Sunday, February 28, 2010

An Everquest Adventure: To the Temple!


I recently realized my casting specialization in Everquest was the wrong one, on my Shaman. Leveling up I didn't pay attention, after being lazy long enough, I decided to head to the Temple of Solusek Ro. I made my way to the temples entrance but quickly noticed I didn't bring along the components needed for this quest, they were in the bank! Ah, I there must be a way I don't have to travel all the way back...


I decided to head over to the city of Neriak, home of the Dark Elves. While they hate a Barbarian, like myself, I decided to see if I could beguile my way in with an illusion- which actually worked. Getting in wasn't the problem, I could simply invis and walk in, but would the banker allow me to access my commodities?

Most of the guards were indifferent to me, I did meet up with a feisty one who smacked me as I was passing through a hall. His friends watched silently as my Mercenary, Tieden,  swiftly put him in his place. I am sad to say Neriak has one less guard tonight. After this I made sure Tieden had orders not to attack again unless I gave the word. I don't want to lose what little faction I have because he wants to rough up some guards!


I eventually made my way to the banker, who was cheerful and helped me access my bank (No, you can't see how 'many monies' I do.. or don't have!). While sorting through, another guard decided to try out his sword on me. Tieden taunted him away and snickered at him as I finished banking. Once I had what I needed- Off I ran, as more guards gathered to watch. Tieden stuck around a moment longer to jeer at them while I made my escape. I waited for him and my puppy companion to catch up to me. Off we went! Myself...Tieden... Puppy... Guards!
                       
 

We then headed to the exit and waved goodbye. Happy to have been able to do business in Neriak, even if it was a bit more unwelcoming than I had hoped! I then headed back to the temple, this time being ready for my quest.
 

The temple is a very cozy place. It's warm and full of bright warm light from the lava streams that travel throughout the temple. It is, after-all, located off Lavastorm Mountains. The temple holds many important figures, keepers and quest related people. While the temple is cozy, it's rather a tight squeeze for a large Barbarian Woman! My Dark Elf Illusion comes in handy for more than enchanting elven guards! Ahh.. as a Dark Elf I didn't have to squeeze into small doorways.


I made my way through many twists and turns looking for the person who could help me with my quest. Eventually I found him. After talking things over, I handed him the item he requested in exchange for his services. Then after helping me forget my specialization he tried to pull a fast one on me- Asking if I remembered the fifty gold I promised him! I was in a well enough mood to indulge the fellow. I tipped him his gold and made my way around the temple to see some sights.


It's been quite some time since I was here. I decided to visit some of the people I remembered from years ago. I always thought the temple a unique and interesting place. After poking around for long enough I waved goodbye to everyone and gated home. Enough adventuring for one night. Currently you can find January swimming in a small pool, with her beloved Vittorio- in Plane of Knowledge- All that heat from the lava gave her the urge to take a refreshing swim!

Until next time!
-kaozz

(OMG TYPOS--FIXT Fixed!)

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Level Caps (MMO)

 
Ding!


With Sentinel's Fate the level cap in EQ2 was raised to 90. With so much ground to cover from 1-90 there is a lot of catching up to do. It's passed many games in terms of levels, EQ is only 85 with the latest expansion and WoW is also only bumping up to 85. For new players do you think catching up,  in games today, seems like a huge task? Is leveling fast enough?

There have been games that have boosted the experience in leveling. WoW did this, while changing some things in the process- mount level requirements and cost and adding in heirloom items. EQ boosted up the xp rate and added in hotzones to make it dramatically easier to level then the old days. Even AA xp was given a boost in recent years.

Do you think it is more enjoyable to be able to catch up to the end game quickly? I think it is honestly. While I enjoy the climb to the top, I don't want to sit at the low levels forever. I think some developers keep this in mind when releasing new content with more levels. It's just that much on top to climb to, older content being pushed aside making those levels even less fun than they were once.

Some games, Guild Wars for example, keep the level cap the same. Simply adding in new content to work on at this level. This can be good too. The older zones can still have use, still have things you may want or need. Though level 20 is not very high in terms of most MMO games out. Some players think this equals less content. But if you are getting to the top faster, doesn't that mean more to do at high end? Less time spent leveling? I suppose you could say that, some people like the level grind with alts though. It's a hard balance to create to keep everyone happy.

So what do you think on levels these days. More, less? How do you feel about catching up in games. Is it pretty easy in general or just an annoying grind to get to where the game 'starts'?
-kaozz

This and That (MMO)



Last night I actually saw the new EQ2 expansion ,Sentinel's Fate, on the shelves in Best Buy. Very cool to see a SOE game on the shelf. I often see old EQ2 expansions from a few years ago, nice to see the new one out. Speaking of EQ2, it seems they had some issues with the new BG's affecting players skills and points. Instead of a roll back they are doing adjustments upon petitions. Hope they get things back in order soon! Also EQ2 and EQ have some really nifty loot items with LoN. There is a mount I am drooling over for EQ.

A new game is on the horizon with gPotato- Akia. It is currently in CB, looks pretty interesting. If you haven't seen it, check it out here. I think I will be sticking with Allods, but I'll keep an eye on this one. Not much new with Allods. I'm wondering how the cash shop will go. No changes so far. Also a couple of neat looking games to look forward to. TERA and Tales of Fantasy.

