One of my major goals for this month was to finish my Cable Crush Hoodie – and I did it! I love it. The yarn cost me a total of about $25 from a KnitPicks sale last year. I knit a 2XL – and I love every inch of it. I can’t wait to see what 2022 brings. Right now, I have zero WIP on the go, and it feels odd, because I think every year prior I’ve always had something on my needles to finish off.
So here’s to 2022 and everything it brings.
Even though the adorable alpaca mounts are temporary (we hope that they will release a permanent version once the new winter zone releases for good) of course I had to rush right out and do some ice fishing to collect one.
It was a quest I don’t ever want to do again.
You grab a fishing rod from Crio in Velia, and then you head SE a ways into the bush where you settle down to do some ice fishing. When you catch a fish you physically move your mouse around in circles, either clockwise or counter clockwise depending on which way the reel has to go. You’re supposed to keep the fish in the center of some marking and move both clockwise and counterclockwise as the fish moves – but it’s REALLY difficult and sore on the wrist. My only tip is to move from your shoulder to prolong the issues you’re going to encounter.
You have to catch two of each type of fish. There are three. It took me 30 attempts and then some. Each rod only has 30 attempts, so I had to run all of the way back, grab another rod, and continue trying to fish.
There was nothing fun about this quest.
That being said, my Shai does look absolutely adorable riding her Alpaca – and it’s also incredibly slow so the chances of me actually using it are pretty slim, besides the fact that this version of it will be vanishing in February, so I’m not even really sure what the point was.
Picture of course for cuteness.
It was time. I bought myself a boat from the central market, and I wanted to teach myself how to barter. From the start, it’s pretty simple. Under the life tab of the UI you have a barter screen. On it you’ll see different objects listed, starting with one that comes from on land. It’s usually node obtained or harvested or something like that. I think my first one was some red stones. You take a number of those red stones (or 6x the amount listed, as you can typically complete 6 of those particular trades) and look to see who is accepting them. Then you sail out there and they give you another item in return for your trade. You take that item, look at the list again, and sail to the next location. In BDO there are 5 trades, and then you can either sell the final item for silver or you can exchange it for crow coins.
Coins can be spent on various things and you get the picture of how this works. After 21 trades I’m still at beginner 2 bartering, which is pretty low. I did a bunch of sailing quests and I’m at skilled four for that, at least. There are dailies (also known by players as sailies) to do that will help you get that sailing experience, and you earn some for riding around where the map doesn’t work.
I have a lot of work ahead of me. I dedicated storage space to a few islands so I can drop off excess barter items (you are limited by the weight your boat can carry, so you may not be able to perform every transaction that you have access to) and I unlocked a lot of trade nodes at least. It is one of my least favourite life skills so far, but it might get better in time, I’m not sure.
As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make this season. Originally I went with a ranger, wanting to try out a ranged class. Playing the class didn’t feel fluid and I only got to around level 23 before deleting and deciding on a Dark Knight, instead. This lady swings a 2h sword like she’s been doing it since birth, and I feel very fluid (much like the lahn, another class I really love to play) and is a more defensive play style instead of evasion where I need to run around dodging. Right now she’s level 50, progressing through the story and enchanting armour just like seasons gone by. It turns out that I never completed the season on my first (older) account, even though I’ve participated in TWO seasons now. Third time is the charm, right? I hope to complete everything this round and still have time to get it done on my second (newer) account as well.
The plan is to let each account lapse for 30 days before returning so that I can continue to play on the Olvia servers and avoid PvP. It may seem a bit strange to spread myself between two completely different accounts, but it’s working out well for me so far, and I just focus on that one account for the month without really missing the one I’m not playing. The game has so much to do that there hasn’t been a lot of overlap for me, and I’m enjoying not having to worry about people taking down my ships/characters when I randomly AFK.
I’m hoping this gives me the confidence I need to get into bartering and sailing. Two skills I have very little experience in.
As always, we’ll see how it goes. Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
One of the (many) things I love about Black Desert Online, is their dynamic weather systems. It’s winter right now, and the rain that used to show up on maps has given way to snow. The towns are not always covered in snow, just like they were not always covered in rain – but when a system passes through, the towns are absolutely beautiful. I wish more games had this sort of dynamic weather in place.
stargrace