Saturday, March 31, 2012

Eye Candy


Twig and I, she's shopping for new land.

Get to tha CHOPPA!

Twig forced me to go house shopping >.<

Up, up, and away...Vanguard!

Flying over some ruins.

Mah new veteran subscriber reward for Vanguard.

Gorgeous sunset.
Exploring.
Shrouded Glade.
Fishin' with my daughter, she LOVES Free Realms.
Light up the night.
Goofin' off.


Jade Dynasty, my little fox girl. 





Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A Good Start



Lots of really great things seem to be releasing this year, as far as MMO games are concerned. I'm really looking forward to Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3. D3 having a release date seems just a tad bit within reach and I can't wait to try it out, my son is excited about it too since he played the first two and still does play the second on occasion. MoP looks beautiful and interesting and already some new exciting content in the games I'm still playing. A good start thus far!

If you have't heard about Vanguard Saga of Heroes, it is going F2P this summer. I am so excited about that, more development, a real team working on the game and content, while all that is nice I also hope to see an influx of new blood. Myself included. I'm very tempted to resub, there are rewards for subscribers, leading up to the F2P launch, it appears more will be added in over time. Check out the post here by Zatozia, on the official VSoH forums. So tempting, I always miss the game even though I've never gotten horribly far in it, I really love the game setting and mechanics. The look and feel, not to forget the music, are just so lovely.

I've been working on my Magician in EverQuest. I love the class and felt like playing her a bit more, she's my main and so I've taken a bit of a break on the monk alt again. I love the name Magician, not a Mage, a MAGICIAN. I'll pull some crazy hocus-pocus on you! Anyhow... For those who haven't ever played one, it is a pet class that focuses on the pet tanking (they're beasts, currently the strongest pets of all the pet classes) and nuking. I enjoy pet classes a lot too so this one is perfect for me.



In EverQuest we have pet focus items which can greatly increase your pets power, such as boosting it's level, hit-points, attack and so on. Currently there are 16 ranks of pet focus and I managed to snag a rank 14 item. My pet was a dark blue con to me at level 90, with pet focus 8 and now at 14, a little less than double that, he is an even con, thus being the same level as my character. I'm locked into my level to work on my alternate advancement points. First working on my pet AA's to make him even more of a beast. I have a ways to go but they're rolling in pretty quickly when I group with Dire.

Dire is working on the other mage, so it will be a really fun combo! We're in the process of power leveling it, me two boxing both mages. I don't enjoy boxing as some people do. I could with all the characters I have but I just can't be bothered unless Dire needs me to. I did it for my Beastlord epic 1.0 quest but that was the last time I seriously boxed.



The guild is sort of at a standstill. I've recruited a few people but most want a large guild. While we're not huge or even close to that, we do play a decent amount and we're always wanting people tag along with our team and it's really awesome xp or aa. With his Shadowknight he can swarm masses of mobs for xp which is ironic, so many people on our server pay 100k+ an hour for the same thing. We don't always use the Sk but it is great xp when we do.

Dire has been a big help with recruiting, even inviting people out of the channels to try us. Last night we watched a guy spam for a guild for hours after deciding he wanted something bigger, after Dire had offered him a chance to get to know us. His loss, he could have tagged along with us instead of spamming the global channel all alone. Can't win them all I suppose.



I've also been messing around with Free Realms a bit. I go in cycles with playing this game. I suppose I like new content on a more regular basis than FR consists of but I am enjoying myself with the farming. It is fun in small amounts of time and the game is really casual and laid back for those times when you just want to putter around and do fun stuff.

You can gain some neat rewards such as clothing and clicky items, which shrink, grow or turn your character into something creepy. It is a nice incentive. I'm enjoying playing it more as there is always something to do, it might be gathering plants for seeds, fishing, questing, farming or just hanging out with a boombox, lol. It's the ultimate chillax game. Great for anyone wanting a real casual experience with a lot of fun things to pick from. I'm still glad I decided to go with a lifetime sub, for me it was a great investment and I've gotten back so much from it already with monthly member packs, even if I don't play.



If you play there is a limited time offer from Alienwear and FR for a really nifty in-game Alienwear shirt. I happened to ask someone where they got it and found out that it was still going on, there are only a limited number of keys so if you want one check out this post on FRInsider.

