Woot! Got Emilia the Sage...

Still taking a break from the game, but logged on to buy Emilia the Sage from a very nice fellow on the forums.

Probably paid too much (100 million plus 5 mystery boxes plus merc), but it was something I wanted just for the sake of wanting. And since I finally had ETS, had no more need for the mystery boxes (have enough ottite perfume and AA passes).

And really, wasn't doing me any good, hopefully he can put the vis and whatever he gets to good use.

Also saw I got my whatever it was they were giving away for New Years. Some sort of back accessory (which I've never used, think they are cheating, really).

So, looks like I'll be playing Atlantica Onilne for the next month at least...

Well, guess I'll be playing Atantica for a while, during my break from Sword.

I can definitely see myself getting sick of Atlantica, but seems like it will be fun for a while. I played during the closed beta back in August, and sort of liked it, but was put off by a number of issues, including having to re-download the client all over again (which is 2.3 gigs, which is a long time when my speed is capped. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Verizon? Now I'm getting disconnected constantly again).

But some of the game issues they fixed. For instance, the text is no longer wacky. The community seems friendlier, and a lot more populous. There's I think 5 servers, most of which are pretty busy at any given time. That's my main complaint with Lord of the Rings Online, almost no other players (and no one that friendly) at lower levels.

I'm still not sure I like the stamina system, which limits you to roughly 100 battles a day if you are under 50th level, or 50 if you are above it. As it is, I've been running out. On the other hand, unlike I feared, they aren't selling "stamina" pills in the cash shop to let you get around it. You can regain it by simply being logged in and not fighting monsters, or fighting in PvP tournies. Or apparently by giving gifts to newer players. The latter is something nice, a lot of what they give you is junk, but one person gave me 200,000 gold (or whatever the currency is) and another 100,000, which is pretty decent amounts of money for my level.

Anyway, anyone else playing, I'm Vonradir (name of one of my alts on LOTRO) on the Thebes server.

Time for a break, I guess...

Well, the search for a new clan has been futile, with only Telos showing any interest (and much thanks to the leader of Telos, it's nice someone at least asked. And nothing against Telos, I'm just incompatible, personality wise, with one of its members, his broads drive me up a wall).

I suppose I could get in a couple others, but as my experience with Core has shown, I want a clan that actually wants me in it, and will do things with me, not one that just lets me tag along for stuff.

And despite a large number of MBs, no Emilia the Sage. I did trade one Iron Chef Panfilo for Soho the Fighter, but honestly, I get kinda bored with melee fighters these days.

So, it's either back to LOTRO (which I'm also kinda tired of, it's really grindy, so much of the player population is at max level, so the lower levels are the game are empty, making grinding the only real option to level up, as opposed to group quests), or maybe a couple other "free" MMORPGs.

Thanks to an unexpected, but sadly brief, uncapping of my speed, I was able to download the clients for both Megaten Online and Atlantica (4 gigs worth) in only a few hours. Tried Atlantica in the Closed Beta, but the client wasn't updatable once they went live for some reason, and never got around to re-downloading it again. Didn't love that game, but it wasn't bad.

Megaten Online is an offshoot of the console games. Set in Post Apocalyptic Tokyo. Seems okay, though click heavy.

My Road to Expert...(January 1st)

My XP rate for my highest Character, Alorra the Scout:
--------------------------------------------------------
Jan 3rd - 1st
Feb 3 - 44th
March 9th - 72nd
April 7th - 85th
May 3rd - 94th
June 1st - Vet 1.3%
July 5th - Vet 9.5%
August 26th - Vet 11.5%
Sept 16th - Vet 15.2%
Oct 16th - Vet 20.4%
Nov 4th - Vet 24.7%
December 1st - Vet 30%
January 1st - Vet 40.7%


XP Rate for my 2nd highest Character, Ripiel the Musketeer:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jan 3rd - 1st
Feb 3rd - 20th
May 22nd - 64
August 25th - Vet 1.5%
Sept 25th - Vet 6.8%
Oct 8th - Vet 10%
Nov 14th - Vet 13.4%
Dec 1st - Vet 15.7%
Jan 1st - Vet 26.2%

Mystery box take, Day 2....

Not as good as last time.
1 Le Blanc
5 Ottite Perfumes
100 Triumph Fillers
80 Soul Crystals
20 AM Boosts
20 UAs
1 AA Pass
1 Vet Scroll
5 100 chips
10 92 chips
5 Ring Boxes
10 Vet Polish
And an an Iron Chef Panfilo

Here come the Mystery Boxes....

