The Game Cooler

2017-02-14T06:57:00.001-06:00

That time I reviewed For Honor: http://www.gamespace.com/for-honor/review/#.WKL4GEk5Y48.twitter

2017-02-13T13:24:00.004-06:00

Here is where I talk about my return to ESO: http://www.mmorpg.com/columns/elder-scrolls-online-little-house-on-the-ebony-flask-1000011538

2017-02-13T13:24:00.000-06:00

I'm going to start linking to all of my posts on MMORPG.com and GameSpace.com.

Here is where I talk about Fire Emblem Heroes: http://www.gamespace.com/fire-emblem-heroes/review/

2015-09-12T10:08:00.004-05:00

On the Table: Legacy’s Wake

REPOST From MMORPG.com

I have a new column I'm writing for MMORPG.com. It deals with Table Top games so I'm reposting it here. Hope you like it.

I left a big explanation on why we are doing this on MMORPG but won't reprint it here. It's unnecessary.

This week I interviewed Chris Patlovany of MithrilPunk Press. Chris along with artist Rachel Dorrett and designers Warren Hardell and Derek Harris are the creators of Legacy’s Wake. They launched a Kickstarter a few weeks ago for their new Adventure Path and are fully funded working on their stretch goals. At the time of the interview the project wasn’t funded yet so you’ll notice I asked about the possibility of stretch goals while they clearly are into them now. Read on for what Chris had to say about everything else.

Rob: Can you give us a quick intro to Legacy’s Wake?

Chris: First, I should say that we wanted this module to represent a unique region, but to keep that region defined well enough so that any GM could drop this module into their campaign. Starting with that, Legacy’s Wake takes place primarily in the city of Skyfall, a massive port built on the edge of the Besieged Cliffs in a land dominated by monstrous creatures and plagued by horrendously devastating armada storms. The surrounding area is so inhospitable that Skyfall is the safest place for many leagues to land a ship, or indeed, even to live.

Because of the dangers surrounding them, the citizens of Skyfall have put away normal racial hatreds and have learned to cooperate with one another in the name of profit and survival. Orcs, goblins and trolls can be found working alongside humans, dwarves and elves, if only because exile means being banished to a land filled with forty-foot tall insectoid monsters that could swallow you whole without breaking stride.

This setting owes a great debt to the Shadowrun series, one of our favorite table-top RPGs, which features a world where all races, from elves to trolls, coexist. The drama that unfolds between them becomes a sort of shorthand for racial tension in our own society. Another inspiration for this setting came in part during a 2nd edition D&D game that some of us played where the “heroes” were hired to eradicate an orc threat, but ended up “heroically” slaughtering a village of innocent orcs to collect their bounty. Morality should not simply be a question of alignment.

Rob: You refer to Legacy’s Wake as an adventure path. What exactly is an adventure path?

Chris: Most modules or adventures consist of a single plot arc, and cover anywhere from 1 to 4 levels. An adventure “path” is designed to take players through a much broader range of levels and will often include an overarching plot in addition to the subplots that guide each section of the adventure path. Our particular adventure path will take player characters through four plot arcs, all connected seamlessly by a single overarching plot, advancing them from first level to twentieth level. Essentially, it tells the story of four to six “nobodies” who become supremely important in the history of this great city.

Rob: The kickstarter campaign seems to focus a lot on Skyfall. What else is out there?

Chris: Again, we try to keep the setting localized to allow GMs to add our world into theirs. However, while Skyfall is the largest piece of civilization for leagues in any direction, there are other locales that play a part in the story, as well as a few place we hope to be able to include in later updates.

The plateau above the Besieged Cliffs is mostly filled with tropical rainforests that descend into boggy marshes; they are filled with ruins of cities both ancient and recent. The surrounding coast is dotted with small villages generally springing up around air or sea ports, most of them heavily protected by natural features or fortified structures. The few people that grow up outside of the protection of Skyfall’s walls are hardened survivalists, and rarely reach adulthood unscathed.

