2009

Oops, I did it again

stargrace June 25, 2009 6 Comments

I resubscribed to WoW, even though it has been almost a year since I last played – I know, I know. WHY. Right? Well, I have reasons (I always do) so here they are. Number one would have to be the fact that for the past two months I’ve been suffering from gallstones which are exceptionally painful. I have one more month before I can even be considered for an operation to remove my gallbladder, in the mean time I have good days and bad days as everyone who has read my blog knows (I try not to vent about it but it happens, I’m sorry). The day after a ‘bad day’ is spent in bed for the most part, recuperating. Laptop is thankfully never far from my side (notice this post has no screen shot? A sure sign that I have been dealing with health issues and it’s not just pure laziness) along with lots to drink and a warm kitty watching over me.

In any case, WoW is one of those games that runs on anything, which I appreciate. Sure, EQ2 also runs on the laptop, but I ‘m used to boxing in that game and I feel like half a person playing from the bedroom and not the pc. No fault of the game to be sure, it’s just my personal view. Also, being confined to my room means I don’t have the wonderful gaming selection that my PC has, so I’m restricted. I have EQ2, EQ, WoW, W101 and Sims 3 installed on the laptop and they run wonderfully. You can expect that with so much time to do nothing, I get bored, easily. This will also help a little.

I’ve played WoW off and on since release. I’ve never gotten a character over level 50 and I’ve never been end game in any sense of the word. I’ve never made much money, and I’ve always found it amusing that the ‘easiest’ game out there was also the hardest for me at least in terms of leveling. Probably because I’ve never had a steady guild or known anyone else who was playing. I love pvp (but can’t run WAR on the laptop) and while it is HIGHLY doubtful that I will play for more then a month (it’s about all I can handle at a time) it does fill the gaps of my gaming needs for now.

I just need to decide what I’m going to play, and where. I have some characters on Uther (44 priest and my 50 hunter) as well as Ravenholdt, or maybe I’ll just start some where new fresh. I always felt like WoW was the sort of game where it really was too late to start over anywhere new, but I guess we’ll just see.

No, I’m not giving up EQ2, or EQ, or VG or any of the other games I play, but if you see a post or two about WoW or notice my xfire time I didn’t want anyone to think I had betrayed over to the dark side or some such.

In other news, Fan Faire starts today. I’m incredibly jealous. I hope everyone has a safe and fantastic time, I’ll be cheering from the sidelines!

Gaming

Progress

stargrace June 24, 2009 No Comments

Yesterday was one of those rare days when the members of three plus one are all around – and it was great. I spent the morning creating a new necromancer for no other reason then the fact that I could. Her name is Stargrace on the kithicor server, go figure. I used my paladin to power level her until the down time, and managed to reach level 20 hanging out in Fallen Gate.

In the afternoon the four of us decided it was about time we started working on our TSO chapter quests again, and so we finished off chapter 4 which required going into Obelisk of Lost Souls (the level 40 zone) a few times and then headed back to the Moors to pick up chapter 5. This one requires you to head into a number of TSO instances for updates. We meandered our way through Obelisk of Ahkzul (no, the shield did not drop, is it even real or just a myth?) just for fun and then decided we would head to Veksar, since it was the daily double (MoTD if you’re from Kithicor).

We had a few issues with the zone, but nothing extreme. Not a single upgrade dropped, I was hoping the healer charm would show up at the end.

I happened to spot my level 74 coercer charm M1 for sale for 50p on the broker, and Ultann purchased it for me (I’m broke, dang alts) which is fantastic. I have purchased both him and Wpus masters before, it’s just one of the pleasures of gaming with friends. The master charm is not any different then the level 64 version I was using aside from the amount that the mob regens, and the duration of the charm. I’m exceptionally happy to have it though – the spell researcher is currently working on enraging demeanor for me, so 50p was a huge bargain.

These researchers are also why the spell was so cheap to begin with, I had seen the spell sitting for sale for a few weeks now at 100p with no bites. For 100p I’d rather just wait the 30 days. 50p is pretty affordable for such a fantastic spell (my bread and butter while soloing and exploring a few specific zones).

The Norrathian Museum also added a few more books to its collection, which really made me happy. Taymar created a character on Kithicor to pen me a novel as well as the banker of one of Kithicor’s raid guilds, I had to giggle. I have 13 unique player written books in the collection and I expect it to grow.

Aside from that it was a quiet night. In the evening Ultann and Kasul offered to help level up my baby fury, an arasai that I’ve taken a shining to. We started out at level 23 and in Fallen Gate, before too long I was level 38 and in Runnyeye before I had to call it a night and get some sleep. I love alts, nothing new there. The baby fury has only a handful of aa and she’s wearing practically no gear but it’s still fun. I’ve got an unused 75 fury on my recruit a friend account, but I don’t expect to do anything with that third account now that the month if game time I paid for is up.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Wednesday, and that everyone going to Fan Faire has an incredible time. Hopefully next year I’ll be there too!

