Sigh - I hate clans...

I really should just stop playing this game, I guess. It's more aggravation and feeling left out than anything else.

Part of the reason I left my first clan (HadesCovenant) was they never really did anything, and the one time they finally did do a raid, they didn't tell me about it or invite me.

They also didn't help me with any of the high level quests I needed help on, like fighting the Swamp Angler to do the Bahamar quest, or the Katovic quests. I know some people say they are easy to do solo, but I just don't have the gear for it.

So when I posted looking for a clan, I specifically mentioned I was looking for help on those things.

When I joined the second clan, it was pretty much the same as the first. No one ever did anything except AFK, really, except some AFKed in Forgotten Areas. Tried to get help to do the Swamp Angler in particular, but no one wanted to.

Anyway, I've mentioned why I quit them. But today I hear they are finally helping some members kill the Swamp Angler. Arrrrrrrrrrrgh! I've been wanting to kill him for months.

Ugh, maybe it's me? Maybe people just don't want to do things when I'm around.

But I dunno why. I go out of my way to help others. I pretty much am not nice to people only after they've done something to me to really piss me off.

Some fun in the game, actually...and then not...

I helped some clan do the level 51 quest, along with a bunch of others. It always seemed strange to me that clan members would get non-clan people to do their quest. But in this case, I think the clan just had one member. Anyway, I helped out. Didn't do much, since we had a couple of experts along, but I was proud that I was the only non-expert (I think one other) that didn't get completely killed while fighting the final boss.

But then tonight, during CW, being clanless, I wasn't going to pay attention. But then the jerk leader of the Autobots has to insult my old clan (TWP - which I have no ill will against, they might have gotten me harassed by the Autobots and ganked, but are basically a bunch of nice people and don't deserve to be harassed by someone who cheats).

So I fire back a shot or two, and get a bunch of people mad at me. And one of the Autobots vices to apparently admit they botted. (They dared me to prove it, which is pretty much an admission.)

Heh, more fun with the Autobots...

As mentioned, Baek Ho was released 2 nights ago. Last night the head of the Autobots was bragging via broad that he was already selling a vet Baek Ho, saying he got him to vet already because he used so many EXP cards on him.

Some people were dubious via broad, so I broaded something like

"Considering how much he bots, it's hardly surprising."

Heh. This must have gotten under his skin, because moments later he broaded back something like

"VonBel likes it up the bum, Fukoff!!!!"

I was irked by his bragging, so I was already logging off, so I only saw his reply a moment before the game quit. But it made my night. I wish I had a screen cap of it to use in my sig for the Sword boards, though.

Then tonight, because the LOTRO servers are down (the most recent update has been very buggy, alas), I was leveling up some guys in Jezebel Glen. Cullen, my 38 level Musk, Opehlia by 44 level Fighter, and Lia, my 43 level Emilia.

Along comes a guy from the Autobots. Around my levels, and he didn't harass me. So I wasn't going to do or say anything. But then I watched him, and it sure looked like he was botting. Not the most sophisticated one, either, the sort that RMT bots used to use ages ago.

So the more I watch, the more I get pissed off. Even had a gibberish name like the RMT bots. So finally I get mad and use a bunch of mystic spinelles, killing both of us.

Part of me feels remorseful if the person was innocent. But the Autobots as a clan did seem to be harassing any TWP members after the last CW, behavior that should be unacceptable to any good hearted members.

Heck, part of the reason I left TWP, besides getting tired of being ganked by Fatal and harrassed by the Autobots over the last CW, was that the clan message was to Kill all Fatal Members on sight. If you've got a problem with a clan, you should take it out on the specific members you have a problem with, or the leaders. Not bystander members.

Yeah, I know, big talk for someone who spinelled a 40 level Autobots member. But I wouldn't have done that if I honestly didn't think he was botting.

I guess during the next CW, I will see if anyone fighting the Autobots wants a non-clan member to squad with, to serve as a rezzer. Cheating, but then what the AB do isn't exactly playing kosher, either.

