How many times have you come back to AO?

[Beornin]

AO was my first mmo, and despite it's shortcommings it's the only game except EVE that I've gotten really into and keeps coming back to.

As I see other oldtimers dropping in and out, I'm wondering how many times you have come back?

My AO career is something like this:

January 2004 - desember 2005 - Way too hardcore, 400 days /played, semiquit when I finished university and started working.

2006 - back quite soon, and played reasonably sensibly for half a year as I couldn't pull myself away. Decided to quit cold turkey and gave away any item of any real value on all chars. That worked. At least for a while.

2009 - summer, got back again and started levelling an old NT, as NT's where finally usefull both pve and pvp, and I could make a 220 setup that would be good but reasonably cheap.

2010 - Back for a while, now had a 220 NT and at least some money earned in 2009, so played a new enf to 195. Started planning the levelling of old chars, but got distracted by other games after a few months.

2014 - Wanted to play an mmo again, but no fresh ones that tempted me. Downloaded AO and got started. Surprised and encouraged to find the world quite active.

[hokutonoken]

Usually come back during anniversary day for a month...expecting "epic" loot drops this year ^_=

more capes and sholder soicial items please!

[Metafizis]

3 times too many.

[Mastablasta]

1, it was in January 2002 o.O

[Rahela]

I started playing in 2003, and stayed for three years. Since then, I've come back at least once each year for a month or so at a time. The last time I resubbed was January '14. I didn't realize until close to the end of the month when I went to cancel that I had accidentally renewed for a year instead of a month, so I'll be sticking around for a lot longer than usual this time

[Homeostasis]

<reserved> Been a paying customer since launch. Leaving soon (TM). Let's see how long it takes before I join the ranks of those that just can't break free.

[lutze01]

I was around in 2001 or something, Masta what guild was it Ambrosia lol?

[Mastablasta]

I dunno, I was a total noob for the first 3 months of playing this game I can always log my first char, who still exists, and let people marvel at his absurdity

[lutze01]

Haha same mate majorly, nah don't you remember Ambrosia lol, I remember when we used to be out farming mercs

[Unwrapme]

I just got back after a 3 year break.....

This is still my favorite MMO

[Doctrony]

I've been back and left again at least a dozen times over the years. I can never give up on AO, it was the first MMO that I ever felt was worth investing significant portions of my spare time into. To this day I do not regret my decision and I still hold out that AO will again rise to prosperity in some form.

Unfortunately it's a combination of timezones and population that generally causes my subscription status to fluctuate. Living in an off-american/european timezone, with AO's population on an apparent decline, it has become increasingly difficult to participate in the game to the fullest extent, without having other people to interact with while doing so.

Initially I solved this by simply creating a small army of diverse characters and professions across a number of accounts, but as I get older the financial decision of choosing to support multiple accounts per month, at the same standard cost, becomes increasingly difficult to make. I hold out hope that the NPE and Steam launch will have a positive effect on AO's community, and I will likely return again during that expansive period.

I dunno, I was a total noob for the first 3 months of playing this game I can always log my first char, who still exists, and let people marvel at his absurdity

I too recall my very early days of AO fondly. An Opifex Engineer, very, very slowly levelled to 151, decked out in homemade carbonum armor, a Stygian Desolator, ~190 bot and with maxed swimming to boot. I'd used the suggest IP button, which IPed swimming, and simply followed it from there.

Unfortunately I deleted that character and am no longer able to log in and marvel at the unfettered curiosity and wonder that was Panelbeater the Opifex Engineer.

Good times.
-Trony-

[Mastablasta]

Haha same mate majorly, nah don't you remember Ambrosia lol, I remember when we used to be out farming mercs

Oh, right, yeah, now the name rings a bell. But that was much later than I was thinking.

[Themanwhonukes]

Used to be more dedicated to ao back in the days.. Nowadays I subscribe for a month or two each year just to pwn people on my twinks. (Which is surprisingly still up-to-date). PvP is what keeps me coming back, without it - it's a dead game. Majority of my friends has left the game, so I can no longer enjoy the community aspect as much as I used to.

[Towerblock]

I started at launch ish. I had a serious shoulder break and I was playing AO with only one arm. I played for a couple of months but when I healed I bailed pretty hard. Game was too big and frustrating for me. I had only played MuD's and Eq before AO.

Came back about 2004, a week or so before SL came out. Left again about 2007 to go play City of Heroes. Got bored about 2-3 months into that, came back to AO.

Left in 2008 to play World of Warcraft. Played for almost a year, came back in 2009.

left in 2011 out of boredom and saw first major signs of long term AO friends leaving the game entirely. Came back in 2012. Played a little bit of Guild Wars on the side but never really played AO with any major commitment to time.

Left for SWTOR beta. Got over that game in a month after launch, and went back to Guild Wars. Came back to AO about 4-5 months later.

Left AO to play City of Heroes again. Stayed for 3 months until Paragon Studios shut it down. Shortly after that, played GW2 for about 9 months. Came back in 2013.

A computer malfunction took me out of anything MMO for several months in 2013. Replaced it and came back in January.

So, off and on for a while. I always seem to come back, but boredom strikes me so easily now because everything I liked about this game has been reduced to multiboxed content, and cash farming. Tower wars has turned into a fart joke to me since LE. TL5 stuff boomed and then crashed when all those 'features' were discovered, and s10 was nerfed. Engine promises. Cash shops. Unfinished content. I could go on but the only thing that actually keeps me coming back lately is morbid curiosity.

[ultion]

I dunno, I was a total noob for the first 3 months of playing this game I can always log my first char, who still exists, and let people marvel at his absurdity

Post an auno config?

[Mastablasta]

Post an auno config?

Could do later. It is just sad that he has been reconfigured from the original dual-shotgun wielding version...

[Vinele]

A bunch. I'v been on and off this game so much I lost track of how many times.

[Malachii]

Didn't think it would happen, but it does. Have a lot of history and experiences both in and through Rubi-Ka and the AO platform.

But I have a cup of tea brewing... looking over my old account details and recognising a fair few names on the forums which prompts me to do the following:

"AaahaaaaaaaaAAAAAaa... I ... think I remember them!" Then the kettle clicks and I am away! Whoop whoop!

[Leetlover]

Never quite quitted AO, just been on long breaks at a time.

[jorricane]

4 times. 2 breaks, and 2 actual "delete toons and give away stuffs" times to try and curb the urge to come back. Didn't work.