Saturday, April 30, 2011

Free Realms Birthday Bash

Happy Birthday Free Realms!

I've not logged into Free Realms much lately so I thought I'd check in this weekend to see what has been going on. Free realms kicks off the second year birthday bash through the next month until the 18th. Plenty of fun quests have popped up with very cool rewards like t-shirts, balloon weapons and other cool items.

There have also been some other additions to the game that I've not been aware of. Free Realms now has titles for characters. This is a nice little bonus, they are rather cute. I always like obtaining titles with characters in all of my games. It seems that titles are awarded for reaching level 20 with jobs. Pex states- 'Titles are for fun and to help show off a job that you have mastered.' 

Another thing that I noticed, and really, really was happy about, you can now use any (and I mean any) job armor while an adventurer. Even if you're not maxed with a certain profession, you can still wear the items while you are adventuring. This leaves room to really mix up appearance looks! It is a really great change and me being a appearance freak, well, I am really loving this.


OM NOM NOM!

The April members pack gave out farms! I probably mentioned this last week but I didn't have a chance to play around with it much. I was wondering what the heck I was getting soil and seed packs for. The farm idea is pretty nice. It is very similar to Farmville. I'm not big on Farmville but I don't have anything against it. It's just that when I am on my computer I tend to play MMO type games or RPG instead of FB games but I love the idea of them on the smartphones or as mini games in other games.

Basically you have a tutorial that shows you what to do. You plant, weed, harvest, sell (to the farmer's market) and all that other fun stuff. At first glance I thought you could only buy seeds from the cash shop but you can go out and harvest the plants, bring them back to the farm and convert them into seeds. It is a fun little way to adventure and spend some free time. I rather like the farming addition versus some of the faster paced games! Plus you make monies selling what you farm!

So, while Free Realms might not be cutting edge in the MMO world, it is a casual laid back game if you want to just enjoy adventuring, exploring, solo or two man dungeons, housing and fluff. It really has a lot of good points and I always enjoy my stay in Free Realms. It is a breath of fresh air in this day of add-ons, meters, and gearscores.

-kaozz

Friday, April 29, 2011

Rifting and Heroics, Mixing It Up

Must...finish... holiday... achievement... !

This morning I've been following the Royal wedding a bit on TV, it started much earlier than I wake up for but I caught it in time for the royal kiss, aww! Such a lovely wedding! I have extended family in the UK so it is a big thing with them.

Anyhow, I've been dabbling with WoW and RIFT a lot lately. Just playing whichever I feel in the mood for. I decided to try a heroic last night, I wanted to see how the CTA implementation would help the queues. I waited fifteen minutes and got a group. Much better than previously, it was prime time so it is hard to gauge how well it is working as we are a higher pop server.

I'm trying to get my gear up to par for the new heroics, I was some of that loot! I managed to acquire one upgrade last night, a new helm. The group was pretty good, a few deaths but no wipes. Everyone was fairly nice, the healer seemed to struggle at times but I think only twice did we use CC, the tank only asked for shackle and basically just zerged the rest. All in all it really wasn't bad at all, a bit long but not horrific. In terms of comparing to wrath, yes very long, but when you compare it to vanilla runs, it wasn't bad. So, for a pug, it was pretty decent.

I managed to get my priest to 64, Dire has passed her up (in his 70's) as I am playing both hunter and priest. I still need to finish up the Noble Garden achievements, I think only the hunter will get it this year, as long as I don't slack off and forget to finish it up. Sunday is children's week. More pets! I can't wait to get my hands on some of those cute little pets, there is a sweet little snail being added too.

Rift, my rogue, which is mainly a bard, is 17 now. I am enjoying the class a lot and she is pretty tough. Maybe not as tough as the chloro when it comes to elites, the chloromancer is really strong in any situation but she is also a bit slow to grind with. I hit 20, last night with the chloro also. Today I plan on messing around with my defiant cleric, another build this time. She is still quite low but I want to see how the class is a little higher up. I might even make a warrior, before long, not sure though. Right now I have enough on my plate. Plus I think I lean more so towards the rogue and leveling her higher.

