Summer Fun and Events

Lots of fun stuff going on this week. Listing some fun activities and throwing out a free beta key for TSW. First person to claim it gets it! The beta is scheduled for this weekend June 22. I'm glad that I'll get a chance to try it out, I got a hold of a few keys and ended up with one left over. The download can be found here. The NDA has been lifted and this weekend  and a new PvP area is making an appearance.



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Speaking of Funcom, Anarchy Online is celebrating its' 11th birthday! You can find more details here. Looks like some fun stuff and a free jet pack in the item shop. I putter around with this game on occasion, trying to get a feel for it, a great time to jump in I'd think!

In WoW the Midsummer Fire Festival is hopping, lots of monies and achievements to be gained. Had some guildies complaining about running all over to get the fires, I actually enjoy visiting these areas again. Brings back a lot of memories as I've played since release. I suppose if it isn't fun... Don't do it? I can't complain about free monies and fun events. Plus, I already have the achievement on my priest, come MoP it will be shared, I'm just doing it for money and fun. I love holiday events!

If you're a LoTRO fan, Turbine is looking for player created Summer Events, they'll give some goodies as a reward [for these quests to use] as well. Very interesting concept! I like it a lot, a wonderful idea and a way to draw the community together. Glad to see more developers embracing things such as this.

Vanguard had another update today, this included some of the lower (1-10) areas. Test has been implemented with the 20-30 zones, which changes some areas like Veksal's and Silverlake. These are being revamped for a higher level (mid levels). I slightly cringe at the thought of Veksal's being changed, love that area for leveling at around 10, but I'll have faith in the developers that this is a path that will help newer players. Currently new content for 1-10 has been implemented on live and the IoD charm is available even if you don't start on the isle. These updated areas can be tested now and submitting feedback can help the developers gauge how the changes fare. And... this really screws up my new and returning player guide, *le sigh*.

Rift has Summerfest heading out when 1.9 hits, that patch looks fantastic! The event looks pretty fun too. With the free to play access (up to level 20), I might have to poke in on one of my lowbies to check it out. If I even have the time, tempting though. Also Massively has a fantastic returning and new player guide for the game!

Jade Dynasty has a birthday event going on, three years celebration! There are some gifts and titles to be had. You can find the details here.

I know I already mentioned this but SL9B is here. Second life is celebrating it's 9th birthday! Check out the celebrations with great rides, fun sites to see, freebies and more. Head on over to the grid to port over there!

Annnnd... Last but not least- Free Realms has gotten some fresh content (finally). In preparation for the new areas to be implemented, there is a Gloam Invasion going on now. Sadly, the official website mentions this but doesn't give much info on it. Free Realms Insider has a bit of info on this. You can check it out here.

Leaving you with a video full of awesome. Safe adventures!

Jade Dynasty- A Glimpse

I've been playing a bit of Jade Dynasty lately and I thought I would post up some impressions on my journey to level 41. I started out as a human, you don't get to pick your class until level 15, which goes by pretty fast. It game me a chance to feel out the game while deciding what I wanted to be. There is no gender lock when it comes to classes and there are some decent looking character hair styles and faces. If you don't want to play a human there is another faction that has classes you can start out as.

The game has a high experience net when it comes to questing. Sometimes I'd get around a whole level for tuning in a quest. Not to say you don't have to work at it. Lots of traveling to and fro. It took me a little bit but I found out that the cities and outposts all have NPCs that will teleport you to different towns for a few copper or silver. This cut down on my travel time immensely.

Guild member flying me somewhere. 

I was asked if I wanted to join a clan (guild) and I jumped at the chance to meet other people in the game and have people to ask questions to. I'm glad I did because it helped me understand a lot of the game. The leader was very helpful and took some time to show me a few helpful things. The experience made the game so much better, connecting with other people made made feel more at home.

First off, there are 150 levels, then ascended levels. Basically ascended levels are starting over at 15 with a stronger character and getting better things as you go, from what I understand. I wouldn't want to do it, but some people seem to enjoy it, especially if you PvP. Plus you can start out as a different class. Kind of boggling, all that work then starting over. There are also death penalties. I never notice any penalty besides being sent to a town, so I don't know if they start off at higher levels or what. I hear around 90, the penalty is experience loss and it is quite harsh. The first 89 levels are said to fly by, already with just a few days play I am sitting at 41, so I can believe it.

