Quick!! We have an escapee!!

Shadowraethe has been pottering around Karnors Castle fairly regularly. 

 

Since my last post, we have had a traitor to the Revenants cause!  That’s right Shadowraethe has defected and joined another guild. “Why?” I hear you scream, “The travesty of it all!”…OK, so maybe you’re not that interested, but I am going to explain why anyhow.

 

Since Shahlai left The Elven Blades due to my waning interest in raiding, all of my toons have been firmly ensconced in Revenants.  I was quite happy with things that way, and things were moving along nicely.  However, I have recently been playing a lot with the usual crew and they seem to have all experienced  a strange gravitational pull to the Order of the Black Hand guild. 

The reasons for this are a few, but the main ones are that my wife Emarald joined the guild, as our very good friend Hadyn persuaded her to. Ever since she has been having a ball and loving it over there.  Now wherever Ema goes, there are a small tribe of her errr… ‘hand maidens’ who seem to follow Ema everywhere. Some of these are in my regular hunting group. Then a couple of my best buds in RL joined the guild (Konador and Takoul {Daltieri}). So it eventually seemed that most of my regular group were all cosseted in the warm embrace of a Black Hand (You don’t half talk some rubbish – Ed).

 

So when I sit down to log in a few nights ago and my wife tells me that Hadyn has constantly been asking her to get me to join the guild. She promised him that she would try, even suggesting a few ways that she would try to entice me over ( I won’t even ask! – Ed). The thing is all she had to do was ask. Yes, I would have been more than happy to keep all of my toons in Revenants. I still have a general feeling of..meh…whenever anyone tries to get me to raid. But when a whole bunch of RL and in game friends that you have known for most of your life have made the move, then you are asked also, it’s not such a hard decision to make.

 

Now Revenants will continue on as Shadowraethe is the only one I have removed from there and in to OBH. For the foreseeable future though it seems that as I am spending a lot of time playing Shadow, that Revenants is going to be slightly neglected.

 

Now I think one of the reasons that Hadyn wanted me in the guild is that we hunt together a lot anyhow and have a lot of fun. However, I have the feeling his long term plans are to build a raid force.  With my hiatus from the raid scene and my apathy towards it, I am not sure how I feel about this.  I wouldn’t ever agree to do something I don’t want to do (unless Ema wills it – Ed) but I have the distinct feeling that with Hadyn and OBH, when I am asked to raid, of course I will help out and gladly. If for no other reason that I respect and like Hadyn so much. 

I left Elven Blades because although they were a casual raid guild with no raid attendance policy, they were getting more and more raid focused, which is no surprise when looking at the content they were cracking on with at a very nice rate.  At that time I felt guilty when everyone was being a team player and pulling their weight, and I wasn’t. Not that anyone there ever moaned at me about that. In fact they were more supportive of that decision than I could have hoped for.  Problem was that because I wasn’t attending these events, I found it hard to integrate in with the rest of the folks there, which is a shame as they all seemed really great.

 

Now I wouldn’t have that problem with OBH as I already know a good number of them and like I said, some I have known for most of my 30 years (30+ ye old git – Ed). So the feeling of awkwardness would probably not be present. Would this mean I will start enjoying raiding again as the banter and cosy feeling of ‘home’ is already there? Or will I find that my main problem is with the raiding itself ( I really do hate the waiting around).

 

I guess at the end of the day I will just have to wait and see what happens.  I do know for sure though, that being surrounded by such a great bunch if I made the decision not to raid, it would be respected and not challenged. I would also probably not have that guilty ‘not a team player’ feel as we do a hell of a lot together just grouping, duo’ing etc etc. Time will tell.  For the moment Shadowreathe is extremely happy to be amongst friends and I am loving my time in OBH even though I used to group with those folks all the time anyhow.

 

It’s nice to feel part of a family sometimes and being surrounded every time I log on with good friends from both in game and RL, EQ2 for Shadow at the moment is bliss. Oh and yes, she will still be carrying out the weekly Expose. Later this week, we will hopefully taking a look at either Konador or (his alt) Hurakahn.

 

Thanks to Order of the Black Hand for making me welcome.

 

 

Gather round children….

Just a quick hello before a busy gaming weekend!

I wanted to let you know I have posted a TON of RP stories in that section.  So if you want a bit of ‘Storytime with Mother’, head over there and check it out.  Any feed back it gratefully received.  Gratuitous abuse will stored in a little box of love fairies to take away the bad feeling 🙂

See you all after the weekend and have lots of fun..what ever it is you are doing.

Emarald Green…..exposed.

 

 Emarald Green…lean, mean, healing machine!

 

Last week we had the first of what will probably be five or six in the ‘Exposed’ series of character profiles, with Perceptor Daltieri…exposed. Giving tribute to the friends I adventure alongside in Norrath.  This week it’s Emarald Green, played by my wife.

After complaining about the cold of Terens Grasp, our intrepid reporter Shadowraethe this time headed out to the more relaxed atmosphere of The Blood Haze Inn, West Freeport to meet Emarald Green.  Shadowraethe has known Emarald for many years, helping and advising the young Arasai in her journeys throughout Norrath. Over to Shadowraethe….

