April 2010

Inquisitor Finishes Fabled Epic

stargrace April 15, 2010 2 Comments

As I mentioned last week, I started playing on two servers once again. More to watch over the guild on Antonia Bayle so that it didn’t befall any more mishaps then anything else. I have a (now) 83 inquisitor over there named Stargrace. The last few days have been spent off and on trying to complete the fabled epic, and thanks to Ibeogur I managed to get it done. The inquisitor is a class I attempted to play once by betraying my templar but at the time I decided it wasn’t for me. I typically prefer “pure” healers, and playing a healer who is expected to DPS just doesn’t mesh. This time around I’m having a lot of fun with it, even though the character lacks a LOT of gear and spells. Even worse then all of that she lacks achievements, sitting at a grand total of 70 after yesterday. At level 83 this is incredibly painful.

Again it gives me a goal to work towards and something to accomplish in game on top of what I’m already pursuing. I like having goals and objectives like this, it keeps me inspired to play and motivated. I’ve always been big on motivation and inspiration as anyone who knows me is aware of.

Oh, the biggest news I suppose would be that my T1 guild hall on Oasis is almost complete. There’s one more room to finish that I am hoping Kasul and I can turn into a forest garden, but after a LOT of work this week on it, the remainder of the hall is done. I have to say, I think the hall has the best library I’ve ever seen before, and a fantastic aquarium. I’m eager to create a carpenter on Antonia Bayle (since I have no characters there) so that I can begin the process anew. Speaking of which, the inquisitor has no harvesting skills. That’s going to have to change.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their time in game, no matter where you find yourself. Happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!

Great Friends, Great Stories

stargrace April 14, 2010 2 Comments

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th birthday, and it was probably the best birthday I remember having in a very long time. Aside from the fantastic gifts from those closest to me (hugs) I also got a very unique gift from someone who understands my love of stories and roleplay – and especially gaming. He set up an elaborate story in game using zones like Nektulos Forest and Shimmering Citadel, and items like his house to move the story along. It was incredibly well done, and I had a blast playing through it.

The story was quite simple, my friend had gone missing. Supposedly kidnapped by a vampire and he left little hints and clues on how I could prevent worse fate from happening. I was given hints on where he was, and he had created a whole cast of characters to aid me on my adventure. My favorite would have to be Udoo – the ratonga pictured above. Absentminded and quite the little talker, it was hard to get him to focus on the task at hand, which was creating a potion for me to revert the apparent vampirism.

It took a few hours but eventually I discovered what had gone on, and even though it was almost 2am and I was (literally) falling asleep at my desk I had an incredible time playing through the scenario. I love presents like that, they create memories that I’ll be able to treasure and it was a really awesome way to involve my passion for gaming.

There’s a bunch more details I’d love to post here, but it’s one of those dorky “you just had to be there” moments.

Happy gaming, and thank you for all of the birthday wishes!

5th Crafter hits 90

stargrace April 13, 2010 7 Comments

Yesterday was a great day. My provisioner was level 87 and I was determined to reach 90, adding her to the other four level 90’s I already have (crafters, that is). Obtaining that goal gave me the 50% bonus experience to crafting for having max level crafters, which the remaining crafters can take advantage of. It’s not as nice as having constant vitality, but it’s still a great bonus. This means my Alchemist, Provisioner, Jeweler, Carpenter, and Tailor have all reached the max level. My woodworker is sitting at level 85 currently, and she’ll be next before I complete the final three, Sage, Armorer, and Weaponsmith. A few people have called me crazy for wanting to level them all to 90, but I really enjoy being self sufficient (by craft means at least) in pretty much every game I play (there’s a reason I have so many crafters in LotRO too). Plus it gives me something to do while I multi task and do other things.

On that same thought, I finally finished the Master Crafter quest for the alchemist. She was the only one of my crafters not to complete this quest, and I only had the final stage left. The one that sends you into Maj’dul to throw books around. It went a lot faster then I thought it would, and with some help from friends I was sporting my new cloak, title, and house item. Not to mention the T8 rares I got that promptly went to the guild bank.

I’ve been playing the dirge, trying to get her more achievements. Sitting at 132 she’s WELL behind where she should be (at level 90) and being able to support my group is pretty important to me. I enjoy playing the class a great deal, and while I have no idea how long my interest will last with this one particular character, it’s fun in the mean time. Last night was a quick trip through Cella on the Mystic, and I’m thinking that it would be a good idea for me to finish her mythical quest so that she can wear a spear I’ve had in her bags for quite some time now. We’ll see I suppose.

Other then that, things are still fairly quiet which is the way I like them. What has everyone else been up to in game?

Macros

stargrace April 12, 2010 3 Comments

I love what EQ2 has done with macros. They’ve made them simple to use, and allow for a great number of commands (a little less then we used to have, but still nice). Yesterday I went through all of my crafting characters and created crafting macros for them. They all have gear to wear during harvesting, adventuring, and crafting.

My one issue with this is that I wish EQ2 adopted Vanguard’s method of handling gear, which is to allow for different ‘tabs’ depending on the spheres. Adventure classes, Diplomacy, and Crafting as well as Harvesting each have their own tab with their own set of gear, and your character switches to it depending on what they’re doing. I have an entire bag devoted to crafting and harvesting gear on my tailor, not to mention all of the quest items I also have to drag around with me. It would be nice to free up some of that space eventually. If you’ve neglected testing out the ‘new’ (it’s been around for a little now but I’m never sure how many people are aware of it) macro system, I’d give it a try. The idea is that players don’t have to put in a lot of their own commands any more, there’s a drop down tab with a selection of macro options (equip item, use item, cast spell) that all simply use a drag and drop method to control the macro.

It’s nice to be able to switch out all my gear at the touch of one button, and not have to root through my bags to figure out which item it is I want to wear. You can easily create these macros for things such as appearance gear sets, and even floating cloaks while you’re falling.

Anyone else use the macro system and find it helpful? Let me know in comments! Until then safe travels, and I’ll see you in Norrath!

The Golden Path – The Legend of Roger Goldie

stargrace April 11, 2010 4 Comments

One thing I really love about EQ2 is the quest chains. I enjoyed doing Claymore, Soulfire, Godking, and all of the major quest arcs. What I didn’t enjoy was major quest chains that tend to be shorter (and a lot more difficult) like the mythical quest chains. Sony has been working on their quest management, and trying to streamline them so that they make more sense. Right now if you’re a new player coming into game you’re left fairly clueless about where to go and what to do. There’s no natural progression from one zone to the next. Most people end up asking “what should I do at my level?” instead of having any inclination from the game progression.

There’s a new system coming to game called the Storyteller system. It should be implemented in May if all goes well. In the mean time, players can progress through The Golden Path, which is a quest chain that takes you from 20-70 (I believe, my levels may be off) through a natural progression. The story explains why you’re doing the things you’re doing, and leads you through some of EverQuest II’s best zones. If you’re interested in working your way through these quests you can check out both Zam and EQ2wikia for the Legend of Roger Goldie Timeline.

I am excited about updates like these. They give players more to do from all level ranges, and not those who are currently at end game. It’s important to be able to find a way to bring new players to the game, and while this hasn’t exactly been a forte of Sony, I’m looking forward to seeing if May might bring around an influx of new players.