How long do you typically stay at "endgame" in an MMO?

TheScavenger

I know some MMOs technically don't have a typical "endgame" like WoW does. For example EVE the entire game is sorta end game. Hence the quotes around "endgame". But I mean doing the stuff considered late game stuff. Like in EVE, typically you wouldn't (without outside help anyway) as a 100% new completely fresh player without skilling up or anything take part in the huge pvp wars that happen or have the funds (or skills) to do moon mining or even have funds for titans or the player stations and what not.  

For me...I probably lasted longest in EVE. Even though I played WoW for longer. In EVE, I stayed in nullsec as soon as I could, I sniped any players that came by (nullsec at the time I played was safer than highsec, and almost always empty where I was, probably different now) and was pretty much a pirate. Then I got recruited to a pirate group that noticed me and for 15 months I did what I considered the endgame stuff with them. They already had a station of themselves and a titan when I joined, but I left about the time they lost both of them in a large war and they picked the wrong side to be a mercenary with. Felt like I pretty much did the most amazing things I ever did an MMO and wanted to leave on a good note before getting worn out with the game.

But even though my group I was in lost (we were really pretty much mercenaries not really allied with anyone), that war had to be the best most amazing thing I ever was a part of in an MMO.

WoW on other hand...well...despite how long I stayed with it through so many expansions...I probably actually lasted the longest in legion at endgame. The other expansions I got pretty bored with reaching endgame and either made alts or quit. Legion I lasted 9 months at endgame and that was my favorite expansion and then I made a bunch of alts, leveled them up, did another 4 months at endgame to unlock some allied races and quit in BFA. Close up of Legion, I stayed 7 months at endgame for WoD so that was quite a bit. Didn't bother leveling alts though.

Those two probably be most I stuck with at endgame.

Keep in mind, that isn't my entire time I played. Just how many hours I stuck with at the "end".

Albatroes

That was the nice thing about FFXI, 'endgame' opened up at various levels depending on who was doing what and what you played. You could hunt down certain 'rares' (called HNMs in FFXI) and make decent money depending on what you killed and your luck, that might be considered 'endgame' or you could farm certain areas like sky/sea and have that be 'endgame.' It really just depended on what you wanted to do and who you were playing with. That was part of the reason why I stuck with the game for almost a decade, because of the 'endgame' flexibility.

TheScavenger

Albatroes said:

That was the nice thing about FFXI, 'endgame' opened up at various levels depending on who was doing what and what you played. You could hunt down certain 'rares' (called HNMs in FFXI) and make decent money depending on what you killed and your luck, that might considered 'endgame' or you could farm certain areas like sky/sea and have that be 'endgame.' It really just depended on what you wanted to do and who you were playing with. That was part of the reason why I stuck with the game for almost a decade, because of the 'endgame' flexibility.

yeah, endgame can be a pretty broad thing depending on the MMO. So maybe wouldn't be quite the right word for the thread, but I don't mean the total playtime either. Like when I played EVE, there was not really any endgame, but dunno what else to call it.

But that sounds like a great game, FFXI. Sounds like it had a lot of content and things to do. I kinda missed it back then as I think I was really into Anarchy Online at the time. 

Ungood

I'd say.. really.. the two games I even got to "End Game" were Dungeons and Dragons Online, and Guild Wars 2. The only two games I actually had a max level character to play end game at all.

EQ, while I play that like a crack addict, I never quite made it to max level, they always put out an expansion, right before I made those last few levels.. which ended up burning me out.

Anyway, I would say GW2, as I had several max level characters, and enjoyed the "end game" as it were, for around 2+ years, till HoT launched, and that broke the game for me.

I played DDO, but, since that game has a system of replaying content, I never stayed at "End Game" long bit I most likely played enough of it, for that game that be the longest I ever got really involved with "End Game" content like Raids, given I had every raid item I ever wanted, and several dozen pieces more.

So yah.. GW2 and DDO where the longest I ever stayed at end game, and both games really let me down hard.

Grunty

What is this 'endgame' you speak of?

Albatroes

TheScavenger said:

Albatroes said:

That was the nice thing about FFXI, 'endgame' opened up at various levels depending on who was doing what and what you played. You could hunt down certain 'rares' (called HNMs in FFXI) and make decent money depending on what you killed and your luck, that might considered 'endgame' or you could farm certain areas like sky/sea and have that be 'endgame.' It really just depended on what you wanted to do and who you were playing with. That was part of the reason why I stuck with the game for almost a decade, because of the 'endgame' flexibility.

yeah, endgame can be a pretty broad thing depending on the MMO. So maybe wouldn't be quite the right word for the thread, but I don't mean the total playtime either. Like when I played EVE, there was not really any endgame, but dunno what else to call it.

But that sounds like a great game, FFXI. Sounds like it had a lot of content and things to do. I kinda missed it back then as I think I was really into Anarchy Online at the time. 

FFXI was nice if you could be pretty social and 'sell yourself.' It was probably the definition of a team based game considered in its early days very small amounts of classes (called jobs in FFXI) could solo efficiently. One thing I liked about the game the most was probably its seal system though, which they kind of took advantage of in the game's later years more. Pretty much as you killed monsters around your level, you had a change of collecting seals which you could use to enter various instanced fights called bcnms (there were a bunch of types with varying names, but I'm trying to keep it simple). Depending on how many seals you collected and converted into a particular orb would represent the level of that content and items you got from them. So you could 'prepare' for high level content as you leveled up by collecting these seals that you could use later on. I think 'endgame' would last longer than a patch if it just started earlier.

rojoArcueid

until i get tired of leveling alts.

iixviiiix

Depend , if the endgame PVP stuff then i stay for while and quit when they add more gears .

