World of Warcraft: Midnight is getting close, and most players are already in that familiar pre-expansion phase. You log in, but not necessarily to progress. Just to do something.
That makes this older WoW story feel surprisingly relevant again.
One player, Neuport, spent over 14,000 hours almost entirely fishing, catching close to a million fish over the years, according to a GamesRadar interview. The numbers sound a bit absurd, but the community reaction was not disbelief. It was recognition.
Not Every Player Chases Power
For a lot of people, WoW stops being about progression long before they stop logging in.
Some collect mounts. Some hunt achievements. Some clear old raids every week for appearances they will never replace. And then there are players who just fish.
In this case, the motivation was simple: enjoyment, habit, and the feeling that after investing so much time, stopping no longer felt possible. As he put it, someone had to keep doing it.
WoW Is a Game That Lets You Drift
World of Warcraft has always been unusually good at supporting all kinds of playstyles. You can ignore the main progression path for months and still feel like you are playing the game properly.
Fishing shows this best. It is simple, slow, and detached from player power, yet players build routines around it.
Years ago, entire fishing communities existed around it, and dedicated players became recognizable names across servers. Not raid leaders or gladiators, but specialists known for one oddly specific thing.
The Endgame Players Make Themselves
The discussion quickly moved away from the number of fish. Instead, players recognized the mindset behind it. Many pointed out that WoW has always supported very personal goals. Not progression systems, but routines players liked to build for themselves over the years.
Things you keep doing even when rewards are not on the table. Items you never delete. Small habits that turn into part of your daily login routine, all that.
None of these are official endgame systems, yet they keep people playing for years.
When Progress Stops Being The Point
WoW lasts because it supports routine as much as achievement.
At some point, many players stop asking what they are supposed to do and start asking what they feel like doing that day. Especially late in an expansion cycle, that freedom becomes the game.
And sometimes, the answer is just fishing.
You can find more World of Warcraft stories and updates on our main WoW news hub.