Aion Magazine? Yep, they are coming out with a digital magazine. And yes, you do have to pay for it. It comes with some goodies though. A different aspect for a game magazine. Not sure how I feel about this one. Instead of sharing news with the community website, they are charging? Any wonder why I've never been a big fan of their community relations? I suppose this all depends on the content. Ah it comes with goodies- it's all good, right?

DDO has announced how well the subscriptions are going since the FTP model went out. I am happy for them, this game is really great. I don't play it now but it is fantastic for a free game. If I was to play- when I finally pick it back up- I would definitely pay. I think it's well worth it. Props to Turbine.

Darkfall has now has a trial. It cost One Dollar. Really, such a niche game could probably do better to offer a free trial. That's one I'll pass on. Pay a dollar to try out getting ganked?

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
-kaozz

Friday, February 26, 2010

Torchlight


Last night I went out to grab Dire UFC Undisputed for the PS3 and I saw Torchlight. I've been meaning to try this one out for some time, so I thought I'd pick it up. From the makers of Diablo, Fate and Mythos the cover said. I liked all three of those. Out of the three it reminds me most of Mythos and Fate With some Diablo music. I remember many people writing about this one several months ago, I'm slow at times- going at my own speed.

I really am enjoying it so far. I only got to play for a short bit last night but it is really a lot of fun. Usually I have Dungeon Siege for when I want to play an offline dungeon crawl. I love Dungeon Siege. I don't play offline games very much these days though. Anyhow, I didn't like you couldn't customize the character, then again that made it more like Diablo than Fate in that aspect. And I am stuck playing a male character if I don't want to play the one female class. Other than that I was really happy with the game.


I love the pet, I forgot to name mine so he is stuck as Spot. I picked a ferret, he was just so cute. That was another thing similar to Fate, you pick a pet also. The pet goes to town selling my items for me, very cool. I always wanted a pet to do my bidding! I should have named him Lassie. Also fishing is cool, once again another fate like aspect. (Yes, I know quite a lot about Fate, my son absolutely loves that game!)

I've been interested in Dragon Age: Origins for awhile and not yet had a chance to play it. I was considering it for the PS3 so everyone could play it. I don't know though if it will be as good on the console though. I do know my computer won't do it justice in it's current state, Dire's would though. But then again I wanted something everyone could play. I will probably hold off on this one for now.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
-kaozz

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Daily Grind With Some PS3


I am thinking about firing up the ol' EQ2 account tonight. My friend has been waiting on my to start. I really like the game, I just ended up with a 'lonely' feeling there last time around. I've been sort of lazy and sort of busy and I sort of dread some of those zones I've leveled in so many times. Some of them I really do not like. Zek.. Ugh it makes me nauseous thinking about that zone. But I do like other aspects of the game.

Allods has been keeping me busy for a little bit today. I've had a few people ask what class I am. At the low level I am, it seems I kill faster than a lot of other classes. That's kind of why I dropped all my other characters for this one. I don't mind slow killing, I do mind having to regen up after every fight, be it mana or health. One silver for food and drink, meh...

The Scout is really a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I am only level eight but that is because my time playing has been spent trying out every character I was interested in. I wanted a feel for them all. I actually had a lot of fun trying them all out too. I am still only playing it on the side so I am sure most people are leaps and bounds ahead of me. I think it's a keeper for my secondary game though. It's so lovely.

My Shaman in Everquest is coming along nicely. We have three across my accounts on different servers. It's just such a strong class and I really enjoy it. We are still parked at 60 and 61 getting some aa's that we need. Dire playing a tank class, needs a lot of them, and we don't mind. It's always fun getting new ranks of this or that, new abilities too.

I am thinking about starting a Monk too. It's one class I never had a chance to play up. It just looks like a lot of fun. Plus an alt I don't have to buy tons of spells with- leveling the Shaman I spent so much time running to get spells some days.

I rented Dante's Inferno last night for the PS3. I haven't gotten a chance to play it yet. But it really looks sweet. I did watch Dire give it a go, so I hope later on to get a chance to try it out. Lots of boobies.. I thought it was going to be about hell >.< So far it does look like a lot of fun though. I am not into console games as much as some people, there are some really good looking games out these days though!

So what's everyone else been getting into?
-kaozz

Poll Time- I'm Interested!


Survey Results - GlowDay.com

I'm interested to know what interests you currently in the MMO scene. It's painless, and it makes me feel so loved- ok, maybe I'm just nosy- Vote, let me know what interests you! I see lots of gamers getting burnt out, what is everyone playing when they get bored? What do you see yourself sticking with? And thanks for taking the time to share!

-kaozz

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Allods Insight (Rumors?) And Some Everquest Drama!



This week I'm pretty much doing the same as last week, as far as gaming is concerned. I'm still playing Everquest and Allods (I'm sure you have noticed with all the Allods posts- heh). I think I play two games right now to cover all the bases. Cover all the bases? Something with depth, longevity, something I know, something with a huge world to explore- EQ. Something new and shiny, something I can hop on a few and do a little bit, something with major eye candy- Allods. And I might have something else to dabble with on the horizon.

Allods
I finally decided what I want to play, a Scout. I've been trying everything out to see what I liked best. It was a tough choice but I think the Scout suits me well. I may level up a caster next round. There are a few things that bug me with the class but nothing I can't get past. Fient has ported me under the ground once so far, or rather stuck halfway under, halfway out. Luckily I could use my stone to go back to my bind point- while the mob beat me down. Yes, you can do that or I'd be dead. I picked an Kanian, I thought I'd want to be a pretty elf with wings, but I actually like this race a lot.

