SW:TOR Impressions

I didn't expect to get the urge to play SWTOR so soon but after thinking about what BioWare game I wanted to play next; DA:O again? KTOR? Finish my DA2 replay? I just decided it would probably be the most fun to try The Old Republic. How many times have I wished I could continue going on from the story I loved in one of those games, or wished it was an MMO? Plenty enough to be drawn into SWTOR.

I've seen all the SW movies, numerous times, I've been a fan since I was a child. Begging to stay up late to watch the movies, thinking R2-D2 was the coolest thing ever, you get the gist. I just didn't ever have the urge to play a Star Wars MMO. However, the game is really growing on me but I think if it were developed by any other company I probably wouldn't be playing it, in all honesty. Why? I'm really drawn into the story and loving the companions deal, all that BioWare goodness.

Meet Sablesix.

So, anyhow, I made the decision to play a smuggler and go heals with her. She is sitting at level 12 currently. I've gotten my first Companion, probably the one I will use the most as he is a tank, Corso Riggs. I've pretty much gotten used to hearing him yell out- "YEHAWW!"- in combat and I even told him he was a farm boy once, he didn't like that too much. I was just teasing :( I'm glad that I have a companion that I like, he is growing on me. My brother had to wait many levels before he got the companions he really wanted.

I've not made any alts and I am quite enjoying the smuggler. She seems like a good choice. I am feeling her more than I was my beta character, I don't know why that is. My brother hit 50 today (GRATZ NOPH!!) and ran me through my first flashpoint. Way to start out the game, getting run through with a 50, lol. It was fun and I wanted to do something with him since we're both playing now. He also showed me Huttball (PvP) which was pretty fun. I'll probably be doing a bit of PvP with him, since we can queue up together regardless of levels. Plus he is quite good, it should be a fun aversion.

Corso Rigs, my farm boy companion.

As I advance int he game I've found some really gorgeous places, the game surpasses my expectations with that. It also seems much smoother than it was in beta. I hear a lot of people complaining about the UI but I've never been really picky about a UI. I mean if you want to pick apart one go check out DAoC. If it functions then I am happy.

I had to pry myself off the game today, the more I play the more I want to play. I didn't expect to enjoy it this much. I don't know how much I will like it post 50, once the story is done, but I plan on seeing how it is. I do see a lot of criticism on the fact that BioWare decided to put so much effort into story and that was a huge oversight, however I am mixed about this because it is exactly what draws me to TOR. That's about it for today, just some impressions I wanted to jot down. I play on the Dreshdae Cantina Server, if you're around look me up- Sablesix. 

Noph and I.

All Hail Protocol Droid U3-K5

Hail him, NAO!

Today is going a bit better than yesterday, feeling a little bit better. I also saw that Syp had me listed on his 2011 Flushies Awards, that really made my day! Last night went out with a blah... So that was a nice surprise.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I have been needing another BioWare fix. Yep, I caved. I ended up trying to install SWTOR last night and had issues with the downloader. It took AGES and then it kept giving me network connection errors, then maintenance hit. So, after hours and hours of problems I finally ended up calling support, hey it is four am... why not give it a try!?

I was surprised to get through that early, less than a minute of waiting and I managed to get ahold of the nicest representative- Protocol Droid U3-K5. He was so kind and helpful, it was refreshing to talk to someone who really seemed to care about helping me as well as being excited about the game and being excited about me playing it. He sent some helpful information my way and things seem to be cleared up. Upon creating my account I was in such pain from being sick, at the same time as being in a frenzy of excitement of playing the game that I misspelled TWO of my security answers, luckily he was kind enough to help me with that instead of making me feel like a complete ditz. All hail Protocol Droid U3-K3- That dude rocks!

I was very impressed with the hours of support as well as the top notch customer care. I now have the launcher up and running again, it seems like it is going to take awhile but it is going! I'll be playing on the Dreshdae Cantina Server, my brother is there playing and says the queue times are pretty minimal. I'll share my name as soon as I get my character made. 

Until next time, may the force be with you!

