Friday, January 31, 2014

EverQuest Next: Landmark- Alpha Starting




This year we have a lot of new games coming out. A lot of early release access as well, more than I've seen in a long while, especially if you think of all the Kickstarters. Today the ALPHA starts for EverQuest Next: Landmark. So, if you picked up the founders pack, or if you grab it, you'll be able to play shortly. Though I do think if you purchase it today you might not get in until tomorrow. For me, I just can't see dropping down a ton of money for Alpha on a game I really don't have much to go on. I've watched videos and such, but it all still feels very vague, I still have a lot of questions and I still think the core game isn't being presented. Plus, there is a strict NDA on it, I can't share my thoughts here if I were to play it. All is well, I can hold off, if it is truly awesome, I'm sure I'll get it.

I'm not one for playing for the hell of it, I want to invest my time into a game I can come back to (a reason I will not play Vanguard in the last six months, other than to take shots and video). My time is valuable to me, I don't always have a lot of it to waste. Which comes down to matter of opinion on how time spent is considered pointless or not, that's just my personal vice. I don't want to pay to have my character wiped and test bugs. I'm not that bored. But many people are. You might claim that isn't the case, but it is, you have to be pretty bored with MMO games to go and pay to play an alpha game. But I don't blame those people, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Then I caught myself and SOE hit me hard with the closing of Vanguard, so I decided not to for many reasons. There are many great games out there currently that I could be playing, and I am doing just that. I'm not saying don't play, I'm just stating why I am holding off.

John Smedly has offered a full refund if anyone is unhappy with the game. On twitter or something, who knows where these days, I can't keep up. I think Massively has the details all in one place.That's a bold move, the refund. They must be pretty sure that it will impress. And I am sure it will be good. I wish them all the best on this endeavor! I'd like to hear more about EQN though. How progress is being made and so on, but I think Landmark will flood that away to some extent and that is a tad worrisome. If people are happy with Landmark, why rush anything with EQN? I don't mean literally rush, but say more focus goes into Landmark than we really had thought? Not a bad thing but two games split off of one title, one of them is bound to suffer. I'm speaking on track records here.

SOE is also adding weekly content to EQ and EQ2. This is interesting though, will it be high end focused or for all levels? I'd like to see it spread out, as I play many different level characters all through the brackets. Nice of them to finally pick up the ball and focus on their flagship again. I think they will continue to focus more on the EQ games as long as EQN and Landmark are doing well. If EQN bombs, I see these things fading away. I do hope to see this being a hit within both games,  as both games could really benefit from new content. I have a soft spot for both EQ games. They hold a special place in my heart, I will always want them to do well and keep on chugging.

If you are in the Alpha, I do admit I am a little envious :) My first thought at the announcement was I MUST HAVE IT. Then the MMO hulk in me subsided and I thought how I really don't think I would play enough to justify it. Maybe when closed beta hits I will give it a try. I do have a lot to think on, right now I want to see how SOE continues, I'm still not quite over how Vanguard as a whole has been handled. As a customer I want to be your number one no matter what game I play, not because I play your newest shiniest game, because I've been around a lot longer than that...






Thursday, January 30, 2014

Happy Birthday Vanguard!




Today marks the 7th anniversary for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Bittersweet at that, it got this far and now it is close to the end. If you log in now there is a gift, a rainbow whale. Kind of an odd pet, but interesting. There is also a contest for a signed CE of the game, I still have my box sitting on my desk proudly but a signed copy would be awesome. There is also, of course 50% off SC items until the game is over (no comment here), double xp and faction. So, if you want to be there for the last six months, there is a small boost. You can check out the full page for the event and some commentary from developers, as well as the contest information on the official Vanguard site.


There is still some time to check it out, it is worth it if you have never played. The world is beautiful with a vast landscape to explore. I am sure there will be a bit to check out with the anniversary and at least a happy whale pet to ohh and ahh or simply to gawk at. Happy Birthday Vanguard, sad it will be the last.



























Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A Realm Reborn!

Today I'd like to introduce you to a good friend of mine who is also an avid gamer, one I actually met, years and years ago  in an MMO! He is going to do some writing here on the blog, please take a moment to welcome him! I am very excited to have another viewpoint here, since lately all I do is rant, heh. I'll stop yammering on and let him get on with it!