A recent and interesting rumor I found out recently would be the history of Allods and how it's changed hands several times in development. A Russian player recently stated: (TL;DR version)

The original development team left during CBT1-2 Nival merged with Astrum and mail.ru. Following this the lead game designer left due to a disagreement with direction of the game before it was finished. Development came to a halt on Allods when mail.ru bought out Astrum Nival. They are quoted to be a greedy game service platform. This is part of the reason music, bugs and animations (Have you ever noticed how the Kanian females run into the ground? Someone brought this to my attention yesterday- now it haunts me!) are slow to get fixed. So these are not the original designers- which can lead to a lot of complications and the game is such a new release at that. 

Edit- Hind sight is 20/20- So this is the rumor on the forums- found here. Gpotato says differently here. Which is true, who knows. Possibly more in depth info on the merges here. And I'm not the only one to jump the gun ;)

I can't say exactly how true this is but it has been around the net and it does explain a bit why the game is how it is. Greedy company in hand now? Actions speak louder than words. Need I say more? So this was interesting to find. It is a game developed in Russia, so those companies might not be as well known to American players as people who live there. It rings a lot of truth though. I do know over the years EQ has had some difficulties in change simply because the code wasn't known to the new designers. So what can we expect? I am not too sure. Lets hope for the best, this game has a lot of potential.


Everquest
Dire and I have been playing our characters on the Firiona Vie server. I am playing (yes another) Shaman and he is a Shadowknight. I like this server a lot, so that's why we headed back there. We are sitting at 60 for awhile, packing away some aa's. It's been all he is interested in playing, he says he doesn't think he wants to play WoW ever again. He is a one game man, hard to change, once he gets set in a game he sticks with it. If it wasn't for me, I wonder if he would have ever left EQ to try out other games. He just gets set in his ways. I am sure he will try out Cataclysm, because I know I will!

The thing about this server is it's a bit different than others. The loot rules are different, almost all gear is tradeable, languages need to be learned to understand other races and it is a RP server. We have learned all the languages on these character, which I always thought was quite cool to do.

Last night we ran into some people stealing mobs from our camp. Everquest might not recognize camps, but I do! So then I had Dire drag me all over following them around taking the kills back- you can't tag mobs in this game. Which I felt bad for the guys as they were probably unaware he was pulling from several rooms. But then again Dire had tried to tell them several times. There was a whole zone to kill in, why bother us? So after a few, they told me I hadn't been in the zone at my camp, I was stealing their mobs. They cursed at me saying I was pulling a fast one on them. Ok, so now they are morons I don't feel bad for. I then proceeded to make them feel like complete idiots- I could make a sailor cry. And that was the end of that. I had an illusion on (Dark Elf- Guise of the Deceiver) and when they came in I was a Barbarian. I suppose they thought I was a Cleric? Instead of the Barbarian Shaman they saw when passing me. Yeah- a Cleric in chain! Noobs!

Now, I am all for being kind and respectful to other players. As long as you don't disrespect me. I don't take any bull when it comes to people in games. I do know when to keep my cool. For a time I was a guide in Everquest and I always maintained my cool to players. You wouldn't believe what some people will send you in tells heh. But- when I am the player- it's a whole different ball park.

Everquest2
This one may be on the horizon as a friend wants me to start up on another server. I have been lazy and kind of busy with RL too. So I may fire this one up in the next week or two, I just have to see how things go. /waves to Rob! I know, I'm slack ;)

Till' next time!
-kaozz

Crits and Giggles- Wednesday





Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Sweep Me Off My Feet!- Allods




I'm still playing Allods. Taking my sweet time, waiting for it to sweep me off my feet. I honestly do like the game a lot. I am a bit timid about sticking with it more than something on the side. Is it wanting to sweep my wallet off it's feet instead of me? Tip it over and shake it a little bit...

Hey there *waves her arms over her head* you have to charm me into sticking with your game before you get me to invest! As I said before, I am not against cash shops, I don't like it when a game makes you feel like it is needed in order to play. Potions to get rid of a two hour rez sickness? Food to make a mount go it's potential speed? Seriously? I have not had a chance to see high end but I hear through the grapevine (thanks Grimfire).

Other than that, I think the game has a lot of potential still. Although some damage has been done. If the reins are taken into hand, this game still could be something special. It just feels like a waiting game though. I don't want this to be another Aion. Gorgeous but basically a game that cares nothing about the players. The players fund a game- cash shop or subscription.

I have had a chance to really play some of the other classes. Some I like, others have potential but seem too nerfed to even bother with (Warden?) and others really rock. I have found I absolutely hate crabs in this game. The resist and block an insane amount. What is up with those blasted crabs?! Some mobs are cake to kill, others take a raid. Newbie raid... oh my what a mess. The Damned Soul is just a disaster, I never seem to figure out how it died. Half the raid was just standing there, the other half I don't know.. lol.

For the most part I am still having fun, trying out the classes to see which one I like the most. It's tough to pick because there are a lot of cool classes. I know I am sounding like I am joining the bandwagon and complaining, I'm just stating some concerns. Any thoughts on how things are looking for Allods thus far?

