July Gaming

The past few weeks Dire and I have mostly been playing EverQuest. We started a fresh duo of enchanter and magician, getting them to 55 and we're now working on our epic 1.0. Lots of camping mobs, some items we've been able to buy on the FV server and some items we had banked. The biggest hurdle is long camp times. It has taken us to a lot of cool places, older content, which has been enjoyable to revisit. I love doing the old epic weapon quests, some I've done multiple times.

New Year, Same Games

New year, same ol' games! Which isn't a bad thing, is it? I don't have any resolutions this year. I quit smoking in August of last year, I don't really have any other big goals which is fine with me! In gaming I don't have any resolutions. I could say I want to stick with X game, but really most of what I play I have played for many years. EQ since 2000, WoW at release, and so on.

Not As Planned

Things did not pan out in DAoC. If you read my last post, you'll remember that I was quite enjoying the game, the questing, the interesting classes. I did try to sub to continue playing, I had gotten into my 30's with a Bonedancer, but I couldn't get the game to take my card. So, that's that. I may try again down the road. Dire decided he wanted to play something too, and while it did not end up being Dark Age of Camelot, he was considering going back to Age of Conan. He didn't actually play AoC, but I ended up going back. Who knows maybe he will too.

May Ramblings...

I didn't expect to do much more with SWTOR when the latest chapter was released, then there was some bonus xp added in. I couldn't resist rolling up a new smuggler. My first class in SWTOR was a sawbones smuggler, and I do have a couple more across my account, one that I used a boost on as well as an Agent (who I love too). But I just really wanted to make a character to play through the story and planets with.

December Dabblings

Christmas is in the air, in most games there is some type of winter holiday event going on now. With this going on it has slowed down my progress of leveling in EQ2 and working on my flight in WoW, but it's fun to collect stuff and do something with a different theme. And did anyone else get really upset with last week's The Walking Dead mid season finale? Spoilers below.

Postcards From Tyria (GW2)

Stopping to see all the main attractions and the little ones on the side!

I've finally pulled Dire away from D3 long enough to get him to play Guild Wars 2 with me. He lost his account information somewhere around a year ago and didn't want to hassle with the process. So now he's started over. A while back he did try to start over with a Norn guardian, which didn't seem to work out so well. I don't think that was really to his taste. This time I offered input on a different race and class. I don't know if he particularly enjoyed the Norn starting area honestly, he seemed okay with it. I figured a fresh area with a new race might be more exciting. A different class, the warrior. Which has always been a class he has enjoyed in the games he's played. One I think he'll be able to do a lot with at end game, such as duo dungeons with me. He likes to do things like that, so it might offer another avenue of play.

Casual Play

This week I've had more of a chance to putter around with Onverse. It is strangely engaging and fun. I suppose it sort of feels like a more grown up Free Realms and a Younger Second Life. Then again it doesn't feel like either, that is just what I can compare it to. I'm always looking for different types of games and this one had really gotten past me, there isn't a huge amount of publicity and there are a LOT of these type of social games out there. They all promise tons of fun in a social setting, but at the end of the day offer a lack of things to do and a drama filled community. This one really caught my attention after taking a deeper look. I went through the tutorial wondering what the heck I was doing, playing this game, at the same time being quite intrigued. Something was there, a real spark struck with me when I got the feel of the game, looked around. It probably has to do with the background of the CEO, who came from the MMO industry. Onverse isn't mainstream and most MMO players probably wouldn't look at it twice because it isn't really a combat oriented game, more of a social game, at the same time there really is something fun there.

The game offers lots of fluff, which keeps players busy. You go out in the world to gather resources, which are used to buy items with. There are two currencies in the game PP (Player Points- A coin basically you gather in game to spend on items) and CC (Cash Coins- Real money currency). There is a lot to buy with both, I do admit the game offers quite a lot of cash items but there is still a ton of things you cannot get with just PP. You can convert CC to PP but not PP to CC. There are also lots of items that drop which you can sell or keep, such as cosmetic items, quest items and keys for the casino chests. Gathering resources is pretty much a meta game within itself. Gather then go off to to shop! You can buy clothing or housing, mounts or even pets, some are higher priced than others, it just depends on what you are aiming for.

Last night I decided to try my hand at a quest. The Elemental Planes quest chain, which was quite relaxing. I ended up making a nice pile of PP getting some neat items and progressing a bit with the quest. The goal is to finish it and acquire items such as mounts and cosmetic fluff. It gives players something to aim for, which I thought was a nice touch, while letting them explore different types of areas.

