I’ll just come right out with it.

I’ve been missing playing World of Warcraft.

I find the genre of MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) very fascinating, I have played multiple MMO’s in the past. E.V.E Online, World Of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Furcadia, Anarchy Online, Final Fantasy XI, Phantasy Star Online and Universe, Ragnarok Online, Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars The Old Republic and a brief trial of Warhammer Online.

So, out of all these games why do I miss playing World of Warcraft so much?

I think a big part of it is due to the people I was playing with. It can make or break a MMO, find a good group of people who are equally interested and enjoy playing and you’re onto a winner – I’m not saying the people I used to play with were perfect, but they were a decent bunch. (When they all got along and stuck on the same server as one another at least.)

The main part though, was the character investment.

I don’t believe that it is the greatest platform when it comes to making your own character. It certainly doesn’t  compare to the likes of Skyrim or Saints Row; The Third.
The thing with Online Games when you’re in a small community is they demand your time as a player, you need to make an investment in them to get something back.
I don’t think much can be gained from an MMO if they’re treated the same as an Offline/Solo play game. Yes, you get a bit of the storyline and unless they’re in-depth griping stories as they are in Star Wars; The Old Republic, but generally that isn’t the point to MMO’s. They don’t ever offer that feeling of completion. There is never an end to the story – that I have found.

So instead, you spend a lot of time playing as a character (Or maybe more) which tends to be something that’s not done on Offline Games – feel free to argue with me here – but once the story is done, that it. You leave that character behind and move on. I know I don’t often think of my Dragon Age characters all that much now that the game is over.

Yet, the main one I used in World of Warcraft still has their lure. I sometimes think about moving them out of the setting, but cannot bring myself to do it. They belong there, and they always will. Which is why I often feel that pull to go back and play some more. To see if they’re still the same character that I left behind… to see if their story is complete yet or not.