Like so many others around the Multiplaying community, I have been a MMO player without a home. Over the last 5 years or so, I’ve really only played MMOs. There are many reasons why the MMO genre is my preferred gaming platform. That I enjoy the social interaction is a no brainer. After all, the fact that the game is a massive multiplayer should encourage at least a little of that. I also like that the games evolve and change, at least to a degree, all the time. MMOs patch and update and expand, changing game play, all be it not always in a good way.

The last MMO that I spent a good deal of time in was Warhammer Online. In truth, I spent more consecutive time in that game (when you count my beta time) than any other MMO. Over the last year or so since I quit WAR, I’ve hopped around from one unsatisfying MMO to another. A brief return stint in WoW made me realize I’m really done with that game. I hate raiding. Hate it. Loathe it. Despise it. Makes me sick. Get the picture? I’m not a WoW hater though. More power to those people who like to raid repeatedly. It’s just not my cup of tea.  Aion didn’t do it for me. Beautiful game with a different take on the genre. No elves or typical D&D fair. But it just didn’t appeal to me. Too much of a grind and really nothing new. I gave Allods a whirl and checked out Global Agenda. Nothing really scratched that MMO itch.

Luckily during my MMO down time, Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 were released. Both of those games were more than able to fill my need for gaming. I also got Super Mario Bros for the Wii for Christmas. I was much better at that game as a kid… I dabble in some Facebook games (Kingdoms of Camelot is my new obsession), but I don’t really count Facebook games as “serious games”.  So I started looking for another game to tide me over.

Where I have landed is back in the realm of Empire Vs Chaos. Dark, nasty emo elves Vs fair skinned, lute plucking emo elves. Ale chugging, meat eating Dwarfs Vs spore born, swill eating Greenskins. I spent my first real time in WAR again this weekend. The xp bonus had me burning through levels faster than a bright wizard can boil your blood. I spent most of the evening in a warband on Order side defending one keep after another. Both the Iron Rock and Badlands servers were hopping, with plenty of open RvR to be found. It was a bigger blast than a bright wizard’s fireball barrage. I did not do a single quest/PQ or other PvE thing. And went from level 10 to 15 in one day, thanks to the EA billing snafu.

While I found myself missing my days on Phoenix Throne and all the friends I had there, I was having so much fun that I did find myself wondering why I quit WAR.

Oh yeah… I didn’t log into my 40 Archmage to remind me why I quit WAR in the first place. I’ll work up my nerve to do that in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have a hankering to look at WAR again and want some company, you can probably find me over on Iron Rock, roaming from scenario to scenario or open RvR. Or maybe slumming over on Badlands with the rest of Multiplaying, doing the same.

Circle of Trust in the days of Phoenix Throne.