To the east of Skyfall are the Worldsplit Mountains, a range whose heights become lost in cloud. The lowest point known in this range is Velbore Pass, which was open for travel years ago but is now a fetid mire of magical energy too dangerous to traverse. In the course of the campaign, players will visit here and a few other spots on the mountain range.

A fair number of islands lie just off the coast within a day’s travel of Skyfall. Some of these are provisioning stations, others are pleasure isles or private fiefdoms, and a few holder darker secrets.

The cliffs around Skyfall are riddled with an extensive cave system and contain more than a few Dark Elf strongholds. They are only held back from Skyfall proper by the intervention of the Necromancer’s guild and their legion of undead.

Part of our design centers around scale and trying to keep players feeling as small as possible, especially in early levels. So, while we have ideas for other locations we are trying to keep the surrounding areas a bit shrouded.

Rob: How is this game innovative from other P&P offerings?

Chris: Our focus for this adventure path, in addition to telling a great story, was to inject unique storytelling elements and combat mechanics. For that reason, we think of our adventure path like a season of netflix-style television, using old cinematic tricks to ratchet up tension through cliffhangers, flashbacks, and other non-linear storytelling methods.

One of our core changes is the addition of cut scenes. Instead of delivering off-screen action and information in the form of box text or npc exposition (boring the players to tears) we have scenes between acts where players role-play as different characters while still having an effect on the story. So, instead of listening to your GM drone on about the devastating orc attack on the outlying province, your crew plays the role of the defenders of that province being slaughtered by orcs. Players have agency over a ton of choices that can dramatically alter the course of the campaign even though the events of the cut scene are somewhat fixed. On top of that, there is a cool opportunity for great emotional impact when a player character encounters the corpse of the "npc" they were inhabiting during the previous scene...

Rob: You mention on the site that you have chosen to focus on story and that in some systems monster feel like loot piñatas. Can you give an example of how Legacy’s Wake seeks to rectify this?

Chris: Primarily we try to avoid "space filler" encounters (like two kobolds, then four orcs, then six goblins in successive static rooms), to avoid overusing random encounters, and to take our cue from other media formats like MMORPGs (we promise this was one of our core tenets long before you asked this question!). The "solo monster” class from the previous edition was supposed to fill a role similar to a massive MMO raid boss, but a party facing an appropriately leveled solo monster faced a much easier fight than if the same challenge level were spread across a party of more minor creatures. It's an inevitable consequence of the action economy limits inherent in the system. But if you look to games like WoW or other MMORPGs, the epic boss battle is something they've made into an art form. By taking some of those concepts (like multiple phases, unique triggered events, and a huge focus on interaction with the environment) and applying them in a tabletop setting, you end up with epic, memorable "boss" battles and avoid having your BBEG just melt or get stunlocked by a strong party. That sort of anticlimactic combat is something we are striving to eliminate.

Another way we try to shake things up is by changing win conditions. Perhaps the party has to defend itself from an attack inside a burning building; if they defeat their enemies but don’t put out the fire, a local tavern and several shops burn down, denying them access to future goods and services and even making them unpopular with the locals.

Rob: Is Legacy’s Wake system agnostic? Does it depend on the OGL? If not is it self-contained? Would I need other products to play this?

Chris: We are publishing Legacy's Wake compatible under the 3rd-Edition era Open Game License. We can ensure that you have everything you need to play in the new edition while staying compatible with the OGL. That said, we feel confident that our backers, with a little work, can experience our story in whatever pen and paper system they prefer. If there is enough interest in it, we would definitely consider publishing the adventure path in other open license systems.