I  am eagerly waiting on the LFG system and the appearance slots! I cannot wait for those to go live, still a bit of waiting to go but not too long. Hope everyone is enjoying whatever it is they are playing. Right now I am just playing what feels the most fun at the moment, we shall see how things pan out in Rift!

-kaozz

Thursday, April 28, 2011

New Vanity Pets! (WoW)


I just love vanity pets! My newest addition (to my growing collection) has to be one of my favorites yet! The Winterspring cub is just too cute, he's taking a nap- awww! This patch introduced seven new pets, a few new ones for childrens week, next weekend, included. Check em' out at Warcraft Pets. Some neat little changes have been added in too, more info in the link above.

-kaozz

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Returning To Telara



Last night I poked into WoW for a few and all of my pets were 85, yay! That was a nice change. I managed to grab a guild tabard which now gives 50% bonus rep to all reputation gains. My guild was working on guild achievements and the new heroics. I'm currently still behind and not able to enter any of these, no big loss though, I've been in them before they were converted into heroics. I didn't stay on all that long, enough to do a few dailies and chit-chat with the guild some.

Since it was patch day yesterday I decided to play some RIFT. The new additions of the (same server) LFG finder and appearance slots really are enticing. Plus my account showed I had rewards for River of Souls- Woot! I obtained a couple of neat pets and a few other things for my characters which was pretty nice. 

I started out with the mage, trying out different specs again, seeing if there was something I liked better than chloro/ele for leveling. I didn't really find anything as solid, then I started getting a bit exasperated as nothing was what I was looking for. Then I realized maybe the reason I grew bored last time around was maybe I wasn't enjoying the archetype.

I decided to check out the cleric again and managed to mess around with an inquis/cab/purifier. It was nice but it just wasn't doing it for me. So, I decided to play around with the one that initially grabbed me in beta, the rogue. It just feels so flexible and is lots of fun. I really fell in love with the class in beta but wanted to give other things a try when the game went live.

I did want to heal in instances so I will decide which one I would rather go with when the rogue catches up with the mage. Being able to be a support role might be interesting though. I like the idea of being able to help out too, along with dps, so that is a plus in the rogue's direction. 

Since I've been gone for about a month things are fresh again and I am quite enjoying the game once again, as well as the class. I am hoping this game is more enjoyable and less elitist all around but we'll see how things go. I just want to have fun and Rift seems to offer a lot of things, plenty of fresh content (yes, yes, yes!), alternative things to do like Rifts, events, PvP and dungeon running.

I really enjoy doing rifts and invasions. I did quite a few last night before my eyes became heavy. As the evening grew later I was soloing many of them so I figured I'd call it a night. I have noticed that the low levels are less populated but I'm not on a high pop server. I chose a lower population server because I hate queues, I dealt with one too many in WoW, years ago.All in all it has been a nice return and hopefully I can catch up before long and explore things I have yet to see! I am looking forward to it!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Patch Day (WoW)



So, today is patch day in Azeroth. There are lots of class tweaks. I am looking forward to hunter pets leveling up when tamed, I do hope the same happens when pulled out of the stable. Many of mine are three levels below me still. Pet loyalty and happiness being removed... about damn time. I never understood having to carry around tons of food (and back then tons of arrows), and on top of it all the pets were not like other classes and could be levels below you. Glad the developers are taking away these annoying little things. I remember my son having his Tallstrider pet run away... It was sad for him but also hilarious as his name was Legs. Legs has ran away.... He was only about eight or nine then, poor little fellow.

Call to Arms goes live. Having more time to think it over I wonder where this game is going, some days. Bribes to play a certain role? I thought being in demand was reward enough. You didn't have to bribe people in Wrath. Do I sound jaded to you?

Anyhow, new (OLD) heroics Which my measly gear score is too pitiful to enter with. Woo hoo! I suppose for some reason I just can't get into the feel for doing heroics this expansion. So these new dungeons really don't hold much enticement for me. I mostly find myself adventuring or just questing and gathering achievements. I guess someone out there is jumping for joy over these instances being used as heroics.

