2010

To Speak as a Dragon (again)

stargrace April 3, 2010 7Comments

If there’s one single quest I had to pinpoint as being absolutely essential to have completed at any level, it has got to be “To Speak as a Dragon”. This quest was released when EQ2 first came out way back when, and has been used in every single expansion in key quests all over Norrath.

Lets go back in time, to when EQ2 first released and the level cap was 50. To Speak as a Dragon used to be an epic encounter just to start the quest (it’s since been changed to heroic). You needed to speak the language of giants in order to progress the very first step of the quest – and of course the most difficult aspect of all, you had to go visit Nagafen multiple times in Solusek’s Eye to progress it.

Solusek’s Eye has changed a LOT since release. It was an “end game” zone, and the mobs saw through invisibility. That means to even get to this quest (after picking it up) you needed a full group. It would take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to clear your way down to Nagafen’s lair (remember, this is before the times of any gate potions, veteran rewards, or call of the hero) and there was no short cut port to skip the cave area.

Since that time things have changed. You can bypass a lot of the walking, especially if you know a friend who may be close by that you can port to. The mobs are gray, and while the annoyance of running all over Norrath for updates hasn’t changed, getting around Norrath certainly has.

So why am I doing this quest?

As I said, it’s the “key” quest in pretty much every expansion. You needed it for Prismatic 1.0 (Darathar raid anyone?) you needed it for Claymore. Soulfire. Multiple deity quests (one in specific where you have to speak to Wooshi in an instanced version of Emerald Halls). You need it to convert your mythical weapon into a buff – which is why I’m currently doing it.

Nagafen is one of the most imposing dragons EQ2 has to offer, and the zones leading up to Nagafen’s Lair are absolutely stunning. Everything from Lavastorm, to Solusek’s Eye, to Nagafen’s Lair screams of molten lava and pain. Or maybe that’s just for me, because I have such fond memories of doing my prismatic 1.0. Back when we did x4 raids for legendary weapons and thought they were the best thing since sliced bread.

I really miss those days.

The Climb to 90

stargrace April 2, 2010 3Comments

I have a lot of characters (dur) and one of the toughest decisions I ever have to make at any one time in game is WHO to play and who to work on next in terms of progression. While many people tell me they wish they had as many characters as I have, it’s an issue of “the grass is always greener on the other side”. It was discussed in guild and decided that perhaps I should level up my paladin, so that the guild could have another tank to do things with, as of this moment we only have one “main” tank, and a second that’s the alt of our main coercer. I enjoy my paladin a lot despite the fact that she was heavily power leveled, and I’ve never actually dedicated any time to playing a tank – and thus I decided to work on her almost exclusively.

The paladin is sitting at level 86 at the moment, and yesterday I managed to complete my fabled epic with the help of some friends. I’d like to get the mythical version done, but of course I don’t have to speak as a dragon completed, which means I’ve got to run all over Norrath picking up runes first before I can begin that quest.

I spent 200 plat on kaborite clusters to make skills, and picked up a few cheap ones from the broker that don’t get upgrades. Her achievement list is VERY low, but again that’s something I can work on. I’ve also been stashing aside level 90 tank gear so that when she finally reaches the appropriate level I have some things tucked away.

Am I any good at playing a tank? Well, I’ve boxed one quite a few times even though I’ve never actually had my own. That doesn’t exactly make me a good tank, but I like to think I’m not horrible. Really, only time will tell.

Happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!

Ding, Level 30 (again)

stargrace March 31, 2010 3Comments

I’ve had a level 50+ guild on Lucan D’Lere (or used to at least) called Fire and Ice. Started with some good friends of mine back when the game first came out. Najena? Sure, I’ve had a level 50+ guild there, called Nostalgia. Kithicor? Sure, I’ve had a level 50+ guild there whose name escapes me, too early. Antonia Bayle? Torrent Knights is there, and the guild is 50+ with a T2 hall and still going strong despite me having moved over to Oasis full time. Of course, I started a guild here, and yesterday hit level 30, and purchased yet another hall. Dragon’s Flight is the guild, and even though I have paid for and purchased numerous guild halls since they first came out it was still just like the first time around excitement wise. Maybe even a bit more then usual.

Picking out amenity is always a difficult task, at level 30 I’m only allowed 5 of them. Broker, Banker, and Call to Guild ability are a must, as was a depot box to store the huge number of crafting raws I’ve accumulated on all of my crafters. For the 5th choice a wizard spire porter joined the ranks, which takes over the place of the typical “bell” I would have purchased.

Experience from 30-35 is quicker then 20-30 so I’m looking forward to gaining a few more levels (and thus more amenity) for the tiny hall. In the mean time decorating has commenced, and yes, I’m excited (and this is pretty much the whole reason I keep buying halls).

In order to reach 30 Kasul and myself grinded crafting writs for most of the day, and Pennie donated a lot of items to help boost us up there.

My carpenter is now most of the way through levle 88 (starting at level 82). The woodworker and provisioner are both at 85, I wanted to try to stop them there so that they could finish the Sentinel’s Fate crafting quests and obtain their neat weapon – and maybe make use of that 1% experience boost before hitting the level cap. I’m very close to having a 50% bonus to all of my crafters again, which is something I really loved. Two more adventurers and I’ll be at the 50% bonus there, too. Leveling in SF is incredibly easy. It feels a bit like SOE is trying to push people to end game (Battlegrounds don’t even start until levle 80+) and I guess that could be the reason.

April Fools day is tomorrow – and of course I want to try to take advantage of the quests in game for that day. Whether or not I will manage it is something completely different, we’ll just have to see. Happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!

Those +Harvesting Skills are Not Useless!

stargrace March 30, 2010 8Comments

I used to wonder what harvesting skills were good for. I never bothered actually putting ON any of the gear that would raise the stats, unless I was in a zone where my skill wasn’t high enough to even reach the nodes.

Until Sentinel’s Fate, and I required rares to make expert spells that I simply didn’t want to fork out the cash for. To the left is what my current harvesting skills are at. This is with Ellithia (wood elf mystic) using the Grandmaster crafter earring, the reinforced dwarven work boots (drop from the final named in unrest), the harvesters cloak, tinkering tools that raise the stats, the harvest mount sold in Mara (10 tokens and 40k faction later), and the artisan tool set that raises harvesting statistics by a little amount.

For those who don’t know, the chances of you getting a rare are based on your skill vs. the skill required by the zone. The higher your skill is OVER that level, the higher your chances of getting a rare are.

To test this theory I set out on Ellithia for three hours, running around Sentinel’s Fate zones. Most of my time was spent actually looking for places to harvest that wouldn’t require too much killing, or having to fight off other players. By the time all was said and done I walked away with 15 rares, although for some odd reason not a single rare pelt was found despite the fact that I harvested more pelts then anything else (I mean significantly more). Pleased? Yes, I really was. I’ve stashed all of these rares along with Hamal’s rares in my guild bank for the time being. Set aside to make pretty furniture for the guild hall that should be coming up VERY soon. Dragon’s Flight managed to clench on to level 29 yesterday, which I am very excited about.

Brisbane day starts tomorrow, which is always great for a laugh. Happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!