HOW many hours do you play?

[Brildary]

I can't stand it! I just spent 10 hours skilling up brewing 142-188 yesterday (on a simple recipe). I've already been told this is quite common. I see so many of you who are literally 35 levels above me and grand masters of 4,5,6,7 tradeskills (and please don't get me wrong, I'm impressed as hell!! I know how much time and effort went into these stats). What I want to know is how do you get so much done and still have time to eat, much less hold a paying job, have a family, pay the bills? I don't mean this to be whining...I'm just floored. I can hardly believe I spent 10 HOURS in one day in this game, and I understand that by the high standards of these boards that's a mere nothing. But how do you carve out so much time from your real lives day after day...year after year? Many posts brush it off with a wave saying "oh, I play casually" but how casual can you be to get to level 65, GM in all trades, flagged to a faretheewell? This can not be "casual". What do I do to get more than 2, maybe 3, hours a night? Give up my husband, my 9 hour job, my commute? I know, this is all just winge,winge,winge, but I have to check in with the hardest working group in Everquest and ask "How the Hell Do You Do It?"

[Zyrtryx Conjureblade]

Right now, I play on average 3 to 4 hours a night, depending on if I can get LDON groups or not. I don't like soloing, and would rather do LDON missions than planar groups atm.

If I can't get a LDON group, I spend a couple of hours chatting with guild members if enough are on to get a good conversation going and either work on tradeskills myself or help someone else in my guild who is working on them, or go level an alt while conversing, then log off. But I rarely spend more than a couple of hours logged on as one of my alts.

[Alkee]

I play about 1 to 2 hours a night for about 3 to 4 days a week.
I generally end up soloing most of the time as I'm not on long enough to find a group.
Occasionally I will do an LDON adventure if a group is nearly ready to go as it fits in with my time schedule.

Cheers

[Mystrice]

Weekends.....looong weekends, that's how you do it=)

and a VERY understanding real life partner who plays EQ. And a kid who likes EQ, He's also an excellent tradeskiller, just set up the bags and he'll do all the clicking for you.

[Nhin Impious]

I'm not sure that I fit the qualifications, but here's my figures.

Nhinx's 2nd birthday will be February 24th, real-time. In that 2 years, I've spent about 150 days /played. Subtracting out time that was just sitting in the bazaar, that's about 4 hours a day, average.

One, I haven't really been busting my behind to level. During the month of February last year, I didn't get a single pixel of experience; I was working on baking during every second I was on. I went from 178-250 during that month, since it was very busy for me and I didn't get to play much (we're talking maybe 2 stacks of combines a night). Nhinx is currently level 56, with 7 AA's -- and EXACTLY 1400 tradeskill points. *beam*

But two, that isn't really four hours a day. During the two years I've had EQ, I spent a couple months unemployed, had a week of vacation, the VERY occasional extra day off here and there, and for the first year and some of that time I lived in a household with one other adult who also played EQ. Storme and I have egged each other on to leveling (he was absolutely unlivable when he dinged 46 first) and if nothing else have been decent duo partners.

If you look at me now, of course, you'll see someone who's providing the sole support for a family of three, dealing with my own medical care and some very ill relatives, having a kid who acts out and only goes to kindergarten 3 hours a day anyways, and living with a cat who Must Step On Keyboards. How could such a person play 4 hours a day? I don't. But you'd better believe in September when I get my vacation, there will be at least 3 days of cold soda, pizza, and "I'll sleep after this mob...well, maybe after this mob.." Hasn't always been like this, and I think everyone has periods of more and less intensity in how they play.

In conclusion: I never make the bed or do the dishes. That's how I find time.

Nhinx "I didn't volunteer to be the breadwinner so I could run the dishwasher" Aphsion
GM baker, brewer, and cleric with a thing for making spiders go boom

[kiztent]

Part of it isn't in how many hours you spend, it's how you spend the hours.

But when I am logged in, I play. Home and logged in at 6, rattle off 2 ldons before I log at 9:30-10. In 3-4 hours I'll get most of an AA, 102 advent points (assuming we manage 2 wins - which we usually do) and ~5-800pp.

My shaman's neck is about 600 LDoN points. I can get that in a week.

I tend to think of myself as casual in amount of play time, but serious when I play.