On a nice note hunters get a 250% bonus to multishot. I just miss volley, it was so much easier for farming. Sigh. Shadow priests get a damage increase on their AoE- doubled. Nice additions.

I will admit, this morning, I am a bit crabby because I still am not able to finish my Noble Garden achievement. I cannot find an Orc or Troll female above eighteen when my flowers are not on cool down. Sure, ten of them will waltz by when it is unusable, okay maybe just one. Having to sit outside (for long periods of time) of Org is not something I enjoy. I switched factions to get away from it! Since Dalaran isn't a hub, the cool down on the items used on the achievement should have been lessened. I wonder if I can stomach this enough to finish it.

I tamed Olm The Wise, yesterday. I was excited to tame him, pictured at the top of the post. Speaking of cool pets, this patch there are some pets transformed. The one that is the most noteworthy is the new snazzy blue and white cat- Ice Saber. A lot of hunters will want that one! Thanks to Mania for posing up the pics on Petopia!

If you haven't read the patch notes check them out, I just went to MMO-Champion and looked them over. If you're playing, I hope your patch day isn't full of waiting, I can see this one dragging out!

-kaozz

Monday, April 25, 2011

Giveaway!



Encrazed Crafts has a neat giveaway going on. It's sort of a chain. You get something free but in return you give something to five other people! I wanted to participate, so my gift you you, dear readers, a graphic. I love doing nice things for people and thought this was a lovely thing to do! The first five people to post get a free graphic. You can choose if you want a banner, icon, button or perhaps a character sig portrait  maybe for a forum or something (from screenshots) or something similar. If you are the first five please also email me (kaozz @ ectmmo dot com) with what you would like and some dimensions, and if you have a screen shot or a graphic you want incorporated please include it!

The catch being you must post by the end of the week so I don't forget about you. Then you must do something for five other people. Crafts or whatever you feel you'd like to do. The other people doing the contest have given it a year that they must finish the crafts and mail them out but since mine will be electronic I am thinking a month tops on sending mine out. I should be able to whip out five graphics by then.

So, post a comment if you want to participate, please make sure you do so by April 29th!

-kaozz

Holiday Weekend Fun

Bunny Ears, the best appearance item, ever!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. I managed to putter around in several games and have a nice holiday. WoW's Noble Garden started yesterday and I did some of the achievements with a guildie. I almost have the title achievement with my hunter, I just have to find some Horde females and the item to use on them has a five minute cool down...yuck! I've done this achievement in the past but never with this character. I don't know if I'll do it on multiple characters. In places like Goldshire each place that spawns the needed eggs is perma camped by at least two to three people. Crazy! I saw this the first year it came out, but it still takes some of the fun away, the other cities are not nearly as bad. I managed to race around and get far more than those people just standing there, sometimes even grabbing them before the person camping them. Ha ha!

I finally had a chance to do an old raid with my guild. They wanted a few more to get the Kara guild achievement and it was nice to see some of them 'in the pixels'. It was very fast but it was neat. Before long I hope to do some raiding with them, lately I am way too tired as they raid on a later schedule than I am on at the moment. It is nice to be asked and included though. It is also nice to log in and have people actually notice and say hi. I really am starting to like this guild a lot.

For the most part I am just enjoying myself with questing and achievements. It is a total different end game than I am use to but it is very enjoyable. Over the weekend I managed to get The Explorer title. I had most of it done before flying mounts were released (in Azeroth) and mostly the part left was on foot due to me needing to explore the Blood Elf and Draenei starting areas. It was tedious as I kept skipping areas that appeared to light up. It was nice to finally get it though!

