How do you justify the amount of time everquest requires? How do you play the game?

[Tyrith]

Since coming back I've had my own struggle with this. At first I wanted to play a cleric, like I had on classic, but I pretty quickly realized that when RL can call at any time, it doesn't make sense to burden other people with my schedule. Having a wife/kids/other household obligations is definitely a limiting factor on what you can do.

But EQ is also a good game for us casual people because of the pace. EQ is a much slower paced and less concentration demanding game than modern MMOs, because there's so much time medding/waiting for mobs to spawn. I rerolled as a soloing class and love it, because I can step away whenever I need to, and often it was time I was just going to spend sitting there in the game anyway.

The great thing about EQ is that since so much of the game is in the leveling process, you can always log in and do something that has long-term meaning for your character. In a game like WoW, if you don't have time to do all the dailies/gear grinding for any given patch cycle, you will just be behind until the whole thing resets - the value of the casual amount of playtime gets wiped away every six months. Here, even if you can only chip away at the leveling grind 45 minutes a day, that 45 minutes a day of XP will always have value to your character.

[Barkingturtle]

I think the key to being a casual player and enjoying your time on P99 is probably rolling a monk.

[Hroth]

I've got a family and more than a full time job. I've been playing off and on since around April of 2010 and my highest level character is 52 so I'm pretty casual.

How do I play? I make EQ sacrifices.

I don't main the class that I most wanted to play: a warrior. It just wouldn't be feasible when frequently I can only play for an hour or so. Even when I have several hours to play, I'm still a husband and father first so often have to step away or log on very short notice. Instead, I play a shaman where I can solo effectively which is what I do most.

If I know I'm going to have a 2-3 hour uninterrupted session coming up, I'll try to make the most of it. I'll camp in the area I want to group in the night before to increase the time I can be in a group. However, I don't wait long LFG. I've got 3 alts in the 15-30 range and will pick what I play based primarily on what I have time for or what I can find a group with.

I'm in a guild, and do raid casually in hate/fear and epic fights when I can. Fortunately there are several guilds out there where casual raiders are accepted. I don't dream big. While I used to play EQ hardcore from around 1999-2004, that's not where I'm at now in my life so I don't dream about phat loots and dragons.

I remember that family comes first. When my daughter was born, I quit for over 9 months to spend more time getting to know her and supporting my wife.

EQ is what you make of it, and it can still be plenty enjoyable even at 5-10 hours a week.

[Nordenwatch]

Here's how I balance life and EQ:

I use EQ as motivation to study. I know it sounds crazy but there's a method to this madness. Essentially I pick AFK camps, some camps that you'll only have to do something every X amount of time (30 min for Xalgoz, for example) and I study for the rest of the time. This motivates me to actually study because I have to sit there for 30 min anyway, I might as well get some work done.

EC is also a good place to do this, hit the auction button every 10 min or so and check occasionally for tells.

This makes it so I'm playing a game which I enjoy, while studying which I enjoy significantly less. It balances it out. Its great getting a fungi tunic while writing an essay.

It is a ton of time invested but you get what you put into it, and its obviously fun as fuck if we're all playing on an emulated server of a game that was released 13 years ago.

[Arrisard]

I play when I can, I don't when I can't.

People make this more complicated than it really is. It's a video game. Yeah, it's not as simple as hitting quicksave and getting up any second you want in EQ, but I justify it the same way when I've spent hundreds, thousands, of hours over the course of my life playing other games. I came to the realization a long time ago that it was all really just "wasted time" other than the enjoyment and memories I got which were more than worth the time invested over all.

Some people juggle geese.

[Elements]

I haven't felt the need to justify my play time in any game in a long time. I've embrased my passion for gaming while maintaining my real life responsibilities and excellent health. So if I can still mamage to squeez in 40+ hours of gaming on the odd week and nothing IRL is being sacrificed then booyah.

[Swish]

Too many hours on EQ and this can happen:-

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All things in moderation...

[Elements]

Originally Posted by Swish [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Too many hours on EQ and this can happen:-

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All things in moderation...

Probably 2-3 weeks of growth behind that guy. Should probably shave today.

[1203jjt]

I struggle with this problem some...maybe I just lack self control. Sometimes I know I SHOULD be doing x, but slaughtering some orcs or undead is just more satisfying :/

[Zeelot]

I am a full time law student and never have issues. I just raid when I am free and level chars when I feel like it. It isn't so hard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]