Author: Stargrace

It comes as a surprise (at least to me) that I’ve never managed to reach 250 aa (alternate advancement) on any one of my characters. The reason behind this is quite simple, I have 12 characters and I’m constantly switching between them all instead of focusing. Not to mention that 7 month break I just took. I’ve settled on a main (more or less), my defiler. She is currently sitting at 228 aa, and I’ve taken it upon myself to finally max that out. My reasoning is simple – when the next expansion comes in February I don’t want to still be working towards this expansions current cap.

While I technically could simple grind out these points via combat experience transferred into aa, I’ve decided I’d rather quest my way there and work on a few achievements at the same time. I’m attempting to complete the quest achievements for all of the shattered lands zones. Pictured above is Ellithia (the defiler on Oasis) hanging out in Antonica while I try to contemplate the prospect of doing 50 quests within the zone. I didn’t even know Antonica HAD 50 quests.

That’s the problem with the older zones. While Darklight woods, Halas, and Greater Faydark are all teaming with quests and reaching their objectives is quite easy, Antonica and Commonlands haven’t been revamped in quite some time. The quest rewards are sub par, and knowing where to go to even get quests can be a hassle.

Still, there must be at least 50 quests for me to do, or else it wouldn’t be an achievement, right? I’m looking forward to the challenge. I find it slightly amusing that I need 50 quests in Antonica where quests are sparse, but I only needed 10 quests in the Overrealm (TT, Barren Sky, Bone Mire) which has recently received an influx of new quests. I also only need 20 quests in Everfrost which was revamped not too long ago. Ah well. Hopefully it doesn’t take me too long to complete them. We’ll just have to see.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

I picked up a pair of new pants for the defiler this week and needed a few more seals in order to purchase a red adornment fr them. I was invited along to clear trash and easy named in Perah’Celsis’ Abominable Laboratory, other wise known as labs. One thing became vividly clear to me. I actually miss raiding. I miss working together in a team of 23 other players to take down a goal that is “larger than life.”

The problem with raiding is that I simply don’t have the time to devote to it. After two hours of doing the same thing, I get bored. I can’t stay up late every night working on an encounter and some nights I simply don’t want to log in at all. As a raider these things are expected of you, because if you don’t show up and do your part you’re letting down 23 other people.

It was a lot of fun none the less. Maybe I’ll get back into raiding sooner or later, but for now, I’ll just have to be content to watch from the sidelines.

Here’s the problem with adding pvp to a game that’s (mostly) centered around pve. No matter how hard you try, you’re going to create some unbalance. Yesterday I took my 39 and set out to complete a number of battlegrounds. I always queue for the first one available, and I was eager to earn enough tokens to purchase a new piece of gear or two. After running a handful of zones I decided that I work far better trying to AVOID the onslaught of opposing players then I do being smack dab in the middle of the action. I decided to betray the 39 assassin to a ranger. By that time I had already purchased the pvp dagger and was regretting not picking the bow – but in the end that worked out alright.

See, when you’re trying to AVOID the opposite team, distance is everything. Keeping them away from you, in other words. I picked up Longarm which happens to be a level 39 bow that drops in DFC (legendary) from the final named. The range on this bow (unlike any other bow of its level) is 50 meters. Add the ranger aa that grants you another 15m, and you’re able to pick off players from an astounding distance away.

My foes? Those scouts who fight in close proximity (you know who I’m talking about, assassins), enchanters (breaking my own mez is difficult to do if I’m not getting hit) and those fighters who like to come up behind me and kick me off of whatever platform I happen to be standing on.

The down side? There are a billion and 11 rangers currently in battlegrounds at any one time. I had one group for Gears of Klak’anon that was composed of four rangers a bard and a summoner. Yes, I’m just another one of those flavour of the month characters but it’s quite fun. I’m not sure why but things are MUCH easier to hit with the ranger then they are with my necromancer. I have a 39 necromancer who has far more aa, better gear, and better spells (fully mastered) where as the ranger was missing a few slots (charms, and an earring) and is still sporting three expert spells. On the necromancer all I’d get is resist after resist, on the ranger I can actually see myself, you know, HITTING the players.