I also managed to poke around in EQ2X. There is a promotion where you pay a dollar for a rabbit hat and cape for the holiday. I had a few bucks in my station cash wallet so I figured what the heck. I ended up getting a pink bunny hat, yay. The hat is quite cute but on female characters it looks dumb as can be. You're basically bald where the hat isn't showing. I wish a little extra time was put in to at least add in a little hair... I mean free to play games even do this. Other than that I quested a little bit and thought about actually activating my account to play my main character but I am still sitting on the fence there.

Free Reams April member's packs have arrived. We were given farm plots with some starting soil and seeds. It is very much like Farmville. It is kind of fun but I don't know how often I'll play it. It was neat to go through the tutorial and I still need to log back in to harvest what I planted.I am glad other mini games are being added. More relaxing ones than soccer or racing, those are tedious.

Lono has been asking me to try World of Tanks and I did, briefly. It is kind of fun. Being in a starter tank is not all that great as it is clunky and hard to maneuver but I hear it gets to be more fun as you work towards moving up. A team member kept shooting at me so I kept shooting them and then realized they were not the bad guy but probably just someone more confused than I, lol. I got my tail handed to me when I found the real 'bad guys' but I plan on trying it again soon. My son was like 'Mom what are you paying?', lol!

That about wraps it up for me. Have a great week playing whatever it is you play!
-kaozz

Sunday, April 24, 2011

EQ2- SmokeJumper's Question

Should everyone else have to jump through hoops because we had to?

You've probably heard all about the comment/question EQ2's Producer 'SmokeJumper' has posed concerning giving players 'free' level 90 characters:  What would you think about a winback campaign that lets people return to the game, and if they purchase DoV while playing during that winback period, they also get a level 90 character of their choice? (Assume mastercraft-level kit, modest AA amounts, and a modest coin amount.) I had to just take a moment and comment on this!

Lots of people are bashing and looking down their noses at him over the whole question. However, most of these people have never tried to play the game for an extended amount of time or have even reached a level close to 90- in its current state. The other half is just upset because they might fall off their pedestals so high up in the sky. I think it could help. I'm not saying it is THE answer. It might be easier than revamping the whole game though.

I have a character a few levels from 90 and I've just about paid my dues so I think I can say from experience- the game really needs something to help people catch up. Somewhere in the middle people get bogged down and tend to wander off. I know I have with several characters many times.

If level 90 characters were handed out I don't think it should be with an order of Velious. Most people, if they like the game, even if they have characters under 90, have already purchased it. You're just trying to drawn in new people who never had an interest to begin with. Some other method would have to be done to really make this appealing for people who have always had (a bit of) genuine interest. Maybe one ninety claim character per account, then everyone benefits. You have five 90 characters? Well take another one. That way everyone gets the same thing. Link the promotion to something besides DoV or you'll anger the current subscriber who has already purchased it. The consolidation will end up feeling like a booby prize and the current player base will be resentful, the current subscriber base needs to be included too, they are the loyal players, those you'd not want to run off. I was playing Everquest during the the Living Legacy promotion and I still feel jaded over losing out on some of those rewards.

The game is top heavy and it can be a very lonely road to level 90 for new players. What else could be done to help the current game state? Other alternatives could be a major boost to experience. While it is not a bad (it is kind of close) grind to the top, it could help players cut past a lot of zones which are just plain terrible to level through. Some zones I hate with a passion. Another alternative could be to add in a built in quest tracker for EVERY zone. It is a horrible muck to try to quest in some of the larger zones. 90 levels of this could just about turn many, many people away.

I think EQ2 is a wonderful MMO but somewhere in the middle it sort of gets mushy. The top and bottom are just right. I'd like to see my friends stick to the game and not get fed up and leave, heck I'd like to stop getting overwhelmed, at times. I'd gladly welcome any change to help this game. As with most MMO games, the journey is fun but end game is where it all is at. While we can mock the guy all day long BUT he at least asks the players opinion, instead of it one day showing up in some patch notes or on test and it seems like just throwing it on us like a bucket of ice water. How many producers and developers even bother to ask what the community wants? I just hope, this time, the current players are not left in the cold.

