Addicted to character creation but dislike the gameplay.

[WaveRider]

I'm fairly new to MMORPGs and well, gaming overall I guess. I've only ever really played First Person Shooters but after only playing games from one genre for over a decade, burnouts are just progressively becoming more frequent and intense.

I set my eye on MMORPGs as the next best thing since I want something multiplayer and I love fantasy. Sadly every MMORPG I've yet to play has been a very underwhelming experience. Character creation is really not that advanced for it to matter beyond choosing a hairstyle since everyone will look pretty much the same no matter how many hours they dedicate to polishing their totally original anime ripoff.

Most if not all MMORPG games also being subscription based really burns me inside as I have to constantly justify myself that it's not a waste of money. I have a moderate amount of time to spare so I'm certainly getting a lot of gametime for the money, but I really haven't been enjoy MMORPGs. I'm big on combat and the rotation based boring ability clicking is really a punch to the gut everytime I find a game that looks great. I understand the reason why the combat is what it is so you don't have to explain it to me.

Overall in my opinion all the popular MMORPG games really create unfun gameplay that feels like a chore. A game I play on my freetime shouldn't feel like I'm working a second job. The grind to constantly keep levelling slowly and painfully through a boring story that doesn't even have full voice acting meanwhile struggling to farm enough currency to keep up in gear really feels like crap. Not even the MSQ has full voicing which really makes the game feel unfinished.

I'm also not very social. I have very bad anxiety and I generally haven't had good experiences with guilds/factions in the past. To date I have played FFXIV, WoW Mists of Pandaria, SWTOR and ESO, each game for about 50-100 hours and I haven't liked any of them a single bit outside the character creation and even that was subpar at best.

I don't really know what I should do. I have been trying to branch out to several different game genres, MMOs, fighting games, racing games, strategy games, you name it, but nothing has sparked any feelings of fun in me. FPS games as a genre is really dying on me as well thanks to bad developer support and overly toxic communities and my ISP is really not delivering me enough internet speed to have any chance getting more hardcore. (I have tried every major ISP in my country and they have all been beyond terrible.)

I have had a lot of mental health issues so I've been rapidly losing interest in almost everything and I've been trying to search something new as a hobby. So far it has just been a path of constant disappointment as I realize the hobbies I'm interested about don't have any scene in my entire country and are way too expensive to pickup regardless.

I'm really at a dead end here and thought maybe people here could have some more insight and could throw a couple good suggestions. I don't want a hobby that's very demanding skillwise to enjoy such as drawing or playing an instrument. I don't particularly enjoy anything, or at least nothing comes to mind. There are a few things I really hate as well so that will also limit some common hobby options like reading or writing.

I don't really know what to do with myself and... I guess I'll end my long vent here. And yes, this was probably a bad idea amd Steam discussions is totally the wrong platform but I don't have any other outlets since in Quora and Reddit no one seems to take anything seriously.

[snurble berry]

well if you don't like grinding, being social, doing rotations, or paying a monthly fee then I don't think MMOs are for you. Honestly maybe you should take a break from gaming in general from the sound of it. Focus on your mental health. Do some reading, take a class, go work out, find a group to interact with, something to get you away from the computer. You could try single player story focused games or maybe the sims if you like creating characters?

[m0ebiwan]

Since you enjoy creating characters, perhaps a game like Grim Dawn or Path of Exile would suit you. Both games offer an enormous amount of options for building and outfitting characters. Plus they're incredibly inexpensive to get into (Path of Exile is actually free).
These games can get grindy at the endgame but creating a new character and watching it take shape over time could be something you find interesting.

[The_Professor]

Oh to be so rich and wealthy and full of so much free time that everything and every MMO is soooo boring....

