse, it was certainly hurting my situation more than helping. I was very irritable, I would snap at my mother and younger sister, especially if the divorce or my father were brought up. I became quite simply very, very, mean-spirited. Eventually, after about 6 or so months of this every single day, I realized I had lost almost 40 pounds from starving myself and my condition slowly worsened. My immune system was completely shot. I had grown so ill that a week later I came down with tonsillitis as well as strep throat. [WoW, F, 18]

I'm having trouble with school - not because of grades, but because of my parents. They're pressuring me to do well in school because of the high tuition. They're having trouble affording it, and constantly tell me that it's up to me to do well so we might get more financial aid next year. I get it. I understand the situation we're in. But they're not helping me by constantly telling me the same thing over and over again. In fact, they're making it worse. I'm put under stress to try and do well, but it's not working. Then one day I got an e-mail invite to be a Closed Beta Tester for the MMO 'Secret of the Solstice.' I was intrigued by the whole 'Closed Beta' thing before - I'd never heard of it. I was a 'newbie' to the whole MMO scene. Almost instantly I downloaded the client, and started playing. I was hooked. I was in a world where I could be anyone. I didn't have to work to please someone, I didn't have certain standards to meet. I could just be who I wanted to be, doing what I wanted to do. I ended up playing every night, and on weekends for hours. [Secret of the Solstice, F, 14]

As long as the player remembers that a game is a game, and not an alternative to their present lives, then they will be alright. It can be dangerous when one forgets this, because ultimately I do not believe games are real. They are data stored on servers, data that could be easily erased if the company wished it. Our lives are so much more valuable than that. [WoW, M, 19]

Over the summer, I played what for me was way too much. I knew I shouldn't play as much as I did--and at the end of most days I regretted it. I learned a valuable lesson from that though--the game is enjoyable when I control how I interact with it, not when it controls me. [WoW, F, 22]

MMO's aren't the problem, they are just a way for people with other real life problems to escape and forget about them. My advice is to make sure you're happy and content with where you are in life before you touch an MMO. [WoW, M, 25]

I finally figured out that trying to compete to impress a bunch of anonymous strangers online is ridiculous if it means hurting the ones I love. MMOs now are only a form of entertainment for me, one of many, and not my refuge from reality. [WoW, M, 36]

There is a fine line between relaxing with a little gaming, and submersing yourself in a game in order to ignore something that shouldn't be ignored. I don't think this is unique to MMOGs. Some people use alcohol, for others its drugs, or gambling, or sports, or some other activity. It's a human problem, not a specific activity/technology problem. [Eve Online, M, 34]

Did the game contribute to the problem? No. 60 hours a week sitting in front of a computer contributed to the problem, but I could have done that watching DVDs, playing electronic bridge or laying on the couch watching TV. [WoW, F, 51]

Doing something pleasurable when you are feeling down is one way of coping. Of course, it never solves the problems. Of course, it's not meant to solve the problem. Neither does eating a bar of chocolate. But when there's no fun to be had in the real world, sometimes, there is fun to be had in the virtual world. [Guild Wars, M, 29]

I play with my father a lot. I'm a Guild Leader on the Tribunal Server and he's a member of my Guild, so our roles are somewhat reversed. We have a good time and what I've found is that he uses it as a way to support me. When things blow up within the Guild (and they do) he comes out in support of me. [EQ, F, 37]

My boyfriend of 8 years have started a guild together. He is the guild master and I'm one of the officers. So that in game he outranks me but we are equal as partners. Sometimes this leads to clashes when we don't see eye to eye. However this has no impact on our relationship because we are used to having different opinions. [WoW, F, 25]

My son and husband are both much more experienced gamers and are both better at WoW, especially in PvP, than I am. They are also much more interested in stats and gear than I am. My son frequently gives me pointers and suggestions about how to improve my game play. It is somewhat of a reversal from our real life roles, but it isn't a problem and hasn't adversely affected our relationship. [WoW, F, 53]

My husband and I play together, and it is a bit of a role reversal because he is usually the outgoing one. But in a lot of ways, I play more than he does and work harder at it. I am also much more outgoing in game than he is. Being in the form of a character helps me to drop my insecurities about myself. My husband has never been a 'group joiner' and that holds true in the game as well, so it is usually me bringing him to social situations, which never happens in RL. [WoW, F, 33]

In real life, I make more money than my husband and he stays home....In Second Life, my husband is a very successful real estate agent (yes, he makes a lot of real life money there) and I shop and go dancing. I think that it has given him more confidence in himself and has helped improve his RL business in that way as well as make him feel like he is a more equal partner in our marriage. [Second Life, F, 39]

My room mate and I play together. Usually in real life I am broke and she has money. In the game it is totally reversed. I usually have a lot of money and I am always loaning her money. [WoW, F, 29]

I have one more story - about the snow-covered mountains of AC (and I've still got the screen cap) - my son, in his avatar, standing over a resting me, in my avatar, while I rest. We'd been in heavy battle and we'd each stood guarding for respawns while the other laid down to rest, (remember AC had that feature). It has been a story my son and I still enjoy telling about the screen cap of the virtual 'child is father to the man' moment. I have to be honest and say it has always stirred a deep fatherly thing deep in my soul this image of us protecting each other on the side of that mountain. [LOTR, M, 56]