Baek Ho is here!

Well, two days ago at least. He's another martial artist, and cash shop UPC that takes 50 MP.

I thought about getting him, but only had 36 MP and not enough vis or gold to get more, so it was an easy decision. Instead I put them on the market manager at a premium. 505k each. They all sold, too.

I hate to gouge people, but since I'm likely not going to spend any more cash on this game (since I've just sprung for the lifetime LOTRO membership, at $200) and don't have a way to make much money in game anymore (with the price of 84 chips going down and my fighter over 10%, making killing the Komodo in Rio Albi less profitable, since I get fewer drops).

I don't know if I should buy MP again when the price drops (which is how I got the MP in the first place, buying when it was 350k or less each), or buy a MSP for an 92Elite Bracelet the next time I go to the LoD (though this would likely mean less powder).

Well, another clan gone...

My time in the Wolf Pack was pretty brief, 2 1/2 weeks, not quite enough to move past "Trial" status (would have been later today, I guess, they updated status on Sunday night, I think).

All in all, other than the colony buff and colony wars, it wasn't better than my old clan. Still no raids. No squadding in the high level areas where I need help with the quests. (Heck, there's almost no one high level in the clan to squad with, to be honest).

I could have lived with that though, except we got stuck in a permawar with Fatal and the their proxies, the Autobots (lead by the Cath3rine botter guy). Which mean I could no longer AFK, as the Autobots would camp over me or Fatal would kill me while AFK (or ambush me when I got back with spinelles to get rid of the KSers).

Which would be fine, but when I told my clan mates I was getting killed by Fatal and KSed by the Autobots, none of them offered to come help me. Maybe they couldn't do much, since like I said, there aren't a lot of vets in the clan, but at least some effort would have been nice. I've helped them whenever they ran into a KSer or something similar, why not show me the same respect?

The trouble with clans, is that clan spirit and togetherness always seems to be a oneway street. They're always eager to let you help them out, but when you need help, it's like crickets chirping in the woods.

K2 finally comes through on Anniversary Stuff...

Whether it was just them being late or being nagged to death, K2 came through today with goodies for the anniversary.

10 Karjalain boxes and a Le Blanc Costume. Personally I would have preferred gold, but something is better than nothing.

Also they mentioned they didn't do the boss event, because the servers were too full. Brilliant explanation!

Lets say for the sake of argument that's true (which I doubt), does it make sense to advertise the anniversary, including sending out email to members, get them to log in, and then have nothing? Even a really laggy event is better than disappointing all those people who returned to the game for one day to see what they got or what's happening. How many people hadn't played in a while, logged in, saw nothing happen, then completely uninstalled Sword from their computer, never to play again? More than a few, I bet.

And for f's sake, how hard is it to communicate with players? Have an AM in game say "Ooops, we're posting the boss and prize event a few days", or a post on a message board, or even send out a mass mailing. All of a minute or so?

Colony Wars, week 2

Well, this weeks Colony Wars was pretty uneventful. Last week I had no idea what I was doing, and had a blast fighting a whole bunch of people.

This week I still really didn't know what to do, but didn't fight anyone. Only saw one guy and he ran around in circles.

Apparently all the action happened right away. Unfortunately, I miss the first 20-25 minutes feeding my barn cats. But it's something I have to do, they expect me, and a hungry cat is a dangerous cat.

One year anniversary event - so far, pretty lame....

I don't like to bash people when they try to do something special, but the one year anniversary is really a letdown.

Basically items drop from monsters which you can turn in for prizes. Except the prizes sort of stink. A rat hat, a pouch that increases experience for 10 or 20 minutes, and pajama costumes (that cost 25 mysterious powder as well).

So, I've got a new clan...

The Wolf Pack.

So far, not a huge improvement, but an improvement. The leader has been sick and so hasn't played much for the last few days, so I can't really judge. But if nothing else, it's got a lot of members on while I play.

