EQII – A Pixel Nomad

[EQII] Where do you Start? The Beginning.

Returning to a game you’ve been away from for some time is never an easy feat. You have to make some tough decisions, do you re-visit your old characters that you love but you have no idea how to play / where to go, or do you start fresh so that you can try to re-learn the game (and your class). I opted for a combination of the two.

I started off re-visiting my higher level characters. Right now I have a handful of level 120 characters, and an unused boost for 130. The rest all sit at level 100, except for a brand new Ratonga Coercer, who was created so that I could get a feel for things again. Most of my characters sit on the Antonia Bayle server, but that has grown quiet over the years, and so this time around I created on the more populated Maj’Dul. There were some events taking place and chat was lively as people were trying to figure out timers and zones to head to. I wasn’t quite ready for that, yet. Soon though.

I’m not really a fan of the ‘starting over’ method, but you’re not given a lot of choices. Games (IMO) do a very bad job of welcoming back the average returning player. In most cases you log in and you’re given zero indication as to what you were working on 10 years ago, and you have no idea where to go to progress – or if you even want to progress. A lot of update notes that you’ve never seen have probably crossed the paths of most players, and you’ll be expected to stumble your way along until eventually, finally, if you stick with it – you’ll catch up.

So where does that leave me? A level 2 coercer, who at least knows where to go and what to do – and a few level 120 characters who have no idea what is going on. In the end, I settled for some crafting.

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

[EQII] Lion’s Mane Vestige Room – The Baubleshire

While I wait for my new microphone to show up, I thought I’d show off one of my favourite housing builds. This home belongs to my halfling inquisitor, Petites. She lives in Baubleshire, and I think this home is a fantastic example of how you don’t need to own a big flashy house in order to have it represent your character well.

These houses tend to have very high ceilings which just didn’t suit the small halfling aesthetic, so I used ornate ferrite tables expanded to their largest size to create room pillars and lower ceilings.

A cozy fireplace with some books, perfect for those rainy Baubleshire days.

It just wouldn’t be a halfling home without some sort of kitchen – and of course, a lot of food.

A seating area, complete with aquarium. Keep in mind that all of these smaller rooms are inside a single inn room. I have the 2nd room blocked off and currently used for storage.

Finally, the bedroom. Everything in this house is cozy and halfling sized. It’s not too crowded, but still displays some fantastic collectables that I’ve earned over the years. This is one of my smallest builds, both in physical size, and in items used. It’s also one of my favourites.

Once I get my microphone and I’m all set up to record some videos again I’ll be posting tours of this (and my other homes) over on YouTube, so be sure to watch this space for details on that. Next up, I’ll be showing off my personal library, where I have over 700 player-written books that I’ve collected over the years!

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

[EQII] Guess Who is Joining the EverQuest II Content Creator Program

It was because of this post over at Inventory Full that I even learned about the content creator program to begin with. Now, I haven’t actively played EQII since 2021 but I do have quite a long history with the game.

Met my husband in game (we’ve been together for 15 years, married for 9, and have 2 children)
Went to San Diego to interview the team for Beckett MOG (back when magazines were a thing) some of those folks are still around!
I have more than 500 blog posts about that single game, more than any other game I’ve ever written about – plus various videos kicking around YouTube.

One of the options when you sign up for the program is that you can mark yourself as a returning player, so that’s what I did. They ask you about your current content creation (which I admitted did not currently involve EverQuestII, but did involve other MMORPG and has been done on a fairly steady basis for a large number of years) and all of the basic questions that you would expect. It did take some time to hear back, the program is just rolling out and things are still getting set up.

One question my husband asked me, was WHY I would sign up. Why did this interest me. Aside from my long history with the game, I’ve been looking for a little extra motivation & inspiration when it comes to content creation. I oftentimes talk about how easy it is to lose yourself in parenthood and just be “so and so’s wife, so and so’s mom” without an identity. I’ve always loved sharing games I’m passionate about, and I’ve kept this blog up through all of the trials and tribulations, writing about those games. I wanted a little more motivation to go beyond the blog. I think this will help.

