Hydaelyn Role-Players
How do you deal with motivation? - Printable Version

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RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Ignacius - 05-22-2015

IF I have no motivation to play FFXIV or RP?  Usually Diablo 3.  Sometimes, a little mindless slaughter is good for the brain.  It's like running a brain reboot.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Manari - 05-22-2015

More often than not, it's the rest of the game besides RP that I keep losing interest in. For someone with a limited time to play as I have, the grind is just so discouraging. Not only that, but I don't have a group of people to do content with, so most of the endgame is just duty finder or nothing at all for me.

For RP, I've got a lot invested in my character since I've been RPing since 1.0, but Manari has a certain personality that takes a little inspiration from my own. Which means I do that thing where people are already involved in RP and having a good conversation and I really want to join, but I don't want to crash their RP. So Manari ends up doing a lot of standing in the corner with her arms crossed not talking to anyone. In a way, that's fitting of her character now because she would certainly do that (and so would I) but on the other hand, that kind of personality doesn't cause a lot of RP to happen and it can get discouraging. So the answer is just "don't do that" right? Well, it's not always that simple. I ask myself "Would Manari butt into that conversation?" and the answer is almost always no. This, in turn, does kinda discourage me from time to time and make me lose some of my RP steam when I know I'm missing out on RP.

I guess I need to start getting more creative. I don't really want to do things like trip or fall or bump into those people because Manari isn't clumsy at all.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Hivernal - 05-22-2015

I have motivational issues of another kind, heh. I'm really into the lore but most of my friends have a middling interest in it at best. I'm kind of like the bookish girl everyone knew in school; always in the library, reliable source of info for everything.

One example was yesterday, watching the Heavensward dungeon trailer and seeing the winged Ixal in holding tubes. The implications for that are absolutely **HUGE**. The reason for the Ixal summoning Garuda, why they hate Gridanians and those living in the Black Shroud, the core of their age-old bitterness, hatred and cruelty ... and I just couldn't get any enthusiasm / understanding out of my friends.

Sometimes it feels like I'm trapped inside of myself; in this weird place where I want to be all super nerdy about the lore and discuss things at length, go into implications of Event Y or what would happen if NPC X did this. But I can't. Because there's no-one close to share it with. I have the exact same issue with my writing. It's incredibly frustrating.

As far as in-game stuff goes, yeah. Pre-patch/expansion lull. Even finding people to do primal PFs with is rare the past week or so. My advice would be to do what others have suggested: set yourself a goal each day. You've then done something and anything more is a bonus. Be positive!

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Lutra - 05-22-2015

I'd like the echo the sentiment that people and FCs alike are really feeling the pre-expansion slump.  Not to say that any real problems have come of it, but several people within my FC, including myself, have both experienced, seen, and felt the lack of 'oomph' in both RP and PvE, lately. 

And to that I say, "meh!" It happens.

We can't be all GO HAM! all the time. It's natural for interest to ebb and flow. For me, my interest about three months ago was really waning. I didn't want to RP, dungeon, or anything. It wasn't due to anyone or anything about the game. I was just uninspired, same as you. I forced myself to RP on occasions and it was not very fun, but as a leader, I felt I should set a good example.

When I noticed that I would rather lay on the couch and play with my phone all night than hang out with my good friends in this game, I knew I had to do something. So, for lack of a better idea, I picked up my zodiac weapon quests again. I was only on the Braves Books, so I had a lot of catching up to do in a short time.

I will say that having a 'tangible' goal really, REALLY helps me stay in an MMO, as well as good RP. In GW2, I could just buy anything I wanted with gold, and so the PvE aspect quickly dwindled. In this game, you have to WORK for your shinies. The Zodiac weapon or [insert expensive/time consuming in game thing here] might help you get back on the FFXIV horse and stay on, so long as you still have something to work for. It has worked so far for me and a few of my FC mates. It's more fun to work on something together, if at all possible. 

And if you don't get it done before Heavensward, so what? You can say you tried and just come back to it later. Or maybe something else better will take precedence. It's all about fun, after all!

But if none of that is your cuppa, taking an actual hiatus from the game might refresh your attitude. It could be a few days, few weeks, or even until the expansion. Anything that helps your mind! I wish you the best of luck. :D

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Gegenji - 05-22-2015

(05-22-2015, 09:56 AM)Lutra Wrote: We can't be all GO HAM! all the time. It's natural for interest to ebb and flow. For me, my interest about three months ago was really waning. I didn't want to RP, dungeon, or anything. It wasn't due to anyone or anything about the game. I was just uninspired, same as you. I forced myself to RP on occasions and it was not very fun, but as a leader, I felt I should set a good example.

