Stables – Completed!

I mentioned a few times already that I’m re-building my deed in the (almost) exact replica that the old deed I owned used to be – it was one that Takah designed and built for me in exchange for a set of drake armour. I absolutely loved this deed and everything about it, and there’s no way I could perfect upon the build, which is why I made the decision to re-build.

I am hoping to complete a building or two a week until the entire deed is back to the way it used to be. So far the smithy is completed in full, and the ground floor to 10 other buildings. Today I managed to finish the stables, and I’ve got a few horses in there already. I also finished setting the farm fields back up along with some animals (bison, sheep, chickens). I’d like to get some more hell horses for the Fo priest to play with, and maybe some deer. Still, this building is a step in the right direction! I think next I’ll work on the storage building, because it’s attached to my smithy and will complete a section of the deed. After that? We’ll just have to see.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

February Gaming Goals

I’ve never really posted end-of-month reviews before, let alone significant gaming goals but I’d like to give it a try for 2021 to see if I can stay on top of making regular posts and to see if I can actually accomplish what I set out to do with my limited time.

FFXIV:

Reach level 80 in at least one class. My dancer is pretty close, 76, I see this as a simple goal – but because my time is limited and I have the attention span of a peanut, it’s still something I feel like I need to set a goal for.

Reach 80 in a crafting profession (not gathering). I believe I’m 78 in goldsmithing – I have no idea what it will take for me to reach 80, but I’m hoping I can do it. It’s another one of those ‘we’ll just have to see’ moments.

World of Warcraft:

  • Continue gold making – an easy goal, this is rather like breathing for me. I have a good stock I put on the AH, and I’ll probably just continue that.
  • Reach 60 on two more characters – another pretty simple goal. My rogue on Winterhoof is 57 and as soon as another trainer shows up in Dalaran I’m pretty confident I’ll reach 60. Getting one more alt to 60 will help with my crafting process. I think the paladin will be next in line (my blacksmith).
  • I’m keeping my goals here small, because I have been a little less than enthralled with WoW lately, and I don’t want to pressure myself into playing if I’m just not feeling it.

Wurm Online:

  • Continue deed work on Cadence. This is where my Fo priest lives (100 faith baby!) and a worker. The main buildings are done, but I need higher masonry for additional floors.
  • Complete the temple on Independence. I need to mine slate for this, and then create bricks, and create a whole lot of mortar. Not a difficult task, just a boring one. I’ve been procrastinating.
  • Complete a bit more of the shipyard building on Independence. I’m not sure I’ll actually get to this one, but I’ll list it anyway.

Wurm Unlimited:

  • Complete at least two more buildings on Liberty. I’ve been re-building my deed here, and while it’s slow going it IS coming along. I’m pretty proud of being able to re-create my old home by salvaging goods across the lands. So far I have had very minimal mining/brick making required. I managed to pillage all sorts of furniture, and the main floor of each building is completed, so I just need the other stories.
  • I’m keeping goals here loose for now since I already have a lot on my gaming plate.

General Gaming:

  • Try at least one new steam game. I have a LOT of them. A lot of neglected games. Games I’ve never even started up. Let’s try to change that a bit and play something – anything – even if it’s just for an hour. I’m pretty sure I can make time to do that in 2021.

The 5 Best Video Games of 2020, Ranked

The gaming industry recorded some significant growth in 2020 despite the challenges the world was facing. The games have also become more attractive as technological innovations have made them more immersive and encapsulating. Online casinos like Mohegan Sun got an influx of new players looking for entertaining games. However, not all games attracted the same attention. Some games proved to be preferable to others. What were the top 5 video games of 2020? Read on to find out.

5. Ori and the Will of the Wisps (93)

Five years after Ori and the Blind Forest won the Xbox Game of the Year, Moon Studios released another touching and beautiful sequel – Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Besides the game’s incredible art direction, it also boasts unique environments and well-thought-out levels and puzzles. The game’s predecessor bagged the BAFTA for Artistic Achievement in 2016, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps looks set to win the same award. 

4. Half-Life: Alyx (93)

After almost 13 years, Valve stunned the gaming world when they finally stated they were releasing a new entry to the classic Half-Life series. Robin Walker of Valve explained in an interview that the company decided not to make the highly awaited Half-Life 3. He also claimed that the weight of expectations surrounding the game made it a frighteningly overwhelming prospect. 

