EQ2 – Page 153 – A Pixel Nomad

Warden Epic Woes

The warden epic has been one of those epics that should be easier then I found it. Only due to the fact that it requires 40,000 faction with the Synd Reet and for some odd reason, it’s going slowly. I am up to 21,900 faction currently on Arysh – doing the repeatable 5,000 faction quest that sends me into sebilis to fight heroic iksars. The part that boggles me is that Goudia, has 39,000 faction with the Reet, and she has never done any of the Sebilis quests. I have no idea where I got it from. I’ve been trying to think of other Reet factions located in Norrath some where that I may have missed while leveling up with Arysh. Silhouette is also sporting very high faction with the Reet, and I’ve never done the Sebilis quests on her either.

Aside from working on the faction, I needed a named in Sebilis (in the laboratory, which I got), an update in Chardok off of the archmagus (which I also got eventually, they were being stingy) and a kill from the Gear encounter in Maidens. I actually played my troubador in Madiens because dps was being stingy, and switched out for that one fight since 3 healers would be just fine for it, the encounter does not do anything special nor does it take a lot of skill.

All that is left (aside from the remaining faction) is a kill in Chelsith, which I’m looking forward to, I enjoy the zone. Then it is just a matter of running around talking to various npc druids, and my third epic will be completed. I know, I’ve been slacking big time on it. The faction is the only portion I disliked. Much like I disliked having to harvest 10 xegonite on the troubador. The coercer epic was still by far the easiest I completed, having it take no more then one day from start to finish. It will be nice to be wielding that finally, I’m getting tired of being level 80 without it.

Aside from working on the epic, I found some anime I had not watched yet, sent to me by a good friend. It is one of those cute girlie anime that not everyone likes since there is no blood and guts. It’s called “Zero No Tsukaima” and it’s about this girl in a magic academy (much like your Harry Potter) who fails at almost every spell she ever attempts, typically with large explosions as consequences. She’s in a second year class and they’re to summon familiars – and she summons a human as hers. I’m only on the fourth episode, and it’s typically around the 10th episode that things get interesting.

Anyhow, the whole point was – while I’m watching anime I am also typically crafting. I put the video on top of EQ2 and it’s far better to grind crafting while watching something interesting, other wise I just end up staring at the craft walls, or even worse, the 70-79 channels.

Silhouette hit level 74 carpenter, and is just reaching 75 now. Guild status is flowing again, although quite a bit slower now that we’ve reached level 21. It’s still my goal to try to hit 30, we’ll see how that goes.

Busy day today, I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Fun in RunnyeyeII

It’s not too often I play my warden any more, for a few reasons. I suppose the main one would be that they’re exceptionally common in game. Everyone and their dog seems to have one tucked away if for nothing more then porting purposes. They’re also one of the easiest healers to play (I’ve played them all) and while they have very little in the way of hp or mitigation buffs (we leave that to the clerics) their heal over time (HoT) are fantastic.

So when an RE2 (RunnyeyeII) group came up with a few friends, of course I jumped at the chance, even though I was off playing some other game (I know, how dare I). It was a group of people that I’ve played with before on numerous occasions, so I wasn’t too worried. At first I was going to join on my troubador, but we really needed more dps (the group consisted of: Inquisitor, Shadowknight, Warlock, Illusionist, Defiler, and myself as Troubador to start). I switched out for the warden and the defiler switched out to his main, a ranger.

We had two deaths total in the zone, and an extra one for me who got pummeled by an AoE on incoming. We pulled the last encounter flawlessly, and during the run the fabled fighter cloak dropped, which of course went to the shadownight who had been running the zone constantly since it released, waiting for that drop.

We transmuted just about everything in the zone, 9 legendary total. Two master chests dropped, the fighter ring also dropped and no one could use it so it went to an alt. I did get Arysh an upgrade to her helm, so I was happy. Though it was painful to transmute all of the items that my troubador could have used. The evening was relaxing and friendly, we talked away on the EQII voice chat and had a pretty good time.

I’ve been falling behind in my crafting, and I’m hoping to spend some time fixing that. This week in particular is going to be hellish though, so we’ll just have to see. Nostalgia is going to meet again on Thursday, this time for some Plane of Hate fun. I hope to get in game and delevel Ellithia the remaining two levels, and perhaps work at getting a few more aa on Qutey and Nala before then. Again it depends on this week though, lots of things coming up.

You’re so vain..

The only thing I like more then trying to find outfits for my characters, is perhaps trying to find hats for them. Since it’s not likely that I’ll be attending any T7 raids any more or T6 where class specific gear dropped with nifty graphics, I’ve had to scrounge some what. I know there are legendary quested class hats that my troubador has yet to complete – but I forget what the graphic on these were. I may be thinking of the dirge one. Since they get everything else that’s cool (stoneskin, rez, parry mods, dps mods) it would only make sense that they have the cool hat too. At least in my eyes.

I did manage to find a troubador only hat from vaults though, the legendary ones that drop at the end of the instance. Pictured above on Goudia, who’s taken to hiding out in dark elf form so she doesn’t scare too many people away as a ratonga. It’s so hard to get a good meal when the bartender keeps trying to shoo you out of the restaurant.

