All I want is WoW (maybe)

With the prospect of possibly seeing WoW TBC coming out again within the next year, I constantly find myself fantasizing about living my life in a way so that I can maximize my time playing it. I'm talking about in a dramatic way too: something along the lines of getting a hotel night clerk position (so i can play at work) and living as frugal as possible to avoid expenses. The thing is though, is that I know I would be forced to give up quite a bit to get to that point.... but I still find myself thinking that's what I want. It sounds insane to type it out here, but I'm not sure I've ever had as much fulfillment in life as those years in high school grinding away with my friends to be the most competitive WoW player that I could, especially with the arena system in TBC.

Right now, it feels like I have quite a bit going for me too. I achieved one of my dreams of getting into medical school, fell in love with an amazing woman, have really worked on myself so that I really like who I am now; yet, most of these achievements seems like it wouldn't be nearly as fun as being able to grind at WoW with the vast majority of my time. Really, it seems like I would be happier just saying "eff you" to the standard route of happiness and trading it in for what might be considered a low standard of living.

There's just something about WoW that seems just so much better than reality. I've never felt the level of acceptance, desirability, or possibly even fulfillment as back in the day when I spent the majority of my time there. I've heard of people giving up careers, families, or, even health to follow their passion of snowboarding or skydiving; is this really different? The examples i gave do seem to actually be pretty happy.

I think about what my life will look like in ten years, and I do think I would be much worse off on this path. I know that people in their 70's often get depressed if they haven't had children, and sometimes virtual relationships just can't be counted on for life's tougher problems. Also, Life's expensive, no matter how frugal you are and maybe some emergency will come along that a 12$ an hour job can't afford. It seems like it must be foolish to dedicate yourself to a video game, and it is probably because it is.

instead of taking this leap, however, I've also wondered if I should just change my life now in a way that i can get the same fulfillment i got through endless grinding with my buds. Looking objectively at my behavior, I know that I often don't take the same initiative to interact with people in real life that I did in WoW. It was just so much easier for me to ask people to help in a dungeon or to join my pvp team than to ask people to go to dinner or hang out in anyway in real life. It seems that needing people around me has always felt weak and that independence in the real world is what people find honorable.

The disgusting part of living in a first world country to me is that we buy all our tools, food, and even housing in a way so that asking our friends or neighbors for help is the last thing that we want to do. For example, instead of a cul-de-sac collectively buying a cost-effective and time saving riding lawnmower, each household feels they need to buy their own push mower so that they don't have to work with and depend on each other. In video games, you're forced to work together or you can't play at all. An even more direct example is concept working as infantry in the military or existing as our ancestors did in close nit tribes just barely able to get by: the need to be perceived as independent quickly goes away because your life depends on being utilized and utilizing the people around you.

I can't remember the names or even the time period, but I know there were these philosophers that created
these experiments to determine the optimum amount of happiness a human can have. They found the way they created the most happiness is by having people living in close nit communities that had just enough resources to have their bodies needs met. Maybe something like a monastery or one of those hippie compounds that people always make fun of. Maybe my best life would to be founding a gaming community based on principles like that were people had time to dedicate to their passions because they didn't have to constantly worry about their mortgage. I don't think I could ever pull the plug and try something like that, but I do recognize the way I live now was never how we humans were evolved to live like. For now though, I think ill just remain a cog in the capitalist machine but do my best to look for opportunities to reach out in my community and try to live a little less independent.

cheers,

PS:

Didn't athene (best paladin in the world) make a cult like gaming community? predictably, I think it went off the rails and did some really crazy sh*t.

I think you're possibly idealizing WoW as a counter to your dissatisfaction with modern, American living.

I would definitely like more time in my life to play games and explore other hobbies, but spending all my time playing games sounds awful. How long until I burn out? I don't know but if I play one game for too long, like six hours in a day, I usually take some time off from it.

However, that's me. Perhaps you're different, I don't know. WoW is obviously a huge game and you've put a ton of time into it.

Also, I'm not sure a hotel night clerk job will give you as much WoW playing time as you imagine. It's still a job with stuff to do and network firewalls to bypass.

Medical school is a ton of work. You've put a ton of effort into getting there (bravo!) and you've got more work coming. Escaping that to "go back" to how WoW was for you in high school is a big ask. It's an ideal. One you might achieve if you drop everything and play WoW all day, but one you'll most likely sour on years down the road when you're 50, playing WoW on your own private server with nobody else and still working that night shift job for $12/hour.