If it PVE then i just stay until i beat the last boss (normally they are easy) so there are less than 1 week .

k61977

A week or two at most.  Don't enjoy endgame at all.  I like leveling, story content, exploring.

ConstantineMerus

I played WoW from 2004 to 2010. I think I spent about 6 weeks leveling my main overall. And the rest was spent on endgame. I played WoW almost everyday. 

Phry

End game, for games that are level and equipment based, its a huge problem - how to persuade people to keep playing for marginal increases in their equipment through hours of dungeons/raids grinding, i can't imagine anything more boring, even watching paint dry is exciting by comparison. Once i reach max level and have experienced whatever storylines are associated with that particular class etc. then its time to move on, create a new character with a different class/storyline, hopefully without having to delete the old character but sometimes you just have to, one of the things i like about FFXIV:ARR is that you can just switch to the new class and start from scratch as one character can do all the classes without limitation, whether it be combat, gathering or crafting, for me its all about the journey and the things i can do in the game, maybe thats why i like BDO so much, hit 61 a while back, still not PVP'ing, still having fun Sailing and Trading, still not gearing up though, meh, maybe one day i will but there isn't much point to it, tri gear is good enough and i bought mine from the market, because, trader!!

Galadourn

in WoW I stayed until TBC released, that's about 1-1.5 years

hallucigenocide

usually not too long. i'm not a fan of dungeons/raiding so that leaves me with pvp and whatever daily stuff they've got on offer. sadly those things usually aren't that great in most games.

kitarad

Everquest and may be a few months at that. The games that came later I quickly burnt out on the demands of end game raiding.

Kyleran

WOW was the time I ran into "end game" and raiding along with alt leveling keep me playing for over a year.

In later theme parks such as Tera, SWTOR, and Rift I reached end game rather quickly and found I had no interest in gear grind raiding nor was leveling alts a solution as it still led to a pointless endgame.

I think TSW was the turning point,  I realized quite early while leveling in Egypt trying to catch up to guildmates I was working towards an end game which only included raiding and I set aside theme parks for good.

Now if reviews point to a standard theme park end game of endless and pointless gear grinding I won't even consider playing.

Theocritus

I did endgame in EQ for a few years, but that was really the only MMO I was hardcore in. I hit endgame in WoW, but was not one of the 1%. I had no interest in wasting hours, days, and months trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Scorchien

waiting for the Hipster comment ..

 " I would prefer no End Game"

      I would say LoTRO for me tho , and actually just took a break from it , to much T1 T2 Abyss Throne .. Just burned ..

Dibdabs

Never.  Endgame is, for me, End Of The Game.  I have no interest in a never-ending ride on The Pointless Hamster Wheel Of Groundhog Day.

Vermillion_Raventhal

Never.  The few games I have made it there I just usually quit.  

kruler

Love the journey up to end game, then find 90% of the time its nothing more than a disappointment and shallow creative thinking....Have played loads of MMO's the only 2 I keep going back to as engaging is EvE and EQ1.

Vermillion_Raventhal

I have never gotten the notion that having the whole game as end is repetitive.  Yet playing the same few dungeons and raids over and over isn't. 

I think even Blizzard is realizing that they have lots of unused content. 

Panther2103

It really depends on what the focus of endgame is. If I have other things to do that can alternatively advance my character, that isn't just dungeons or raids, then I can usually play for quite a while at max level or whatever the endgame is. But if the entire game is quick, and the endgame is one raid and a few dungeons, it can get boring real quick. Give me meaningful PvP and I'll stay for months. 

Wellspring

Depends on the game. EQ1 and Vanguard I continued for 6+ months at end game.

SWTOR, I think I played for about 2 months at end game, before getting tired of waiting for content.

Others, such as GW2, Age of Conan, EQ2, Rift, ArcheAge, I pretty much quit within a month of reaching end game or sooner.

WoW Classic I never even played long enough to make it close to max level.

Rukushin

The latest MMO to hold me for what I consider to be an extended period of time was FFXIV. WoW hasn't held me long-term in the end game since Cataclysm or MoP. 

Scot

I have stayed in some so long that they added to what end game was, so it is hard to say when end game truly began.

Po_gg

Kyleran said:

I think TSW was the turning point,  I realized quite early while leveling in Egypt trying to catch up to guildmates I was working towards an end game which only included raiding and I set aside theme parks for good.

Leveling in TSW? You're confusing it with Legends mayhaps...


For the question, typically not long. I am and always was a journey player, endgame is the end of the game for me. When I'm there I just look around, get the content out of it, and leave.
Even got kicked out of a guild once, maybe around 15 years ago, because I refused to powerlevel my character just so I could take my designated spot in the raid calendar faster...  
I'm an explorer and adventurer right since the MUD era, and always made fun of the "living by the raid calendar, life starts at the level cap" players happily.


Endgame treadmill is the dumbest concept in the genre, imo, but apparently it is the core gameplay for a lot of players, so most likely it will stay in the games.
I'd like to say this fact doesn't affect me, however that is not exactly the case. Endgame focus made the "journey" part in games shorter and more streamlined over the years, so in that sense it does affect my gameplay afterall.
Unfortunately I can't do anything about it, besides ignoring the fact, and enjoying the journey.