Forsaken world has flying mounts now! I had to log in and check it out. Basically you gain a free hot air balloon and a flying license if you're 25+, you just find the flying instructor behind the auction area, and it appears there are more quests later on as you level and higher ranks of flying. It was pretty awesome to log in and fly in Forsaken World. It is not limited, you can sit in the air and fly around as long as you like, there is a speed boost and that is what is consumed by using it, which I am not sure what regens it, time or a component. Very cool and I'll want to fly around more this week in the game to some quests, hehe. The picture at the top of the post if my character flying in her new Hot-air Balloon

That's it for me this evening. Have a great week!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Not Your Fault (WoW)

I thought I'd make another video, something lighthearted with a little humor. I decided to make one with WoW using Dire and my characters. Just something cute and easy, had fun with it and I hope you get a kick out of it. Please watch in HD! Enjoy~




Monday, March 26, 2012

Behind The Character



I had a friend recently ask me who was my main in WoW, who was I progressing through content until MoP. My answer was, "I am done". I suppose it was a rather brash answer and I had to explain why I'm waiting for the expansion to pick up again. After playing from release I have watched a wonderful game turn into something I dislike, and the game is still wonderful in many ways but the community is far from it. There are many other games with better communities that cater more to my type of play anyhow, if I want to progress. I could change my mind, but for now I'm just puttering around and that is fine with me. If the community were better would I play more? I'd have to say yes. After so many years I suppose the actions of others have soured the game for me.

Which leads me to today's topic. Are we, as players, responsible for our actions? Recently (EVE) CSM-Chairman- Alexander "The Mittani" Gianturco- gave an apology for some slimy actions he made public. In his apology he mentions ..."except that I was so smashed that I didn't recall exactly what I said", and "and do my level best to convince everyone that I'm an unrepentant space villain, as that kind of facade provides an in-game advantage to me and my alliance. But I am not that character in real life, as anyone who has met me can attest." If you haven't read the story, catch it here on Massively.

Now I am just using this guy as an example, and what a fine example of really how far people can go. At the end of the day you are responsible for your actions and if you make someone feel like dirt, because you think it is funny you're still doing it, not your character, not your in-game persona. Chances are that person, on the receiving end, isn't thinking this is just part of the game, they're taking it personally. You're taking the time our of your day to bother them.

But what if I'm just playing a persona, it doesn't really matter, it isn't me doing that? Right? Lets make an extreme example of just responsible you are. If you send a death threat to another player, hey you were just playing your characters persona, you can have legal actions taken against you. You and only you are responsible for your actions, you can't chalk it up to role-play, it's serious and people take this seriously. Just as any form as abuse, it hurts when someone picks on you, judges you, harasses you, at some point or another someone has done something to us in a gaming environment to make us feel bad about something. It doesn't feel very good. I've grown a tough skin but it still hurts when I see other players picked on, I don't like it.

As the years go by, I see more and more of this type of behavior and it just seems so mainstream. Oh they didn't mean it, they're really a nice person in real life. How about taking responsibility and having some decency about yourself and others in the community that you play in, no matter what game it is, to take actions you would be proud of in real life or in game. Because in reality you're the one doing this, you can make the game a great place or a place nobody wants to be. Now you might say that everyone else is doing it, how long do you think that community is going to last? Do you want to be part of the community that chases players away or the part that helps it thrive? Why not take some pride in ourselves as well as our communities- to be respectful to other players instead of smearing their faces in the mud.

Now EVE and WoW are two different games. But we can make the community a more positive place no matter where we play. If you take a moment to remember there is another person on the other end. They are not some expendable piece of trash to grind your heel into as you walk all over them. There is a feeling human that your actions can affect in ways you may never know.

Recently I knew of a friend who took the time to go out of their way to help another player in a game. The player they helped was having a mental break down in real life. He logged in just for human companionship, he was alone, he was suicidal. Imagine if someone had told him to off himself, out of spite for who knows what. He told my friend that they really had no idea how the act of kindness to take the time to talk to him helped him. They became friends and he's doing much better, thankfully. We all have things we struggle with, we don't always consider what the other side might be going through. Not every situation is so extreme but why chance it? The tables can turn in life, you reap what you sow.

I go far out of my way in all my games to help other players, I try to make guides to help those I can because I like to help make communities a better place, in any little way I can. It makes me feel like I am doing something to help others and it is a feeling I like. I try to extend my hand in friendship any chance that I get, it isn't always received as I'd like but at least I try. I like to think that little things go a long way for my gaming communities and I did my damnedest. It isn't some need to be liked, it is taking pride in things I am part of, in what I do.

