I started playing at the beginning of 2005 - Undead/Mage/Lv70 - and I total agree...... run as far away as you can from this game. This is the most addictive game I've ever played. It got really bad at one point.
I used to play an insane amount. I'm not sure if you ever heard of the term "High Warlord" or the alliance equivalent "Grand Marshal."
Here's an interview of 3 people who have done the cp grind:
http://www.notaddicted.com/forums/showthread.php?t=362
I can say that it took me about 6 - 8 months of constant playing to get to HWL. It was probably the most stupidest, brutal thing I've ever done. I ran on 3 hours of sleep every night for a 3.5 months. 4 days a week, I would play straight from 6PM - 4AM, sleep 3 hours, and head to work. On Friday nights, I would go from 6:00PM - 9:00AM, sleep for 2 hours, get back on from 11:00AM - 6:00AM, sleep again, and then play from 9:00AM to 3:00AM. Then repeat this cycle for 3.5 months. On my last week of the grind, I went 3 days without sleeping to get those extra 3 hours of playing to keep up.
The worst part is that, if you miss a day, it takes 1-2 weeks to regain that progress, so there are no breaks.
I still play now, but not nearly as much. I'm trying to find new hobbies to get into to replace WoW... hence the audio stuff, but I have to admit that it's proven quite difficult.
WoW actually messed up my health, set me back at work, and messed up my social/family life. It sucks you in and doesn't let you do anything else. It's really scary how much of a grip this thing can have on you. I remember thinking to myself, "if I make HWL, then everything will fall into place in my life." Obviously, that didn't happen. When you're in, all you can think about is "I want new gear, I want to be powerful, I want all the others to look up to me." The lure of being something that you're not IRL (in real life) is something extremely enticing. This is where you can be the most famous/powerful/loved/feared person, as long as you give up your real life.
At first, it'll seem like a casual game. But once you hit lvl 70, you'll start searching for guilds to join so that you can keep progressing your character. That's when you will have to make a choice between real life and WoW life. The game requires dedication and commitment, or you will get nowhere. Remember that this is a subscription based game. The game is designed as a time-sink. They want you to keep the subscription going. 9 million active players at $15 dollars a month. Do the math. That's insane revenue each month. We're not even counting the $50.00 cost of getting the game in the first place. WoW is a multi-billion dollar industry.
We used to say on our server "WoW is a lifestyle choice." I've never heard more true words.
P.S. On the last two weeks of going for HWL, I played 98 hours the first week, and 120 hours the second week.