And we participate in Colony Wars. That was fun, even though I had no idea what I was doing. I mostly stayed in Fercuccio Junction, guarding the place from attack from other clans.

Not that I really needed to, since we are allies with Citadel and they seem to provide back up. But I had quite a few good fights. I think 2 hours might be an hour too long, though

And even more drama...

D'oh, besides PMing me, one of my old clan leaders also replied to me in a public thread. Which I had to answer so as to not look like a wimp, but at the same time probably makes me look like a hothead.

Geeze, while I'm pretty pissed at them (not so much for me, I was over that, but how they've treated a couple other members.), I was hoping to let things go. Whenever I mentioned my problems with my past clan on the forums, I always made sure to not mention any names.

Just when the game was getting better, too. It's too bad you can't transfer servers..

Drama with my old clan, *sigh*

Out of the blue today I get a PM on the official forums from one of the leaders of my old clan (which I never mention the name of on the forums, since I don't want to bad mouth them publicly - I know there's here, but no one ever reads this).

"Blah blah, you should have told us you were unhappy. The raid which you weren't invited to (which was my final straw and why I quit) wasn't planned"

My first reaction, was when, exactly should I have said this? 2 of the 3 leaders were on actively maybe 2 hours a day, and when they were on, they mostly chatted with each other. Am I supposed to break in and say "Hey, this clan sucks"?

But beyond that, I know I've told them at least a few times when they did talk to me, that I did want to raid sometime. Or go into the Land of Death.

But somehow, they could never find the time to do that with me. Of course, the day the 2nd leader gets a veteran fighter ( a gift from a player quitting the game), boom, they are off raiding without me (inviting non-clan members, no less)

Still clanless...

Maybe it's just me, but it's hard finding a decent clan.

If you go with a big, established clan, then you miss out on all the stuff like clan quests and learning how to raid. And to a certainly extent, you feel like a free loader, since you are gaining a +2 family level and possibly colony buffs for something you had no part in.

If you go with a small, newer clan, then you don't get to do stuff like colony wars. And there's no guarantee you will ever do clan quests or raiding, because the other members won't bother to tell you they are doing that.

Also, beyond that, there's finding people you fit in with. In my old clan, it was always awkward, because there were like 5 existing members who were friends. They'd really never talk to me while they were on, even if they were actually on and not AFKing, instead talking with each other. And then when the clan finally got some new people, it was like in a clump, and they all talked to each other (and some were already friends from other games). At least then they actually talked to me and I made some friends (ironically, one I talk to more after leaving the clan than when I was in it).

When I posted about looking for a clan on the official boards I had several offers. The first, Dark Carnival. They seem like nice people, but at the same time, I think they are fans of that rap group that copied Kiss (with the face paint), Insane Clown Pack or something. .I don't think I could take regular doses of that sort of stuff.

Then there is Kazouku. I can't stand one of their leaders. Kept arguing with him/her over broads because he/she kept insulting new people asking questions via broad, making fun of them. Which is just not very nice, and ultimately not good for the health of the game, either.

Catharsis. While they seem active enough, they also have a lot of members I just don't like. A couple smaller clans, one in gibberish speak which I can't spell and one just starting out whose name I can't remember. The first just has a terrible name, the latter, well, in theory it would be okay, but I don't want to waste another month of doing nothing in a clan.

Autobots - Uh, no, particularly given the first member of it I ever saw was probably the server's most notorious botters

The Wolf Pack. They seem to be a very nice clan, though bigger than I would have personally liked. They asked me 3 times, 2 times missing me, but on the third I agreed, only to find I still had a waiting period. But then they never got around to asking again, so I've been having second thoughts.

Part of me wants to just take a break from the game. But having tried most the other free MMORPGs, I really don't like them much. For one, I'm lazy, I hate having to click everything I target. Or move my guy exactly. I've gotten used to the auto attacks and the pathfinding in the game.