Category: Gaming

 

Misako’s entrance, she’s moved to the nut house… Acorn house that is, in Kelethin

I decided it was time for some changes. I’ve learned a few things over the past couple of days. Number one. If you enjoy a class, it does not matter if there is a million of that class around, play it. You’ll have way more fun in game. Don’t give it up just because you think you can fill some other void in the gaming world. Before you know it there will be a million of that other class around too, and then what will you do? Make another character and try to fill that void. It won’t work though. See, that’s what I did with my Dasie. She was a templar. There were LOTS (and still are) of templars around. So I made a fury. Then those were not needed. So I made an illusionist. Then a troubador. Now I have all of these level 70’s and I’m exactly where I was when I started. I betrayed Dasie to an inquisitor for my previous guild, because she would be “needed”. I don’t especially care for the class. Their best class defining skill stifles them so that they can’t heal. I play healers to – you guessed it – heal.

I miss stone skin, and the extra heals that a templar comes with. I miss her hammer pet. I don’t mind giving up some dps for the templar class. I realize that I’ll loose the one piece of relic she still has (pants, sighs. Those are going to be hard to replace!) and all the masters I’ve worked at getting, but with RoK coming in two months, if there was ever a time to betray, now would be it. Spells are all going to get upgrades any how. Don’t play a class simply because it’s in style, needed, or any other reason other then the fact that YOU want to play the class.

So what is the change? Well, I’m going to betray Dasie back to a templar. Friends have donated moonstones to the cause, and I’ve got a 70 sage. I have the templar / inquis set gear. I’ll have to replace her pants. I will be one of a million templars out there, but oh well. I’ll be happier with the character, and that’s what matters.

So what other changes? Well, Misako moved to Kelethin. That’s right, she gave up her (expensive) 5-room house in Freeport, which reminded her too much of the past, and she packed things up and moved to a nut house (or acorn house, for you non-Kelethin folks). The 6-room acorn homes are 2p to purchase, require no guild level, and are 6g a week upkeep. Nice and cheap. The LoN paintings look fantastic against the walls (as pictured above) and as long as I can remind myself that I am NOT a fae, and do NOT have safe fall, I should get along just fine there. I don’t lag in the zone, and I’m closer to everything I need. Misako will have to do some courts faction quests I think though, she could really use call of ro. She could also use her carpet that ports to Shimmering Citadel.

Yes, change is good.

 

Misako hanging out in Willow Wood.. that belt.. it looks.. familiar..

So when I did Unrest with Misako, I was lucky enough to have her breastplate drop, which was great. I actually declined on everything in the zone, so when the breastplate dropped I figured it was karma heh. Maybe silly of me to think that way but hey it seemed to work. Things in game have been quiet. Had to say goodbye to a good friend of mine. Long story that I don’t want to get into, but it was rough. Is rough.

I highly suggest people read this post here. It practically made me burst into tears after I’d read it. That’s exactly how I see the game, and look at it. Not about what SoE is doing, or who is raiding what, or what zones are next, but about the community. The band of people and friends that I play with. I’m close to them, some more then others. If they were to suddenly leave, I’d worry, and be upset. I’d hope that they were ok. It really brings some things into perspective, and I love the way the article is worded.

Back to game stuff, I’m thinking Faydai will be the next character I get to 70 or start working on gradually. I’m going to quest her way up (with exp turned ON though..) and hopefully I can manage to get her high enough to make use of the master1 charm undead she has. I’ve found a fantastic area to take advantage of the spell, but she needs a few more levels or else the mobs will be breaking every 2 minutes or so. Qutey quested her way to level 27, 27aa, and later today she’ll be a 27 carpenter. I’ve got a few huge rp notes in the works that I’ll hopefully get posted before too long. Some stories I’ve been procrastinating on and want to get them out there.

Also, in a few days time I’ll have my first interview posted on here. Decided to talk to a member of the EQ2 community, so we’ll see how that goes!

