Stargrace

Congratulations, on Everything!

The guild had been sitting at level 39 for a few days now – so close and yet so far to three new amenity. Later in the afternoon, Wpus and I decided we would start to grind writs in order to gain that level finally. Ultann came home from work and logged in to help, and as we were a smidgen away from level 40, Hamal also logged in to help! It was great. Our guild consists of 5 people total, four of us are regulars as Calreth is away during the week for work, so we’re not a large guild (nor do we have any desire to be, there’s a reason we’re this small). Now that we’ve reached level 40, I don’t miss the guild level on Kithicor quite so much. This level opened up a lot to us, including three new amenity, and a new row of guild bank usage.

As for amenity, so far we have:

Recall to guild hall, Druid ports, Shattered lands bell, Broker, Banker, Merchant, a craft supply box and for our three new ones we purchased a rush order writ giver, a fuel merchant, and a mender. I believe we’re going to work on getting the harvesting NPC’s next once we hit 45, and that will put us on par with the guild we left behind. None of us are regretting our decision to move to Antiona Bayle, and while at times it is very bumpy, we seem to be settling in.

Since it is a rare occurrence these days that we’re all on at the same time we decided to take full advantage of it and head to a few instances. First on our list was Evernight Abby. This is an instance that we can easly do with just the four of us, I boxed my coercer and Ultann boxed his inquisitor. Nothing of note dropped, but at least it was a shard to add to the collection. Afterward we decided to head to Ravenscale Repository, which is the most difficult of the three Loping Plains TSO instances. I had never actually been there before, though the others had. This is a zone we can not box in, so we picked up an illusionist and an inquisitor from outside of guild.

The downside to looking for group members, especially for this type of zone is that when Wpus was sending tells to players LFG – most of them replied with “are you going to be able to clear it, because I don’t want to waste my time other wise”. What ever happened to a players sense of adventure? How do you ever get to know what your limits are if you’re not always constantly pushing them? We were exceptionally disappointed with the results from looking for more to add to the group – but at least we found people. We’re not poor players by any means but that doesn’t mean we should have to ‘sell’ ourselves as gamers when we’re simply looking to add two more members to the group.

As it turned out the run was pretty much flawless. We wiped once on the massive encounter that involves a number of named, there’s pretty much nothing at all you can do during that fight (especially since I was playing my mystic) except heal your little heart out. We had the enchanter lock one down, tried to root one in the corner, and took them out in order. The illusionist went down twice but I managed to rez them. Fantastic work by all, and it was a lot of fun. Compared to everyone else, I was VERY under geared on my mystic. The shadowknight (Ultann), assassin (Hamal), inquisitor, and illusionist all had their mythical and were wearing raid gear. My mystic is wearing T2 gear, and her fabled epic, her jewelery is quite poor as well. Those are things I want to work on, but I find it hard. Speaking of which, I am contemplating moving my mystic over to my main account, and closing down my 2nd account. I haven’t really been in the mood to box, and there is nothing else on my 2nd account of note aside from that one mystic. However, my character slots are full on my main account, with all level 80’s. I could get station access to try to open it up, but I’m reluctant to do that. Something to think about in any case.

Tonight will be Venril Sathir on my troubador, and this weekend I’ll be heading to Ward of Elements (my first visit), both of which I am looking forward to (even though VS has been nerfed and is quite easy now). Hopefully I’ll get to take a few screen shots, and post all about it!

Thursday! Only one more day to go. Happy gaming everyone, and see you in Norrath!

Back to Decorating!

Continuing on the trail of ‘not doing too much’ I decided it was well past time I got back into some decorating. When I moved servers from Kithicor to Antonia Bayle a few characters of mine had to change their names – and when the character transfer tokens were first released there were some bugs that prevented homes from moving completely some times or prevented you from entering a home you owned due to a name change. These issues were sorted out with a simple petition, but the items from the homes were typically dumped into my over flow, which means I had to re-decorate. Not exactly a bad thing, since I love decorating (and at least it wasn’t the size of a complete guild hall).

I started out with my baby warden, who also happens to be a sage and one of my role play characters. She lives in big bend, and has a scribe shop set up there where she can sell books and spells to those who are looking for them. She doesn’t have a very fancy home – just the one room inn, but it’s still amazing what you can do with that space.