The first wave of them, 5 for being logged in on Xmas eve.

Of course, many people made alt accounts and logged them in to get more. I showed some restraint, only making 2 extra (plus my regular alt). One guy apparently made 40. Honestly, I maybe have made more if I had more email accounts. But I only have 3.

Anyway, so I got 20 mystery boxes today.

2 Le Blancs
3 AA Passes
2 Types of Wings (30 day)
40 UAs
40 AM Boosts
40 Soul Crystals
40 Triumph Fillers
10 Ottite Perfumes
10 Ring Boxes
And an Iron Chef Panfilo

Not a bad haul, all in all. Though of course, Iron Chef was the UPC I wanted the least. Emilia the Sage is the one I want the most. Next is Soho the Wind. Then Battlesmith Idge, then Captain Adelina, then Iron Chef Panfilo

Well, no more Core for me...

Lasted only 2 weeks. Seemed longer than that.

Most the guys in it were really nice and I'll miss them. But at the same time, the clan was just too hard core for me, I guess. Half the people (or so it seemed) turning Expert and now doing stuff I just couldn't do, like Secret Temple (from what I've read). And really Vergo even, I basically invited myself along for that and got clobbered.

And since becoming Core (and everyone went expert), seemed like doing the stuff that I could do less. Like Diablo. In No_NeeD, we'd try to do it a couple times a day. In two weeks of Core, we tried it I think 3 times, only winning FC once. And never the Angler, which we'd do sporadically.

Not that I blame them. Screwing around with Diablo can take 20 minutes or more (like 5-10 minutes just putting the talt in, then firecracking, etc) and the rewards are pretty minor comparatively - maybe a 96 or 84elite drop, a couple chips. Not much compared to Vergo or I guess what drops in Secret Temple.

But at the same time, I was pretty much back at the starting point, where all I did in the game was run around Rio Albi killing the Komodo for 92 chips. Compared to that, whatever dropped from Diablo was pretty decent, and my main (only?) source of 100 chips. So I liked doing it.

I guess I should find a clan that does Diablo regularly. But the only clans that used to show up there were Mael and sometimes Neph.

Core (clan) is born...

I don't really like the name (I wanted Sky), but it got the most votes. So the clan has (hopefully) been reborn as "Core". We almost immediately did the 51 and 52 quests.

Hopefully we can get most, if not all of the old members. The leader of No_NeeD has apparently quit to join Maelstrom, so there's not much point in people staying. OTOH, the new clan seems to be more focused than the rather loose No_NeeD, and I think that might cause some members to quit, not join, or get kicked out due to inactivity. Me possibly for the latter as well, as the rules seem kinda strict.

Veteran number 10 is.....Claude

Sort of an accidental vet, really. I used him along with the first Calyce, then him again with my second (who is 96th). But I didn't want to leave him at 100, even though I'd probably rarely use him (even got him a pole arm).

30% Whee!

My highest vet just hit 30%.

Going back through screenshots, I put together an XP chart for how she's progressed:

Jan 3rd - 1st
Feb 3 - 44th
March 9th - 72nd (2 days later I finally got Catherine and left Torsche)
April 7th - 85th
May 3rd - 94th
June 1st - Vet 1.3%
July 5th - Vet 9.5%
August 26th - Vet 11.5%
Sept 16th - Vet 15.2%
Oct 16th - Vet 20.4%
Nov 4th - Vet 24.7%
December 1st - Vet 30%

So basically I get 5% vet per month for her. Best is 8%, worst is 2% in 6 weeks (when I took a break from the game, mostly)

At that rate, she will hit expert in 14 months, or March 2010

Chipped a +3DR Striform...

Woohoo! Had 11 chips, so I decided "Why not try to chip my Striform?"

So on the 8th chip (w/ EBs), I hit the jackpot. +3DR, +10 Def, +4 Evasion.

Now my Grace (or Musk) has as high as DR as my Fighter (56). I guess the next step is getting some Elite Plate...

Premiums are up on G1...

Who can resist 8000 gold and 6 mystery boxes for $24.95? Not me!

It never fails to amaze me how fast you can blow through gold in this game, though.