The last time I ever entered The Blood Haze Inn was a memorable one.  Drawn there to challenge the Vengeance Seeker Shahlai Vah’Khan, the results were not a pretty sight and poor old Broll had some cleaning up to do that day. But today, I visited for much more pleasant reasons.  I met up with my good friend Emarald Green – Warden of Neriak, to find out what makes the cute young Arasai tick.

I began with greetings. It’s always best don’t you think? Amongst friends or even enemies, there is nothing that screams ‘good breeding’ like manners. Ema’ was in fine spirits she always seems so bubbly that little one. I suppose it is a direct result of her young age.  It may be that in all our years as friends we have adopted the role of ‘big’ and ‘little’ sisters and as such I can’t help but want to look after this small fragile creature.

Although knowing some of her history, I thought I would get an insight as to how Ema saw her short, but distinguished past…

“Oh, I’m so glad you asked me Shadow, and it’s great to see you! We hardly get time to talk anymore nowadays. I guess it all began in Neriak. I do find it hard recalling my exact origins though.  I’m not sure why, but my earliest memories seem to flit around at the back of my head, and I can’t ever ever catch them *giggling*. I do know that I can’t find my parents. Well, I wouldn’t know where to start. I don’t think I’ve ever met them. I seem to remember some trouble in Neriak too, but I can’t quite put my wing on it.  I do have memories of at a very very young age having to glide away to safety as quick as I could, even though I don’t know why.  I must have been very young at the time. Maybe only a few years old. Anyway, I remember escaping Neriak and heading out in to Nektulos Forest alone.”

Emaralds bubbly demeanour took on an introspective tone and became quiet as she discussed this with me.  I couldn’t help but feel sad and sorry for her..

“Yeah, I escaped, but I don’t know why.  I was all alone and I remember being very scared. The noises of the forest petrified me. They seemed different to those of Darklight Woods. At one point I had to cross a wide river and I had never swam before.  I never did reach the other side.  The next thing I remember I was lying in a dark copse. I didn’t even know if I was still in Nektulos Forest. I was hungry though, very hungry I can remember that!”

I knew of her shaded past, but I was curious. There was a time from her escape from Neriak to her time where Emarald came to Freeport and we first met, that was, well…. blank. I was intrigued to know of her early years and how she survived. I watched as Emarald drifted off in to her memories. They must have been pleasant. I have never seen the young bubbly creature look so serene as she was reminiscing about her informative years.

“It surprised me as much as it’s going to surprise you. Like I said, I woke up, confused and a little dazed, and my wings were still wet through.  Obviously all other thought apart from food left me and I crawled on my hands and knees trying to find my strength.  It was then that I felt a nudge from behind and turned to see the blood red eyes of a wolf. I can’t tell you how scared I was when I realised that instead of looking for food, I was about to become dinner.  I curled up in my sleep ball and wrapped my wings as tight as I could around me. I knew it wouldn’t help. I was extremely young, but I knew my end when I saw it. I stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, but when I finally felt nothing, I unfolded my wings and there right in front of me was a big lump of meat. Just left there. *laughing* It was all covered in dirt and fur, but that didn’t bother me, I tucked right in!”

So, I wondered how long she stayed with her unusual companion and how she came to be there.

“ I don’t know how I got there..silly big sis!  I stayed for a few years at least though.  It wasn’t a pack of Wolves or anything. There seemed to be only three of them, well four including me.  I guess we were all outcasts. We looked after each other. They would go out and hunt and bring back food and I would clean and tidy our…errr, nest? Well, one day they didn’t come back. It got dark and I was getting worried. The fear of being alone again was indescribable.  Then I hear something and saw the two smaller Wolves dragging the older large one ‘Greysnout’ back. He wasn’t moving. He had a huge gouge out of his throat and he was dead.”

Ema began to get upset so we finished our drinks and ordered another before continuing..

“I’m sorry . Where was I? Oh…yes. Well they brought old Greysnout in and just laid him down. We were all hungry but we forgot about that in our sadness.  I remember falling, laying my head so it was resting on Greysnouts chest. I was crying and as I fell asleep I started praying in my head. I don’t know who to. Just anyone who would listen. My grief was so huge that I think it clouds my memory about this, but.. I may have fallen asleep while praying for old Grey but I recall seeing, walking through the woods towards us, a bright green glowing Nymph type creature.  It didn’t stop, or pass us by…it just came up to me, with my head resting on old Grey.  Now, I can recall this clear as an Antonican morning…she asked me ‘You miss your friend?’. ‘Of course!’ I answered sobbing. ‘You have it in you. Did you know?’ she murmured at me. I didn’t have a clue what the strange thing was talking about and I told her that. She just leaned in toward me and whispered in my ear and I’ll never forget this, ‘You have suffered young Arasai. Your time of suffering is over. You now hold nature and it’s powers within you. You shall be Nature’s Warden. I give this power freely to you along with my spirit. You are Emarald Green’. Strange huh? Well, I woke up, I’m not sure how long later, and there was old Greysnout rolling around playing with Hooktail.  I couldn’t believe it. What I couldn’t believe more was when I reached out to tickle old Grey..I saw my hand and then the rest of me, and I was bright green.”