A few days ago my bother stopped by, I'm always showing them games I find. He took an interest and started playing as well. We're both huge Animal Crossing lovers, out of all of us who play we're the most into ACNL. So, we appreciate casual games full of fun fluffy activities and collecting. It has been great to have someone to share the game with. It is a game where you don't feel forced to log in, like you will miss something. You can pop back in whenever you want and get back to the business of playing without feeling like you have to play catch up. There are also games against other players such as Splatball, where you shoot other players and win PP. For those more PvP oriented, this is perfect. There are the quests, as well as jumping puzzles.

It is a sweet and very enjoyable game, a simple game. When it comes down to it, it is just about fun. The monthly fee is only 2.99 UDS a month, or you can opt for 1000 cash coins and a monthly sub for ten dollars. The CEO (and Lead Developer) is a former EQ2 dev, which I thought was pretty interesting because that's one of my favorite MMOs. I like to see just who is making my games and where they came from. It is always interesting when you dig around a bit, so I thought it was pretty neat.

Showing my bro around town.

Other than that I need to get back to WoW, since I'm still subbed. This year I'd like to hop around games a bit less. Ok, a LOT less. I am reallllly leaning towards the founders pack (not sure just which one) for Landmark, which sounds like it is headed out towards us in the form of closed beta quite soon. I think that is a game I could sink my teeth into EQN and even Landmark could be something I enjoy just as much.

In other news SOE is looking towards all in one sub, much like the current Station Pass (twenty bucks) except for 14.99 a month. You'll get subbed to all their games for what you'd pay to play one (currently). And EQN will be included. That looks like a fantastic deal. I'm pretty excited about this prospect. I'd probably play Vanguard and EQ2 on a regular basis if I had subs for both, add in EQN and that's one sweet deal.

Last but not least, I'm still going at it with Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I look forward to seeing what is available in the shops each day. I've opened up the second floor in the museum, which gives me four exhibit rooms to decorate, which is pretty awesome! Upgrading my house has been slow going at this point, I've put so much in it already and for now I'm looking to work on some projects for the town for a few days. It keeps me happy and busy.

I'm really glad I took the leap to playing a handheld. I really love my 3DS, it goes everywhere with me. Which is a nice bonus. I throw it in my backpack before I head out and get street passes most of the time when I go out. Right now McDonald's is a Gamezone, even the one at Wal-Mart will get you a few people if you walk by it. One of the nice things about living in a big city is you get a lot of street passes. Mostly kids, which leads to thoughts of... OMG a school bus, follow it! Just kidding. But it does seem more adults in Japan play these than do over here. I'm grown up enough to carry around my pink 3DS in public ;) Hello Kitty case and all!

That's it for today. Stay warm, peeps! I'm shivering here in Houston this morning where we sit at 27 degrees and hearing how much colder it is in other parts of the country. I suppose my computer can't complain... The heat here in Houston can be killer for them if you don't keep your place cool enough.

I'm Only Happy When It Rains

Yarrrr!

This week WoW's patch 5.4 has hit. I'm not messing with any of the raids besides LFR, and really I'm not very hyped over that. Just because I have so much going on, not that the raid doesn't look interesting. I've mostly been playing around on the new Timeless Isle. Which I really have some mixed feelings about. As for the new leader of the Horde? I won't spoil it and say who, you can watch it here. I will say, I love this character, I saw it coming! I've also played the Horde heavily over the years, so I may be biased.

Timeless Isle is basically a loot pinata. It is raining loot! Open your bags and head out to catch it. I will say I found way more loot dropping the first day, seems not as heavy since, then again it could be me remembering all the chests (which rarely respawn). My hunter is pretty decked out now, she was in dire need of new gear. I am still trying to fill out several slots on my lock but she is not shabby at all, much better off than the hunter. If you need gear for an alt, the isle is the way to go. Right now it is great, you don't have to wade through so many mobs, you can tag some rares, get some loot, grab some chests, do some daily quests.

My new pet.

The Isle is fun, but it does start to get boring after cycling my main and two alts through it. My lock is looking more and more favorable here also. These mobs are not quite melee friendly, the lock just mows through it all. Feral wasn't fun at all (yay, I gained a feral set with the loot here), hunter wasn't too bad but the pet died quite a lot. The lock just cut through the mobs, those chumps didn't even have a chance, so mostly, if solo, I just use her. The armor is also BOA, which is pretty sweet. The difficulty of the isle is a bit steep for the characters that would mostly benefit; fresh 90's and alts needing gear. When things die down, it won't be so pretty in some areas.

Explore at your own risk!