Hi! I have known Kaozz and Dire going on 9 years now! I actually met Kaozz and her son in a random group playing the original Guild Wars. We went on a long winning streak and got to chatting- turns out we lived about 10 miles from one another! Fast forward almost a decade and we are still friends through multiple moves, multiple games, and multiple characters!

I don't want to bore you with all the details of all my gaming experiences from BF1942, to CS, to Medal of Honor AA, to WoW, to EQ2, etc etc etc. That is the past- what matters is the present! 

Kaozz has given me the opportunity to guest write from time to time. Now that I have a new gaming laptop (Asus G750JX for those interested. The only modification I did was swap the HDD out for an SSD) I am ready to play the latest games!

The game that has recently captured my attention on the MMO scene is Square Enix's relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV. This iteration, FFXIV: A Realm Reborn, has captured my heart so far!

Meet Arcturus Prime, Zaleras' newest Gladiator!

In my previous MMO history, I have traditionally played the tank class. I enjoy the challenge and the responsibility that comes with having to understand the fight mechanics. In reality I would probably enjoy more of a support class however, it seems most games stick to the Holy Trinity- Tank, Healer, DPS. So here I am.

In FFXIV:ARR, you have two tanking classes- the Warrior and the Paladin. The Warrior is a higher health and higher DPS tank. As of 2.1, they have become a much more viable option for tanking. The Paladin on the other hand is much more of a mitigation and utility tank. Veteran players seem to harp the same sentiment... that the Paladin is a bit more forgiving. 

That is where I will start then! For those that aren't familiar with FFXIV:ARR's class system- a brief rundown is that you have multiple classes that leads to jobs. Once you reach certain level requirements on classes you can begin training on an advanced job! In the case of the Paladin- you need to reach level 30 Gladiator and level 15 Conjurer. So that is the path I am currently working on! 

The great thing about FFXIV is that you can train all classes/jobs on one character! So if I wish to play a White Mage down the road- I would already have the first 15 levels of Conjurer and be on the way! This kind of flexibility is attractive. 

Beautiful models and environment! The night/day cycle and weather are great!

I am blown away with how this game looks. The models are fantastic. The environment is gorgeous. This may have more to do that I can run the game on the highest settings at roughly 60FPS @ 1080p resolution- which is a huge leap from my aged economy class laptop I was on. 

I would say my only concern right now is how well I will fare in dungeons as a tank for the first time. I will do my due diligence before entering a dungeon and be open as possible and ask for help in the dungeon. I suppose this will be a little litmus test of the community. This is the first time I am jumping into an MMO without any contacts. I am a little excited to see who I may meet! 

Did I mention how awesome the combat animations are? Very pleasing to the eye!

Thanks for welcoming me to this site and I look forward to sharing my adventures through Eorzea with the world!



Geeky Goodness: The IT Crowd


We love looking for different 'geeky shows to watch and recently Dire stumbled upon The IT Crowd. This show is full of awesome and is totally hilarious. A British show with lots of quirky, geeky yet hilarious moments. The only problem I had with the series is there are not enough episodes! More, more! I thought I'd pass it on for anyone looking for something light and funny, who has a geeky side and loves jokes about computers, D&D and things of the sort. Some crude humor though! We found it on Netflix but we had to watch the last show on YouTube, simply because it was more of a 'reunion' show. Sharing a clip below!




Milk It, SOE!



$OE milking the Vanguard player base until the very end. Hit them with a sunset and drop prices by HALF. You know, because you've already told the player base the game is going to be shutdown... why not kick them while they're down, eh? Shame on you, SOE. 

Seriously, who is going to buy items for a game that is shutting down? And furthermore why even bother fixing bugs, it's going to be canned. It seems a bit pointless. How about instead drop in some changes like give everyone a level 55 with free mounts, let them see the world before it is gone?

Ugh. Just...ugh...





  1. General
    • A rainbow whale is now available from the Heralds of Telon
    • All Station Store Items have been halved in price
    • Housing item limit and chest limits have been increased significantly
    • Fixed several memory leaks, especially related to accepting quests and looting NPC corpses.
    Items
    • The power of Cave of Wonders augments has been increased
    • Added the Augment Adhesive and Solvents to Sinabu
    • Opudufi's Gem Encrusted Staff now has correct stats
    • Skullmasher now has an appearance
    Quests
    • Added a Travel Journal Entry for Magic of the Swamp
    • Fixed an issue where players sometimes couldn't accept part 4 of the Lord Tsang weapon questline
    Abilities
    • Boon of Boqobol will now correctly affect then entire group

    YavieyVanguard Community Manager & Wiki Project Manager



Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Eye Candy- Middle Earth

Adventuring off into the night.

