2010

5th Crafter hits 90

stargrace April 13, 2010 7Comments

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 3Comments

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 4Comments

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.

Saturday Book of the Day

stargrace April 10, 2010 0Comment

(( An incredibly huge thank you to Sycronn, who contacted me about donating a book to my library. This is their work, the book itself can be viewed in person on the Oasis server, in the North Freeport mage tower, bottom floor under the magical housing. Look for Ellithia))

The Poems of An Iksar
by Sycronn Dreamdusk

Special Print for Ellithia’s Library of Player-Written Books

My dearest reader,
Enjoy the confines of my imagination.
But caution, tread lightly, for it is easy enough to lose your way.

Many Greetings, Sycronn Dreamdusk

The Lover’s Kiss

breath endlessly mingling
with the empty space in between
waiting lips – faltering
a frozen moment in time
destined to be held still
– forever
hopeless eyes darken in gloom
only a span of butterfly
wings apart
affection wasted and decaying
no reason for slight touch
or molten spark anymore
– they fall to pieces

Apocalypse?

sitting lonely in a corner
painting pictures on the floor
heart starving, sorrow carves
ancient melodies into stone

rain storm battles
sun is losing ground
eyes void of all emotion
stare in silent screams

imaginative hollow mind
wandering darkened halls
snarling gods of rage
fall apart to whispers

sighing mother Gaia
puts her children to eternal sleep
to start anew
and rise up high again

Autumn’s Poem

autumn leaves
dancing red and gold
whispered songs
weaving through the sky
last raven’s caw
slowly dimming
lively childrens breath
fading away
gone
north wind howling
heralding cold
frost clutches
clings with icy hands
mist simmers
cloaking day and night alike
winter
is
coming

For A Friend

you’ve never heard a seagull’s cry
but still they haunt your nightly dreams
they fly up high just out of seafoams reach
and fill the azure skies above
with beating wings and salty song

one day you’ll surely find yourself
standing straight on sandy shore
and then those haunting nightly dreams
will be no more

Night

clawed paws pounding
over nocturnal forest paths
wild wolves mourning
their brethren’s fall
undying shadows rush
through thornéd undergrowth
hunting, running
from bloodied light of moon

Twilight Scene

leaves rustling in the wind
owls softly hooting
a lone wolf’s cry
greeting the moon
her face is brightening
silver streams of light
washing over canopies
the dragons dancing
in the air
delighting

Timeless

embrace the silence
of old days long gone
yesterday’s whisper fading
into the roaring screams
of tomorrow
this very day, this moment’s song
floats clearly through our minds
but the lingering emptiness
of the past
overwhelms

“Hurry, hurry”, called the wind
rushing me through endless fields of time
“tarry not, for the masses in your back
will not fall behind”.
I ran, I ran, I ran away
yet still demons caught me tripping
they cackled at my own despair
Suddenly fear scattered them far and wide
alerted by galloping hooves approaching
a splendid sight I encountered then
in the brazen world of hell
Nightmare, I cried,
for the flaming horse before me stood
as I slowly reached towards it

darkness fell

and I awoke

I lie forsaken on the border
between sanity and madness
darkness swirls around my head
I feel content and safe
is it not strange?
Others chase the last drop of light
I revel in shadows
my broken wings blacken
dark as ink my soul flows
towards the age old deities
grasping their lost faiths
turning from reality
runes etched into my core
I loose myself inside my mind
but I finally feel whole

Tanka

pink blossoms dying
following wind’s falling trail
golden sacred flames

world is now slowly ending
moon kisses the sun goodbye

Nature’s Song

Light breeze rushing through
The air
Dancing
With dying blossoms
Springs ending

Piece of desert
Fed by sea
Waves crashing against
The shore
Summer’s burning

Sparrows playing tag
Jumping
From branch to branch
Chirping singing
Autumn’s smiling

Green fading
Glowing red and gold
Falling
To the ground
Winter s approaching

Moon and sun
Shining
Never mind what season
Oblivious
To changes

Silverstep the Paladin hits 90

stargrace April 9, 2010 5Comments

Remember that paladin I had returned to me not that long ago? She was 72 with pretty much nothing more to her name. I deleted her thinking I’d never actually play the tank, and then regretted the decision. After sending in a petition asking if there was any way at all I could get the character restored, it was graciously allowed. Since then the paladin has come a LONG way.

First of all, her name duplicated another character that I had on the server, so instead of being “Ellithiax” for the remainder of my time playing her, I paid some station cash for a name change potion (when they had that double point weekend for Easter) and renamed her to Silverstep. Not only that, but I was growing tired of playing high elves, so after consulting eq2.wikia.com on different races and their abilities, I chose an iksar.

Not many people I know are fond of the lizard creatures, but I adore them, especially the females who have fins that pop out during combat (pictured above). Without having to betray from a shadowknight, the paladin was almost complete.

I spent as much time as I could leveling her, and this week she finally hit level 90. She still lacks alternate advancement points, having just broken 110 this Friday, but her hitpoints no longer suffer (she’s at 19.2k self buffed) and she’s wearing some pretty good Sentinel’s Fate armor. I upgraded all of her skills to expert (the previously known adept3) and bought masters for lower level spells that were without upgrades.

Thanks to a lot of help from friends in game I was also able to obtain her mythical buff (after I had completed the fabled quest of course). This was an incredible upgrade for me, the pet summoned helps heal my group not to mention I almost feel like a “real” tank.

Sadly the prospects with the guild I had joined did not work out (long story not really suitable for this blog) so I’m back in Dragon’s Flight with all of my characters. I’m still eager to get some tanking under my belt, and while I’m certainly not the best out there by any means it’s a good feeling to know that for the first time ever, I have an end level tank.

That makes 4 level 90 adventurers (mystic, troubador, dirge, and paladin) as well as 4 level 90 crafters (jeweler, alchemist, carpenter and tailor). This grants me a 40% bonus to each on other characters. Leveling in EQ2 has always been quite easy, and Sentinel’s Fate is no different. Thankfully there is still LOTS to do, so even when you are ‘end game’ you’re not completely bored.

Safe travels, and I’ll see you in Norrath!