Sometimes things get tough and we wait it out. Sometimes, however, you can't see the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.

For someone with VD status, an orgbix, a Censer, maximum CR/GR, etc, the decision to make a move can be incredibly painful. I'm curious to hear from others, who might be in a similar situation, what they would do. How bad do things have to get before you give up your friends, skills, and fringe benefits, let's call them, to move to a new home?

I love my guild, and all the people (save for one or two), to death, but some days it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps. I'm a bit bored, but mostly upset with certain events and certain people. Either I need a reality check and a good hiatus or I need to move Iasmos some place more accepting and fun again.

Advice?

You could instead just try alting a little bit for a break and downtime. If you get to the point where you like the alt's organization more than your main's, at that point consider moving.

I wouldn't just up and move without having done some investigation first, there are a lot of people who have moved and then realized they preferred where they came from... if you end up in that boat, you have things that you just can't recover / takes a while to.

I know you've said that you don't like alting before, but it will let you get a new fresh feeling in some ways.

So; my vote is for alt or hiatus, instead of moving, if you feel like you need a break from Serenwilde.

I've got a couple semi-active alts now, but it's so hard to give up all the skills, artifacts, etc.

Trust me, I know how you feel. I can't play any other IRE or an alt just because I feel like I'm giving up so much. However, in your case you are planning to give up a number of those skills / artifacts / etc. anyways (either by hiatus or leaving), so... it's a way to kind of do what you're looking for.

I have the same issue some days. I love Serenwilde, but hate the majority of people in it. I keep telling myself I've been here since all but day one, I'll wait them out.

The question you need to ask is, do you think the other org will provide you with more fun or will you just run in to a repeat of what is grinding you down in Serenwilde. An alt can help a little but on the other hand alts tend to have a low level impact while your main will be a lighting rod for such conflict.

I'd really advice a hiatus. And after that you can still opt for an alt/moving/hostile take over of serenwilde if the situation didn't improve for you.

Take a break. It's summer, and I'm sure you can find something to do. Breaks are very clarifying. Do you miss the game after only a few days? Then you probably still have something to play for. Nothing felt even after several weeks? Yeah, probably ready to quit / move.

Alts are good to check orgs out, but may also show you that what once felt like a long hard road, is not so long and hard with your present-day knowledge applied. Leveling to 80 took me forever, now I can get an alt there with minimal effort. Same with learning, I put a lot of lessons in stupid stuff, now I know how to optimize it better.

You can alt in the other IRE titles too, might offer some perspective on Lusternia <> other games.

Personally, I'm stupidly stubborn, I've stuck with Magnagora and the Nihilists through plenty of good and bad times. Ultimately, at this moment, I feel it was worth it. Eventually I'd probably like to play an alt or two in different guilds, as their skills / RP interests me, but staying with a guild for so long and see it progress has been interesting too. Changing to something that is a better bashing class for example would likely have me had trans in many more skills, but eh, I don't think in the end I do that badly. As for you case, all I can say is that there will always be a drawback, or something bad no matter where you go. Unless the urge is so strong that you really must have a change of scenery, I'd stick with it some more. Forget about the bad, put the suckers on snub or just fail to care, or if that is not possible handle the situation swiftly, and just focus on all the good things. At the end of the day, you have the right just as much as those ruining things for you to step up and make changes. If it all goes to hell, well, at least you can say you tried, instead of running away, and then you probably will not feel as bad about the eventual moving either

It's difficult to take a break, too. I always feel like I'm letting people down by not being there for them, not helping to strengthen the commune and fight off our enemies. And, like you say, leaving a place does not help the problems go away and going somewhere new will not be without its own set of problems. I've endured a lot of trials in Serenwilde, always trusting that things would get better, but lately it's been a comedy of errors and it's really starting to get to me.

So, for now, I'm trying the alt thing. We'll see if that pans out at all. Ultimately, I'll likely end up retiring or moving just to keep the game interesting and fun for me. That's got to be one of the best ways to find out who are your true friends, too.