-kaozz

Friday, April 22, 2011

'Hoppy' Easter Weekend- Peep Show

Peep.. Haha! Get it? You were hoping for something else?! Shame. On. You.

Since I don't have anything really interesting to ponder on about what I've been up to in my games, today I thought we'd 'peep' in on some interesting stuff. I've been busy with my new Etsy shop, hey if you want a banner or graphic- Check it out! Yeah, self advertising, at least I don't have any buy WoW gold banners or a donate to me  button (maybe I should have one?!). Nothing wrong if you have one, I just have horrible luck with stuff like that.

Frostheim over at Warcraft Hunter's Union has a great advice post for returning hunters. We're definitely at a good spot now, and the post really shows off some good points. Next patch things get a bit nicer for us too! No pet happiness and pets will automatically level up- Woot! It's nice this expansion because hunters and shadow priest, which I play both, are doing very well and are a blast to play. Ohhh, and since we're ont he WoW topic, this weekend is Noble Garden. I love this holiday, I get to wear bunny ears!

Has anyone noticed that most of the SOE sites are down for maintenance?  Yesterday at ten AM there was a message about it on their Facebook page, nothing since then. They've (most of them) been down for around twenty-four hours or so. SOE.com is working and the Free Realms site is back up but I can't access the EQ2, SWG or EQ sites. And, last night WoW had login problems... Must be something going around, hope I don't catch it ;)

Mythos has had a nifty patch, already! The level cap was raised from 27 to 50. In the patch bugs were fixed and a new area was added in. Very nice to see the team adding in new content already! There is an Easter contest. Check it out here. It seems a bit hazy on what exactly you do, I think you look for eggs on the website but I'm not too sure how to keep track of that besides images.

Vindictus has had a big patch but I've not logged into that game in months.... They have a cool video on the main page, it almost makes me want to log in and go play. Very cool game, I just have so many other things going on now. I'm happy to see that content has been added on a steady basis, it's such a great F2P game. Of course they have an Easter event, you can get a cute little bunny head piece. Well it isn't so much cute as interesting, I guess.

Forsaken world has an Easter contest. While I'd rather have an in-game event, the rewards are really nice- Battle Panther and a special title. I may just have to try for that!

Well that about does it, I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend! I leave you with some weekend (Easter) funnies!

-kaozz




Thursday, April 21, 2011

Keeping Busy

Shiny new loots!
Yesterday I completed my first guild heroic. My first heroic with Clo actually. I've been waiting around to jump in with some guild members before attempting groups lately. Finally, last week I bumped my gear up enough to do heroics, I've been gone for awhile and decided it was due time, I even got my first heroic loot, a nice polearm, yay!


I was abducted by a dragon!
Our tank was pretty geared out, then again our guild raids on a regular basis. We did not use any CC, just round up the mobs wrath style. Fine with me, I wasn't healing heh. It went pretty smoothly, and no stopping. It was a far cry from the last time I did any instances at the start of Cataclysm. So, as long as I can get into some guild runs I think I may start working on more heroics, maybe even a few raids if time permits.

Now that's an epic battle!
Besides that, I've been questing my little heart out. The cool thing is I can do some of the quest lines over since I switched factions. MOAR MONIES! I Get to do Twilight Highlands and Vashj'ir over too. I still have yet to do Hyjal, thankfully I don't have to do Deepholm over. Some of these quest chains have a really epic feel to them, some are just all around fun. I thoroughly enjoy the storylines tied to these quests. Some, there are a few, are fine only doing once, lol.


For now even if I don't do heroics and raids on a regular basis there is plenty of questing to do and many, many dailies to keep me occupied. Some I am better about doing than others. I'm enjoying questing and I think I may go after the Loremaster title one of these days. Plus, I need to work up Archeology still. Lots to keep me busy.

If only I could attack from my mount!
I need to work on my priest a bit, I might today if time allows. I've been messing with PvP here and there with the hunter. I acquired my first piece of PvP gear, shoulders. I need to work more on the rest of the set but I'm not rushing it. Some days I can only take but so much PvP!
Whatever your playing, do you find the little things keep you busy and or make you the happiest? Or are you one of those people who has to be working on end game activities to be happiest? I've been pretty busy lately so if my posting slows down over the weekend, I'll just pick back up on Monday!


