Tag: eq

Forever Wandering Through Games

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How long has it been since you stuck with a single MMO for at least a year? I remember when Tipa used to put out a challenge to people to stick with a single game for a year, and almost no one could accomplish it even when the choices were much more limited, let alone these days where there are games for every genre you could possibly think of. Sure, we may play one game at a time, or two games, or have some combination of F2P & subscription, but more and more I notice that we are ALL becoming nomadic gamers, bouncing between games when the mood strikes (or when that new shiny pops up on the table).

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just something I’ve noticed over the years. I would love to be one of those people who stick with a single game for any length of time but I simply don’t have that in me any more (for a few reasons). One reason would have to be the price point. Money fluctuates throughout the year and my game choices will change based on that. A good example is EQ2. My subscription expires the 2nd week of July, so I find very little motivation to log in and play right now as I know I won’t be re-subscribing (baby on the way, I simply have to re-allocate my funds for a bit). I’ve never really enjoyed playing games with a sub as a F2P player, not because I think F2P is “bad” but because I’d rather have access to the entire game. Speaking of – why doesn’t Trion offer some sort of bulk subscription plan that offers access to all of their games, much like station access? Rift and ArcheAge would certainly be two games I’d love to check out more of, but I’m not sure how I’d feel about the F2P options (especially in ArcheAge where owning land is tied to having a subscription). Offer a package deal and those subscriptions become a lot more favorable. I blame Belghast and Bhagpuss for my sudden interest in Trion games, both of them have been posting about Rift / ArcheAge on their blogs. I was interested enough that I updated glyph though I haven’t actually logged in (yet).

Speaking of EQ2, a new server opened up yesterday. It’s the Isle of Refuge, and it runs just as all the other servers in the EQ2 line up do, except the majority of items can be sold / traded and don’t have the heirloom tag. There’s a great write up about it over at EQ2wire, and the server reminds me a lot of Firiona Vie, the RP server over on EQ. There are a few other rules to the FV server besides that but it was one that stuck out to me. Why Daybreak has added such a server I have no idea (nor does anyone else it seems if you read through the comments on the article) but it’s nice to see things are not completely stagnant.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

June 29, 2016 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 3 Comments

That Summer Burnout

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It happens every year around this time. I can’t figure out what I want to play and so I spend the majority of my time bouncing in and out of various games, hoping one will catch my attention for longer than 20 minutes. Then I feel bad when it doesn’t. It could be the amazing weather, stresses from work, watching friends and family all do their thing while I’m across the country, or something else. I have no idea. I just know that normally when I have a bit of free time (and I’m at home) I think nothing of what game to play and I just do it. These days though I’ll log into 4-5 games only to wander around aimlessly and then decide they were not what I wanted to ‘do’ after all.

I managed to resist every sale on steam – even though there are quite a few DLC I’d love to own on my wishlist. I just didn’t think I was gaming enough to justify the cost at the moment. I’m tired of Early Access games. While I understand that crowdfunding and EA games are a fantastic way to get indie developers into game releases, I’ve just been burned and frustrated too many times. The latest is with Windborne, which sat on my wishlist for over a year before developers announced that they just don’t have the funds to continue.

I can understand that. I understand that we live in an age where there are lots of games out there, and to create something that’s going to be profitable is hard. It’s still frustrating as a player and as a potential investor in these games. I miss the day when I could purchase a completely finished game (or at least what I would consider ‘finished’). There are some great Early Access games out there, but the chances of me being interested in them when they finally release are pretty slim.

What have I been playing lately? Well. The list isn’t that long, but like I said I haven’t been doing a lot of gaming.

