In the spirit of the season and to highlight a very funny comic made by one of our very own CoW's, I present to you this.
Also, Mother Nature really wants us Phillies fans to wait just a bit longer it seems. Boo to you, Mother Nature.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Better Living Through Chemistry
Since I had tried out talisman making with my Warrior Priest, I figured I'd see what the other crafting profession was like with my Ironbreaker. I thought the natural gathering profession to pair this with would be cultivation. Much like TM and salvaging, I foresaw cultivation providing the main ingredients for apothecary that I would need to level.
This plan worked all the way up until the level where the level 1 stabilizers failed to ensure even a slight chance of success even using the maximum of 3 per attempt. Obviously, I would need higher level stabilizers if I wanted to level up any further. The problem was, getting a steady supply would be problematic unless you had access to a scavenger or butcher. So whereas fragments were the bottleneck in TM which ensured you needed to also be a salvager to level efficiently, stabilizers were the limiting factor in apothecary. This means you need to either be a scavenger or a butcher as your gathering profession in tandem with the crafting of apothecary. I switched over to scavenging from my relatively high cultivation skill as soon as I figured this out. Luckily, I didn't need to grind in low level areas to start leveling up scavenging. In fact, it seems you can only level it through level-appropriate mobs and the drops improve as your level does and not necessarily have anything to do with mob level.
I have even found that there are apothecary main ingredients that can be scavenged or butchered. So where does this leave the gathering skill of cultivation? Well, all those seeds that find your way into your backpack will still need to be converted into ingredients via this profession. But it's the perfect alt tradeskill in that it isn't really level dependent or require you to do much travelling. Once you get to the chapter 2 town to learn the skill, you can just park by the mailbox and level from 1-200 from seeds sent to you from your other characters. I was not happy with the prospect of going through cultivation 40-50 again but there seemed to be no other choice if I wanted to level apothecary up anytime soon.
The tradeskill shares a similar interface with talisman making in that you get a crafting window where you can plug in the various vials, main ingredients, and additional ingredients you are qualified to use. After finding a mix you are happy with, you hit the brew button and depending on how stable the mix is, you will get a random result as far as potency is concerned. The main ingredients will inform you as to what the potion will untimately be but you can still get random results depending on the additional ingredients you choose to also include in the mix. A skillup is gained if you successfully brew a potion depending on your current apothecary level and the level of the main ingredient.
Is it worth it? Only if you like the idea of always being stocked with every kind of potion you might ever conceivably need. And if you just hate empty bag slots for some reason.
This plan worked all the way up until the level where the level 1 stabilizers failed to ensure even a slight chance of success even using the maximum of 3 per attempt. Obviously, I would need higher level stabilizers if I wanted to level up any further. The problem was, getting a steady supply would be problematic unless you had access to a scavenger or butcher. So whereas fragments were the bottleneck in TM which ensured you needed to also be a salvager to level efficiently, stabilizers were the limiting factor in apothecary. This means you need to either be a scavenger or a butcher as your gathering profession in tandem with the crafting of apothecary. I switched over to scavenging from my relatively high cultivation skill as soon as I figured this out. Luckily, I didn't need to grind in low level areas to start leveling up scavenging. In fact, it seems you can only level it through level-appropriate mobs and the drops improve as your level does and not necessarily have anything to do with mob level.
I have even found that there are apothecary main ingredients that can be scavenged or butchered. So where does this leave the gathering skill of cultivation? Well, all those seeds that find your way into your backpack will still need to be converted into ingredients via this profession. But it's the perfect alt tradeskill in that it isn't really level dependent or require you to do much travelling. Once you get to the chapter 2 town to learn the skill, you can just park by the mailbox and level from 1-200 from seeds sent to you from your other characters. I was not happy with the prospect of going through cultivation 40-50 again but there seemed to be no other choice if I wanted to level apothecary up anytime soon.
The tradeskill shares a similar interface with talisman making in that you get a crafting window where you can plug in the various vials, main ingredients, and additional ingredients you are qualified to use. After finding a mix you are happy with, you hit the brew button and depending on how stable the mix is, you will get a random result as far as potency is concerned. The main ingredients will inform you as to what the potion will untimately be but you can still get random results depending on the additional ingredients you choose to also include in the mix. A skillup is gained if you successfully brew a potion depending on your current apothecary level and the level of the main ingredient.