-kaozz

Monday, February 22, 2010

Friends List (MMO)

I love to find a good camp with my peeps and hang out... Get some xp, talk and just have some fun! I like to keep in touch with my peeps, how about you? That's me on the left.. ;)

If you have played MMOs as long as I, then you probably have met a lot of people, made a lot of friends over the years. Do you stay in touch with many of those people as the years go by? Or do you consider those separate from your personal life? I recently saw a post on the Everquest forums of someone passing on, a lot of people knew and mourned this person, lots of comments of how they remembered this person. It was truly sad. It made me think- What if it was one of my friends?

To me a friend is a friend. In game or out. Often I like to stay in touch with my friends from my games. Over the years I do try to stay in touch, some friends have been better about it than others! One of my best friends I met in Guild Wars in a random PvP match. Later we found out he lived in the same city as us! He has since moved but we stay in touch still. There are other people I like to stay in contact with, people I meet are people not just NPC's in a game to assist me.

I'm just one of those people who likes to stay in touch I suppose. I even talk to my High School friends on Facebook because I love staying in touch with people. While I don't love Facebook, I do love my friends and family who use it! My best friend loves it, she is sometimes easier to catch on there. So it's something I do use, if not as often as some would like. I even have a WoW friend on there.

Getting back on topic, some people don't like to keep in touch outside of the games we play. That is a personal preference. I respect that. Some people just don't have room for game friends, or want them, outside of a game.

Do you play a game with friends or family who don't live near you? That is something else I see people doing, they get to spend time together in a game even if they don't live near each other. I always thought that was a nice way to keep in touch.

There are those friends I have lost touch with and wonder how they are. Do you have many people like that? Good friends you have always wondered about? I remember some great friends from Everquest, years ago, and I wonder how they are. Emails get lost or names get forgotten, but the friend always sticks in your mind over the years.

I'm not talking about meeting people, just staying in touch in general. Though if you end up meeting someone, that is cool too. I have met a few people from my games, not very many though. If I really wanted to get personal and in depth I could say- I actually met my husband in Everquest, seven years ago. I am truly racking up geek status points sharing that info!

Now, don't think I am some internet stalker! These have been people I knew for long periods of time. Some of my really good friends in games I have never kept in touch with outside. Say for example, a great tank I was good friends with played WoW and Aion with me- They were only 17. I didn't think it would be proper to talk with them outside the game, being a minor. I wouldn't want my son talking to 'an old woman like myself' outside of a game! For me- most of these people I keep in touch with are long time friends I consider to be just more than a 'colleague' in a game.

I like to think that the social aspect of an MMO is one of the things that make them so great. You meet people, make friends and have adventures! But when the adventure ends, you still have some friends and memories.You get to know these people, play with them often through out the game and enjoy their company.

So how about you, does the friendship end when you /camp or does your 'friends list' extend to the real world?  Have you lost touch, any regrets?

-kaozz

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Constructive Criticism- Allods



Yep, another Allods post. I thought I'd take time to write a little about the pros and cons as I have had more time to dwell within the game and get a better feel for it. I have been wanting this to be my little game I play on the side when I am not playing Everquest with Dire. This lazy weekend I have spent an afternoon playing a bit and thinking on some things that really should be noted.

Zones...
The game is lovely, that is a sure thing. However all the pretty graphics in the world don't make a game great. I am not saying the game isn't great, it is for the most part. I am wanting to make new characters to try out, and have been- but I have not enjoyed it very much. A good friend of mine wanted to start a character with me but I am afraid he may be turned away by the horrible starting area. Yes it is H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E. You filter every jerk in the game into one spot, it's not going to be pretty. People killing the one named quest mob that spawns out of spite.. It starts to get irritating.

What should have been done to prevent this would be channels, if you are not interested in making separate starting zones for the races well for heavens sake at least make channels to switch to!!!! These would be similar to Guild Wars and Aion. Those help multitudes. It is so bad I don't even feel like playing up my new little Scout- which I absolutely love.

Which leads me to my next point, if the game is so congested now in the starting areas, I dread to see how the Holy Lands will be. PvP.. it is going to be one messy nasty place where nobody wants to go. Well, maybe the griefers. 

Leveling
If you are not going to space out the leveling areas then speed up the XP to get people out of there faster. It is too slow to get anyone to really want to stick with it, if they are trying out multiple characters. The rate of killing mobs with each class varies, some are pathetically slow while others do a fair amount of damage. You are not going to reel people in by slowly leveling in a zone infested with other players.

Pets, at a low level I think they should tank better. The Summoner pet to be specific. Basically I am tanking, he is sitting there doing whatever with that shovel. Maybe it gets easier as you level, for now it is annoying if I do too much aggro, not like he has a ton of hit points. Not a big deal, but something that is different from closed beta, I remember pets tanking much better.

Warden pets, what exactly are these? Are they a part of the character, an extension, or a pet? There is no pet bar, I am not sure where I stand on this class. It is very different, sort of a dumb pet. Remember Everquest Enchanter pets? Yeah sort of like that, attack when you are attacked. I like being able to command a pet. And are they casters or melee? They appear to be a melee caster hybrid but they start in robes, mostly casting. This is one I will have to play more to understand it better.

-Edit- I did get a chance to dawdle around on  the Warder. They are a bit better than I thought at first. They are different for sure, not as dumb as I thought they were at first! I am growing rather fond of this class.