  • Wurm Online: In summer my Wurm interest flags a bit, but I’ve still got two active accounts and deeds, and I still check in daily to take care of crops and animals. I know my interest in this one will pick back up after summer, it always does.
  • FFXIV: I keep trying to be interested in this one, and it’s just not happening. I still have 44 days active on my account but something about the game is just not appealing to me lately.
  • WoW: I still have time left on my account, but honestly I just haven’t been playing. Garrison grind is a thing, and I just don’t like it. Not even pets are able to keep me entertained these days.
  • WildStar: I play daily, and I still enjoy it quite a bit but I limit my time so that I don’t get burned out. Since I work for NCSOFT on WildStar it’s also pretty much a given that I’m playing it daily.
  • EQ/EQ2: As much as I love the Ragefire server, it’s hard to get into if you’re not already in a community or with established friends. I was hoping it would be more like the communities of days gone by, but so far it hasn’t been and that bugs me to some degree. Instead I’ve been playing EQ2, my old haunting grounds. I’ve been clearing out older heritage quests and playing in my guild on my own, we’re level 78, and I’m having quite a bit of fun with that. My defiler is still only level 96, but I’m not really in a rush to reach level 100. I don’t even know what is available to do at level 100.
  • EVE Online: I don’t play nearly as much as I should / could / want to, but I do have an active subscription for a year, and in the meantime my skills are training up. I know this is a great game to pop into when I can here and there, so I haven’t been concerned about my lack of playtime.
  • GW2: Still working on my mesmer, on a new account. Right now she’s 49, which is great but I’d still ideally like to reach 80 before the expansion hits, and maybe get another character or two up there on the new account. We’ll see how that goes. It’s hard when I don’t really have any inclination to play.

Hopefully I climb out of this rut I’ve found myself in before too long. I imagine when fall rolls around I’ll be back to my ‘typical’ gaming self, whatever that is. In the meantime, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

June 20, 2015 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 1 Comment

Do you Play Multiple Accounts?

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When I posted yesterday I mentioned that I had started playing EverQuest 2 again – and of course it took a grand total of three days before I decided why not, and subscribed my 2nd account, too. I don’t box in every game that I play, but there are a handful that I do. I started in EverQuest, and now find it hard to even play that game without boxing. It’s mostly because of the large amount of downtime you experience as xyz class. Once I had gotten comfortable boxing in EverQuest, I started boxing in EverQuest 2. I’ve had my two accounts for a number of years now. Another game I tend to box in is EVE Online, though I haven’t subscribed for a while (don’t even tempt me). In EVE my reasons were simple, I wanted one account to haul ore, while the other one mined. This saved me a lot of time trying to load and pick up canisters of ore.

I have tried to box in WoW as well, but I have never been very good at it. I don’t know if it’s because I needed more practice or what, but I just never got the hang of it. I’ve also had two accounts in Wizard101, so that I could complete battles easier / faster when no one was around to group with. The older I get (har) the more difficult I find it is to find ‘like minded’ players to group with. Plus some times I’m just not feeling that social, but I don’t wan to be held back in content. I have a small exclusive group that I play with but our hours don’t always match up and we all have busy lives.

I think it would be nearly impossible for me to box in WildStar unless I grew another set of arms to be able to move my characters outside / into telegraphs and adjust. There’s just so much action and movement going on that I would probably find it stressful and annoying. That’s not a bad thing, some games are better experienced by not boxing. There are also times I just don’t want to box, and prefer to focus on one character at a time.

So, how about everyone else? Do you tend to box in your video games or do you focus on only one account at a time? Let me know in comments!

August 5, 2014 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 2 Comments

Memories

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I can’ t speak for everyone here, but I know that personally, my time is way too valuable to be playing a game I don’t enjoy. If it’s not fun and constantly makes me feel negative or paints things in a negative light, it’s time for me to move on. I understand us gamers can be a pretty passionate bunch and some times it is perceived as us feeling negative about a game when in actuality we’re just really really passionate, but I also think there’s a way to convey that passion without getting all up in arms. Unfortunately not everyone feels the same way.

I suppose I’m feeling a bit nostalgic these days. Blame it on age. I long for the days where we all had an MMO ‘home’ and didn’t jump around from game to game. I have recently started playing EverQuest 2 again – even though I had stopped playing for a few years. It’s a comforting game and a few of my friends still play even with the lure of other shinies in the distance. I envy them and their dedication.

I wonder some times what things would have been like had I just stuck to one game. What if I was still playing EverQuest as my only game of choice? What character would be my main, what would my gear and aa look like. I don’t regret the fact that I play so many games because I have met some lovely people, experienced many game components, and have had fun in each and every one of them, but still. There are those days where I can’t help but think back.