Gaming

Work work work

stargrace June 23, 2009 5 Comments

Yesterday was quiet – not a bad thing. I happily worked on the museum, adding tables to the library as well as chairs and some lighting. I always have issues getting the lighting right, it’s hard to figure out which house items will give what particular light I want. I added a few more books as well, and mailed off some blank ones to players. So far trying to get people to write for me has been like prying teeth but I expected no less on a non-rp server, and I enjoy the challenge. This way my library is also truely unique, I have one of a kind books that are not published anywhere.

Ultann and Wpus headed off to Pawbuster, but since the cat (as precious as she thinks she is) keeps waking me up at 5am every morning, I have been going to bed fairly early, unable to keep my eyes open any more. Honestly, does anyone have a suggestion on how to train a cat NOT to wake someone up? She will (and I kid you not) do anything within her power to wake me, including (but not limited to) screaming, biting, ripping apart books (my room is a disaster in the morning, I’ve had to give her specific books to chew so that she leaves my important ones alone), vaulting from the nightstand onto me (this is so very painful), she will walk up my body and stuff her nose in my eye and I can wake up to the sound of her heavy breathing, and numerous other acts of cat-ness. 5am is too dang early to be up and I’m one of those ‘once I’m up I’m up’ people, after she’s had her fill of attention for an hour she runs off to sleep. Of course, I’m up by then.

Kasul spent the evening questing, and I nodded off at the keyboard so I decided to get some sleep.

Fan Faire starts really soon, so everyone has been preoccupied with getting that off the ground and I’m excited to see what happens this year. I wish I were going, but there’s always next year. Of course as I’ve mentioned before I’ll be following via twitter and every other device I possibly can, I hope everyone has an exceptional time (I’m sure I don’t even need to say that, it’s just a given).

I believe today the guild of three plus one are all home, so maybe we’ll get a chance to do some instances, summer months are a little more difficult to arrange for that sort of thing. Safe travels, and I hope everyone has an amazing Tuesday!

Gaming

The Power of Words

stargrace June 22, 2009 2 Comments

This player written book was donated to my library this morning. It was one of the most beautiful books I’ve read, and even though it’s not EQ2 related specifically (the story that is) I wanted to share it and remind everyone about the power of words, and just one more reason why I think these player written books are so wonderful, little tokens of memories spread throughout Norrath.

Thank you for allowing me to own this copy and to share it with others who visit the library (which you can find on the Kithicor server, in the North Freeport mage tower, bottom floor under the name of Ellithia).

Gaming

Aion Beta Weekend – Round II

stargrace June 22, 2009 3 Comments

There’s no way my little screen shots do this game justice, and I realize it’s been said numerous times now but let me state it again – this game is so pretty. There are little nooks and crannies everywhere, and while I realize that how a game look does not mean it’s going to be amazing, it is certainly nice to have something that appeals to me on a very basic visual level.

As if the graphics were not enough there is also the music. The music in Aion is compelling and draws the player into the game. I realize that EQ2 has combat music, but it is nothing like the combat music of Aion. It’s breathtaking, and every time I fight something I want to be on the edge of my seat making sure I don’t miss anything. That doesn’t mean it’s for everyone, but I certainly had a blast. Now if my character would just duck out of her combat pose a little faster.

It was not quite as crowded as I would have thought, and this time around there was a choice of two servers. I created a mage instead of a priest, and felt as involved in the process of character selection as I did the first time. Again, the quests are nothing new and if you’re looking for an innovative game you’re not going to find it in Aion but it does offer polish. Lots, and lots of polish. The world looks beautiful, you can customize the bits you need. Again I’ve said this before but it’s taken the aspect of MMO’s I really dislike (lack of jumping, point and click) and given players options or removing them all together.

While learning about my heritage in game and talking to an old woman I decided to take a break and try to regain some mana. My character promptly pulled a magical carpet out of her bags, levitated it a few feet above the ground, and took a seat. No more sitting on the cold ground looking as though I must have some sort of stick shoved in an uncomfortable location (I’m talking about you, Vanguard).

Since I’m sure there are a large number of sites who will be covering the beta weekend I’m not going to go into much detail about the quests, the combat, and the specifics of the game. I’ve been reading the stories and they’re interesting and make me laugh. I can’t pre-order it here in Canada (that I’ve found at least) so I’m going to continue to follow along the beta weekends and see how it goes, I hope everyone else who has been playing has found it just as enjoyable!

Oops, I did it again

Progress

Work work work

The Power of Words

Aion Beta Weekend – Round II

You Missed

Working on Quail Landing (Wurm Online)

Magranon Holy Site (Independence)

WoW Economy Wrap Up – December

Doing All of the Things