July 2015

Hanging Out in the Cities

stargrace July 31, 2015 1Comment

The coercer is level 28 now, but it was a difficult run. I hadn’t earned very much vitality last night so even though my UI told me I had enough to make it to the next level it ended up running out about 70% of the way through my level. I decided instead of grinding without vitality (it really is the slowest thing ever at 0.2% per kill) that I would work on uncovering the rest of Thundering Steppes. When that was completed I headed back to Freeport to check out the market and pick up a shiny collection or two that I hadn’t completed yet in the hopes that I could earn the last bit I needed. That ended up being no problem at all, and I found myself 16% of the way into level 28. Shinies are lovely, but they’re also very expensive because lets face it I’m certainly not the only person doing these collections. As the player base rises up through their own levels and populates the zones, the collections get cheaper (because so many people are harvesting them and already have the pieces they need).

I had been looking forward to working on my carpenter skill a bit, but at the moment writs are broken and they’re not rewarding any coin – which wouldn’t be such a big deal except that it includes the cost of fuel not being returned. Fuel gets expensive. It could be that this change is intended in an effort to offset the few quests players were abusing to rack up lots of coin, but it punishes those who were not making use of those systems and who were only trying to level up their professions or guilds. Instead of working on my already-established crafters I plan on leveling up a few more to 10, since you don’t get any writs at all until 15+ and you don’t get rush order writs until 20. Next on the list is my illusionist who is going to be a provisioner. I go through a lot of food and drink (since I’m online a lot, it’s no real surprise) and I don’t like having to buy it all of the time. Plus it’s just a handy craft to have.

One thing I have really enjoyed since playing on the progression server is the fact that there are no guild halls, so everyone is out in the open. The cities are busy, ALL cities are busy. I see people everywhere and I love it. That’s what was missing for me in the older versions, and I’ve said it a few times now – games need a central location for players to gather and meet up. It’s important that we “see” others around. It makes the world feel more robust and populated, which is a great thing.

Have any special plans for EQ2 (or any other game you may be playing) this weekend? Let me know in comments, and happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Quest of the Week

stargrace July 30, 2015 1Comment

Me and Mooshga, we go way back. Hanging out by the city of Freeport gates, this lady works tirelessly to cook awesome food and drink for players. Help her out enough and you’ll be rewarded with coin, experience, food, drink, and in the end you’ll become her very best friend and earn yourself a title. The quests start at around level 10, and you’re required to head to Dog Pond to kill some carrion hounds, which will then be made into jerky. Yum. In total there are 9 quests to her chain, leading from level 10 to 20 (and eventually leading you into Nektulos Forest). I love these quests and I typically end up doing them on all of my Freeport characters just for the Nostalgia factor. Looking around the Commonlands it appears that I’m not the only one who enjoys the quests either.

• Seafood Surprise
• Crack Pot
• Whisp-er Sweet Nothings
• Rhino-rific
• O’ Mugwump Where Art Thou?
• Overlord’s Omelet
• Pachyderm Punch
• Mushroom Madness

Coercer is sitting comfortably at level 26, which I’m hoping will mean 27 later on this evening. I also inched towards 24 carpenter, but wanted to earn some vitality first. Leveling without vitality is incredibly slow. While I was earning vitality on my main I played the alts, my shadowknight actually found a level 6 master spell in Darklight Woods! I ended the day at level 7 on that character, and level 10 alchemist. My wizard is going to be my sage, and she also reached level 10. If you’re wondering why you don’t have vitality when you created your characters some time ago, remember that you need to be level 4 before vitality shows up. You DO still earn it even though you can’t technically see it. That means when you reach level 4 things should start to fly by (until you’re out of vitality, of course). The guild is almost level 3 which means (of course) that I have a very long way to go, especially in my guild of one. If you’re looking for a coercer to group up over the weekend feel free to give me a nudge! You can find me in-game as Stargrace, or just do a search for ‘Combat Wombat’ (my guild).

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

What is “Progress” to you?

stargrace July 29, 2015 1Comment

In most MMOs, the ‘goal’ is progression. Whether it’s progress in a story line, a character, or progressing a world or map, it’s there. What actually counts as progression differs person to person. A lot of us set progression ‘goals’ in games, things we’d like to see, do, or accomplish. It’s no different for me in EQ2, and I’m having a lot of fun making up my own rules as far as progression goes. Most of them involve crafting. I added my 8 alts + main to my guild, and they’re slowly all reaching level 10 in their crafting profession. I don’t imagine I’ll level all of them in their adventuring class, but crafting is something that I can easily do and find incredibly relaxing.

With that being said, not all of my goals are for crafting. My ‘goal’ for my main character (that would be Stargrace, my coercer) is to try to earn at least 1 level a day. When it becomes too difficult to earn that 1 level I’ll try to lower it to 50% experience per day. That way I don’t feel incredibly pressured to keep up with everyone else who is leveling, but nor do I feel as though I am falling far behind. It does put me slightly behind the curve in the fact that every 30 days the vote for a new expansion is supposed to pop up, but I’m hoping most of the server votes no, and we unlock every 90 days instead. 30 just seems way too short a time to blow through an entire expansion.

