Ald Shot First

Character Customization

2013-05-19T02:02:00.004-04:00

This is a hot topic, top level, DEFCON 1 issue for me when it comes to MMO's. The most recent FFXIV blog post got me thinking more into why character customization is usually so overlooked in the grand scheme of all that is MMO development. Is it a time and resource issue or do devs actually think it's not that important a feature to focus on? Well I'm here to tell you that it's

Rift Going Free to Play June 12th

2013-05-14T11:59:00.000-04:00

Source I can't say I'm surprised that it's happening but i am shocked it took this long. I was sure Rift would be heading down this path prior to GW2's launch, which never happened. This announcement strikes me as a bit odd at the timing though. Perhaps they've reached do or die status or perhaps it's just time. I am happy that Trion isn't gating any actual content

Up at Noon with Jeremy Gaffney

2013-05-14T10:58:00.000-04:00

Carbine Studio's executive producer sits down and discusses Wildstar and an upcoming stress test. Discussion begins at 5:35.

Housing

2013-05-13T08:22:00.001-04:00

It's no secret how much i absolutely love housing in my MMO's. It's a game feature that can not only add hours upon hours of replayability but can also drive an economy. This is one of the main features often overlooked or tossed aside as simply "fluff" in today's MMO's. This is a huge mistake and one i think game devs are starting to realize. Rift realized this and eventually

Solo Instances

2013-05-05T16:25:00.000-04:00

One of the aspects of Neverwinter that i surprisingly enjoy is the short solo instances. They're essentially all the same with a bunch of rooms with trash packs to defeat of your way to a story related boss. Despite that fact, i enjoy them a lot more than the normal run of the mill fetch quests. At some point i hope all MMO's get away from those blasted kill quests. At the same

Neverwinter Open Beta

2013-05-02T10:57:00.000-04:00

Open beta, which is essentially a soft launch of sorts, is upon us. While I'm still not sure i even enjoy the game, i thought I'd get a head start in leveling in hopes to avoid the crowd. Oh how i underestimated players willingness to jump all over anything new. After a 2 hour queue, which should have been expected honestly, i jumped in and got going. Simply by accident, i swear,

Super Adventure Box

2013-04-19T10:30:00.000-04:00

Well done Anet, well done. You've managed to successfully take me back to the laste 80's and my childhood Nintendo days. This new mini dungeon is amazing and put a huge smile on my face the moment i zoned into it. Almost made me bust out my old Nintendo Power magazine for cheat codes and secret content walk-through.

EQ2 Mount Check

2013-04-03T09:24:00.000-04:00

I was lucky enough to have created my account long enough ago to qualify for the free prowler mount given to everyone last year. The rest of my mounts are all rewards from quests in certain zones. There's a rather large variety but I'm trying to stay away from any mounts available via the cash shop. I also find it interesting that some mounts are basic, some leapers, some gliders, and of

Shadowknight Sexiness

2013-03-27T09:06:00.000-04:00

I'm really digging the armor selection so far on my SK. Granted, they do a really good job at hiding just how ugly the character models are, but i still like it. Hurray for appearance slots and capes as well. Yet more options that seem to be overlooked in newer MMO's. Being a huge fashion diva in my MMO's always gives me more to not only do while in game but more to strive for. I'll

Better Late Than Never

2013-03-18T08:24:00.000-04:00

It's 8.5 years later and I'm playing EQ2 for the first time. I've had this game installed for almost 3 years and never got around to actually giving it a shot. It's a shame really because the game is surprisingly solid and quite fun. Albeit it's slow and clunky at times but it's almost 9 years old so it's expected. I'll be honest, it's completely overwhelming how much content and

Neverwinter Beta

2013-03-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

I had very little expectations going into this game. After all, Cryptic is synonymous with cheap and over-instanced MMO's. I got the same exact vibe as CO and STO when i logged in. The game actually looks pretty good on max setting but again, it feels very claustrophobic. It's difficult to explain but it's very similar to how The Old Republic felt to me. Huge walls that surround you

Legendary Reroll

2013-01-30T01:16:00.000-05:00

What does one do after acquiring a legendary weapon on his thief? One rerolls to a far superior class of course! Don't get me wrong, i absolutely love thief to death, but better is better. I hadn't noticed how lacking in group dynamics thief really was until i made it to higher level fractals. The difference is night and day in survivability, group composition, and overall synergy.

