I know that levels have been a part of MMOGs for a good long while now, with a rare exception, but I am sick of them. I guess the devs think they need those small rewards to keep people playing. Everquest has levels and it was/is popular so all the rest of them have to copy it, I guess.
I logged into WoW last night after a few days away. I looked at my XP bar and noted that it was just barely into level 24. That means I have two levels before I get any new skills. I just did not want to get started again. I felt the treadmill weigh heavily upon my gaming soul. I started to think of playing the game as levelling and it made me sick. The magic was wearing thin.
Had a chat with an in-game friend and he put me focused back on the fun. He encouraged me to just pick a quest and “get into” solving it. Have some fun, forget about XP and your level, it does not really matter. So I decided to try one of the quests I had not yet done because it required I run into enemy lands and I just didn’t feel like it before.
I gave it a go, had some fun exploring and avoiding the other faction guards. Eventually I found the area I was looking for and after about 30 minutes of strategic pulling and killing and moving through the area I was able to reach my objective. My heart was pounding and I had a smile on my face.
I didn’t level (still 24) but I also did not look at my XP bar the whole time. I had fun, so that was all that mattered.
=)