This game has some very impressive mounts.

The good and bad. Every ten levels you gain access to a new set of gear, you can purchase from a vendor, a crafter (player) or craft it yourself. The armor looks good too. Something to look forward to while leveling, I love it. At level 30 you gain your first mount, however it only lasts 30 days, more than enough time to get to 45 though, where you can buy your first mount (100gold!!) or you can do quests for three hour mounts.

The thing with mounts and gear is that it can get costly especially when you add in the need to buy potions. You level so fast at the start and you can really start to pay out at a fast rate, making it hard to keep up. You don't have to buy potions- but they make things really go smoother. Money int his game is hard to come by, thus far. Right now I do not have enough room in my bags to save up items to sell later on. So, I end up vendoring everything. I think that is one of my biggest peeves. BAG ROOM! You can buy more and some start unlocking at 75 and up but that is still quite a ways off. You really have to work at it- Unless you buy and sell through the cash shop. You can sell cash shop currency for in game money, right now the prices are skyrocketing so you could make a small fortune easily.

Not everyone wants to do this though. So you will spend time grinding or trying to sell things from your personal shop (think Everquest and trader stalls, similar to many other FTP games like Silk Road and such). Which takes time for a buyer to actually click on you and need/want what you have to offer. So, I've really been scrimping on money. I have my current level gear but the next set will be tough to get. Higher levels seem to be easier but money in this game doesn't seem to be easy at any level, when it comes to farming cash. I don't like having to scrimp every copper I make, it just makes things tough. I suppose when I get a few more levels under my belt, it won't be so bad.

The questing is simple and laid back, for the most part. There are lots of courier type quests but the automated routing makes this cake. It can be made even more so [easy] if you factor in the esper mechanic. Basically an espse is a little pet like entity that floats around you, you get one from the beginning, then you gain a specific class esper through the main quest line. An esper will control your character and use certain abilities while you go AFK. If you have a quest to kill 30 mobs you can let the esper do all the work for you,  then you can come back to set the character to auto route to the quest turn in. Pretty simple. I like the auto route system because I go do something else while my character runs there.

The thing with the esper is, you need potions to keep it going without dying. These can get costly and thus are you just grinding out mobs for money to fund this? I used it sometimes but then I started running low on potions. When you are out questing and you run low on health and mana you can activate an ability which is similar to meditating, as in other games like Everquest. I like this option as it costs nothing and is fairly quick to regenerate health and mana back to full. You can also do a meditation like ability in town to gain a slow but stead bit of XP. I think it may cap out each day, not too sure on the duration, don't quote me on this though.

For those, like me, who love pets there is a pet system, you'll gain a few as you level, then you are able to tame more in the mid levels. There are also cash shop pets. I didn't get into the whole pet thing, besides using him to fight alongside me, he even passed me in levels. However, it did seem a rather in-depth system. I think poets can also age and die, however you can take some of the age off with items.

The graphics are quite lovely, the surrounding scenery is so refreshing and tranquil. The music is relaxing and the characters look stunning as they acquire gear sets. Over all it is a nice solid game. With some time and effort the game can be enjoyable and long lasting. The community, from my perspective, is friendly and helpful. There are many channels per server to hop around on which is nice. PvE today PvP tomorrow, perhaps?

I don't know if it could be my 'main' game. But it really has potential and it is one of the better free to play games I've had a chance to play. Things like bag space and no auction system make me cringe, at times, but the game has a lot of other things to make one look past these imperfections. If you're looking for a laid back PvE game or maybe a little PvP the game offers both which is nice too. It's definitely one worth trying out.

-kaozz 

More FTP Adventures

I suppose that lately I'm just looking for something refreshing and new, trying a lot of FTP MMO games. Is it working? I think so. I've played subscription games for so long and it's nice to break away from the mold. I want to experience game-play and quests that are fresh and new to me. So, while I wait on WoW's patch 4.2 to hit, I'm exploring many different MMO games. So, you'll probably be reading about more in the near future. At least until I find one to settle down with, for awhile. I have a new contender which I am currently leaning towards. More about that later.