Some of my favorite items include the T8 ornate ferrite tables when you expand them to their biggest size. That’s what I’ve used as the ceiling / room corners in the screen shot above, creating little nooks and a smaller ‘house’ within the inn room. The walls are the tinker dividers that were rewards for finding those shiny cogs, and at the front I set up a counter for her sales. Missing from the picture along the right hand side is a small bench and a garden area, and if you walk through to the back of the home that you can see on the right hand side, you’ll find stairs leading upwards, and her little wash area and bedroom are up there, with some indium cage bars used as a railing. Also missing from the picture is a reading area around the corner on the right hand side, a fire place and four book shelves that I can fill with trinkets and nick knacks – the most important part of any house in my opinion.

It’s not the fanciest house I’ve designed (and thank you Hamal for the help, especially with those pesky stairs!) but it was another really fun one to design. It closely resembles the house I designed for my halfing in Baubleshire, which is also a one room inn. The expander that allow you to place 100 extra items within your home are great, though I have not needed one yet in either home. That means I can still place 100 more items without worrying about hitting the limit, something I’m quite proud of. Everyone seems to think that the bigger the home the better – but honestly you don’t NEED to have a 5+ room house in order to make it feel like home, and to decorate it in a creative way.

Speaking of creative, check out this fancy merry go round that someone created for their guild hall, when they gave players the options to turn their unused mounts into house items it was met with much rejoicing by the decorating fans out there, and I can see why.

Once the one room inn was completed (or at least as completed as it is going to get for now) I decided to continue working on Sharatan’s home – that’s the coercer. Her home used to be in a Gorowyn one room (I love not having to decorate a million rooms) but I decided to move her to a two room in East Freeport. So far very little has been done to the home, Hamal helped place stairs for two lofts (one in each room) and I built a cozy library on the first loft in the main room. In the back room I hope to have a garden set up as soon as the 20th rolls around so I can complete more grotto quests, and I haven’t decided yet what else I’d like. Once I get it completed I’ll be sure to post screen shots.

It may not have seemed like a very exciting day in game, but it was a lot of fun and after some stressful events that passed it was also much needed. Decorating is one of those relaxing pass times (though it’s certainly not for everyone) that I just enjoy so much, and I really love the fact that if I don’t want to craft, and I don’t want to adventure, I can just sit back and design something within the game that’s completely personal to me.

Happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!

Guide spotting, and a run through Obelisk

I love guides. The program is great and while I may be slightly biased, it is one of those small details that get added to the game that add yet another dimension – and it’s volunteer work, which is important. It’s not often I happen to stumble upon a guide, but yesterday as I was working on chapter four updates and running to and from the guild hall I just about tripped over this cute little one standing on the docks in Antonica.

I hung around for a little while and talked away, they gave me some food and drink for my adventure (I didn’t happen to catch them while they were running a quest) and then I left back t my chapter quests. I love these sort of experiences, as rare as they may be.

After the fairly involved game day on Sunday, yesterday was quiet. It was not a bad thing, relaxing quiet days are great and since it was a holiday it was an added bonus. I managed to level my baby warden with Hamal for a little while, taking her from level 35 to level 42 without too many issues before she ran out of vitality. I decided to get her a few craft levels as well, I’ve been trying to reach level 50 sage on her so that she can craft those player written books that are costing me an arm and a leg to purchase at the moment if I want them blank. She’s sitting at level 38, so I don’t have too many more to go. Hamal, Ultann, and I also made our way to Ravenscale Repository to attempt to trio the final boss of the zone – no, it did not go well at all, but it WAS a lot of fun and even though we wiped (glorious wipes, all of them) it was a good learning experience. It’s been hard to get everyone together online, so I spent a little time on the other server playing my illusionist, a quick Obelisk of Ahkzul run was on the menu.

The group consisted of three troubadors, a fury, a shadowknight, and myself on my illusionist. I love groups that sway from the ‘norm’ and Obelisk is one of those forgiving zones that allow you to bring pretty much anything you want. Nothing of any real use dropped, but at least it was yet another shard to add to the collection! It’s very slow to work on my T2 set, but I’m enjoying myself at least!

I hope everyone else has a fantastic day, just think it’s already Tuesday! Before we all know it the weekend will be here once more. See you in Norrath!

Anchor of Bazzul? Don’t Mind if I do (times three)!

Yesterday was one of those amazing game days that are just packed from start to finish with good friends and great times. I don’t have a whole lot of those days any more, because people are busy with work, summer vacation, and other random things that get done over these months (not to mention my own work and the fact that I’m still getting back on my feet after being sick for so long). I’ve finally settled (some what) to 4 mains – two per server that I play on. Instead of playing on three servers, playing on two is going much better. I don’t feel quite as torn when it comes to doing things. The ‘mains’ are my coercer and mystic on Antonia Bayle, and my swashbuckler and illusionist on the 2nd server. The swashbuckler is only level 72 so that hardly counts as a main but she’s on my 2nd account and it simply makes sense (the only other character on that account is my mystic). Anyhow!