A lot of the mobs have nasty attacks that can easily kill players in a couple of shots if passed by at the wrong time. Run over a fire path the mob has thrown down, just strolling on your merry way, you might be strolling right back up again. You have to really be on your toes sometimes. Relaxing? Not quite. But all in all I do like the island, I think it is great, though a bit too small for us all.  It does give me something else to do and I am glad I was able to gear up the hunter and fill out the warlock there. That's my 2cp.

Pretty princess scepter... Necro style. 

Still playing GW2, yep. I sort of got hooked again, it is just so relaxing. I wanted to play my paladin up in Vanguard (for my side game, and I will at some point) but until I get a heal, I am really on my toes constantly. It isn't always relaxing as something on the side, especially when I really just want to veg out. Sometimes GW2 takes up rank as the more played game lately. I explore, get xp, craft get xp, and so on. Speaking on crafting, I've worked up several professions, I enjoyed it while getting tons of xp!

Shot in game.

GW2 has some great visuals, plus I like the daily list, gives me a goal. I also like to complete maps, do puzzles and explore. I'm sitting at 67 with my necro, I'm so proud that I am getting closer to the cap! I look forward to the new event heading in, it is all fresh and new to me, so I do hope I can participate. I also look forward to the LFG system being implemented also.

That is it for today, have a great weekend!

Summon that pirate ship!

Don't put me down plz! Yes, the goal is to NOT have some random person attack the bird and cause you to land. Easy way to travel for a quest and some hard to reach areas. Simply attack bird, stop attacking, it will pick you up and fly off.

Proving grounds. I'm not sure if I do or don't like this yet. Seems like after you get the title, sort of boring. No real rewards I know of, besides titles, but I could be wrong.

Just lovely! I can almost breathe in the cool, crisp fall air.

Exploring.

Kiss mah grits. I was a piggy with a curly tail. 

Victory dance, when I hit 65.

I love the ambient weather. At least I get to see rain in a game.... since it never rains here in Houston :X

Final Fantasy XIV

Recently a buddy of mine was telling me all about the new Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which was still in the head start. I really hadn't been very interested but I found myself intrigued, especially the more I read about it around the web. It seemed very enticing, by the time release day hit I found myself picking up the digital download from Amazon. I did not plan on it at all, especially with how horrible I heard the log-in issues were. Ah, well, I'm just going to try it, if I get in, good! If not things will slow down soon, right?

I've had no problems getting in, granted I am on an EU server, not my first choice. But, hey, I can log in! The only queue I've had was maybe 15 people in it, which was less than a minute. So, me, I've not had to wait, but then again I didn't get in on a NA server. I'm getting to play, that is all that matters.

I enjoy the game so much I decided to pick up a new video card just to run it smoothly. I was having some hitching, and I'll be picking up a new processor soon. While I will be getting a new machine before the end of the year, I figure I might as well give this one a boost for when I pass it on to my son. The game is running much, much smoother- thankfully.

I haven't gotten past level eight, taking my time, getting lost... just soaking in the scenery. I am also playing it on the side, so just some general thoughts.

The game is really beautiful. The races offer some great choices, in my opinion, I really like them all. Beautiful hairstyles (my hair blows in the wind, lol), a bit of options on faces, not huge but there is a selection. The armor is fantastic! Some of it, right now at the lower levels, is kind of silly looking but some of it is very impressive on people whom are higher than I am. Last night Dire said my character looked like a scarecrow! But she was still cute. The world is lovely, it is a relaxing setting. The day and night cycles are striking as well.

Mechanics are pretty solid. I like the UI, it is smooth and easy to use. Controls are nice, familiar. It is not fast paced action (THANK YOU), you have to step out of red circles but that is about it for now. The combat feels pretty fluid and fun thus far.

Things I like about the game? Mounts, I have read they can fight along with you as well, *squee*! Multiclassing really seems it will give players a lot to work on and be able to fill many roles, as well as round out how they want to play. Quests seem decent. I like the FATE system, which is very similar to rifts in RIFT. I love events that pop up! Helping others with mobs, everyone gets xp for tagging a mob, or events, always a plus in my eyes. We get housing soon! Cannot wait for that, I've read in the first patch, I hope so. Lots of interesting classes! Really some fun stuff to work on.

What I don't like? I don't find mobs dropping anything. Very odd. I had to buy gear from NPCs, and I cannot figure out which I can and can't wear. Some it needs to be repaired by a weaver but I am not high enough to repair it... I don't quite get it yet. I blew too much money on things I cannot wear. The city I started in is freaking huge, too many levels to zone through. I get lost, lose direction of where I am running to, why I am even running there. I finally got tired of it and ran out of the city to complete quests there. Running back only to find some quests at the exit... So I'll explore those.