I’m a sucker for the feathered caps, what can I say. They just look so neat.

Speaking of neat, if you haven’t taken a look at the revamped heritage quests yet, go visit the shady swashbuckler on the docks of Nektulos forest and see what they’re looking like now. This charm slot item used to have almost no stats. Now it’s something I would have seriously considered wearing (before they came out with the legendary provisioner made charm items). Very handy for the level that this quest is granted at.

The Cloak of Flames is another heritage quest that’s really been upgraded for the better. I’ve actually never completed this quest on a single one of my characters, and so that’s my goal for today. If not to complete it, then at least to finish collecting the pages that drop for it. Since it should be grey to me now, I’m hoping it doesn’t present too much of a problem. But I am a troubador, so you never know.

Tonight Nostalgia is meeting for some Veksar fun. I’m really looking forward to it, this is one of my favorite zones and I spent a lot of time there in the past. Even though the basic drops (aside from haste items) may not be complete upgrades since all the defiant stuff that’s floating around, it’ll still be wonderful to go back. Qutey is who I’m playing these days. While I was having fun on the cleric, I’d already leveled a cleric and obtained the epic, so I wanted to try to do something new. Qutey has started her druid 1.0 and I’ll be continuing on that. She’s up to 8aa now I believe, and Nala just reached her first four. Not exactly the fastest of things to obtain for me, at least not when I box. Have I mentioned yet that I’m excited about tonight? Well, I certainly am.

Can’t Believe it Either

I didn’t mean to, it started out as a complete acciddent. Well, maybe not quite.

I created another alt. A dirge this time, to experience the other side of the coin. While a lot of people make alts, I only know a handful who make alts that are the other side of the character they already have. I love enchanters, and I have both an illusionist, and a coercer. I like my troubador – in concept, but dislike the way she’s never wanted on groups. So I decided to make a dirge.

Level 23 and rising so far. I’ve been a low level dirge, Goudia betrayed back and forth a handful of times before I settled her as a troubador at level 60 or so.

Remember that GU thing where SOE implimented smart loot for adepts and masters? Well, if you have a level 80 in the group mentoring, it does not seem to work. Kasul and I grouped on our lowbies, and chests that dropped were for either myself or him. It was great. Even alone I was getting useful chests. With the Shadowknight mentored though, I was getting everything under the sun.

Not that I can complain, I did manage to get 21 masters yesterday running through Wailing Caverns and Stormhold. Fun? You bet. I also managed to get two fabled bits of gear.

Rez, stoneskin, and a hate transfer, plus a parry buff. Sounds pretty nice to me. Does this mean the end of my troubador? We’ll see. Perhaps in the next expansion troubadors will get something that makes me a valuable aspect of a group instead of just a buff bot on a raid.

Void Storm Worries

They say you worry less when it doesn’t happen in your home land. That issues are easier to push aside and neglect, and they lay there forgotten until such a time where you are forced to look, given no choice. Such was the way with the void storms, too. At least for me.

There had been reports and rumors for months now about these creatures who wrap themselves in darkness, although located all over Norrath most of the stories I heard came from the two great cities, Freeport and Qeynos. I rarely ventured out of the hold of Gorowyn these days, covered from head to foot in sawdust and other random crafting particles. Months went by while people claimed villagers were setting up camps at the temple of life, and praying for a savior for Norrath. Still, I ignored these warnings.

Perhaps I’d have been better off had I paid them heed, though it chills my bones to say as much out loud.

So when the call came up in Gorowyn from Guide Rosange, I again barely paid it heed. Void beasts in Gorowyn? Within the city itself? They must be mistaken.

Kasul, a long time loyal friend and companion, tugged on my arm while I was at my crafting station, insisting we check it out. I rolled my eyes slightly and decided to humour the sarnak, knowing full well I’d been neglecting our friendship to persue splinters and wood chips. Together we made our way to the base of Gorowyns vast hold, and along the far side, pressed against a wall, stood Rosange. Not ten feet away from her, a void beast and a monstrous cloud that thundered and cracked and shook everything near it like a leaf.

“We must go help!” Kasul started heading straight towards the massive thunder clouds, ignoring the fact that the very ground beneath his feet threatened to send him sprawling.

I agreed, and walking along the outside rim, made myself to the frightened Rosange. Never before had I felt like such a fool for ignoring the warnings. Kasul drew out his daggers to fight the beasts head on, they started coming at us two at a time. I did my best to mutter incantations and before long was lost in the dance of my powers. The world spun and danced around me, a mired of coloured rainbows.

When at last I came to and got a hold of myself once more, bodies of void beasts darker then night itself scattered the floor. Kasul was grinning slightly, in a way that only sarnak can manage. Rosange looked horrified at us, as though we were the ones who were tormenting my sacred city of Gorowyn, and not these beasts. She thanked us, offering some coin from a purse strapped to her side, which we each took, not at all ashamed at claiming a reward.

I headed back upstairs to the safety of my crafting machines, aching for the scent of sawdust again. Void Storms in Gorowyn? Who’d have honestly been able to foresee this. It did not sit well with me, not at all. I feared for not only myself, my friends and what little family I had remaining, but also for Norrath.