August 2009

Obelisk of Ahkzul (again)

stargrace August 26, 2009 5 Comments

Things have been going fairly well in game (out of game is some times a different story) even though I haven’t been talking in great details about it all here. The illusionist is now sporting three pieces of her T4 set, bracers, gloves, and boots. I find it a little frustrating that in order for non-raiders to obtain T1-3 it costs a LOT of shards – but for raiders it costs a few plat (which is nothing) and a very tiny amount of shards. Plus you don’t need T1-3 in order to get T4. I suppose much like raids are ‘work’ to those doing them, obtaining shards is ‘work’ for those who don’t raid. Not to mention you actually get a lot of shards while raiding. Ah well.

Apparently illusionists are not happy at all about the six set bonus they’re given. Since I only have my two set bonus (one piece away from 4) I don’t have any idea how it compares to other classes.

Last night I did a quick Obelisk of Ahkzul run in the hopes that I would get lucky and that shield would drop. No, it didn’t drop. I imagine that the day of the new expansion in February if I were to do the zone, it would drop. That would be my luck.

I’ve been outfitting an 80 defiler I have now with gear (she’s still mostly naked) and contemplating doing yet another epic. Taking a look at the defiler epic though almost made me not want to do it any more. Compared to other epics it looks annoying. It involves multiple zones, epics, instances, and encounters, not to mention 40,000 Reet faction, and at this exact moment I’m sitting on -44,000 faction. Ouch.

I’m still working on getting at least one (or multiple) characters to 200 aa. It seems to be moving very slow. I’m looking forward to the September changes, but in the mean time things are a little slow.

I need to get back to a little decorating, and I also forgot to post a book of the day (BoTD) on Saturday, so I’ll have to remind myself to do it this week. I just had so much to talk about last week, hehe. I hope everyone has an amazing Wednesday, no matter where you find yourself.

See you in Norrath!

Gaming

BaKawk! Questing as a Chicken

stargrace August 25, 2009 No Comments

It’s been a few months since I’ve played Warhammer, I gave it a try when it released and I enjoyed the game (much as I enjoy most games) but as time went on and my friends moved on I decided I could no longer devote $15/m worth of time to it, and crossed it off of my list of active games. I entered a contest at Bio Break last week and was pleased to find out yesterday that I’d won a few goodies for the game, and just as my contest entry said I decided to activate it (even if only for a short while).

I have a small selection of destructi0n on Gorfang and one Arch Mage on Badlands (I think?). I had to reinstall the game to my new drive, and spent a few hours patching but it was no worse then any other game. I have kept up with the updates on a very small scale, so any chances were still pretty much new to me. When I reactivated the account I qualified for 10 free days, so I’m playing through those first.

I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to start over or try to pick up with one of my current characters. I’d only made it to level 11 on the zealot – I hate starting from scratch (especially since I had numerous low level characters and have played through those areas before many times). I logged in, found myself in the Inevitable City, found some new recruit quests which I promptly picked up and headed to Nordland (I believe). Surprisingly enough there was some major oRvR going on – which destruction was losing badly. We were out numbered and out maneuvered but it was still neat to mouse over the map and see 4-5 pockets of 10-25 people in battles.

I completed a few recruit quests, killed a few players – and along the way I dinged 12 which apparently crossed me into the “ack you’re too big to be here” line and I promptly turned into a chicken.

I remembered (though I’d never actually been one before) that turning into a chicken happens when you’re too high level for the pvp in the area – but I actually had no choice, my quests all required me to be in pvp areas exploring and checking on scouts. I was a little peeved that the quests required me to go to areas that I was too big for, but I decided I would just keep an eye out for mob encounters as well as pvp encounters, and try to finish the new recruit quests before moving on to a harder area.

Chickens don’t have much health, and they can’t use any of their spells. Since most of my quests were about scouting an area, I managed to complete them. I slowly remembered commands and how to play – even though I haven’t done a lot of actual casting yet, since I was a chicken the entire time.