AoD- Raising The Bar (EQ2)

I managed to get EQ2's new expansion with the triple SC sale, which was an extremely good deal, I'm very happy that I purchased it as I am seriously enjoying the heck out of it. I thought I'd I would share some of my experiences and thoughts. AoD isn't full of a ton of content but aimed at more features as content is going to be more along the lines of patches since EQ2 going F2P. Thus far it has been my favorite expansion since I started in 2007, yeah a late bloomer with EQ2... Blame it on my old computer and video card.

First up I'll speak about mercenaries. Are they worth it? Yes indeed, they are very much worth it. At the starting levels all the way into the low twenties they are around two silver per half hour, pretty much free. By 22 it is around ten silver and at 90 it is 25g. I prefer the charge being every 30 min instead of, like EQ, it being every 15 min. Some classes are a bit tougher to solo with and mercs can provide a nice boost to soloing. I've not used the DPS merc on the lower levels, only the tanks and healers with my beastlord, while leveling. The inquisitor is very nice for heals and does decent dps. The tank mercs are amazing for a dps boost. I simply adore the paladin from Qeynos, if I know I am not going to need a lot of heals he goes out and about with me as he is a beast. I might need heals if he didn't mow down everything in our way.

"I'll defend you till' death.... Or until you run out of coin." At least he's honest.

I decided to try the dps and paladin merc with my 90 inquisitor. All in all I'd probably stick with the tank, his dps isn't anything to frown at in the least bit. The dps mercs are good but the tank has a much better knack for pulling things off me while I am trying to heal. However, they are AI and you do have to watch aggro, he can only do so much as far as pulling things off me in a short amount of time. That being said they are a bit squishy if you are trying to heal yourself and them and them. I am pretty impressed with them as a whole though. I've read that some people find the mthe melee dps to be less squishy than the tanks but I did not find that to be the case with the Swashy anyhow, perhaps the Brigand is. I'm pretty fond of the Paladin honestly, his dps, when used with my inquis seemed just as decent as a rogue whom didn't get to utilize his abilities since he was tanking.

Mercs are one of the best things about this expansion. They make things a bit easier especially if you like to solo a lot, they can really impact your play for the better. Plus, they are pretty cheap. I do wish that you could at least have two in your mercenary tab, you can only one at a time or purchase another and switch them up and town that way. I'd love to be able to switch them out on the fly, depending on what would be needed- maybe soon because that was one of the features in the latest (original) EverQuest expansion. I suppose it is just a matter of time. This weekend I actually saw an email for the latest EQ expansion and saw it mentioned a feature being that you can now carry multiple mercs along with you. I was confused because, for a moment, I thought it was EQ2 and got really excited. Poor me, I needs to lern to reed :(

Reforaging. Seems like a nice deal, I was a bit let down that you can only reforage legendary (or better) items. Pretty useless on my lowbie beastlord. Plus, most of my appearance weapons are not legendary which means no pretty sparkles on them.... And if they are, well they already have some cool effect. It is a nice addition though, I just wish it was a bit more newbie friendly.

Personal dungeon maker. I still haven't had time for this but it really is a neat option. As an avid decorator this really seems like a lot of fun and I look forward to using it. While I was soloing some old dungeons with my merc I managed to get a few spawners to drop. You can add these as mobs into your personal dungeon. Currently you can only play as an avatar, not your own character, but on test you can play as your character- So soon this will offer more for players that have been asking for this feature. I think the whole player created content thing is a fantastic option for players who want to experience more content and those who love to create. MOAR CONTENT!

Speaking of content, I also like the Freeport revamp. Some of the questlines are really engaging. I also like the openness of the new [one] zone, no longer do you zone from each part of FP but you can still travel to different parts with city bells. It is done quite well, a nice style with the same layout. I can still find what I am looking for but it just has had a face-lift. Very well done IMO.

At level 20 Beastlords get a 'glowly' blue eyes spell effect
(the crown glowing is a cosmetic drop from SoL).