August 4, 2014 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 4 Comments

Keeping Up With The Gamers #MMORPG

If you’re one of those gamers who likes to taste a little bit of every game, this has probably been an expensive year for you. Whether you’re only interested in MMOs or if that extends to single player, it doesn’t much matter. There’s a lot of games out there and the costs can add up.

Right now I’m reading everyone’s excited squeals for Neverwinter, the ‘early’ release starts today – for people who decided to buy the $200 package. Needless to say, I simply can’t afford to spend that much on a game that I may or may not enjoy well into the future. At this moment I have been contemplating the $60 package, but I’m still not sure if it’s a game that I truly enjoy more than anything else I already have on my plate (that comes at a lower cost). So what is on my plate?

I did get my $60 out of Guild Wars 2, and even though I’m not actively playing that right this second I know it’s not going anywhere. I’ve dedicated more than $60 worth of hours to the game, and I’ve had a lot of fun. It will still be there when my interest leans that way again.

Wurm Online is $50 a year (until the price goes up in May). You rarely ever get MMOs for that price, and I’ve certainly got a lot of played time on my characters. I think my main is over 100 days played now. Plus you can play Wurm with in-game currency, which I do for my 2nd account. I just purchased a year of game time, wanting to get that settled before the price goes from $5 EU a month to $8 EU.

My EQ account is compensated, as are all of my SOE accounts. This makes them an easy go-to choice for many genres. I’m having a lot of fun in EQ, and I still dip into EQ2 and Vanguard. Me and SOE (the company, not the people) may have had some rocky times, but they’re a solid game choice for me and have been for many, many years.

Rift is active for 30 days. I haven’t poked in yet and I’m not really sure why. I just haven’t felt the urge, even after claiming the latest expansion and a handful of other goodies.

There are loads of other games on my desktop that I could technically pick up and play at any time, and haven’t felt an inkling to do so yet. There’s Wizard 101, Pirate 101, The Secret World, Star Trek Online (I have a life time subscription to that one), and of course EVE which I still have some unused PLEX for. These are just the MMO games. There’s a whole steam library of single player games that I haven’t beaten yet, and a few that have no ‘end’ like The Sims 3.

With such a selection it’s hard for me to justify spending even more money on a game that I know didn’t exactly call to me in the beta – but – so hard to resist because pretty much all of my friends are going to be playing it. I never want to be the one left out of all the fun. So for those who ARE going to be playing today – I look forward to living vicariously through your adventures!

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

April 25, 2013 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 4 Comments

The Month of Gaming Stuff #EQ2 #EQ #VGD #TS3 #Riftgame

Not only is NaNoWriMo going on this month (which I have been failing at, horribly), I’ve opened registration for this years Gamers Secret Santa, Rift released Storm Legion, Sims 3 released Seasons, EQ2 released Chains of Eternity, EQ1 is releasing Rain of Fear, Vanguard is releasing City of Brass, Planetside 2 is releasing, and that doesn’t even begin to touch on the other console games that came out this month like Halo 4.

What a month to be a gamer, hmm?

November 14, 2012 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In , 2 Comments

Important News re: ProSiebenSat.1 #EQ2 #EverQuest2

Taken from the official EQ2 forums

As many of you may have seen this morning on John Smedley’s Twitter, we have been working together with ProSiebenSat.1 Games to come up with solutions to some issues that have been brought up by our customers since the announcement of our publishing agreement with ProSiebenSat.1 Games in the EU Region. Together we have worked out a deal where existing customers will be able to choose whether they remain with Sony Online Entertainment or transfer to ProSiebenSat.1 Games.

Here are the tweets from Smed:

“I wanted to thank our players for continuing feedback. We’ve been listening along with our European partners at Prosieben. We’ve found a way to let existing players of our current games that are migrating over to Prosieben (EQ, EQ II, Planetside 2) keep their SOE accounts and stay with SOE. Down the road we may offer an option to move over to Prosieben. Just to be clear after these games launch on Prosieben’s service new accounts will be created on their sites. However all US and EU players can still play together no matter which service they are on.