There you have it, the latest person to join the EQII content creator program. I hope to post some great things over time. If you’re looking for me over on socials, here’s my carrd.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Round Two: Cavern of the Afflicted

That’s always the way it happens. Monday the ‘daily double’ (which seems to reward 2 shards for some people, while others only get 1 shard) was Cavern of the Afflicted – which is the zone I did Tuesday. Tuesday’s daily double was Halls of the Forsaken – which is the zone i did Monday. Ah well. I dusted Arysh (warden) off after dinner and headed to the zone. At least the zone in issues seem to be slightly under control. It does still take a few minutes to get anywhere, but it wasn’t near the 10 minute mark from the night before. Cavern of the Afflicted is a shadowknight’s dream. This zone has so many mobs. Warlocks love it too. We constantly pulled 2-3 groups at once and Shadowgeist was parsing 8-14k an encounter. Very fun stuff.

I want to thank the people at SOE who linked my site on their Tuesday Town Crier (it’s posted weekly) with six of my posts. I really appreciate the EQ2 community and readers.

I’m collecting a fair amount of void shards now, I’m almost up to 10. I haven’t even looked at the merchants to see what they offer and what would be upgrades. I believe that there are some pieces that cost less then what I have right now, so I should look into it today. I also want to find a crafter who can make the pieces for me so that I don’t have to pay extra shards. A lot of the crafters that can be hired on Najena are asking for 1p per piece, and I’m of two minds about this. The craft books are not especially hard to get, and they cost practically nothing to actually craft the piece. On the other hand, money is not hard to come by in EQ2 especially from level 70+ so why shouldn’t they charge this amount. I’m still hoping I can find friends and guild mates who have the books rather then paying coin for simple combines.

Cavern of the Afflicted is a fairly easy zone, though I was reminded some times how frustrating it can be to play a healer. During one encounter (the one that burrows) group members are hit with a noxious dot. This drains your power, and it drains it fast. The problem is that my group did not have a group noxious cure. The way I typically fight this worm is to bring it upstairs to the room with the well in it, and any time the worm ‘burrows’ and it’s stone shield is up, train it around the room in circles so that players avoid the nasty things that happen (knock backs, aoe’s etc). When they do this, their noxious aoe also goes off. One of the group members said in group that if the group didn’t get cured fast enough (while we all had the dot of course) that we’d not have any power, and would die.

Well, I know that. However when an entire group is spread out over a well, some times not everyone is range. Not to mention we’re constantly running around for that encounter, and I have to cure everyone one at a time. I wish I could do it all but alas it takes a second or two. For the most part I think I am fairly prompt on the cures, they’re one of the most important aspects for healers in EQ2 especially from level 70+ if you’re not curing things are going to go bad, and fast.

We defeated the encounter, and got the same cinch that just dropped off of another trash mob, even though the encounter was a named one.

Ugh. Transmuted it went.

Unlike my first trip through the zone, we found the key for the treasure chest at the end of this one along our way, and each of us got our two shards. Now it’s just time to find something to spend them all on! I’m still debating leveling up my templar, but I think I’ve come to an easier solution then just quest grinding in RoK or even TSO. The templar is sitting at level 77 and is on my ‘main’ account. She gets a 30% experience bonus for adventuring due to the others on the account who are already max level. I have been looking for an excuse to level my swashbuckler (newly betrayed from brigand) on the 2nd account. Swashbucklers get stances (All dps scouts do, except bards) and taunts, making them some what effective tanks, especially at lower levels. She’s 45, and has a lot of leveling to go. Even if the experience is significantly reduced for the templar, leveling along with a 45 dps is better then leveling alone, or leveling through more quest grinding. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoy the ‘questing to level’ method that’s implemented in EQ2 (I know a lot of people are quite tired of that) and I love seeing my achievements from leveling. Some times, I just want to play EQ1-style. Find a nice camp some place, sit down, and pull to the location for hours. EQ2 doesn’t do this very well, groups are constantly moving. Also not a bad thing, just different then another game.

Hope everyone else is having a great week thus far, happy gaming in whichever game you happen to play!