Last but not least BEASTLORDS! I absolutely love the class, coupled with my merc I find it a blast to play. The class is very bursty at my current level, 22. It gets more interesting and engaging as I level and it is quite formidable. I can see this being my new main easily.

Pets pets and more pets! I've tamed a lot of really cool pets, from a flaming bat whom I named Hotwings to a giant cow. I like how some of the options are silly while others are more along the lines of what you'd expect. I really love pet classes and the options for these are great. At level 30 you gain the ability to further make them stronger with their abilities. I suppose this means you'd want to pick one to focus on mainly at first. I'm eager to work on this soon.

The class has a lot of flexibility which it gains with levels. It is more in your face for a scout class but that is what I was expecting- Toe to toe with a warder at my side! I even have an invis/stealth ability, which is totally sweet. I really look forward to the next ten levels to see how the class changes and grows. It is a really fun class to play and a great experience.

All in all I'd say AoD was a great expansion. Adding in just more raids and five mans wouldn't have made me buy it, it was the features which drew me in. That's just me though. Plus, as stated before, content will be arriving in the form of patches.  If you're on the fence about it, I think it is really a great expansion, especially if you're wanting to jump back into the game, going F2P makes it even more so appealing for those who are not sure they have enough time to justify buying it- It will be there when you do, ready to play. EQ2 really is raising the bar for MMOs IMO. Sharing some pics I've taken along the way, enjoy!

Wolf warder in black, he's huge

Lerenth, an NPC from one of my favorite questlines.

Hotwings, my bat warder.

Darklight Wood.

Enjoying Frostfell.

My (othimir) Tradeskill Apprentice who just moved into my residence.

Undisclosed Desires

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend. I ran out of room on my blog this weekend for pictures, on Christmas eve at that! We couldn't have that, I had to upgrade to keep sharing my plethora of screenshots! So, from now on all of my screenies will be in a much larger resolution, once clicked on (1920 x 1080 is what I upload them as so they should still be quite large). Yay! Anyhow, I wanted to share some thoughts on EQ2 and the new expansion today but I'm feeling quite bad, I must have a stomach ulcer-ugh. Instead I thought I'd share a video I made over the holiday weekend with Dragon Age 2. Showing off some mods with the Anders storyline.

I've wanted to make one final video for Anders. I really love making videos and I thought the song, Undisclosed Desires by Muse, was pretty suiting for the Anders/Justice story, I just had to use it.

As you can tell I enjoyed DA2, I was such a huge fan of Origions as well. I'm in need of a new BioWare fix.... You'll probably hear more of that later on in the week ;) For now I'm off to curl up in a ball while I wait on my guys to bring supper home. Enjoy the video!

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a blessed and a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! May you be surrounded by love, happiness and good games ;) Maybe even a few good AI too! Happy Holidays peeps <3

Busy Days In Norrath: Mercs & Beastlords

Merc: "I thought you needed help? This is a bedroom!!
Look, Lady, I'm not one of those kissy, kissy BioWare companions!"

There has been so much to do since picking EQ2 back up. My new Beastlord is only level 16 but I've been messing about checking out new things and all of the holiday stuff. I've also been poking about with my Fury, pondering a server transfer so she can be on my home server with the other characters, she started on Freeport when it was EQ2X. IMO these characters should have gotten a free transfer option. I'm still considering if I want to or not.

I'm enjoying the Beastlord a lot, it is a Scout archetype but it feels more 'in your face' than the other scout classes I have played. It is a strong class with some fun mechanics. I've been taming some interesting pets, I managed to grab a sweet looking lizard, a cow (yes a cow, lol), a deer, a pig (not a boar- an actual pig) and a few others. You can have many pets tamed but there are families. You can have one of each family tamed, if you pick a different pet from a  family it basically overwrites the skin you were using. Pets also ding when you do. Tame a low level pet and it scales to your level. If you manage to tame a mob higher level than you, it is yours, once again scales to level. Pet taming is similar to what we have in WoW, perhaps the casting of the ability is a tad longer. However, you can have a healer merc heal you the whole time [you are getting beat on] or you can even have a merc grab it's attention while you tame it. Which is quite handy. <3 Mercs.