I was saddened by Emas story and wanted to move her thoughts on to brighter times.  Thoughts of her past were making me feel protective of her.  So, I asked about her new family here in Freeport, and how she came to be here.

“Sadly old Greysnout did eventually die naturally, and it was tough for us in the forest. So I went out journeying to find us shelter and a home. It brought me to Freeport. Although I didn’t find a new home for all of us, I now have a safe place where Hooktail and ClipEar can play and hunt. I visit them most days still. *giggling* You know what happened anyway Shadow when I came to Freeport, it was you who bumped in to me outside the gates. You were all terrifying on your big horse with that huge beast Demon thingy standing behind you. I was so scared. Then you spoke to me and you were so kind. Do you remember what you said to me Shadow?. *giggling* You said ‘My my! What do we have here then? You are a little green thing. You look new here. Would you like me to show you the city?’, you even had that big beast pick me up and carry me around if you remember?”

Of course I did remember, and I recall why I felt sorry for Emarald and decided to help her..but that story is for another day.  I wanted to know what Emarald thought of the rest of our group.

“Heh, so where to start. Errrm, My best friend I think is ranger Ddrow. I trust him so much and he is always helping me. Then there is Konador. He’s our warrior and he makes me feel safe. It’s strange really, we hardly ever talk but I respect him and follow his orders, but he respects me hugely…because of my…err, mending magicks? I guess we have a mutual silent respect. *giggles* then there’s Dal…Daltieri.  He’s so funny. He treats me like my age…young and fun! We have such fun together! Then there’s Ysabella. She’s a fae. We argue…a lot. I think she’s great, but something between us seems…strange. Maybe it’s our heritage, but we do argue. Constantly. Mostly because she starts it.. *giggle* and maybe because we are both very mischievous…. Then there’s you Shadow. You’re like my big sister. You know how I feel about you. I guess that’s about it for our gang. There’s that strange Assassin lady, what’s her name? Vah’Khan? Well she’s nasty and she scares me…she hardly ever speaks..did you know that? Well, not to me”

Obviously with the new lands of Kunark having being recently discovered, I was wondering if Ema had ever been there and what she thought of the place.

“ *clasping hands together* Oh, I love it there! It’s so so pretty. Don’t you think it’s quite a bit scary though Shadow?  I love the scenery and well, you know what I’m like around woods and the like.  I never travel there though without an escort. It’s just too dangerous. Ddrow takes me there to hunt quite a bit.  We’ve been running around the Fens of Nathsar recently. Now that’s really really scary, but I like it….errr, apart from the Swamp there. It’s kinda whiffy smelly…eww”

Finishing our drinks I wanted to ask Ema one more question. Her powers to heal are probably one of her most defining features (apart from the fact she’s green – Ed), yet she had only skirted around using them on her wolf friend. So what does she make of her powers?

“Eh? Powers?  Oh, my mending magicks *giggles*. Yeah, I can’t quite believe I can do those things still. It amazes me really, but ever since that time I have had the ability to do it and it just keeps getting stronger every day. Konador tells me that I’m probably one of the most efficient and proficient healers he has ever met. Don’t really know what those big words mean, but it sounded good. Anyway, that’s me really. That’s what I ‘m all about, my magick mending.  Being so young and with my mending magicks being so strong, I seem to get a lot of respect from my friends.”

It seemed strange watching the young Emarald skipping off as we parted in West Freeport. Standing outside the Inn, waving farewell to my friend, I watched as she moved between a skip and a glide with the occasional spin before leaving through the gates, and her young age seems more apparent than ever. It’s a world away from the calm, powerful Arasai Healer I have seen her be when taking care of her friends in battle.

Quite a remarkable creature. Emarald Green.

 

RoK quest fatigue?..expand your horizons..

 

The Shard of Fear (more screenies in Adventuring Gallery)

 

Fed up of questing yet? Quite a lot of people I know do seem to be getting bored with the questing in RoK. Personally I am still loving the feel and lore behind the constant quest lines. For sure, if I had been doing them non stop in a crazy race to get to 80 then, yeah, maybe I would be getting jaded with them, and I think that is what a lot of the complaints about the new expansion revolve round.  There are many who DO just want to power to 80, and of course their game choice is as valid as my own.  It is these people who are finding it a pain I guess. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I seriously think that getting to 80 via only questing in RoK is totally do-able, in fact I am sure they designed it that way. The problem is though that it’s not super quick and if you are doing it to level and do not soak up the stories or quests and just have a clik frenzy, then yeah..it’s gonna get boring and it’s gonna get boring fast.

So what to do? How have I kept my interest in the new expansion? Well, for one I haven’t even scratched the surface of the available content in RoK and am still excited about all I have yet to discover.  Secondly, I haven’t been concentrating on RoK exclusively. Now I am absolutely sure no one needs telling this, but when I have had enough of solo adventuring I have headed back to EoF or KoS for some raiding or group instances, and even tried out Karnor’s Castle in Kylong Plains.  I have found that doing this has kept me hooked. Interspersing grouping and solo questing means I am still getting the best out of the game both on my own and with the usual mad cap group.

