Happy New Year from The Last Chapter!

World of Warcraft

After having so much fun working in Neverwinter, I had to break to do some of the Winter Veil activities.   Just as with the last couple of holidays in World of Warcraft, I approached the many requirements half heartedly.  There are too many activities for this busy time of the year, and having three PVP ones is a real pain.

So I did the gnome/battlefield one, entering the Isle of Conquest for the first time ever in a skimpy gnome Santa outfit.  Because I’d lose my gnome form if I shape shifted to my feral cat form or a bear or moonkin form for that matter, I had to go in as my Elf Self transformed.  I used my secondary talent set for which I have no talent never ever having used it…restoration.  I can confess here because I feel guilty that I was concentrating on my toolbars and skills and when I entered the battle ground I went in marked dps as always.  I suspect this saved my miserable gnome hide from instant death because I just looked like the only Santa gnome in the place, but not a falsely labeled one.  Shame, shame.

We tried some dungeons as a guild to get some of those achievements.  Only I and my husband and son and nephew dungeon dive, others don’t.  So we did a few, just us, to test things out, then got in the dungeon finder queue.  Unbelievably our first one had this Pin Brain From Mars who was critiquing everyone’s dps and skills and blah blah blah.   Obviously we were doing fine and didn’t need the Head of Bone and we should have drop kicked him sooner, but we waited till the end.  Luckily the next guy was just normal and we sailed along.  Not so confidence inspiring to those who we can’t talk into dungeons at all most days, and to me playing my dread rogue who I know is just awful, thanks for applying the brown sauce.

I’ve been running my shaman through some dungeons trying to level her up to use in the group instead of the rogue.  I’ve had trouble with her in the past which is why she is my lowest level class.  The dungeons in the 50 levels are just torture.  I am always so grateful to qualify for Hellfire Peninsula at 58.  I have been running into one after another of what I call “draggy tanks”.  They aggro one group of mobs then just chain drag them and everyone else through the whole place. Gack.  THEN there was the gnome who was playing his healer with his tank on follow or was it the other way around.  Nobody but me spoke up and said how bizarre that was, and when he died immediately because his following character got stuck on a wall, then everyone died…I got dungeon deserter for leaving that fun time behind.  How I love dungeons.

In an effort to have my spouse help me with a Winter Veil quest, I logged in his guy to just get him set up.  Lo and behold he has an in game email from the devs inviting him to try Raiding.  Hello?  He’s never going to try raiding.  Did any of my characters get it? NO.  Grrr.  Not that I’ve been raiding either but I do play.  

Rift

Aimlessly working on my Pyromancer in Rift.  Am at level 24.  I was trying to do every quest in Silverwood but I couldn’t stand being there forever so I made sure my gathering skills were to level, finished what I could and stepped over the border into Gloamwood.  It is all gloomy and spidery, not looking at all like Duskwood from Wow but having that ambience.  A nice change and I feel like I’m making some forward progress.

Dearth of Games for PC yet again

I was thinking this year how in years past there were always maybe five games out in the fall I wanted badly and I’d ask for them for Christmas.  I can’t even think of the last time I asked for a computer game.  It is not as if there are a bunch on another platform I’d be buying either if only I didn’t love my keyboard/mouse so much.  There is not much of interest released if Action/Adventure is your genre.   I do not count those stoopid find the hidden picture puzzle games as Adventure.

There are a few upcoming lists with some possibles, but not much.

Board Games

New additions this season are Forbidden Island and Carcassonne.  I and my team mates liked both and appreciated the cooperative nature of each.  We are going to see if we can’t re-institute our board game day here, maybe we can eventually lure in others on a regular basis.  Snacks and board games, hard to beat that for entertainment and relaxation.

Repopulation

They’ve got my attention with the new game trailer and Kickstarter for the Repopulation.  They are sidestepping what I thought was a hardcore pvp game and practically stepping out of the video saying if you loved Star Wars Galaxies pre-NGE you will love us play play play!   Am I someone who could resist that?   I’m supporting the Kickstarter and if they bring that puppy up I’m going in for a look.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/therepopulation/the-repopulation-a-sandbox-mmorpg

Happy gaming in 2014!   Atherne and the crew of the Last Chapter

Rift Silverwood

I moved on to Silverwood Forest.  This is the area where my former graphics card went kablooie for this game and everything was covered with green moss. So I consider myself caught up.  I can pick up a craft or two here but I’d rather know more about them so will have to do some research to see what I’d like.

Since it is free to play my bag slots are limited to three spots and the extra bags I got via questing are very small.  Four slots? Whoa.  Could be wrong on the count but noticeably little.

My first Public Quest was in Silvermoon.  I really like these and liked them in Warhammer.  Such a good idea to toss in a bunch of baddies and let everyone have at them.  I was thinking the Rifts are sort of like random open air dungeons that anyone can pop into.  No worries about needed class roles and queues, just whale on over there.

Character models:  My elf is cute but she absolutely lumbers stiff legged through the world.  So does everyone else.  Very much like the way WOW’s Undead walk with those jointed legs of theirs only it is EVERYONE.  They should fix that.

Horses.  There was a quest to go ride an NPC’s horse and perhaps there is an opportunity in that area to get your own but I didn’t see it.  The horses are HUGE.  Monsters.  I know there really are big horses in our world but yo.

 

 

I notice in chat there are all sorts of people asking how to do this and that, how to complete/find this quest whats the most uber this…very much like you get once you’ve gone from a closed beta to an open one and all the new folks want to know how to level from 1 to maximum the fastest way possible.   Which means that Rift is attracting a lot of new players, good for them.  The game is good so far, intriguing, a bit different and above the average play of many MMO’s.

 

There is a site called Rifthead  which will help explain the game and help you calculate your build and all that. By our old buddy Zam.   http://www.rifthead.com/

 

Back Into the Rift

I played Rift very briefly when it came out.  I think I didn’t get too far but had some real graphical problems with my old computer and it looked awful so I stopped playing.  After listening to (for the first time) the Too Long, Didn’t Listen Podcast   http://mmoreporter.com/2013/06/29/too-long-didnt-listen-episode-65/    wherein they talked about Rift’s re-emergence as a free to play game, I thought I’d tried it again.  (Plus my husband indicated I may have become a one trick pony only playing WOW, not his term).

I don’t understand the Souls thing at all. It seemed to be offering me in a tool tip to pick some Soul thing but then RED LETTERS appeared saying didn’t go with what I had already chosen.  Make up your minds beaners.

The setting is nice and not quite steam punkish, more Arkham Horror.  Lots of little plaques to read and books to collect.  My Pyromancer (I think) seemed to handle everything and her Rock Guy Elemental was most useful.

The general chat made Wow’s Moonguard jabberjaws look like babes in the woods.  Sheesh people.

I’ll see if I get farther along and we shall see.