-kaozz

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Love 'Em And Leave 'Em!

Is your MMO all looks and no brains? (Artist can be found here)

I was thinking about some of my MMO games and why I sort of broke it off with a few lately. While I love to play many different games, I like to have a main game but.... sometimes I just end up wandering away for another MMO. Love 'em and Leave 'em! I sort of have bouts of infatuation which cool off faster than you can say: 'It's me, not you!' Of course I never really quit any of them, I always have plans to go back.

Reading about events or something  new being added into one of my games is like having sweet nothings whispered in my ear. 'Oh you know you want to come back, kaozz.' I start getting starry eyed and think, 'Why did I wander off and leave you to begin with!?' But really what is something that just makes me log in less and less? I'll tell you what causes me to cool off with certain games and take a nice little break.

We're on a break.
In all seriousness there are certain things that just push me away these days, even some of my favorite MMO games just don't seem to be as alluring as they use to. What I didn't mind doing years ago seems boring and a time sink these days. I think the biggest thing to push me from a game is the lack of a quest helper. If I have to tab out and break the immersion over and over during a session, that isn't a good thing. I've found myself thinking, 'If I have to tab out one more time to look up a quest, I'm logging off!!' I think that is a huge reason I fizzled out with EQ2 lately, I hit the 80's and just had looked up one too many quests. (For some reason the add-on which helps me quest wasn't working either.) It killed the fantasy for me. Maybe we just need some time apart?

Too Much too soon.
One game comes to mind with this saying, Forsaken World. While I love daily quests, I was a bit overwhelmed with the massive amount of daily quests bombarded upon a player at such low levels. They were great and all but it was too much too soon. And really, It took so long to level, especially if you skipped certain dailies that sometimes I just wasn't feeling it. I just want to have fun and not be tied down to so much so soon.

All looks, no brains.
I have a few MMO games like this. They just look so lovely and/or they have some awesome fluff that I just adore. With some of these, my characters look amazing and its awesome running around in a gorgeous world. In the end I start wishing there was some sort of connection, maybe some depth. No matter how pretty, sparkly or fluffy a game is- if it is shallow I just end up bored wishing for that cute MMO 'next door' that always had something interesting to say.

I'm just not having fun anymore.
We all get bored at some point and I always like to say if you're not happy and having fun then taking a nice little break can do wonders. So, that's what I do when things tend to get monotonous in my games and I don't feel like logging in. It isn't some life choice to stick with one MMO game, sometimes it is just good to take a break or try something different. Unlike people, MMO games are (most) always there when you get ready to go back. And if it isn't? Maybe you saved yourself some heartache. If you're one of those people who have found a MMO that nothing else can touch, being your one and only game, more power to you for sticking to your guns.

What causes your eyes to wander over to some other flashy MMO?

-kaozz

Monday, April 18, 2011

Hunter Time

Terrorpene, you're mine, at last!

Last week I managed to hit 63 with my priest. Part of me was missing my hunter so on Friday I did a little PvP for kicks. I mostly got my behind handed to me but it was fun and we won TB. I decided to go ahead and switch Clo, the hunter, to the Alliance. Night elf!

I have a very nice guild who is very active with heroics and raids and so on, we're level 16 closing in on 17. A good place to jump back into the fray with the hunter. Good people to group with and get off on the right foot!

I really have enjoyed playing the hunter again, I've missed her. While I still plan to level the priest, its nice to change it up and just do whatever on my 85 sometimes. With my hunter I often run out to Hyjal and check, in vain, for the rare mob Terrorpene. I was kind of stunned when I saw him swimming around in the lava last night, I started muttering little sounds on the lines of: Oh... uh... um... Dire was like "Are you going to tame him or stare at him?!" I was so tired, and it was late! I got my wits about me and tamed him. He's so awesome! I wanted a flashy tank pet and he fills that role indeed.

