2008

How Things Change

stargrace June 6, 2008 2Comments

This a very easy zone to get awesome exp. There are usually enough for a pick up group, but bringing your own wouldn’t be a bad idea. The key is to sit on top of the first hill staright ahead of the building that contains the NL zone, the hill with thr huge boulder on top. Have someone be a designated puller and just pull Greyhoppers and any stonegrabers. These con red for groups in mid twenties but easy kills. They will spwan super fast.

Just the other day I had a group consisting of SK(me), Ranger(puller-great zone for them too), Beastlod, Shaman, Necro, and Bard. The experience was awesome. I got two levels in 3 hours.

– Talking about Marus Seru, in 2006

Oh how things change. The above quote came from a reply in allakhazam, that just made me giggle. That was the EQ1 I remember. When it took three or four hours to get a level. Here they’re going on about how awesome the experience was. Last night an impromptu Nostalgia gathering took place for most of the evening, and we gained so many levels it made me dizzy. My druid went from level 37 to 43 in the amount of time we played. Tipa came with her necro and gained a crazy number of levels as well. Sev, Said, Gozad, Binxs, and Gnewton, we all had a blast. The pulls were steady (and constant) and aside from a break here and there when people had to afk, I don’t think we slowed.

It helped to get people caught up for tonight’s meeting. Gnewton especially, who deserves a medal for working so hard to get caught up to us, and no I’m not just saying that because he’s an enchanter and I’m looking for mind candy. Gozad left early in preparation for packing and moving to his new house, but even he benefited from the plentiful experience before that. I didn’t dare play Ishbel, she’s already level 47. It was great fun to play the druid though, a character I rarely expected to play again. She’s severely out of date in everything from gears to spells, wearing batfang headbands and wolf fang earrings, the only things I could afford way back when. It was refreshing to play her, I’d missed it a great deal.

That’s how my evening was spent, and it was wonderful. Chattering to friends about everything on vent, exping in a hot zone, getting some coin and lots of levels.

Before that I made Tipa a set of jewelery, which hopefully came in handy, and after that was done I took Qutey and Ishbel and bought / organized the last 20 levels worth of spells that I’d been neglecting. I found it amusing that as soon as I got Qutey caught up with her neglected spells, I went and gained 6 more levels, which of course meant even more spells to buy. Druids get an insane amount of spells, good grief. Granted, a lot of those are port-type spells, but still. It’s crazy.

Hopefully I’m all set for this evening. I’ll move Ishbel over to Dulak later on in the day. After being in the zone for the past two weeks or so, I’m wondering when I’ll start to bore of it. The answer to that is quite simple I suppose. As long as I’m with good friends (ie: Nostalgia) I won’t. I’m hoping this weekend goes as great as last weekend did. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ishbel will be switching to aa experience very shortly and that the plethora of alts I have will also all be gaining levels before too long. Ah, good times.

The eyes, the eyes!

stargrace June 5, 2008 2Comments

Last night was another one of those ‘wow, I have so much to do, what do I start with’ type of nights. To begin with I spent a good chunk of time making jewelery. I spent way too much money, especially on failed combines. I may be maxed in my craft, but without maxing out on some particular aa’s like salvage and a reduced failure rate (I need the next two ranks) it’s quite common for me to fail on a combine – especially when the gems I’m cutting trivial around 450. Ouch. In the end, Urtog ended up with a new set of jewelery, as did Krann, Ishbel, and Gnewton. Ishbel almost makes me want to cry. She has just about as much mana at level 47, as my level 68 cleric does. She could still potentially wear two more pieces of jewelery with +300 mana on them as well, but for now I’ve opted not to. She’s sitting at 4500, Ellithia (the 68) is sitting at 5000. Way back when that wasn’t too shabby, but over the three years I was away, things changed drastically. Right now unfortunately the game seems to have taken a turn I don’t exactly like. The past few days have been about being uber, and not about just having fun. Aspects of them, at least. I’m looking forward to hanging out with Nostalgia in Dulak on Friday, and I’m hoping this feeling goes away.

I was also supposed to make some spells last night, but that didn’t exactly work out. Of course now Kameeko’s bags are filled with various gem tid bits and she’s got no room to store any of it. Let alone research components. I wanted to make my mass enchant dwerium spell, which has an 8 hour timer. I dislike spells with timers. That’s alright though, some how I’m sure I’ll manage.

After all that was done, I spent a few minutes farming in Dulak – nothing dropped, then I noticed Gnewton was leveling in guild (an enchanter) and what better way to ensure I get myself some future enchanter buffs then by helping him out! So I relogged to Qutey Patootie (my halfling druid) and we set out for Stone Hive. By the end of the hour or so we’d spent there, I gained 5 levels.

Wow. Not bad. Nothing dropped there, either. However, we were luck enough to be trained by some higher level folks running through the zone. How nice was that. They were probably not used to lower level people actually being around in a zone (it’s a hot zone though, it’s not THAT rare to find people meandering around) though in the back of my mind the least they could have done was /ooc that there was a train incoming. They didn’t just train us once, no, they trained us twice. Thank goodness we had Krann there to save the day and help us dps down all those mobs.