I have played with employees, and they had different needs from the games than I did. Did it affect our relationship? In a way in that as fellow gamers we had a better relationship than others around me. We had a lot to talk about. We talked about the game and other things. It opened us up to a friendship that otherwise may not have been possible. [Eve Online, M, 45]

The experience was generally positive (team or relationship building) and -so far- results in a much better real-life relationship. [WoW, M, 50]

My two best friends play in the same guild as I do, and while they tend to be more active and the center of attention in the physical world, they are much more subdued in the gaming world. I am an officer and quite active on our guild forums and in chat, whereas they only post or speak occasionally and hold no 'rank' within the guild. This has led to me being the 'expert' on all things that are happening relative to our guild and in the game. As a result, we have had more of an equalizing of power in the physical world between the three of us, in that my opinion on a major topic of discussion is now more respected and asked for than it was previously. [WoW, M, 25]

I started playing WoW before my older brother. He has always been the domineering one in our sibling way, he was always the boss whenever he deemed me worthy to play with. When I started playing WoW, and he got interested in it too, at first he was playing on my account and he had to ask me for permission before he could play and, occasionally, it was he who came to me for help in certain things. When he got his own account and transferred his character over, things started shifting back into old ways but, at least now, he's a lot more friendly about it. When we were really young, we did somewhat get along but he was 'boss' and, as we grew older, it developed into a true hate-love relationship where most of our time together was through screaming and yelling at each other ... Now, we're almost friends. [WoW, F, 24]

I played Final Fantasy with a friend/boyfriend and he was guild leader & very much a strong leader in the game. In our relationship that was never really the case. I was usually 'in charge' in deciding what we did, where we ate, etc. I usually even drove him around in his car. It was hard for me to take his leadership in the game context and I resented it. It made things difficult IRL because I was bugged by him assuming a role that I was not used to. I think it bugged him too cuz I wouldn't submit to his authority and I think I made him look weaker to the other guild members. [F, 30]

My husband and I play together. We do seem to reverse roles in MMOs. I tend to lead IRL and am kind and friendly. He tends to quietly follow my lead. However, in MMOs he usually is deciding what quest we are on and what's next, while I'm more interested in checking out some distant object. This does sometimes affect our relationship, mostly when he gets mad at me because I'm wandering off in game or stopping to fight everyone, while he just wants to get to point A and collect B and take it to NPC C, without stopping. It is hard for me when this happens, because it is the reverse of our normal IRL relationship. [LOTR, F, 26]

A friend from the Dorm I lived in sophomore year in college played guild wars with me on occasion. In all other games that we played together, like Guitar Hero and Super Smash Bros. he was my obvious superior. He always won competitions and was the instructor and I was the student. However, in guild wars it was the opposite. I was immensely more knowledgeable in the game than him. Especially in competitive matters. It occasionally caused some abrasiveness in real life as he was not used to me taking the leadership and instructional role. [GW, M, 19]

The only thing I can think of was when I was playing WoW with my ex a couple of years time ago. He was very needy in real life and I was typically very independent. He was also a very arrogant guy and was used to people not being as knowledgeable as he was. Oddly enough, he'd met his match as far as IQ goes when he met me. I started WoW because I saw how much fun he had with it ... and I was a newbie and didn't know anything about it. Suddenly, rather than being intellectual equals and him being the needy one, the roles were reversed. I had no idea what was going on and needed him for pointers, and he found himself more knowledgeable than I in one arena. He prided himself on being in the best guild and one of the most powerful/experienced/best gear on the server. And he didn't want to play with me because I was a newbie and apparently my lack of experience was embarrassing. In real life, it caused our relationship to deteriorate because he started thinking he was better than me and deserved better. I started feeling unappreciated because he carried his 'superiority' from the game into real life and became distant. [Vanguard, F, 23]

I joined WoW to play with my best friend. He had been playing for 6 months and had a character I thought was established. By being at the right place with the right people at the right time, I became a founding guild officer. Later, my friend joined the guild. My guild seniority, as well as the advantages I had through character building advice from guild mates led to my adoption of a condescending attitude toward my comparably ineffective best friend. [WoW, M, 24]

I have not played in MMOs where I have experienced this; however, that may be due to prior experiences in playing games (FPS) with my boss. In those games, I was responsible for organizing the 'play dates' and encouraging the team to get together. Initially, this was a fantastic way to showcase my leadership and organizational skills. My management promoted those skills as positive teambuilding and rewarded me sufficiently. However, as time wore on, the same manager was not able to continue improvement in the game, and lost interest as the other players became significantly better. When he stopped playing altogether, the expectations that I would set up the games became a liability in that I was spending 'too much time' with organization, and the impression that my manager had of me was that all I did was game. This was reflected in my work performance review for two years, even after we disbanded the group that was playing. Some of us have moved on to the MMO genre now -- but it is much more secretive. We have not invited management back for the same fears of making them feel inadequate or feeling like they need more of a leadership role. [WoW, M, 32]

This is the final group screenshot for our guild Flying Clams Forever on the Sakray server of Ragnarok Online. When our faithful leader decided to quit the game after three years of leadership, the guild gathered together for a final farewell and to spell out the letters "FCF" on the pavement of our homeland of Juno.

-- Aiko

I think emotes make things even more interesting to add depth to a game. In my screenshot here my boyfriend that I met online (later IRL) found creative ways to use the emotes to our advantage for cute pictures. All it requires is some random emotes, and a quick finger on that print screen button.

