HANDS ON GUIDE

3 - Go Cold Turkey

Trying to live without your MMO addiction for more than a few days is a truly painful experience

The worst-case scenarios for a hardcore gamer are as follows: acquiring a job, getting a girlfriend or having to take a bout of vitally important exams. There’s only one thing for it. You have to give up your favourite game for the duration, perhaps forever. Walking away from an MMO that still has you firmly in its grip comes quite naturally to some gamers, but for others it can be a true test of mettle.

Trying to escape is never easy. Aside from the game itself, there are forums to stop reading, guildmates on MSN telling you about how great it is and a shortcut on your desktop that puts you only two clicks away from the action. The temptation can be too much and since the rise of the MMO the world has become littered with broken relationships, failed degrees and even lost jobs to the curse of compulsive gaming.

Just remember this three step plan: cancel the account, uninstall the game... but don’t burn all your bridges. After all, if you’re lucky you might get sacked or divorced and then you can get right back on the raiding schedule.

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