Is it worth it? Only if you like the idea of always being stocked with every kind of potion you might ever conceivably need. And if you just hate empty bag slots for some reason.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Questing WAR Style
Lately, there's been some discussion regarding questing in WAR. WAR is ultimately a RvR game so it should come as no surprise that the developers have streamlined this process and given us some improvements to the old way of doing things. People like to complain about how WAR questing is just the same old thing rehashed in a new package or that the quest log isn't big enough to hold 3 zones full of content. They blithely ignore stuff like big honking red circles scribbled on the map showing you in no uncertain terms where you should go or a separate bag to hold all your quest items. So I would like to counter by highlighting a couple of the new improvements that I would like to thank Mythic for.
When in Doubt, Right Click the Quest Item
It used to be you would be sent to collect 10 bear paws or whatever it was the NPC had a hankering for. After collecting the required items, you would then have to trek back through the whole zone to hand them in. Whereupon said NPC would then inform you: You know what, I need some bear guts too. Mind going back there and getting me some? As someone who likes to maximize their travel time efficiency, this used to drive me crazy. Mythic has gotten around this by saying what if you just right click on the bear paws and then you would know somehow that you then needed some bear guts as well. It's just crazy enough to actually work. And it does for the most part. Unless you are like me and you ignore the quest items and idly click on them while bored. You then realize there was a quest that needed to be advanced 2 tiers ago. They really need a big icon, maybe one that looks like the right mouse button that says Right Click on the Damn Quest Item Doofus, displayed prominently somewhere in the quest log.
Named Mobs You Need That Spawn and Home in on You
Seriously, how awesome is that? So awesome I can almost forgive Mythic for the reverse mechanic they also perversely included in the game: The named mob that looks identical to the dozens of mobs around it. Almost.
When in Doubt, Right Click the Quest Item
It used to be you would be sent to collect 10 bear paws or whatever it was the NPC had a hankering for. After collecting the required items, you would then have to trek back through the whole zone to hand them in. Whereupon said NPC would then inform you: You know what, I need some bear guts too. Mind going back there and getting me some? As someone who likes to maximize their travel time efficiency, this used to drive me crazy. Mythic has gotten around this by saying what if you just right click on the bear paws and then you would know somehow that you then needed some bear guts as well. It's just crazy enough to actually work. And it does for the most part. Unless you are like me and you ignore the quest items and idly click on them while bored. You then realize there was a quest that needed to be advanced 2 tiers ago. They really need a big icon, maybe one that looks like the right mouse button that says Right Click on the Damn Quest Item Doofus, displayed prominently somewhere in the quest log.
Named Mobs You Need That Spawn and Home in on You
Seriously, how awesome is that? So awesome I can almost forgive Mythic for the reverse mechanic they also perversely included in the game: The named mob that looks identical to the dozens of mobs around it. Almost.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Life After 40
Yes, I'm still playing WAR. No, I haven't been grinding Renown on my Warrior Priest. I figure I'll have plenty of time to do that once the rest of my guild gets into Tier 4. I'm taking this opportunity to roll alt #1. Originally, my plan was to roll a Destruction alt to run through the Destruction content but the lack of tanks in the guild and Order in general made me reconsider. Between the Swordmaster and the Ironbreaker, the IB won out for now with its mechanics and general Dwarven cool factor. But I can see myself rolling a SM alt sometime in the future to explore its own unique gameplay.
The trouble was everyone else was rolling out their own IB alts so mine would be lost in a sea of shorties it seemed. So I decided that just like my old Dwarf Hunter in WoW, mine would be the fabled female Dwarf. So was born Thunda the Ironbreaker. So far I have been enjoying the class. I found that it's more suited to the PVP playstyle I was trying to go for with my Warrior Priest; that of harrier and defender. I find I'm able to live a lot longer and more heals go my way when I'm charging into a mess of enemies. I still find it amazing that tanks actually can make a difference in PVP after my experience in WoW.
I have also decided to remove the need to sign up for an account in order to post comments to this blog. It's one of those things you don't realize until it's pointed out to you since it's an option that's enabled by default and an account is something that I've had since day one of this blog. Since it would be impossible to even start a blog without one on this site, it never occurred to me that there might be others out there who might not want the added hassle of creating one simply to leave me their two cents worth.