-- Jasmine

Lineage 2. Funny situation, a friend has fallen asleep behind computer, and when we were finishing party, we had to kill him in order to prevent him beeing killed by mobs which would cause him to drop items. Leena went red on him, which forced her to work off karma later. Old screenshot from Chronicle 4 times, when you actually dropped items on death.

-- Falconek

Ambushing enemy. Guys down the hill are a bait. Pvp in Lineage 2 requires using terrain to your advantage.

-- Falconek

Our guild about to attempt the final boss in tempest keep. It takes alot of coordination among friends and we have spent alot of time together learning the fight and mastering it, but once you get it down right it makes it worth all the while.

-- Baleemic

While playing EverQuest (the original) my constant group had just moved into a new territory. We were engaged in fighting some regular mobs when suddenly the baddest mob in that territory attacked us. Now we had already been killed once or twice by that mob, so our natural reaction was to run. But, one of our members had been rooted in the previous engagement. I was the tank, so I engaged to give time to my companion for the root to break. My group returned and we fought the baddest mob in the region and beat it. My heart still picks up a beat when I remember that fight. [WoW, M, 45]

After playing WoW for about a year, my friends and I joined up with another small guild and headed into The Core. We all worked hard as hell to succeed, and put in many hours out of game in order to advance the group in MC. On about our sixth attempt on Lucifron we killed him. I've never felt so elated. I've competed on sports teams, worked hard academically, and played many another video game, but I've never felt so elated, such a sense of accomplishment. [WoW, M, 20]

My most memorable experience is with my guild, Team Spirit, in The Saga of Ryzom. We trekked across the World of Ryzom to reach an Outpost War. We were helping to defend the outpost from it's attackers and there were supposedly many people going to the war. Upon arriving at the outpost we found that many who had pledge their support to the defense of the outpost had not arrived. We were 30 minutes into a two hour battle and the outpost was almost lost. We fought long and hard and coordinated our healing and attacks and manage to barely pull off a victory. It was a great experience having entered into a battle where all hope was lost and pull out a victory. It felt like we were the cavalry from the old westerns that arrives just in the nick of time! [Saga of Ryzom, M, 40]

I was playing as my rogue in World of Warcraft, and had just spirit rezzed, and as such was incapable of putting up a fight. A horde warlock killed me in this weakened state, and I swore revenge. I got back to my corpse, and rezzed, with the warlock nearby. I snuck up to him and sapped him. When that wore off, I sapped him again. When that wore off, he tried to aoe fear, but I wasn’t next to him, and then I sapped him again. I spent 10 minutes avoiding his aoes and detection attempts, using every ability I had to keep the warlock completely incapacitated, and to prevent him from running. At the end of those 10 minutes, no longer having res sickness, I massacred him, spat on his corpse, and left. [WoW, M, 22]

The first online MMORPG I played (Last Kingdom) as soon as I was high enough to be pk'd by another player I was, over and over again day in and day out, to the point to where IMO it was probably considered grief play but I didn’t know that there was a such thing at the time since I was new to the world of MMORPG's. Any how I hated it so much that I found a secluded place and I literally power leveled myself up past the griefers level so that he was no longer able to kill me, then not to my surprise when I ran past him he tried his hand at his old pk trick again and much to his surprise I was able to turn around and swat him with my sword and actually killed him in return for all the pk'ing he had done to me in the past. It was very enjoyable to finally get revenge. [WoW, F, 30]

This was in DAoC, before the ruin that was Tales of Atlantis. I had finally made it to lvl50 with my scout (my friends had achieved lvl 50 on different days within two weeks) and got my epic gear and enchants. So we went out to hunt other factions. What I got myself into was a war! I did not expect this; a raid on Midgard soil was going on and friendly forces had captured a castle. We joined them and for the next 3 hours we were fighting back and forth between two rival castles, ours and theirs. In the end, some allies that were more experienced in realm vs. realm joined us, organized us and built siege machines. That final launch and capture of the enemy castle is burned in my memory and serves to this day as what a PvP should be; frantic, massive, tactical, and cooperative. [WoW, M, 30]

I believe my sweetest memory was completing the Coldain Prayer Shawl in EverQuest. This quest took me nearly 18 months to complete and consumed probably 75% of my total assets in EverQuest, perhaps more. [WoW, M, 35]

[The experiences] involve a particularly difficult feat that I pulled off with my character (i.e. one time I was able to defeat two level 60 players in a Battleground by myself at the same time, another time I was able to solo most of the 'Onyxia Quest Chain' in BRD, etc.) - these experiences always give a sense of triumph over insurmountable odds. [WoW, M, 30]

Back when I first started playing EverQuest, I really wanted to play a barbarian shaman, but my friend had just bought the game and made a high elf paladin. Geographically, the two races couldn't have started much further apart. Seeing as I had a bit more experience with the game, though, I volunteered to make the very long, dangerous run from Halas (the barbarian starting city) to Felwithe, the high elves' starting city.

When you died, you went back to your bind point. At the time, the only classes that could cast the bind spell were, if I remember correctly, mages and wizards. And EverQuest was very mercenary in its day; if you wanted a bind, you had to pay someone, and while it wasn't exactly millions of platinum, even a single bind was way beyond the financial means of a newbie. Plus (again, if I remember correctly), you could only bind in city zones. Further complicating matters was that players always moved slower than mobs, and mobs never gave up the chase (unless you zoned). Given my low level and the speed of most mobs, basically, during this run (two hours, I think), if I aggroed anything, and wasn't either near one of a few guard posts or a zone line, I was dead.