One year ago today this was my post. It seems like a really long time ago, and if measured in EQ2 terms, I suppose it is. After all who is even playing after a year on the same Mmo, the numbers seem to decline all the time. This is actually the fourth time I’ve started up a blog, and I only managed to save the last year + current posts. Originally the blog was a method for me to vent about my adventures and exploits in the game. Over time it’s rounded to cover various Mmo’s that I’ve played, and typically comes back to the same things.

 

The Rune

Everyone has their thing. Some people like loot, some people enjoy taking down the hardest content in the game, others are questers, completing thousands of quests over the period that they play.

Me, I’m a house item fanatic. Any one who’s read this blog, or knows me in game, knows just how much I adore house items. When I defeated Roost for the first time in the Fallen Destiny Adventure Pack, I didn’t care that we’d defeated the encounter and had access to Chel’Drak. The only thing I had eyes for was the house item you get as a reward for the quest. I loved freeing the Frogloks when they first came out because you get a very sparkly plaque to place on your walls. I’m all about the house items.

The Bear

So of course it’s of no surprise that when LoN hit the game in it’s beta version, I’d want the house items, reluctant to spend a whole lot of money on the booster packs though. I know how addictive it can be. So I managed to trade with some friends, and some were given as gifts. I’m happy that (for now) I’ve got the complete collection of LoN house items – 3 paintings and a card case.

The Muse

A huge thank you to those who helped me out. You all know what it means to me of course. Over time I’m sure I’ll continue to try to scoop up these beautiful house items, and a thank you to SoE of course for adding them to the game. It’s what keeps me playing and interested, these little knick nacks that you can place. Go ahead and tease me for it now!

The Card Case

I dislike how some of the items (ok, so all of the items) are so gigantic, it may cause issues for those who own smaller type homes. Even the card case is a giant sized one, that takes up a good portion of my counter top. I’m planning on creating a table that it can sit on in front of a fire place or something I think in the near future. So many fun items in game, and only so much time to work on obtaining them all!

If you want to check out the LoN items in person, feel free to visit Misako’s 5-room house in North Freeport, 7 Compassion Road. The door is always open and I’ve worked quite hard on the house (it is a work in progress of course, not nearly done). Feel free to send me a tell in game as well, I’m typically around and eager to talk.

 

 

 

 

This one is called “The Muse” – I can see how it may inspire a few folks… That’s a nice.. feather.. she’s wearing..

Thanks to a few friends here on Antonia Bayle, I managed to complete my LoN (so far) house item collection. At least the pieces that I know of. I have three paintings, The Muse, The Bear, and The Rune, as well as two card boxes. One is no trade (which Kandrial graciously placed in Misako’s house) and one is tradeable (though it’s lore). I was afraid when LoN came out that I’d have to spend a lot of real life money obtaining these items, in fact it’s one huge annoyance about the game I find. Higher end raid guilds may start enforcing people to have certain items (like the int bottle) and that puts those who can’t (or don’t want to) spend the real life money trying to get them at a disadvantage. I don’t mind the cute little things like house items or cloaks or illusions or even mounts, but when it starts to get to items like power regen things, or something that could potentially change the out come of a fight, that’s where I start to think it may not be the most fair of situations.

I’ve been having fun trading cards around as well, today I received two free booster packs (So that’s four total, between my two accounts, and no, not a single redeemable item). Nagafen was one of the “rare” cards that I got, so I traded for some priest cards since I’m trying to build up two other decks. One for my priest account (the priest deck, duh) and one for my dps account, a scout deck. Mage cards I typically give to Kandrial, Lader, or Bloodpact, as they all have a mage deck. It’s a lot of fun, but I’m not sure if it will stick. Even if it doesn’t, I’m sure SoE has made a huge bundle of money from those buying booster packs and starters and all the rest.