There you have it. Show the team at MithrilPunk Press some love and stop by their Kicksater campaign here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/352549847/legacys-wake-adventure-path-5th-edition?ref=nav_search

WizDice Review 100+ Bag

2015-02-22T16:25:00.000-06:00

Like a lot of you I'm of the belief that you can never have enough dice. I've been debating on whether or not to go with Chessex or Wiz Dice the last few weeks. I decided to go with Wiz Dice and I'm glad I did. Total I got 110 dice. 15 complete sets and 5 loose. This seems to be very similar to what most people have received from them lately. I checked the last few days reviews on Amazon before I ordered and most purchasers had said they were getting mostly full sets. Seems like this held true for me also. I picked these up on Amazon for $19.99. Seeing as if these were bought separately they would cost anywhere from $5 to $10 a set that is a pretty good deal.

15 complete sets. In a twist I got a duplicate full set of the Forbidden Treasure which was the set I also received in the small bag. I also got 1 partial set of clear yellow. 5 dice missing the 12 and 20. Total dice of 110. I'm noticing that this appears to be a trend. 15 sets with 5 partials for a total of 110 dice with most of the recent purchasers.

The Rout of Brughor Axe-Biter

2015-02-22T16:15:00.002-06:00

Today's adventure saw Samantha return to the action and take a starring role. Ranger Roy was still on hiatus chasing down Giant kin around the outskirts of Neverwinter.

Townmaster Harbin Wester asked Samantha, Z, and Eulogy to investigate an orc encampment that had settled approximately 40 miles north east of town at Wyvern Tor.

After two days of uneventful travel Samantha was able to scout ahead and find the orc encampment. The orcs had set up shop inside of a cave but had left only 1 guard. Z cast a spell of invisibility on himself and Samantha was able to sneak ahead and flank the lone orc guard while Eulogy remained behind undetected in reserve. Samantha made quick use of her short sword and critically struck the orc in his vitals and he was disposed of before he could alert the others in the cave. When the orc went down Eulogy moved up to the mouth of the cave with the rest of the group.

Inside the cave was the leader of the orcs Brughor Axe-Biter. He was with his personal guard of two other orcs and an ogre named Gog. Z was still invisible and walked into the cave and stuck at Brughor. Samantha and Eulogy were quick to support Z keeping the remaining orcs distracted. Z took light damage from Brughor but was able to dispatch him. Once the additional orcs saw their leader fall they quickly sounded a retreat. Gog would not be discouraged. Gog would fight on to his quick death at the hands of Samantha.

Our adventurers then returned to town to inform the townmaster that these orcs were an advanced scouting party from the Many-Arrows tribe but they had been routed and would no longer pose a threat to Phandalin.

Quick Update for 2/17

2015-02-17T20:43:00.001-06:00

Liam spent the evening last night working on a back story for a new character he created that we will end up using in the next campaign.

He also took the time to draw up pictures for each of our characters.

This is Ranger Roy (Steve) and Eulogy (Me)

Also this was my attempt at recreating the Redbrand hide out on a Chessex play mat.

Just a housekeeping note. All characters are currently at level 3 and I'm using the milestone rule. Each character will earn a level at the end of every major chapter in our current adventure. When it ends they should all be level 5. From there we will head into the Horde of the Dragon Queen.

Owlbears "They make them fierce but they don't make them smart."

2015-02-16T18:32:00.000-06:00

The new comer to the group, Ranger Roy, was called away on urgent business to deal with a Giant that was menacing a small village on the outskirts of Neverwinter. Eulogy and Z offered to join him but Roy insisted that it was something that he must, "do on his own."

Linene Greywind who runs caravans out of Phandalin commissioned our heroes to assist her with a little problem she was having. She had recently had a caravan robbed on the way from Leilon south of Phandalin on the High Road the main route that runs north and south along the Sword Coast.

Our heroes still eager to prove their mettle (to themselves) happily accepted the mission and set out to find the bandits.