So, I printed out some maps from EQatlas, and planned out the trip. I still remember it. Start in Halas, go south through the mountains into Blackburrow (a lowbie dungeon), then to the Qeynos hills, which would be the easiest part of the trip. From Qeynos Hills, you had to go to West Karana, an absolutely massive zone (the largest in the game, at the time), trying to keep an eye out for the werewolf spawn at the zone line that would be instant death (as would most of the mobs during this trip). Then, after getting across West Karana, North Karana, the most dangerous overland area I'd be going through. The griffons there were fast and tough enough to wipe out the guards, if they attacked it. From North Karana, I'd go to East Karana, a still dangerous (but substantially less so) area, up to High Hold Pass, a quasi-dungeon crawling with orcs and gnolls. Thankfully, it was usually so heavily camped that getting through wouldn't be much of a problem. From there, I had to travel through Kithicor Forest, a lowbie area by day that spawned with some of the nastiest undead in the game at night, and they didn't necessarily despawn at daybreak. So, my plan was to hug the northern zone wall the whole way through, and hope for the best. From Kithicor, I'd go to the Western Commonlands, a not-so-dangerous area. The mobs there could still kill me, but at least not as fast, and because the zone had a wizard spire, it was always full of high-level characters. I could probably get some help. Then, I'd go to the Eastern Commonlands, a lowbie zone that would be pretty easy to get across, then to Freeport, and - hopefully - a bind. From Freeport, I'd get on the boat to the Butcherblock mountains, an area roughly equivelent to the Western Commonlands, then to Greater Faydark, a lowbie area, and finally, Felwithe. Quite a trip.

To improve my chance of surviving, I found a few other lowbies that wanted to make the trip. I figured we'd caravan it. If we got aggroed, at least some of us would make it. And it worked, for a while. Somewhere in West Karana, we got aggroed, I believe it was by a lion, and it wiped out the whole group except for two of us. The other that survived, a higher-level wizard, managed to use Gate and teleport back to hit bindpoint. I was left running. But, just before the mob could catch be, something nuked it, and nuked it HARD. I looked around and saw a level 50 druid named Shider (who had presumably just blasted the crap out of that lion with Starfire). Shider asked me if I needed any help, and I told him I was trying to make the run to Felwithe to meet a friend. He buffed me, and just said to follow. Long story short, he made the trip for me; teleporting us both to the druid ring closest, then running us back, with Spirit of the Wolf (a run speed buff far more significant than anything WoW's got). He even took me right up to the gates of Freeport, and got a Bind for me. I said thanks, and he disappeared.

A few weeks later, I was around level 25-30, and … came across a ranger camping the ruins. We chatted a bit, I'd buff him up for the tougher fights, and over a few days, we kept bumping into each other and talking some more. Eventually, he asked me to join his guild. They were called the Freeport Tavern Drunks, so I accepted out of curiosity. After saying my hellos, I did a /who guild, and ... Shider! Over time, I found out Shider was played by a woman named Bobbie, who was a graphic arts student from Ohio. Not that anyone knew at the time, but she was dating (actually, not online) another guildmate. Eventually, I met her boyfriend, Jim (also from Ohio), and he and I got to be pretty good friends. These days, none of us play EverQuest anymore, but Jim and I talk online most days of the week, and I still talk to Bobbie on a somewhat infrequent basis. I generally don't make friends online, but Jim and Bobbie have been the exception. They're the only 'online' friends I've ever made. [WoW, M, 25]

A good experience I once had was when I was on a low level alt and someone I was friends with on another character (who had no idea it was me) walked up to me and gave me a rare item saying “Here, this’ll help you get started? I gave her a bunch of potions on my main in thanks and she never figured out why, but when she did that it just made me really happy. A random act of kindness to someone whom she thought she didn’t know and would never see again. [WoW, F, 17]

I was running the Stratholme instance with a pick-up group. A very rare epic quality gun dropped. No one in the group needed it and everyone “greed” rolled for it, as it was Bind on equip. I won and was very surprised. Elated, I linked it into guild chat to brag about what I had won. At that time this item was the best hunter gun on the server and worth about 3-400+g on the auction house. My guild master at that time (a hunter and great and fun friend!) was very clearly very jealous. Though it was clear he wanted the item he did not say anything about it. He congratulated me said it would make me some good gold, and he log off very shortly after. I spent a few hours thinking about what to do with the gun - sell on AH or give to my hunter friend? Eventually I decided to wrap it up in wrapping paper and sent it to him in the game mail. I logged off not log after for the weekend and forgot about it all together. The next day (Sat) at 3pm there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find my online friend (the hunter) and his wife holding several bottles of wine and a huge cake. He was grinning ear to ear and had been so happy with what he’d found in the post they had got my address from another friend and driven 115 miles to come thank me. We had a great laugh about it all, had a little impromptu party and ending up sitting up to 3am talking about WoW and our experiences. It was great fun and a fabulous feeling to have been able to make someone happy with something that I had obtained luckily but with such little effort. [WoW, M, 33]

