EQ2 – Page 13 – A Pixel Nomad

Laying Down on the Job

Another run at Fear (no choker for the summoner yet) and another run at Vault (no guard) but my 79 mystic hit level 80! This is a bit of a milestone for me. Not because I don’t already have level 80 characters (I now have 6) but because she’s the only level 80 on my 2nd account. It means that the other characters will get at least a 10% bonus at all times. I realize it’s not THAT big of a deal, but hey every little bit counts. I’m thinking of leveling up my dirge next, I’m not sure yet. I do need to work on the shaman’s gear.

Guild was nice and active yesterday, Hamal (new ranger) managed to get to level 32 (I believe?) with some help of 80’s mentoring, along with Dweezel who has so many alts with different renditions of his name I don’t have the faintest idea who he actually played in group. I want to say paladin but maybe that was the night before.

I also managed to create a few pieces of void shard gear for the mystic, you can start obtaining the basic void shard quests at level 75, level 79 for the daily double quest. Needless to say I had a nice little stash waiting for me. Since I barely did any RoK questing on her she still has a lot to do, but that can come in time. For now it’s just nice to be level 80.

I didn’t get anything done this weekend that I had set out to do, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Of course it means that now that the weekend is over I’ll have to get moving on stuff, but isn’t that what the weekdays are for to begin with?

Since I started playing on Kithicor I’ve noticed how prices can change drastically depending on server population. Antonia Bayle and Najena pricing are significantly lower then Kithicor and Oasis for example. AB and Najena are also far higher populated servers then the other two. On Kithicor things I put for sale (no matter the tier it seems) can sit, some times for a long period. On Najena where the market is constantly active things moved far quicker. This is neither good nor bad, just an observation.

I hope everyone else had an amazing weekend, no matter what game you played. I’m looking to get further into LoTRO, things lately have just been too hectic for me to stick to any more then one MMO. While I find that I work better under pressure, and I’m learning how to manage my time properly, it still leaves very little free time.

So Close to 80

It was bound to happen, I could feel it. How long had it been since last time? Only a few months. Not even. It was like some disease slowly washing over me and I’d pick at it a little bit, and then a little bit more as time went on. No one who reads this site will be surprised, in fact I can hear Tipa shaking her head at me from here. That’s right, I did it.

I betrayed my level 79 defiler over to a mystic.

I had a good reason though! Well, I figured it was a good reason. I looked up the defiler epic quest (keeping in mind this will have been the 7th fabled epic I obtain) and then looked up the mystic fabled epic quest. Yup, that’s what I based my decisions off of. Without getting into too many details, I’m happy with the choice. Plus, who doesn’t like bolster?

This weekend has been one of the most relaxing days in a long time. Everything is out of my hands until Wednesday, and while I don’t know what the result is yet I needed these two days or I was going to go insane. So I’ve gamed, went out for some food, hung out with friends. The weekend has been great. The conjuror and shadowknight from guild and myself decided to trip Crypt of Agony, Vaults (in Jarsath Wastes), and Shard of Fear on Friday night. For laughs, we dragged along my (at the time) 68 coercer, more as a power bot then anything else (that’s her in the robe above). Because the coercer is on my main account with the other level 80’s, and had full vitality, she managed to ding level 70 in those instances, and a good portion into it. I decided she had gone long enough without her sokokar quest completed so those got taken care of.

The defiler mystic managed to snag four more void shards yesterday with relative ease, bringing the total up to 8. Since I’m not even level 80 yet I think that’s great. I’ll have some void gear waiting for me when I finally make it there. A slow process but I don’t mind. 50% away from level 80, and starting yet another epic. It’s going to be great.

Kasul also came to Kithicor to play for a little bit on a ranger alt he created, it was nice to have him meet the guild I’ve been playing with. There’s no way I can afford to move off of Najena especially since the automated transfer service is still down (le sigh) but kithicor has been a nice change of pace. Shadowgeist also moved off of Najena to join a new raid guild and I hope he’s doing fantastic there. I think it’s important for players to keep in mind (in any game, not just EQ2) that YOU pay your subscription fees (in most cases) and that means playing in the method that is best for you. Don’t feel bad if you decide to act on that, in the long run your gaming experiences will be far more fulfilled.

Safe travels!

Everyone into the Pool

Screen shot is myself and three guild mates splashing around in a froglok pool that I added to the guild hall yesterday. The kerran is Craw, halfling is Egon, and the mouse is Wpus with his best friend Smiley watching from the back. Center is my little defiler who managed to ding 78 last night – and – brought her Tupta faction high enough to purchase the recipe book that allowed me to craft such a fancy little pool. I really do love those craft books.

Just so people don’t think I’ve forgotten, I do still have big news in the works. Town Crier even mentioned it which surprised me (and flustered me even more). I haven’t wanted to release too many details yet in case I jinx it and it doesn’t end up working out. I should find out the remainder of the details either today or tomorrow – the suspense has been causing many a restless night and inane ramblings to my close friends to say the least.

