Hello and Goodbye

I admit there must be something about DSO that makes a person addicted. But what in the name of Agathon could that be?!

Consider this:
There is literally nothing to do in DSO in comparison to big MMORPGs out there - you all know them. Dozens, if not hundreds of unique activities, huge worlds, countless dungeons, epic stories, densely populated servers, visual and actual diversity everywhere ... DSO has none of that, or only just tiny signs of some of that at most. DSO is a farming game with a few maps and repetitive gameplay :|

___________

Usually, you get addicted to online games mainly because there is a persistent word in them, which means that if you log out, that world keep spinning. So, if you are offline, your brain keeps thinking about all the cool things your in-game friends are experiencing, and how they are getting better each minute, while you're not engaged in all that. Welp, you don't wanna be left out, so you just sit down and log in to the spiral of doom.

Apart from that, you are building a character. It's a slow process that often takes months or even years. You get attached to him or her. You don't want all the work to be in vain, so you keep logging back in to improve the stuff you have earned. It's endless though. Until the servers shut down. And that will happen sooner or later.

Which alone should make you doubt. Whatever you achieve in the game, will be erased one day. It will have meant nothing.
Maybe if the game you're addicted to, was an offline game, your progress may be stored somewhere on your hard drive and it would never disappear, most likely. But, your progress, even if it was an offline game data stored forever, means nothing anyway.

But perhaps a more important thing to question should be: What is the game actually giving you, and is it worth all this time and effort?
When I get mad sometimes in-game, people tell me "Take it easy, it's just a game." And I tell you guys, it's not just a game. It eats up real time and real energy, and in some cases, real money. And all you get back is some fun. Although in case of DSO, it's not even that anymore. So, simply put, it's a waste.

There may be games that reward you generously with at least a really great time. Some games may even enrich you - make you think, contemplate different topics, inspire you with their art style, characters, stories, what have you; or even educate you. But MMO games, especially grinders, have no such ability. You get literally nothing of any significance or value back.




^ You said it! Oh I feel you, sweet girl, I'm a kind of hikikomori, too.

 

Hello my DSO Guru ~ Baragain

You're sure one of the best of the best DSO Guru.

Sad about your retirement, hopefully one day you will return with your lovely wife and enjoy DSO together ... as Super Guru Couple

Take care. Hello and Goodbye

 

First, I am incredibly saddened on a personal level to see you go but I completely understand the "Why".

Second, thank you for coming back to share a good bye with everyone. Many of us have worried that all is ok but have not been close enough to you to follow you in IRL to find out. Knowing that it was a choice of yours goes a long way towards making the "good bye" a much happier one.

I wish you all the very best and hope that your choice helps to mend the anger, frustration, and sadness that I'm sure your family has been dealing with. I also hope that your guilt, frustration, and even, surprise, are also assuaged by leaving the game.

Maybe now is the time to find something everyone can participate in. I know I just watched a sporting event racing neon-colored drones through an empty stadium making me laugh harder than I have in a while. You never know what new event might bring everyone together.

~Lygeena




PS: To those wanting to discuss game addiction, perhaps a new thread would be more appropriate as this one is a tribute and good bye to one of the best DSO players ever.

 

Hope you find the life that you are looking for Baragain. Thanks for sharing your story. There has always been a place in my life for computer games. They provide an escape from real-life problems and provide a sense of accomplishment that we don't always get in real life. I've also made friends in the online games that I have played. It is good that you understand yourself well enough to quit this game. I'm sure that you can find more beneficial ways to get your entertainment.

 

Thank you very much for sharing your reasons! We do not know each others but i wanted to write here just to give you a virtual five! Because i made the same you did, months ago, for the same reason. I had a spellweaver that i played for years some hours every day. Then my girlfriend gave me an aut aut. i understood that i was addicted and so i finished my journey in this game(this is obviously not my account; just to reply your post). What you did is what other ones did, like me and i hope it is what a lot of players will do, because gaming is wasting our life time.
Now an advice for you. First days are good, but then you'll start to feel nostalgic. It's almost impossible to be totally away from this game, it needs a lot of time, i am in the same phase as you. Coming here on forum and post your reasons is an example of this not healed addiction Maybe you are better then me, but in the future you may do the same thing i did: i wrote support to give my account back, and they will give it to you. So deleting an account is not a final strategy to win your addiction (i deleted and had back my account for 2 times). You have to understand why you "need" the game. For me it was the "seeking gratification" issues. but it is a personal work you have to do. If you want to really end your journey on this game, you have to do another thing... that i did but i cannot write here... i hope you'll understand. Only at that moment you can be free to come and go, post and see and do what you want whenever you want!
However, life is great. There are so many things to enjoy! Whoever decide to stop he does a great thing for himself and for the people around him! Then come here and share it

