Break Time

I really enjoyed playing EverQuest over the summer with Dire, we gained many levels and he maxed out his Shadow Knight at 110 while I sit at 107 with the SK/Druid duo. We did a lot of progression content which I never really have done. There is a lot to see and do in EverQuest still, so much content to delve into.

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.

Adventure Log: GW2, ESO, EQ

Things are going pretty well in ESO, I have been messing about with Morrowind mostly with some other exploration on the side. The main story line awards some cool cosmetics, which was a neat surprise, as well as a lot of cool things to check out, lots of quests to follow around. Lots to do, lots to see.

Neverwinter & Birthday Cake

 



Neverwinter! 
I've been enjoying my stay in Neverwinter. The game is pretty laid back, questing is very simple and enjoyable and there always seems plenty to do. Currently I'm sitting at level 40. I look forward to hitting 60 in the future. The Scourge Warlock class has been fun but I think waiting until level 51 for the option of a permanent pet is a bit rough. I wish it was a bit lower, as the pet is very much a part of the class. Until you spec into it (level 51 or so) the pet lasts for a short period of time or five hits, whichever comes first.

Eye Candy

Always something around the corner in Guild Wars 2.

Eye Candy

Love the ambiance in GW2.

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.

Play Log: Wildstar, WoW, GW2

I just love my house in Wildstar :)

So, I missed the last day for Vanguard. Real life interfered. I felt so bad! I am glad that I did log in and get a chance to take some last screens, my only regret is not getting to take pictures of all the players saying good bye. Nobody was anywhere to be seen days before. I will always have a lot of nice memories of the game. Many wishes of what could have been. It will surely be missed.

I have about a week of playtime left on Wildstar. So far I've played my stalker up to 22 and made a new warrior on the Dominion to 17. I wanted to check out the other faction's city, see how things were over there. Overall I think the questing is simply smoother and a far more enjoyable experience overall. Then again had I picked a different starting area for my Exile I might have enjoyed it more. I have to say I lean towards the Exile simply because that's where the population is.

Play Log

I'm really enjoying Guild Wars 2 a lot these days. Last week I finally hit the level cap. It took me so long I still had a birthday buff on my main, which gave a nice boost and I flew through the last few levels. It is interesting being 80. There is plenty to do, I still have many maps to complete. I'm not interested in doing instances really, mostly just more of the same, which is all good. I made my way to the end game zones, The Ruins of Orr, which is a weird place. It looks as if you are in a desert carved into the ocean floor, lacking water. Haunting beauty yet a tad depressing. It is packed with undead and barnacles. I haven't spent too much time there yet, I am sure I will get to know it soon enough.

GW2 is lovely, especially more so with a new computer and a new monitor. It's just a joy to play. I really enjoy the combat and pace of the game. I find myself forgetting that I don't get xp for everything, while playing other MMO games. Sometimes it can be a hard transition. Running feels pretty fast and I don't miss a mount much of the time, which is odd. All in all I am enjoying it more than I ever have.

I'll be working on achievements for now, clearing out maps, making monies, and playing my alts. No rush to do much really, just log in and have fun. That's the best thing about GW2. There isn't a lot of pressure, tons of places to explore, xp for everything you do. You don't stop getting xp at the cap, each 'level' is turned into a skill point. You can max out all your skills (which works like an ability or passive you can swap in and out with others) and/or purchase things with skill points eventually. There is still much to do at the cap, so hitting 80 isn't the end. It doesn't feel a whole lot different, the only thing is that you pretty much have the whole map accessible where you didn't at the lower levels, and of course, gear.

I also got another HoM point through the first Guild Wars, I'd like to get more but I just don't feel like playing through the game on another character. GW is a great game- when you're actually wanting to play it. When you want to play GW2 it can drag on, but at least I gained another point! It is a LOT of work, nothing to scoff at, best for those with established accounts or those that really wish to invest in playing the first. It is time consuming and you really have to be in the mindset for it.