In game I’ve been working on Qutey, my baby monk. I’ve sort of stepped back from the guild raid / guild thing for a while. I’d much rather just do my own thing. I managed to match her crafting level to her adventure level, and I plan on keeping it that way. I got her from 1-20 the first day, then yesterday from 21-26. She’s going to be my little carpenter. Even though I had access to a 70 carpenter I’d much rather just have my own. She’s still got experience turned off from combat, I may toggle it on from time to time but I doubt it. She’s 41% into her leve, and 5% away from yet another aa. I love having so many aa at her low level, it’s quite fun. Plus the whole feign death and invis thing is a bonus.

Torrent Knights hit level 21 yesterday, congratulations to Lader and Gothun for all those HQ those guys have been completing. It’s nice to see, and I hope we all keep up the good work. I’m excited about RoK coming out a few months away, excited about LoN going live, and the GU38 that’s going to be incoming in a few weeks (I hope). Lots of good changes on the way, more about that another time though – slightly disappointed that Bristleban’s avatar pet (for worshiping them) is the Meatbeast from DoF – I loved how that was a one of a kind mob.. sighs.

 

Misako did an LoA run, and managed to get a new pretty

A long weekend, always awesome to get one of those. I meant to finish up this post yesterday but (of course) got side tracked with other things. I’ve been doing some off and on raiding with a few guilds, and I learned a few things. Just as a raider comes prepared to the raid (on time, with potions and whatever else they may need) there is also an obligation on the part of the raid leaders. Here is the wrong way in my opinion and personal experience from raiding this weekend:

~ Not explaining encounters in difficult zones. Raid leaders, PLEASE remember when you take new members that not everyone has done these encounters before, and even if they have and you’re a top notch guild who’s expecting their recruits to know their stuff – they have not done it with YOU. Which means you probably stand some place new, or you use a different tactic, or you cast a different spell. It does no harm to make sure your guests understand what is going on.

~ Not making your recruits / guests feel comfortable. When your new raider joins vent or ts or whatever it is you use, try saying hello! Be nice, and make them feel welcome after all there is a reason that they’re along on your raid to begin with. They were obviously interested in it, and you were interested enough back to give them a chance. There’s nothing worse then a new raider who does not know anyone logging in and no one saying a word at all. New raiders are nervous enough (believe it or not) and that little bit of extra to make them feel that they are at least appreciated for being there, is important.

~ After the raid is over, not saying a word to the new raider. Come on people, they’re not lepers, even if they were awful raiders. Even if they didn’t know their roll. Just be open and up front about things. Let them know if you want to have them back. If not, let them know that too. Don’t just feign interest.

I went on three raids this weekend, the first was Emerald Halls, the second was Lyceum, and the third was Labs. I know, that two were just boring ‘ordinary’ KoS raid zones. I did them with two separate guilds, and let me tell you, the KoS boring ‘drab’ raids were two of the best raids I’ve ever been on. Not because they were easy and simple and I didn’t have to think (which I didn’t) but because the raids made me feel welcome. They were friendly, and out going. They talked to me before the raids and after. To me personally, it doesn’t matter WHAT a guild is taking down raid wise, if I’m not feeling at least some sense of community when I play with them then chances are I’m not going to stick around, what reason would I have. I most certainly don’t play this game for the loot aspect, and yes, I agree it’s nice to get into those end game zones, but again. I really need the sense of community.

I consider myself a fairly good player, I know my characters, I learn fairly well. I know my capabilities. I still play for the community though. It’s probably the number one reason I’ve avoided high end raiding guilds. NOT that they don’t have a sense of community – they do. But it’s gradual. You have to prove yourself to them first. They have their own community that you don’t belong to really from the start. Harder if you don’t even know anyone in the guild, it can take time. Which is of course a good thing, but not something that I want to deal with in the game. I know it takes time before you’re “one of the gang” and I admit right now I have little to no patience.

Anyhow, just wanted to make this post to say that it’s not all the raiders responsibility when it comes to the raids. Please try to make those new raiders feel comfortable. They’re nervous and it’s not going to kill you. Of course if it does kill you, there are bigger issues to look at.