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LotRO: She’s Kind of Like THAT Ex, Isn’t She?

I’m returning from my mini blog-cation to bring you this sexy, sexy post. Now, back to that shadowy corner by the fire…

Take a look at the banner up top. See that burly guy talking about zombies or some such? That, my friends, is a dear old friend of mine born from the lands of Middle-Earth. I rolled him a little over two years ago, took up a Guardian’s axe because it looked fun to whack things with, and went out to seize an orc by its throat. Somewhere around 1000 birds later, I found that orc and seized him good. Then his buddies might have killed me, or another one of those damned birds, but, the point is, the process went on for the next 44 levels.

Until about eight months ago when WoW decided to seize me good and pulled me away from all the progress I’d made. WoW’s kind of a jerk like that. It demands monogamy – at least from those of us who have trouble sticking to “just one game” – and will slowly suffocate out its competition with promises of “phat lewtz” and “lengthy epeens.” So, try as I might, I left my dear friend all alone in the reaches of Angmar surrounded by the undead, shady dudes in robes, and even eviler birds.

Even after I left WoW, I still didn’t go back to LotRO. I mean, I tried. The problem is, that dwarf somehow became like “that” ex-girlfriend. You know, the one where you left on good terms but it’s still really awkward when you meet in the grocery store. Yeah, like that. So, I’d log in and notice weird things, like he attacks slow or shouts too much (seriously, there are zombies RIGHT over that hill). Before too long, I’d leave him right in the middle of the fruit section action, looking around wondering what he did wrong.

This is where FFXIV would come in: my main squeeze, baby, I’ll never leave again xoxoxoxo, but I’ll spare you all that. I am not a one game man.

That last time bothered me, though. We actually had some fun again. He killed this, I meta-gamed that, it was like old times; the spark was flickering. Before I knew it, I was starting to feel hopeful. Except, as those old familiar feelings started to wash over me, so did another familiar sentiment well up:

OMGIHATEBROWNZONESWHATTHECRAPISITWITHYOUANDBROWNZONESTURBINEREADMYLIPSB-O-R-I-N-GWTFBBQOKAIYOUHEARMENOW?!?!BLARARARAGH!

Good. I acknowledged it. Now we can move on. Acceptance is the first step to recovery.

So, I’ve decided to pull my old Rule of Three out of the closet. I came up with this rule a while ago because it always seems like I have trouble getting back into LotRO once I’ve been away a while. To be honest, I’m more prone to pick it up, play for five minutes, and walk away again, than give it a fair shot. But, once I’m back into it, I love it. Strange, right?

The Rule of Three says to give the game either: three straight hours; three days of consistent 1 hour or more sessions; or three weeks where it’s your main MMO (3+ hours a week). My biggest hurdle has always been getting over the re-entry and tapping back into the core of what makes LotRO fun. It’s all about time. Every time I’ve applied this rule, I’ve been able to get back in and find that same sense of adventure I’d known before. From talking to other bloggers, it sounds like I’m not alone in my challenges here, so give it a shot if you’re having trouble getting into the game – from a break or for the very first time – and I bet it helps.

*Raises his Right Hand* For the rest of this week, I solemnly swear to make LotRO my main MMO. I may not be able to be monogamous but, damn it, there’s enough of me to go around. Even if LotRO is a bit… free with herself these days.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

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