MeinMMO-Demon Cortyn has been playing World of Warcraft for 20 years. But why do you stick with the same MMORPG for so long?
When I started with World of Warcraft, I had very little knowledge of MMORPGs. I had played Silk Road before, but I wasn’t very good at it.
In World of Warcraft, I made countless mistakes with my mage. I wore agility gear, didn’t learn Polymorph from the trainer because turning things into a sheep sounded kind of stupid, and I had to be told the usefulness of Counterspell just before reaching level 60 in Scholomance. Such noob mistakes are just part of it.
That was 20 years ago. 20 years during which I have played World of Warcraft almost continuously, except for minor breaks at the end of an expansion. 20 years that Azeroth has delighted and shaped me like hardly any other game before it.
WoW – A game for everyone and yet no one
What sets World of Warcraft apart from any other game is the fact that it offers an almost endless variety of content.
And yes, this abundance of different content often leads to exhausting discussions. Questions are always asked such as, “Why are there 10 new pets again when we haven’t had a new dungeon in 6 months?” or “Why are you bringing out new transmog while the rogue talent in row 7 still has bugs and doesn’t work in PvP?”
Many do not understand that World of Warcraft has survived for so long not because it has the best raids, the most pets, or the most interesting classes. It is the sheer abundance of content. The different interests that are catered to. Everyone can find something in World of Warcraft that they enjoy. Whether it’s achieving a high rating in “Mythic+”, collecting pets, experiencing all story quests, outsmarting the server economy in the auction house, trolling in the trade channel, role-playing in Stormwind, or finding the prettiest dresses.
WoW has something for everyone. If you can engage with multiple aspects of it, it offers even more.
Euphoria at Expansion Launch
For me, the personal gaming highlight is always the launch of a new expansion. Whether it was “The Burning Crusade”, “Mists of Pandaria”, or the (rightfully) criticized “Shadowlands”, the first 3-4 days of an expansion are always a complete rush for me. It is always my “personal Christmas”, where I completely immerse myself in the game for a few days and adjust my daily routine to spend as much time in the game as possible.
I love to rush through the content at the start of an expansion – not hastily, but still focused. Completing all quests.
It’s not about being the first person – even though I do have a few of the old “Realm First!” achievements in my collection. I just enjoy exploring the new areas down to the last corner, absorbing the new story details, and experiencing the new mechanics. I fall into bed at sunrise and am awake 5 hours later, ready to play again.
Is that unhealthy? Yes, absolutely. These are the 3 days of the year when I essentially run on energy drinks and ramen noodles and need just as long to recover afterward.
And yes, that sometimes presents challenges for me. Because generally, I still have to work during this time and report on urgent news, patches, or my own experiences.
This thought of “maximizing time utilization” drives me to quickly type a few lines of news during flight trips or especially to make use of spontaneous maintenance work for work, keeping the next workday as short as possible. (Haha, Leya, that’s just a joke for the article, really, haha.)
These first days of an expansion launch are simply wonderful.
This week, you can look forward to exciting articles every day on the topic of MMORPGs. Included: a journey through the history of online role-playing games, as well as nostalgic throwbacks, streaming evenings, interviews, columns, and analyses.
Here’s the program for the big MMORPG theme week 2025 from MeinMMO
The Dark Sides of World of Warcraft – A Dead End for Some
I don’t want to hide the fact that there are quite a number of people who have “sunk” into World of Warcraft. The game is captivating, and for some, it is so captivating that they cannot let go of it – even though they no longer find joy in the game. I am sure that on all larger realms, everyone knows a few people who criticize everything in World of Warcraft and cannot stand any changes – yet still log in daily after many years.
For some, World of Warcraft has simply become a permanent escape from reality. Over the years, I have met some people who have basically structured their entire lives around WoW and find little satisfaction outside of it – particularly on roleplay realms, you unfortunately encounter such individuals more often.
In some cases, it is simply an unhealthy addiction. There’s nothing to sugarcoat. For a while, this escape can be something beautiful and empowering. But some cannot make the jump and elevate WoW to the only meaningful purpose in life. An addiction with all its downsides.
I don’t even want to start on the disgusting things you sometimes see in Goldshire.
WoW Through the Ages – From Hobby to Ritual
The meaning of World of Warcraft has also changed several times for me. In my late youth, it was my hobby where I could find like-minded people and a second circle of friends who didn’t throw a party with alcohol every weekend. Later, it became a nice, temporary escapist opportunity through roleplay. By now, World of Warcraft has become more of a ritual – some fixed dates, like raid visits in a new patch or occasional “M+” evenings.
But that’s exactly what I want from World of Warcraft. It’s a world that you can always return to. A world that simultaneously demands less and less of my time while still offering almost infinite content when I want to invest days or weeks of time again.
No, World of Warcraft is not the best game of all time in itself – neither now nor during Vanilla, Wrath of the Lich King, or at any other time. But no other game is like World of Warcraft and brings together so many people with different goals, wishes, and preferences. World of Warcraft has been my companion for 20 years because it has given me friends and acquaintances who have turned the MMORPG from a “good” to a “great” game.
I wish everyone has a similarly beautiful experience in WoW – because World of Warcraft can be all that you expect from a game. Or none of it, if you fail to find the right players.
For me, World of Warcraft is more than just any game
. It is a little piece of home.