My illusionist started the day by doing Necrotic Asylum, which is a zone I really enjoy because you have to pay close attention. When you get to the bridge where the spirits are casting their lightning bolts of death you have to make sure your positioning is perfect (or pretty close). When you get to the huge creature you have to make sure you kill the chums. When you are defeating the mobs before the final boss you have to make sure if your tank gets cursed it’s cured right away or they’ll go down.

The final boss is an amazingly scripted fight. Everyone in the group will get cursed, and chances are if you only have one healer (like my group typically does) you’ll have enough cures to keep the main tank cured and that’s it. The curse lasts roughly one minute – but don’t worry, there’s a cure! At about the 25 second mark, I jump off of the platform where we fight the named (you have to be within a protective bubble the entire time or you’ll take constant damage) into a pool of goo down below. The goo refreshes this curse so you don’t explode. Then you run back up to the platform and continue to kill the named. Typically I have to do this jump run routine a few times before the named is down, depending on DPS. It’s great that so much is happening at once, and I really enjoy the fight. Of course the first few times I was in the zone I hated it.

The daily double also happened to be another favorite zone of mine, Anchor of Bazzul. This zone is simple and fun, so my illusionist also headed over there to grab her shards. The illusionist is my original “stargrace” though she had to be renamed, I haven’t played her steady in quite some time (since the end of EoF really) aside from reaching level 80, so she’s still working on her gear. She has her fabled epic, and some nice gear from palace (group zone) but nothing too special. Last night marked my first piece of T4 void gear ever – there are certain benefits of being “friends and family” in a raid guild (I myself don’t raid in the guild, though that may change). For 20p I was able to loot the forearms pattern pictured above – so pretty! Some raid guilds handle loot differently, and I was exceptionally happy to be given an opportunity to get these cuffs, especially since they are a piece I can’t get via T1-T2 void shard runs.

Back over on Antonia Bayle Hamal and Ultann were knee deep in WoE – a zone I still haven’t even been to. One of these days I keep saying I will. I decided to stick up the LFG tag and within a matter of minutes had an invite to do Anchor of Bazzul on my coercer. I have to admit, I was a little leery of the group, we invited a dirge named “Bzzzz” and then shortly after they joined while we were waiting for them to head to Moors they said that guild things had come up and had to leave. Wish they had of told us that before we waited for them.

We found another dirge, and were on our way. The run actually went very smooth – and to sweeten the deal the fabled void transfer earring dropped, being the only mage in the group I rolled need and won. Upgrades are always wonderful. Since AoB was the DD (no longer called MoTD like Kithicor names it) it was a great four shards for my coercer – she’s working on her T1 set still.

By the time I was done my instance, Wpus had woken up, Hamal and Ultann were done their raid and we had just enough time for an instance run before everyone would have to go their seperate ways for the evening. I suggested if they had not done AoB yet we should do that, for the shards of course. This time I would be going along on Arysh, my illusionist. Since she’s on the same account as Sharatan (the coercer) it would be a nice 8 shards for the day instead of just 4.

We picked up a brigand and a templar and off we went. Nothing of note dropped (sorry Wpus, still looking for the void transfer earring for him) but it was quick and painless, I really love grouping up with my regular guild mates. When we headed back to hall I had Kasul make me the T1 shoulders, and with one more void shard I’ll be able to purchase the gloves, completing my T1 set. Then it’s time to save up for the T2 set.

It was after midnight by then, so I called it a night and headed to bed, pretty sure I actually dreamt of gaming which is just an indication of how awesome the day went. Today is a holiday in Canada, so it should be pretty quiet before the construction across the street picks up once more. What a fantastic day.

Taking on the Leviathan

Let me start this post by saying that for those people out there who wonder why my blog never talks about the ‘end game’ in EQ2 (ie: raids) it’s simply because I’ve BEEN end game before. I did the hard core raid thing for the first three years of EQ2. Right up until RoK was released, and then as RoK went on I got tired of it and stopped.

I raided Darathar for the prismatic line at level 45 on my templar with an Aussie guild on Najena. The 6am (my time) raid times were not fun but I wanted to raid and they were the best (at the time). I’ve never raided much contested content (ie: avatars when they released) but I used to raid, a lot. I posted about those raids earlier in this blog, like when I got my Deathtoll access, we took down Chel’Drak, and I disco’d things in Emerald Halls after we defeated Clockwork Menace for the first time. They were great times, the raids were fun and at that point in my gaming it was what I wanted to do. When RoK released is about the same time I started gaining a plethora of alts, and guilds would find that out and suddenly I would be switching out between 4-5 characters in order to fill in spots in a raid when others were not around. This frustrated me, a whole lot. Even though I now have 8 level 80’s (maybe more, I’ve lost count) I always had the dream of settling on a ‘main’.