Yeah could be, my gf also told me I could be a trophy husband if I wanted to be.... I doubt she’d really be okay with me playing wow all day though haha.

Yeah I think I am using wow as a scapegoat for my dissatisfaction with the American (maybe he entire first world?) way. It’s a shame that all these places that pop up that center on community and non-materialism end up being a cult or cult-like.

I get really turned off sometimes about becoming a doctor and focusing on sh*t like cars or house. There’s not much fulfillment in the rat race, but there doesn’t seem to be a way not to enter it. I hope I can focus on the better reasons to be a doctor and making a difference.

You don't need to be too involved with the rat race. You'll find more time to relax, eventually. Maybe don't have kids though!

I’m not sure that I have much wisdom about wishing to pursue your passion of pursuing WoW hardcore but as a doctor in his 50s I can give some advise on the whole medicine thing.

I have a lot of ambivalence about my career. There are tremendous rewards to being a doctor but tremendous down sides too. If I could give one bit of advise it is avoid the trap of adopting the doctor lifestyle. The training in medicine is so long, the hours so brutal and the debt so massive, it is easy to feel that you deserve to be “rewarded” when you finish. That usually means getting an expensive car, a big house and all of the typical lifestyle perks that are expected of doctors.

The downside is that the opportunity cost of being in training so long and the typical massive debt will require you to pursue the usual grind of long hours and maximum stress required to pay for it all. And once you’ve started that lifestyle, it is very difficult to back out.

If you are able to avoid that and live a frugal lifestyle, medicine can be very flexible and you could live a life that lets you pursue a pretty rewarding profession but still have time to pursue other interests all while making a solid middle class or upper middle class income. I’m guessing way more flexible than a hotel clerk.

There is a subculture in medicine as part of the FIRE movement that might be of interest. Not everyone wants to retire in their 30s but a lot of their advise on lifestyle management is solid (Physician on Fire is a decent website). I wish I had been given that advise early in my career.

If you avoid the materialism trap (which virtually all of your colleagues will be pursuing), you will have the flexibility to travel or volunteer or work a limited schedule and play a crapton of video games if that brings you joy.

That's really fantastic advice. Right now I'm trying to live frugal, but I live in cyprus at the moment for school and lvingin in another country is expensive. Partly because things are more expensive (dollars to euros) but mostly because i have no idea what to look out for. I feel that i have zero time to cook so I'm either stuck eating granola bars or eating take out, both are pricy.

Sallie may is the real villain too. they were trying to charge me 10% interest for a student loan... like seriously, where do they get off?

thankfully i got my parents to take out a mortgage for me at around a 5% APR. still high for todays standards, but i think it will save me around 50-100k by the time i pay it off. It comes with the concern that borrowing money from family of it being awkward as well. ill certainly look into that physician on fire website. maybe ill be able to pick up quite up something i can adapt for overseas.

The economic side doesn't really bother me that much overall though. The real reason i went into this is because of my own experience with psychiatry. Going through depression is hell, especially over long periods of time. experiencing coming out of that though is serial - especially when done through a ketamine trip. But yeah, giving my finger to helping make the world a better place and playing video games 15 hours a da also sounds fun.

Did i play PUBG with you btw? i cant remember what either of our usernames where on that, but how many doctors could we possibly have here anyway?

My reflexes are way too slow for PUBG so had to be someone else. =) And I think we actually have a bunch of docs on this website.

It sounds like you’re pursuing medicine for the right reasons. I have precepted for a lot of students and my advise is to go to medical school if you feel there is no other career that will fulfill you. If it’s a tossup between a couple of interests, choose the other option.

And at least in the US, debt has to be taken very seriously. I finished $200k in debt over 20 years ago and I continued living like a student (renting cheap apartment, driving junker cars) for years in practice to get it paid off. It sucked at the time but so glad I did.

FiveIron wrote:

Yeah could be, my gf also told me I could be a trophy husband if I wanted to be.... I doubt she’d really be okay with me playing wow all day though haha.

My experience is that regardless of what is said before or even how active they are in the community. Once you get married that changes. At least my experience anyway.

