HANDS ON GUIDE

5 - Go nocturnal

Vitamin D isn't necessary anyway

Owls, hedgehogs and teenage binge drinkers - some of Britain’s most endearing wildlife is nocturnal; irritable, sleep deprived MMO junkies can now be added to this list. It isn't a conscious effort – you start the game, become hooked and gradually, as late night follows late night and you find that you’ve switched to a new schedule. Only serious commitment to real life can generally halt this process.

In any guild with experienced players and a suitable contingent of slackers, students and survivalists in its ranks it’s inevitable that you’ll find some of them ploughing on, night after night, turning in with the morning chorus and waking again to the sound of the 'Deal or No Deal' theme tune.

The ereason for this approach - rather than players playing all day, going to bed at a reasonable time, then playing all day the next day, is most likely an issue of time zone, as the late night players can often find themselves running with players on the East Coast of the US, whereas if you play on GMT you have to make do with the company of cheerful yet utterly ruthless Russians and the occasional confused Australian with a ping so high he’s practically playing by email.

No gaming career is complete without a stint pulling the graveyard shift. It’s good for the soul, it builds characters and you can get at all the good spawns without some nine year old called Leg0laz jumping your claim and scooping all the loot.

Latest Hands on guides

These are the most popular features articles over the past three months.

Mobile Broadband

Compare prices

Fastest, cheapest 3G mobile broadband dongles from 3, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange
from just £10/month