I want to be clear that Prosieben will have better European CS and payment options IMO. That’s why we went with them in the first place. Also Prosieben has done a great job of listening and is working on changing some of their CS policies. More to come on that soon. Just going back and forth with our partners at Prosieben. I can confirm that we WILL offer the ability to migrate to Prosieben. No word on timeframe just yet, but shouldn’t take too long.”

Both SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 Games remain committed to making this transition as easy and beneficial as possible for players; more news will come in coming weeks, especially after we return from SOE Live.

Thank you for your patience.

October 16, 2012 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In No Comment

The Raider’s Companion – Thoughts

When Adam “Ferrel” Trzonkowski mentioned that he was writing a second book, this one about raiding, I was eager to read it and see what he had to share with everyone. He offered to send people a free copy with the understanding that we would write a review, whether it was good or bad. If you’ve never taken the time to sit down and actually think about raiding, or if you’re perhaps just getting started, then this book will have a lot of great information for you. If you have done any length of raiding in the past but want to brush up on some terminology then this book may also capture your fancy. While I didn’t personally learn anything new, I did appreciate having a different perspective about things. I spent most of the book realizing that guilds are incredibly different in the way that they handle raid situations, and Adam’s writing reflects this. I didn’t always see eye to eye on his discussions (especially Chapter 2.1 The Raid Leader) but I could appreciate where he was coming from. I do feel that the book is quite specific to the games that Adam has played and has experience with – for example only portions of this book would be useful if you were going to raid in EVE Online. A larger portion would be useful if you were raiding in EverQuest II, where the ‘trinity’ is used (tank, dps, healer). While it’s not exactly common to find games that swerve away from this method of game-play, it does happen some times. Raiding in Wurm is nothing like taking down an encounter in WoW, but in the end it’s all people coming together for a common goal, so there’s still information that pertains.

I appreciated the chapters dedicated to loot distribution, I think that raiders some time think their preferred way is the one right way, when in actuality there are many ways to handle this and they all have their up sides and down sides. It’s all unique to the sort of guild you’re in, too. Chapter 5 (The Tools of the Raider) was a fantastic overview that I wish every raider (old and new) would read. I think a lot can be learned from taking advantage of the items he lists – but again this is completely based on the idea that you want to “be the best raider you can be”. Raiding doesn’t have to be a second job, and if you’re not having fun then you may want to take another look at why you’re doing it (there’s a Chapter for that too).

Over all the book was easy to understand, and gave great insight to how a hardcore raider thinks which I think is much more valuable than the actual rules of raiding.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Amanda “HolyDust” Martin, and really adds a lot of character. You can find it in the amazon store as a kindle book if you’re interested in reading it yourself. Thank you Adam for giving me the opportunity to share your book with my readers, and I wish you all the best with its future!

February 8, 2012 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 1 Comment

What Are YOU Excited About? #EQ2 #WoW #Skyrim #SWTOR #MMORPG

It’s a pretty exciting time to be a gamer. There are a whole lot of games and expansions all releasing around the same time. I don’t keep as up to date as I should on the non-mmo gaming front, so my list is probably a bit more sparse then some others out there. What am I looking forward to? Well, there’s the EQ expansion, Veil of Alaris that releases in November. I’m really excited about this expansion, it’s just beautiful. EQ2 is also putting out their ‘expansion’ (I use the term loosely) Age of Discovery. I’m a lot less excited about this update then I am about the EQ expansion. There’s not a lot of actual content coming with it, although with mercenary and a new class I will say that casual players should be pretty happy. I’m holding off on any other comments until I can actually get my feet into it because until then it’s just speculation. I’d be much happier if this was coming as a free update rather then a paid expansion. World of Warcraft has their 4.3 patch coming out (supposedly) some time in November, which I am also pretty excited about. I’m looking forward to new dungeons, new gear sets, and I’m really looking forward to appearance gear for once. I’m even looking forward to the raid finder tool, which I think will be fantastic for casual players who don’t have the time to devote to finding a raid guild – or those of us who are in tiny little 3-people guilds who haven’t been able to raid yet.