A friend and I used to spend many hours talking online - we'd take our characters somewhere scenic - Feralas (lush forests and waterfalls), the Barrens (high hilltops and great views), the roof of the Orgrimmar auction house, and sit and have hours long conversations. One of our favorite places to talk was the hill just outside of the Crossroads. If you look to the east you can just see the town and the smoke from the inn. To the north you can see the low trees and the open plains. It's quiet and out of the way. We'd often talk about guild issues there or discuss personal problems, sometimes just enjoy the scenery and some peace and quiet. Over time, it became apparent that he and I were developing a relationship. One day (November 21st to be precise!) he took me up to that hill and we stood there for a while, and that one place is where he asked me to go out with him. That was nine months ago and we've met in person and still have an amazing relationship. We don't go to the Barrens as often as we used to, but out of everything that's happened to me in almost 2 years of playing? That was absolutely the most memorable! [WoW, F, 30]

My most memorable experience was the night my girlfriend and I really hit it off on WoW. She was fishing right next to me in Dustwallow by the crash site and I just struck up a conversation with her. The next thing you know we were running around, killin' mobs together, and quoting Shakespeare! We've since moved in together, are totally and utterly and completely twitterpated, and haven't looked back. Out of 8M people who play WoW and 2M of them assumed to be Chinese gold farmers it never ceases to amaze me how I met the love of my life on the Gurubashi server at 3am PST. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. [WoW, M, 26]

So I was pissed off that I somehow made a healer as my first main character on City of Villains. I was 3/4 dead looking at my screen where I was about level 22 or 26 …debating on deleting my character and making something where every ass on the game would refrain from saying, 'Heal More' or 'Heal Me'. So … Yea! I got sick of that shit hella fast. Anyways ... I’m sittin lookin at my screen HATING my character, when I get an ingame Private Message, from some Guy named Omega Man. Hmm, says he is lookin for a healer. Now I at this point am sick to death of healing whole teams ... so I replied, Can I just heal you? He said, 'yeap' and ummm ... July 22nd 2006 we got married in real life. [CoH, F, 30]

Shortly after starting the game, I ended up in Darkshore. I have no luck with directions IRL and that translated perfectly well into game as well. I asked once in the general channel if anyone was willing to help someone hopelessly lost finish a quest. A guy responded and we teamed up. He had 2 characters in party, and I'd come to find out later he had and maintained 2 accounts! He helped me finish my quest (he had a warrior and a priest) and we went on to team up through the remainder of the night. The next day when I came on, he invited me to group again. This happened day after day and soon we were inseparable. He had more free time then I did and would hold off leveling so that we could all be at the same place at the same time. We hit 60 together, were in the same guilds together, and explored end game content together. Our professions were complementary and we had 300 in each on our various alts. About 3 months ago he was shipped off to Iraq with no net access or phone access ... It's hard to lose contact with someone you talked with daily to someone you can't see at all. I think losing that connection with him for now is one of the hardest things about this game for me. The people make the game. How else can someone you could have never met in RL (He lived in FL and keeps to himself a lot, I'm very outgoing and talkative. He would have never approached me!) make such an impact in your life? [WoW, F, 27]

I have formed, over a period of two years, several very intimate friendships with people whom I will never meet, whose real names I will probably never know. We discuss in the most affectionate ways our deepest feelings, fears, experiences, children, books, sexual lives - in various degrees of depth. These relationships will NEVER be consummated by real life meetings. [CoH, F, 51]

One of the most memorable was when I was playing EQ, I had a cleric and she was working on the cleric epic, I posted that I needed help and I had a full raid force show up to help me, they were all friends that I had helped and made all the way thru game and they cared enough to come and help me out. It was the most amazing thing to me that people thought so much of me and how I was that so many would show up to help me. [WoW, F, 31]

Another incident that I witnessed over the other half's shoulder was one player's mechanical yeti taking offence at The Baron harming its owner and going to say hello before the group was anywhere near ready. Cue a very small furry animal tanking a very large undead bloke on a horse, a lot of 'WTF' on Skype and another, inevitable, wipe. This has now passed into Guild legend and created a new verb 'to yeti' that is widely used. [WoW, M, 29]

Just last night I was raiding Maraudon with four others and I forgot to dismiss my Imp before we jumped down a cliff and sadly my Imp ran around the long way and pulled about 15 mobs and I quickly Soul Stoned the priest and just waited to die, and for some reason I didn't and all the mobs just ran away from me and I was standing alone over everyone’s body. I said 'Why am I still alive' and everyone was just completely dumbfounded. I emoted Maullynt laughs at all of you. He is God. About two seconds later I saw the mobs running back along the cliff towards me and shortly thereafter died. It turns out someone ran away and all the mobs were aggro'd on him leaving me alone. It was one of the funniest moments I have experienced in WoW. [WoW, M, 18]

The one that immediately comes to mind is the ending of my old EverQuest guild. The guild had been floundering for some time and rather than withering away to nothing we decided to disband the guild ourselves and have a little memorial service. All the remaining members met outside of Freeport. Our guild leader made a speech and there was some storytelling of our more memorable exploits. After the disbanding, we had a little bit of friendly PvP in the Freeport Arena then went our separate ways. [WoW, M, 35]

This happened on a text-based game with a player base of over 300 or so people (FiranMux). On it, my character's brother, played by a serviceman overseas, was poisoned by the enemies of the main race. The character was, like his counterpart, a soldier and a heroic type. This happened sometime in September 2001, after the Tower attacks. His character's funeral turned out to be an outpouring of real grief translated into character views. People were commenting OOC that they were crying RL and finding ways to put their deepest held views and emotions into words for the sake of the catharsis onscreen. His IC death became a way for a lot of strangers to express their hate, hope, love, fear, grief, sorrow, and regret through a fictitious character and thus get it off of their real soul. [WoW, F, 26]

