Black Desert Online

One Inventory Slot to Rule them All

I mentioned in my last post that so far the community of BDO has been amazing – and I want to give a very specific example. When I first mentioned I was looking to play, one community member left a detailed paragraph on life skills for me, with examples of where I should go for tutorials, handy web sites, and other tips and tricks. I appreciated it so much and I was honestly caught a bit off guard.

It didn’t stop there though, they added my family name to friends (it’s Reveurs for anyone looking to add me) and once in-game, they offered to help me out even further if I so desired. They also provided me with a code for +4 inventory slots and let me tell you, inventory in BDO is something I never ever have enough of. I was so thankful! That would be 4 more extra fish I could carry before needing to sell, or 4 more rewards chosen from the onslaught that I keep getting pelted with.

I’ve been watching more videos, and I feel like I’ve gotten a fairly good grasp on some more in game systems. I can confidently fish (on land, I haven’t done the whole quest/buy a boat thing yet) and I can take those fish to a trade manager and sell them. I haven’t min/max the process yet (I’m not selling them at the most optimal locations in other words) but I feel like I’ve got the basics down. I also purchased a ‘Balenos fishing rod+10’ which was recommended from a fishing video I watched. It was 125,000,000 silver which LOOKS like a lot to me, it was about half of my overall cash, but since fishing is something I can easily do when I’m sleeping or AFK (happens often, I’m a busy Mom of two) it was worth the investment. Inventory space is pretty much the only thing that holds me back now.

I also spent some time watching videos on training horses, where to get them and AFK training. I moved on to breeding horses but I was honestly pretty tired, so I’ll have to re-watch those ones.

My character is level 25 – furthest in the game I’ve ever been. I’ve just been following the main story quests, which reminds me a lot of MSQ in FFXIV. I will have lots of time to explore and do all of the smaller side quests another time. Unfortunately this ‘season’ ends on September 15th and I did NOT take advantage of it as much as I had wished, but that’s OK. My original character is level 18, so I’ve already surpassed her by a few levels. I still have more systems to figure out, but like I keep saying, I’m really enjoying myself and the ‘stuff’ I’m learning is coming in bits and pieces. I don’t mind that. It’s when I’m at a complete standstill that things get frustrating.

So what about BDO being a PvP focused game? Honestly, that doesn’t seem to be the case any more. People in channels were talking about how they had only been PKilled maybe twice in seven years, they avoid the end game PvP areas, and these days there are more options on locations to go and I have the feeling that PvP is a little bit easier to avoid. We’ll just have to see where my adventures take me.

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

A Little More BDO

My hands have been giving me a lot of difficulty lately, so my posts have been far and few between. I’m hoping to fill in the missing days as I find the energy, but we’ll see. What have I been up to?

I reached level 20 in Black Desert Online, and I’ve (slowly) been wrapping my head around some of the systems the game offers. One, you’re going to be given so many rewards you’re going to stop opening them and they’re going to be meaningless. I have so many treats and goodies and foods and drinks and scrolls and potions I am pretty sure it’s enough for 100 people. I’ve shuffled some off to alts because I simply couldn’t hold it all, and others I’ve just left unclaimed if they didn’t have a timer.

I have been watching some YouTube videos but not as many as I’d like. Today I did a little fishing, and I dried some fish, and did some cooking. I realized that I own a house, with a kitchen in it. Apparently I knew how to craft once upon a time. I have utterly and completely forgotten everything I know. I keep getting ore and gems and trinkets to upgrade gear, but I don’t have the faintest idea how any of that works, and nothing seems to make sense, yet. I also haven’t gotten into workers, or routes, or trade. I know that’s a thing because my bank was filled with eggs, chicken meat, and potatoes. I’m pretty sure my workers are doing that. I had some beer in my inventory that I vaguely remember supplying them with. Who doesn’t like alcoholic workers, after all.

My seasonal character is now higher level then my ‘main’ – but I still know so little, and the season ends on September 15th which means my character will be pushed out into the world unless I start a new seasonal character whenever the next ‘season’ starts. Do I really want to start fresh right away after just creating this character? Unsure. Probably not. I’ll probably just take things slow and meander my way along trying to learn. I feel like the concepts in this game are harder for me to pick up than EVE Online, which says a lot about the complexity of it. Nothing has really been explained yet, and I don’t know when it does. I have so many items in my inventory (from claim, mail etc) that I have no clue what I should keep or what I should set aside. For now I’m vendoring very little, and I’m sure it will make sense.. eventually.

One thing that has really stood out to me so far is – the community – is amazing. People are friendly, chattering in a few channels I apparently am on (I have no idea what those channels are. One is blue, one is orange?) and I even joined a non talking guild that just AFK fishes. That’s the life for me right there. Anyway, people are polite, talkative, and I haven’t seen any sign of .. well, anything negative. It’s refreshing just to watch chat go by. I am not sure if this changes, but it’s been really nice. Plus, the game is just beautiful, and I certainly appreciate that.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

BDO – Woah

I haven’t played BDO since it released back in 2015, finding it an incredibly grind-orientated game, with confusing features that I could never keep track of. Know what has changed? Very little.

If you try to return to BDO after two years away chances are you’re going to remember even LESS than what you used to know. Just how it works. The only way to bypass this is to create a new character and run through the tutorial (or read the tutorial messages) so you can re-learn everything like how to free mouse look.

I did get some mail from my family. 100,000,000 silver. I’ve been gone a while, what can I say. My sorcerer was still there, still hanging out at one of her houses. I had a (get ready for this) 77 gig patch, before I could play.