As with a new computer, I always want to see how this or that game looks. I just had to load up Rift. It is spectacular. I often forget what a beautiful game it is. It is gorgeous if you play it with everything turned up, if you don't it can be a bit bland looking. But it is absolutely gorgeous, especially entering rifts, the lighting is just lovely.

Besides Rift looking great, it is a nice change. More of a classic feeling MMO. I can't pinpoint why Rift is sometimes called generic. I understand why, but it really is a neat game far from being generic. Maybe the slower combat? Talent points? I think the soul trees offer a nice flavor and much depth to the game. It offers a lot of standard things you'd expect from an MMO, then it also adds some really interesting things. Jumping puzzles, shinies, housing, and fun crafting (I just love fishing). Things like Instant adventures are awesome, you group up but in a more 'dynamic' setting. I do quite a lot of these, but these days I am trying to quest more and IA less.

I don't much feel like playing my mage these days so I've been playing around with my cleric. My main is two levels from the cap, I should just finish it up. There are some new souls out but none of them really interest me at this time, I doubt I pick it up right now. I'm just playing the cleric mostly as a dps with my healer pet following me. There are some new pet skins, the cleric's are the best looking (IMO). They are gorgeous. Most of the classes get a reskin but the cleric gets some new looking models.

I have also been working on the new Dreamweaver profession. It is interesting, making a lot of house items, I am about to make my first dimension key. There are a lot of new ones with the profession, I can't wait to get a few to try out, I don't know which to pick from. Eventually I'd like to make them all! Like GW2, there is always a lot to do, a lot of choice on what to do when you log in. I like that, keeps me interested.

Dire and Nelf are really having a blast with D3. It is nice to see them playing something together again. Dire hit 70 with his main last week, then Nelf helped him level up his first alt (in like an hour, lol), which he is still learning a lot about the changes with the game, plenty for him to keep busy with. They have asked if I want to play. I do, but I'm not sure if it is a good fit for me. I don't know if I can even keep up with them, lol. With the changes it looks better than ever, more so now it looks like something I could play and enjoy. Nelf plays on my account and has invested a lot of time into it, so I figure eventually I'll just get a new account. Not sure when! I already have FFXIV sitting there, I've not had time to play but I hope to finally hit 20 this week. Why no time? I am very close to 20 and my mount, but I need to do several dungeons and... ugh I didn't feel like it and also I have not had time to sit in a queue and then sit through a dungeon. They take time and so does waiting on the queue. I HAVE to do them in order to progress through the story, to unlock my mount and basically to play through the game as intended. Which I don't like so much. I don't want to group at these levels, why force me? So, we'll see if I can stomach it or not.

That's it for today, enjoy the shots!

My favorite areas in the game are those with the Ascalon setting. I can't get enough of these zones. I love everything about them. I suppose they really remind me of my early days in the first Guild Wars, in pre-searing, Ascalon. Dire and I have a lot of good memories there. 

Traveling around to Orr, a nice sky.

I love any zone that has a forest....

Oink! 

One of my alts, enjoying a costume (and being able to wear it in combat!!).

Under a full moon in the guild hall, with my trusty pets.

Traveling to a new quest area.

Now THAT is a forest!

Death Rift.

Upgrade Time!

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I didn't get to play much TESO over the weekend, I had some issues with my computer and Dire had the weekend off so it was busy, in a good way. My computer was starting to give me enough problems to finally format, which seem to have halted for now, and my son thinks it was overheating. So a good cleaning and monitoring the temp seems to have helped. He's now inherited it as his, which it is still a decent machine, the only thing it really needs is an upgraded processor. But I've had it for a few years, I remember writing on this blog when I got it. So it isn't tooo old, as this blog will be about five years, this year. I didn't get it right when I started, heh.