Some examples? Along with the usual group of outcasts we headed to The Shard of Fear for the first time this week.  Having never been there it was yet another brand new experience for some of us. So, The Shard of Fear, or SoF.  Even though we didn’t have enough time to complete the zone (even though it is totally do-able..Did you know Emarald, Konador, Daltieri and a group cleared the whole zone including epics just 2 days prior? –Ed) I personally really really had a soft spot for the place and it seems like the rest of the group was the same. I loved the look and the atmosphere SoE have created. The constant red haze and heat waves that envelop the zone certainly give the feel that you are no longer on Norrath but in some God forbidden burning hell.  The quests in there seem to be a lot of fun from what I managed to complete during our time there and the mobs are certainly a challenge.  Overall everyone who is a little bored of RoK questing should give this zone a go, or another go if you have been there before.

We’ve been up to quite a bit actually in the ‘old worlds’… hitting Unrest, OOB, Valdoons, and Mistmoore Castle for the sage (Shadowraethe got her class leggings woohoo!). It’s all been the usual amount of great fun.  That’s the difference you see between soloing and grouping with your usual crew..when soloing you rely on SoE for the fun, content, lore etc. But when grouped with the crew, the content needs to be interesting, but is much more on the sidelines..the group provide the entertainment instead.  Whatever you like doing, as long as you intersperse your experiences in EQ2 you will likely never get bored. I know RoK is there and all enticing, but it’s ok to give it a break every now and again. Don’t forget the huge amount of development that has gone in to the already existing content and head back there. Enjoy some of it again in good company.

 You’ll have a riot.

Flame On!

 

 Kylong Plains, near Highton you can find Jurrasic Park.

 

I am quite an avid reader over at EQ2Flames.com.  Not that I agree with everything posted there obviously and not that I have exercised much constraint in language or expression when I have felt it necessary to post there.  As my time is limited online (so annoying that work get’s in the way), usually when I visit EQ2Flames I will stick to the juicy stuff in the Center Stage forums. 

Last night however, I had a little extra spare time while waiting for some photos to upload and I delved a little deeper in to the site.  I really was surprised at how much useful information is available there. Granted, a lot of posts are for the pleasure of beating on our fellow humans behind the toons, but the wealth of information in the General Discussion, Information & Resources, and Class Discussion forums is quite staggering. As is typical of a site with the ‘hammer a nail in with a JCB’ attitude, the posts are usually straight talking, to the point and useful…and if they’re not, the fact is very quickly pointed out in reply to the posts..usually quite brutally! So it’s easy to sort the wheat from the chaff..see a post topic that is useful to you? Check it out, if the information is incorrect or a load of codswhollap just check the first few replies, that will usually give you an idea if the information is worth digesting. 

The beauty of such forums..well, we get a chance to express ourselves, have a little fun, but also have the beauty of discussing important issues concerning the game, gameplay, mechanics etc…and here is the important bit…without the sometimes harsh moderation of the official forums. You may not agree with some of the posts there. You may have disdain for some of the language used or the simple brutality of it all. However, never forget this.. true freedom of speech is a double edged blade. For sure you get the ‘fun’ stuff as I call it (others may call it offensive), but more importantly, if you are not too fragile… you get a point of view, expressed exactly as it was meant to….without intercession from an angry game Mod. 

So a shout out to the crew at EQ2Flames, LFG and minions do a fantastic job. Thanks for all the laughs, tears and wealth of information your site provides to us. Most importantly, thanks for the freedom of expression it offers.   

Personally, sure I have fun joining in the witch hunts when I need to vent a little, but now in the other forums I have discovered the yummy topping of actual useful information from people in the know, and I plan on pigging out.  

In game it has been much of a muchness for the Revenants crew. Although due to a few unforeseen circumstances in the last few days, I have had the opportunity to hunt with my wife quite a bit more than I usually do. It’s been great fun.  One of the beautiful things about it is that my wife is a pretty amazing person and a superb wife, (she doesn’t bitch at you, you mean?-Ed) so I get to have all the fun of her company but no stress, no nagging, no arguments. Just a load of laughs and giggles. Very importantly…hardly any deaths.

Now I know I am probably a little biased here, but wow! For someone who thinks auto-follow is a necessity to play or getting lost in Freeport is likely (you’re in for it now!-Ed), the quality of that girls healing is stunning.  It’s everything you could want from a healer doing their job absolutely spot on.  How do I know this? Well, obviously from experience of healers from day one.  I can’t even think of the amount of groups I must have been in since I started this game from it’s Euro launch 3 years ago. I can safely say, without a doubt in my heart that Emarald Green, Warden of Neriak is one AWESOME healing goliath (in a tiny iccul package).  So not only have my adventures recently with my better half been a huge amount of fun, but also cheap in repair bills and quick in progression.  We are both currently doing quests in the Fens (only at Sathirs Span so far) and Shadowraethe and Ema are having a ball. 

