Destiny will always have a place in my heart. In fact, it will hold such a tremendous spot in my heart that I had to write this out to confirm my own beliefs that I made the right decision. Prison of Elders changed me in Destiny, and the way I see it, for the better. I was already spending way too much time playing this game. So much so that relationships started to suffer, college began to suffer, and so did my life in general. And I really wasn't as hardcore as some of the HARDCORE players. So I know there are others out there whose lives are being greatly affected by this game and might not even realize it. And HoW did nothing to change that... in fact it only added to the growing problem. It is no longer possible to sit down for a half an hour and adequately enjoy the content that Destiny has to offer. I was prescribed Klonopin a couple of years ago and my doctor had me on it 3x/day. Let me tell you now kids, DON'T EVER TAKE THIS DRUG, OR ANY OTHER ANTI ANXIETY MEDICATION FOR THAT MATTER (Xanax, Ativan, Valium, Ambien, etc). It consumed me and made me a person I don't like to admit existed and the withdrawal/comedown was the worst thing I've ever experienced. This is where Destiny came in. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't study. When I was getting off of this med with doctor supervision I could do NOTHING for myself. I was hopeless. You can never know the misery of benzo withdrawal until you experience it. It is truly hell on earth. But... Destiny saved me (along with my Jesus). But Destiny made me capable of escaping into a world over which I had (almost) complete control. And it was glorious. By the end of my time here, I was able to solo Crota and in general do things in a game that I have never done before. This was a truly magical experience that will live with me and be a part of me until I die. But this time had to come to an end eventually. Spending hours on end staring at a TV screen with a controller in hand is healthy for no one, gaming or not. I'm not saying everyone who plays Destiny is a worthless human being, because you aren't. But I would venture to say the people that consistently spend the amount of time I did playing Destiny and don't bat an eye probably have a problem on their hands. It became a very big problem indeed. And if you're questioning if you might be addicted to something (even a game), you probably are. All that to say this. I questioned myself for a week before I took this drastic step. "Do I really want to do this? Will I regret it? How sad will I be to lose all this work I put in?" But at the end of the day, all the time I spent playing Destiny was worth $13. That's what I got for trading it in at GameStop. In life, nothing about this game means ANYTHING. For anyone other than the 1% or less of streamers that actually make money from playing this game, this is a complete and utter waste of time. If you are not a child, teenager, or an adult with a serious mental/physical condition, there is no reason for you to have THREE maxed characters in this game. Undoubtedly other parts of your life are suffering to make room for this time sucking hog of a game and you will realize it one day when this game is gone. If you are using this as a form of therapy, more power to you! It made my experience withdrawing from Klonopin so much easier and I would never take back the time I invested in this game, but I will also never invest another second playing it. Because it isn't an investment, it's a liability. It does nothing but take time and money straight out of your hands. I am not saying every casual is not a casual. But I'm saying it became no longer possible for me to exist in this community as a "casual." I hope you all can respect this decision and even agree with me on some of my points. I don't need to "git gud scrub." I need to "git my life back." Edit: I already could cry (and have shed a tear here and there) over the responses. Thanks for the love and positive posts. I really expected to get more hate than I have but the outpouring of support only confirms my decision. This type of thing makes me want to keep this forum bookmarked on my computer until no one is left to talk to. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Edit 2: Honestly, if nothing else came out of this, the fact that we are talking about how addictive this game is is more than enough for me. That was my only intention. If ONE other person would read what I said and consider their own playtime/playstyle and see if it might be consuming them more than they had intended. I'm glad we can all be honest and talk like grown men about this serious issue. Video games, while not destructive in nature, can have this effect on people. And we can't control it. So at least talking about it and thinking about it allows us to make educated decisions about games and our lives. I for one, other than COD and Battlefield (and couch co-op with the wifey of course :)) will be playing single player games from now on. I lost the reason I used to play games... and that was to escape and be with myself for a while. Destiny's social aspect is what makes Destiny well....Destiny. And it's great for that. I wish I could handle it in small doses. I just couldn't log on anymore without wanting to do 10 million different things....and then spending 10 million hours deciding what one of the 10 million things I wanted to do.