Settling Down (A Bit)

I love gaming but recently realized that I haven’t really set down roots or settled in any one game for a VERY long time – and it was starting to get to me. It was making me a bit sad. So over the past few days I’ve thought about all of the MMOs that I love to play, and I decided to pick one that requires a subscription and stick with it for the next year. That doesn’t mean I won’t  play other games, I certainly will, but as far as subscriptions go I will not be lured by the next shiny (FFXIV expansions, I’m looking at you).

It wasn’t hard to decide what game I wanted to stick with. With my lack of time, sporadic hours, and inability to know how long I’d actually have to game, only one MMO really stood out. World of Warcraft.

I love the game, it’s cheerful, pet battles are fun, crafting (at least until Legion) is a hoot, and I don’t have to spend hours looking for a group or even a raid. In fact the only thing (for me) that has really been missing from the game is a community.

So I set out looking for one of those, too. I haven’t had areal guild in Warcraft for many years now. I tend to start my own, or join smaller ones created by friends. The Crimson Cross is one I had heard about on twitter (and in WildStar, actually). A casual family friendly guild that still did fun things and also raided. Now, I won’t be raiding any time soon, but eventually my hours will change and I’d like to think I’d have a chance.

The guild is friendly and active, it’s nice just to watch chat scroll by. They have a discord that I joined, and so far I’m settling in pretty well even though I feel like a teenager still in that regard. Even as an adult I feel awkward and shy.

Tonight I finished up my weekly and got my first ever legendary item (the one in the screenshot of this post). It was over 100 ilevels higher than my current gear. I was incredibly tickled. This single piece of gear also raised my personal ilevel high enough to unlock 4 new (to me) raids. If that’s not a good omen, I don’t know what is!

So yes, I will still be playing other games, but my MMO of choice for now and the foreseeable future, is going to be WoW so expect some posts about that, too. Speaking of other games I’ve got my stream schedule planned out for this upcoming week! Tuesday I’ll be continuing on with RimWorld, Wednesday will be a little Sims 4, Throwback Thursday is going to feature Bionic Commando, and Friday will be a visual novel of some sort (I haven’t decided on which title yet). So be sure to tune in between 7-7:30 PDT for my streams on twitch if you’re interested!

It feels good to be doing a bit of gaming again.

ABZU

One thing I can say about streaming – it really gets me into games I haven’t played in a while (or ever). Since my streams are only an hour long (for now) I’ve been looking through my steam library to find old gems to stream. One game I forgot I even owned was ABZU.

This game is completely filled with beautiful art. There’s no combat, it’s calm (if you can handle the controls at least) and the music is amazing. You swim around discovering collectables and doing basic exploration puzzles in a world so vibrant and creative that it makes you gasp. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the stream live, you can check out the recap over on my YouTube channel, or watch it over on my twitch highlights. You’ll have to forgive my lack of knowledge about the controls, it’s been forever since I played anything with a controller and I had no idea what I was doing.

It’s amazing to be able to get lost in worlds like this one. I hope we continue to see fantastic gems like these as the gaming industry moves forward.

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

More Mud Days

With a lack of available time, I’ve been playing Redemption more and more. It’s easy to get into (and to get out of) and it’s comfortable. My dragon reached level 10 – and discovered she’s a black dragon. They’re able to remort into onyx or shadow dragons. That being said, almost everyone plays a dragon, so after years of it being that way the imms are nerfing dragons. Figures.

I’m also not part of a clan yet, which is why my character is marked as a loner. I know nothing about the current clans aside from what I’ve read in help. Warden has basically nothing, Remnant has a bit more information and sounds more my style. I’ll have to look into whether or not there are others. I don’t think I’ve seen anything else.

I’ll probably play another race / class combination as I continue to feel my way around things. Or I may just go play something else, who knows!

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

Ding 30 – Done with Blightfire Moors

The beastlord is sitting at a comfortable level 30 now, and I need to go and pick up my spells (again). Leveling is still pretty fast over on the FV server but I haven’t had a lot of time to log in and play. Thankfully over on FV that’s not such a huge deal. I still get envious over those friends I see playing on the Time Locked servers, but I continue to live vicariously through them and their adventures.

It’s about time I moved on from Blightfire Moors. Tomorrow I’ll visit the quest giver out in POK and see where they send me at level 30 for the hot zone.

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

Wurm Chores – A way of Relaxing

For me, playing video games is a way of relaxing. I typically play whatever I’m in the mood to play, with little to no outside pressures. Sure, I keep a streaming schedule now, but the games I play during fluctuate, and if I’m not keen on playing what I have scheduled I’ll change it.

I decided to stream Wurm Unlimited in a very impromptu stream (you can check it out over on my Twitch page!) and it was a really relaxing time. I tended to my fields, took care of my bison, went and harvested my wheat – and noticed one of my hens had succumbed to old age. Chickens don’t live as long as other animals (for whatever reason) so they die at aged. Sad times. Since watching Paw Patrol (thanks to my kid, I swear) I have become obsessed with naming all of my hens Chickaletta. It was sad to have to bury the animal, but she had a good life.

Then I tended to my cows and my sheep, harvesting the fields. I showed off my winery, stuck more moonshine in the distillery and was going to go do some meditation when I had to cut my stream short. Such is the way of life. Still, it was relaxing, even the 20 minutes I got to spend in game. I love talking about a game that I’m so passionate about. It makes time go by much faster, and I like feeling confident in what I’m saying.

Things have been pretty quiet on Wurm, but I still log in often, even if it’s just to take care of the chores. I know I’ll be back full time before too long, as always my interests are just all over the place with my lack of availability.

I did put up the schedule for my streams this week, too. I’ve decided to start a Throwback Thursday feature, and the remaining days I’ll just play whatever I happen to plan. This week (because I know you’re all so interested) I’ll be playing:

  • Tuesday – RimWorld
  • Wednesday – Pinball FX 2
  • Thursday – Redemption Mud
  • Friday – Castle of Illusion

As well as any impromptu streams I manage to fit in there (maybe some EQ, or some EVE Online). Next week I’ll switch things up again and we’ll see about getting a visual novel in there for one of the days. I am trying to get qualified for affiliate on Twitch, so if you like my channel please do give it a follow and tune in during my streams – it really helps me out a ton.

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