I've only played one MMORPG long enough to burn out on, and it's WoW. I love WoW and I'm sure as heck coming back for BC. In fact, I'm more hyped for this expansion than for any other game that has ever come out. Ever. But WoW as it is now is just annoying to play. I've seen everything, done everything. I have a character of each class and I know how they all work. I've done each quest in the 1-25 range at least five or six times each. I was no longer reading the quest text or getting into the game lore because I've read them all already. It makes sense that I wouldn't continue reading them over and over, but regardless it makes the game seem a lot more dull now that I'm no longer immersed in the lore. I know each region like the back of my hand. Goldshire is no longer a quaint town but just a place to get quests and log out. I no longer have incentive to explore the remote valleys of the Badlands - I already have. Nothing to do these days but level-level-level, raid-raid-raid. This isn't Blizzard's fault, I'm not saying that. I've just naturally run out of the fun stuff to do and all that exists for me now is the dull and unappealing framework of the game - do what the quest tells you do to for EXP.
I first began playing the game in 2005, in August I believe. By early December, I had my Warrior to 60. I then began an Undead Warlock but ran out of steam by mid-January - I stopped around level 30 when I began floating away from the Horde lands to places I'd already been to as my Alliance character. I then tried out other MMORPGs via their free trials - City of Heroes, an ill-fated return to Final Fantasy XI (wasn't any better), Everquest 2 (which I liked enough to blow $40 and then suddenly hated it, and wasted my entire first free month playing other games I found more fun), Anarchy Online...the list is endless. Over this past year I returned to WoW no less than three more times. My first time actually lasted me quite a bit, around 4-5 months. My second and third times, I was around for only the better part of a month. It seemed to me, now that the expansion was announced and on the horizon, that levelling up my cadre of alts was just pointless. I'd be rolling a Blood Elf and Draenei too, and I'd have to do all the midlevel content all over again. I longed for that first experience I had, focusing on one character and living his life through his eyes. As I hopped between my shaman and my mage and my priest, I remembered with a sigh how fun and fresh the game felt when the journey was still new and I didn't give a rat's *** about honor or "efficient levelling" or playing the AH for profit or grinding reputation. All that mattered was the journey. "Next up is the Swamp of Sorrows...wow, this place is cool...let's see what kinds of quests are here..." I would spend hours in each region looking around and poking stuff. When I returned to the game, regions had lost their flavor. They were now just places to quest instead of living, breathing areas like they first seemed to be back in 2005.
Now that the Burning Crusade is on the way, I've decided to pick a Blood Elf Paladin and level her all the way from 1-70. Now that the game will seem fresh again, I plan on latching onto that newness and eschewing all alts (even a Draenei alt) and just focusing on her. I plan on getting into the game again, reading all the quest info and wandering about the cities and lands getting reacquainted with everything. I have a great feeling this will provide me with at least 5 or 6 months of attachment to the game, which is great.
It really bites when you're tired of WoW, because you know it's the best MMORPG out there, yet you're sick of it. It's kind of like going to Mount Olympus and chilling with Zeus. Zeus is like, "Here, dude, have some ambrosia. The nectar of the gods!" And you drink some and you're like "WOW! THAT'S KICKASS". And Zeus is a nice guy and he just gives you refills. And it's delicious, yet after a couple centuries you're just tired of ambrosia, even if it IS the nectar of the gods. And with tear-stained cheeks, you must tell Zeus that even though it indeed is delicious, you must take your leave because you have had too much.
And then Zeus busts out with an expansion pack and it's all good.
Edited, Jan 8th 2007 5:23am by Reinjin