It isn't impressive to make others feel badly in order to make yourself feel better. To pick on people or use tools in the game to judge a person's worth. You might pass up something special- A great tank, a great friend, a new guild member. In the past I judged someone by a name and turns out I was dead wrong, to this day they are one of my long time friends in WoW. A fantastic friend who would go above and beyond for me, someone who checks in with me to see if I'm okay when I don't play. How many of us can say we passed up this type of friend because of our actions, we'll never know.

This is just something that has been on my mind for weeks. I hope each of us can take more care in how we treat others in-game as well as out.



Sunday, March 25, 2012

Scribbles

Happy Sunday! I've got some scribbles to share, not comics though. Maybe a funny story to go with it? I've had a lot of people ask me recently how I do my pictures, I've even had someone ask if I take screenshots out of games and paste them. I was quite daunted by that one, heh.

I'm always amazed by the time and effort other artists put into their work and I just wanted to take the time to show a small part of the process of how I do some of my work. This basically shows a small part of layers in the painting grouped together in stages. Hope you enjoy the look!

 


Saturday, March 24, 2012

Birthday Wishes

Happy 30th to my little brother. That makes me feel old ;)
Only four more years and I suppose he will feel old too!
*Hugs Tick*

Friday, March 23, 2012

The Daily Pixel

The Daily Pixel


Ah the life of a gamer, always dreaming of things to come. Lots of really cool info recently, seems Guild Wars 2 is feeling closer with the pre-order announcement. I expected a cash shop there but I am not too worried about it, I actually like the things that the first Guild Wars offers in it's cash shop. I'm sure the successor will offer a more robust shop though.

Lots and lots of info on Cataclysm. It looks interesting. I like the idea of all dps groups, though I'm sure there will be lots of recount spam and annoyances. I was really surprised to hear about personal farms, while the idea is cool I'd rather have housing. It would be neat if they'd tack on houses to the farms in the future. I have a farm in Free Realms but it gets boring after awhile. I suppose for now I'll settle for a farm.

The removal of Have Group Will Travel seems a genuine trademark move of Blizzard. We want travel to be easy, we want it to be hard. Heroics are easy, heroics are hard. Will Blizzard ever make up their mind(s)? Even though I sound like I am complaining I still think there are some great things headed our way in MoP, the pandas are cute too!

Oh, and yay on the note that item squishing won't happen. While stats are super inflated I don't want to revert, it would kill the one area of play that actually interests me in WoW- Running older content. Hopefully Blizzard gets a handle on how they work itemization one day, but today I'm glad I'm not paying for their mistakes. I'm excited for MoP, I'm sure I'll enjoy it. While we wait Blizzard has a list of things to keep you busy.

Probably the most interesting news for me would be Vanguard going Free to Play! Not because I want to play in Tealon free, which I am sure I will do from time to time, but this means game development! The game is already being assigned a team and good things seem to be in store for Vanguard. This is a wonderful game that has been neglected for far too long! This is probably the most exciting news out there for me this week. It looks like it will convert this summer, most excellent news! Check out the producer's letter here.

I'm still chugging along in EQ, I hit 80 this week with my Monk, hopefully I'll hit 85 in the next few days. I've had some interest in the guild but due to Rl play-time has been spotty so if you're looking to join- add me to friends I'll be on through the weekend.

Alistair

Eventually I'll write again, tired. Until then enjoy- Alistair.


Thursday, March 22, 2012

Fan Art: DA2

So, I've been on a roll lately. Some digital paintings I did of Fenris and Anders from DA2. Art but game related so I had to share them. Enjoy :)






Unmercy



Dire has been wanting to set up a Magelo profile for his Rogue in EQ, Unmercy. So, I decided to tackle doing a character portrait. Since he is a Rogue it could basically be any race he wanted, those crafty Rogues never look the same ;) We decided to go with a Dark Elf, since they tend to look a bit darker.

I wanted the portrait to carry over the Everquest Rogue feel to it, in art style. It seems like it does, to me at least. I had a lot of fun creating his face, for some reason I just love to do Dark Elves. This one is a variation of what the Magelo image will look like. It has a slightly more muted background, more of his body in it and it's blown up a tad- here. He hasn't seen it yet, I do hope he likes it! Anyhow, I thought I'd show it off here.

Below is a picture of his character as a Dark Elf in-game, for those of you who don't play EQ. Just for a gauge of the look and feel of the game model. I may work on armor, I already have several hours put into it, we'll see. He does have a swashbuckler shirt but it just didn't seem to suit it, lol. Ah, well.