The trouble was everyone else was rolling out their own IB alts so mine would be lost in a sea of shorties it seemed. So I decided that just like my old Dwarf Hunter in WoW, mine would be the fabled female Dwarf. So was born Thunda the Ironbreaker. So far I have been enjoying the class. I found that it's more suited to the PVP playstyle I was trying to go for with my Warrior Priest; that of harrier and defender. I find I'm able to live a lot longer and more heals go my way when I'm charging into a mess of enemies. I still find it amazing that tanks actually can make a difference in PVP after my experience in WoW.
I have also decided to remove the need to sign up for an account in order to post comments to this blog. It's one of those things you don't realize until it's pointed out to you since it's an option that's enabled by default and an account is something that I've had since day one of this blog. Since it would be impossible to even start a blog without one on this site, it never occurred to me that there might be others out there who might not want the added hassle of creating one simply to leave me their two cents worth.
A Pocket Guide to Pocket Items
It's come to my attention that there might be some of you out there that are unsure exactly what you're supposed to do with the pocket items you can get in the game. So I've decided to put together a little primer for those who might be unfamiliar with these cool little flavor gadgets.
What exactly is a pocket item? A pocket item is one category of items that can be unlocked by the Tome of Knowledge. Usually it entails killing a special named mob of some kind. Since this notification can be easily missed, a good way to check for any items you are qualified to get is to open up your ToK and click on the Rewards tab on the left side.
What exactly is a pocket item? A pocket item is one category of items that can be unlocked by the Tome of Knowledge. Usually it entails killing a special named mob of some kind. Since this notification can be easily missed, a good way to check for any items you are qualified to get is to open up your ToK and click on the Rewards tab on the left side.
Then click on the items submenu to see all the items you have unlocked so far in the game. If you have not yet done so, now is the time for you to make a trip to the Lyceum in the Inevitable City or the Library in Altdorf to purchase the item itself from the appropriate vendor.
After you have bought the item, you will then need to equip it in a pocket item slot. You can only equip two pocket items at a time. I guess Mythic didn't want us to have too many of these overpowered items active at any particular time. You will also need to drag the item to a hotbar slot in order to activate it. Activating it is as simple as left clicking on the hotbar slot button itself.
All pocket items have an emote associated with it that informs you and everyone around you what happens when you activate it. Some of them even have special animations and sounds. Pointless fun and great for any collectors out there.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Life at 40
So yesterday, I was able to log in after work and finally get the 8% I needed to ding 40. I wasn't in much of a rush and actually spent a good hour first wrestling with the mail system and repopulating my auctions. During the course of which I unlocked The Regal title for earning 1000 gold. Sweet.
The nice thing about having a blog is that it records things like actual dates automatically so I don't have to burden myself with trying to remember them. According to this post, it was exactly one month to the day that I started playing my Warrior Priest. One month to level to max isn't too bad and it wasn't like I really rushed either. There were plenty of hours spent just loafing around in Altdorf leveling up my Talisman Making, trying to coax the mail system to deliver my mail, and auctioning all the crap I kept looting off mobs.
Now all that is left is just leveling up my Renown Rank up to 80. The reasons being are the additional renown training and gear available to me. Additional renown training is always nice as the additional stats I can get will come in handy. I'm not quite sold on the renown gear, however. Even the epic and mythic sets don't really excite me. They suffer from too much quantity over quality when it comes to stats. Instead of concentrating on core stats and giving us some meaty values, they insist on giving us a potpourri (Do I really need +bonus to housekeeping?) of every stat under the sun and even some they make up out of the blue and then the values of each stat is anemic because of the fact that we get so many of them.
So I will likely just RvR and scenario for the fun and not for the gear I can get out of it. Which is fine by me but I suspect it won't be for the majority of folks out there. I really hope Mythic takes another look at their endgame renown gear and comes out with some sets I wouldn't be ashamed to be caught dead in.
The nice thing about having a blog is that it records things like actual dates automatically so I don't have to burden myself with trying to remember them. According to this post, it was exactly one month to the day that I started playing my Warrior Priest. One month to level to max isn't too bad and it wasn't like I really rushed either. There were plenty of hours spent just loafing around in Altdorf leveling up my Talisman Making, trying to coax the mail system to deliver my mail, and auctioning all the crap I kept looting off mobs.