The most memorable events, sadly, would be those that involved the death of fellow friends and companions. I've known several people who have died, way before their time. Most were through terminal illnesses. For these people, I believe the MMO environment allowed them to do things they could not do in the real world, due to the illnesses. The social environment was definitely a positive influence, and they got to know many people they might have never otherwise known. After these people passed away, the closest of close friends lived their character(s) on to get them to the highest level, in honor of their late friend. [Guild Wars, M, 24]

At one point a man whose screenname was Ry became a member of my (former) guild. Through time, I got to know him as a very amiable fellow. He was a 58 year old man from Canada (I can't remember which province). He was one of the most generous and helpful people I had even met on any online environment. He was also one of the most entertaining people to talk to over Ventrilo during downtime. Not to mention the huge moral boosts he constantly gave the guild as a whole. He came to be known as 'guild grandpa'. The dark side to this is that he had previously had 4 or 5 pulmonary embolisms. Well, one day when I was playing an alt with him on his main farming me a few pieces of gear from a lower instance, he complained of a sudden pain when he went to pick up his mail. As it turns out, he had another embolism, and another guildie who was online with us actually called his family for him and got him some assistance. A few months later he told everyone what had exactly happened, and that he had basically been given 6 months to live. Ry passed away just under a month ago. It was personally astounding to me how profoundly the death of a man I have never met (or even been in the same country as) could devastate me as much as it did. He passed peacefully in the presence of his entire family, ending his life with smiles and jokes, as was always his nature. He had asked his son to update everyone online about his condition and how he was doing. Despite all that he was going through, he was thinking about his friends he made online to the end. RIP Ry. [WoW, M, 21]

I was bored in Ironforge, so I just started RP walking around. All of a sudden, this guy I'd never even seen before started RP walking behind me. I figured he'd get bored and leave after a few seconds of walking, but he followed me for around two minutes. I turned around and confronted him about how he was following me. He claimed that he was just going the same way, and when I called BS, he said that he was hired to kill me. We then got into a 30 minute chase in which we just ran all over the city yelling random stuff about how I was going to get away from him and such. I tried all kinds of things like mind-controlling him off a cliff to get rid of him, but he kept coming back. He played the part of a persistent killer absolutely perfectly. Eventually, I managed to finally foil his plans by killing myself in lava, hence preventing him from obtaining my head in order to complete his job. After I rezzed, he told me that I had won this battle, but that he would chase me to the end of my days in order to complete the job. It was completely random, but the whole event was really fun. [WoW, M, 25]

I was able to roleplay so much more in EQ and I do miss it. I was able to officiate several weddings as a cleric. I remember them all. I miss people wanting to marry ingame. It was something created while playing the game but completely separate from it. I've never seen such strong community in a mmo since EQ. New mmos are so fast paced. I don't miss the long long hours of EQ which were necessary to progress and made RP easier to get into. [WoW, F, 33]

I have been in the guild for many years and in March of this year, a group of us decided that we should have a guild get-together. So we settled on the Anime Expo convention in Los Angeles. We all shared two rooms though one of them was for sleeping purposes only. It's interesting meeting the group of people that are usually found on guild chat and Ventrillo. We came from all over. A few of us were local to California but we did have a few Canadians and one person all the way from the UK. Getting to see the different faces and bodies and relating them to their respective voices was interesting too. Most of us have seen each other's pictures so there were not too many surprises (though people found me short!). [Ragnarok Online, M, 20]

One of the most memorable experiences in my MMO career has to be the first IRL party in my guild. Being in charge of the planning and meeting everyone face to face - most of them for the first time ever - was a very special and positive experience. We have had similar parties since, but the first one will always be the one I will remember as the most memorable as that took the guild to a whole new level. [WoW, M, 29]

Someone in my guild's forums has posted a link to a tribute to the *old* days of EverQuest. This was in EQ's 5th year, a bit before I quit EverQuest (1) and went to EQ2. Watching the tribute brought on a strong feeling of bittersweet nostalgia. Back in 'the day' EverQuest was sort of enchanting. It was my first real MMO. For a while everything about it was simply so wondrous. And then you learn the game mechanics and over time, you're disenchanted. Everyone is. But remembering those days of old (in the tribute and such -- which featured real game graphics/screens and a bittersweet melody), when the game felt so alive... it was a wave of emotion stronger than most any I've ever felt. [EQ2, M, 18]

After playing MMOs for about 4 years, it gets harder to pull out one time that sticks out among others. So instead of picking a specific moment, I instead pick the first few weeks I played WoW and also the first few weeks I played EverQuest Online Adventures (The MMO version of EverQuest for the PlaySation2 Console). This part of the game is my favorite. Everything is new, everything is different, everybody is new (yay for the newbie zone). I still remember my first friend, Elvennoir, my second friend Jaira, and what I had for dinner the first day I got to play EverQuest Online Adventures at my own house. [WoW, M, 17]

I think to me that first experience of leaving the Human newbie area of Northshire Abbey for the first time and going down the road to Goldshire and feeling this sense of wonder for the wide virtual world ahead of me just overwhelmed me with this sense of awe at this living breathing 3D environment. [WoW, F, 30]

