Here’s how I’m currently feeling about the game. Is my perspective or attitude wrong? Please let me know if you have any insights that could help me see the game in a fresh light again. It has meant a lot to me for a long time and it’s a little disorienting to be feeling this way.
Things about me and how I’ve previously enjoyed the game:
Playing since BC, most “hardcore” I ever played was during SL doing M+ 20s
Big achievement hunter
Read all the WoW novels and short stories, painted lots of WoW landscapes and have several WoW tattoos
Met my husband on WoW (he still plays actively, pugged 3k io and cleared heroic this season on a new class - yes I’m bragging about him lol)
Things that have recently eroded my will to play:
Feels like an increase in recycled content lately? I hated MoP remix for example (even though I loved the expansion while it was live) and I wouldn’t touch Visions again with a ten foot pole. Am I just jaded for feeling like I’m getting slapped in the face with recycled content? Like, if I was nostalgic I’d play classic instead of retail, na mean?
I’m personally not enjoying the new fast content release cycle. All the little events like the Nightfall thing in Hallowfall feel soulless to me with everyone and their grandmas just running around like crazy one-tapping things. I actually liked it better when there were lulls in between content that would allow me to breathe and catch up on achievements. I know this is likely an unpopular opinion though.
Retroactively adding new achievements required to complete expansion metas - I had obtained every single BFA achievement (quest, exploration, raid and dungeon, rep, etc.) long ago and expected to get the meta, but they added new achievements with it that I didn’t get credit for because they involved quests that had to be done from the Horde side (I’d only played it on Alliance). I know it’s not a big deal and it probably wouldn’t be too hard to go back and do it on a Horde character, but I no longer feel motivated.
Hunter pets being so squishy this expansion, had difficulties attempting ?? Zekvir and Underpin because my pet gets one-shot and I don’t want to facetank, I don’t think that’s my intended class design, maybe I’m being stubborn?
I don’t like the new profession talent tree system because I find it too involved
Things I DID enjoy recently:
Skyriding
D.R.I.V.E. in Undermine
Delves except for Brann
Exploring the new zones as always, beautiful
Trading post because it makes me log back in at least once a month to get pretty stuff
launch player here. took 2 small breaks during legion and bfa due to the direction of the game at that time.
the game for me was awesome from launch day up until the end of mop and what slowly bleed me out, personally, was:
the removal of 10man and 25man heroic end game raiding when it was replaced with 20man mythic. i was in a 10man guild. we rebuilt to 20man mythic but it just didnt work. too many part timers and elitists and we slowly fell apart and most quit.
the removal of ranged survival hunter at the end of wod. that was the 2nd stab to my heart and what made me quit for the 1st time since launch.
when i came back during legion and witnessed all the systems and then with bfa systems. i walked away again.
came back for the mid to end of shadowlands and found a guild of like minded players and just tolerated the nonsense drivel that blizzard had been producing.
now, the recycled content. just blah. but whatever, my wife plays with me and i have a decent group of guildies that keep me subbed.
You’re coming back during the “lull,” so the filler content should not be viewed as actual content. We’re not getting that until 11.1.7 and even then it will mostly be housing (which you may or may not be excited for; it’s not “content” to me it’s a doll-house side-game). The next actual content drop is 11.3 with new zones and a new season for M+, Raid, and PvP. The next major story thing will be Midnight which should be in 2026 sometime. The faster pacing of expansions is intended as part of Trilogy of related expansion since The War Within (TWW), Midnight, and The Last Titan were all announced simultaneously at a Blizzcon.
Consider that you don’t care for the filler content (like Nightfall, Horrific Visions, etc.) and the collectables from those events aren’t compelling (to you presumably), you might extend your break until Midnight drops sometime early next year. This might be the best approach given you also said “I actually liked it better when there were lulls in between content that would allow me to breathe and catch up on achievements.”
If you’re wanting actual content, extend your breather until Midnight drops (or perhaps 11.3). If you’re interested in new transmogs/mounts/achievements, then prioritize those into your play-time now. Check the latest WoW 2025 Roadmap at Wowhead (which has descriptions of upcoming patches for TWW).