 

Good luck man! I'm glad you got a chance to fix your marriage before it was too late.

 

We never met in person but we spent a lot of time together solving other players' problems.
I didn't know you are Drakensang addict, I always thought you have much better things to do rather than playing this game.
I will be writing a book, DSO - the story never told, and hopefully publish it. You will be one of the main characters.
Guru, good luck and have a great time on your long journey called life.
But take it easy, life is to important to be taken seriously.

 

Thanks Banshee. I'll miss you guys too.

Sorry for making you guys worry. I was honestly in a very strange place and DSO simply didn't feel important anymore... not the people and friends I'd made, just the game.

Thanks for the support. Since giving up DSO (about two months now), I've been doing much better. I'm avoiding any and all games with an open ended grinding model. I have played other games since leaving DSO (can't name them, obviously... don't want a big red EDIT in the middle of my heartfelt goodbyes), but they're all single player PS4 games that I kept meaning to check out. All told, in the two months since I quit, I've played maybe 15-20 hours as opposed to my normal 300+ hours. I go five to ten days between gaming now as opposed to compulsively needing to play ever single night.

All in all, gaming has gone back to what it used to be for me; an occasional fun pass time to blow off a little steam as opposed to an all consuming need that drove my life. My quality of life is much improved and I am happier as a person than I've been in a long time.

Thanks, and congrats to you too.

My thoughts exactly. Now that I'm far enough back from my problem, I can see that much more clearly. Like I said, I'm putting in occasional time into some PS4 games, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the variety of play styles, the richness of the stories, the puzzles that make me think. It feels good to go back to what gaming used to feel like for me before it became my whole life.

I really don't mind. One of the reasons I posted this goodbye was to potentially help players who might be going through similar things to what I faced, and if it sparks a discussion that can help people long after I'm gone, then I'll be proud and humbled at the same time that my story made a difference in someone else's life.

Things are looking up. Its still a daily process that involves a lot of effort, but I have a good feeling.

Ah... to my fellow guru...
It's been a long road and its been a pleasure working with you to support and advocate for the game and it's players.

Regarding being an addict... well, the old saying goes "The first step is admitting you have a problem." I may have been an addict for a really long time, but until I took a step back and saw what it was doing to my life, how it consumed my every waking thought, and how it hurt the relationships I valued, I was just blind to what DSO really was to me. I did have better things to do, but the truth is, most of the time, I didn't do them. Now I have so much free time and I'm loving what I'm doing.

In your book, go with "Doctor Horrible" as opposed to Baragain… Don't know if I ever mentioned it, but Baragain was a "misspelled" version of my chosen DSO name. When I first played the game eight years ago, I made a SW by the name of Bragon. I lost the log in info for that account, and when I tried to make a DK, Bragon was obviously taken, so I went with Baragon. It wasn't until we got the free name change years ago that I was finally able to pick a name that I actually liked and wanted for my online persona.

And don't worry, I'm not taking myself too seriously. I'm loving life and all it has to offer beyond a single game!

 

Thanks to me fatfingering my phone, I accidentally launched the shortcut to the forum recent posts and I happened to see your post. Sad to see this once-permanent fixture gone, but glad to see you're doing well. I hope things are going well on the family-side too (please say hello to your wife).

 

Thank you so much for all shared wisdom and funny comments. You will be missed, but there are more important matters in life
Sending love! Take care (you won't be forgotten in the DSO world).

 

If the wife interferes with playing, then leave your wife and play on!

 

Don't worry bro ... everything is fine.

Spoiler: Nothing out of ordinary

 

Two days ago I made the final decision to go the same path as _Baragain_ and end my "life" in this game by deleting all my characters.