1) get a therapist
2) get a job or sense of purpose besides being disappointed in mmo's... better yet get 2 jobs work 60 hours and you will LOVE having 2 hours to spare on a stress relieving mmo
3) Join a gym so we can make you very social , I'll buy you a plane ticket just to have 1 round of sparring with you. tell me thats not fun.
4) 4500 hours in TF2 you should have about 5 PhD's in 2fort alone, rents must be proud af of Dr TF2 , you dont need friends with that much awesome sauce

[Mandodo]

Originally posted by The_Professor:

Oh to be so rich and wealthy and full of so much free time that everything and every MMO is soooo boring....

1) get a therapist
2) get a job or sense of purpose besides being disappointed in mmo's... better yet get 2 jobs work 60 hours and you will LOVE having 2 hours to spare on a stress relieving mmo
3) Join a gym so we can make you very social , I'll buy you a plane ticket just to have 1 round of sparring with you. tell me thats not fun.
4) 4500 hours in TF2 you should have about 5 PhD's in 2fort alone, rents must be proud af of Dr TF2 , you dont need friends with that much awesome sauce

:cozypoechris:

YESSSSS

Especially #1 and #2

[WaveRider]

I have been in therapy since last May, so that's over 7 months and it hasn't helped one bit. Actually has just made my problems worse. I've been searching for a purpose for all my life with no avail and getting a job right now isn't possible as my studies are underway and I have finals to study to and I already have barely any energy to even wake up in the morning.

[xabungle]

You will fit in on the Life is Strange forums...I suggest you post there.

[VanGoghComplex]

OP, I'm sorry things are going rough for you. Depression is an awful thing, and it sounds like you're neck deep in one. I've been in your situation before.

Remember that giving up is the only real failure. As long as you're still fighting you have the ability to better your situation. It sounds like you're seeking help already. If that help isn't helping, don't be hesitant to drop it and look elsewhere. There's no point in continuing to take bad medicine.

And... I know being in a position like yours can make you desperate. I've reached out to help from places like this before, and... well, most of what I get back are replies the The_Professor made. The internet is a cold void. There be monsters here.

[Ralf]

Originally posted by crzwv:

I'm also not very social. I have very bad anxiety and I generally haven't had good experiences with guilds/factions in the past. To date I have played FFXIV, WoW Mists of Pandaria, SWTOR and ESO, each game for about 50-100 hours and I haven't liked any of them a single bit outside the character creation and even that was subpar at best.

I have had a lot of mental health issues so I've been rapidly losing interest in almost everything and I've been trying to search something new as a hobby. So far it has just been a path of constant disappointment as I realize the hobbies I'm interested about don't have any scene in my entire country and are way too expensive to pickup regardless.

I don't really know what I should do.

I know that it's cool to have anxiety or depression these days, since every 2nd people suffer from it in FFXIV. But playing a video game is not all what it takes to cure anxiety and depression.

Please spend your money on a therapist instead of games or subscription.

[DuX1112]

I hate MMOs too. I was interested in this game I thought it was a normal RPG, but it's an MMO... But I am still on the fence. Just wanna say that you're not alone lol. :)

Btw have you played KOTOR, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and so on? Skyrim maybe? Fallout? All good RPG games, fantasy and story rich minus the boring combat mechanics (for the most part).

[WaveRider]

Originally posted by DuX1112:

I hate MMOs too. I was interested in this game I thought it was a normal RPG, but it's an MMO... But I am still on the fence. Just wanna say that you're not alone lol. :)

Btw have you played KOTOR, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and so on? Skyrim maybe? Fallout? All good RPG games, fantasy and story rich minus the boring combat mechanics (for the most part).

I played Skyrim for around 400-500 hours in total. Grew tired after the 4th completion I guess. Kind of have already experienced all playing styles in it, but I feel like I rather play multiplayer than singleplayer even though I have heard good things about KOTOR and some Fallout games (excluding 76).

Dragon Age I have heard of but I don't know what type of game it is. Mass Effect I haven't really been keen on either but I'll see if I get interested in it later.