Overall the game does have direction but I sometimes feel lost, but it isn't bad. I have been craving something new to play, something with a different setting but more of an old school, familiar feel as well. This has been quite good so far. I really like this game, which is hard as everyone I play with is still busy in WoW, so I don't get to play it as much as I'd like.

I even saw someone on a unicorn mount, I was drooling! I googled it and you can read more about it here. I cannot wait to get one!! I am on the Cerberus (EU) server. Maybe I'll transfer off in the future, don't know yet. All I know is that servers are being worked on, for next week, we'll have to see how it goes and how transfers work. If you happen to pop into my server to play, send me a hello on Sable Six. Anyone else feel like doing a fist pump when you level, just because of the sound? Lol.

P.S.- Scroll lock hides the UI. Had to google that today, lol. 

On The Side

On the side, lately, I've been playing a tiny bit of other stuff, besides WoW. Sometimes I just want a laid back game, which City of Steam is perfect to scratch this itch. Plus, I haven't had a chance to check out the new class or sample any of the new races.

The new channeler class is a lot of fun to play. I switched over to one, I was playing a gunner, but this is just so much more my style. I really like it a lot so far. I picked one of the new races, the fair skin elves, which are called Riven. It was a tough choice because all the races are interesting looking. While the customization isn't huge, I like the simpleness of the characters.

CoS is a game where I can replay levels without really getting bored, something different around each corner. Maps are often reused anyhow, so it isn't a huge deal. I am logging in here and there and it is a game I can always see myself going back to.

I like it so much I did want to support it. While the game's cash shop is a bit steep, you can put down a few bucks and pick up some bag slots and get a bonus claim with some goodies; like keys and a robot pet that picks up loot for you. I loooove that pet!

Great game to kick back and relax on, the unity engine is impressive and is fantastic for this browser game. The game is quaint but very lovely. If you haven't tried it out, this is one I really urge people to try, it is really worth it.

I'm also puttering around with Vanguard SoH on the side. Not as much as I would like to. never enough time! As always I miss it and go back, never getting close to the max level because I have a huge army of alts. This time I am puttering around with my paladin.

Vanguard is always great to go back to feel that 'old school' MMORPG feel. It is nice to go back and my classes don't change, I know why I like them, why I go back to them. They remain true and same. This is refreshing, especially after playing so many games where things are always changing.

As always it is easy to get lost in the scenery, having fun at my own pace on my own adventure. Not really rushing to levels but looking forward to what is ahead. I do hope to see more in store for endgame, hoping to one day get there! I am not planning to raid but some group content may be nice. For now, just adventuring is fine with me. There seems to be much in store, slowly but steadily, for the little game that could. I'm so happy to see Vanguard getting attention.

And... In the main aspect of things I've been playing, finally killed Deathwing, lol. I completely skipped any raiding in the last expansion so it was nice to go back with a group and down him. My son was with us so this was a very cool moment for him.

I'm excited about patch 5.4, the timeless isle sounds interesting. Just a few weeks to go, mainly working on archaeology (trying for the bug mount!!) and pet battles. Which is pretty entertaining and relaxing.

That's it for today, have a great weekend!

Deathwing's back, don't tip him!

The aspects.

Nice group pic here. 

Lovely dragons!

Fun with an illusion.

Archaeology fun, call me the scarab queen!

Me, Tank?... And Other Adventures.

This weekend found me dabbling in Rift quite a bit. I've been wanting to put my sub time to good use at some point. I've really been wanting to pick up my baby cleric, he's been sitting there waiting on me to pick him back up since the winter holidays. But... I keep saying after my mage hits the level cap. I just wanted to have fun and play something different, I have to say picking up the cleric was quite refreshing, really enjoy this class. He's sitting at 22 now.

What is nice and relaxing for me is the amount of things to do while leveling. Quest, IA (instant adventures), groups, fishing, housing, PvP,  and crafting. Mostly just puttering around with zone invasions, housing, fishing (for a nice break), and IA after IA... I just love the fast pace of them, being around other people to work towards goals with no pressure is great. I can learn my tank spec without a lot of pressure, play around with a new dps spec and just join in. Very, very relaxing. I find myself tanking mostly, which is fun and different for me. I never tank, I like tanking, but WoW really pushed me away from it. I find myself loving it on this class. Maybe I'll tank an instance one day, who knows. For now it is fun and helps out in some cases.

