How Often Do You Use Guides When Gaming?

[burninmylight]

I used to use them religiously back in the day, when the contemporary game design of the time allowed for much more miss-able content, was less likely to have a good New Game+ system (or have one at all), or locked progression behind things that required help like obtuse puzzles, complicated dungeons and tough bosses/stages.

Modern game design is significantly more player friendly and less obtuse/frustrating. Items/scenes/characters are less likely to be permanently miss-able without at least hinting or flat out telling you first, most long story-driven games have a way to help you recap the events if you left for a while and an arrow telling you which way to go, and tough fights are often reserved for after the main story or walled off as optional content instead of being a giant gatekeeper that you have to overcome to continue.

Because of that, I rarely ever touch a guide until I get pretty deep into a game, unless there's some complex side content that requires more than a casual touch to master, like breeding Pokemon for ideal IVs, or farming the perfect chocobos in Final Fantasy VII, or finding that ultra rare drop from that rare monster needed to make the Infinity Sword in whatever RPG I'm playing. I enjoy discovering things organically moreso than having my hand held at every step along the way.

I've also had to take this path because I'm naturally obsessive/compulsive, and I'd find myself stressing over doing things "the right way". I have to tell myself to do well, but don't try to be perfect. Guides put me in danger of falling off of the wagon, lol.