SWTOR is the game I probably have enjoyed the most since it has different main storylines according to the class you play and they all have full voice acting (excluding alien language I guess?) SWTOR also probably has my favourite PvP, but I like PvE more in FFXIV.

FFXIV I have played most so far and gotten into raiding. I had a few problems since I was new and didn't know you have to teleport back to the beginning of some dungeons and got yelled at in the chat for running around the place for 5 minutes before realising what I had to do.

However, I have overall disliked how boring FFXIV's storyline actually is and you don't really have much choice in the matter as thus far I haven't seen any alternative choics options. I guess I'm just being picky about it but compared to SWTOR, FFXIV seems to be easier to socialize in. SWTOR feels very lonely for most of the game besides the times where your quest locations are getting looted by 5 other players at the same time so you have to wait like 20 minutes till everyone lets you do your objectives in peace :/

[DuX1112]

Hmm, I keep hearing good things about FF XIV's story but I see what you're saying. After all I have tons of other games left to play... Lately I installed Conan: Exiles and The Elder Scrolls Online. Have you played those? Opinions?

I also like management games, city builders... or strategy games like Civ or the good old RTS-s (they rarely make them anymore). I really liked Surviving Mars, and lately Jurassic World: Evolution. The dinos are pretty too look at at least. And I get to shoot sleeping darts in their dino butts to make them fall asleep and airlift them to their proper enclosure. xD Lots of shenanigans.

I have SWTOR too but it bugged out on me the first time I started it, then I got distracted with other stuff.

One more question: do you have any artistic hobbies? Music? Drawing? Painting? Hell, even knitting? I have been depressed in the past and (re)discovering painting really brings me calm, flow, joy in my life. I keep learning new stuff. Recently discovered this guy, I find him amusing to listen and just watch how he keeps making stuff appear out of nothing. :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jffJeeXaVQ

[WaveRider]

Originally posted by DuX1112:

Hmm, I keep hearing good things about FF XIV's story but I see what you're saying. After all I have tons of other games left to play... Lately I installed Conan: Exiles and The Elder Scrolls Online. Have you played those? Opinions?

I also like management games, city builders... or strategy games like Civ or the good old RTS-s (they rarely make them anymore). I really liked Surviving Mars, and lately Jurassic World: Evolution. The dinos are pretty too look at at least. And I get to shoot sleeping darts in their dino butts to make them fall asleep and airlift them to their proper enclosure. xD Lots of shenanigans.

I have SWTOR too but it bugged out on me the first time I started it, then I got distracted with other stuff.

One more question: do you have any artistic hobbies? Music? Drawing? Painting? Hell, even knitting? I have been depressed in the past and (re)discovering painting really brings me calm, flow, joy in my life. I keep learning new stuff. Recently discovered this guy, I find him amusing to listen and just watch how he keeps making stuff appear out of nothing. :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jffJeeXaVQ

I have no artistic hobbies since I'm ♥♥♥♥ at everything. I tried both drawing and painting, it was horrible. I have even done knitting on 1st grade. I listen to music all the time but I don't want start playing it as I would hate my own music.

[jklame]

Have you tried guild wars 2? Your main complaint about mmos seemed to be the combat (a punch in the gut is I believe how you described it). I've played all the mmos you listed (and many more) and I think GW2 has the most enjoyable combat of any of them. Just my opinion though. You may hate it just as much as the others, but I'd at least give it a try.

[AnonymousBard]

Story is much better after ARR. As in, from the first expansion (Heavansward) onwards, the story is amazing. If the combat isn't quite your cup of tea, try different classes. You'll find a lot of them play so different that it can really shake up combat. I suggest either the Dragoon if you're into dps or a Tank (love the Dark Knight, he's my main).

[Gearhart]

If all you want is to play with character creation go play BDO so much more in depth there, you can make nice looking characters in FFXIV but you can truly go all out in BDO (FF is a better game however).