When I noticed that I would rather lay on the couch and play with my phone all night than hang out with my good friends in this game, I knew I had to do something. So, for lack of a better idea, I picked up my zodiac weapon quests again. I was only on the Braves Books, so I had a lot of catching up to do in a short time.

I will say that having a 'tangible' goal really, REALLY helps me stay in an MMO, as well as good RP. In GW2, I could just buy anything I wanted with gold, and so the PvE aspect quickly dwindled. In this game, you have to WORK for your shinies. The Zodiac weapon or [insert expensive/time consuming in game thing here] might help you get back on the FFXIV horse and stay on, so long as you still have something to work for. It has worked so far for me and a few of my FC mates. It's more fun to work on something together, if at all possible.

Quoted for multiple truths, at least with myself. While I like to think I'm always up for RP, there are days where I just... don't have the motivation to go wandering around looking for it. And sometimes I'm just content enough shooting the breeze with the folks in my various Linkshells. But, as the half a week without my computer proved, I'd rather be doing "nothing" in FFXIV than actually doing nothing.

And having goals definitely helps, even if they're tenuous ones. I worked on Gogonji's relic before coming to Balmung because "it was there" and it was something to do. Same with leveling all his combat classes and trying to get them all geared up decently well. My goal to get Chachan his Lucis kept me quite busy leveling the classes and getting the gear all set up.

And, if nothing else, there's always using the wait time until Heavensward's drop to prep that Au Ra you might be making (if you're not just changing one of your existing characters into one). I have Judge all leveled, caught up with the MSQ, and set to go!

And, if nothing else? Just find something fun to do - either as a "reward" after completing tasks, or just as something to set as a goal. Like racing Chocobos? Try and get the achievements for it before Heavensward! Or try and get a full Triple Triad deck. Or put together a really cute RP outfit.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Lilia Lia - 05-22-2015

The temptation to procrastinate about RP and "do the content," for me, comes from the fact that non-RP aspects of the game are generally pretty brainlessly rewarding and require so little effort. You can zone right out and faceroll most of the trials/dungeons, FATE grinding, even much of the game's crafting. It's also kind of antisocial so it appeals to people who are introverted types (like me) and shy away from interaction.

If I ever have an RP opportunity but I'm having trouble "getting in the mood," I just start daydreaming about RPs that I've had that I really loved, and that always makes me want to get something new going.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Cato - 05-22-2015

If I feel like my motivation is slipping then I strive to figure out why so I can identify the problem and address it. Sometimes I realise that I need a short break so I go and do something else. 

One thing I find disheartening, however, is that I live in a completely different timezone to many role-players which makes setting things up rather difficult. This makes it difficult to invest in long term interaction with anybody outside of my Free Company and sometimes even those inside of it.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - cuideag - 05-22-2015

I find one of the best ways to hype myself back up for RP is to think about ridiculous situations for my characters to be in.

What if Jajara hasn't been around work so much lately because she developed a gambling problem and has been working as a chocobo jockey to make up the lost gil? What if she had to do the bunny girl thing for a bit, and go around serving people strange colorful drinks? What if one of her friends saw her doing that? How quickly would she die from shame? Etc, etc.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Caspar - 05-22-2015

(05-22-2015, 12:30 PM)cuideag Wrote: I find one of the best ways to hype myself back up for RP is to think about ridiculous situations for my characters to be in.

What if Jajara hasn't been around work so much lately because she developed a gambling problem and has been working as a chocobo jockey to make up the lost gil? What if she had to do the bunny girl thing for a bit, and go around serving people strange colorful drinks? What if one of her friends saw her doing that? How quickly would she die from shame? Etc, etc.
Sounds like fun. XD I can already think of a few people who would comment amusingly...

As for me, I set goals for myself and hope my ambition doesn't exceed my free time, lol. I see it as an extension of the  bullishness that allows me to raid.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - D'aito Kuji - 05-22-2015

I'll be honest, FFXIV is not my true love or even close.  I've never liked the fantasy genre and much prefer superheroes and real-world settings.  But there is no City of Heroes and nothing comes close (yes, I've played DCUO and CO).  I really liked, even loved TSW, but the updates are so painfully slow and not the best quality when they do happen.  I left TSW for FFXIV and I do appreciate the value, the amount of content, the flexibility of being able to eventually play every role with the same character, I just can't totally get into it.

So, I'm almost always in a state of being slightly demotivated.  I've abandoned FFXIV three times since I started playing but keep coming back whenever TSW disappointed me in some way.  Their last update was the last straw for me and it's unlikely I'll come back.

But I see FFXIV as more of a discipline.  It's not the kind of thing I absolutely enjoy but that shouldn't stop me from being able to do my best and write good stories for D'aito Kuji.  If I were passionate about it the way I was with City of Heroes, then I'd have no problem writing, RP'ing, doing raids, dungeons, grinds.  But that's not really a challenge.  It doesn't require discipline.