Visiting Bree.

I've always wanted this mount, it is so cool!

Checking out some ruins.

Dire and I. Snazzy new mounts, riding around Middle Earth in style! I also picked him up some cosmetic gear, we were looking a little shabby.


Monday, January 27, 2014

Weekend Recap


Ding 90!


Over the weekend I (finally) hit 90 with my monk in WoW. I've wanted to do this for so long but I was a bit burnt out as it is the fourth character I've played through MoP (still have a DK sitting there at 86 who may never see the cap in this xpac...sigh). I really needed a break from leveling, so going back refreshed was quite nice. The monk was one of the easier classes to level up, they are all easy but this one was really nice as MW. I haven't logged back in since then, just so much going on but I am quite excited to finally have my monk at 90! I had all my Timeless Isle gear waiting and I still need to get the weapon. Plus, I have a lot of mog gear I want to go after. Lots to do on a fresh 90. I don't know if I would have worked on another to 90 at this point had we not been given the Timeless gear, it just would have seemed a huge mountain to climb gearing up another character, so I am quite thankful for that boost. 




When I haven't been writing about Vanguard the past few days or trying to take shots and footage, which has proven to take up more time than I thought... I've been enjoying my time in Middle Earth. I was trying to catch up my minstrel to Dire's guardian, he logged in and passed me one evening. We're sitting around 14 on them, picked up our first mounts and then we decided we should try some alts. He was having a bit of a hard time with the tank like class soloing some harder mobs. He'd watch my healer blow through mobs one-shotting some up to six leveler higher than myself. I think that was a bit disheartening, I told him to try out some classes see if he could find a more damage oriented class he might like better. I made a lore master alt a few days ago and he seemed to really like the idea of trying one too. So we're sitting at ten with our new alts. I don't know which ones will be the mains but the LM's are proving to be quite fun.

I think the idea of a pet class for me was more exciting than another healer. But the minstrel is really fun nonetheless. There are so many fun classes and they have gone through a lot of changes since I last played, many are beefed up quite a bit more than they were. We've also picked up trade skills and have been making each other armor and jewelry which is nice, trading and sharing crafts. I'd like us to keep them current as something else to do as we level and hopefully make profit too. 

Deeds are really cool to have around, something extra to work towards with icing on the top when you get rewarded. We try to do as many of these as we can. Right now we are pushing to 20 so he can try skirmishes out, he's very excited about doing some instance content together. I wasn't sure if he'd stick with the game but so far he really seems to be enjoying himself and it is all very new and exciting for him. He really needed a change from WoW and EQ I think. 

I haven't had a moment to log into Onverse, a friend of mine recently came back to it so I hope to hangout with him there soon. I'm awaiting the Valentine event, can't wait to see what is in store for that as it will be my first year participating. I love, love, love in game holiday events! I'm trying not to juggle too many games right now. WoW is currently in limbo, I'm just wanting to enjoy a game with Dire- LotRO, and Onverse is my go to game for just kicking back and having fun. 

Have a great week, peeps! 









Sunday, January 26, 2014

Archiving Vanguard, A little At A Time



There is no denying Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is a beautiful game, these shots certainly show a real beauty that will soon go off into the sunset. I've decided to TRY to take footage for videos and screenshots over the next six months, before the game sunsets. Sunset has a better ring than closing, as Vanguard holds much beauty. I can't promise more videos, but I have started working on taking shots today, I even put together a video. The videos are very time consuming, filming them takes awhile, traveling across the world on different characters who cannot reach many hubs makes this a slow task. Editing isn't always as smooth as I'd like either. But I did enjoy every moment of this game, I want to save as much of it as I can. So, here is a start, hopefully I can squeeze in time to make more videos, if not I will surely take more on the last few hours that Telon is there. I will be there for the end, recording it. Please enjoy the video, all of the music is from the game. That is another thing I will miss as well, the music and sounds. Vanguard, you will be missed. 
















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