As RoK wore on, guild troubles arose (as they tend to do) and I grew even more unsatisfied with raiding. I didn’t exactly decide to quit for good then, I would pitter patter to and from a raid here and there but eventually as the expansion wore on I decided to call it quits. Aside from a raid here and there (mentoring for courts, doing Halls of Seeing and what have you) I haven’t raided since RoK released.

That doesn’t mean I’m oblivious to what goes on in a raid though, and it doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly forgotten *how* to raid. It also doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy raiding, I do, a great deal. I just also hate all of the drama that comes along with it.

Calreth has been trying for a while to get his Leviathan raid update – he needs it for his mythical. He has been on more failed Leviathan raids then anyone should ever have to endure, and still he keeps on trucking. Last night he was attempting to join another but the raid said they had no room for him – so he asked me if he could use my mystic as a bargaining chip to get into the raid.

Now typically I’d decline. I dislike pick up raids – but lately I’ve felt the itch to raid again. With the next expansion due out in February and the level cap going up by 10, it wouldn’t hurt to make myself a little known, we’ll all be starting off at square one when that happens, which is the perfect time to get back into raiding.

So I agreed to go on this raid – which was probably a mistake but I wanted to help Calreth out.

Lets just say we farmed vials four or five times, and we attempted Leviathan once and only got him to 97% – not without cause of course.

One very important thing to keep in mind if you are a raider. If you are NOT the raid leader or a member of the guild the raid leader is in, or specifically asked for your wisdom – KEEP QUIET. There was one attendee who just would NOT hush. By the end of the evening I wanted to simply back hand him and I’m a pretty non violent person being from Canada and all. It was all I could do to restrain myself and not say something. Part way through the night I put him on mute.

When it comes to raids there is really only one thing any person has to do – but they have to do it for the entire duration of the raid and this is where issues arise. It’s LISTEN.

That’s right, it’s so simple and yet this is the one thing countless people have difficulties with. Listen to your raid leader, if you have questions, ask don’t just wonder whether or not you’re doing the right thing. The instructions last night must have been spouted out 10-20x per pause, and still people did not listen.

One “must do” things on a leviathan raid is to CURE a noxious dot that goes off quite frequently. In fact every person in the raid is supposed to have potions specifically to cure themselves. Being a healer I still had potions “just in case”. Take care of yourself first, then worry about others. Being a mystic I also have a group cure noxious. I changed my aa’s around and put all I could into casting faster cures, with an 80% mana reduction to them. I dropped my heal crit line, but for TSO raids and even older ones cures MUST come first. If you can keep your tank cured, you can win (that’s always been my motto). Anyhow. I actually had time to cast a group cure (1.83 seconds) plus cure 3-4 people (the same people) every time the dot went off. That is too much time between the dot going off, and them not curing themselves. I even had time to jump, interrupt a spell, cast my group cure, and then cure the others.

One of the main reasons we wiped was a small little lack of information.

You basically farm fish suits, farm vials, and then send people in those suits into the belly of Leviathan, blowing him up with vials, while the rest of us do absolutely nothing except heal and feed mana. There is a point in time where shields will come down and you can do other stuff but for this specific instance we would not be (to save confusion not that it worked). You stay off of the green sand – and you do not revive if you die, because if you do, Leviathan heals. If you step on the green, Leviathan goes mean. Stand on the sand (or the rock, where we were tanking him). Now, the important information that was missed was – Leviathan will heal if there is someone in the raid who is not in combat.

We were to NOT auto attack due to someone proc’ing a spell that would wipe us. I could get into combat easily enough with heals. The raid leader didn’t mention to the others that they MUST be in combat, and each time we would send our fish men in to drop vials, Leviathan would simply heal.

Then vial orders got out of hand. People started dying and reviving, someone stepped on the sand – we were called to wipe it.

It was a mess, a disaster. I DID still have a lot of fun, I really enjoy the Leviathan raid when it’s done properly. It’s not difficult, so long as you pay attention.

Sadly enough that was the only attempt we got to make because we had too few fish suits by the end of it. Ugh. One of these days Calreth will get his update. Maybe I’ll start tagging along for more raids in the mean time.

Safe travels and happy gaming!