I would like to know different perspectives of what is "enjoying WoW" mean to you.
It is easy to be caught up in the FOMO (Fear of missing out) and "the next big thing" chase, especially now that WoW is such a big game, not to mention the whole Retail vs. Classic debate.
Personally, I gave up on Classic as it required too much investment from me, coupled by it’s uncertain future (i.e. will there be a continuous expansion release with my character porting over from one to another?) But I know Retail is where the future is, so I decided to continue growing my plethora of characters there. Recently started a Priest and while I liked the whole leveling/fresh start process, now I barely log in, knowing I have to grind through content that I have seen a bunch of times (and I am not even a veteran player as some might say). I boosted my Priest right up to 110 and I can’t wait to ding that 120 so I can do all the things I want to, but I keep finding it harder and harder to “enjoy” the grind. I guess that I have a short attention span and get tired of the same things pretty fast, I am probably an altoholic and can’t have a “main”. While BfA is indeed not my favorite expansion it has some aspects that are the best the series has seen so far (music, art department, animations and atmosphere of the new zones). I really like single player games too and I find it harder and harder to keep up with all my close-to-the-heart franchises, but I keep coming back to WoW every now and then (thanks “no long term commitment game time token!”).
Anyways I am rambling. What is your anchor as in "finding something that makes you want to play this game and actually enjoying it in your own pace"? That pace could be fast as the content releases or slow as "I have no priority finishing the war campaign, I want to fish right now" pace. I guess people have different reasons to play the game (raiding, guild, story, PvP, etc.) I also keep goals like "get back to old zones and do some questing" or "now I am just gonna take in the scenery and live a few hours in this world, see what it has to offer with no particular goal in mind", but I also get sidetracked by World Quests, Rep. grinds, or etc. getting burned out by the time I could actually enjoy the simpler things.
Hope my question can be understood! Thanks for your thoughts!
TLDR: What is that something that brings you back to the game and how do you allow yourself to play at your desired pace, not minding that you may still have "unfinished content"?
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I’m having fun. If I don’t I’ll do something else.
I’m also, and that’s a huge part of me having fun, part of a decidedly outrageously hilarious guild.
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the entire world is too well-built lorewise (of course there’s some bad stuff, lol - but there’s no game that’s as rich as WoW) so even if I hate every second I spend in this game knowing nothing I do will matter in a few months or my entire spec could be just deleted because Ion got bored and people can’t handle 2 debuffs - the lore is still nice and even bfa’s lore is very nice much to the demise of the people who hate on it because they’ve only seen videos on youtube or watch asmon and take every word he says as a fact
tldr: lore
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Island expeditions will not farm themselves.
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It was always end game content for me! Now for whatever reason, with my limited time available I find myself really enjoying all the classes via alts! I currently have a resto shaman, prot paladin and as of last night, a wee 26 fury warrior, dual wielding double crusader and boy do i feel strong :D:D (he’s also transmogged chestpiece less and he is beautiful, in every sense of the word)
I’ve really enjoyed the BGs as i’m leveling too, even if i’m rather rusty 
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I enjoy raiding, specifically CE raiding. I don’t enjoy the grind required for me to raid at that level, but I enjoy the raiding itself. In my non-raid hours, if I feel like playing WoW, I quite like farming stuff, whether it’s pets, mounts, transmogs or achievements. If I don’t feel like playing WoW, I just won’t and go do something else.
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He has a point, I am beautiful
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Right at this moment in time it’s grinding for the bee mount.
A few months ago it was simply completing story.
Sometimes it’s an event like hallows end (I do enjoy dropping stink bombs on the horde)
I do like grinding pointlessly for stuff, whether it’s rep for allied races, mobs for a transmog piece, old dungeons for transmog, collecting herbs for recipes for a certain mount. If it’s repetitive and takes my mind off real life then I’m happy
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Since launch it’s been classic, it’s been great fun but I hit 60 on day 7 and been clearing MC for the past 5 weeks so starting to run out of exciting things to do.
On bfa I got that all the things addon and it has been a ton of fun trying to collect everything in the game. Made a resto druid alt too that I’ll probably keep playing on when I’m bored of classic.