Eulogy and Z took a team of oxen and a cart to retrieve the missing supplies. The first day passed uneventful. During the night the first watch passed silently but during Eulogy's turn at second watch a wandering Owl Bear discovered our heroes camp. Because Eulogy is adept at seeing in the dark due to his dwarven heritage he was not caught unawares. Eulogy woke Z and informed him that they could probably sneak away undetected. Z was having none of that and prompted Eulogy to rush headlong into battle. Fortunately they came upon the world clumsiest owlbear. The owlbear reared back to attack Eulogy and managed to stumble and Eulogy twisted and avoided the attack. Meanwhile Z cast a spell of invisibility upon himself and snuck behind the ongoing melee. As the owlbear attempted to recover Eulogy smashed it in the belly with his morning star and the owlbear howled in pain. Z took advantage of sneaking behind the owlbear and struck with Talon dealing a devastating wound. The owlbear rushed Eulogy and again was too slow. Eulogy side stepped and dealt a massive blow to the owlbear's spine and Z rushed in to finish the owlbear off. After our heroes gathered their breath Z said to Eulogy, "they make them fierce but they don't make them smart."

Once the heroes made it to Leilon they were able to gather intel from Sarah Greywind Linene's younger sister and trading partner. The bandits were spotted heading south towards the Mere of Dead Men. Later the next day Eulogy and Z tracked the bandits to a cave in the woods. Z again employed his stealth and spotted 3 red cloaked bandits in the cave. It turns out that when they cleared out the Redbrand hideout that the ruffians headed south to play their trade of theft and intimidation along the southern High Road. Z and Eulogy made quick work of the three bandits and recovered Linene's goods for her and had an uneventful trip back to Phandalin.

A most curious little Gnome

2015-02-15T16:48:00.001-06:00

A most curious little gnome joined our team of adventures on their journey through the Redbrand hideout. Samantha escorted the slaves that our heroes freed at the conclusion of last week out of the jails and back into town. On Samantha's way back she stopped in at the local watering hole and ran into Ranger Roy Rafferty (played by Steve). Roy was eager to put an end to the local pillaging of caravans and slave trade. Roy thought nothing of heading in the hideout on his own to meet up with Zactelious and Eulogy. Samantha rested in town due to her grievous wounds.

Once inside Roy quickly integrated himself into the team. His impact was immediately felt. Z and Eulogy attempted to force open a locked door while Roy looked on in not so quiet contemplation. Roy leaned on the wall opposite the hall that Z and Eulogy were attempting to force and unceremoniously found himself falling through a secret door into a storage room connected to a large cavern.

Once in the cavern our adventurers were mentally warned away by a nothic. The nothic's warning were not headed. Fierce combat ensued and Z took a lot of damage but was able to pull though due to some healing provided by Eulogy. The nothic seeing that his doom was evident pleaded with the adventurers to spare his life in exchange for information on the Redbrand's that had taken up residence in his home. The nothic also offered the group part of his treasure horde to provide him with food and to leave him in peace. The group agreed and Roy recognized that the sword the nothic had given to Z was Talon. A +1 long sword that previously belonged to Sir Aldith that had died fighting off orcs that lived in this region.

Nothic also provide the location of the Redbrand leader Glasstaff. While Z and Eulogy were busy fighting the nothic Roy discovered another hidden door while rummaging through barrels in the store room. This hidden door lead into Glasstaff's chambers.

Roy unsuccessfully attempted to sneak into Glasstaff's room unnoticed. Once inside Glasstaff greeted our adventures to delay them from engaging him. Z tried to pursuade Glasstaff to give him his staff but Glasstaff promised him even something more glorious if he waited for him to return from the adjoining room. Roy and Z set a trap for when Glasstaff was to return while Eulogy chuckled in the corner knowing full well that Glasstaff had fled.

Our adventurer's did find out that they are in fact the target of an agent known as the Spider. They returned back to Phandalin to rest up and plan their next move.

Where did the time go?

2015-02-11T22:30:00.002-06:00

Cheesey title is cheesey I know. Really it's been almost two years since I have posted. Like most of you a lot has happened in that time. I still write a lot. It is just posted over at MMORPG.com and I end up negletcting you dear sweet blog.

I have recently got into D&D 5e with my son Liam. I'm going to use this blog a lot to chronicle our adventures together.

Stand bye for hopefully something pretty cool!