Can’t speak to your career goals but for me the sweet spot returning to WOW has been about 10-15 hours a week. Granted, before covid this would be a huge time investment but nowadays it’s enough to keep me sane and have a life.

I can maybe see sinking a lot of time into WOW if you’re making money as a streamer or can compete in world first tourneys. Otherwise, playing wow as a second job is IMHO a mistake. My hardcore friends who gave up everything to game are rather unhappy nowadays.

It sounds like you may have anxiety issues that you should try to address with counseling. Not judging by the way. I have bipolar and am convinced I wouldn’t be here without seeking help.

Finally, have you checked out the new WOW areas? BFA is pretty fun and the new expansion looks amazing. This is the perfect time to get your WOW fix without devoting your life to the game.

jdzappa wrote:

Can’t speak to your career goals but for me the sweet spot returning to WOW has been about 10-15 hours a week. Granted, before covid this would be a huge time investment but nowadays it’s enough to keep me sane and have a life.

I can maybe see sinking a lot of time into WOW if you’re making money as a streamer or can compete in world first tourneys. Otherwise, playing wow as a second job is IMHO a mistake. My hardcore friends who gave up everything to game are rather unhappy nowadays.

It sounds like you may have anxiety issues that you should try to address with counseling. Not judging by the way. I have bipolar and am convinced I wouldn’t be here without seeking help.

Finally, have you checked out the new WOW areas? BFA is pretty fun and the new expansion looks amazing. This is the perfect time to get your WOW fix without devoting your life to the game.

you are partially right I think, I do think at least part of it is due to some performance anxiety. I question the ability that i have to get through med school and be a doctor, not to mention the massive debt that comes with dropping out later.

I have wokred quite a lot on my mental health, but it continues to be a something i have to keep up on. I think since i originally made this post i have made some progress with adjusting to a new country and digesting the massive amount i have to learn for school. we will see where this take me

ranalin wrote:
FiveIron wrote:

Yeah could be, my gf also told me I could be a trophy husband if I wanted to be.... I doubt she’d really be okay with me playing wow all day though haha.

My experience is that regardless of what is said before or even how active they are in the community. Once you get married that changes. At least my experience anyway.

That's more about the person you marry and not marriage itself. I married our Rogue Guild Leader in real-life and it was a non-issue.

Five-Iron: WoW will never be the same, my friend. That golden moment has passed and the thing you knew is not the thing it is now. I've tried to go back many, many times to recapture that feeling, and it's just not there like it was. The rest of the world changed too much.

I'm an anesthesiologist. Pick the right specialty, the right job, and enjoy life. You can be a doctor and not work crazy hours. Residency doesn't last forever. Goes by quick. Believe me, I played plenty of games back then during training and even during medical school.

Whatever they say, unfortunately money always affects life and happiness.

Funny, I actually made this post a few years ago and just saw it has gotten a couple more replies. But i see the coffee grinder post got deleted for some reason, but maybe it was an AI bot? those things are getting sophisticated.

I just finished my third year of med school and things are looking slightly better. I still have to pass my board exams which is weighing on me but overall things are looking better. It'll all be worth it if I can make it into residency, but this is quite the sacrifice. Wish I knew this is what i wanted to do when I was younger so all the training would be out of the way by now, but I had a few other careers in mind then.

Side note, if anyone can put me in contact with a psychiatrist residency director in their town let me know ;).

FiveIron wrote:

Funny, I actually made this post a few years ago and just saw it has gotten a couple more replies. But i see the coffee grinder post got deleted for some reason, but maybe it was an AI bot? those things are getting sophisticated.

I just finished my third year of med school and things are looking slightly better. I still have to pass my board exams which is weighing on me but overall things are looking better. It'll all be worth it if I can make it into residency, but this is quite the sacrifice. Wish I knew this is what i wanted to do when I was younger so all the training would be out of the way by now, but I had a few other careers in mind then.

Side note, if anyone can put me in contact with a psychiatrist residency director in their town let me know ;).

Congrats FiveIron! FWIW I'm on my 3rd career and like 12th serious job in my 40s.

Also, I just wanted to say there are some great MMOs that I've found respect my time better than WOW. Guild Wars 2 is great to play casually and a new expansion is about to drop. Otherwise, FF 14 and ESO are fun to play at your own pace if you love good stories. (Though ESO can get hardcore if you're doing endgame group content).