Scout arrows, these are really nifty. You can add fire and such to your arrows. You have to prepare them- they load into a 'quiver'. If you want to alternate shots you have to cancel one and start the other, this is a pain- all this before even entering combat. I have to refresh my quiver after every kill, this makes it take even longer. Not a big deal once again, but it seems the only class that has to prepare between kills, while everyone else is wailing away on mob after mob. No consumables on arrows- this is pure awesome. That is one thing I love. I can deal with the little annoyances just because of this.

Cash Shop
This is what will fund the game. More power to it. I don't mind it one bit. Some of the items are actually more than a monthly subscription for a pay to play game. People just won't buy them. Don't shoot yourself in the foot with high prices. Nothing really of interest to me currently, so I can't comment further.

Questing
Some of the drop rates are very, very... very bad. The zones are already over populated. No channels and only two servers. What bad drop rates do is keep these areas over populated, these mobs over camped. It's not a good thing, it should be looked into in my honest opinion. Filter people up and out of these areas with only two servers, we have tight quarters here in Allods!

Named mobs. This is just asking for grief upon players. Over camping, waiting in line and kill stealing. Yucky stuff is involved with this. Some of them I tend to skip or wait until the wee hours of the morning to get it. Not cool.

Things I like
Class armor set packages from trainers, uber! My kicka$$ pony tail- my Scout's rather. I love the built in quest helper and map system, they make things simple and light. The animations are beautiful. There's more but I have touched on those in other posts and I won't linger over those today.

Overall I really like the game. However, I am getting annoyed while trying out other classes I didn't get a chance to in CB. If you can get past these with out any annoyances, well you are a better player than I in that aspect! I have a low threshold for annoying players, and I am meeting quite a lot of them.


-kaozz

Saturday, February 20, 2010

As The World Turns- Allods


I finally got out of newbie land in Allods today. It felt better getting out of the heavily populated area. Things were not so cramped, still people everywhere but it wasn't as bad. I actually logged on at  five am the other day and it wasn't bad at all. As the hour got later, the area filled up more so.

I got to see the big city for the League. It was pretty impressive. It was really a lovely city, I actually had a time trying to find all the quest npc's there as it is large. Eventually I made my way out of the city gates to quest.

Questing in Allods is pretty easy. There is a built in quest tracker and everything is lit up on the map with markers, which helps a lot. A pro tip here- Z key accesses certain things. I found this out the hard way, wondering how they heck I was to get onto a ship from a portal pad. Thankfully someone let me in on that tip, I didn't see anywhere it told me to use it, I suppose I could have overlooked it.



Anyhow, the XP is very slow, quest mobs don't drop items you need very often. It can get a bit grindy at times, this can be exhausting if you are competing in a heavily populated area. I'm not jaded by this, just something to mention. I also noticed that if you go to your class trainer from level five and up you can buy a gear package from the trainer. Very cool, I put mine on and ... I looked just the same as when I popped out of the tutorial. Lets hope the next set looks better!

The summoner is pretty neat. I spent my points (I am only level seven- yeah, yeah I need to get on the ball..) into the Hellion again this level. He is a bit tougher seems to have a charge ability and looks like he fears mobs at low health. I still have to watch that I don't out aggro him, but he is better than the last rank. In closed beta the pet seemed to tank much better, when it comes to aggro. I can only hope he gets better with levels.


I did make a summoner on the other side to check out the other city -Empire, plus I love the mechanical looking race- Arisen. I named her Mecha, I thought the name appropriate. I haven't gotten her very far as once again there were a billion people leveling there. So I will save that for another day.

I will continue to level, hopefully I pick up some speed soon! I just have been taking my time. Plus I have other games I do play, so this is something on the side. However I really like it a lot and think I will be playing it for awhile!

Has anyone died yet? I did once, when I tried to kill a mob, which turned out to need a raid to kill. It was like under level 10. I eventually got into a raid for him, or I would have had to skip it. So yeah, death. You go to Purgatory. It seems you queue up to be rezzed. While the idea is innovative, it is kind of an odd mechanic. I will have to die some more and see how bad it can get, lets just let that happen in due time!

Has anyone else gained many levels? Thoughts on how the leveling process has been for you? I am curious to know how others are faring since they started!


-kaozz

Shopping Time!

Whoa boy, I can do some damage shopping. Add in cash shops to a MMO and my husband fears the worst! He says I could do more damage there than actually out shopping. I'm drooling all over the screen as I window shop- or should I say 'screen shop'. Yep, my nose is pushed right up to the screen looking at goodies.

Some people dislike cash shops. In some games I don't really mind them, I actually don't mind them much at all. With the changes to Free Realms I don't really like that it's not so much free with a cash shop on top of it for the coolest items. However it's a cheap subscription. In Allods it's a different story, the game is free to play through out the whole game, the shop funds the game.
 

Allods
The cash shop finally went live! There have been some people up in arms over it. If you check out the prices some seem ok and others seem truly outrageous. Twenty USD for a twenty slot backpack. That seems a bit over the top when you can do a quest to get a twenty-four slot bag.

Nothing in there currently has really caught my attention. I didn't see anything in there I had to have really. What are your thoughts on the new cash shop?


Free Realms
Today mounts were added in. It's something I really wanted and they look pretty cool but still- PONIES please! Ponies with wings at that! None the less I am really happy to see mounts in Free Realms. I didn't even see this one coming! They are currently dinosaurs T-Rex to be exact and dragons. They come in various colors. Isn't the purple lovely?!
 



