Addiction

The stereotype of addiction occurring is because of the time investment that is required to be successful in MMORPGs. However, the key factor of addiction is from what motivates players to play the game. These motivations can be split up into three main categories, the first one is achievement. This category refers to things such as in-game rank reputation, mechanics (imminent game structure), and competition. In WoW there are many ways to achieve reputation, for example, by collecting the best armor in the game, defeating final bosses on the hardest difficulty, winning battlegrounds and arenas in PvP, etc. Although there are many ways to achieve success, the investment of time is extremely high compared to other games. The second category is social, this category includes subcategories such as socializing, relationship, and teamwork. During play in WoW, progression requires the collaboration of different players. Whether these other players are friends or not, the only way you can successfully progress is to work together in groups. Dungeons involve a group of five people to complete it, a tank, a healer, and three damage dealing characters. Battlegrounds can involve a different range of players in a group depending on which battleground was chosen. It can get as high as 40 people. These are just a few examples, however there are many different events and objectives that require the teamwork of different individuals. The final category is immersion which involves discovery, such as exploring the environment, role-playing, customization, and escapism. There are plenty ways to satisfy these motivators in World of Warcraft. For example, by just taking on quests, walking through main cities, and completing dungeons, you have explored much of the environment because it requires you to travel around the world. Another example is role-playing, there are even dedicated servers to role-playing, or taking on a different persona. It has been seen in recent studies, between 4 and 11% of gamers are showing signs of problematic or addictive behavior such as withdrawal, tolerance, and negative outcomes. This data seems to point towards video game play negatively impacting psychological well-being. Physical well-being also comes into question, problems such as health and sleep difficulties, personal life problems and academic/professional problems. However some positive impact such as the development of social skills and relationships through play. This information comes from the opportunity to problem solve, communicate with others, and work as a team with shared goals. One of the biggest talked about negatively impacting motivators is immersion. Players find it difficult to stop playing because they prefer to take part in a virtual world rather than real life. Some describe MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft as a way to escape from real-life problems. Other gaming-related problems were found to be associated with motives to compete and master the mechanics of online games. In WoW, it takes a very long time to master the game, merely because there is so much to learn and then so much time to perfect your skills. Those that are in the top rankings among players have spent many hours a week, about as much time as someone might dedicate to a job, to become as good as they are in WoW.

Here is a screenshot of my profile. I stopped playing a couple months ago but I had some of the best PvP gear you could get at the time. It took quite a lot of time to get to this point and I had to learn how to master the gameplay of that character. I admit that I was addicted to WoW, I still have urges to play even now. However, I did not have problematic gaming as it does not interfere with real life situations.