The Farmer in the Dell

Farming is one aspect of the game that I’ve never liked. In fact, I think that most people would agree that farming isn’t that fun. Then there are the people that actually enjoy it. (Crazies, all of them.)

My routine is usually to put it off until absolutely necessary, then resignedly farm mats for hours and hours, getting as much as possible; use whatever I’ve farmed until it’s practically out, then just repeat.

Which isn’t the best way to do it. If I could just get in a good routine, farming a little bit every so often instead of hours on end once every few weeks, it would save me headaches, I’m sure of it.  But it just doesn’t seem practical.  Taking an hour out of whatever playtime you have per day, for example, fly around and look for herbs, then just stop?  And do it again tomorrow?  That seems like such a drag.  But I also know that the headaches I get from spending hours circling around Storm Peaks looking for herbs aren’t any fun either.

Do I just not have the right tools?  I don’t use any addons to help me – I know that a while ago everyone swore by Gatherer, and I did try it out.  But I really didn’t like all the yellow dots that littered my map when I didn’t need them.  Has it changed since then, or has Gatherer gone out of style?

Or do I just not have the right mindset?  I’m sure that gold is a motivational factor for most people.  However, what herbs I gather and fish I fish are used solely for Lus and I – I don’t auction them.  Because if I auctioned them, that would mean they run out faster which means I need to farm more often.  (See how that works?  Despite the prospect of gold, I hate farming so much I will forfeit it.)  So, I don’t have money as the motivating factor.  I don’t see the draw of it being time to just mindlessly do something either.

And let’s not even talk about farming rep.  /shudder

How do you handle your farming responsibilities? Do you even have to farm mats?  What makes it bearable to you?