Wpus wanted to work on his conjuror epic a little bit last night and had very little left to go. I am always eager to get the group killed help out so off we headed as a duo to Sebilis. We actually made it quite far in our ‘barely a group’ group and when Craw (bruiser) had some spare time he came to help as well. The update was from researchers, though we did try the dreadmages in the blacksmith area first. Update obtained, that was the end of my evening.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what a wonderful group of friends I have in game. How understanding they can be, how they listen (and how I hope they can say the same about me) and the entire support network. I’m so thankful every day that I have been given the opportunities in my life that I have, and I really appreciate what everyone has done for me.

I do have two smaller projects on the go (or just starting off I suppose) that I’ll probably write about here as time goes on. We’ll just have to see where they go!

See you in Norrath!

Moors of Ykesha and Faction Recipes (finally!)

I managed to do it – finally. On at least one character. I figure now that one character has managed to get this far, it should be easy to get the rest of what I want, right?

Of course I’m talking about housing items. In specific, the TSO faction recipes that come from one of the three main factions in the Moors of Ykesha. Still no idea what I’m talking about? Take a look here on EQ2 Traders and then prepare to drool. You need to be at neutral faction (0) in order to purchase these recipe books. The recipes themselves are level 65, thankfully my tailor is level 69 and was able to scribe them. They use the general craft skills that everyone has, so there’s no worries about having to be a carpenter or woodworker or any other particular class in order to make use of them.

I spent the better part of the evening discussing when GU52 would be implemented (more like arguing), and crafting the new pretties and then wondering where I could stash them all. They really are nice. I can’t help it, I’m one of those people who just loves me some house items.

The quests in the Moors were not too bad, either. I FINALLY learned Tik Tok. First thing I wanted to do was head to Steamfont and find out what all of the clockwork have been screaming at me. I’ve been waiting for this language since release. I also finished the other two languages within the zone, and worked on doing the first hub of quests along with resident conjuror Wpus. The defiler is inching closer to level 78, right now she’s about 60% into her level. While I’m not particularly fond of quest grinding, it’s not as painful as doing RoK quest grinding for the 7th time.

Short term goals are to get enough faction with the other two Moors residents to purchase their craft books as well. In specific, Grobb. The grey stone items are wonderful and I can see so many possibilities with them. I’d like to build a cave of sorts surrounding the guild forge, and I have a few other ideas floating around.

I also got a very odd tell about joining a raid guild yesterday. Not that I’m complaining at all. The odd part was not getting the tell to begin with, but the fact that it was asking about my 77 defiler. The majority of guilds that I know who raid want someone at least level 80. In fact on the Kithicor server alone I rarely hear anyone advertise their group is looking for more unless it’s followed by “must have mythical” or “must not suck”. Thankfully selective reading allows me to completely ignore those calls for help.

Hopefully I can get a few more HQ under my belt, and earn some more status. Other then that, things in game have been pretty slow since I’ve had to concentrate on real life (ugh!) for a little. Hope everyone else is having a great start to the week, no matter where you are!

New Levels, New Gear, New Memories

Yesterday was a little bit of everything game-wise, well EQ2 wise at least. It was great. The coercer crept into New Tunaria with Wpus and we lay waste to all the elves that came in range, dinging her 66. Out of vitality (and most of my experience potions now) it was still refreshing to hit that level with less then two days played. I also spent some time working her tradeskill level, and she’s sitting at an even 30. Out of vitality in that department as well.

I also helped Kasul out with an epic kill in Neriak (assassin epic) which was no easy feat for me because I had to invis my little templar out that way. I thought the lag I was experiencing was going to kill me before any of the orange epic guards did. Glad to help him progress that though.

I was going to work on the defiler, who is sitting at about 30% through level 77 but wasn’t really in the mood to grind quests. Even though I’d love to get the Moors faction recipes that I’ve spent a few months talking about now. I just can’t seem to stick with the quest grinding. Upgraded the coercers clothes, and today maybe I’ll upgrade some spells. Aside from her charm, mez and root, she’s only sporting app1 of everything. When your charmed pet is killing things for 17,000 damage you spend most of your time just watching for adds and making sure charm doesn’t break. Have I mentioned how much I love that coercer? Thought so.

I’ve been spending a lot of time just thinking, too. I’ve been playing EQ2 since release, something I never had the chance to do with EQ1. In fact I had just started playing EQ1 (had been playing for a year) when EQ2 released. Over the course of the years some of the memories I’ve had have been exceptionally amazing. I’ve met some amazing people. Before I started writing for Beckett I was a guide, and though it was really hard not to write about any of my experiences, it was some of the greatest (and also some of the most stressful) in game times I had. Being a guide fulfilled the whole ‘roleplay’ aspect to the game for me that my regular playing was missing. I loved the adventures and I loved interacting with the player base on that level. I won’t soon forget it. Not to mention the absolutely incredible people who run the program.

When I started writing for Beckett, I found that between playing the game, being a guide, playing other games I was delving into, and keeping that thing called ‘real life’ going something was going to have to give. While I loved being a guide, writing for Beckett pays, so it was (in the end) an easier decision for me. I don’t regret the choice to this day but every so often I still get that roleplay urge and have to find a creative means of venting.

I know that some people think these games are ‘just games’ but when I look back on so many years of memories and friendships that have grown into real life friends, all of the stories shared, it is just an incredible experience in general, and I’m so happy to have been a part of it all.