77.

I’m not exaggerating.

It would have been easier for me to just re-download the entire game instead of just patching it.

I’m also frustrated that I can’t play through the steam client (unless I add BDO as a non-steam game) because it would require me purchasing a brand new account for $10 (or $6 on sale, USD). I already bought one of the expensive starter packs, the least they could let me do is launch it from the platform of my choosing.

Anyway.

I spent the entire day cleaning out my mailbox. Wow. BDO REALLY enjoys their events, and at the start they were giving away potions and goodies like candy any time there was a slight disruption in service. After two years, that adds up. So did my lack of inventory space which just reminded me how this game gets you.

Still, it is an absolutely beautiful game. The cameras available for pictures are stunning. The game play didn’t catch on for me any more than it did last time, and I’m pretty sure I could have found something better to do with the 77 gigs I downloaded.

It was neat to see that BDO is going to be heading to XBox. I hope it does well there, just like it seems to be doing well now with the steam release. It’s not a bad game by any means, it’s just not the game for me.

Forever Wandering Through Games

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How long has it been since you stuck with a single MMO for at least a year? I remember when Tipa used to put out a challenge to people to stick with a single game for a year, and almost no one could accomplish it even when the choices were much more limited, let alone these days where there are games for every genre you could possibly think of. Sure, we may play one game at a time, or two games, or have some combination of F2P & subscription, but more and more I notice that we are ALL becoming nomadic gamers, bouncing between games when the mood strikes (or when that new shiny pops up on the table).

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just something I’ve noticed over the years. I would love to be one of those people who stick with a single game for any length of time but I simply don’t have that in me any more (for a few reasons). One reason would have to be the price point. Money fluctuates throughout the year and my game choices will change based on that. A good example is EQ2. My subscription expires the 2nd week of July, so I find very little motivation to log in and play right now as I know I won’t be re-subscribing (baby on the way, I simply have to re-allocate my funds for a bit). I’ve never really enjoyed playing games with a sub as a F2P player, not because I think F2P is “bad” but because I’d rather have access to the entire game. Speaking of – why doesn’t Trion offer some sort of bulk subscription plan that offers access to all of their games, much like station access? Rift and ArcheAge would certainly be two games I’d love to check out more of, but I’m not sure how I’d feel about the F2P options (especially in ArcheAge where owning land is tied to having a subscription). Offer a package deal and those subscriptions become a lot more favorable. I blame Belghast and Bhagpuss for my sudden interest in Trion games, both of them have been posting about Rift / ArcheAge on their blogs. I was interested enough that I updated glyph though I haven’t actually logged in (yet).

Speaking of EQ2, a new server opened up yesterday. It’s the Isle of Refuge, and it runs just as all the other servers in the EQ2 line up do, except the majority of items can be sold / traded and don’t have the heirloom tag. There’s a great write up about it over at EQ2wire, and the server reminds me a lot of Firiona Vie, the RP server over on EQ. There are a few other rules to the FV server besides that but it was one that stuck out to me. Why Daybreak has added such a server I have no idea (nor does anyone else it seems if you read through the comments on the article) but it’s nice to see things are not completely stagnant.

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

Most Anticipated MMORPGs of 2016

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As is the norm each year, there are lots of potentially legendary games to look forward to this 2016. However, one genre promises to blow the rest out of the water. Backed by huge crowdfunding campaigns and some daring indie campaigns, the MMORPG genre is fully loaded this year. This piece takes a look at some of the most promising of the lot.

Star Citizen

This game has received truckloads of money from crowdfunding so you should ordinarily know what to expect from the developers. Apart from this fact, the proposed features of this game are enough to leave you salivating. Star Citizen combines multiple genres together in a bid to unleash a new era of MMORPGS. You still need the best bingo sites as can be found here on bingosweets.com to get your bingo fix but Star Citizen covers everything else from first-person shooting and sophisticated space combat to high level economic and social simulation. There is something for everyone. Industry watchers call it the Swiss Army Knife of video games. We agree!

World of Warcraft: Legion

There is a lot of attention on World of Warcraft this year as it had a lukewarm year with the last release. This is supposed to be a big year for the game or we could have the final days of one of the pioneer MMORPGs unfolding before our eyes. Legion is an expansion that will tell us if Blizzard still has enough in its locker to keep the World of Warcraft franchise working. From some of the promised new features on Legion, there is every reason to be cautiously optimistic.

Black Desert Online

The magnificent environment and intriguing characters are not the only things offered by this beautiful game. The game has already launched in South Korea and will come to the rest of us soon. This game takes a unique approach to sandbox MMORPG. With Black Desert Online, you are guaranteed to enjoy a really wondrous experience where you can choose your own paths to play. It promises to better GTA on that front!

Albion Online

Albion Online mixes the political scandal and brutality of EVE Online with a fully packed fantasy world. The game can be played seamlessly on both computer and tablet. It gives you and your friends the chance to build a kingdom in a literally cutthroat environment where dying means starting completely from scratch.

Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade

Warhammer: Age of Reckoning died quickly and many felt it was the end for the title. That was before Eternal Crusade was announced. Set 40,000 years after the original, the game has lots of new features but it is still largely about the fight between Ork and man. Eternal Crusade brings something different to the table as it is a tactical squad-based shooter where you will fight a persistent war against other groups for territory control.

The MMORPG will light up the year and we can’t wait.

Nomadic Gamer