Mystic Worlds

Becoming Niche Gamer

Losing Steam in GW2

I've lost a good bit of steam in GW2 after hitting max level and completing my selected crafting professions. I've done about half of the PVE instances and a few Fractals. Unfortunately, I'm finding my biggest obstacle to enjoying the content is time. Either I'm not willing or unable to spend 2 hours in a single session completing one piece of content. I enjoy the GW2 dungeons but I don't have the time to wait for a group to form and then finish the run.  With the primary come-as-you-are-for-as-long-as-you-can content completed, also know as leveling, I'm feeling like a fish out of water.

Clearly, my tastes and lifestyle have changed.  I left hardcore raiding several years ago and since that time, I've played games that I've enjoyed but few have stayed the long course since World of Warcraft. I can't be kept happy with a gear grind.  I just don't give a damn about having the best of the best, if it requires a massive time sink.  What does sustain me and get me to grind is decent crafting that has a profitable consumer market and player housing.  I understand the shortage of games with player housing. What I don't understand, is how so many games get the crafting and economy mix wrong.  

Beyond the gear carrot, player housing, crafting and a vibrant economy are the other sticky activities for MMO players.  How is it that AAA fantasy games I've played since WOW have gotten it wrong?  I found Warhammer crafting just a touch above useless except for making consumables for yourself, and even then not great.  Rift's is further up the scale than Warhammer but honestly, not by a whole lot.  You could craft or not and be just fine, which is cool for non-crafters but leaves a hole in the post leveling activity for many others.

Journey Back to Gaming

I took a long break from gaming and blogging after my mother passed away. What initially brought me back was the desire to level from start to finish with a gaming friend.

RIFT STILL FELT FRESH

Our game of choice was Rift. A long time WOW player, he hadn't joined the crush of adventurers when the game launched. The character I created would turn into my third to have made it into level 30 content, third cleric and second to max level.

Although the excitement of highly populated zones was gone, Rift's leveling content holds up exceptionally well. The options are diverse and the content so dense, that I never felt bored from having done those levels before.  For me, Rift’s PVE game ranks right up there with the behemoth, World of Warcraft. 

A RETURN TO WOW

After a few weeks being at max level again, my excitement started to wane.  We ran chronicles and quested in Ember Isle, one of the most beautiful zones I’ve ever seen.   However, with no new levels to  be gained, my interest fell off.  I decided return with my friend to WOW and see what I’d missed by leaving shortly after reaching end game in The Burning Crusade.

As expected, leveling content was good, instances great, crafting worthwhile and an active economy.  It also didn’t hurt to have a wealth of alts to choose from all of whom had decent trade professions to help me along the way.

Although I can't imagine WOW ever being my full time MMO again, I see why and how, many long time players return after completing the leveling experience in other games. You can't rely on keeping your player base at max level by being as good as or comparable to WOW. You have to be BETTER THAN and MORE DIVERSE THAN whatever I came from before. Otherwise, why should I restart the end game treadmill in your game, when I can return to another game where I may have a staple of characters, trade-skills, long time guild mates and in some cases, player houses and guild halls at my disposal?

Many of the so-called WOW tourists aren't that intentionally. I think they want to invest in a new game but get to the end/top and realize they've done this all before and a new skin on isn't enough to keep them around.

UP NEXT IN GAMING

Guild Wars 2 will be my main MMO home for the foreseeable future. Other than time commitments, I know I will be there for the ride to max level. I knew from the beta that I enjoyed Rift enough for a jaunt through and was excited for the launch. The enthusiasm I feel for GW2 is leaps and bounds above what I thought of Rift before launch. I can hardly stand the wait much longer.  ANet please don't break my heart. I need GW2 this summer!!

WOW Kool-Aid – I get it.

Happy Holidays one and all.  I’m very happy to be home for at least the next couple of weeks.  We’re having nice weather here in Georgia.  It’s just cold enough to feel like Christmas without the bitterness that makes going outside unpleasant.  I haven’t clocked too many gaming hours yet but I’ve been in and out of a couple of games you know, World of Warcraft and EVE Online.