When it comes to that, you do need a break. It's alright to feel a sense of duty and want to help out, but when you start feeling chained down and guilted into it, you're in too deep. Pull out for a bit, get a breather, dive back in for a more healthy swim.

When I've been upset with an org (in Arel's history: Mag, Glom, and Hallifax), I just took a week or two off to help get a perspective on things in the game and how you feel about an org. It might help you realize that you really do like Seren and want to stick with it when you're not faced by idiots every day. You might also decide that it might be time for a fresh start and move to one of the places where you've tried with an alt.

Definitely make sure you try with an alt first, because when I moved from Glom to Seren without trying it out first, I hated it after a really short time and ended up moving back to Glom. It sounds like you just need some time to think.

Alts, to me, are just a cute reminder that I should appreciate all the cool stuff I own. It takes a while to really feel out a guild/city/commune with an alt, even longer for the skills. Not that it's not worth a go, but I have difficulty with the patience needed to get that far.

Yeah, but you get an idea of conduct on CT and maybe see a few glimpses of guild RP at a ritual or meeting or something. It's not a 100% educational lesson, but you can pick up a bit of atmosphere... and if you alt in Hallifax, I promise usually we have more people around, this last week has just been a slump.

I felt that way at first as well. But when I found something interesting to be doing that was specific to the character (rather than just being "not my primary") it tended to just vanish. I'd periodically get reminded of it when I couldn't do something I had come to take for granted, sure, but the more I focused on what the alt is instead of what it isn't, the more that factor tended to disappear. That might not be the same for you, but you might just need to give it a little more time and focus.

When I started feeling like that, I took a break from regular play. A short one, mind you. Just a few days, and I still popped on here and there. I'm finding myself not as interested in Lusternia as I was, mostly due to the fact that I've got a lot going on in my own life right now. I'm also alting a lot more. However, when I finally did get back to playing Aeral, particularly today, it was a lot more fun. I still have been switch on and off of my alts and I'm not playing Aeral as much, but I am having a lot more fun now than I have since I got demigod.

Being away can be a way to help people too. They might not see it, but if you're demotivated, or on a short fuse, you will not help them as you normally would. Then going away a few days to regenerate can really have a great effect.

Thank you, all, for the suggestions and support. This has been helpful indeed.

I had been in Serenwilde for years. I've tried moving to Celest and came back after a few months.

Then I moved to Mag and never looked back. Not one second thought. Not even one.

Switching orgs can be done quite easily! (and I'm not necessarily talking about Magnagora here)

I recall having the same issue several years ago and moved to Serenwilde. It was entertaining and new for a while, and while I certainly enjoyed insanely strong moon skills, I ended up coming back to Magnagora for the atmosphere. Find something that makes you enjoy yourself and the rest will fall into place, whatever that ends up meaning for you. VD, orgbix, censer, skills, friends- trivial compared to you enjoying the game. You can keep friends (or find out who is really your friend to begin with), get back orgbix without too much trouble, get new shiny skills, etc after a move. It's not as painful as you think (particularly for one such as you who would not be burdened with lesson loss type worries).

Perhaps you want to get more heavily into combat? Being around different people can help you considerably.

Frankly, relieving boredom is much more important than CR/GR, orgbixes, etc.

I left SW back when it was doing relatively...well, shall we say mostly because I wanted to breathe more life into my Lusternia experience. If you're feeling the same way, just take the plunge. Honestly, if you realize x org is not the place to be, you can always come back.

Incidentally, IMO, moving to another org that isn't doing quite so well as your former org and then striving to help raise it up gives a pretty nice and warm feeling, along with the chance to play with new skills and get to know people. Plus it boosts the ego. A lot.

If you did decide to move Iasmos, and it does turn out you feel that that was the wrong decision, I can see you easily being let back in. You're fairly dedicated and a good addition to any org. This isn't to say do it willy nilly, I like taking breaks or alting when things get too dull for me, just to say that if you feel you've made a mistake or it wasn't what you were looking for, you can reverse it.