-kaozz

Friday, February 19, 2010

Kid Games

I'm a gamer and a mom. My son will be 14 next month (Ahh I am getting old!), I try to get him to play games with me since it's something we both have in common. Do you play games with your children? That is if you have children, maybe family members if you don't have kids- cousins, siblings ect?


My son and I are worlds apart when it comes to what games we like. Yes, that's us in the picture- A rare glimpse into my personal world ;)  He likes console games and more fast paced game play in an MMO and he is big into FPS games. Where I like to take my time and play my MMOs.

We tried several games together. At times he would play on one of our accounts along with me in the evenings, WoW, EQ.. even Guild Wars. Then he sort of went his own way with games. Sometimes he asks me what a good game is or if any fun new FTP games are out. He even played WoW for awhile with his friends next door, they thought it was so cool they could ask me a zillion questions about the game. Which it was pretty neat, talking with them and being on the same level, so to speak.

Eventually they got bored and stopped playing so much. It just seemed there wasn't much they could stay interested in. And if they hit high end what would they do? My son could raid and run heroics, as he really is a decent player and understands classes well, his friends however still didn't grasp a lot of the mechanics. 

Lately though it seems a lot of games are aimed at an older audience. Most, dare I say-  'tweens" don't like to stick with something for long, hopping around when they get bored. Which is really natural. We tried the Free Realm thing, which he thinks is a bit young for him, even if his mom likes it- lol. Now mostly he plays Adventure Quest, his PS3 and some other free games here and there. I do try to bend and play console games with him at times, he loves it. But I am really not so great and we end up just laughing at how terri-bad I am.

He does like to share what he has done in his games and show me, I make a point to take the time to listen and look. I know how it is to have a hobby and feel you accomplished something and want to share it with someone! That is at least something we can share.

So do you play computer or console games with your (kids)? What do you play? Are they interested in much of the games you play? I'm curious to know. Do you feel the MMO scene offers much to kids?


-kaozz

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Weekly Run Down


So whats going on with everyone this week? Something new, something old perhaps? I thought I'd share what I have been doing lately, or haven't been doing- in the weekly run down. I've had a busy week and haven't really had much time to get down to what's been going on with my many characters. Lets start with some new...


Allods
I have been popping in and out of this game in hopes to catch it at a lull.. ha! There has been no lull, every time I am on it is a challenge to even find one mob up. I did manage to finish a few quests today and move on, but eventually I got tired of hunting mobs and seeing more people than mobs, wishing I could kill them instead! That and the WoW chat was pretty annoying. But it is to be expected, it seems to happen in every new game. I did manage to get my summoner's pet finally.

I hope to get started playing more as the week goes on and the rush of new people in the starting areas slows down some. I actually was having a bit of fun until I realized I was running circles for five minutes looking for mobs. Maybe others have had better luck than I with moving up in the levels, I suppose I have a lower threshold and would rather go play something else.


WoW
Although I am not playing it really lately, I still have been keeping tabs, I think when Cataclysm comes out I will be more interested. This one isn't scratched off the list, I am merely taking an unexpected vacation from Azeroth for now! I do miss my characters at times, so I am sure I will be back before long.


Free Realms
I popped into Free Realms to check out the holiday event which was pretty fun for the most part. The decorations were really awesome, the team did an outstanding job on those. I did some of the quests and didn't get anything good (*sniff*), peeked at the cash shop items and drooled- I resisted! Played around with my housing. I noticed the prices on house items are much cheaper along with prices on items in general (Gold not Station Cash). So I was pretty happy about that. I ended up sitting in my house for waaay too long rearranging it and figured it was time to log out.


Everquest
Recently we picked up on the Mayong server, which was a lot of fun. However we have characters spread across a few servers and decided to pop in on an older server we have not played on in some time. So for now we are messing around with some of those characters. I am sure you will see more about those in the future. Nothing exciting to report from Norrath currently.

So that's what I've been up to with my games. I hope to write more about Allods soon, we shall see how it goes as the week comes to an end. That could be worse though! Safe adventures all!
-kaozz

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Story of the Day... (MMO)




                   Today's basic MMO comes with this feature!
                  


 
We get so use to it, we forget it is even there! 
               


 
No player wants to be caught without it anymore! This guy swears by it!


             That uber character you dream about is only a click 
                                                  away!


                    It's so easy a squirrel could (play) do it!
                        
 


            Side effects may include being bored to death very
                                                quickly!

    

This is meant to be all in good fun ;)
-kaozz

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Allods, Yikes!

Part 1
Well, today is the day! I logged in and played though the tutorial which was fun. Once I got out into the open it wasn't as fun though. Simply put, there are too many people in the starting area. I will have to try again later. Mobs are killed as fast as they spawn and people keep pouring into the same area as others move out. At one point the lag was pretty yucky.

I suppose I will just try again later and see if things slow down some. Or maybe just skip the starting quests altogether. The thing is they put all the races of said faction in one starting area with not enough mobs. When things slow down it will not be so bad, it wasn't in closed beta.

I hope others are having more fun than I. I am sure it will get better as it starts to thin out as people level! So, let me know how the first day was if you played! I made a summoner named Sable on the Nezeb server, feel free to say hi if you happen to play on my server!


Part 2
Instead of making a new post I figured I would add more to this post about my progress in Allods. Of course, as we move closer to the evening hours, the servers are filling up even more. The Nezeb server had some massive lag, I was booted out several times. When I wasn't lagging or getting kicked.. there weren't any mobs up to kill in the new area.