Once my quests were completed I deleted a few other lower level ones and decided to head to Ostland, which I believe is the next quest area for my level. I picked up a few new zealot spells and made the long walk (as a chicken). I’m sure the people on the road who were walking with me were amused by my random clucking.

Will I stick with the game for any length of time? I haven’t decided but knowing my history I won’t. I’m still having a blast in EQ2 and passing time away until GU53 when achievements come out and auto mentoring. At least this gives me something to do in the mean time.

Gaming

You Just Never Know Where You Will End Up

stargrace August 24, 2009 6 Comments

This day in age it seems that no matter where you look, you will find people talking about the negatives of gaming. Who became addicted to what and what the results of that disaster were. How someone lost their friends, family, job and even life over a video game. How we’re all making ourselves unhealthy with our play times, how being secluded in the basement is detrimental. We’ve heard all of this doom and gloom for years now and for those of us who actually game, it’s nothing new.

Everything is bad without moderation. It doesn’t matter if it’s playing a video game or reading a book or eating cheese. Do it to the point that it over takes your life and you’re going to find yourself dealing with unwanted side effects.

Instead of talking about all of this doom and gloom I’d like to focus at least for today on the positives of gaming – because there are certainly some good things about it, especially a few specifics that affect me. This post won’t apply to everyone out there as a direct example of how gaming can be good, but it should at least represent ONE example – and there are a lot more.

First of all lets get the basics out of the way. It was through gaming that I met some of the most incredible people I’ve ever known. People who are smart, passionate, and who I would not have known other wise. I have been able to learn about other cultures through these people and have come to have a deeper understanding and appreciation for all of the differences that are out there in the world. I have been able to learn through them and shared in some fantastic memories that won’t soon be forgotten. I have heard discussions over the years ranging from politics, religion and acceptance, to tv shows and movies. Opinions from the youngest to the oldest, from every walk of life. When I sit back and think about everything people discuss, and how I have been able to be involved in those discussions even in the smallest way, it’s astounding to me. These people are not just online strangers to me, they are friends and family who motivate, inspire, and awe me every single day of my life.

Gaming has given me the ability to branch out creatively, creating massive stories in my mind (and on paper and other media) as much as any book or movie would have. Games provide a setting for these stories, where I am not the only character involved. I have read creative works written by some amazing and talented people, I have seen artwork, heard music, and so much more that all derived from these video games. That motivated them. Spurned them on because it is something they feel passionate about.

On a personal note – video games have opened up a door to me that I would have never been able to get into other wise. I have the ability to share my thoughts to others through publications in a magazine, and online on this site. It is through this work that I have found some of my most memorable moments. There was the trip down to San Diego just last April to visit the people at Sony Online Entertainment. If you had of asked me two years ago if I thought that I would be interviewing the dev teams, I would have laughed. Then today came another such moment when Eric Bloom from Blue Oyster Cult called me to talk about the finer details of Wizard 101, and we talked games for a good 30 minutes. What a great way to get to know people when you have something in common that you are both passionate about.

We talked about old games, how people moved on from them, how they seem to be scattered now that there are so many choices out there. We talked about the early days of EQ2, WoW, AoC, WAR. We talked about how the term ‘gamer’ instantly bonds you as friends with strangers because it’s such a powerful connection. Even if you haven’t played the same types of games. It was just one of those moments I had to think about afterward and think to myself ‘wow, did that really just happen? Did I really just hang up the phone with Eric Bloom after we talked about pips and crafting in a video game?’

Are there nights I stay up a little too late to accomplish some pointless goal that no one will remember 5 years from now? Of course. There are. Are there days I think to myself that I’m wasting my time away playing a video game – no. Not a second. Being able to play in these worlds others have created has opened far too many doors for me in my life to think for a second that I wasted time while playing them. Of course none of this has come without a lot of hard work. I can’t JUST be playing video games, I balance it as anyone should with work (which happens to involve gaming, I realize I’m lucky that way), friends, family, and every other mundane thing out there that has to get done (as well as a few non-gaming related passions). When I look back and think about what I have accomplished through gaming, or because of gaming, or that is related to it in some way even the smallest – I am proud. Proud to say that yes, I am a gamer. I’ve played for years now, and I’ll continue to play for years – I have managed to do some amazing things in my life because of these opportunities.

