Monthly Archives: December 2014

Neverwinter: When Free is So Not Free

Neverwinter had a promotion where you could log in and for a short window get a free wolf mount.

I had not logged in a long while though I find the game very enjoyable.  It wasn’t clear how you would claim the pet. Usually you get a friendly pop up for log in rewards saying click here.  
No, you had to locate the Zen vendor npc and navigate through the “free” menu only to find that you needed to be level 20 and be able to use the mount in order to claim it.  
My character is level 18 so she couldn’t claim it.  They might think a player would just play for the time it took to get those two levels and voila.
Normally I would have done that.
There was the game update time.  
Trotting around the city and the winter holiday area trying to find where to claim: a half hour?
All my skills were reset.  Choose again and re-learn the character class? I think not.
Dear Neverwinter:  if it is free, just give it to me, thanks.

Five Alive in Draenor

I finally crawled my main character to 100.  I could have done it sooner but I had done it over and over for months and bleh just wanted to float.   

I’m so happy to have my level three garrison again and I smile to think this time it won’t be taken away.
Now to level the buildings, finish quest lines and dungeon dive.
Last night my Death Knight got to 90 and I took her to the Timeless Isle.  She only found a couple of armor pieces there.  I got twitchy to test her out in Draenor so off she went to talk to Khadgar.
I typically run a DK through the world as Blood and queue for dungeons as Frost. Somehow I’ve just been playing her as Frost and when I went to swap her to Blood for Draenor she felt weaker and as if she didn’t have as many moves.  Maybe I just need to tweak her rotation.
Now that Ms Big is at max, I can move my Warlock, Paladin and Frost Mage along.
Crafting in Draenor continues to be a slog.  100 Hexweave cloth or 100 Truesteel Ingots for a single piece of armor and the most limited list of recipes ever.  
Cooking is loaded with recipes which makes it far more fun.  Even my son is cooking with his character and fishing!  Unheard of for him.
An awful armory pic of my DK:

Tiny Screen Adventures: The Longest Journey

Save after every conversation is my new motto.   Many aren’t long, but our girl April is…the B Word.

You traditionally try to talk to everyone in this type of game to get information about the game and the world.  I take the most polite options offered but she still manages to blast everyone she meets with some rudeness.
We appear to be on a future earth but it isn’t a sleek future.  Everything seems grungy.

Except for this park, of course.  
I’m hoping our April snaps out of her eternal witchiness and becomes likeable soon or she’s sailing over the next cliff she comes to. 

Tiny Screen Adventures: Syberia

I hoped I would be spending a short time at the train station in Barrockstadt, but I’m still working to find a way to get the train moving again.

Because it has a clockwork mechanism, it needs to be wound up again before the journey can continue.  I found a winding tool of sorts.

In order to get my immobile train up there I need to:
Open some locks so a tugboat can pull the train forward.
Fix a mechanical bandstand for three University regents who must have graduated from Three Stooges University.
Recover a mammoth doll from a paleontologist who creates wine as a side hobby.
It may not sound like much to do but the path to accomplishing anything is very long.

A Few Moments of Relaxing Rift

Rift is my step out of every world into dreamy space place.  The music, the floaty movement of the npcs…so relaxing. 

I revisited my original characters and decided to back them up and skill up their crafts and achievements.

I had not found the Highest Point in Silverwood so I thought that was a short manageable thing to do.  I thought I could see the peak very easily from Sanctum.

Ha ha.  I scaled mountain after mountain it seemed and thought this must be it.  No.  Climb climb climb.  The next peak over always looked bigger.  And no achievement so I knew I hadn’t found it.

Finally (PLINK) I have it.  Even though the next peak over looked higher yet.

Next up, I missed exploring the depths of two particular caves.

Merry Christmas!

Bioshock: Looking For The Ladder

I’ve been fiendishly finding games for my iPod and could not resist old favorite Bioshock.  It isn’t compatible with the iPod but works fine on my phone.
It has been a long time since I played so I just started and I’m looking for a way up into the building so far without success. 
As you can see, the screen is dark and I am horribly distracted by the terrible glug glug drowning noises my guy keeps making.  Ack. 

Still, very cool to enter this world again from the comfort of my snugly couch.
Dragon Age Inquisition
For the first time in years I had a computer game to ask for for Christmas. I haven’t even installed it yet but every mention of it I’ve seen so far makes me expect a great adventure.
Happy Gaming!

Pause To Buy

I was just reading a game review which talked about the constant interruptions of gameplay caused by your need to buy something to continue.

The phrase Pause To Buy covers this, right?  You can’t advance successfully without constant reminders of the cash shop, and even if you can keep playing without paying, any immersion is gone.
This message brought to you before I hit the bottom of my first cup of coffee…zzzzz

Rejuvenation Potion…Rejuvenated

Ok the Rejuvenation Potion (That requires 500 Alchemy) I can make now no longer takes Crescent Oil and Crescent Fish Flesh, noooo it takes One Healing Tonic (a FIRST AID RECIPE) and One Draenic Mana Potion (Alchemy Recipe).

I currently have the skill and materials to make 2 Healing Tonics (10 Sea Scorpion Segments each).  I haven’t done much with my first aid skills as you can see.

 

I have the recipe for the Draenic Mana Potion, at least.

I’d best step up my Sea Scorpion Fishing.  At least I can let everyone know they can make some potions if they have first aid skills.

Heading in the right direction, perhaps.