Back in December, MOP’s Justin wrote an article about being excited to play World of Warcraft Dragonflight, and in that piece, he wondered whether he was merely experiencing the effects of “expansion endorphins,” a phrase he says he’s heard before – but I never have, so you know we gotta talk about this.
Endorphins, I’m sure you already know, are just happy hormones that release and flood your brain with feelings of joy (and also mask feelings of pain). Maybe D.O.S.E. hormones like dopamine and serotonin are closer than endorphins in this particular case, but you probably know exactly what he means: Some folks get a little bit of happy buzz from getting some new-new in the form of fresh MMO content. It can be extremely enjoyable and swat away doubts about a game and your longevity in it, and it can also cause you to overbuy stuff in the game and defend doofy design decisions.
Do you experience MMO “expansion endorphins”? What’s the most recent release that generated them for you?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