Everyone has the same ability, it just requires the motivation and perseverance to get some where with it. The fact that games have inspired me to make something of myself is not offensive to me in the least bit. I just hope that the future years of playing are as exciting and profitable to me as the ones up to now have been.

Gaming

A Warlock, an Illusionist, and a Mystic walk into a Raid…

stargrace August 23, 2009 4 Comments

Last night was an incredible night on so many levels. It may be an expansion behind, but I finally obtained my mythical weapon on both the illusionist and the mystic. A huge thank you to Paradise Lost on the Oasis server who run pick up Veeshan’s Peak raids once a month and invite members of the server (as well as friends and family from their guild) to join without having to pay an arm and a leg as other guilds charge.

Of course mythicals would not be quite as fun was there not a little drama that went along with the fight. I needed Leviathan on both the illusionist and the mystic, and since they are on seperate accounts it was decided that I would box this encounter. Since the mystic heals and the illusionist does nothing but stand there and power feed, it wasn’t a big deal – until I heard over guild vent something along the lines of ‘wow this illusionist is stupid’ (except they didn’t use the word stupid and used something harsher which I won’t repeat on my site). I spoke up on the mystic and said ‘oh really’? and informed them that the illusionist was actually being boxed, while I concentrated on the healer. They didn’t realize this and fumbled through some sort of ‘I have to give all new guild mates a hard time’ even though I’m not new and have been there for a while. Their complaint was that I had not put time compression on them. They didn’t ask if they could have it, and I honestly did not even recall casting it since I was concentrating on other things, but instead of just asking or inquiring about it they decided to be exceptionally rude and insulting. It put me in a bad frame of mind for the remainder of the evening, as I explained to them in tells that all they had to do was ask, and that she was being boxed.

Leviathan went down – almost without issue – Calreth was there for his update into Veeshan’s Peak and actually ended up dropping link part way through the fight as his power went out. We quickly sent someone outside of the zone (thus exiting combat) and invited him back to the raid while Leviathan was around 20% health. It was quite intense but he got his update which is all that really mattered. Once Leviathan was down it was on to Veeshan’s Peak. Now, I have not been to this zone since I wrote my article in an older issue of Beckett Massive Online Gamer, and I certainly had never been with any characters I currently play, so it had been some time. Groups were swapped around and I started out on the mystic, since her update was first. I knew it was going to be a long raid because we intended on clearing the entire place – not such a big deal when you have an entire raid of geared up players, but we were still sporting two groups of pick up raiders, and alts from the main guild.

The raids of RoK are so different then the ones in TSO. In TSO they are all about curing fast and often – constantly curing. You go through so many potions self curing. They are all about who has what particular debuff at the time and what the counter to that debuff is. I really don’t enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoy RoK raids, which involve a mixture of tactics and most of them involve jousting and knockbacks.

The first and second floors went off without a hitch, the mystic update is Hoshkar on the second floor, and by the time we defeated the encounter I was starting to fall asleep at the desk – it was four hours into raids (which I haven’t done for quite some time) and I barely looked at the mythical weapon I was granted back in greystone yard before logging over to the illusionist for the third floor.

The third floor is the quickest and also the easiest as chance would have it. We wiped three times for the entire VP zone, twice it was due to a faulty pull of some golems, the third time it was Silverwing and some AoE avoidance not being activated in time. I think. I my mind is basically a blur of encounters by that point.

The end of the evening resulted in a huge number of people getting their updates, and I was really happy. I absolutely love the illusionist mythical which allows me to use my single target haste buff as a group buff and adds some double attack to it (I’m so glad I have the master version of the spell) as well as allowing me to use my pet without any concentration (that’s three whole slots it opens up). It also grants my group a power proc which is never a bad thing. Excited? Yes, I certainly was. Taking a look at the mystic mythical above it’s also pretty dang nice, and I’m glad to have finally gotten it – even if I am an expansion behind.

All in all it was a great night, and I really do owe a big thank you to the folks of Paradise Lost – they’ve made me feel incredibly welcome (most of them) and I appreciate it more then they’ll ever know.