Now all that is left is just leveling up my Renown Rank up to 80. The reasons being are the additional renown training and gear available to me. Additional renown training is always nice as the additional stats I can get will come in handy. I'm not quite sold on the renown gear, however. Even the epic and mythic sets don't really excite me. They suffer from too much quantity over quality when it comes to stats. Instead of concentrating on core stats and giving us some meaty values, they insist on giving us a potpourri (Do I really need +bonus to housekeeping?) of every stat under the sun and even some they make up out of the blue and then the values of each stat is anemic because of the fact that we get so many of them.
So I will likely just RvR and scenario for the fun and not for the gear I can get out of it. Which is fine by me but I suspect it won't be for the majority of folks out there. I really hope Mythic takes another look at their endgame renown gear and comes out with some sets I wouldn't be ashamed to be caught dead in.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
On the Brink
The Philadelphia Phillies are a team on the brink of accomplishing something they have only done just once before in their long franchise history. After last night's dominating NLCS victory over the LA Dodgers, they need just four more wins to win the World Series and finally lay the ghost of 1993 to rest.
Similarly, I found myself watching that game last night and simultaneously trying to get my Warrior Priest up to rank 40. I couldn't quite make it as I found myself at 92% by the time the game had ended. In my younger years, I probably would've pushed on as I probably could've dinged 40 with an hour or two more of play, but old age and the pragmatism it brings reminded me that tomorrow was another day. Besides, I was tired as heck and had to get up for work the next day. I figured I could relish the moment as much then as as I could now.
I probably would've been able to ding 40 yesterday if circumstances and server patches didn't conspire to cut into my available playing time. While waiting on the servers to come back up, I was finally able to log into Eve for more than just a skill change. With the Haiduken war over, it was now safe to pop over to Jita and buy the new ships I had qualified myself for while playing WAR. I bought the Hurricane and fitted it for salvaging but decided not to get the Retriever. While playing with possible setups in EFT in order to decide on what equipment to buy for it, I realized my current mining Rokh had a much higher output if I could just live with the faster cycle times of the Mining Laser II vs. Strip Miner. So I decided to take Fholcan's advice and hold out for the Hulk instead. I'll queue up the training for that ship as soon as I'm done training up for the Cheetah.
I was also able to check out a rather interesting game that I first heard about over at Rock, Paper, Shotgun called World of Goo. It's put out by an independent publisher, 2D Boy, and you can find a link to the demo at their site. It's Lemmings for the 21st century as imagined by Tim Burton. The game even comes with Danny Elfman-inspired musical overtones. I highly recommend it and bought it on Steam immediately after trying out the demo. You can't go wrong with subsidizing quality independent game publishers for only $19.99.
Similarly, I found myself watching that game last night and simultaneously trying to get my Warrior Priest up to rank 40. I couldn't quite make it as I found myself at 92% by the time the game had ended. In my younger years, I probably would've pushed on as I probably could've dinged 40 with an hour or two more of play, but old age and the pragmatism it brings reminded me that tomorrow was another day. Besides, I was tired as heck and had to get up for work the next day. I figured I could relish the moment as much then as as I could now.
I probably would've been able to ding 40 yesterday if circumstances and server patches didn't conspire to cut into my available playing time. While waiting on the servers to come back up, I was finally able to log into Eve for more than just a skill change. With the Haiduken war over, it was now safe to pop over to Jita and buy the new ships I had qualified myself for while playing WAR. I bought the Hurricane and fitted it for salvaging but decided not to get the Retriever. While playing with possible setups in EFT in order to decide on what equipment to buy for it, I realized my current mining Rokh had a much higher output if I could just live with the faster cycle times of the Mining Laser II vs. Strip Miner. So I decided to take Fholcan's advice and hold out for the Hulk instead. I'll queue up the training for that ship as soon as I'm done training up for the Cheetah.
I was also able to check out a rather interesting game that I first heard about over at Rock, Paper, Shotgun called World of Goo. It's put out by an independent publisher, 2D Boy, and you can find a link to the demo at their site. It's Lemmings for the 21st century as imagined by Tim Burton. The game even comes with Danny Elfman-inspired musical overtones. I highly recommend it and bought it on Steam immediately after trying out the demo. You can't go wrong with subsidizing quality independent game publishers for only $19.99.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)