As for the other parts of the Revenants hunting crews, well. Poor old Konador has had a serious case of the wife aggro and his play time has been cut well down.  Daltieri is always around and has joined Ema and I quite a considerable amount this last week on quests and instance runs (mainly EoF instances). Buckleton, Morriana and Killzum are unfortunately taking a bit of a back seat so I don’t drop too far behind in levels from our group by trying to level all my toons. At the moment it is pretty much just Shahlai and Shadowraethe. Not a chore from this end though. Both are extremely good fun to play. 

To finish off, I want to mention something that happened when I quickly logged on Morriana the other night and checked the broker. Well, it appears that she sold a kobold paw …for 3pp. Not bad seeing as they retail for around 9 gold.  Big problem for me though. I’m a pretty moralistic person and I can’t quite believe I have done that to another player.  Why was the (usually cheap) kobold paw up for 3pp you ask? Very good question really, and not one I have any great answers to.  I can’t even recall putting it up for that. My broker boxes are ..well very much like my shed..a right old mess.  I can’t even think of one reason I would do that.  So the only conclusion I can come up with is stupidity on my part.   

Anyhow, Koromis  worry not..you and all your alts are now on my friends list and as soon as I see you log on…I’m coming to give you 2pp and 90 gold back.  I was going to send it by post, but then had the thought that it may be an alt they play infrequently and as such may not pick up the mail for ages..so..yes..a personal visit and apology is required.

 

Perceptor Daltieri…exposed.

Sitting down to play a session at the weekend, I logged in and immediately got shouts over Vent and in game from some of my regular friends (in this case Daltieri<<RL Buddy and Emarald<<the Wife).  Within 15 minutes we were off and away on a Valdoons run then off to Kylong Plains to catch up some alts with the quest lines.  As I was sitting on the boat to Kylong, it dawned on me how lucky I am to have a set group of friends who are pretty much all online at the same time, and always up for a group thang. (Really??- Ed) 

I actually realised how much I take our hunting groups for granted and how because of them I have very little down time where I find myself just standing around looking at the scenery.  Now I know I mention them on Revenants, but apart from the odd mention or joke at their expense I realised not many of my readers have much of an idea who they are.  So this is it…a new ‘add’ to the webby…an in game expose on my regular hunting partners.  I am going to try and get at least one a week done before I run out of friends (be this week and next then – Ed). 

Today it’s Daltieri, 73^rd Conjurer Extraordinaire. 

Our intrepid reporter headed out to Kylong Plains to grab a few minutes of his time…over to Shadowraethe.. 

Daltieri. “Want ketchup with that burger?”

Sitting in the main square in icy Terens Grasp, and before long Daltieri approached. A medium sized  Human, his swagger as he walked spoke of a man of confidence. As he joined me, his warm smile and a wink eased my first impression of an over confident peacock. He joined me for a drink and sipping at our Halasian Wines we sit, quiet for a while, enjoying the peace (strangely enough though we both commented on how we did not so much enjoy the smell of Rhino).  Daltieri is a calm figure and it surprised me how easy he is to be around. Even in the silence the confidence and relaxed aura was effortlessly absorbed from Daltieri.. 

A flamboyant character and good looks make it easy to believe that Daltieri is indeed an interesting personality.  Comfortable in his surroundings, his relaxed demeanour belie the power behind the man with the warm smile and wink.  One would not think such an approachable and easy going person could wield such devastating magicks.  Commenting on the group he usually hunts and quests with, he showed his respect for the team; 

“We always stick together. Totally focused, one hundred percent of the time. That’s us alright!” 

I thought the group dynamic to be an interesting one so I pushed the point. Asking Dal if he had any particular favourite in the group, and who was most integral to the group.. 

“I’m not sure there is a clear cut leader. We all chip in and do our best to cause complete mayhem, er..smooth sailing” 

It seems to me that particular group works without even trying and it’s always nice to hear of a group of individuals grouping with no power play influencing the politics of the group. Thinking to get things a little more personal, he was asked how he saw himself. 

“I’m a Magician, a wondrous one at that. I sometimes do clubs, but mainly dish out the mighty powerful spells.  I mainly grill and chill things.  I go down a storm at barbeques. I’m great there…char the meat…cool the drinks.  Out in the field…well. Then I can really show off, and with the rest of my illustrious friends, I just know we can…oh hang on.. the pot of water is boiling” 

So I wanted to get a few impressions from him of how he saw the new continent discovered recently.. 

“Yeah, it’s good. There was some ever so friendly guides at the docks when I first arrived who took me in and showed me the parties, err ropes..and I must say…This new land that we have discovered under the auspices of the Queen..it’s magnificent. We had a mixed reception of the locals I guess. At first it was all smiles and can you help us with this and that, then I came up here to Terens and the jumped up lot wouldn’t give me the time of day until I had done a load of running round for them…and the Iksar around here *mutter mutter*.  Usually though, a good word put in here, a favour there and the locals will come around.”

Daltieri was turning out to be a most interesting person and I really did enjoy his company, which surprised me considering his roots in Qeynos.  I thought I would take a look at his origins, try to get a window into his history and past.. 

“Well, it all started when I was born. And it will probably end when I die. Which I don’t seem to do like EVER! It’s great! Anyhow, is this one of those tabloid interviews? Are you with the Nettleville Enquirer? Look I didn’t know the girls age. Err *blush*…next question”. 