Speaking of mercs, they are adding in a few new ones! Thank you, SOE! They are already on the test server, I'm currently downloading test to check them out. I was hoping for more of a selection of mercs so this makes me quite happy. Purely cosmetic but choice is everything! If you don't like the mercs your factions offers you can always sneak into the opposing faction's city and grab one. I wanted to check out the mercs in Qeynos so I snuck in with my little Beastlord to see what they had to offer, it was a fun adventure.

I haven't tried the dps mercs, mostly I have stuck to the Paladin and Inquisitor with my two characters and I must say I really enjoy them. They are a great addition to doing things that would normally be a bit of a pain. They are not perfect nor are they over powered, IMO. There have been so many times when I just needed one other person to help me with something for a short time and I couldn't find anyone in the guild to help, so this is a huge improvement for quality of life in Norrath.

On a side note, after a bit of researching and trying things out, you are only able to have one merc at a time. If you drop one for another it will still be there in town with the same name and appearance you gave it, for when you next want to hire it. There are also elite mercs but they are around the world, not too much info on where exactly, they also cost a hefty price when compared to the normal mercs.

I haven't gotten high enough to really give much insight on the BST class but EQ2Wire has some great information on the class and the warders (pets) check the link out here.

Hope everyone is having a great week and has a wonderful holiday!


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(Additional Merc Info) Edit: After checking test, it seems the new mercenaries are not simply cosmetic but additional classes to pick from. Druid (Kelethin), Shadowknight (Neriak), Monk (Qeynos), Wizard (Quenos), Necromancer (Neriak), another Rogue (Freeport), also looks like two shaman (Halas and Timorous Deep) and another tank/protector (TD), oh and a ranger (Kelethin)! Some interesting additions. I had hoped for some additional class/race choices but I'm not going to pout about it.

Current list on live is here.

Another thing to consider, if you manage to hire mercs from an opposing city (for instance I snuck into Qeynos and hired one), even if you hire another in it's spot it will be available to you in one of your factions cities next time you wish to hire it. For me it was Freeport. I'm thinking Qeynos and Freeport will store those for you.

Transmog & Stuffz

Friday I hit 85 with my druid, which was very nice as feral. I've wanted another character to putter around with in old instances and the druid is really excellent for it with this spec. I've gotten quite lucky on most the drops I've wanted, lots of neat appearance goodies. It is actually getting to be expensive storing all of these items.

I've been considering PvP with her since Dire has been doing quite a bit of it, I haven't really felt the urge over the weekend, maybe I will later on in the week. I haven't really felt like doing much else than running Dire's alts through instances and just doing old content. The druid is actually a beast for this stuff, even in her lacking gear.

We were running instances with our best friend, which was fun but he left the server to raid with co-workers. I suppose I'm a bit bummed out about that and having to go from our little trio to stranger filled groups again.

All in all I've been enjoying myself. I managed to get the jeweled fishing pole from the Dalaran fishing daily, I've always wanted one! One of these days I'll actually start gearing my druid, for now I'm feeling rather lazy. Sharing some transmog pics, the staff is the druid class quest reward, which was added right before Cataclysm. Great looking item for druids! Check out those links on my sidebar if you're looking for transmog ideas, under MMO Fashion, those are some fabulous websites!

The Nature look.

My current look.

I'm so envious of her gear, so pretty (NPC).

/Drool- Triple SC Today!

My shiny new beastlord, merc and warder (vampire illusion).

Thanks to Green Armadillo's post I saw that SOE is having a triple Station Cash day today. I did get an email letting me know, this morning, but I'm lazy checking that sometimes. Today only! Triple Station Cash- The best bet is to grab the Walmart SC cards, if you can find one. Why? You get a 500SC bonus. These are the 15$ cards which means they will net you 60$ worth of SC. A really great deal on top of the triple bonus. I had to run out and grab me some SC!

Yes, I am excited because I've been waiting around to grab the AoD expansion. I've been dying to try the new Beastlord class and grab a mercenary to see how they are. I sort of wanted to wait around to see if the holidays would bring with them a double SC weekend or something, so this works out perfectly for me.