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

EQ: F2P Thoughts and Augments



It's actually been pretty exciting in EverQuest lately, with the celebration, anniversary stuff, fabled mobs and the F2P conversion. We've had an influx of players on our server which has been nice. I know not all of these players will stay but some of them will, I hope to get some of them to join us in our little guild too.

Victor Stillwater was kind enough to let me share his experience of the F2P launch, which was exciting to join in on the excitement of a new player. I managed to help him through the tutorial and work on his language to communicate with others. It is a lot for someone to take in though, thirteen years worth of a game with some older mechanics in some areas but EQ isn't a hard game once you get a basic feel for it. It is actually pretty straightforward now that they have added a 'Golden Path' for players. We even set him up with his own house. I don't know if he will stick with it, but I am glad he took the time to try it out and accept my invitation to join us.

The biggest complaint I see with people who have returned is gear not working (unusable) and thus they say they are giving up. Most likely it is augments, which are considered prestige items, flagging the actual items they are augmented into as prestige. A simple solution would be to remove the augments and you should be able to use your gear fine, unless you have some of the newer raid gear, which you'd probably do better playing an alt or subbing.

EverQuest does offer a lot of content for free IMO. You just have to decide if playing free is what you want. I play EQ2 free but if I were playing it as my main game I wouldn't. EQ, I pay for a gold sub, I just have been and I figure I'll continue to do so. Plus, I get 500SC back a month which makes it more along the lines of a $10.00 subscription on what I get back.

If you're strapped for cash it does offer a lot of room to wiggle, if you don't mind going around things. You're not locked out of zones, you may have issues with AA's and augs but hopeful the augment thing will get resolved. There really is no reason that they [augments] should be causing so many problems. And, you can buy AA unlockers to last you for a bit as you go, they are fairly cheap. If you're hardcore though a monthly fee is the better deal.

I've worked a bit on the anniversary events and had a wonderful time re-visiting old places, bringing back a flood of memories. I've taken a ton of screenshots, far too many to share in one post, so instead I thought I'd compile a video for anyone wanting to take a look. It's mainly shots over the anniversary and our last few years of playing EQ. All of my ancient pictures from 2000 are long gone, I keep hoping one of these days I'll find a CD with some of them saved.

We've been recruiting in  the guild, I need to start doing so more active but it is growing slowly. I had been holding off until I felt like taking the plunge and sticking with the game on a regular basis, instead of just the weekends and I think that time is now. It's looking good and we're making some more friends, grouping and having a fun time. The option to join us on FV is always open!

So, that pretty much sums up my weekend in EQ. Have a great week, hope you enjoy the video! Also you can find a list of the past and present Anniversary quests and tasks here!








Thursday, March 15, 2012

Happy Birthday EverQuest! F2P Conversion



In just a few hours it will be the 13th anniversary of EverQuest. I've played for 12 years and have many wonderful memories, still continuing the journey today. I even met my husband in EverQuest. I'm a hardcore nerd, I admit it. Anyhow...

With that EQ goes free to play and while the EQplayers site is down the forums are abuzz and the new patch notes are up. If you're planning on starting fresh then you might want to note that the tutorial zone has had a bit of a revamp and is now rewarding better gear and most likely a more rewarding experience. I'm thinking of playing an alt through it just to see how it's changed.

Some things to take note of:

  • Mercenaries are now cheaper to hire, so for those picking back up it should be easier to purchase one, hopefully at least! And the healer AI has been tweaked, yay!
  • Seek out Sam Napth in PoK for the anniversary events. While there are many high level ones there will be some lower level ones from the previous years. Some fun items include xp potions, the (scepter) firework items, pets and such.
  • All players are now given a Tome of Heroes Journey which should help guide players through the game as they advance in levels. Very awesome!
  • A new map system has been implemented with a tracking feature leading to while showing target on the map.

Hope to see you in Norrath! May EQ have many, many more birthdays to celebrate! You can find me on Firiona Vie as Bunny.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

EverQuest F2P- Returning / Starter Guide



This week EverQuest is going free to play and I thought I'd give some tips for new or returning players. I'll link some resources at the end of the post and throughout as well. Jumping back in is easier than ever but if you're new or you've been gone for several years it might be a bit much figuring things out. So, I'll try to touch on some helpful topics that I think might be of use. Something to note- All accounts will be unlocked up to House of Thule expansion, which is the second to last expansion (you won't be so far behind in expansions and unable to obtain a merc if you're returning or starting fresh).