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I’m sorry, but I would like to keep that private.
Fresh starts and competition (on HC level, I don’t have time for mythic raiding).
I kinda like this “season” approach of BfA (and retail wow as a whole). I consider patches as seasons where basically everyone starts fresh once new content (and especially new raid) hits. Everyone is on the same line. Yes ofc, someone has better gear from previous raid which helps him a bit with a new tier, but thats it. Even if you haven’t played whole expansion this approach gives you a chance to catchup.
I simply like fresh starts. Patch hits, I enjoy progress, I enjoy competing during it with my guildies etc. This “season” I was a little late due to break from WoW (came back about 2 months after 8.2 was live), but I am looking forward for next “season” in a form of 8.3. I don’t care about devaluation of previous gear because I enjoyed it while it was relevant 
Addiction.
It pulls me back once in a while for month or two and then I quit again when I am enough frustrated on current state of game.
And I am back after a while even when I know there are better games and I am no longer happy playing this.
Sadly only method I have figured to get rid of my addiction would be to quit all gaming and going on media forms that don’t support wow, and I don’t want to do that.
Recovering deleted characters and account has been easy.
Getting rid of certain addictive painkillers after long use due accident was easier than getting rid of wow.
Transmog and alts looots and looooooots of alts xD
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Mythic raids, even when doing them casually with 1-2 day schedule. Without raid-events I’d be gone ages ago.
Classic…
Seriously the only reason i give Activision any money right now, didnt have a sub for about half a year before…
Raiding and m+ with friends and whenever i forget how awfull arena is the rare 3v3 games…usually lasts until i queued into a MLD.
My friends and the fun i’m having in m+
Making tangible progress toward the goals I set for myself no matter how insignificant they are.
Farming mats to earn gold and play for free is one of them.
Unlocking the whole PvP appearance through wpvp and unranked PvP is another one
Unlocking new transmog through professions
Or just the concept of joining a BG and carry a group of terrible players to victory, because let’s face it, if any of us (me included of course) were good players we wouldn’t be in unranked BG fighting mid. Even if it’s worthless it’s still nice to end a bg being in the top 3 in dmg, heal, kills and objectives contribution.
Once the circle is broken (ie dead economy, no more progression ect) I often unsub/stop playing until the next content patch or find another way to achieve the previous goals.
Smh selling a few pieces of sinister gear everyday in 8.1 made me play more than the 8.2 concent. At least as long as it lasted
the past couple of years it was definitely mostly the fear of missing out that kept me playing. all those timed availability of certain items and removed stuff made me develop a deep hatred of such things and i now flatout refuse to give in anymore.
i used to be a deeply unhappy completionist.
with those awful legendary drops and mage tower skins in legion i kind of had to accept the fact that i just cant keep up anymore.
since almost all my friends left since legion, i turned to pugs but thats just fun for so long until i get fed up with the toxicity.
tried to find a guild but all advertisements sound the same and im tired of “guild hopping” in order to find “the one”. i seem to fit in absolutely nowhere and thats depressing.
now i play because i enjoy it. and if i dont enjoy it, i play/do something else instead. and i will only do what i want and not because i feel obliged to do so.
i usually do runs of old raids and dungeons for transmog gear, pets, titles, achievements and mounts, play classic or just level an alt in retail. however, i completely gave up on progress raiding or mythic plus. more often than not i play different games than wow but i keep coming back to it because well…wow is kind of my home. so many memories. so much nostalgia. 
I tried Classic and I thoroughly enjoyed losing myself in the nostalgia for a month or so. Sadly I lost the will to live before hitting 60 (58). I can always go back if the mood takes me. Hasn’t so far.
It gave me a whole new appreciation for how the game has moved on though. Coming back to BfA was amazing. The graphics, quality of life, travel, how easy it is to group up for things or dind others, how much the is to do etc.
I tend to do Mythic plus, raid, level alts for heritage, farm mounts, do achievements, get transmog, do things on opposite faction, work on the essences on my main etc.
I can always find stuff to do in Retail. I love the time when i don’t have to AP farm because I actually get to do stuff I want to.
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