Forgotten are my other characters now that I have my beloved BST. It is a really fun class, I love having a pet and it is a scout class so we can sneak around, which feels weird on a BST. I've played one since my days of the original Everquest. I'm only level seven, just hopped on for a bit this morning to check things out.

I managed to pick up a healing merc, which is really cool. Unlike the Everquest mercs the EQ2 healing mercs actually attack. Awesome! The price of upkeep is so cheap, at my level is is only a few silver every thirty minutes. I've read it is 25g per half hour at level 90, so that is a very reasonable price IMO. I expected them to be much higher. I'm glad they are very affordable!

You can also dress up your merc in appearance gear, it doesn't actually equip it. More or less it just wears the look that you drag to the merc window, which in your character window tab. I have a ratonga healer which I named 'Little' in memory of our beloved pet rat who passed away recently. I'd like to try the tank merc too, see how it does. I am not sure if you can only have one at a time or not, I want to check this out before the cost of them goes up. More on that soon.

I have a good bit of money packed away from my level 90, I'm glad I didn't go blow it all before I took my last break. It is nice having some money to spend on things I will need as I level. I can see this new character turning into my EQ2 main. I enjoy the Inquisitor but not as much as I once did. A change will be nice, plus I adore pet classes.

Also, I just noticed EQ2 Wire has a link on the Walmart SC cards- Check it out here. More as I progress on with the BST. If you play on Crushbone, add me to friends- Sablesix. Have a great weekend!

Winter Fun

Winter is here!

I must have been a naughty girl this year... I got a lump of coal.

In WoW Winter Veil is here! There is only one daily, a new one this year, but it is a fun little detour from the daily humdrum and there is a chance to get a cute little pet, the lump of coal (Lumpy). I managed to nab it on my hunter and I'm still trying for it on the priest and druid. There is still plenty to do as far as achievements go, I think I will work on them with the druid as I am having the most fun with her these days.

Other than that I decided it was due time to download DCUO. I've been wanting to check it out and compare it to my other favorite super hero MMO- Champions Online. I was pleasantly surprised how polished the game felt and looked. It is a lot of fun, combat is fast paced and doesn't feel repetitive. I didn't even really notice that it felt like a console port, after a few minutes it just felt fine.

I was also really happy with the character creation, I heard it wasn't as in-depth as CO or CoH/V but it has it's own unique feel and look, which is actually quite nice. I also like the fact that armor that you collect can alter your appearance, you can select which look you want. That was a relief as I noticed my look changed each time that I put on a new item. All I have to do is select the look I want. I took ages in the character creation, lots of fun just checking out all of the options.

I went with Wonder Woman as my mentor, I was such a big fan as a kid, I even had those Wonder Woman underoos- ha! Hey, don't judge me I was five! Anyhow, I thought that would be an interesting choice. I picked nature/bow for my abilities and thus far I like that combo, it seems pretty fun.

Something I noticed right away was that even though I am playing for free I don't feel under-powered. This was a problem I had with CO. I hope it stays that way, as I am really looking forward to advancing further into my current skills and abilities, many appear to be quite fun.

I also hear that the Christmas event is live within the game and I hope to check it out soon. We'll see how that goes. That's about it for me today- Safe adventures and all that jazz!

P.S. Can I PLZZZ have that doggie for Christmas?!

Eye Candy

I know, too many pics >.< I've been saving up a bunch of pics I wanted to share so I figured it was about time to add them to a post. WoW, DA2 and SL. Enjoy :)

Hyjal.

Life of a Druid.

I adore Troll flight form <3

Anders gets a dye job (mod).

"Messing with us is suicidal!"- Varric Tethras

Burn.

Hrmm...

Fenris doing... well, what Fenris does.

In our new finery (mods).

Tweak posing.

Dolly delights- Singing and I. New dolly avatars :)

Murder!

Hanging around.

Lovely Twig.

Swinging.

Chillin'.

Shine!