This information is all easy to find on the web but I do see lots of players asking about these questions time and time again, so I thought I'd compile some basic starting/returning knowledge. I know I'll miss some key elements but I'll add more as I think of things, it took many hours to compile everything thus far.*Takes a deep breath* Let's begin!

Were to begin your adventure?
There are quests in EQ, tasks, hotzones, missions and LDoNs. You just have to hunt for some of these. If you've never played EQ, let me say leveling is heavily based off of grinding mobs. The game started out, and still can be, more of a group oriented type of MMORPG. You can solo now, easier than ever, especially with the help of mercs, better armor and so on, we'll touch on those topics in a bit.

If you're completely new you'll want to pick a server. If you're returning your server has been merged with others, in the past. Here is the current list as of 3/16/12:
  • Antonius Bayle - merged with Kane Bayle (EU SERVER).
  • Bertoxxulous - merged with Tholuxe Paells, Saryrn and Mithaniel Marr.
  • Bristlebane - merged with Solusek Ro,The Tribunal and Ayonae Ro.
  • Cazic Thule - merged with Brell Serilis, Fennin Ro and Torvonnilous.
  • Drinal - merged with Tarew Marr, Maelin Starpyre and Vazaelle.
  • Erollisi Marr - merged with Morell-Thule, The Nameless, Stormhammer and Innoruuk.
  • Luclin - merged with Stromm and Veeshan.
  • Povar - merged with Morden Rasp, Quellious and Rodcet Nife.
  • The Rathe - merged with Karana, Prexus and Terris-Thule.
  • Tunare - merged with E'ci, The Seventh Hammer, Mayong and Lanys T'Vyl.
  • Xegony - merged with Zebuxoruk, Druzzil Ro, Xev, The Combine and The Sleeper.
  • Zek - Rallos, Tallon, Sullon and Vallon (PVP- Bonus XP Modifier).
  • Firiona Vie (RP- Bonus XP Modifier).
  • TLP- Fippy- NOT FREE.
  • TLP Vulak'Aerr- NOT FREE.
  • Trakanon- Standard Ruleset- One of the more recent servers released.
  • Vox- NEW SERVER- Normal Ruleset- Releasing in the event of the F2P conversion and anniversary.
  • TEST server (Bonuses include /testbuff Levels character to 25 with full armor, all expansions enabled here, double xp, all veteran rewards) Small community and currently it seems to be F2P, not sure if intended.
  • Al'Kabor (EQMAC/Server-Separate Client) Website here (FREE TO PLAY no cash shop) 
You might have characters you want to play or you might be starting fresh, so take a look at the list to help you decide what you want. There is a new server going up, everyone will be on a level playing field. But it is also something to consider that playing on an older server you also have established players to help and guide you. You might be on level grind now but that will change as the Vox server ages and it will be just like any other server. Something to consider. 

The two time locked progression servers are not free to play, you will need to have a gold subscription in order to play on these. As of 3/13/12 LDoN just unlocked on Fippy, so that gives you an idea of where they are in terms of expansions.

Firiona Vie and Zek both offer free transfers TO these servers, you cannot transfer off though. The bonus is the nice xp modifiers which were added to entice people to play on these. You will want to work up Elvish language, which can be easily done in less than ten minutes with a merc and macro, that is what is generally used to speak in OOC, groups, guild and all that. 

I'd like to extend the offer for anyone returning to join Dire and I on Firiona Vie, our guild is 'Stellar'. We're a small family type guild that is casual and laid back. I'll be logging in on a more constant basis when this goes live. We have a guild hall which I pay up far, far, far in advance so it is always active (think we're up to 52 weeks currently because I get forgetful, lol). We have our own guild hall and neighborhood which guildies are welcome to pick out plots wherever they want, I think we have one plot used atm. Guild bank, I try to keep spells handy and armor, all is up for grabs if you need it.


If you're starting out I'll set you up with a house, plot and get you started. Just a little helping hand for anyone who wants to join us there. Depending on your subscription model, it depends on how much money I can hand over for a plot but we can figure this out according to level. I'll even see if we can dig up some defiant gear and a few plat to start you off with! I can be found as Bunny, in-game or drop me a line. We've played the game for twelve years so we do have a decent knowledge of the game for anyone who needs help getting started or getting back into the swing of things. So, returning or starting new, you'll have the option to play on FV either way. Don't be shy.