I tried the opposite  faction which was just as bad when it came to quest mobs. In my eyes, it would have been a much smoother launch for open beta if they had split each race into it's own starting area. I suppose you get what you pay for.. heh.  Then again it will settle down and as the game ages  starting together can be a good thing, so it is a catch-22. For now it's really not so great though if you are wanting to play.

I decided to try the Tensess server  which was a bit better on lag, I was able to get a few mobs here and there but there are just too many people playing in these areas now for me to enjoy it at all. I really wanted to log in, relax a bit and play, but that just isn't happening. So off to Everquest it is.

I will wait a day or two before I try to really play again. Let the dust settle down a bit! I did enjoy the game with the tutorial. Too bad I couldn't stay in there to level!




-kaozz

Monday, February 15, 2010

Allods Online- Open Beta!


One more day until Allods Online open beta! I am kind of excited about this, it will be something else for me to play around on. I am not sure how in depth I will play as of now, it all depends on how open PvP is really. From what I have seen so far though it is a very fun game. I enjoyed my time I played in the open/closed beta. I already know what class I will play too- Summoner.

If you haven't already been to the site, there is a manual update here. Or you can always just download it again. I haven't had a chance to really see what the manual update requires. I will have to get onto that later.

So, anyone else excited about tomorrow's open beta? A nice thing is, no wipes on characters from then on out. Yay!  If you haven't seen any gameplay, I found a very cool video showing the classes in action and giving a brief description- Check it out here.  And also below are a couple of videos with a more in depth description. It is definitely a beautiful, fluent game!

First Impressions- From Massively:






-kaozz

Too Small a World for Me... (WoW, EQ)


Too Small a World for Me
I tend to skip around from games sometimes. I do like to mix it up and play different things, there are a lot of really cool games out now. However there are a couple that I call my main games- Warcraft and Everquest. Even if I am not playing one atm, I will surely be playing it again at some point. Lately though WoW has just felt too small a world for me, I find myself getting bored easier.

My friend Pouncealot from Heals and Dots asked me to explain why WoW wasn't big enough a world for me. So today I thought I would elaborate. This will be long winded I'm sure, heh. I started Everquest in 2000, even back then the world was quite large, many places to explore and level. It could take at least half an hour to run somewhere. It truly was a huge world. Today the game is even bigger than before, sixteen expansions later! Today travel is a lot easier and faster, with portal stones, guild hall ports and fast mounts. Had I not played Everquest would I still think WoW such a small world? Probably not. Ignorance is bliss. Just kidding...!! Would I still be bored within it? Probably.


Zones
When I went to World of Warcraft it was indeed a smaller world than I was use to. It was new and still didn't have the zones it does now. Today though, there are not all that many zones. I just feel I am spinning circles with each expansion, finding myself in the the same areas day after day. Same instances day after day. It doesn't change up quickly, as the expansions are not put out once a year as I was use to with Everquest. It still, six years later, feels rather small to me. Everything is outdated very quickly. Which continues to make the new content used up faster and the world feel smaller once again, not expanded.

I love WoW, but for one who likes to change things up with scenery, it's just not possible at high end. While leveling there are a few different zones, but why go to one when the other is better with quests offered ect. No mobs to camp for an item .. something special you want. If there is, well it's in an instance, in most cases. It can feel limited. Holiday events that have you travel are like a breath of fresh air to me, but they are far in between at times.

Another thing I notice is my Bard and my fast mount in Everquest, they seem to go double the speed of my epic flier, even with the Paladin's crusader aura in WoW. Because there is more area to cover, you travel at a faster rate. Zoom.. Zoom.. Zoom!

Get tired of one place, go somewhere else. If you are wondering just how many zones there are in Everquest here is a list. And here is a visual picture to consider, note the newest expansion isn't listed here and these are full of instanced and raid zones as well.  It's massive for someone who loves to explore. It could be overwhelming to a new player, I think it adds a depth to a game. A huge world to explore. Mobs that drop rare items hidden across it, many quests and epic quests to be had.  Go visit the 'Gods' of Everquest in the Planes if you like! Maybe even kill them if you're strong enough! I like things like that. I got tired of visiting Vancleef :( I am sure he misses me though.

Content
It depends on how you look at content while leveling and once you are at high end. I like something to do when I am at the top still. Things I can work on alone or with others. I don't like it so much in one direction, where if I log on for a short time, I can't do anything worthwhile. That is a big thing with me. I like to be able to duo and group as well, I don't like being pigeonholed into one aspect of play at high end.

In WoW while leveling there are so many things to do quest wise. However, once you reach the top it's instances and raids for gear. Which is fun. Though this can really be a burn out for some people. Ok, I want to just solo a bit, let me do daily quest. Do you know anyone who actually likes them? I don't. They get old quickly too. I am glad they are there for the option to acquire gold, it just gets boring fast.

So.. what can you do on your own or with a partner once you get high end in WoW- besides daily quests? Achievements or PvP. But what if you don't like those? That's what gets to me sometimes. I remember in BC I logged on some nights and just spent time fishing... for days. I thought why the hell am I still playing this game? Sure, I enjoy fishing but it was quite boring, I had PvP'd for gear, raided a couple times a week and did my daily quests. When I wasn't well.. I didn't feel like instancing all the time.

