Tag: Blaugust

A Few Days In – Now What?

I’ve been back playing EQ2 for a few days now, and I’m starting to settle into a bit of a rhythm (finally). I’ve been able to complete two solo dungeons from the latest expansion, upgraded a few pieces of gear, did some crafting, and even worked on some of the timelines to the expansions I skipped (unintentionally, I should not have used the 120 boost I got from buying the latest expansion, so I wanted to go back and complete what I had missed).

The game is pretty quiet compared to 5 years ago when I played last – but there are definitely people around, and they have a lot of passion for the game. Chat is not overwhelming, but it is active. There’s people around in most of the zones I head off to, and while I haven’t quite hit the pace I used to have, I’m getting there. I’m comfortable enough with things that I’m going to stick with it for a while and see how it goes. There’s still so much more I want to do, including working on housing – oh, and alts. I have so many alts that need some attention!

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

Welcome to Blaugust

I know, I’m a bad person for not starting the week with my ‘yay it’s Blaugust‘ post – but honestly there have been so many incredible starter posts that mine would have only gotten lost in the pile anyway. That being said, this theme (we’ll call it that) of the week is as follows:

The idea behind this week is to give folks time to spread their wings and get used to that daily blogging idea. For the Veteran bloggers, it is a great time to make a few posts related to helping New bloggers get started. These could be tips or tricks or just discussions about what helps you get started. Additionally it is a great time to get connected to the Blaugust Discord and meet the community as a whole.

I am on the discord! I don’t talk often because I’m shy, and a part of a bunch of other discords so managing my time is always something that I have a hard time with. Despite all of that, I’ve been blogging here for over 15 years, and I’ve learned a thing or two.

Don’t let someone else tell you what blogging is / is not, or how to run YOUR blog. See, I tend to go many days without posting anything, and then I’ll write 7-8 posts all at once, and I’ll back date them and assign each post to a day to fill out my weeks. That’s what I prefer to do. That doesn’t make me any less of a blogger (or more) than anyone else and how they decide to handle things. So find a schedule and a method that works for you and your life style. Adapt it. Be flexible.

Don’t get boxed in writing about a specific theme / subject if you’re not feeling it. This site started out as MmoQuests, and I wrote about MMOs in specific for many MANY years. Turns out, I have more interests than just video games! I knit, I read, and I draw. If I only wrote about video games some months would be very dry content wise. Instead, I’ve opened up my blog to my other interests. Sure, my audience may not always enjoy every single post I put out there, but I love having a record of what basically amounts to my entire life. Do you.

If you’re really interested in blogging, don’t worry about your audience. It will come with time. Instead, get into those good habits. Even if you’re not writing novel sized posts every day, try a bit of something. I feel good about myself knowing I’ve taken care of my ‘chores’ for the week, I try to pre-write or jot down ideas any time I have them to make up for the times where I don’t feel like writing at all. It all counts, and no one is judging you except (you guessed it) yourself.

I know some folks like to run their site with the end goal of making money, but this isn’t one of those blogs, so I have very little advice to give on that subject. Do what you like, and don’t let anyone else change your mind. You’re going to know yourself best.

Knitting Goals – August 2021

Completed in July:

  • Despite being displaced for 10 days – I DID finish my Silver Bell Sweater! YAY! I love it, and I can’t wait for fall because 33C is a little bit warm to be wearing silk and alpaca.

Current WIPS:

  • Scrap blanket
  • For the horde mitten liners
  • TAAT January sock club socks

August Goals:

Finish my TAAT socks. These are on the leg right now, so they SHOULD be able to be completed – of course I also said that in July and it never happened (we were also evacuated for 10 days and I didn’t have any knitting with me).

I’m not sure I want to line my for the horde mittens any more with all of the Activision/Blizzard drama going on, I’m honestly not feeling it. I may just leave them as is for now, and pick a different project. If I get my socks done, that opens up the ability to pick something new to work on, which I would really love (and have no idea what I’ll do).

Let’s Try That Again

After many failed dungeon attempts yesterday, I started reading the forums (and you’ll see this echoed in comments from yesterday’s post too) to try to figure out where I was going wrong. Surely there must be something very basic that I was missing to create such a cluster of fail. Turns out, I was. I stumbled across this post that talked about the exact encounter I was having problems with, and it wasn’t just me.

Returning players can’t just take their 120 boosted and call it a day. No, you have to make sure that you reach a potency and a fervor, and a HP, and other thresholds. You need to go do what is commonly called ‘panda quests’ for augments, you need to get the gear out of the crate that is in the starter zone to the latest expansion (and the one prior) and then take the augments out of that gear, and use it in yours.

It was also suggested that I work on crafters first so I could help my characters out – fantastic suggestion, because I only have adept rank spells right now, and I want at LEAST expert. Those cost 10,000 platinum each which is pretty cheap compared to the inflation of today, but well out of my price range. Crafting those spells/skills will be a much better option.

That being said, things DID get better as I learned the ‘new’ way of playing. I did manage to do two Echo Caverns solo adventures, got some upgrades, even dinged my guild level 92! I had a really great time, and I slowly, ever so slowly, started remembering WHY I played EQ2 for so many years. I obtained a few more familiar, I did all of my Overseer quests for the day, and after three days of trying, felt like “hey, maybe I could stick with this for a bit”.

Honestly? It was lovely. I’m looking forward to things a little bit more now.

Another Year, Another Blaugust

Every year for the past.. I’m not even sure how long, I’ve signed up to do Blaugust. Hosted by Belghast, with a number of participants and mentors, this event helps encourage people to blog throughout the month of August, be you a veteran or a newcomer. I love the community it fosters, and it’s always a great way for me to go around collecting awesome sites to read.

2021 has been a great year as far as blogging goes, for me personally. I’ve written every single day since January, and it’s something that I’ve wanted to keep up with for the entire year. I’ve branched off a bit from gaming and included knitting and art along with my adventures, but the basics remain the same. As always, I’m looking forward to this event and I can’t wait to see the new baby blogs that crop up. Maybe some of them will enjoy it so much they’ll stick around, and if not, that’s OK too. I can’t say I’ll have a lot of advice to give, but I am signed up as a mentor, and I’ll do my best to pass on some tips and tricks to blogging. The least I can do after all of the lovely things that the community has done for me.

Happy writing!