Starting Areas?
You can start in the tutorial area (there is even a merc there so you don't have to run far as well as cresent reach) which is a good place to start. You can also leave and return (use the login screen to return, exit the cave in the first room to leave) until level ten. You hail the NPC's for quests and respond to the [text] in brackets. You will find less and less of these as you go through norrath but leveling is so much faster than ever. This area is good, can be solo or molo'd (merc+solo= molo). Updated- Currently the new gear from quests in this area is quite nice for new characters since the revamp.

Cresent Reach is decent too, it is currently a hotzone so you'll want to head there (where the tutorial dumps you out) when you leave. There are quests, you just have to wander the city a bit looking for the NPC's that offer them (text over their heads). You can use this as a starter zone as well, some people do, it's a little less linear than the tutorial. 

Old starting cities. These are not for the feint of heart but they are still viable. There are a few quests but these are more for someone who wants a run down memory lane. It's all in preference though, where you level, that is the beauty of EverQuest. Some of the starter cities can be a bit confusing though, they do have some great lore and there are so many wonderful cities in this game!

What class or race?
You'll have to decide that. Zam has a great list here for classes with descriptions. You can check out the race list here, there are different bonuses to each race. In the end it really comes down to what race YOU want to be. Another great class list can be found on the forums here.

Travel
Gate- This is like a recall or hearth, all casters get it around level five or so. For melee origin is now granted to all players at level 5, this was changed to a free AA recently, it has an eighteen minute cool down and can be hot-keyed from the AA window (V- Key). 

Alternate ways to travel [home] are the OT hammer, gate potions (made by shaman and can be bought in the baz), claim item- Scepter of Draconic Calling. These are the easiest to get. Origin, the hammer and scepter do not gate you, they send you to your home city. If you choose the tutorial it will be Crescent Reach.

Druids and Wizards can port and translocate players. The magus in the guild lobby can port to certain places (LDoN camps), guild halls have teleporters that sells stones (simply buy one, hand it to the vendor you bought it from and step on the pad), and plane of knowledge has many stones to travel by, just click to travel. There are also pads in the nexus to travel with as well. 

Bards have the fastest run speed still, rogues get a boost with aa as well as monks with runspeed eight. Shamans, druids, rangers and beastlords can buff runspeed. There are also jboots and tboots. But with AA runspeed enhancements (up to RS5 now) you don't really need those ol' boots, they are more so twink items I'd suppose more than anything else.

All accounts get /claim mounts, some faster than others. There are a few drops in older zones as well as anniversary mounts, LoN mounts, cash shop mounts and those you can buy in-game for plat. The Paladin and Shadowknight classes also get alternate advancement mounts, these are very fast mounts. 

Mana/Health Regen aka MEDDING (OOC Regen)
Sitting regens mana and health, as well as endurance. Simply sit and you will regen at a faster rate. OR if you are on a mount stay still and this counts as well. Within three minutes of being out of combat for 30 seconds it starts and speeds up returning you to full. 

There are potions, mostly found on vendors in PoK, next door down from the rogue poisons, by the fishing pool area. There are many class buffs as well.

Death
First off you'll want to bind your character at a Soul Binder, the most common places are PoK and the Guild Lobby. Some caster classes can bind themselves in cities if they choose. When you die you will be sent back to your bind spot. The best place to bind is the guild lobby, in my opinion, buffs do not decay while in the guild lobby or hall. You can, but do not have to, run back to your corpse. There are corpse summoners in the lobby that will summon your corpse for a reagent, bought for plat, off a vendor near them. Just don't loot it before you rez it! You don't have to loot your items anymore, they return to bind with you. Once summoned you can ask for a rez in /ooc or simply have your cleric merc rez you, if you have one. Depending on the player's class, level or mercs level the xp amount returned will vary. You can get up to a 96% rez, 100% with AA rez. 

You do lose XP when you die. Not a massive amount but if you can avoid losing it with a rez, you might  as well. It is much easier getting a rez especially with mercs and even if your merc is a low lvl and you don't get a full rez it's not the end of the world, you'll make it back fairly easily. You can /corpse drag your corpse to another player to obtain a rez, within the same zone of course. You can also drag other players corpses if given consent (/consent name).

Where to level?
If you're returning you might want to check out the zones by level link and the hotzones. There are now hotzones, have been for some time you don't have to stick to these but it can be easier to find groups in some cases. Plus, they give a bonus to experience. Each hotzone has mobs that (and previous hotzones) drop a unique augment stone, which can be placed in armor (to place use a birdbath in the Baz, LDoN camp, guild hall/lobby or baz. Some you may want to skip, nothing wrong with that, it's all in choice where you go. You can find an updated list at ZAM. There are also quests for the hotzones for xp and a reward. You can find the quest giver, Franklin Teek, in the Plane of Knowledge outside the guild lobby, simply hail him to begin.


