2021

The Specifics

What have I been up to since I’ve returned to game? Well, to start it off I do have three active accounts – these were the same accounts I had active on EQ1, since station access grants all access across games, I just continued playing them. I’m used to the alt-tab method of boxing, and since EQ2 has a spell queue system, it’s pretty simple. I spent a little time deciding what I wanted my group to be and settled on my coercer/carpenter, fury/sage, berzerker/woodworker for the main group – along with two mercenary. That leaves me with room to invite others to play, or to use the mercenary depending on whether or not I can find a group. Next came leveling. The berzerker and the fury are already 120, but the coercer is(was) sitting at level 100 from when I played last and was leveling in Skyshrine. I’m not sure where to level these days, most people say that questing through PoM is the way to go, and then you can get from 110-120 in about three hours of pre-blood of luclin questing. I’m not quite at that point yet, but I did take the coercer to the Plane of Magic to quest, and she’s sitting at level 105.

Next was to work on their crafting. I’ve been trying to get them all to at least 100 crafter, and then working on the tradeskill quests to raise them further. Right now the sage just hit level 51, and the woodworker and carpenter were already at 100 from last time I played. I have them training their mounts, training their mercenary, training familiars, participating in Overseer – and that’s pretty much where I’m at so far. I’ve been doing two solo dungeons in RoS (current content) but I haven’t continued the timeline yet because I want that coercer to be able to quest as well, and for now she’s too small.

When the summer event starts next week (the 10th is the reported date) I’ll have three more 120 boosts (one per account) and I plan on using them to boost up some alts, not only for the 20% bonus they provide for having max level characters, but also to give me some options if I don’t feel like using the static group. I’ve also been participating in the Festivals that are ongoing, the Tinkerers Fest ends tonight at 1am and the Kelethin city festival is going on right now. With all of the writs I’ve been doing I have a lot of city tokens to be able to spend. Speaking of which, the guild is inching its way towards 95 in which case I MIGHT actually upgrade the guild hall to a T4 hall instead of a T3 one (I can’t actually remember if it’s 95 for this or 100). I know it’s just me actively playing right now, but my guild is compromised of a few real life friends who haven’t played since 2016 and I find the status and plat requirements fairly simple these days.

In any case, that’s where I’m at and what I’m up to! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Producer’s Letter

Before anyone asks, yes, there are still updates to EQ2 – so what’s coming up? The producer’s letter goes into details on what we can expect this summer, including an update that is releasing August 10th, just around the corner. They are also going to be running a sort of ‘welcome back’ promotion, where if you’ve got an all access account you can obtain a 120 character boost. I do NOT suggest this for anyone actually returning to the game, but at least grab it and use it for an alt (which is exactly what I plan on doing). There will be bonus satchels if you’re questing in Reign of Shadows (the latest expansion) and are also an all access member, and they include things like currency.

There used to be an event called Days of Summer – which is being renamed this year to Panda, Panda, Panda! I’ve actually never participated in this before, so I’m looking forward to checking it out and seeing what everyone else is talking about when they mention it. Apparently it involves lots of .. everything. Catching your characters up, housing, that sort of stuff.

At the end of the letter there was also some sort of centaur hint, but we’ll just have to see what that is all about! I’m not sure that ‘excited’ is the right word to use, but I am certainly looking forward to seeing these events first hand. It feels comfortable to be playing, and I like that.

A Few Days In – Now What?

I’ve been back playing EQ2 for a few days now, and I’m starting to settle into a bit of a rhythm (finally). I’ve been able to complete two solo dungeons from the latest expansion, upgraded a few pieces of gear, did some crafting, and even worked on some of the timelines to the expansions I skipped (unintentionally, I should not have used the 120 boost I got from buying the latest expansion, so I wanted to go back and complete what I had missed).

The game is pretty quiet compared to 5 years ago when I played last – but there are definitely people around, and they have a lot of passion for the game. Chat is not overwhelming, but it is active. There’s people around in most of the zones I head off to, and while I haven’t quite hit the pace I used to have, I’m getting there. I’m comfortable enough with things that I’m going to stick with it for a while and see how it goes. There’s still so much more I want to do, including working on housing – oh, and alts. I have so many alts that need some attention!

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

Welcome to Blaugust

I know, I’m a bad person for not starting the week with my ‘yay it’s Blaugust‘ post – but honestly there have been so many incredible starter posts that mine would have only gotten lost in the pile anyway. That being said, this theme (we’ll call it that) of the week is as follows:

The idea behind this week is to give folks time to spread their wings and get used to that daily blogging idea. For the Veteran bloggers, it is a great time to make a few posts related to helping New bloggers get started. These could be tips or tricks or just discussions about what helps you get started. Additionally it is a great time to get connected to the Blaugust Discord and meet the community as a whole.

I am on the discord! I don’t talk often because I’m shy, and a part of a bunch of other discords so managing my time is always something that I have a hard time with. Despite all of that, I’ve been blogging here for over 15 years, and I’ve learned a thing or two.

Don’t let someone else tell you what blogging is / is not, or how to run YOUR blog. See, I tend to go many days without posting anything, and then I’ll write 7-8 posts all at once, and I’ll back date them and assign each post to a day to fill out my weeks. That’s what I prefer to do. That doesn’t make me any less of a blogger (or more) than anyone else and how they decide to handle things. So find a schedule and a method that works for you and your life style. Adapt it. Be flexible.

Don’t get boxed in writing about a specific theme / subject if you’re not feeling it. This site started out as MmoQuests, and I wrote about MMOs in specific for many MANY years. Turns out, I have more interests than just video games! I knit, I read, and I draw. If I only wrote about video games some months would be very dry content wise. Instead, I’ve opened up my blog to my other interests. Sure, my audience may not always enjoy every single post I put out there, but I love having a record of what basically amounts to my entire life. Do you.

If you’re really interested in blogging, don’t worry about your audience. It will come with time. Instead, get into those good habits. Even if you’re not writing novel sized posts every day, try a bit of something. I feel good about myself knowing I’ve taken care of my ‘chores’ for the week, I try to pre-write or jot down ideas any time I have them to make up for the times where I don’t feel like writing at all. It all counts, and no one is judging you except (you guessed it) yourself.

I know some folks like to run their site with the end goal of making money, but this isn’t one of those blogs, so I have very little advice to give on that subject. Do what you like, and don’t let anyone else change your mind. You’re going to know yourself best.

Knitting Goals – August 2021

Completed in July:

  • Despite being displaced for 10 days – I DID finish my Silver Bell Sweater! YAY! I love it, and I can’t wait for fall because 33C is a little bit warm to be wearing silk and alpaca.

Current WIPS:

  • Scrap blanket
  • For the horde mitten liners
  • TAAT January sock club socks

August Goals:

Finish my TAAT socks. These are on the leg right now, so they SHOULD be able to be completed – of course I also said that in July and it never happened (we were also evacuated for 10 days and I didn’t have any knitting with me).

I’m not sure I want to line my for the horde mittens any more with all of the Activision/Blizzard drama going on, I’m honestly not feeling it. I may just leave them as is for now, and pick a different project. If I get my socks done, that opens up the ability to pick something new to work on, which I would really love (and have no idea what I’ll do).

Nomadic Gamer