So while I'm rarely ever truly motivated by FFXIV, I make myself do it.  And sometimes, I do enjoy it.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Qhora Bajihri - 05-22-2015

(05-22-2015, 09:49 AM)Hivernal Wrote: One example was yesterday, watching the Heavensward dungeon trailer and seeing the winged Ixal in holding tubes. The implications for that are absolutely **HUGE**. The reason for the Ixal summoning Garuda, why they hate Gridanians and those living in the Black Shroud, the core of their age-old bitterness, hatred and cruelty ... and I just couldn't get any enthusiasm / understanding out of my friends.

I saw that and was like wat wat waaaat?! Shared it to a couple ooh, aah, that'll be interestings. Better than nothing.

Me, I've been playing alts lately. That's how I know I'm not really on board anymore. When I'm actually into things, I'm very dismissive of my own alts. Right now, I'm just hanging on until the new stuff.

I don't really have any advice for how to stay motivated. When I did have some leader-ish responsibilities, they were fine while I was fine, but when they crashed and burned, they crashed and burned hard, nothing left but a pile of ashes, so I try not to volunteer for much of that stuff anymore.

There's probably something to moderation in all things. Go hard while you've got the go, but don't be afraid to step back in as many places as you can, delegate more things than you usually would so you can give yourself a breather when the go starts to dry up.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Chris Ganale - 05-22-2015

Feh, motivation. For this game, right now, I got basically none. I log on, I do my crafting to restock the FC chest, I get a soil if it's the right time, I do my daily roulettes on Tahz and Chao (now expert/high/trial instead of just expert thanks to the cap increase). Then, if it's not Wednesday or Thursday, I sit around in the Mist and do literally nothing for approximately five to six hours before bed. I typically try to get RP but it's like pissing into a hurricane, so sometimes I just don't even bother.

I'm literally going through the motions at this point. The new stuff showed off yesterday was pretty exciting, even if the prospect of all of my hard-learned rotations falling apart in the expansion makes me cry on the inside. Alexander and the new Allagan dungeon are exciting for what potential they represent for Chao, but even that's ringing a bit hollow as I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that she's not cutting out as a roleplay character as much as she is a narrative/novel character.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Caspar - 05-22-2015

I'm just the type of person who sets personal goals when I enjoy something. I can't seem to do that IRL, lol, but when it comes to this game, the reason why I never drop it even when my friends filter in and out is probably because I just immediately find a new objective when I achieved my previous one. Beat FCoB? Try Savage, nobody in my static wanted to do it before. Get fully geared? Begin gearing my other classes? Other classes fully geared? Start making money for a personal house, etc.

I feel if I apply that same mindset to my RP, it might be exhausting to play with me, but at least I'd never stop going forward.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - Orlog - 05-22-2015

With FFXIV honestly? If I'm feeling unmotivated to play, I just go to something else. Like literally anything else. I'm not quite sure where this obligation to stick around a game that you're having a hard time wanting to play is coming from anymore. I've quit and rejoined it several times, and I probably will continue this pattern down the line.

But, that goes with anything for me, really. Being unmotivated just means I need a change of scenery and pace of things. I usually try and go do something else that's quite a bit different from what I had been doing. Listen to some different music, watch different movies, RP different settings. But, I mean, I'm all about keeping my options pretty broad and sweeping. Locking myself down to a single thing doesn't work too well for me.

RE: How do you deal with motivation? - ArmachiA - 05-23-2015

I honestly don't consider wanting to ooc play the game a lack of motivation. Sometimes, I want to go progress in the OOC world of the game, and sometimes that is something that takes 2-3 weeks with some sparse roleplaying. And sometimes, all I want to do is rp, and only want to do that for a couple weeks and not do dungeons or anything.

Right now we're in that Pre-Expansion dip. Where those of us who play all the time normally have nothing to do for a month, and people are starting to come back/new people are showing up and are mostly just trying to catch up oocly content and gear wise. FFXIV is probably the only MMO I've played that requires you to be at a certain spot in the story in order to access the Expansion (OH, SE and your gates) so it makes sense RP is tapering off, and will continue to do so for a long while after Heavensward is released. Me personally? I spend a lot of my time offline now, working on the big storyline we need to in our Storyteller forum, chilling out a bit till Heavensward. I got to get my alt caught up in the story, I get on for scheduled RP events (Or if someone asks me to rp), I get on for raiding and things, but I'm kind of taking it easy. And that's okay.

It's fine people have decided to take a step back, enjoy the break while you can, Heavensward is going to be a completely different ballgame.