With WOW players hitting level 85 so fast, I realized it must not be a huge grind. Everywhere I turn, I see level 85s.  That said, I decided to take my time and grab the character I really wanted to play, which is my Paladin and take her to 80 and then into Cataclysm. I’ve heard that they increased the XP by 20% pre-Cata so hopefully I can hit 80 sometime in January.

I transferred servers and faction to hang out with a gaming buddy.  I don’t know about Alliance side but Orgrimmar is packed every minute of every day.  Regardless of when I log into the game, I see an ocean of players hanging out.  

I started my Paladin’s leveling adventure in Howling Fjord.  I WISH that I had done Wrath when it first released.  I love this zone so much.  It contains all the things that made me adore the Alliance run from Northshire to Southshore.  Each area is populated with NPC villages, encampments, small bases, etc. Sure, we still fight some mobs out in the woods per the normal MMO quest experience but there are WAY MORE encounters in settlements, something I’ve always favored!  The whole vibe reminded me of Allods because of the variety of encounter locations and all the structures we can run in and out of just ‘cuz.  I might be crazy but I really enjoy going into all of the buildings just to look around at the styling.  Being in these fantastical settings is why I play MMOs.  I wish they’d add interactive elements like books or Easter Eggs.

Flying mounts are better than PIE  
Flying everywhere is amazing and I hope they give up on the practice of blocking players from flying across new zones. OMG I explored more extensively than I ever would have on a ground mount.  For the first time in a long time, the explorer in me was awakened!  This place must have felt so alive when it was overflowing with other players.

During one session, I wanted to get a bite to eat and decided to park myself on an unmanned zeppelin that was flying around near the shore.  I landed and positioned myself at the front and just watched the scenery for a few minutes.  It was like taking the Circle Line Tour around Manhattan, NYC. Feeling safe from attack – NPC or opposing faction player, I went to make something to eat.

Drat - Real Life Hits for 500K Damage

I've traveled 60% of the time since I started my new job.  I’m not complaining though because it’s all been enjoyable.  I’m working for someone I respect highly and am meeting lots of really nice people.  Besides which, I’m never alone when I’m gone because we’re performing group oriented activities, so the evenings are spent in pleasant conversation over a good meal.

However, the result is that I’m not gaming much at all and the game that has to take the biggest hit is the one that required the most attention, EQ2 Extended.  I can’t run a furniture shop if I’m not around to craft items, much less advertise the shop and take on orders for the custom décor items I enjoy building.  I will be downgrading my account to Silver come the New Year, but I’m not abandoning my home in Halas permanently. No sir, I still have big crafting plans.

I’ve decided to combine my love of building custom décor items with publishing the DIY articles and guides.  Instead of showcasing items I can make and sell, I’m going to showcase the items with instruction booklets so players can make these creations themselves.  I’ll replace my price books with links to DIY articles on here or the full blown magazine as appropriate.

I need a WOW CGI Movie - 'Nuf Said

Just give me a movie that's of the same quality as the World of Warcraft cinematics.  Why do we need to wait for live action negotiations and daydreams??? Into the line of greatness comes the Cataclysm cinematic. It's not quite as awe inspiring as WOTLK but it's still gets me excited.  And in my mind, nothing - I mean n-o-t-h-i-n-g, beats Illidan's TBC trailer.  I watched it twice just getting the link.

Stop f'ing around with your live action shenanigans and deliver us a CGI movie for cripssake! OMFG these trailers are always so hot they even get me pumped and I'm over being excited about playing WOW.  At this point, no one in my family plans on doing Cataclysm but that might change for someone as the time draws closer.

I'm not going to lie. I'd love to see the revamped zones.  Plus levels 1 to 20 are always a sweet deal.  I have no doubt that revisiting to do the the Worgen starter zone would be fun.  But eh, not sure I want to buy the box just to fly around Azeroth and level a soon to be abandoned Worgen.

Regardless, I have to give Blizzard mad props again because their tailers are awesome.  Damn, give us a movie PLEASE!!! I'd take the day off from work and wait in line on opening day like a sycophantic lap dog!