But you can't solo in Everquest! How many times I have heard that. With mercenaries, you can. Some classes can solo better than others. It just depends on what you solo. Everyone can solo to 85. Everyone. It's not as fun at times, so groups are always welcomed. The Mage is the posterchild for soloing now. A bit overpowered if you ask me when compared to other classes with less gear and alternate advancement points. That doesn't stop me. With better gear and AA points all the classes get stronger.

You have to keep in mind it is an older game, so a massive overhaul wouldn't work out well with such old coding. Plus do we want it to be like WoW? It is it's own game with it's own feel and play-style. Skills have more meaning to them. Things do not die so fast, so skills are more utilized. Slowing the mobs attack speed makes a big difference where it wouldn't matter in WoW.

High end? There are raids, group content, instances and quests. When you don't feel like doing any of those you can just xp for alternate advancement points. These are like talent points on crack. You can build and tune your character into something much stronger than you started with. The great thing is you can work on these starting at level 51, so there is much work to do to keep you busy with that aspect. Want to stay in a place for awhile and work on them? Kick the aa xp to 100% and you won't level.


Exploring
Not everyone likes to explore. I don't just run around la la la and smelling the flowers in all the pretty zones. However, I do like to go back to some of the older zones, kill some rare mobs.. kill an old raid mob.. something worthwhile still. Hey it could drop something worthwhile still, maybe some spells or a clicky item I never could get. I like places to explore while getting xp also.

There is no invisibility in WoW. Which makes exploring some areas more of a pain. I always thought it was odd that WoW didn't offer this ability to all classes. Ok, Mages get it and there is also stealth. It's not the same. Stealth mobs can see through if you get too close, not fun. Where being invisible you can dance in front of the mob if you want and they don't mess with you- that is unless they see through it! Then again it is a much smaller world so the need for something like this is not as great.



Adventure!
I suppose to sum things up, I like a slower pace these days. Everything is so fast in WoW. Groups are done so fast in Heroics, I guess that might be a good thing though! You know everything inside out by the time you hit 80 and have played for a month at least. It stagnates quickly. The longer you play, the less fascinating the world can get. The content is slowly put out, so it is to be expected.

When I want to adventure, I want it to be an adventure.  I don't want to always have to go to the same zone day after day. That's like going to the grocery store every week and calling it an adventure. You need gold- you go do daily quests. You need food you go to the grocery store. I consider them both to be the on same level of excitement- Zzzz....

I like to quest or camp for things. There really isn't an option at 80 for much of this in WoW. If you go around adventuring, there really isn't much of a point besides the scenery. If you do like to go sight seeing, well.. you can get bored of event that after awhile.

So there you go readers (And my dear friend Pouncie!) that's the best way, I suppose, I can sum it up. This isn't a brag about EQ post either, it's just EQ ties into why I feel as I do about WoW. Why do I not always play EQ then? I still like my other games, I miss them at times and still like to visit them and try out new games. For now though I am back in Norrath adventuring my heart out!

May your adventures be exciting and full of fond memories!
-kaozz

Edit* Someone smack me for posting when I am tired.. Sorry for all the typos- I think I caught them all this time >.<

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!


Happy Valentines Day. I hope everyone had a great weekend, mine has been pretty busy. Back to writing Monday though! Many fun Valentine activities this weekend, hope everyone had fun with them!



*Hugs*
--kaozz

Friday, February 12, 2010

Valentine, Schmalentine!


The post title is due to me watching too much of The Nanny's holiday week of Valentin Episodes on Nick at Night. Today with the patch, Valentine's  Day has started in Free Realms. The items are really cool, I haven't had too much time to check them out as today has been very busy! Once I get some more time, I plan on popping back in and checking out the new costumes some more, they are so lovely though! There are some nifty pets for the holiday too. As far as quests go, I have not had a chance to see if any were available. But the items I saw so far were really impressive.


In EQ there were some really cool items added also. Also some holiday love to go 'round:
Love is in the Air: Bonus Rare Weekend – Feb. 12th to Feb. 15th Love is in the Air, causing hearts all over to grow larger and larger. Those rarely seen special denizens all across Norrath and beyond want to see adventurers more and more. From 10:00 am PST on Friday, February 12th until 11:59 PST Monday, February 15th, several rare encounters will increase the rate of their appearance. Be sure to "show them how much you care about them" during this special time of year!

And.. in my email:
For this weekend only, shoot some hearts at your special someone with free Shots of Love (in-game item, non-tradable) from the Marketplace! Increased rare spawns begin at 10:00 AM PST Friday, February 12 and continue until 11:59 PM PST Monday, February 15. Pick up your free Shot of Love between Friday February 12 and Wednesday February 17th!


Today was also the S.O.E Valentine's Ustream Event. I did pop in briefly but my connection wasn't doing well with the live stream so I had to leave w/o getting to ask anything. I was pretty put off by that. Ahh.. I hope that will be resolved soon. Yes, that is another of my characters on another server... I won't go into that this evening.

Today I got one of those 'fancy phones'.. it takes pictures, I can check my email on it, even check out my website, text.. and even talk on it ;) Dire said we are a couple of phone newbies. We each got a shiny new phone. An early Valentine's present for me! As if I haven't gotten enough already. So I've had a really good day!

I'll close with an awesome song. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
-kaozz




Thursday, February 11, 2010

Crits and Giggles Thursday

 

  

  

  

 

                               I bet she is really on Facebook!

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