Gaming

Pawbuster, Venril Sathir, and Thuuga – Oh my!

stargrace August 22, 2009 2 Comments

Yesterday was busy. It was wow-this-must-be-a-Saturday busy. Today is also going to be busy (but Sunday should be blissfully quiet). How busy was it? Well I started out my gaming on Antonia Bayle – recovered from the giant data base issue that happened yesterday. The first portion of the day was spent arguing with players about the bonus achievement experience (20%) that was implemented for the weekend. No matter how many times I said “look, I just asked Brenlo himself, and he said it’s 20% aa!” that wasn’t good enough and 40 people would jump down my throat saying it was adventure experience too. The email said achievement only, the /motd in game was slightly more confusing (which is why I asked Brenlo to begin with). The only thing that bothers me in game to any great extent is when people give out the wrong answer or information towards something and then want to argue about their wrong answer. Pet peeve, if you will.

I’m creating and betraying a defiler over on Antonia Bayle, which means yet another epic to work up and spells to be bought. Thankfully my guild mates are the most incredible people I’ve ever met and they’re helping me out. I’m currently working faction for Neriak, as it’s the faster of the two available evil locations. It’s still slow, but I got a fair amount done last night.

After some dinner it was time to head to Oasis, where I ran the mission of the day (Anchor of Bazzul) on the illusionist and mystic, and then ran Obelisk of Ahkzul. No. The shield didn’t drop – but the mystic in group (not me) had it so I KNOW it’s out there.

Once instances were done it was time for a little break and then the real festivities of the night started. It was an off night, no real raids were scheduled which meant it was the perfect time to kill Pawbuster and Venril Sathir for my mystic updates. Calreth joined me (he doesn’t need the updates but it was nice to have the help) and while Pawbuster was an exceptionally easy fight, Venril Sathir took three attempts to work down because (surprise surprise) a few people were not paying attention – even after the nerf to the encounter.

It’s straight forward. At 90% he spawns some adds, burn them down. At 60% you have to start making sure your power does NOT go below 40% and throughout the fight two people will get a blue debuff on them that causes every spell you cast to drain your power. Chances are if you’re not paying attention and you suddenly find yourself without power, you’ve got the debuff. The key aside from curing yourself from a particularly nasty noxious effect, is to watch your detrimental window for that blue debuff. Only two people get it so it’s not a huge deal – but if you don’t watch for it, you’ll wipe the raid (more then likely). We had an easier time taking down this encounter with one group then we did with a full raid force because the more people who have to pay attention – the less who will. It seems to just work that way.

Eventually we got him down and my mystic is now only one update away from her mythical – which happens to be obtainable today. Later on there is a Leviathan and Veeshan’s Peak raid being formed up and I’ll hopefully be bringing along two characters (I’ve not yet decided if it will be the troubador or the illusionist) to get their updates. I’m excited. I’m leaning towards the illusionist, as she could really make use of the mythical, it allows her to cast her pet for no concentration. Not the largest amount of dps she has but a free pet is a free pet.

After Pawbuster and Venril Sathir we decided to two groups Thuuga for an update (assassin) we only had three healers so I thought we’d be a little behind as it was mostly alts tagging along (which means less dps) but the zone was not quite as painful as I remembered it, and it went smooth.

It was nearing midnight by that time, and everyone wanted to head to Spirits of the Lost – which is a level 50-60 raid zone located at the entrance to Cazic Thul (it used to be used in the Freeing of the Frogloks live event) I zoned the two groups in on my warden who has access, and then decided to call it a night and get some sleep. Tonight will be a long raid night, clearing out Leviathan (which is fairly quick at least) and then heading to Veeshan’s Peak. I’m really looking forward to it though, and looking forward to seeing all of those mythical updates!

Obelisk of Ahkzul (again)

BaKawk! Questing as a Chicken

You Just Never Know Where You Will End Up

A Warlock, an Illusionist, and a Mystic walk into a Raid…

Pawbuster, Venril Sathir, and Thuuga – Oh my!

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