[Stugein]

I generally play 2 nights a week, sometimes 3. These nights will be 2-3 hours or so. On weekends (usually saturday only, but possibly sunday now as well now that football season is over) I will play a good several hours in the middle of the day in addition to the 2-3 hours at night.

[Sanna]

Iroke was made in late Dec 2002. She dinged 51 on Aug 30, 2003. It's really painful why I remember that exact date, but there it is.


If I hadn't left, she would have dinged 55 in late January. Yes in the meantime i was skilling a lot, yes the fall semester took a cat-o-9 to my arse, and yes the 50s suck. I'm bad at estimating time, but I guess I play.... 30 hours a week, if i have an empty weekend. the bulk of that time is on the weekend.


EQ is not condusive to interfacing with a Real Life. If you are a casual player, you will be able to get to a point, and then things will probably slow down a lot.

Piff, my roommate, got a cleric (her first char ever) to 65 in I think 7 months? but she played the heck out of the char. the higher you want to go, the more you have to be willing to 'spend' to get there. the higher in levels, the slower xp comes. you spend time getting on, finding a group, getting to the camp, breaking spawn... and then you just sit and kill things, over and over and over ^_^.


I play sufficiently casually that even on Tarew, a server where I have a chance of getting into a planar raiding guild, I probably won't make it. Why? I can't log in at 5pm eastern and raid till 2 am eastern. I'm not a zerger. This is to say I won't reach 65 and have lots of AAs.... someday.... but I won't raid. And that's the deal with me, and it won't be anything different. /shrug.



EQ is about getting what you want, but what you want does have a price.

-- Sanna

[Taushar]

It does take time. My Cleric was created over 3 years ago. He's now level 65, 6 GMs with 7th being close and 135+ AAs. It took me a while to get to where I am. I do have other alts, one being a Chanter given to me by my friend already level'ed and my Druid is level 52. Other than that, most of my characters are mules for my tradeskills so I focused mainly on my Cleric and my Druid.

I used to play a lot more than I do now, about 15 hours per week or so on the average. It took me 2 years to get to GM in smithing. It took me 1.5 years to finish my epic. I got pretty much most of the stuff on my own so it was a slow progress.

You just gotta have patience to get to where you want to be, rushing it doesn't always work out.

Taushar

[Aandaie]

The most I could ever do tradeskills was about a half hour at a time. I tend to have repetitive stress problems and it just isn't worth it. Clicking and dragging in that manner is very bad for me.

I cancelled all my eq accounts in August. If I ever resubscribe, which is doubtful since they keep making exactly the opposite kind of expansion that I'd want (Luclin was the last expansion for everyone), I'd give it a try again with the new UI.

I don't think you are really supposed to power level tradeskills, in the way you might powerlevel levels. Apart from repetitive stress possibilities, you may get burned out. I'd do things in moderation.

Its better to spend one hour in the game every day, than it is to blow 7 hours on a saturday or sunday in it. Tradeskilling up, if its off stuff you mostly buy, seems like something you could just get on and do for an hour. So that should work out ok.

I'm into Anarchy Online again and I find it works pretty well with that kind of playing style, while EQ did not for me (since I could no longer tradekskill really.) In AO, you can get on and do a mission or something solo and your short term goal is always met. I log on knowing I can play for an hour or two and that is all I play for, since its more time than I need really. I like tradeskills in AO much better as well, they are more user friendly since you level and get like 10,000, 20,000 or however many points you get at that level range, to apply to all stats/skills/tradeskills/whatever.

So you never stand in one spot doing something over and over in AO, you apply points to nano programming or whatever so you can make the implants you want to make, you buy pre made nano programming implants at the store to raise the skill more or perhaps you look for missions which have nano programming clusters/implants as the reward to help out. Then its either a question of having the skill to make the item, in which case you always do, or not having enough skill in which case you are told that and told what skill you need. You never get repetitive stress like feelings, since you only make the finished items you want, rather than making a bunch of stuff just to get there.

So Anarchy Online is about a billion times either to time manage.
Its even better than FFXI in that way. I kind of did tradeskills in FFXI then got bored of that game, for some reason. I think its because its too long between rewards and the most lucrative thing was standing there and fishing for an hour or more until I got 12 moat carp, which I then would sell in 5 minutes at the auction house.