Flipper Fractal

2012-12-10T01:48:00.000-05:00

It never dawned on me to open up the character sheet while doing the underwater dolphin path fractal. So in the middle of our path, Pims says to us "hey guys check out your model". It was instant hilariousness and not only because of the picture. We spent the next 5 minutes dying over and over due to laughter. Kudos Anet for this one.

The Dreamer

2012-12-06T08:16:00.000-05:00

After 6 months and a lot of work, it's mission accomplished. I haven't grinded by butt off for something in a game for a long time, going back to FFXI. I told myself i wouldn't grind for anything again, but it's a freaking bow that shoots unicorns for fucks sake! How could i not go for it? What makes me even for ecstatic is that i completed the entire process legit without resorting

Lost Shores

2012-11-18T07:39:00.000-05:00

The Lost Shores event, or what we called "The Lagfest for Precursors". Once we learned that those were possible rewards for completing this event, the alts and second accounts were broken out. Unfortunate for me that i had neither! Our guild was able to acquire 6 total precursors, of which none were mine. Still happy to see some new weapons in the near future though.

Fractals of the Mist

2012-11-16T07:34:00.000-05:00

New content is always good, but a new climbing dungeon with many levels of increased difficulty is even better. I'm having flashbacks of Nyzul Isle from FFXI here. My initial enjoyment of this new dungeon escalated once we got to the Snowblind Fractal and the forest we were running through turned almost completely dark and eerie.

Candy Corn Powa

2012-10-23T07:07:00.000-04:00

What's better than candy corn you might ask? Well, beating people up while dressed as candy corn of course! I kicked off the Halloween event in style and enjoyed some pew pew. I had to let off some steam after attempting the Mad King jumping puzzle a few times. Oh do i hate timed platforming.

Mission Failure

2012-09-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

I recall, as if it were yesterday, telling myself that i would slow down and take my time leveling. Mission not accomplished!

The Shatterer

2012-08-31T20:49:00.000-04:00

Level 50 was our first foray into the dragons of GW2. Tucked away at the north end of Blazeridge Steppes is The Shatterer.

Arrr Matey!

2012-08-30T07:05:00.000-04:00

GW2 in full swing and of course i have to indulge in a little piracy, so to speak! I think I'm obsessed with this and may have a problem. What's better than a cotton candy pirate i ask you?

Return to Telara

2012-07-26T03:50:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd take advantage of 5 free days and return to Rift to see what the game actually looks like on a good PC. At the time i actually played and raided pretty hardcore, i was on a system that maxed out at 20fps if i was completely alone in some corner of the world, and under 10fps in raids and rifts. I have to say, it's a completely different game aesthetically and gameplay wise.

BWE #3 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Waited in Queue

2012-07-20T17:42:00.000-04:00

It was to be expected i suppose, being beta and all. With the server caps raised and fewer server overall, the beginner zones were completely packed. We really didn't get a chance to do any WvW either due to some bug on Anet's side that cut the population caps in half. That's what beta's are for i suppose and really i hadn't planned on playing much anyways since I'd like the game to

Vana'diel invades Tyria

2012-07-11T02:21:00.000-04:00

What does one do when he's bored and waiting on GW2? He combines the old with the new of course! This really does look weird but i managed to cram all 20 classes in there. I figured i better keep them all in AF armor, otherwise it'd look like a mess with XI's mix and match gear system. Is that a Dragoon in my GW2?

Blazing Lazers Soundtrack

2012-07-09T17:02:00.000-04:00

When i think of 1989, 3 things come to mind. The first is the fall of the Berlin Wall, the second is the earthquake in the world series, and third is my Turbo Grafx 16 system. Crazy right? I was the only person that i knew with a TG-16, and for good reason. The game selection, how shall i put this, was much to be desired. That fact still didn't stop me from absolutely loving the system

How to succeed in WvWvW

2012-07-02T20:05:00.002-04:00

Thought I'd toss up a really nice writeup our guildie Maylei made on how to be successful in World vs. World with a smaller guild or a low population server: I wanted to make a quick guide on how you can really make a difference in WvWvW with various sized groups, what you should be targetting, and how you go about it. I'm going to break this up into various group sizes and explain