Hackings cured my Maple addiction

Over the past year, I can't say I'm particularly proud of the amount of time I've spent on this game. It started off rather innocuously, starting off a few characters, slowly growing into a class that I rather enjoyed, buying some nx here and there to supplement the experience. Eventually, though, it grew slightly out of hand, training till late hours, logging in even when I had nothing to do just to find something to do, constantly obsessing over my equips, what to upgrade next, etc, etc. You know, the usual MMO addict stuff. I can't say it hurt my grades in any serious way, but it really didn't help. I knew it was bad when I was choosing to play over going out, reconnecting with friends, but I went on regardless.

But in all that time, all the while knowing that it was a large time-sink, something someone in college shouldn't really care so much about, I still was able to enjoy the time I spent, whether it was the fun in bossing with friends, getting a rare drop, getting one more level. In other words, it was a rare sort of accomplishment, one not so readily found in real life. Sure, it's just a stupid virtual game, but I truly felt invested in it, where it basically consumed my spare thoughts.

Somehow, though, these recent hackings have changed all that. With the knowledge that many have been affected, including several regulars to this site, the entire situation seems to have hit closer to home than any other instances of "hackings" in the past. No longer do I have any semblance of control over my character, but am subject to the whims of some person out there who, among millions of accounts, could find mine and strip it of all its value, reducing me to absolutely nothing. Sure, I'd still have a high-level character to build me back up, but what would be the point? To regain what I had would take up more time than I'd be willing to invest back into the game. It's not so much that I care that much about the numbers on my screen, but that what I have took no small amount of effort on my part. To have even the possibility of it all taken in a flash feels, well, disheartening, to say the least. I can say with certainty that it has permanently removed my temptation to ever buy NX again.

So, I think I can finally say that my Maple addiction is broken. I no longer feel the desire to log in and train, to bosshunt, to merchant, or do anything, really, except log in for bossruns. It's not so much that I've quit, but that it doesn't seem worth it to try progressing any further. What I have now is what I have, and I can say I'm satisfied with that. If someone does happen to hack me, so be it. It'll be one more reason to finally quit.

tl:dr Hackings make me less likely to want to play

Having lost nearly half of what i have so dedicatedly worked to gain in the last 4 years i can echo the sentiments of being disheartened. I hate that some little screwball took it all away and i can't do anything about it. Though I do still log in to train and progress, i do it very guardedly, I stay logged into my 2 accounts at all times (kinda making me nervous not being logged in even though its patch time) and hope the "hole in the ship" gets repaired soon. If the hacking does progress into one or both of my main accounts i'm completely done with maple. If we get an all clear, or atleast no more reports of hackings happening everyday, i may seriously think about rebuilding but as for now i'm just guarded and reserved about maple in general and am having fun training my aran up to 70 the old fashioned way.

perhaps this hacker is working with a divine intent, or what some could consider a divine intent; everyone has always complained about nexon and their lackluster quality of service. perhaps this hacker is trying to work his magic to convince people to find another game to play that isnt run by a company whose sole intent is to make as much money as possible by making the userbase afraid at all times for the items and time they so desperately put into the game. sure eventually he/she will be found and punished, but the damage i feel has already been done, and it cannot be healed with any length of time.

at least you became aware of your addiction from it, so thats a plus id say.

The hacker will set you FREE.

When I played GMS, I woke up one day logged in, read my chat, got fed up, and logged out forever...(till I started playing JMS which at least has some educational Value with learning and communicating in Japanese)