Anarchy Online is missing a good auction house/bazaar, instead having several trade channels. Its fairly messy, though, so I more or less only make trade items for myself. Perhaps if I ever have real high skill I'll make implants or something for people who offer tips. Unlike in EQ, when you get tipped in AO you get TIPPED. Someone might tip you 150,000 credits for taking a couple minutes of your time, it would be like being paid 20,000 plat in EQ for making a Handmade backpack for someone.

FFXI has the best auction/bazaar system I've seen, since its done automatically at the house. All you do is dump the stuff there at a certain price and move on, later the money is in your Mog house if the stuff sold, or you can go back and change the price.

[Verdandi]

I probably average 2-4 hours a day. But that's nearly every day since spring of 1999.

[Lilosh]

Originally posted by kiztent
Part of it isn't in how many hours you spend, it's how you spend the hours.

But when I am logged in, I play. Home and logged in at 6, rattle off 2 ldons before I log at 9:30-10. In 3-4 hours I'll get most of an AA, 102 advent points (assuming we manage 2 wins - which we usually do) and ~5-800pp.

My shaman's neck is about 600 LDoN points. I can get that in a week.

I tend to think of myself as casual in amount of play time, but serious when I play.

This is exactly what I wish I could manage. My new job owns my soul from 5pm-2am every day. They graciously give me 2 random days off every week.


So I end up playing from 3am until anywhere from 6-7am. Recently my guild has been putting together HoH groups, in basements. I've been managing 1AA per night when a good group gets going.

And then I hear of druids who SOLO an AA every hour or two in HOH, and wish I could be that efficient.

I need to learn to get quality play time in.

-Lilosh

[kiztent]

Originally posted by Lilosh
I need to learn to get quality play time in.

Actually the biggest benefit I have is a regular play group all on the same time.

When I log in at 6, the 65 ranger is logged in, as well as someone with a lot of characters (currently playing 65 paladin). About 15 minutes after I log in our tank (65 warrior) logs in.

I play my shaman and either Sanna or I will add a druid, and we'll pick up one other person to make 6.

I then pick a LDoN theme for the night and we're buffed and in by 7.

We group together every night, and have for 2 months (actually I met the warrior 11/2002 and we both play together pretty much every day). We know what gear each has, how we will react, when to heal, how to park/off tank multi pulls, etc.

Sure I have to work late (all of us have at one time or another - I came home later than usual one night and 5 people were sitting in PoK watching their friends list for me), and sometimes we just get disorganized and can only do 1 advent a night, but it's pretty nice to log on.

Those people are actually the secret of how I can be successful playing - we have the same play time, same interests and enjoy each others' company.

[Nhin Impious]

I like the idea of a play group that meets at a specific time.

I'd be glad to do that on (my) weekends when I could, but unfortunately, I've spent the past 24 hours in a drug-induced fog due to a visit with my friendly neighborhood dentist. (I had my +WIS teeth removed. But, it's not so bad, I had a few other things creating some -WIS modifiers, so I'm coming out ahead.)

Next week I get the sutures out. The week after that we start the root canals.

I'm thinking maybe when GoD comes out I could scrounge 3-4 uninterrupted hours of playtime, but...well, we'll see.

Nhinx "what IS this horrible taste in my mouth, and I don't mean my baking" Aphsion

[xaanru]

Well, I only have 1 GMed tradeskill, but the others aren't too bad (my skill levels). However, I started tradeskilling in June 2001, a week after I started Everquest. Set realistic goals. Don't try to be 250 in everything, right now. My first goal was make patchwork armor until I had no empty slots. then I replaced that with studded and reinforced leather armor as pelts dropped.

Then I discovered smithing, kind of by accident, as I needed metal studs and bonings to make the leather armor. Looked up the recipe, and found... Hey what's this banded stuff.

Was in full banded as soon as I had farmed up enough plat to skill up and make it.

Then my goal was to be able to make fine plate (still respectable at the time). Then it was imbued field plate. Then, a few months later, they added Heraldic to the game, and my jaw dropped.

So, I worked a little here, a little there, to get the skills up where they needed to be. Brewing went up to make heady kiolas for tailoring, then to make tempers.

Eventually, I set my sights on the prayer shawl quest. Not too long ago, I finally upgraded to the Blessed shawl, from my runed. (woot).

Shoot for small goals, and celebrate when you attain them. Don't worry about "when am I going to be 250". Try for, when can i make and sell prismatic dye, or LDoN tempers, or zone essences, or ..... eventually getting to the top stuff and 250 skill.