  In this work, we use player behavior during the closed beta test of the
MMORPG ArcheAge as a proxy for an extreme situation: at the end of the closed
beta test, all user data is deleted, and thus, the outcome (or penalty) of
players' in-game behaviors in the last few days loses its meaning. We analyzed
270 million records of player behavior in the 4th closed beta test of ArcheAge.
Our findings show that there are no apparent pandemic behavior changes, but
some outliers were more likely to exhibit anti-social behavior (e.g., player
killing). We also found that contrary to the reassuring adage that "Even if I
knew the world would go to pieces tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree,"
players abandoned character progression, showing a drastic decrease in quest
completion, leveling, and ability changes at the end of the beta test.