There and Back Again, a tale of MMO fatigue.

My Red Dead Redemption fever was cured after several weeks of playing.  It was the first time I’d ever really attempted to play a solo RPG, much less one on the console.  I didn’t get to see the credits roll but it was definitely a fun ride.  What really sold me was the open world, in which I could break away from the linear storyline at will.  I also jumped into the multi-player side every so often to get wailed on and ganked by higher level players.  No tears though, such is the nature of PVP.  I got good at the re-gank. You know, where you kill each other over and over, each racing back from resurrection hoping you got there first, so you can kill them when they arrive. LOLZ    That and stealing other player’s horses – that shit never got old!!

Played EQ2 using 3-Day Consecutive Sub Plan
After RDR, I did two rounds of EQ2 using the 3-day sub payment model.  As always, I wish I enjoyed the questing more.  I might have re-subscribed for the PVP which was actually entertaining, except for two things.  First is a regular complaint from me – the graphic animations are over-the-top in an intrusive way.  In group fights, I can never tell what the hell is going on because of the game’s particular style of doing combat animations.  I’m just pressing buttons in the order that makes sense.  I can’t actually tell what’s landing because the combat zone is completely cluttered with animations. And yes, I've played games with lots of combat animations but there's something about EQ2's that clutter up the screen in a fashion that the other games don't.  Hard to explain - they look like they happen in a 2D space so that they're all stacked over each other, not actually occurring "over there" where that player is that is executing the move.  Strange.

New WOW Account Scam Making the Rounds

Remember that you should NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES follow a link from an email to Blizzard's Account Services!!!! If you're not sure the email is legit and want to check on your account, go directly to worldofwarcraft.com and use those links to access Account Management type services.  Better yet, go once (like now) and save yourself a bookmark to Account Services and Battlenet directly, to avoid the painfully slow loading of the official WOW site.  I grit my teeth anytime I have to go there myself.

I received an email a couple of days ago supposedly from Blizzard but it contained so many spelling errors as to be laughable. I couldn't resist replying that they should first use a spell-checker and then drop dead.

Today I received the same email but it was immediately flagged as spam. I couldn't resist taking a peak.  The spelling mistakes had been corrected but like who are you idiots trying to fool??? The first email was so hilariously bad yet you corrected it and sent it back out to the same list??

I really hope people mature enough to be paying for a WOW account are wise enough by now, not to click links in an email that will send you somewhere asking for a log-in name and password. Consider yourself warned, that the destination URL looks pretty darn authentic but it ain't!

Top 3 Classes – The MMO Classes I’ve Enjoyed Most

Outside of my multiboxing experiment in World of Warcraft, I’m not playing much.  I’m not even on the hunt for a new MMO and there’s nothing cresting the horizon that has my interest.  My hopes of a new MMO home rest with GuildWars 2, which I’ve already pre-ordered.  Unfortunately, GW2 isn’t likely to release this year.  For me, it’s a very dry gaming season.

Wanting to post occasionally but not having any real adventures to share, I decided to do a series of posts discussing the things I’ve enjoyed most in the MMOs I’ve played, interspersed with my list of most desired.  I’m going to start with my three favorite classes.

Magic is why I came to the Party
Classes are one of the most important elements for me in any game.  If I can’t find a class I really enjoy playing, my visit will be extremely short lived.  After all, that class represents my persona in the game and defines the role I’d be expected to play in a group.  My preference for the first character is going to be a magic caster of some sort.  Running around a fantasy setting capable of magic is why I come to the party.  I’ll branch out from there if I create secondary characters OR if I find the magic classes available aren’t to my liking or personal play-style.  But that’s only happened once.  There’s only one game where I didn’t find a magic casting class that I enjoyed enough to progress as my main, and that game was Age of Conan.

My Three Favorite Classes
Let’s get to it.  No further preamble required.

