I have so many fond memories from MMO games. Gathering an EXP party in Unrest for Everquest. Exploring Northrend in World of Warcraft. Liberating Ala Mhigo in FFXIV. There were definitely some good times and memories to be had in those games. One of best ones however was running the difficult endgame content with your friends. You did it for the challenge as well as a chance at rare equipment that would make your character even more powerful, commonly known as loot. Ah, the loot grind at endgame. Oh how it would sing its sweet siren song, week after week, drawing us in and stealing away our time. And our patience. And our sanity. Well, I finally said no to that sweet siren song not too long ago and escaped after realizing this week’s epiphany:
“Loot is quickly outdated and replaced, so why kill yourself grinding for it?”
One might think it would be enough to run and complete those challenging dungeons and raids once, just to grab the bragging rights and move on. But no, not for my friends and I. You see, we would spend hours, days even, running those dungeons and raids every week. All that time spent, just for the slight chance that an upgrade to the current gear we were using would drop, making us just a fraction of a percent more powerful. To top it all off, there was no guarantee that ours character would get loot that week. In fact, more often than not we would wind up devoid any loot upgrades at the end of the week, with only a few useless resources for our time and nothing more. And then it happens. One day we finally achieve perfection in our gear after months of grinding the same content over and over. Then all of a sudden, the game releases a new dungeon or raid as well as a tier of gear to earn, completely negating all the gear you’ve worked your ass off for during these last few months. Thus the loot grind cycle begins anew. For those new to this concept, welcome to what we called the loot grind. Be sure to check your patience and sanity at the door.
Like I said, I eventually wisened up the loot grind cycle of non-progression and moved on. But this was not before I committed years of my life to these types of games and playstyle however. I wouldn’t say my time playing those games was wasted because making good memories is always a good thing. However, I could have easily enjoyed the game with my friends without overly committing to the loot grind, thus freeing up time that could have been better utilized elsewhere, like the huge mountain of other games that had been piling up. I ended up missing out on so many games during their prime unfortunately, including other MMO games that were hailed as pinnacles of their genre at one time or another. I lost that chance unfortunately and now I find myself making up for lost time with those games, as well as family and friends too. This got me thinking about how we view other aspects of life similar to the loot grind found in those games. Turns out they can be quite a lot more alike than you think, and I think there’s lesson to be learned here.
Many of us often find ourselves struggling or “grinding” in order to buy that new cellphone, order that new laptop or get those new pair of high end shoes. We do this because we are obsessed with owning the latest and greatest in anything, whether it clothes, electronics, cars, etc. Verily, as soon as the new iPhone 11 drops later this year, many people will be swarming to pick it up, despite the fact that the iPhone 11 will barely even be an upgrade for most and their current iPhone works just as well and will get the job done just fine. Some of us are constantly upgrading our gaming PC’s and workstations to the best parts, even though we might not ever use applications or programs that requires even anything even close to their full capabilities. Some of us even buy high-end clothing just to see it go out of style at the end of the season, never to be touched again. The question is why? Why do we fight that constant uphill struggle for the latest and greats in loot and in real world material possessions? Especially when time will just make them irrelevant at some point, even in the very near future in some instances.
We all chase after our own version of loot, struggling and grinding to have the best available at any given point. I’m just as guilty as the rest of us as II get into tech and gadgetry more than I should myself. We do this so much though that we often never take the time to enjoy what we have, when we have it. However, at the end of the day, all loot eventually becomes outdated and replaceable. That new iPhone isn’t going anywhere and may even be updated by the time you get around to earning it at a reasonable pace. Even if your clothes may be a season or two out of style, they still cover your naked ass and probably still look good on you, despite what the fashion channels might say. So slow down and smell the fire flowers. Stop working and grinding yourself crazy trying to afford the next big thing. Take a breather and spend time enjoying what you have now. You may find yourself becoming a lot happier.