Then there are my smaller goals. Doing dungeons, heritage quests, getting achievements. Things that don’t necessarily mean progress in ‘typical’ terms, but are a form of progression for me. Completing shiny collections, being on the lookout for player-written books. Maybe I’ll re-create my library. My goals change from game to game  – but only some of them. Others remain exactly the same (such as leveling).

Do you need progression in a game in order to enjoy it? What forms of progression do you enjoy? Is it different for every game? Let me know below in comments and as always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

The Soloing Coercer

stargrace July 28, 2015 1Comment

It was too good to last. After making a blog post about the new guild I had just joined, I jinxed myself. It happened that fast. I was hanging out in Nektulos forest when a member stated they were moving on to greener pastures. Then another member said the same thing. Then two more left. These players were the ones who recruited me to the guild with promises of raiding – and I was frustrated. Then 15 in total left. I knew it would happen, as we grew the idea of ‘raid space’ became more limited. When raids are 24 people how do you make sure there’s a spot for everyone who wants to go – especially when your guild is over 200 strong. I understood their reasons for leaving but I still felt betrayed. They had recruited me just the day before, stating they needed coercers. I was excited. I got my hopes up.

So I decided to make my own guild, which is what I should have done from the start. I can still find other guilds to raid with from my own guild, or I can just forgo raiding all together. Either way, it means a lot less drama for me, and that eases my mind in a huge way. I created Combat Wombat, invited my alts, and dinged the guild to level 3. It won’t be as fast as being in a large guild, but it also won’t be as hectic and that means a lot less stress. What’s the point in playing if you’re not enjoying yourself. Of course I am still disappointed because I had gotten myself excited about the prospect of raiding, but honestly I think this is a better decision for me.

After dropping provisioning for carpentry I found myself staring at a very long grind from level 10 back up to 20 where I could choose my class again. Not having vitality really hurts, the levels inched. I did a lot of writs to get from 15-19 and then at 19 I eagerly spoke to my tradeskill member and picked carpenter. Shortly after I managed to ding 21 by doing writs. Today I’m hoping to get to 25, and that will mean my adventure level and crafting level match once again.

Speaking of leveling, I had the greatest of luck yesterday. Someone had my level 20 charm for sale (master quality) for 7 gold. Cheap enough that I had no issues affording it. I was ecstatic. I headed off to Thundering Steppes, found myself a skeleton warlock, and proceeded to solo my way to level 25 by killing ^^ yellow heroic skeletons. It’s dangerous work as a coercer, but it is also by far my most loved class. One very important thing to remember is that you can create a hotkey for /pet range and then it’s just a matter of root / nuke. I also upgraded all of my spells to at least adept quality. I don’t have a sage to upgrade things further, but with time I know I’ll level one up (that’s why I have 9 alts after all).

All in all, even with the turmoil and drama from guild, it was still a lot of fun. As long as it’s fun, I’ll keep playing.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Finding Where you Belong

stargrace July 27, 2015 4Comments

I have a really hard time finding guilds (as I’ve mentioned in a previous post). Normally my instinct is to just start my own guild – and that way I’m never disappointed. There’s no drama, I can decorate my own hall (if that’s an option) and I don’t have to worry about anyone else. This time I decided I would find a proper home. As I mentioned already, the first guild I found wasn’t that good of a fit. Then when I was grouping up in Fallen Gate, one of the group members asked if I was looking for a guild. I explained that I was, and they mentioned that they were hoping for a coercer or two to join up. That’s how I found myself in ‘Thats a Wipe’ which raids on weekends and seems to match my hours perfectly. There are of course a few downsides. Number one, the guild is gigantic, and I’m a pretty shy person so finding my groove is difficult. That also means there’s lots of competition and conversation, it’s a busy place. Great for people who are interested in all of that – but again I’m pretty quiet.

I don’t want to feel so competitive all of the time, but when you’re on a time locked server it seems that everything is rush rush rush. Guilds also tend to use a lot of voice chat, which is great – except I’m not really a fan. Raids and stuff sure, but otherwise I’m usually listening to my own stuff in the background and I’m not really interested in listening to people talk.

With that all being said, I really enjoy the guild so far. Today we did some smaller raids in Commonlands (yay, the guild is almost level 20) and I grouped up briefly to take down Varsoon. I won a coercer master even though everything was very red to me.

I also decided to swap my crafting profession (already, I know). I went from provisioner to carpenter, and now I’m excited about all the housing items I’ll get a chance to make. I managed to ding 24 coercer, and I was 22 provisioner before I re-set, now I’m back at 13. I don’t have vitality, which makes everything much slower.

Are you playing on either of the new servers? How are you enjoying it so far? Let me know in comments below!

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.