Potions that might help you as you level
-Cloudy Potions (Invis- PoK vendor)
-Skin Spikes (many levels of these but the most common is lvl 25 potions, shaman made)
-CLARITY POTS (PoK Vendor)
-SOW potions (player made and drops)
-HASTE potions (PoK Vendor)
-Poisons (Found in PoK and bought from other players)
-Health potions (Heals- found in PoK)

Where do I find armor? And Claim ITEMS
You'll want to check out your /claim items. Simply type in /claim and hit enter. You should have several items that you may want to claim on your characterful or several characters. Remember, some items can only be claimed once. These items consist of mounts, house items, clicky items, among other stuff. There are lots of them and you'll want to make sure you which you want on what character, if you have several. For instance, you wouldn't want to claim the Scepter of Draconic calling on a caster, it would be best saved for a melee character who doesn't have the gate ability.

In the Plane of Knowledge (PoK) are vendors that do have some quests for armor, you can find those easy enough near the soul binder. The best thing to get while leveling will be the defiant armor. This armor starts at level 10 and there is an alternate set every 10 levels all the way to level 70. It is crude, simple, rough, ornate, flawed, intricate and elaborate- DEFIANT armor. You can buy this rather cheap in the Bazaar from other players and even find it as drops in the game. There are also defiant weapons too, they come in the same brackets. There are vendors in PoK that sell other bits too, these can help as you level. There is also crafted armor, raid armor, named mobs drop things too, so keep an eye out for named and rares. The cash shop does sell defiant armor, if you're really wanting to go that route, and perhaps you have an armor bundle in the /claim items.

Mercenaries
You can purchase a mercenary to help you along on your adventures. You can choose from cleric, warrior, wizard, and rogue. Everything you'd want to know can be found here. If you buy one at a low level, you'll pay less. Keep in mind anything under a gold subscription will only be able to use the lowest rank of mercenary. Also, you won't have to pay your mercenary until level 10 or so, if I recall correctly. If you put your merc on passive it will cycle through and finish the last charge but not charge you again until you set it active.

Mercs are a great addition to the game, you can also purchase extra slots in the station shop, in-game. There are quests but they require progression in certain areas later in game.

Cool Stuff &Fluff
  • Housing- Some guilds may have their own neighborhoods or you can purchase a lot and place a house on it in a random housing zone. To access housing it is off of the guild lobby.
  • Armor Dye- Brewers can learn this (Dulak's Harbor) or you can buy from other players.
  • We currently only have a player bater system in the bazaar. /Trader starts it in when standing in the stall area /baz searches it. Free to play can buy but cannot go into trader mode, only gold members can.
  • Pets- There are quests for pets, claim pets, LoN pets, class pets, some give buffs some don't and just look cute, like cash shop pets. You can put some of these in houses for decoration.
  • LoN- Check out the card game, subscribers get decks free with subscription (there are in-game rewards from loot cards such as mounts, pets and illusion items).
  • Players get Veteran Rewards.
  • EQ has a Loyalty Program, points add up for playing and can be redeemed from the Loyalty vendor in PoK.
  • Money no longer has weight!!
  • Each class in EverQuest has EPIC class weapon quests. These quests also grant a special title and the quests reward weapons with abilities designed specifically for the class. These are unique and very rewarding. Link at bottom of page for more information.
  • AUGMENTS- These can cause gear to be flagged as prestige items. Removing them can fix gear that isn't prestige into being wearable. CHECK THIS if you have gear you cannot wear.
For now that is about it, off the top of my head for starting out or returning. Plus my brain hurts from all of this thinking. Hope I could offer some help to those who might need it. Feel free to look me up in game- Bunny and Ellamental (mostly on those two these days) or ask me a question here or in email. You can send cross server tells too!

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Some helpful links to start out with, these links have a vast amount of info check them out:
Official EQ F2P Info Page (A must read if you plan on playing F2P!)
Zam- Starting out. Zam is the best place for EQ information that you'll find.
ZAM- BOOK MARK IT! 
Magelo (EQplayers.com now has the same thing)
DOWNLOAD the game

If you can't find it ASK. The EQ forums are alive, if you can't find someone to help with a question ask on the forums. Questions always get answered, the community is very helpful! Hope to see you in-game! 