I thought this was a good time to leave Daltieri, as it most certainly seemed a madness was soon to overtake him and I certainly didn’t want to be around when that happened.   

A huge thank you to Daltieri for your time and this ‘special’ insight into ‘The man who is Daltieri…wondrous Magician, and BBQ host extraordinaire.

Immersion Protocol = Satisfied.

Now that everyone has had at least a little time to get used to Kunark, including myself…I thought I would give a bit more of an in depth look at my experience of the new zones I have visited. Not that I have been many places yet.  That’s one mistake I don’t want to make. I don’t want to rush round and go exp crazy getting levels and disco exp all over the shop. No.  I want to immerse myself in the content and savour it. I want to establish an affinity for a place before I move on to somewhere new. I want to forge memories, that when I look back on my time in EQ2 I can say…”Great, see…I didn’t waste my time! All those hours online were constructive”. I want to enjoy it.

 

So, am I enjoying Sonys fourth offering?  More than any other! And that’s a fact.  I’ve been keeping a close eye on the chat channels to see if that is the general consensus.  I soon gave up on that idea when I established that people who want to moan, like to voice their angst.  Those who are having fun apparently stay quiet…probably as they are so engrossed in what they are doing.

 

And that’s the way the new expansion has been for me.  As a lover of soloing and duo’ing the new expansion has been a godsend. The thing I am really impressed about the expansion, is the look….the ‘feel’ of the place is right. For me it tips its cap to EQ1 with the wide open spaces, a feeling of size. Even in the overgrown areas, like certain part of The Fens, the scrub is intermittent enough to be able to see further than 5 metres but also lush enough to get its point across…yes…I am in a swamp.  In comparison, although zones in EoF are beautiful, for example Lesser Fay..wow do those roots and huge mushrooms make it a pain to get around when you don’t stick to the path.  So the size, openness and ‘airy’ feeling Kylong Plains, and Fens give is amazing. It stuns me how much sometimes I am reminded of the feel of EQ1. For that I am very grateful. I like a bit of nostalgia in my gaming.

 

The other thing I am very impressed with is the flow of quests.  Now I know a fair few have moaned about this. Saying the quests are mechanical, monotonous, not group orientated enough.  Well, I can see the point of view where groups are concerned..but the others…nah.  If you are doing quests and you don’t need to rush…’read the dialogue boxes’ from the NPC’s. Don’t just go on a click fest trying to progress a.s.a.p..Indulge yourself (there’s no rush now…someone made level 80, 36 hours following release!- Ed). Go on..have a read of what the quest giver is actually saying to you.  You will find the quest lines funny, remarkable, intense, interesting, and full of bits of lore references.  It really does change the overall emotions you experience when questing. Instead of mechanically collecting Leeks near the Teren’s Grasp Druid ring, who actually paid attention? You at the back…why did we need the Leeks?

 

My questing has taken Shahlai into the Fens and she has so far completed all of the Sathir’s Span, Omen’s Call and most of the Bathezid’s Watch quests.  I have completed them all solo without any problems at all.  OK so I have died a few times when having a sip of coffee and a biscuit seemed like a more important thing to do than remember to stealth up, but aside from that I haven’t struggled. I have been challenged but just enough so I didn’t lose interest.  I started in The Fens on Sunday morning and spent most of the day following the quests, not rushing..just enjoying.  I got so immersed in what I was doing Shahlai dinged 72 without warning and I decided to stop what I was doing as I was starting to get too far ahead of my regular adventuring groups level.  I was gutted. I spent 10 minute deliberating the pro’s and con’s of out levelling my hunting group, when as usual the only word of wisdom came from my Wife who suggested I play another toon for a bit. I mean come on I have enough to go around. Well I couldn’t bear to leave Kunark behind and move to a lower toon, so I played Shadowraethe. Which caused a problem as Shah is my (main) main but being able to do everything with Shadow made me wonder if she shall always remain so. Obviously Shadow is much more adept at solo’ing, her being a Necro.  And I really enjoyed it. Yes, I was doing the same content I had done hours earlier..but I didn’t care. I was having fun.

 

I guess that’s what I wanted from the expansion. A place to have fun, be a little nostalgic, and of course new lands to explore and discover.  I have to say I am loving it.  Even grouped at one point with a full group of my RL buddies, doing some quests with friends, and ok the exp was poor apart from quest hand in’s..but we didn’t care. We were amongst friends, enjoying this new content together…exp was not on our minds…good company and adventure was.  OK so the group content so far is poor..but only if you want a crazy exp fest group. In reality, moaning about the lack of group content is valid…only if you want challenge and great exp though.  The old idea of spending some time with friends to enjoy content together is as strong as ever. And that’s what we did.  Had a laugh, messed about, we did the quests.  OK the exp was not good at all. But I am not in a race…oh no…I’m in the entertainment game and it was certainly entertaining.

 

More visual loveliness from Kunark..

Karnors Castle, Kylong Plains

Dreadlands, Kylong Plains

Karnors Castle (again…I love the look of this place), Kylong Plains

Varis, Kylong Plains

Because, I still can 😛

Showing the Kunark love….