While I was pretty stoked about Prius Online, the whole PvP thing really isn't my style. I'm considering putting the game on hold in hopes of a PvE server. I am not too sure, just yet. Still logging in here and there to accumulate some xp with quests. I'm just not hyped on the idea of getting ganked while questing.

I've been messing around with Ether Saga Online still but I think I may put this one on the back burner for a bit. Nothing wrong with the game, it has a great pet system, cool mounts and lots of sparkle. I just run out of bag room so quickly that I feel put off lately. I've played more BoI, the past few days than ESO. Battle of The Immortals is great, lovely game with lots to do. I actually did an instance to get my first mount which was fun. However this one is PvP also, meh.

Seems to be an ongoing problem with me. Right? I tried to do the PvP thing, years ago. My brothers, son and I all played 2Moons when it released. I quickly grew tired of getting ganked all the time, we did play quite a lot and I still enjoyed the game but-- I just hated feeling on edge all the time. I heard Acclaim shut its doors and 2Moons is gone. However, I was poking around the other night and saw that another company bought it out and it is now called Dekaron. You can even get your old characters back. I only managed to get one, some are still missing but it brought back lots of memories logging in. Good times.

Then there is Runes of Magic. I've been kind of neglectful with this one. I log in still but not for extended periods of time. Just been trying a lot, it is still on my favorites and I still make a point to play it once or twice a week. I'll pick back up and gain more momentum before long I'm sure. It's really a top notch FTP game.

Starting out as a normal human.

I recently decided to try one more PWE MMO game, Jade Dynasty. From what I had read, well, I just didn't think it would appeal to me. I do like to try things out for myself to see if I like them. In the end the lovely scenery, cool game-play and just the overall feel of the game won me out. Plus, it has PvE servers, a huge plus for me.

The game has such a lovely feel to it. I love the scenery, peaceful, tranquil, with some great music too. Relaxing and mysterious and I love the Asian setting it has. I suppose it reminds me of some of my earlier FTP adventures. This game has a great quest system, snazzy gear, pets and some really cool classes. The humans get to pick a class at level 15, kind of odd. It zooms by though. The other race doesn't wait to pick, so that is an option if you want to chose something right away. I am almost 30 now and I really am having fun. I chose the Modo class, it seemed like a class I'd like.

After choosing my class, starting to look  interesting! I can has--Wings?!

The game has a pet system, which fight alongside you and it is cool to have a sidekick. Not a huge bunch of options for pets but I was granted a cute little -free- pig pet around level 10. Players also get something called an Esper. Basically this controls your character while you are AFK and will grind mobs and loot them for you. It has some neat settings and while some people may look down on it, it is handy for grinding out some money and a little xp. There is also the auto-routing system. Handy for those long runs, we do a lot of running in JD! Easy mode? Well, I like having options. Great for doing housework and playing at the same time!

I think it is nice to have options. Currently my character is grinding out a little money for her level 30 gear, I want to make sure she has more than enough. Muwhaha! And to top it off there is the meditation option, while in town you get a slow but steady stream of experience while meditating. I'm not sure but I think it caps out at a certain point, each session.

The gear is really nice looking and has a very unique feel. Unlike some games where you still look like you're a 'noob' at the level cap... Lol, like my hunter in WoW! Mounts are available at level 40 or so, might be 45 actually. Or, you can always buy one in the cash shop, I think at 30. I'm currently running around on foot.

The reasons I like the game so much would be the interesting classes and the overall feel to the game. I especially like the class I am playing, I can transform into this banshee looking creature. I also enjoy the scenery, the world is so vast, so much to see and take in. Plus the game-play is actually pretty enjoyable.

We'll see how it goes through the week. One thing I have been having a problem with in EVERY FTP game, would be- BAG SPACE!! Some of them make acquiring money a problem too, not all of them, Prius was quite nice about having extra spending money. I'd say I had the least amount of trouble with bag/bank space and money with Prius... Why does it have to be open PvP!? Ah well. We'll see how I get on in my adventures in Jade Dynasty, let's hope for the best ;) Safe adventures all.


-kaozz