Archive
How long have I been playing MMO’s again?
I’ve been playing MMO’s for 12 years now. I guess that answered the question in the title. You can leave now. Or you can stay to see why I feel like a noob.
Pets in WoW don’t act like Companions in SWTOR do. They don’t just hitch for a second and then teleport to your side if you jump down a cliff. Pets in WoW take the scenic route, scouring what seems like the ENTIRE DUNGEON pulling every conceivable mob, running up to their oblivious master, and plopping them at your feet like a happy golden retriever puppy with a dead bird.
Proud.
Sad.
Because their master dies.
Since I’ve spent most of my time leveling up either in Battlegrounds or in dungeons, I learned this wonderful fact pretty early on. Ever since, I’ve been careful to not pull the dungeon when jumping off a cliff.
Except for the other day. The other day I failed.
I pugged into a Blackrock Caverns at level 81, which is fun for me, since I play Hearthstone, and any references that have been made have been lost on me this whole time. So I am enjoying the references in the reverse direction from anyone else.
Halfway through the dungeon is a a drop that didn’t look like a drop because the terrain made it look like a ramp. Before I could do anything, my pet had gone off in the other direction, pulling a group just as the tank pulled the next boss. It didn’t end well.
Then, not 10 minutes later, I swing a bit wide in the same stupid dungeon, just not paying attention, and I face-pull another group. I’m surprised I didn’t get kicked right then and there. Could have been my profuse apologies. Or my begging for forgiveness. Or maybe they could sense how embarrassed I was.
Oh yeah, and I move a lot even when I do dungeons, because it is a twitchy habit I learned from PvPing. This caused me to die to a debuff that did more damage the more I moved. Lovely.
Looking like a noob aside, I really don’t like dying. I had to be rezzed three times. That is almost more than I’ve been rezzed in the entire time I’ve done dungeons in WoW put together. I think the tally before then was five times total.
Did I mention I was embarrassed?
So yeah, even though I feel like a old, wizened pro at this point, sometimes you can still have bad days and off moments.
What about you? Have you had any facepalm moments that made you question your noobiness? Let me know on Twitter or in the comments below!
The Pros and Cons of Archeage: Crafting and Travel
In LOTRO, I got really into crafting. Like a lot. I had every craft maxed. Also in LOTRO, and especially in games after that, I got really into PvP. That basically became all I do.
So my mission in my MMO-life became finding a game that has both really deep, rich crafting, and awesome PvP.
Oh. Hello, Archeage.
Archeage is a newish MMO that launched in the US and EU in September 2014, but it had been running in South Korea since January 2013.
Some of the main features of Archeage that distinguish it somewhat from the competition are:
- Lots of crafting skills, including artistry, husbandry, machining, commerce, and other standards like alchemy, weaponry, etc.
- Open World PvP zones from level 30 (some limited OWPvP before as well)
- Crime and punishment, including trials where players serve as jurors
- Rift-style class building
- Naval combat
It is my goal to talk honestly about the game flaws and strengths, review it a bit, and talk about my experiences in it. Over the course of the next week or so, I plan to release 5 articles on Crafting and Travel (today’s), Housing and PvP, Leveling and Classes, The Endgame Gear Grind, and the Trial System and Game Infrastructure.
Note that everything I say is a matter of opinion. The solutions I offer are merely the perspectives of a gamer with a scientific background in programming, but by no means am I a developer who knows what it would take to implement any of it. I simply believe in presenting problems with solutions, rather than just focusing on the negative.
Today will be a bit shorter, due to the intro, but let’s head to the crafting discussion and the travel methods used in the game!
Come here, my pet!
I love pets. I really do. I enjoy skirmishes simply because, if nothing else, my non-pet-class characters can enjoy the benefits of leading a two man army (including themselves).
Pets are an integral part of the playstyle that comes with Lore-masters and Captains. Some people like this aspect of these classes, some people don’t. I know a lot of people play Captains without using a herald, opting instead to use a banner. I know Lore-masters that only have a raven out for the shadow mitigation, and they might keep it alive for flanks.
While these aren’t necessarily bad playstyles, I’m going to assume that the readers of this post aren’t like this. I’m going to assume that you want to learn how to use your pet effectively. I’m going to assume that you want to get the most out of this aspect of the class you have chosen to play, i.e. Lore-master or Captain. Read more…
The Fanatical Swordsman 