Hi all.  Yes, yes. I know it’s been a while since my last post.  Not much has happened in game for me until RoK release.  All that I seem to have had time for is a bit of Hoo’Loh hat chasing with Morriana. It’s a nice change to do that quest with a set group that are all on the same page. I have done it three times before but always with PUGs and it is a real pain trying to get updates when not everyone needs them.  Anyhow this time we did it as a group. There was of course Konador, who was tanking for us, Emarald, Daltieri, Ysabella and Dwimmerlaik. Of course Morriana also. We managed to get the first few quests done and then moved on to HoF to get those updates. We unfortunately only got two and still need the formless abominations from there due to the late hour. We did however get our Skarize and Sothis updates. It was nice taking down Sothis with our relatively low level group for that fight. Daltieri was our highest group member at 67. Konador tanked it at 66.  We were all quite pleased we got Sothis, first pull, no deaths.

Anyhow, on to more important business! RoK!! Wow. Loved it last night. Although I had to wait a full day to play it after release due to crappy download speeds and my wifes computer and downloads going awol..eventually I got sorted and logged Shahlai in. Shahlai was my very first toon I persisted with in EQ2 and as such she is going to be, (alongside Shadowraethe) one of the first two toons I get to 80. I’ll drag the others up slowly later.

So I met up with Konador and Daltieri at the docks in Kylong Plains. We did a clean sweep of all the quests that are available and slowly but surely worked our way through them.  Myself, I am in no particular rush to 80. Of course I want to get there but as long as it happens, I am in no rush.  But by the time we had done a couple of hours of questing, Shah was already 40 % into 70. 

Exploring the new zone I cannot explain how excited I was.  Exploring in EQ2 is one of my first loves in the game. I love to see new content and geographical locations that they create so wonderfully at SoE.  Although Kylong Plains is the only zone I have visted so far, I can make only a few comments on what I thought as one word describes it …Marvellous! What I am not going to do is give a walkthrough of the original few quests in the zone. You see I really do not want to ruin it for anyone. Let me just say this…you will have fun…incredible fun!  So if I am not going to talk about the quests or what to do there..what shall I discuss. Well, in all honesty I think a picture speaks a thousand words..so I am just going to post some of my screenies from last nights session. That way you can get an idea of how wonderful this new zone looks. The content is just as good as the scenery!

Just as an aside..one reason I throughly enjoyed my time last night was the freeby claim items on my account. Imagine my surprise and glee when I opened my free LoN booster pack and found a nice little loot card. Woohoo! We all love loot cards….but I love mine a little more than normal..see the piccy below to see why…and it was free! Well that’s my luck used up for this year.

 I hope you enjoy the piccies as much as I enjoyed exploring Kylong Plains and taking them. Until next time.

Shahlai in Dark Elf form on her new LoN loot toy! I’m speechless! (Karnors castle in background)

What all the cool kids are riding nowadays..this is the griffon replacement.

Buzzin’ some Rhinos on Arctic Safari

Brrrrrrrrr….

 Just because I can !

Stinky Swamp..

The Feerrott (s) and Bouncer Hurd muscling in! 

 

The Feerrott. Even the name creates an aura of dark mystery. Without even visiting the place you have an image of a stinky jungle/swamp. Not surprising really when most of us read the title as Fear- Rott.

It’s time for the zone review again. Over at SoE they have invited the community to once again give their guides and comments on the selected area. As usual, I am going to travel back in time (you told me you had lost that ability! – Ed) and give my impressions, memories of the old EQ original zone and compare it to the new.

 

The Feerrott was one of those zones that I rarely visited simply for its own content.  It was a corridor to get to Cazic Thule and Rathe…a place to dodge bouncers.  I guess I did spend a bit of time there hitting the temples (huts) around the Cazic entrance trying to get the Ravenscale Armour that used to drop of the mobs there as a rare. Lizardscale was the common drop. That was probably the most time spent in the zone to be honest, and that was to help a friend out.  So what do I remember about the zone?

 

After being spoilt with nice open zones like the Commons, the Deserts, Mountains etc etc…I must say I was pretty scared every time I was required to run across The Feerrott, because of the enclosed dark and dingy feel. I really did feel (originally) that I was running round a jungle and yes until I hit the river I was usually hopelessly lost. I would even go as far as to say before I got my navigation down, I felt pretty claustrophobic in this zone as a noob. Kinda the same feeling I got when negotiating Kithicor.  That was one reason why I felt a little apprehensive whilst running around The Feerrott but mainly it was because of the Bouncers. Until I had met them, I don’t think I had met a meaner, faster, tougher mob and the worst of them all was indeed Bouncer Hurd (as suggested in EQAtlas). I have to say it really was a pleasure to give him a right bashing in EQ2’s Feerrott whilst doing the Stein of Moggok HQ. Revenge did indeed taste sweet.

 

So yet again another zone that really was pretty much a by word for ‘I’m omw’. Another zone I spent most time in when I was travelling to somewhere else.  That has happened a fair bit now, with the zones SoE want reviewed. When I think back at the ‘old’ zone, it didn’t really mean that much to me. Maybe soon they will ask for a zone that correlates to an old EQ zone that I have plenty of play-time in.