3. Asheron’s Call 2 Enchanter
My AC2 Enchanter will always be special to me.  It was the birth of my Saylah persona in MMOs.  Oddly enough, I began my AC2 journey as an Archer.  I specifically wanted a class that could progress to some degree, playing alone.  I was still green in the genre and what I’d witnessed before playing AC2, was a sometimes crippling dependency on other players.  If I couldn’t do what needed doing when others were around, then I was shit-out-of-luck.   I didn’t find that very appealing given my horrendous work schedule which often included weeks and weeks of business travel and strange hours.

The wonderful thing about AC2 was this didn’t mean that I had to leave magic behind. I could combine the Archer with a magic class (Enchanter) and become the solo friendly Archanter, I felt would better suit my needs.  However, as I learned more about the Enchanter, joined a wonderful guild, became part of a static trio, hit the levels where grouping was the rage and participated in my favorite instances, I changed to full-on Enchanter and never looked back.

WOW 5-Box Experiment: Ramparts Completed!

Level 55 AOE Style is too Squishy
I had a suspicion before entering Ramparts that my AOE Disc/Holy spec wasn’t going to work.  My adventures in Stratholm, where I’d gone to test out the 5-man configuration and bring the lowest two priests to level 55, highlighted the holes.  Chief among them is that the team I was trying to mimic hadn’t gone into Outland until they were level 60.  I had two level 70 characters in my group but the other three are only level 55.  AOE styling the Priests and Mage meant they had to be close to the mobs and would routinely pull aggro.  The damage output was acceptable but they folded too quickly when attacked.  At level 55, I was missing an important element to that style, damage mitigation using Pain Suppression.

Even though we made it through Stratholm, it was more painful than I expected.  Determined to get away from content and quests I’d done more times than I wanted, I went forward with my strategy to head into Hellfire Citadel anyway.  Realizing that the AOE wasn’t going to work, I switched the Priests back to Shadow again.

Going Shadow would provide passive tank healing.  More importantly, it would keep the casters further away from the fray.  I reconfigured the casters for ranged DPS.  The Priests were given self-healing macros, which also necessitate getting right back into Shadow.  And while I was at it, I decided to setup one Priest as the only one who’d drop form to heal the tank, while the others continue doing DPS.  Two play sessions later, we were ready to rumble.

Back in WOW: The Entrenched Gorilla

While it needles me to find myself back in WOW, that’s what I’m playing.  I enjoyed my stint in W101 and even spent some quality time doing the PVP Arena.  Balance + Death + trickles of Storm are a fun combination to play in a team.  My only suggestion for KI in regards to PVP is please set a timer for when the match should end as a draw.  I was in a 2 v 2, where the system had matched two Life players against two Balance players that went on for 2+ hours!  OMG that’s way too long for a match.  Everyone was complaining but didn’t want to be the team to throw the match.  We would have been more than happy with a draw after 60 minutes!!!!  Trying to avoid the long drawn-out matches I started doing 1 v 1 and those can easily reach 45 to 60 minutes too. Yikes.

This time last year, I was doing a tri-box experiment in WOW.  My objective was to 5-box TBC content that I hadn’t seen - almost all of the instances.  When multi-boxing, a good percentage of 5-box teams are all of the same class or at least 4 of the same class.  My plan was to have a Paladin tank and 4 shadow priests.  Not an obvious choice, I did some research that showed Shadow Priest were workable because of their mana and health regeneration talents.  Fights that required burst damage could however, prove tricky.  The only caster classes I was interesting in playing were Priests or Warlocks.  Although I have a Druid, Boomkin isn’t a spec that’s ever appealed to me.

Ultimately, I decided on priests to avoid soul shard and pet management times 4.  Mage was also an early consideration.  I put a Mage in my trio but I quickly learned that I can’t stand Mage play-style.  And I do mean, I HATED IT!!  You couldn’t pay me to play a Mage as a main, that’s how much I dislike the class.  The plan was to ditch her ass in Outland for the Warlock.  I kept the Mage in the trio even once I realized how much I disliked it, as an option for certain encounters.  That decision necessitated she be moved off being a main account, to being included as a bundle so she could be swapped out as necessary or shelved altogether.  I transferred her to the account with the 70 Druid and Warlock.  Those three on an account would give me nice flexibility in slot 5.