2008

We all started as Newbs

stargrace March 27, 2008 2Comments

Something to keep in mind as you play in any realm, is that we ALL started as new players at one point or another, and if you’ve played one or more mmo’s in the past, you have an advantage over other players who maybe are delving into it for the first time. When I hear the questions some people ask on channels, I often wonder ‘how the heck can they NOT know that!’ – and then I catch myself, and remember how long it took me to get to level 10 when EQ2 released. It took three days.

There’s a few things every new player typically does. Look at their UI, see if there’s a way to arrange it to the way they like it, and I, personally, look for the key bindings, right away. I switch everything over to ‘the eq2’ format. I use tilde for auto attack, and remove it from my hot bar. I look for the screen shot button (you’d think it’s always print screen, but no, in Vanguard it’s F11) and I look for the basics. The inventory window, how to open bags, binding all my bags to one key, looking for lights if any are used, and any other weird keys I may not be used to.

I have very little patience with people, and explaining to someone where these ‘newb’ features are, frustrates me. I take a deep breath and remind myself that not everyone has been playing since release. That to some this is their first mmo (whatever game it may be, there are newbs wandering around everywhere) and that maybe if I could develop a little patience, and explain things a little nicer (WTF how did you get to level 80 and NOT know that you have to turn counter clockwise 12 times and click your heels in order to gate home?!) they may stick around, and in turn help someone else out. Setting an example to a fellow gamer is a huge deal, and sets the pace for the over all feeling of the game.

So when you’re wandering around, and you stumble into that person decked out in ‘green’ gear of shoddy quality. Remember. You were there once too. Even if it wasn’t for long.

My Cake is not a Lie

stargrace March 26, 2008 4Comments

Boston Cream cake, it may not look like the fanciest cake out there, but it was delicious.

So, last night I asked to be demoted from officer in my guild. Nothing overly big, but I’m just feeling overwhelmed with the responsibilities. We’ve had approx. 25 new recruits in the last three weeks, and I’ve tagged at least 90% of those people. I feel as though as an officer it’s my job to not only make sure new players feel welcome, but that they’re settled in the guild and game in general. I craft constantly for guild members (for no charge) and it’s slightly frustrating when the first thing a new recruit asks (who I’ve never even heard of before mind you) is for me to make them 300 bricks right off the bat. I admit now, I have a hard time saying no. I understand that no one’s forced me to take on the role to the extent that I have, but I feel as though it’s sort of my duty, if that makes sense.

I do like helping people, I’m not all mean. I do enjoy crafting house items for my fellow guild mates (ones I’ve known for a bit) and helping when I can. However, doing it daily from 6am-10pm is becoming more like a job then a fun game. That’s my reason for stepping down. I don’t mean to belittle the other officers or guild leader, but due to my constant play times, it’s just too much. Hopefully they understand.

Vanguard went down this morning for it’s weekly update, typically it’s Tuesday but last week and this week have been Wednesdays. I’m hoping they fix a few major bugs that are floating around. Since the server came down (well, it actually crashed, an hour before it was supposed to come down) I decided to take a peek into EQ2. I think I scared Calreth half to death when I suddenly showed up in guild. I left over two months ago (not intentionally, I was just going to ‘peek’ into Vanguard and then got swept up in the game) and have missed a few updates. There’s all sorts of crafting recipes now, and a whole lot of house items that I’ve never seen. I think I spend the better part of my EQ2 posts talking about housing and house items, and yet my own carpenter is only level 30. The itch to work on her and level is pretty strong right now. She’s also my 77 coercer, not that far away from 80, though I have no inclination to begin raiding or anything of the sort. The problem is that my characters are (at the moment) split between servers, which is a pain. I had even contemplated deleting some from one server, and starting them anew on the other. That’d be a lot (three years?) of work down the drain though. In the back of my mind I keep hoping SOE offers another free transfer option, or creates some sort of “move all your characters from this account” plan. Rather then the $50 each that I’d have to pay right now.

I noticed that fire place flames are now persistent even when no one has been home. Veteran rewards have been awarded by character and not 3 per like it used to be. There are froglok mannequins that I just laughed out loud about. My jeweler is still missing four pieces to her epic, but I’m not sure how easy that is to complete, no one seemed to be talking on the craft channels when I was on. Then again it was pretty early in the day and I wasn’t exactly looking to see who could help me out.

I’ve always been bad at playing more then one game. I like to dedicate myself to one or another fully. I do have station access though, and it seems a shame to be spending $30 a month playing just one of the listed titles. I’ve mentioned time and time again that I leave EQ2 and typically always come back, maybe it’s that time again.