Dire took pity on me and picked me up a new one. I have been wanting one for quite awhile! Last summer I was starting to realize I really wanted to upgrade before long. For the time being I beefed up the video card without having to replace the power supply, I threw in an GeForce GTX 550. I didn't want to put a ton of money in it but it is already much cheaper now I saw when I went to get the new card for the new computer. Good thing is it is still nice for my son to use it. I picked it up especially to be able to play FFXIV, which it did the job well enough to tide me over, it has done especially well with TESO. For the new machine I put in the GTX 770 TI, which the 660 still competes with it, or is comparable in many ways, but I just wanted this one more so. In the end it has some massive fans on it, didn't think it would fit inside but it did. It runs great, my games look so good, not a huge deal greater than 550, but combined with a new processor (well new everything), I get much better, stable FPS with the graphics cranked all the way up. I think that's the biggest thing I notice, a huge boost in FPS and no more hitching on games in populated areas.



So yeah, TESO looks amazing, runs amazing, and so does GW2. Those are the only games I've yet to play over the weekend. Yes, GW2 was one of the first to be installed. It is so easy to fall back into that game, poke around and play. Dire decided to play again. He's forgotten everything, which I couldn't believe. It was like teaching him about a new game. What I really appreciated about us playing GW2 was the fact that I didn't have to make a new character to be able to play with him. I decided to log the ranger on (necro might have been overkill with all those pets I haul around, lol) and group with him. Instantly scaled down to his level when I pop over to the zone, we quest and have fun, how much better can it get? What he's already done I can do later, I can just help him with hearts and we catch many events. The ranger can throw out some heals which helps too. I was very happy with this set up, I can take my favorite characters and still play with him even if I am not anywhere near his level. Well done, Guild Wars 2, well done. THAT is the biggest reason I wanted him to play this over other titles. We almost went back to LoTRO but he just is working too much lately to justify a sub.



I had a great time and I still play the game alone as well, it is a title I always seem to get sucked back into and it looks gorgeous. Plenty to do, plenty of puttering around to do, events and so on. For now it is a good place for us to be. He's starting over as a guardian, which suits him. I sent him one of every weapon to skill them up and see what he liked the most, I just knew he'd be using a 2h sword, lol.

Mostly TESO is getting the attention (little GW2 snuck in here and there, can't help it!), I play as much as I am able with my brother, Heri. Our bud, Rak, has played with us some with his alt but he is nearing end game with his main, sitting at 47 when I logged out (!! I'm only level 10 and 17). I love the faction switch but it hasn't been all roses.



TESO isn't easy on bad choices, especially in early game. I got so fed up I asked Rak to let me port to him at the city where you can respec. I had thought I wanted to do full plate and swords but that didn't work out as planned, and I had a very hard time because of it. The gold was hefty, but I had the amount. Getting there was a royal pain at level 8. I wasn't going to reroll either. So his help greatly improved my play. Being able to switch my points out and change bad decisions made things all the better for me. I think the developers should consider adding shrines to the starting cities, it would save a lot of frustration and give more freedom to these flexible characters we are creating, but might want to give a test run with before we decide a final path. The wrong choices can make the game really hard, which can lead to a lot of deaths, wasted gold on repair, rerolls, and eventually burn out. It is a slower leveling game so I can see burnout after getting too many choices wrong.

That is my biggest beef, besides no mentoring and too much phasing, which makes the game hard to play with friends. That's why I'm playing GW2 with Dire, honestly. If it had those it'd be pretty near perfect. Let's hope for the future! Besides that it is a good game, I'm still having fun. I had a fantastic time on my first character on the other faction (Daggerfall). I made better choices, and I think the quests seemed to flow a bit better, but I love this (Ebonheart) side. I am having an easier time this week. I want to heal some and using cloth is helping with mana issues, I decided to use staves, I just prefer range, which has helped also. No regrets on switching factions! Just regrets at what I thought I wanted to do and spreading things too thin!

That's it for today, I need to get some stuff done and then some levels before times gets away from me! Safe adventures!

.

Downtime: An Unexpected Detour

Yesterday FFXIV had a lot of downtime, but all for good reason. Server capacity should be better now, along with new servers. I wasn't able to log in for very long before the servers went down, but I did manage to get a few things done. I thought about starting over again, because I have had such a horrible time getting in. I've barely been able to play since the weekend hit. But I decided against it, as the server bog should be better now. Lets hope! I haven't actually tried to log back in since the downtime, I sort of got distracted....