I say final decision because I've been getting this idea every now and then for a very long time. Not because I felt like I was addicted, but because I've been getting more and more reminded by my own remaining bits of sanity, that I've been wasting my time and energy. And I'm not saying I'm now going to use both resources to build spaceships or fight for world peace. Even if I decided to waste time in different games, it would still be better for me.

I'm sure I wasn't addicted. I can thank my flawed personality that is unable to stick to one thing for too long. This is a big hurdle that keeps me from achieving things, but at this moment it has been a good thing that did not allow me to invest myself entirely in Drakensang like some of you who play almost full time, even pouring your time into more than one character while years pass by.

I've only been around since 2015 and I played in an on and off style with occasional breaks that sometimes took months. My main character wasn't strong but had tons of items that took ages to farm, and that was the hard bit when I actually hovered over the "delete" button with the mouse cursor. But then I thought to myself:

All these items, yes they cost you time to obtain, but in the end they are just virtual things. The servers will not be running forever, so you will lose everything eventually anyway. If you end it here and now, you'll be out of here before you get further down the spiral.
Don't cling onto things, let alone onto virtual items.

Drakensang did not bring me joy or inspiration, it wasn't fun most of the time; it wasn't a role play experience to me, I never felt like a hero or a person existing in a living world. I kept playing it and returning to it because of my previous investment - not financial - in my character.
Drakensang made me and makes you look at your watch and count how many times you have to do one and the same thing in order to obtain a carrot on a stick. Half the time I also struggled and was depressed by the fact that my character was not good enough because I wasn't able to farm hard enough or because I was simply unlucky in the RNG lottery that this game's foundations are built on. I felt that the game punished me way more often than it rewarded me; and when it rewarded me, it wasn't even a reward worth the effort.

I have written quite a lot in this forum. I've been banned several times for that, too. I have never reached the level of reputation such as Baragain's or other members', so I wouldn't be surprised if nobody read this post or noticed me leaving. Nonetheless, I still wanted to share my little "story" with you all and associate it in a way with Baragain's story of addiction as a little P.S. to show that one may want to leave for other reasons as well.

I think he and I too have done something good for ourselves.

Sayonara, folks.

 

Hey doc hope youre reading this xD
Miss ya on here
shortly after you left that dps calculator page went down too:/ its been hell calculating my dmg xD or potential dmg, if you were the owner of that site would you mind sending me the code?
@Akageshi it is sad to see another soldier leave, I too have left at times but those were motivational and other reasons, you will be missed either way...

 

Enjoy life Doc, we only have one, and the point is not where do we go, but who we share with ;-)

 

That wasnt mine. Sorry, and good luck.


To the rest of you, I'm just stopping in to say hello. No, being essentially locked down in my own house isnt going to cause me to relapse and pick DSO back up, but I am curious how Corona has impacted the game... has there been an uptick in players online/returning? I'm sure that some of you are enjoying the extra time to play as the world practically grinds to a halt.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and, as always, happy hunting.

 

Too late ... I am already immune

 

here in Italy we resist, we are having a hard time but we will get out of it.

#andràtuttobene #everythingwillbefine
#iorestoacasa #Istayathome

it's a pleasure to hear from you again, hold on tight and stay safe.

 

The game is as empty as ever.

 

you have to understand that that which is will be replaced with that which is not yet.

Thanks and to you too.
I literally left the game for 7 months.
Yes I am highly addicted to the game and no I bear no shame in it.
The thing with me and gaming is that I have been gaming ince I was a kid, I dont want a game that lasts me a few hours and then I have nothing to do.
I want something that can keep me entertained for years on end even if that is possible, and with dso it is possible.
I left the game in Dec 2020 or jan 2021 and main reason being it somehow killed my pc, that said my pc is my everything and so when I bought a ryzen 5 in feb I refused to return to dso, because well I didnt want another pc to die.
So 7 months playing a lot of other mmos and watching anime <- rewatching anime dubbed, and then boom it was all gone and boring.
if I didnt have dso to return to, I dunno what I would have done tbh. (well I would probably look for other streams of income)
but I have a day job for that so ya xD