I grew tired of hardcore gaming. I used to be the type that would want the best of everything and would work really hard to get it. I guess, by getting some self-esteem in real life, it wiped out the need to be the best at something in a game. [WoW, M, 21]

In the beginning, I was excited to discover new things and was mostly playing solo and loving it. Later I was more drawn to instances and having a fun guild. Now I have come to a point where what I want is to be in a 'serious' guild in order to do high end instances and raids, as well as hone my PvP skills and participate in PvP competitively. [WoW, M, 25]

I first started playing WoW because my husband wanted me to try it out. To my surprise, I actually liked it. I quickly learned that I was very good at making money and I really liked loot. I also started out as a solo player. Now we play together and are always grouped. I used to never do dungeons and now we have a group that does one every Friday night. [WoW, F, 30]

Originally, the motivation for playing the game spawned from the novelty factor and sheer size of the world to explore ... something new around every corner ... new discoveries, new races or classes to try out, new quests / zones / instances ... [WoW, M, 31]

When I started playing (this was my first MMORPG by the way), I was content to run around questing with my little pink-haired gnome mage. I though she was so cute, and collecting those 8 boar ribs and 4 bear pelts was so much fun! [WoW, F, 25]

What has always drawn me to video games has been the prospect of entering an entirely new universe. I've always loved figuring out the new battle system, trekking across the new landscape, or taking part in some new story. [WoW, F, 17]

My initial motivation in buying the game and playing it was to spend time with real life friends who had become obsessed with World of Warcraft. We used to chat online every night and they all disappeared into the game. Buying it myself was the only way I could talk to them online! [WoW, F, 37]

I started playing WoW mostly as a chance to reconnect with college gaming friends of mine, since we were all in the military and separated over great distances. [WoW, M, 29]

I started to play World of Warcraft because my boyfriend got me a Beta account and got me interested in it. We were searching for an activity we could do together over the internet since we have to overcome a large distance and don't see another often in real time due to this. We got my brother and a friend of us interested in the game as well and played together since that time. So the main motivation at the beginning was to do something together, spend time with another and have fun. [WoW, F, 23]

The initial reason for playing is the same: exploration. I want to see new landscapes, new monsters, new characters and new challenges. As play continues the main goal becomes achievement: how much gold can I acquire, what's the best gear and how do I get it or can I defeat the toughest boss in the dungeon? [WoW, M, 36]

When I fist start an MMO I find that I will play because you get to discover new things. After that it is more striving for better stats. [GW, M, 16]

In the beginning it was just for fun, but now it's is more because I want to progress, wanna be the best in in the class, be able to make the best items, be highest lvl. In others words I guess it's that I want the other people to look up at me like that guy is good. [M, 19]

I used to play to occupy my time; I mostly solo'd and didn't care about being part of a group. Now I like to be a cog in a bigger machine and help a group achieve goals. [EQ, F, 60]

I started to play the game and quickly became involved in leveling my character up as soon as possible, getting the best items and gear which was possible. When I approached the end game content and was nearing a point where it was very difficult to progress any further, I realised that joining a guild was the only way forward. To my surprise, but ultimate joy - I realise that the REAL game in warcraft for me was the social interaction and friendships I made, the teamwork - the camaraderie. I became less and less interested in progressing my character further and instead started enjoying the social dynamics of the game. [WoW, M, 27]

When I started playing, I was only interested in exploring, figuring out how things worked. I hardly ever talked to anyone. Over time I started to talk to people around me, until eventually I did little *besides* talking to people, running a tavern nearly day-to-day for several months. [PlaneShift, M, 26]

I ended up playing WoW for nearly 3 years straight, not because of constant new content, but because I formed relationships with my guild-mates that I valued enough to keep logging on every day. [WoW, F, 17]

However, I realized I was going back for the friends I had made ... As part of an adult casual gamers guild, I found myself in a similar place in life as my guild mates with regard to work, marriage, kids, etc ... and continuing with the game for the social aspects as well. [WoW, M, 31]

I now play because of the social aspect. The guild I ended up in led to these changes, as I play with a couple real life friends. Over time I developed some very close relationships with people in my guild and my motivations for playing have now remained very constant. [WoW, F, 24]

The whole reason I continued to play, even after my good friend went on to other games, was probably the fact that I spent so much time playing it already and also the friendships I made. [Ragnarok Online, F, 16]

I was a fairly casual player for quite some time, until I discovered raiding. I became extremely passionate and competitive about raiding. I would tell myself it was just because I wanted to see the content ... but if I'm going to be honest, it was more for the feeling of importance that I was getting from the game, from being in a leadership position, from being in a top guild. I was addicted to that feeling. [WoW, F, 26]

I would say I'm a fairly hardcore raider (4-6 nights a week) and I'm not sure how I made that huge leap as when I was leveling up for the first time I found the thought of doing the same place more than a couple of times in hope that an item would drop to be absurd. [WoW, M, 18]

WoW's initial appeal was the 'new game', and small groups (with friends). As we have all progressed through WoW, our focus has shifted back to endgame content (and the challenges of organizing larger groups of people for raids, etc). [WoW, M, 32]

Later I was more drawn to instances and having a fun guild. Now I have come to a point where what I want is to be in a 'serious' guild in order to do high end instances and raids. [WoW, M, 25]