Things I managed to do? I unlocked the inn room, which was real cool. There is a bed, you click on it, your character lays down to sleep and you gain rested, such a sweet touch. I also unlocked the duty system, so I can join groups (LFG tool), and the guildleves. Guildleves are basically quests you can take that can scale in difficulty, they have you run off to do some random tasks nearby. There is more of a history behind them, but I'm not going to get into that today. I think those will help a lot with the multi-class aspect of the game.

Really enjoying the game a lot. I am eager to log back in and continue my path to becoming a White Mage. It will probably take me some time though. I really hate picking up a new game and getting distracted, but more often than not, I am. In WoW my son has been working on his 90 shaman, gearing up. So I've been running heroics with him for valor. As well as his 88 monk, which I have been helping as I can. My brother, Heri, is creeping up to the cap, sitting at 80, with his new monk. So I've been doing some runs for him as well. Then I've been doing a bit of pet battling too, which is always relaxing. Mainly power leveling some low pets. Then I've been doing a few old runs with Dire.

While we had the downtime with FFXIV, I decided to check back into Guild Wars 2. I've had a mixed bag of feelings with this game. In all honesty it is what it is: A really great game, some fantastic eye candy, which allows me to just chill out and really explore. While I've had my beef with the game in the past, I really forgot how much I enjoyed it. I'd like to finally sit down and cap a character, my necromancer. I had the urge to play something dark and 'casty'. This class suits that urge quite well. I had forgotten just how gorgeous GW2 is, it looks amazing, especially with my new video card.

That's it for today, as always, safe adventures... And a slew of shots. I am addicted to taking a zillion screenshots when I play my games, heh. But you knew that already, didn't you ;)

Gorgeous.

Resting in the rain.

I've wanted this set since I first saw a necro wearing it around release.

Eeeeevil!

Resting in the inn. 

Wishing for my own Chocobo!

Soaking up the scenery.

Questing.

Finally no more ugly, green shirt!

Super Adventure Box (Thoughts) GW2

Hit play!!

Yesterday I spent a good bit of time messing around in GW2's Super Adventure Box. It has to be one of the coolest thing I've seen in any MMO in a long, long time. It is truly worth logging into just to run through it at least once, just to experience it. The graphics are adorable, the commercial was hilarious and the music is quite awesome in that charming sort of 8 bit way. (Massively has an article on where you can listen to the music- AWESOME!) You can also download them! My current ringtone is actually GW2 music, you know what it will be now ;)

I love when developers think outside the box, adding fun 'games' within our games. It adds a nice deviation from the norm, something fun to do when you want to get off the beaten path. A reason I also love WoW's pet battles. Just something fun to do, something different.

I have to say I was so impressed with this addition. Even if it is only for a short time, I truly hope it makes another appearance, it has been received very, very well by players. The items, which are mostly skins, are a bit costly in my honest opinion. I don't know if I can do this enough times to get any for my characters, if I really wanted to, I think I could. For me it was just enough to participate and get to see this for myself. I may change my mind and work on it some more later on in the week, not too sure if it is something I really want to invest that much time into.

I did like that there was an infantile mode, baby mode for people like me. Basically pointers where to go, clouds to help you along. Great to see ArenaNet thinking of those who are not as good at puzzles or those, like myself, who have wrist problems. I was very thankful!

Once again, if you haven't checked it out, you really should. It is pure awesome, a true blast from the past. Things like this will always keep me coming back for more with GW2, just to be part of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to set my ringtone to that cute little Sunny Glade beat!

Super Adventure Box!

Entrance.

Coin for access. Notice the hearts bar!

Treasure!

I'm doomed!

Starting level.

Having a picnic?

Love the flowers!

My trusty stick, I like to hit things. 

Shopkeeper... I'll smash you table! (If you smash the furniture in the shop you get those baubles you need!) Smash EVERYTHING!

Fun times- outside the box.