2010

A Second Adventurer Hits 90

stargrace February 25, 2010 5Comments

The game is down for a good portion of the morning (ok it’s really only two hours) while battlegrounds get implemented (fingers crossed for smooth sailing) but last night my mystic hit level 90. I gained levels through a combination of things, grinding in the hole (which has become the new Palace of the Awakened) questing, and grinding in Sebilis. Laste night Kasul and I decided to mentor to 65 and head to The Nest, which granted a lot of experience, and then afterward I was about 30% to my level so we went to Palace of the Awakened. It was easier to grind in old world zones (although Desert of Flames is not THAT old world) then it was to fight through lag and other players in Sentinel’s Fate.

That means I’ve now got a 90 troubador and mystic, a 90 alchemist and jeweler. I don’t plan on leveling any more adventurers currently. Crafters on the other hand, I’d like to get them all to 90. I want to work on alternate advancement (aa) on the troubador because she is incredibly behind (I believe I’m sitting at 164 right now, which means when people ask for UT I just sigh at them) the mystic is in good standing. I may actually get some raid experience too, depending on how things go. We’ll see.

One thing a lot of people have been commenting on is the some what lack luster quests of Sentinel’s Fate. They involve a LOT of running around. Going to one npc, picking up a quest, going to the 2nd npc, who completes the quest and offers a new quest to go back to the first npc. Chains and chains of quests like these. There are a few good and entertaining stories, and I do enjoy working on faction but the running around can tend to wear a person down. Heritage quests? Yes Sentinel’s Fate has a few of these too, and while I’ve picked them up I haven’t actually taken it to the next step and worked on them. That will come with time I’m sure (especially since I need so many aa).

Now that it’s a little over a week into the expansion, how is everyone finding it? Are there particular dungeons you’re enjoying, or perhaps a chain of quests? Let me know!

Happy gaming, I’ll see you in Norrath.

Getting Familiar with Paineel and the Sundered Frontier

stargrace February 24, 2010 3Comments

Yesterday the digital download went live, and zones became a little more ‘full’ then they had been previously. While most of the people I personally know had purchased the retail box versions, there were a few who managed to hold off from temptation and wait. I may as well have been one of those people because yesterday was the first day I actually managed to dive into the game with any real purpose in mind.

I started out in Paineel, working on the adventure quests. The good thing about this is that I was also able to work on the crafting chain at the same time, and it wasn’t long before I lost myself in those quests. I really love the fact that there are dedicated craft chains for those non-adventuring folk, the quests were fun and interactive and just really well done. Plus they rewarded lots of neat housing items, and who doesn’t enjoy that!

On the adventure side of things, I headed to Paineel and learned about ‘where everything is’ which is really important. The porter that takes you to the city can also be used to travel to other places (by right clicking on it and selecting the location). There are the Airship Docks, which are used to get to instances as well as picking up quests for those instances. There is the Launch Pad which quickly becomes your best friend because it ports you around the Sundered Frontier on a hover craft like machine. This also takes you to the Stonebrunt Highlands, which is the second outdoor zone in Sentinel’s Fate. Both of the outdoor zones are massive, and remind me of Jarsath Wastes but a lot more pretty, and even bigger. With more quests. Yep, more.

There is also Spire Isle, which is of course where the wizard spire is located, and where you’ll find yourself (more then likely) when you first enter the Sentinel’s Fate zones. If you’re looking to begin the crafting chain right away, just head down the path and you’ll find the (familiar named) NPC at the end who will offer crafting quests for those 80 and up. Then there are also two lifts, one takes you to above Paineel, an area populated by a lot of hidden vermin, and the other takes you to a cave that will lead to the opposite end of that same area. It’s also an easy way to head towards the druid ring which you’ll want to pick up so you can port to the zone.

The mystic (who I was doing all of these quests on) managed to inch her way to level 86, and obtained a few alternate advancement points along the way. While I was not pleased (at all) that my epic had been nerfed (why do that two expansions later?!) I do enjoy the new mystic choices for Sentinel’s Fate. One of the aa I can obtain turns my group (of hopefully melee) into stags and gives them a combat art proc for 24 seconds much like the dirge cacophony of blades. There are lots of temporary group buffs that will proc on a spell being cast (troubadors and enchanters are famous for these spells) but not a whole lot procs for CAs, so I am pretty pleased with it. Plus I changed my aa around so that I’m back to using CA instead of spells, and I can actually take advantage of the buff myself.

I’ve been having a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to hit 90 on the mystic before too long. I’d like to get into some instances, as I haven’t played any yet on the live server. That will probably come with time. The troubador is sitting comfortably at 90 but I’m really looking forward to this second character.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far, happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!

Leveling, Crafting, Exploring – Oh My!

stargrace February 22, 2010 3Comments

Sentinel’s Fate is only one day away from being fully released, tomorrow the digital download becomes active for those who have not picked themselves up a retail copy of the game. As of right now, I have two level 90 crafters (alchemist and jeweler, so I can make skills for guild mates) as well as one level 90 adventurer (the troubador) and an 85 adventurer (the mystic). I’ve been very happy to have crafters at the level cap again, as EQ2 grants a 10% bonus (up to a max of 50%) for having characters at ‘end game’. The expansion still manages to get mixed reviews from players. I’ve been having a lot of fun questing my way with the second character, the zones are just absolutely amazing looking. I don’t typically enjoy quests that make me run from point A to point Z then back to point A, but since this is my first time through the quests, it’s not quite so bad.

I was a little disappointed that players didn’t get a new ‘unique’ skill at 90 like we did at 80, and I find it more then a little surprising that you can obtain your fabled epic weapon, reach levle 90, and then convert it to the buff that grants the mythical effects. I can understand why this is, after all who wants to continue to do Veeshan’s Peak flagging for the mythical weapons, but in my eye it also reduces the importance of the mythical. Those weapons were once status marks, but now they’re so easy to obtain (especially with the level cap being raised) that I almost feel as though they’ve been cheapened. I guess that comes with every expansion (Prismatic 1.0, Godking, Claymore, Soulfire) and its major ‘quest line’.

I was concerned before the game went live that the changes to stats may bother me (the fact that they were condensed so that players only require concentrating on one main stat no matter the class instead of spreading them around) but now that it’s live it’s really not bad. I don’t like the fact that two of my mythical weapons were nerfed two expansions after they were released (warden and mystic) but there’s not a lot I can do about it now. Battlegrounds will go live tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see how that works and how it’s welcomed by the EQ2 community.

Raids last night included a lot of discoveries, but sadly the guild is required to be at level 90 before moving on to the next zone (in order to zone in). While a good chunk of players are level 90, not everyone is and that presents some problems. I imagine all raid guilds have the same issue when an expansion comes out.

I hope everyone else is still enjoying their adventures through Sentinel’s Fate. Happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!