Oh yes, amusing screen shot of the night. Those red glowing “eyes” pictured above, are actually Gnewton’s pet’s hands. He’s invisible, and all I saw for the evening was those glowing red hands floating around. He managed to get a few levels as well, ever closer to our Friday Nostalgia group. I’ve got to admit, his enthusiasm for the whole ordeal is quite contagious. Just ignore the fact that his corpse is also pictured there in the screen shot. It didn’t hurt, much.

I have to buy spells, for Ishbel, Minxe, and Qutey, and probably even Satia. I haven’t bought any of them anything for the past 20 levels or so. I’ve been so busy doing other things and working on other stuff. I love it. Sure a good portion is simply because I have multiple alts to work on, but I absolutely adore having stuff to do in game. There’s always something to get done. It’s a feeling that I haven’t had for a very long time. I realize I say that a lot, but hey, it’s true.

It’s all in the Cut

stargrace June 4, 2008 3Comments

I’ve spent a good bit pouring over jewel crafting this last little while, trying to figure out the SoF (Secrets of Faywder) method of doing things. It was interesting, to say the least. Frustrating at times, but once I’d figured it out, I was happy. Jewel crafting is one of the most expensive skills in EQ1 to work up. Thankfully, my jewel crafter (my enchanter, of course) is already maxed in her skill. Enchanters get the ability to enchant the metals used in the crafting. Very handy to have, of course. Then there are aa to reduce the amount of failures, and there’s also an aa called salvage, which lets you potentially regain a bit that you may have lost on a failed combine. Not bad. It’s needed almost, when bits are so expensive.

I came across two very handy sites that explained what I wanted to know. First and foremost being this post that set me on my way. Then afterwards, a guild mate linked me this very handy gem calculator. I love it. I was just complaining yesterday about how difficult it was to know exactly what you were going to get in the end – because this jewelery doesn’t show any stats until AFTER you’ve put it on, making it no trade. I really appreciate all the work that everyone puts into that sort of thing. Now, KyrosKrane (the writer of that calculator, and MANY other very handy crafting tid bits such as this guide on the EverQuest trophy trivial analysis) used to be my guild leader. Way back when. I don’t remember who I played at the time, and I know he wouldn’t remember me, but I remember him. He was a crafter at heart even four + years ago and is very well known in the community.

Anyhow. I found those two bits of information and suddenly it was all crystal clear. Now I can finally make items for my guild mates (and myself) and know what they’re going to end up with. At least that’s ONE thing (or rather, 7 things if you count two rings, two earrings, two bracelets, and one neck) that the defiant gear hasn’t taken away from me. There are no defiant jewelery drops.

Thank goodness.

There are posts everywhere about the defiant gear stuff. Dev’s had originally said they’d be nerfed which I have yet to see. More likely they’re waiting for the two months of ‘summer fun’ to wear off before they bring out their bats. When the newly returning players have all left again and there’s nothing but loyal customers around to swing it at. That’s the way this works, right?

I know I come across as bitter, and in some aspects, I am. I still love EQ1, the community and the people I’ve met. I dislike how in order to put ‘work’ and ‘effort’ into my character – instead of farming old world zones I have to mindlessly kill and hope for a lucky drop. Anyhow.

Last night Ishbel dinged 47. Yes, that’s two levels above the 45 mark, I know. I also know that at 45 she was getting exp just fine with a level 68. So I’m hoping, that these two extra levels can be over looked. I know we have level ranges for LDoN, but since this week is not a LDoN night, I’m really hoping no one gets mad at the extra levels. If I’m so concerned why did I gain them? Well, I really enjoy playing Ishbel. When I’m on of course naturally I want to play her. Plus a healer is typically needed. So last night when Sevaran, Lackey, and Urtog all decided to go to Dulak harbor to get some experience, I was right there. I was 45 when I started, honestly. Dulak is a hot zone, which has a bonus to exp. On top of that bonus, is another 25% bonus for this whole summer legacy bit. I dinged two and a half levels in less then two hours off of light blue mobs.

That’s always been unheard of to me in the past.

It was a good group. Three pieces of defiant armor dropped, or maybe it was four. Plate legs (grats Ishbel, Urtog already had them) plate shoes (grats Urtog) and a leather breastplate (grats Malfi, I believe). I think there may have been one more piece of plate, but it slips my mind. Helm? Yeah, it was a helm (grats Ishbel). Unfortunately no cloth dropped for our two casters, nor did any chain drop to pass off to guild mates (Tipa). Maybe we’ll have better luck another time.

Living Legacy – Rant

stargrace June 3, 2008 12Comments

You’ve been warned, reader. This is a rant, and it’s not that often I do these, so just hang on here.

SOE has recently come up with a marketing ploy to entice old players to come back to their games. It’s well done, too, with lots of shiny. Who doesn’t like shiny? In EQ1, renewing subscribers will get a bunch of items to /claim including 3 pieces of (tradeable) defiant gear, and 1 (tradeable) defiant weapon based on the level and class of the character claiming them. They’ll also get 10 exp potions, and 10 run speed potions, 5 charges of gate to PoK, a bag, and oh yes, two free months of game play. Their account has been reactivated, for free too. EQ2 is going through the same thing, with lots of shiny there, free game play, items to claim.

