The Consistency of Change.

Why am I playing World of Warcraft again? After months of trying to convince myself that I had no love for the game, I am back with a vengeance. But why now and why does it matter that I am going back?

Mist of Pandaria is a large reason why I am going back to WoW after my short absence. The inclusion of a new race, new class, payload style PvP battles (a game mode I absolutely love in Team Fortress 2), and Pokémon style pet battles tickles my WoW brain in a way I love. A new class to level, new dungeons and raids to conquer, a brand new landmass to explore, and new ways to interact within the World of Warcraft was the perfect catalyst to get me playing again in the short term. But instead of going back to the guild I was raiding with, my good friend and I are starting fresh on a new server (Korgath) and starting a new guild akin to what we did before the release of The Burning Crusade years ago. But why am I really going back to this game, and is there a deeper reason other than the new loot that is to be had?

I am going back because WoW is a symbol of consistency for me. Despite the fact that the game is always growing, always expanding, and always evolving, that process itself is consistent. My post-secondary career is soon coming to an end, and with real life is racing towards me at breakneck speeds World of Warcraft is something I can hold onto. The guild is going to be a way of staying in touch with my friends when we all move away into life. If we’re raiding or doing rated battlegrounds, we now have a weekly time when we will get to catch up and still be a part of each other’s lives. It is this consistency that the game provides for the player that is bringing me and my friends back to the world of Azeroth. It is the socialization that is paramount to the game that is bringing me back. It is time with friends that is really bringing me back.

Will WoW really help to keep us together, or is this another way that I am trying to stay static in a world that is constantly changing? Only time, in its never ending march forward, will tell.