Gears is my least favorite battleground. It’s 6 vs. 6 in a very small room with a gear in the center on the floor that can be collected, and ramps over head, as well as some crates and lifts for players to duck behind and jump on to. The object of the game is to maintain possession of the gear, the longer you hold it the more points you earn. First team to 700 points wins. It’s a popular BG because it’s quick, and whether you win or lose you’ll go home earning yourself at least 1 token.

Some easy tips for when you’re getting started:

– Know your role. Groups that just randomly knock down whatever is in their way have a much harder time winning then the group that goes in knowing what their job is. Healers are to protect whomever has the gear and keep themselves alive (I always feel bad for healers, they’re the first targets in a well played BG). If you’re a tank, taunt, taunt, taunt and don’t ever stop taunting. That guy who is targeting your healer? Taunt him to attack you. That ranger in the rafters picking off your players? Taunt them. If you’re a ranged player try to do just that, stay out of sight and keep ranged. Pick off the healer first, and then go for the rest of the team. I always enjoy distracting the opposite team, if a member is concentrating on killing you it means that they’re not killing your healer, or whomever has the gear. The more people chasing you around in circles, the better.

– Don’t be afraid to open voice chat in group and plan out your next move. Don’t be afraid to talk in group! Unless you’re entering with a pre-made group chances are you’ve never seen these players before and communication is always key.

– Don’t be afraid to lose. Some times it doesn’t matter how good of a player you are, your team gets pitted against the uber of the uber and no amount of good game play can over come that. Just keep trying to get as many kills as you can and hope for a lucky break.

– Show up prepared! Just like you would for any raid, the better geared and prepared you are, the better your chances are at surviving. This means potions, proper gear, spells, etc.

Have fun! One of the more interesting aspects of BG play is that the person who you just spent 10 minutes killing over and over again (or who may have been targeting you, over and over again) may end up being on your team next round. It’s great to see that there are no hard feelings (that I have seen at least) and people are really “all for the team” when it comes to playing. I’m not sure if the level 90 battlegrounds give off the same feeling, but so far it’s been pretty fun.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

With my interest renewed in EQ2 I decided I would spend a little more time checking out battlegrounds. There are still only three available to me, a 6 vs. 6, 12 vs. 12 and 24 vs. 24. My favorite so far is the 6 vs. 6 as a healer, the 12 vs. 12 as a necromancer. I personally see a few flaws in the system that make it a little less than enjoyable – but they’re not exactly major. I find myself wishing that there was some sort of gear rating system and that it would organize battles based on this. My reasoning? If you’re new to battlegrounds or on a non-pvp server and come up against those who have been completely geared out in toughness (the pvp stat) gear, you’re going to have an amazingly difficult time landing anything on them or taking them down. The battlegrounds have very little to do with character skill and everything to do with gear and spell/combat art strengths. Hopefully you’re teamed up with others who are sporting some of this gear so that you’re not immediately obliterated but this certainly won’t happen every fight.

I also find that healers are at a slight advantage because they work off of wisdom as their main stat. Why is this an advantage? Because wisdom is also the stat that boosts resists, making it harder to get hit with things. My defiler did amazingly well in battlegrounds, and I partook in enough of them yesterday to purchase a new fabled forearm that was a huge upgrade over my regular gear. While there is one component that only works during PvP (3% potency) the main focus (overloaded heals) works during regular spell casting. As a non-raider this gear is fantastic, and I’m looking forward to obtaining more of it.

Another interesting tid bit – I had an easier time getting into battlegrounds on my level 39 necromancer then my 90 defiler. I had quite a wait for the end game BG’s to become available, where as there was no wait at all for the necromancer. Since both characters obtain the same rewards I thought perhaps it would be more fun to play through on my lower level character and then just pass the tokens to my main. Turns out the opposite was true because my necromancer was getting smushed into the ground pretty bad, but I did have a good time.

Despite the fact that I don’t enjoy hack and slash as a constant in any game – I DO enjoy PvP a great deal. After yesterdays endeavors I’m thinking about making a character on Nagafen (EQ2’s PvP server) just to try it out. I do have that one open character slot looking at me longingly.

Oh yes. The screen shot above. It was an effect from a cloak I had claimed and it said it would cover me in dark energy. Obviously, this energy is located at the bottom of some vast sea because I came out looking like a barnacle covered defiler. The little tendrils even  sway and move in some imaginary breeze.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!