All quiet on the Eastern Kingdoms Front

Thanks to a bit of reflection and study Andro's DPS has improved somewhat (though still plenty of room for improvement). However, due to a lack of bodies over the late summer period there haven't been any guild raids for the last couple of weeks (and next week is looking doubtful) and I've not had the motivation to do my usual pootling around levelling alts. Actually, there is one exception - a chunk of time gaining some levels (and crafting skills) for my hordeside Death Knight.

This malaise isn't a new thing - it seems to strike occasionally, usually when guild activity is at a low ebb and commonly late in an expansion's lifecycle when there's a desire for fresh material. How do I get round it? Usually, as mentioned previously, by playing another game for a while to provide a break from WOW (which I've been playing since Beta) but also by writing (fiction and game support material for tabletop games).

Originally, the "relief" game was EQ2 (which I actually played before WOW - it was where my old Star Wars Galaxies associates withdrew when that game went to pot). Guild Wars, Eve, Warhammer Online, Champions and Aion have also provided some distraction (though of those only Warhammer was more than a solo effort, it being the venue for a number of the guild taking a break from WOW in autumn 2008 prior to the launch of Wrath). None had lasting appeal though.

My current "relief" game (and my second-longest MMO play experience after WOW) is Lord of the Rings Online (more commonly called LOTRO) where, surprise surprise, I play a mage-like loremaster named Lorelai on the Laurelin-EU server. I've played LOTRO in fits and starts since Beta, usually a burst of intense activity and then a long lull. I did keep meaning to kill my account (as I mentioned previously) but as it was a low-cost 6-month plan it was a cheap option. In fact, I did close my account (with several months left to go) but the last 10 days or so have seen a rewal of my LOTRO activity though most of the Kinship (guild) I'm in are inactive (one of my WOW associates is playing though). However, the game goes free-to-play in a week's time so I'm expecting activity in the game to pick up and possibly some of my WOW associates to take a look-see at the game (or to resume play if they've already done so).

I am, however, expecting to become more active in WOW again once my mana batteries have had chance to recharge (and I'm still logging on regularly to check in on the guild). Raiding certainly is a draw and the arrival of Cataclysm later in the year (I'm betting on mid-November, probably 17th, pretty much exactly 2 years after Wrath) is a dead cert, but until then I plan to take it easy (and have the small matter of a book to write ...)