I did decide to sign up for a year of WoW in order to get Diablo 3 for free, along with the mount that will be released in 4.3. The game has enough casual aspects to it that I find it quite relaxing along with my adventuring in EVE Online. SWTOR release date is just around the corner, but not being a fan of sci-fi I haven’t pr-ordered and I’m not really sure if I’ll play. I know my other half will be picking up the game and I’ll probably just live vicariously through him and his adventures. Until the peer pressure becomes too great, of course.

Skyrim is one of those non-mmo games that are certainly on my radar, and I do plan on picking up once it releases. The game just looks beautiful and it’s been a while since I’ve played a single player. I don’t really think the sims 3 counts. Speaking of, I’ve been having loads of fun with their latest ‘pets’ expansion that released this month. It’s a great game when I’m not in the mood for anything multi-player.

So what are you most excited about? Perhaps nothing coming out tickles your fancy at all? Let me know in comments below!

 

October 31, 2011 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 13 Comments

If I Only Had the Time.. #EQ2 #EQ #Rift #VGD

If only I had the time. That statement haunts me even to the moment that I’m typing it out. I think we live in a glorious age where there are just SO many incredible games to play – and I just don’t have enough time for them all. It’s impossible. What am I up to these days? Well.

EverQuest: My main game at this moment in time, and has been since the progression servers launched. I am no longer playing on a progression server but have returned to my home of Drinal. I have a 90 necromancer and an 89 soon-to-be 90 enchanter. My second account is active (for now) and I’ve been playing a bard who just reached level 80 yesterday. I’ve been exploring House of Thule in all its glory, and working on my 1.0-1.5-2.0 epics. I haven’t explored much of the previous expansion (Underfoot) yet but I’m looking forward to that. EverQuest just has SO much content for players (12 years will do that) and I’ve been having a wonderful time. I’ve been doing crafting as well, and have made a few friends. I’ve stayed in my casual guild so far, but that may change in the future. I’ve been doing anniversary events which are around (along with Fabled spawns) until April 26th. For those who say you can never go back – I say yes you can.

EverQuest II: I’ve done little to nothing since DoV released. I’ve obtained 1 flying mount and done a few public quests for gear on both the troubador and the warden. I did do the chrono portal quests that were released as a tribute to EQ1, but aside from that EQ2 has barely been on my radar. I keep wanting to go back but I can’t find (aside from housing and crafting) what it is I’m looking for when I play. For now I’m still drifting.

Rift: I’ve got a level 21 as my max level character at the moment, along with a handful of crafting alts. I haven’t really touched the game that much, I’m still in the starter area. I have decided to sign up for a 6 month subscription because I know I will be back when time allows and the $10/m deal was just too good to pass up. When I’ll actually have the time, I just don’t know.

Vanguard: Yes, still playing. These days I’m mostly doing diplomacy quests or crafting and not that much adventuring. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a time restraint thing. If I had more time I’d play more. This is still one of my all time favorite games.

The Sims Medieval: Love it. Need more time to play it. My kingdom is doing well. I have a tavern, a market, and I created some sort of spy outpost along with NPC to run them all. I haven’t played anyone but the monarch yet, but I’m excited about switching and seeing what other personalities I can uncover.

If I had the time I’d also be brushing up on the handful of games that I’ve got collecting dust. STO comes to mind, Wizard 101, Guild Wars, Dragon Age II (which I bought and haven’t even installed yet on my PC), Free Realms (both PS3 and PC versions), LotRO (which I have been neglecting badly), Magicka, Minecraft, and Recettear. How can we NOT be amazed by the fantastic games we’ve got available to us.

What is your game of choice at the moment? I expect my game-play to also decrease significantly over the next little while. My birthday is coming up, and with it a new Kindle (replacing my sony pocket e-reader) and a new Ipad 2.0 (replacing my ipod 1st gen), I also picked up a kinect, and have been having fun with their work out programs. PLUS spring has finally started, and I expect to be out and about with my camera and a good book – well, as soon as all this rain lets up of course.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

April 4, 2011 December 27, 2019 By stargrace In 2 Comments
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