Half-Life: Alyx happens between Half-Life and Half-Life 2. The game looked to continue the series’ tradition of trailblazing in technology matters in the gaming industry. The use of VR in this release was a success, and it offered a different dimension to the series’ combat and puzzle-solving. 

If Valve releases Half-Life 3, it will be interesting to see if they continue using VR and its effect on the future of the VR headsets. 

3. Hades (93)

Supergiant Games released Hades’ early-access game in 2018, but they fully released the game in 2020. Critics praised the game’s intricate story deftly entwined with the gameplay and its layered combat and postgame content. 

Metacritic list Hades twice in their top ten list as the PC iteration of the game scored 92. However, in this ranking, the Switch edition edges out the PC edition narrowly. 

2. The Last of Us Part II (93)

The Last of Us Part II was highly anticipated by gamers worldwide after its predecessor became one of the most loved ones in modern gaming. Initially, it received a lot of negative views despite having up to 25 hours of gameplay. But, once the situation became calm and gamers played the game, many acknowledged why the game was getting much praise from critics. 

The game’s divisive storyline was the primary source of the criticism, but it is subject to personal preference. Nevertheless, you will enjoy the outstanding sound design and gameplay mechanics. 

1. Persona 5 Royal (95)

A high school might not sound like the most attractive place to visit in a fictional or non-fictional video game. But, Persona 5 Royal creates a captivating story based on social relationships and supernatural spheres. The game is an improved version of Persona 5 and comes with new features like a third semester and a new palace. Players will also find a new Phantom Thief member Kasumi Yoshizawa. What makes it the best is its depth, which takes around 100 hours to complete. 

January Gaming in Review

January saw me playing a whole lot of games with “world” in the title. I started off the month strong, playing World of Warcraft – Shadowlands. Sadly, I don’t really enjoy the expansion that much. I find anima difficult to obtain, and there are far too many timegates put in place. There’s also a lot of new currency, and I think it’s needless. I did level up some alts through pet battles, and I had fun logging in weekly to obtain loot from the world boss, but I don’t find that that there is a lot of staying power, yet. Who knows if that will change. I’ve been flip flopping between a few characters, mostly my monk and my demon hunter. I also paid just over a million gold to move all of my horde characters from Argent Dawn, to Hyjal. I just wanted to have everyone together on the same server. I now have all of my alliance over on Argent Dawn, and my horde are all on Hyjal. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make gold better on a high population server, and Hyjal is most certainly that – especially compared to AD. I’m just better at making gold on AD and always have been.

I also played a LOT of Wurm Online. I started off playing on the Southern islands on my Indy deed, nothing really special just doing generic deed work. I expanded to a second deed because I wanted a mine, but now that I’ve had it a while I might just disband it. It’s some ways away from home and I’ve been waiting for buildings to decay that are going to take over a year. Worth it? Not exactly. After that I started playing over on the Northern (newer) servers with my Fo priest. I managed to find a 24/7 sermon going on, and I joined up and then subscribed a few alts. For the past month I’ve been doing sermons as often as possible, every three hours. I reached 100 faith for the very first time. This is a HUGE goal of mine. It means I can cast summon soul, and I can also cast lifetransfer without requiring extra characters.

While doing sermons over on Harmony, I met up with Arbi, a friend from Sklotopolis, the Wurm Unlimited server that I frequent. They told me about the fantastic work that the developers have been doing despite the fact that WU is no longer supported in an official capacity. I was drawn in, despite losing my amazing deed – when I logged in the exact location that I had deeded previously was still free. I took it as a sign, and now I’ve dedicated myself to building my place up the exact way that I had it before. I really loved that deed and one of my biggest gaming regrets is letting it fall.

Single player games? I didn’t play many, but I did delve into RimWorld for a bit, and some Sims 4. With covid knocking on my community door, I spent most of my time inside trying to avoid everything going on in the real world. I can think of worse ways to spend my time.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Choosing to Spend Gold

Choosing to spend gold in World of Warcraft is not such an easy task for me, even though I have millions of gold just sitting there. I have a hard time bringing myself to actually wanting to use it for anything – even with a plan in place. At one time I wanted to reach gold cap on a single server (I play on a handful of servers) but now I just want to enjoy myself – even if that means spending what I have. You can see the significant dip in gold when I moved all of my horde characters over to Hyjal from Argent Dawn – but I still have plenty of gold to make up for it. I’m trying to (slowly) earn it back, and make my way to gold cap again on the alliance side. We’ll see how that goes, especially since I’m not actively playing that faction at all.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!