Sambas <3

 I was looking back at some older blog posts and I noticed I didn't show where I tamed Sambas, I still get a lot of searches directing people here with that criteria. From what I noticed he seems to be on a twelve hour spawn cycle. He spawns in the Twilight Highlands. Many people seem to think he spawn in Uldum, nope. These are his spawn points. I've seen him two or three times in the same spot, pictured below.

One of Sambas' spawn points, I've mainly seen him here.

If you're after these lovely rares, it took me awhile, keep at it. Keep checking in and looking on and off. The biggest way to burn out on them is to camp them, which I did for Sambas. On every mob I was either too late or competing with a ton of other hunters. Most of my tames have been just checking in real fast and getting lucky enough to see them up.

Anyone have any good ideas for my turtle's name? I thought about Koopa but I don't know, still trying to decide something. Some humor would be nice but not all of my pets have silly names. Let me know if you have something good!

-kaozz

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Medieval Turk!

I saw a (The) Sims Medieval commercial the other day while watching tv. I'm a big Scrubs fan and so when I saw 'Turk' from Scrubs in it I got a real kick out of the whole commercial. Yeah, I finally broke down and got the game but I still have a ways to go with the game, more on my adventures in another post. Anyhow, just thought I'd share a laugh. Have a great weekend!




-kaozz

Friday, April 15, 2011

Feedback

I've been thinking of up changing a few elements around the blog, I just wasn't sure until lately. I liked the old look but I decided to freshen things up a bit and go with a less cluttered banner while incorporating some of my art into it. Maybe do away with so much purple.... Anyhow, if you popped in and things looked a bit odd, sorry!

As viewed with1920x1080 resolution.
Anyhow, sure the site is image heavy to begin with, but I did try to clean it up some, I had to have a bit of flair or I'd not be a happy kaozz! Just wanting to know what you think of the refreshed look. Good, bad? How does it look to you? I have a widescreen monitor so it looks great in my opinion, however on my son's it looks quite different. How so? On a 1024x768 resolution you just see the main blog area (post, banner, buttons) instead of the background. Not a bad thing just maybe a bit plain.

So, let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it!

Edit: I kind of got carried away with new buttons. Tired tonight, heading to the couch to chill with the Mr!

-kaozz

EQ2- Take Flight!


EQ2's producer, SmokeJumper, has big plans for the game this year, if you haven't read the producer's letter check it out. The forums always seem to be buzzing with tidbits of information which the developers and SmokeJumper are discussing with players and that is a good thing in my eyes. I just wish they'd implement a quest helper system for every zone!! It does seem a lot of cool stuff is in the works for the game, it's getting a lot of love!

Multiple housing is about to hit the test servers and we'll be able to pop in there and take a peek at some of the newest prestige homes. Check out the link on The EQ2 wire, it shows just how the houses will link which is pretty interesting. I really like the idea and it is neat for travel if you have houses in different locations. It appears we'll have a housing limit of 10 per character but the limit may go up in time.


If you've been gone for awhile EQ2 has a new promotion, go back to Norrath and Take Flight. All characters can claim a flying mount in the marketplace. It last for twelve hours and you can claim another if that wears off, or before then. They are useable while the promotion is still going on. It was pretty nifty flying around. I am thinking of popping onto my inquisitor and getting her a few levels so she can access her flying quest, it just depends on how much time I have!

Speaking of time, this promotion gives players some free time! From April 14th at 9:00 am PDT until April 21st at 7:00 am PDT, all inactive accounts in good standing who logged in between 6-17-10 and 2-28-11 will be able to rejoin the adventure in Norrath! 


I don't have a flying mount on any of my characters, yet. My Inquisitor is just a few levels off so it was very neat to be able to fly in this game. I wish the level requirement wasn't so steep, perhaps in due time that may be changed.

-kaozz

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Postcards From Azeroth! (1-60)

1-60 in WoW was such a lovely journey with the revamped content, I look forward to venturing through it again one of these days. I took some lovely snapshots along the way and I thought I'd share them.