Wow. It sounds fantastic right? Oh, the new subscribers to EQ1 can also pick up SoF (the latest compilation of expansions) for free when they pay the $15 to activate.

But wait a second, what about those loyal customers, who never left. Or what about those people who subscribed last month, or the month before, still ‘recently’ returning.

Ah, That’s right. We get a pat on the back. We get to partake in the extra 25% exp zones, and maybe farm ourselves a piece of the defiant gear that is dropping world wide.

I suppose on one hand, we should all be thankful that SOE has taken such measures to bring people back to their games. I mean, who could do that other then SOE, what draws people into the game more then shiny. It doesn’t matter if nostalgia has been working to recruit people to the game, that we’ve brought a team of dedicated (fun) people back, and have been writing about it almost none stop.

I know ranting about it doesn’t solve anything, or make anything better, but it was something I had to get off my chest. Don’t get me wrong, either. I am very happy people will come back for at least a short time. I just don’t think they should have to be bribed with shiny in order to do it. Or if they are going to be bribed with shiny at least consider rewarding your loyal customers. I realize there are veteran rewards that long term customers get that short term do not – but in EQ1 they’re very restricted by how long you’ve had your account, and you need to have played for at least a year before you see anything at all. I wish it were like EQ2 where your account was flagged – there for you could claim veteran rewards on every character. But in EQ1 you can only flag 1 character per year. Which means if you were not a guide, or have not played for a huge number of years, you’d better make darn sure you’re going to stick with that character.

Poor alts.

What a Weekend

stargrace June 2, 2008 4Comments

Farmer McClein was having an issue with his fields. Nothing would grow. He’d found a scroll buried there and decided that perhaps reciting from it, would force his crops to sprout up.

That was the basic GM message Norrath heard on Sunday, so myself (as Qutey, for porting) and Kuron headed to Karana (the zone, not the site) to see what was going on. I quickly realized I was going to be way too small to be of any use – the only down side to these EQ1 GM events. I figured I’d stick around and take pictures. Kuron got to be part of the fun, though.

Not even 10 minutes went by before the zone was teaming with people (48 total) and the event was under way. The farmer began to read from his scroll, and suddenly there were crazy giant scarecrows popping up all over his feet, as we felt a tremble beneath us. The details of what happened after that are hazy to me, since I wasn’t actually part of the fighting – but I assume a raid was formed, and scarecrows were squished. In the end, folks got summoned party mugs, the farmers payment for their aid. Loot was also given out as the scarecrows were wielding pretties – including (from what I was told) two BoC – also known as blade  of carnage which used to be super uber (and probably still are).

This is what I missed when I played EQ2. In EQ2 the raids are limited to 24 people. No more, and typically less. There’s no sense of something being ‘bigger’ then you. It’s a matter of WHEN you will kill it. Not IF you will kill it. You can always say ‘we just need more gear, we just need the strat, then we’ll have this down’ in EQ2. In EQ1, some things are just bigger then you and they’re going to hold domain. You’re going to NEED a certain amount of people who ALL know what they’re doing and no amount of gear is going to change the fact that it is a hard fight. You can have the strat handed to you, and it’s still not going to help unless you can coordinate a mass bunch of people. I have so much respect for anyone who does an EQ1 pick up raid (and I’ve been on a few myself). The leaders of those have to deal with SO much it’s astounding.

I miss this sort of raiding.

Aside from the GM event, the weekend was just fantastic. I’m trying to learn the new ‘duo’ and ‘trio’ settings for jewelery and different gems they implemented and how they work – which is slow going. I actually decided to subscribe to allakhazam for 6 months so I could get more detailed information. I don’t mind paying for a service like that when I’m actually using it on a daily basis.

The crafting is coming along, even if it is slowly. I want to work on Kameeko’s trophies for crafting and I’ve been well behind in that. Kuron managed to get his though, and since it’s an evolving item, has been busy leveling it. Lucky.

I also got into an exp group last night where – I was the tank.

That’s right, my jaw just about hit the floor too. Pretty much everyone knows I don’t do the tank thing. At least not well. Last night I dusted off Satia, my (at the time) 45 shadowknight, and along with Lackey (42 magician) and Krann (50 druid) we headed to Dulak Harbor to see what trouble we could get into. It was a great night for coin, and drops. We had a booster pack drop for the group, and while most groups would /random 100 to see who makes out with 45k, I suggested we sell the booster, and split the money three ways. Since everyone in the group is friends with one another, it seemed like a fairly good idea. No longer then 10 minutes had passed with me in trader mode, and what do you know, the booster pack sold. Lackey got a new pair of shoulders, as did I, and Krann’s monk. We had a good split of money by the end since so many gems dropped, and we had fun chattering away in vent while I pulled (and Krann ganked). I don’t think I did too bad tanking, I was good with my taunts, I could typically peel adds off, and even though I was out of mana a whole lot, it didn’t feel like I sucked horribly. Who knows though, my two group mates may think differently.

Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend, or better friends to spend it with.