I don’t think anyone can help you “love” playing WoW again, it either appeals to you or it doesn’t. All anyone can do here is perhaps point out thing you’ve stated you like that you didn’t know were available in the current patch (or confirm that things you don’t like will probably change for the better with a future patch or the next expansion).
Player housing is absolutely coming. It expected to be live before Midnight releases.
I will echo other folks. Just because an event or other new (or recycled) content exists doesn’t mean you must do it. Most of it rewards catch up gear. If you’re playing consistently anyway, then you don’t need the non-cosmetic rewards.
Since you’re an achievement hunter (and presumably collector), the events and recycled content may have new mounts or transmog you want. My advice is only to engage if there’s something you really want - otherwise you might consider waiting until you out gear the content in an expansion or two.
The new achievements in old content are there to incentivize spending time playing old content because there will be new rewards. Player housing will have rewards coming from all expansions. We’re getting some of that retroactively for our past achievements, but they are adding new achievements to add new rewards to as well.
The faster releases does mean you’ll have to find your own time for breaks. I tend to step away during some of the minor patches and come back for all the major patches - which are about every 6 months.
When I do play during minor patches, I’m just off doing whatever seems fun. I enjoy revisiting old content, so I do that a lot. But on this toon I’m just occasionally running a Delve, doing some side quests, working on Renown, etc.
We have a flood of new content. Don’t try to do it all. Pick the parts of the game you really love and ignore the rest.
Hunter pets do feel very squishy right now, I concur. Gotta be sure to smack Mend every time it’s up, which seems new to me.
And yes, the profession changes definitely turned me completely off of all of them, I no longer bother with crafting.
I’m on the line of burnout also - just posted my own thread regarding leveling speed and immersion - and have readjusted to renewing my sub every other month, which helped. I renew halfway through a month - May 15 last time - so I can do May and June “Trading Post” stuff, and work on June’s Darkmoon Faire. Sub runs out mid-June, I’ll skip a month and resub mid-July.
That pattern has helped me focus on other games while my sub’s inactive, because while I’m subbed to WoW I feel more obligated to play it (I’m paying for it right now! Gotta log in!) but I still get to look at each month’s Trading Post goodies and work on Darkmoon Faire stuff.
Oh, honey, that’s a fact. Two pieces of recycled BFA content support this.
True. Especially for an expac, WoD-SL, that was designed to pad out game time for Acti’s shareholders.
Never apologize for this. He’s a walking stereotype of your class. As bad as Leroy for Paladin’s type of bad. FYI, that ancient 140p video is a complete fabrication. All of Leroy’s fame is based entirely on a bed of falsehoods.
Literally nothing wrong with that. Ignore the forum crybabies that are scared of butterfly’s. There will never be anything wrong with having style and flare in a fantasy setting. Why yes, darling. I did choose to pursue Astarion as my first romantic partner.
If you need a break, take one. No game ever should feel like a 9-5 job.
Something I choose to do this season is be a super casual. I have limited myself to vet only gear and I just que heroics and raid finder for purely fun. I do tier 11 delves though.
Its been a nice chill season for me so far, will probably see how many masks I can do in visions later though with just vet gear.
I think Blizzard expects DPS to face tank with Brann’s potions - at least the bosses which are CC immune. That’s how every other DPS with no pet does it - CC when you can, face tank with Brann’s potions.
In all honesty, it sounds like you’ve just reached the point of saturation. Not quite “burnout”, but otherwise just “done” with the game because you’ve been at it for so long.
As such, the answer is simple - take a break from the game, or at least walk away for the most part, and try other games. It’s good for you in general, to be honest; different games help break up the monotony as well as offering a new perspective every so often.
As for particular recommendations… not so easy, depends on what you have access to. All I can assume is PC because that’s what WoW’s currently locked to.
But for some broad-strokes stuff, these could be a clue:
… I’m leaning towards a good 3D platformer as a suggestion, as you seem to enjoy fun motion and exploring in particular. The catch is recommending something that isn’t Nintendo right now, largely because there’s no indication you already have access to that.
Are you using Mend Pet alot? I noticed this as well, my guys are really weak compared to where I was strength wise before. I have to practically keep Mend Pet on CD. Also Misdirect too, for some reason.