In City of Heroes there's a few guilds which exist solely for altruistic purposes, helping other players with regular transportation needs and generally as guides/helpers when asked, and I'm the founder, perhaps leader emeritus of one of the most well known. I never could have foreseen doing that, it just sort of happened gradually, and I do enjoy it. [CoH, M, 34]

Initially I liked to play because I liked interacting with other people to achieve common goals, and I really liked chatting with people and getting to know them. Later on, I started a Guild geared more towards the lower end players so that they had a place where they could learn, etc. So a big part of my enjoyment in game is helping people out, showing them how to do things, etc. [EQ, F, 37]

I'm more social than before, and have taken up leadership positions in my guild, though I'm not the biggest power - I prefer to be the Emminence Gris, the elder statesman, the cooler head, the arbiter and peace-maker, rather than the actual person in charge. My leadership position isn't based upon my playing ability (which is, frankly, pretty damn good), but upon the way I act as glue in the guild, holding things together. I like that, rather a lot. [GW, M, 43]

At first it was just to play a game, meet new people, and learn more about myself. Now my motivations have changed a lot, as I am a two-time guild leader. I have realized thru kalonline, that I am an idealist, and will stick to my core values of honor, kindness and integrity. Those 3 words that are the purpose of any guild I lead. That is my motivation, to not only be an example of honor, but to be a good man, friend, father figure to others, so that they have a model of what kind of person they can be. [KalonOnline, M, 44]

I would never have considered PvP, but adding the unpredictability of another human to the mix adds thrills and high tense moments. [WoW, M, 45]

When I first started playing Everquest II shortly after it came out (and World of Warcraft only recently), my main motivation for advancement was experiencing new content -- exploration, questing. Now I have high level characters in both games, and my main motivation has shifted to the 'new end game’, PvP. [EQ2, M, 29]

PvP has been my greatest surprise. By far my preferred style of multi-player action is co-operative play against a computer opponent, but I've learned to appreciate the adrenaline rush associated with playing against a human opponent, perhaps because every situation is difficult to grasp, and unpredictable compared to encounters with scripted resistance. [WoW, M, 21]

After a few months at 60, frustrated with running Strat and Scholo over and over again, I was starting to lose interest in the game. [WoW, F, 37]

After getting a character to maximum level, I realized it was just a grind and promptly lost interest. [WoW, M, 30]

Whenever we were online we did dungeon runs, sometimes spending whole Sundays redoing dungeons to get the set pieces. There wasn't any fun involved anymore. [WoW, F, 23]

But by the time I was 50, the game was too focused on the 'grind' to 60- the game required 20-40 players in raids- and the elitism, and classism of the players, just made it no fun. You could not achieve anything without massive support of some player group- and if you were in such a group (guild etc) - they expected the game to be a full time job. It was a burnout. [WoW, M, 53]

The game has lost most of its luster and adventure because I only log on to raid now. I miss the 'good old days' of exploring and knowing every quest. Back then I felt as though I was personally improving myself through solo quests and group quests. It feels more like a job now that almost all I do in the game is raid. Any non-raid time is spent in mandatory quests to gain access to raid encounters. I feel like I am a couple expansions behind now. I get frustrated at the game a lot more. [EQ, F, 26]

When we became the max level, we participated in raids and joined a high end guild. The game became a job. It lost that feeling we originally played for - the raw fun, questing and exploring new areas, advancing characters. We noticed the game wasn't about that any more. It was only fueled by greedy intentions guild members possessed. [WoW, M, 18]

In fact, when whatever character I'm playing gets to the level cap, I abandon it and start a new one. Raiding for loot just seems sterile and pointless to me. I just enjoy developing a character and exploring its world. [WoW, F, 50]

Although it has been boring, I've tried to satisfy my need for something new by creating alts, but in the end, the thrill of discovery has gone. [WoW, F, 17]

Now I've played through all the missions at least 3 or 4 times with multiple alts, I’ve set myself different goals. To finish (get to level 50) with one of each archetype, even the ones I don't like playing. [CoH, M, 37]

The same cities seem so different from the first time you go through them to the hundredth time you ran through it. Now, that I have reached the level cap on two characters at the time being its quite different. Now everything is the same, boring and dull. As I'm finishing up most of my quest and have two epic flying mounts already I am running out of things to do when no one wants to instance. Basically its log on, do something hopefully for a while then raid. Basically I just ran out of places to explore and things to do. [GW, M, 18]

I'm currently back in a casual guild, with friends, and perfectly content to be there. I don't seek the same kind of personal validation that I had been, I simply enjoy the time I spend playing - and the game is back to being simply a part of my life, not consuming it. [WoW, F, 26]

I still enjoy PvP but now I approach it with a more laid-back attitude. I don't care to have all the best gear as I've accepted the fact that I don't want to put that much time or effort into the game. In doing so, I enjoy the entire game more. [WoW, M, 30]

I totally quit for about 2 months -- the guild took a big loss as other people left as well -- and I have recently started playing again on average 1-2 hours a night just to socialize/quest/BG with the few friends still on-line and see a bit of the expanding content. I no longer feel the need to have epic gear, or be extremely competitive, and have no desire to be in a leadership role. [WoW, M, 25]

I was in a raiding guild, but felt it was so overly serious. Finally, I've joined a guild that I am happy with. They are very tight-knit, have a lot of high level players, all are over 18, and everyone goes out of their way to help others. They also do some endgame, but have no DKP, and raiding is just not the be-all and end-all of their existence. They even have a joke rank called 'linktard'. [WoW, F, 44]