Also a HUGE plus to playing rift is not seeing recount spammed. While the chat channels are horrible on my server, I can at least not read them, they don't directly have anything to do with my play.

I was going to head back to EQ2, which I still plan on. I just need a sub AND expansion, which I am putting on hold for now. Missing it a bit since messing around with it last week, which sort of rekindled my interest for it. I miss the fantastic housing, mercs, questing and the general lore of EverQuest. I need to set aside a chunk of time to get caught up and a feel for things again as well as a chunk of $ to get me rolling again.

Speaking of EverQuest, I dabbled around in the first a bit too, nothing too interesting. Checking out some stuff in the baz, new appearance goodies (no ss, I always hit the wrong button it is  the minus button on the num key, meh) and just hanging around. I was thinking we should go back but I just don't know if I'm up for it right at this point in time. I sit there trying to pick which char to play; I have a 92 Cleric, 93 Magician and a 95 Druid all waiting to be played and I can't pick one... Those are my highest, I have two (or three?) accounts full of chars up to the 80's, which I don't even want to think about playing. The idea of re-rolling is always so appealing, then I sort of can't pick which char I really like best, heh.

I also managed to poke back into TOR, after a long, long, long absence. I'm enjoying the story, gained a level and did a LOT of running around. I'm not sure if I'll stick with this one but it was nice to pop back in and get reacquainted with my character and story. Things are pretty slick, easy to find where to go, get back into the run of things. I just can't stand all the footwork I'm doing, run, run, run, and then run some more, lol. It isn't quite that bad, maybe I'm just spoiled.

I do think I may start over, I'm not really feeling the healer vibe here. My heals feel a bit weak and I sort of would rather just have a companion follow me around and toss out heals. We'll have to see just how much I want to play. I would like to get my feel back but I don't really want to start over, not that I am very high at all. I just want my ship!

Last-but- not, well, maybe, least... Still playing WoW. My teddy bear panda monk is 83. I am trying to get her to 90, losing steam and it has slowed down. I think spending some time away in other games helps refresh me when I do come back. Dire is my main pull to the game right now, it is the only thing he will play anymore, ugh! I also made a little rogue alt, on the horde, for kicks. We'll see how far it goes, something to do when I just want to be sneaky and stabby (in WoW) <.<  

That's it for me today, safe adventures and all! Oh... Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July, it was busy and bit of a stressful week, here's to hoping things calm down!

Shiny new horsey!

Appearance armor, love the detail. 

Big bad boss, invasion event. Check out the chat log, still can't get completely away from WoW. Really hate reading chat sometimes.

Some sparkly fireworks.

Being sneaky, love how the map overlays where you can navigate still, some of these areas are huge. (TOR)

Nap time...

What I like about Diablo III

Frogs! It's raining frogs!

I'm- slowly- working my way through Diablo 3. I can't really say I've made a ton of progress. I just have a lot going on and so I'm only 15 with my Demon Hunter. Slacker, I know. I'm reading about other people who are already capped and I see my friends list full of big numbers. I'll get there, eventually.

So, I really can't tell you much that you don't know, you probably know far more than I. But I can give some thoughts of what I think of D3 this far, maybe I'll luck out and can share some insight with some who don't yet play. I have been reading a lot about it in my feed while family and friends have been telling me things too.

I really love grouping with people in D3. While it is a bit harder than solo mode it is really, really fun to just jump in and do whatever and still get credit. How many games offer this? This offers great incentive for grouping! The only problem I have is that sometimes I forget where I was in the quest log,  I end up hopping around trying to remember where I was. It would be nice if it was marked [boldly, for someone like myself] making it bit easier for players to remember. If I don't log in for a couple of days I'm pretty much going to forget where I was.

...I've already forgotten the last paragraph I just wrote because chrome crashed on me- Thanks to that P.O.S. called Skype. Anyhow, let's see. Ah, yes. The world of Diablo feels alive and connected to me. I like that it is always online. I have plenty of offline games, it really isn't a huge deal to me. If the servers go down for a bit, well I have plenty of other things to do. That's my perspective. Plus, it is so easy to group and connect with friends. Much more streamlined than it once was.

I also don't miss skill points, I like how runes work. I think this path for choosing how your class works is really nice and easier to get into. Re-spec as you like, whenever you like= Awesome.  Re-spec your followers whenever= More awesomeness. Very easy to play around and try different things and not feel locked into choices.

Overall I love how flexible D3 is, you can play casually and still feel like you're moving along. I think it is a really great game to hop into and have fun with. Eventually I'll catch up with the rest of you!

Edit- Ah, I forgot to mention the story and the cinematics, they rock!