 

What does strike me looking at the maps and comparing them, is again how small the old zone is compared to the new, and the HUGE amount of extra content the new zone holds.  Not only that they have turned it in to a much more demanding, visceral, sensual, mob / quest full zone, but they have made it a place to visit in itself.  I hunted in the new Feerrott before I went to Cazic Thule . I actually used the zone for some HQ’s and quests. The first time I entered The ‘old’ Feerrott was to travel through to get to Rathe (can’t for the life of me recall why!! I was way too low).  It seems the new might as well be a completely new zone and kin to its older brother in name only.  Nowadays I hardly ever visit The Feerrott, more due to being too high level than anything else. 

 

I can tell you one thing though..even though the new zone is far and away superior…I still hate them both.  Too cramped you see…I hate being enclosed. Gimme an open plain or a desert any day!

 

As for The Revenants, not much has been going on apart from writ bashing over the last couple of days. I am hoping to get some decent adventuring time tonight as my Dad is flying over to visit for the weekend, so my play time will virtually nil. Will be great seeing him though!

 

Oh, congratulations to Konador for 63 and Daltieri who is more than likely 67 by now. Well done guys.  You can tell you two are part time slackers or unemployed 😛

A Storm in Lava Cup..

Lavastorm, Old and New. 

 

Lavastorm as it is now called. Lavastorm Mountains of old. Yes, it’s another one of my ‘old & new’ zone reviews.  You may recall some of my comments on the new zone back in this post..but today I’m going to be looking at the ‘old’ original Lavastorm Mountains, and comparing it with the new.

 

As you can see from above what started off as a fairly basic zone with mountains and valleys, some of the latter filled with Lava pits…ended up as the current zone we know and love (or loathe) with separate hunting areas and several instances, dungeons and a pretty impressive vista.  Obviously the new zone is much more pleasing to the eye, but I am not going to dwell on that as that is as it should be.

 

Memories of the zone…well I actually have plenty. Probably the most prevalent was my first regular excursions through the zone on my way to the dungeon of  Najena.  There was some Warrior item Udrath wanted from a mob in that particular dungeon, but I’m stumped if I can recall what that was.  What stuck with me was how nasty the zone could be for one of moderately low level.  If the wandering mobs didn’t get you, then more than likely I was going to be the victim at least once, of a laggy lava death.  The very first time I zoned in to LM, I was playing my 19^th level Warrior and recall zoning in to a set of higher level toons duelling (think they were, or maybe they were just hanging around) next to the zone entrance. I checked my printed out map from EQ Atlas, to make sure I was headed in the right direction for Najena, then I set off backwards, watching the higher levels admiring their armour and in particular the Rangers bow. Only to find I was dead before I knew it, having stepped backwards in to some lava!  Yes, this is where my EQ Lava hatred began!  So I thought I would try again. This time I almost made it to the Najena cave entrance, but I aggro’ed and in a blind ‘run around like a headless chicken in panic’ moment, it ended very quickly with another swim in the lava.

 

Comparisons…well from what I can remember the old LM was more barren but the very basic premise of The Temple of Sol being at the top with Sol’s Eye and the main Lava pit has remained.  Obviously now though, one is required to travel a whole lot further to get to Sols Eye, if you haven’t already picked up the teleporter that is.  Later on when playing my Druid, I obviously visited the zone a fair amount due to the Druid rings there, and to fight the Shadowed Men (around level 30 I think), then later to go to Sol A and Sol B. Actually have some happy memories of my groups forming up outside the Sols in the tunnels overlooking the Lava Pit of Sols Eye and the mucking about we used to do…which inevitably ended up with at least one Lava death.  One thing that always struck me a little strange about the zone was the gypsies along the west wall with whom all good characters could trade with…and who do the evil toons have to sell/trade with…that’s right…the Druid at the portal??!!?? Of course we all know the famously wonderful relationship druids have with Evil in Norrath right…*sigh*.

 

Overall LM was another zone that I didn’t spend a huge amount of time in..but funnily enough my most prevalent memories of the zone are the same as the current one…Oh look, there’s another place I fell in the lava..

 

On a completely separate note, Killzum tanked The Vaults last night in a bid to try and get Buckleton his Brigand class hat from there.  Was a load of fun and was joined by Emarald, Ysabella, Takoul, Bloodymary and Incendio.  No great problems at all throughout the zone, until we got to the end and the last named only dropped a Treasure Chest. Sometimes that’s how it is though. I think I was still spoilt from my run through Acadechism the other night where nearly every other drop, even off the trash mobs, seemed to be Ornate and even a couple of Exquisites from trash too.  So getting a Treasured from the last named cheesed me off a bit.  Yes, I am more than aware ‘greed’ is one of the Seven Deadly sins, LoL.

 

To finish the night off Morriana got together with Konador and they knocked out a couple of sets of sentry writs.  The effort we are both putting in to the 60 to 64 Sentry Writs is quite impressive and Revenants are already well on our way to getting our next guild level…watch this space…

 

Kon reckons GL60 before long, haha..Yeah, sure.