Monday, March 12, 2012

This Week... This 'N' That



Little bit of this and that to start the week off....

Aion
Did Aion go F2P? I keep hearing it did and the site says Feb. 28...? I keep reading about rallying the troops, which you would think would be more of an incentive for a head start but I received an email asking me to subscribe to log in, after a few days it says my free time ran out and I have to pay to log in. Um, no thanks.

I might dabble around when the free to play gets ironed out and the new patch is rolling. Until then it was just a bit too bland for my tastes. Cool game, a bit of grinding involved, I might give it another look to check out housing and mounts. Though housing seems odd and a bit expensive, we'll see.

Prius
I really, really liked Prius, I just didn't like the fact that there was only one server when it came out, PvP at that. Later on they added a PvE server but I just didn't feel like doing it all over again just to be on another server, thus I never played again after my initial break. I suppose it is good that I didn't get too invested, the game is shutting down at the end of this month. Very sorry to hear this, the game had a lot of charm and was different than your run of the mill MMO. I think everything with the NA release was just a little too late, the actual launch in (Korea was it?) was in 2006, so it was already a bit dated when it hit the US, last year at that. A shame though, this is one I would have liked to see stay around. *Sad Face*

WoW
I managed to send myself a Scorll of Ressurection. I now have an 80 Lock on my other account with it. Played around a little, now I have Cataclysm on that account, woo. I was considering transferring the lock to my main account but I can't be bothered right now, I much prefer playing the hunter at the mo'. I haven't even paid for it, still thinking on it but  I know I will kick myself later on for not getting it, if I don't. Still thinking on it.


Right now WoW mostly consists of soloing old content, daily quests and achievements. And really that is fine with me. Sometimes that is just how it is. Dire doesn't log in these days, been trying to get him to do some old content with me but he's not been in the mood for WoW. I do have fun doing old content though, a good way to blow off steam or take a trip down memory lane.

EQ
Things are actually a bit more interesting in EverQuest for us. We've started doing more instances, like I mentioned previously- the LDoN missions. Now we're working on the missions you can access in Lavastorm, the Dragons of Norrath (expansion) missions. They have some nice incentives such as faction, vendor loot, permanent stat boosts and so on. So we've been doing a couple a night if we're not too tired and I have to say I really enjoy these. The one we've been doing is a moon temple and the art style is lovely, it is a nice change of pace.

This week I'd like to write up some helpful tips for getting back in EverQuest, with the F2P coming up soon I think it might be handy. I'll have to sit down and think on some but there are a few recommendations I'f like to give, like server choices and so on. So, keep an eye out for that.





SL
I recently found out that a sim was closing and have been logging in to hunt for books (which contain gift items) and trying to take pics while I roam around the sim hunting for those elusive books. It is one of the loveliest sims, I hate to see it close so I have been spending a little time poking around in there. It is called Drowsy and you can tell the person who owns it loves books. Thought I'd share a few really neat pictures. Twig has been adventuring with me there too.





Zentia
Last but not least! I'm still playing Zentia, I should hit level 32 next time I log in. Experience isn't super fast but I'd say it goes by at a decent rate with questing. The game might have an eastern look but it isn't one where you feel as if you're floundering about to find your way, this is one of the things I love about it. It feels familiar but fresh. Plus the game has a great sense of humor to go along with it, translations are excellent, except in some cases where the teleporting horses don't teleport, they run, lol.

I have been questing and exploring, one usually leads to the other. In the process I tamed a rare pet, a cricket, which I should have sold but I ended up keeping. I've started selling mounts I've been catching, not for a lot but it has helped me accumulate a little bit of gold-which gets easier to make as you level but I'm still not making much unless I set up a vendor overnight. I also managed to tame a level 40 mount, I have to be 40 to use it but I was so excited to acquire another, it is a two-seater Moose mount, lol.

Hrmm, what else. I've been working on  training my pet bear. Leveling him as I do, which they gain stats which give the owner a boost. He is nice because he gives me a bit of defense so I'm not as squishy, next I think I will work on another who helps with mana. I have four pets, I need to buy more slots, which are ten gold each, a bit much for me yet.

I've expanded my bags. bank slots and quest bags (yes quest items have a separate bag!), all in the game by questing or putting down a little coin. It is nice to see that in a free game. It is also nice to not run out of space every time I turn around! Not that the bag sizes are immense but a lot of things stack and that helps out too.

I still really enjoy this game a lot, it sticks close to my heart. I urge anyone looking for a well rounded MMO to jump in and try it out. <3


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