1 Premium Treasure Chest (had to try it) - 2150 gold
1 Wheel of Destiny Pack - 1495 gold
1 Merc Warrant - 1495 gold
20 Enchant boost and 20 UAs - 950 gold

Got 1900 left. On the plus side, I got another Calypso and am busy powerleveling her. Had trouble with her fight, though, it's kinda tricky. Calypso and her opponents are all 5 levels higher than you. So I created a trio of 1st level guys and it actually worked.

Colony Wars fun and Citadel finally opens Caebolen

All in one screenshot. Bottom shows our failed assault on Deserted Quay, and you can see who killed the Giant Keeper in the announcement field.

Top two show us getting ready for our assault on Deserted Cliff. This didn't go any better, sadly, though at least we damaged the colony. But then Neph's experts warp in and we're toast.

Calyce was fairly effective in CW, though not an unstoppable killing machine. The trick is getting burst shot off while the whole family is within range, then following it up right away with sub-machine shot while they are still on the ground.

Sounds easy, but the way people run around and all the lag, it's kinda hard. I managed it once, taking out 2 families , but that was pure luck.

Also, once you first burst shot, you're out of luck in terms of combat for a good minute until it recharges. Plus, the damange might not be enough to take out Experts.

So now what?

I've vetted Calyce and maxed out her Sagitta stance. It really does kick ass for the most part, especially her 2nd AoE skill. I haven't used her in PvP yet, but for PvE, it's great for dragging mobs, since there is almost no casting time. Just about a second, then she jumps in the air and clobbers every one.

But now what do I do in the game?

Expert? Well, at the same pace which got me Calyce vetted in 2 1/2 weeks, I'd have her experted in about 3-4 months. Maybe. (She's 2% now). Ugh, no thank you.

I really like the gameplay in this game, but there's just not a whole lot to do once you hit vet. The long grind to expert is just too much for me, I need goals that can be acheived within a month or so.

Raids? There arne't many and those get fought over. And I rarely make it to them when they tell me. Same with PY.

Maybe it's time to start playing LOTRO again...

Woohoo, finally vetted Calyce...

I say finally, but it's 2 1/2 weeks, which is by far a record for me. I can't actually believe there are Expert Calyces running around, but I guess it's technically possible legally. I'm worn out just getting her to Vet so quickly, though.


So far though, I'm pretty impressed. Her non-vet crossbow stance sucked, to put it mildly, but Sagitta, her vet one, is pretty nice. I guess it's pretty much comparable to a shotgun, it does splash damage and is pretty fast.

But the skills are what sets it apart. To go along with her normal built in buff, there's another one. Both of which can give you an extra AR if you have a ring for it to make it level 11.

Then there are 2 AoE attacks. One for only 5 enemies, so mostly for PvP, but the other for 15! Then a skill that immobilizes an opponent, and finally, one that makes her invisible.

Have only gotten the first AoE attack and seems easily interupted. Also the glow on the 92e crossbow isn't very impressive, just like little purple, blue and white sparkles glued to it.

Got my pet...

Looks pissed off, actually, and can't say that I blame him, me having killed his mother and siblings and all that.

Kinda slow at picking up stuff. On the plus side, came with a 24% charge, so can use him a little (since I'm lacking fesos to buy food).

Got a new clan and the Swamp Angler...

I joined No_NeeD. Which I still think is a silly name, but seemed to be the best fit. Lots of members, including some fairly active ones. The guy that recruited me, Unlimted is nice (guess he doesn't need a second i).

And in the first hour of my being a member, we killed the Swamp Angler not once, not twice, but thrice.

So I've done that and most of the Bahamar quest line. I'm now stuck again near the end, I need 100 quartz, and I only have 16. There's no more on the market and I can't seem to find any as a drop.

Verizon Internet sucks...

Ugh. No, I can't you hear you now, because your crappy internet service isn't working very well. If I'm lucky I can get on it for 1-2 minutes.

Vetted my Karjalain

She's really a fun character to play, but I worry about her post-vet, since she can only wear regular leather armor, not fighter nor scout, so she doesn't get a evasion bonus from those armors.

Searching for a clan, part three...

This is a tricky task because there aren't a whole lot of clans in the game, and also because my list of enemies is larger than my list of friends.

I posted an ad and got a few offers.

Catharsis - I would have, except they let McGeezers in, who I don't like

Telos - the last time I got into a broading argument with McGeezers, the leader of the clan sent me a snarky message. I think it was her - some variation of Misiercorde

No_NeeD - maybe, I almost joined them once, but I'm allergic to funky capitalization.