The Blinding Sands of Razad
stargrace 
Having fun in Vanguard yesterday, I have been trying to decide where I should be for my level. I checked my quest journal and found a lot of old grey quests in there. Cleared those out, and at the bottom were some ‘heros are needed’ type quests. Basically these quests just send you to the Rift Seekers, who port you to the appropriate level area. Then you can wander around the quest hubs picking up new things to do.
I had a quest that sent me to Razad, in Qalia. I’ve never been overly fond of this continent because the bright blinding snow er, sand, looks horrible for some reason on my screen. Everything else looks just fine, but the sand is literally blinding. Walking through Aghram during the day I have to wear sunglasses. Since I really do have no idea where I should be, that’s where I headed to. I’m not sure how everyone else in Vanguard levels so fast, there’s people talking about having multiple level 50’s while I seem to trudge along. Not complaining in the least bit, Telon is a very beautiful and large world that I enjoy exploring. I was 70% through level 41, and by the end of my adventures (and a LOT of deaths) I finally hit 42.
There was only one ‘incident’ to speak of, and it’s one I know happens on every game. I was killing level 43 three dot (small group but can be solo’d by most) beetles outside of a cave when a 45 paladin happened to wander by. Noting that he was killing the same mobs as I, I asked if he’d like to join up. He sent me a tell back saying no thanks, that he wasn’t sure when he’d be leaving and didn’t want to. I told him it didn’t matter if he had to leave soon, I’d be ok with that, just thought maybe it would be easier then competing for the same creatures.
10 minutes later he brought a 45 druid (remember these are nukers in VG, not healers) with him, and they proceeded to clear out all of the mobs that I was killing. They made their way into the caves, and I decided for safety sake I’d stay outside. 41 vs. 43 tripple dot is still a challenge, and I didn’t want to get killed (again, some stray crazed wandering men had already killed me a few times).
Turns out I shouldn’t have worried so much about dying, because it was in the cards for me no matter what. The paladin came rushing out of the caves with at least 20-30 massive beetles trailing after him. Now, if you’re not aware of how combat in VG works – the instant a mob PASSES within proximity of you, while you are in combat with another mob, you instantly also incur agro from that new mob (if they’re not dealt with by whoever is running from them). You don’t even have to look at the mob, and the instant their target vanishes from their sight, they’ll come after you. Thus was my untimely death. Again.
Thank you Mr. Paladin, what holy ways you have!
I was frustrated, having already died of my own accord and decided to move on to an easier quest that didn’t require me hanging around ungrateful plate wearers. Searching through my quest journal I had a few solo quests that required me to kill creatures wandering around the desert, place some clues and frame someone, and other random sand-y things. It was actually a lot of fun and once I stopped dying I managed to ding level 42.
Level 42 means one step closer to the current cap of 50. It’s also a level where I obtained a bunch of new spells. I’m still searching for an active guild, and I’ve heard a few recruitment messages now, so I’m hoping to get into one before too long. My 42 bloodmage is also a 45 artificer (mineralogist to be specific) and I’m close to 46. I’d like to finish that up and then decide who I’ll be leveling next. I’m torn between leveling my psionicist (fun class, much like the enchanters of EQ1/EQ2) or my disciple (melee healer) and then deciding which crafter to level (which will probably be a combination, or at least a heavy focus on the crafter who makes house items and boats).
Speaking of houses. My T5 home is still standing! I was worried after my absense that I may have forgotten to put any coin into escrow, but it’s there. I added another 36 weeks worth of payments, and that should take care of it for a bit. I do need to get decorating it some more! The christmas tree, bed, and fire place are starting to look dreary with my harvest boxes.
The latest edition of Beckett MOG (Massive Online Gamer) has come out in the states for those who have a subscription (it should be in stores shortly as well in the US and Canada), and with it two of my articles. One was a class guide on the templar and inquisitor, and the other a dungeon guide on Veksar. (Keep in mind both of these articles were written well before the expansion was released). I wanted to add the 
I didn’t do any of the crafting quests yesterday either, which means I may be slightly behind in those. Today I should be able to obtain the solo quest once more, and max out my faction (finally) on Silhouette, which means she’ll be able to buy some new recipe books. Today I’m going to head to the Moors and work on the quests within the zone so that I can purchase the faction books there as well. The appearance armor located in the Moors is also quite fantastic, I especially like the new lambent type armor. Truth be told, I’m quite happy that I’ve stayed out of TSO for the most part (aside from the crafting bits). It’s a little over a week into the expansion and I’m not bored. Of course this does mean that I don’t know all of the secrets to beating all of the encounters in the instances, and since most use puzzles this may be a hardship for any groups I join – but I’m a fast learner and I’ll pick them up as I go along. I keep meaning to get out there more and the craft tables keep drawing me back.
We go out, in Norrathian Night,