How I got burnt out playing Runescape and rediscovering my enjoyment for the game.

Burnout

Hi guys Dream here, hope you are all doing well both new faces and old.

It's been about 6 months since I've been engaged in this community or played the game regularly but I've recently rediscovered my interest for the game and I thought it'd be interesting to talk about, in part to have a documentation of my experience to try and avoid repeating the same pitfalls but I'm also interested to see if other people have experiences of burnout and what brings them back.

The Journey for the Achievement Diary Cape

After getting my quest cape completing all achievement diaries felt like the next natural big goal, I really enjoyed the concept of dedicating my time to learning and experiencing all these different aspects of the game, when people asks questions about the game I like being informed enough to help out and answer them.

It started out great ticking off achievements felt like a real accomplishment and there were so many to do I could always move on to a different goal if i was getting bored, It wasn’t until I got to the hard/elite requirements things started to slip. It became this arduous grind to hit the current goal so I could move on to the next one, I began forcing myself to give the game full attention being as efficient as i could to get to that next milestone faster, never stopping to enjoy the goals I’d reached. I realised my unhealthy playstyle had made me loathe my goals and the way I was trying to achieve them so I had to take a break.

Rediscovering my enjoyment for the game

In my absence from the game I thought about all the great content I’d never got a chance to experience because it didn’t fit in to my efficiency scape play style; almost every boss, God Wars Dungeon, Raids 1&2, community PVM events I was too scared to join because I was afraid of being dead weight and even some of the more interesting mini games. I want to get back to playing this game because I enjoy the experiences not just the end goal.

I’ve recently created my first Ironman account with the intention of getting to experience all the content I would normally bypass with the Grand Exchange or skip over for something more efficient. I intend to give my main account a break for a while whilst I enjoy this new experience but hope I can come back to it and enjoy playing it once again with a fresh perspective.


If you made it this far thank you for reading, this was very cathartic.

I can understand why you are creating an ironman. The sense of achievement is definitelt bigger and you have to do all content. I just wish i had the time. I am not willing to start all over again and i enjoy the game on my main .

Anyways it is good to have you back brother.

Thank you for your post, it reflects the sort of thing I see every day on here. This game appeals to people who strive for goals, do things they don't necessarily enjoy to achieve and end result, the word 'grind' features very often for activities that would pass without mention in the real world.
I am fortunate I have played this game for over 10 years, apart from quests, I have pretty much done only the things that I enjoy day after day. The other day there was a conversation, I still cant get out of my mind, about using a metronome to practice the ticks, so you don't lose a second in play!. Also by subtle adjustment that could be set to do two things at once. People alch and do agility, the pressure is enormous. I understand people who have a work , life game balance, are not as fortunate as me to play mostly as often as I like, for as long as I like, but some do. I haven't made a career on here, what I have represents hours played, but not to the best of my ability, simply for my enjoyment.
I was delighted to see how many stopped in their tracks to attend the recent finale of the competition, and can be lured to play a random game of h&s, for some only if the reward is high enough. Its really nice to meet up, its one of the reasons I like the new farming guild, less toxic than the ge, and easy to spot clan visiting. I call myself a social player, I don't however enjoy group activities like bossing, pvp, raids etc, but I learnt that when dungeneering, so I avoid it. I like seeing the progress of others, I don't feel the need to compare myself, their satisfaction is their reward.
The iron man thing is a whole new venture for you, although when I first started it was pretty much how I played, and even last week I spent an hour in the swamp collecting toads......for fun and nostalgia. I was eyeing up the tortoises too, as when the shells meant something on rs2 they were a source of income and magic xp for me, as long as you avoided the one that cast spells. I still sometimes make a canoe in lum to get up the river.
Glad to see you back, I hope you love your new venture, and take time out to soak up the game doing it, you learnt a valuable lesson about the game and yourself......this time have fun, and avoid the wolves.

This is particularly eye opening as I have definitely burnt out a few times (once even on doing achievements, like you) and that made me take a few months off of the game.

At the end of the day, that's what it is: a game. Gotta find however it is you have fun and stick to it. Gl on the Ironman brother!

Welcome back, Dream! I feel as though Iron has ruined me for regular accounts haha. It was such an awesome feeling going through the game self-sufficiently that even while playing my main I feel myself missing the grind and hardship. Felt kind of.. off, boring even, when I was able to just buy the polished buttons for the quest instead of having to pickpocket for hours trying to get them haha. Good luck with your iron and enjoy the grind!

That's it !!! you found something you enjoy...........and its a game = perfect. Shall I delete my long boring post now

welcome back dream, a good post you made there and i agree completely with it. sometimes i think people forget that it is a game and that you should have fun with it instead of just grinding or getting the best possible xp or gp per hour or getting the most kills per hour. i kinda hate how so many people have this kinda mentality. who cares if it is efficient or not if you enjoy doing other methods more just do that so what if it costs more or is less xp per hour. im glad you found enjoyment in playing a ironman, i kinda wish i made this account a ironman when i started it but its to late now , since i dont feel like starting all over again.

Thanks for all your responses, it interesting to read about similar experiences.
In MMOs I think it can be hard sometimes to find the balance between striving for that end goal and enjoying the experiences along the way, we see people in their skill capes and the best gear with piles of riches enjoying the endgame content and people want to rush to join them.

People always ask about the fastest ways to make money or most efficient xp methods, no one really asks about fun ways to achieve these things, I just think it's an interesting phenomenon that you don't really see outside of MMOs.


The early-mid game of Runescape has always been my favourite part and you only get to experience it once per account so why not stop to enjoy the view as the saying goes.