Fight Club in Redridge?!

Fox trot.

Stop nuking me! I'm trying to take a pic!

A tower in the midst of the tree tops.

Westfall.

Spooky!

A warm summer evening, perhaps.

The little city, in Ulduman.

A cozy corner of Stormwind.

A beacon in the Plaguelands.

Zooming over the world!

You never know what's lurking around the corner!

Serenity.

Wrong turn?!

Beauty in the swamp.

How do, Mr. Jaws?

Moments before a Fel Reaver smashed our picnic... Rude!

Chapel in Stormwind.

Sneaky!


A little, out of the way place...

-kaozz

Ding 60! (UR CAPS LOCK IS ON!)


Last night I hit 60 with my Priest, very happy to have the flying skill for her. The lovely road from 1-60 has ended and it was a fun adventure. I've never had the chance to fly over Stormwind and it's a lovely sight to behold. I suppose I could have bought flying for my 62 shaman but I rarely ever play her. Dire is 63 already with the hunter and I have some catching up to do. Our little alts are growing up ;)

One thing I've noticed is, as I crawled closer to 60, is that tanks seemed to get ruder and ruder. Everyone always likes to say how abused tanks and healers are but really everyone has the power to be a jerk or a decent person, even tanks and healers. I can't help but think of pampered babies crying and pitching fits when I see tanks yell at a dps for something silly and threaten to leave a group. Oh noes, not you, the CRAPTASTIC TANK! We couldn't replace such a rude player! I think we'll opt to wait it out instead of putting up with your ego. My mana bar won't miss you one bit and my eyes need a break from all the caps forming bad words.

It's simple to ask someone something nicely before hulking out. You can't go around thinking everyone is a jerk and  deserves to be treated like garbage. Last night we had a tank state "I AM LEAVING IF YOU DEATH GRIP ONE MORE TIME", he could have asked nicely, those were his first words to the group. The dps DK was actually a nice fellow- maybe a bit new to the class. He even apologized! The tank didn't consider he was a much bigger jerk: not waiting on me, the healer, to drink and pulling whole rooms at a time, draining my whole mana bar for no reason except to pretend he was some special, awesome tank, ignoring when I needed to drink or requesting to.The jerk left us on a bad pull he caused, thinking we'd wipe but nobody died even when he left the group in the middle of it all. I suppose he got his panties in a wad and chickened out.

Our second tank was just as bad, calling people by class, instead of name, and TALKING IN CAPS BECAUSE HE MUSTA' BEEN SO STRESSED OUT BY OUR GREAT GROUP. Seriously we had a good group for the most part, I WAS IN IT! Maybe he forgot his caps was on, I almost asked him. I feared the caps lock would take it's wrath out on me, lol. This is not in every group but I have noticed it more and more as the levels accumulate.

It's not just tanks that get abused, it's dps and healers as well. When I hear tanks complain about the abuse and the queues I sort of chuckle. I've taken quite a lot of abuse from tanks and dps alike. It's anyone who can act in a way to make the whole experience horrible. If you're so fed up where you must treat everyone in such a way to begin with, perhaps it's you that needs an adjustment and/or a break?

My point is that in WoTLK people were just as rude and tanks were still to be found, healers were still to be found and queues were higher for DPS but not outrageously so. What is wrong now? I think it's the content that is very stressful on groups as a whole. Tanking and healing have had the mechanics changed also and maybe people move on to DPS to have a more relaxing time. Or perhaps the whole guild grouping objective that was aimed for was a success?

Whatever it is I know that everyone in any role has the choice to be a decent person about things and no matter what special role you think you fill there is no reason to treat other people like trash. A little compassion sometimes goes a long ways. There will be days people can't be reasoned with, just make sure you're not that person! I'm not picking on tanks I'm pointing out the player behind the toon! I got a little sidetracked here but I think I projected the thoughts I had in mind. Just remember there is a human being behind those pixels.


-kaozz

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