How to avoid boredom

[Tinker]

I realise that this post probably says more about me and my mental state than it does about urw, but I am looking for some constructive advice.

When I started playing a couple of years ago I died quite regularly, mainly due to stupidity as I learned what was important to survival. Then I started a real character, spent the end of winter months in an out of the way spot, mainly fishing, trapping and burning a lot of firewood. In the spring I explored to find a better site for a homestead. I found a site where I could net fish and set some trap lines and there was sufficient growing plants so food security was not a problem, and I set about clearing some land for crops and building a modest log cabin. This was where boredom set in, it was like going to work everyday, something irl that I gave up decades ago. I found it harder everyday to actually load the savegame and continue.

I tried starting several dozen new characters, with different conditions, usually getting harder to play, in case the challenges could overcome the boredom. Usually after 3 months I have reached the point of food security, decide I have won the game, then commit suicide by swimming naked as far as I can. Obviously I am missing something or I am not suited to this particular game.

Any advice would be welcomed.

[ineedcords]

<snip>
I tried starting several dozen new characters, with different conditions, usually getting harder to play, in case the challenges could overcome the boredom. Usually after 3 months I have reached the point of food security, decide I have won the game<snip>

I do not know if it will keep your interest but starting a mega project (mega-farming/building/Njerp-eradication/...) could be one way to add another several hundred hours to the lifetime of a particular character. With one character, I started building shelter+cellar network at one day walking distance from each other throughout the map and marked each such location with a bookmark on the map. This does take quite a while. Perhaps try a few mega project ideas and see if any of them keep your interest.

My natural instinct is to pull people to UrW and not push them away from it but here is an exception: if no mega project (or challenge) keeps your interest, at this point I would suggest a different activity (or a different game). Miss UrW, come back to UrW, enjoy UrW again.

[JP_Finn]

Visit every village and settlement.

Collect every type of masterwork knife and axe.

Run organized raids to Njerpez land.

Grandmaster (non-physical; climbing, swimming, stealth, skiing) skill. (No spoofing, no throwing swords, et cetera)

Play as Koivulainen or islander, in anywhere a random start places you.

I need rods(ineedcords) cabin network is a good project. I often do few winter locations and few summer locations. With stocked shelters on the way.

[ineedcords]

<snip>
I need rods cabin network is a good project. I often do few winter locations and few summer locations. With stocked shelters on the way.

hey now! I don't need rods   I need cords! or more like needed cords... for a long time...

but thanks to Sami & version 3.60 ever since late 2019 I am able to address all my tying equipment needs quite easily, even with a zero-day brand new character! kept the name as a testament to the positive evolution of the game.

[JP_Finn]

That’s what auto spellchecker renamed you as.... now it’s fishing rods and hooks? 

[Tinker]

Thanks for the suggestions, apart from Njerp-eradication, I do not do combat other than food hunting.

I will try some of the other things, but they do sound like working for a living. I think my problem is specific to urw, I have another character that I have played for 20 years in another game but I am reaching the limit there, the world is about 10 times urw and I know everyehere there and challenges are running out.

I may resurrect Project Darwin, my own survival game I started a few years ago, the ammount of work was a bit overwhelming then but I have more time now.

[trilobiitti]

The most recent character I started has this plan. Northwest of Driik, I'll make a small starter cabin on the coast. Once I'm equipped enough, I'll map out the archipelago and locate the most distant and remote island and build my actual fort there. Is it practical or does it make any sense? Only one way to find out.

[Shadowdweller]

Boredom has always been my greatest foe in urw. What works for me (temporarily): Come up with in-game goals and work toward them.  Build a mansion with a herd of cattle. Go on a hunting or fishing trip somewhere else - build a summer kota or cabin there. Hunt seals in the ocean; or build a spare home near rapids. Visit the archipelago. Surviving the through winter is a decent (non-combat) challenge. Albeit a slow-paced one.

[Plotinus]

I've taken to moving to a new region every center month, taking with me what I can carry, leaving much behind.

[Tinker]

I think I have been making a mistake, I have been trying to maintain interest by starting with harder starting settings. HHA was not hard enough so I moved onto the challenge and all this means hard work just to survive, no time for projects.

I am now trying some easier starts, just having a knife and an axe will be a great improvement and as I am not so concentrated on survival I can try out some of your suggestions.

Thanks for the ideas.

[PALU]

I don't think there's a conflict between a hard start and maintaining long term interest. The key issue with having both is that there's a transition from the day-to-day survival of the start to the long term planning of the future, and you need to mentally switch gear, which has taken me some time to do when there's no clear border (starting with nothing on an island way out in the archipelago and then get to the mainland makes a rather clear transition, but other cases are more gradual).