He is really digging it and it makes me happy to see him get into something and using his imagination. He is an avid reader and loves video games but always steered clear of legos because he didn't like to have to think of things. Now all he talks about is how he can multi class his character and how he wants to roll a new character and what it's background should be and why if he is a Ranger with the beastmaster background he should have certain animal companions. It's awesome.

2013-03-26T20:22:00.003-05:00

Because we are all lazy, here are the Ark Hunter codes for Defiance.

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Tera to give players weapons skins as a thank you!

2012-05-01T06:52:00.003-05:00

While many players are new to TERA, some have been following the game for years. To celebrateTERA's strong community and North American launch, En Masse Entertainment would like to provide a launch gift to everyone who purchases the game and subscribes before May 31: a full set of Golden Dragon weapon skins, cosmetic items you can attach to any weapon type to change its appearance.

Already purchased your TERA subscription? Thank you! You will receive the Golden Dragon weapon skins when your initial 30 days of game time ends and your subscription billing begins. You'll find the full set waiting for you in the Item Claim pane in-game. These weapon skins are bound to your account, so you can claim them using any or all of your characters. They cannot be sold, traded, or stored in the bank.

REPOSTED FROM TERA FORUMS: http://tera.enmasse.com/news/posts/launch-gift-golden-dragon-weapon-skins?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tera_news+%28TERA%29

New DDO let's' play show. Dirty Deeds

2012-04-13T14:11:00.001-05:00

I am going to start a new show that is very community centered tomorrow night (4/14/2012). I guess technically it will be early Sunday morning, but regardless tomorrow at 23:59 CDT (00:59 Easter, 22:59 Mountain, 21:59 Pacific, and 04:59 GMT) please join me at mmorpg.com's live stream channel on twitch.

www.twitch.tv/mmorpgcom

I want this to feel like an old school pen and paper round table of D&D only with the game as our DM. I'm also looking for viewers to play in the group with me. If you are interested please e-mail me at grakulen@gmail.com, tweet me @grakulen or just leave a reply here. Or you can just show up and if I have the room you are welcome to come. Each episode will also be uploaded to youtube so if you miss a week you can catch up on the action and see what the group did.

Hope to see you there!

-Grak

Originally posted on the DDO forums.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?p=4406590#post4406590

DLC number 2 for Reckoning.

2012-04-06T07:02:00.005-05:00

Do you like KoA? Did you like Dead Kel? (I did other than the nasty bug at the end that made me redo the ENTIRE thing /sadface).

Well you are in luck. The second DLC for KoA:Reckoning is due out this month.

Say hello to.

For decades the Kollossae, a proud people of faith and large stature, have wandered the face of Amalur in pursuit of the destiny that is due to them, but all does not appear right. Upon your expedition to Teeth of Naros, Secandra and her band of Kollossae warriors require your help to solve the riddle of the Titans. A mysterious force beckons the Kollossae toward a destiny they may not entirely want nor are ready to embrace. Take on a crucible of faith filled with fantastic new enemies and determine if you are fated to be favored by the gods or forsaken by them. In an epic new journey filled with tons of side quests, adventure through a paradise seen by few, and for good reason. Ascend to the floating city above Teeth of Naros and get a glimpse into the future of Amalur.

Adsense

2012-04-05T20:49:00.002-05:00

So I'm unhappy, to say the least, with google. I might switch over to Wordpress and leave Blogspot (due to the google/blogspot relationship). Google sent me a nice e-mail to tell me they terminated my adsense account. I appealed and they told me, "oh well, you are done and we can't tell you why either." They snatched a small amount of money off of me, which other than in principle I'm really not concerned with, but I feel that I was in no way violating any of the terms of service and now I'm just stuck out in the cold.

Grumble Grumble.

Wayback Wednesday Ep 3. EQ and Thom Terrazas

2012-03-27T16:29:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone,

Tomorrow's episode of Wayback Wednesday will focus on Everquest and its impressive 13 year run. Recently it converted to F2P and this game is basically the Godfather of the modern MMO. Joining me will be Thom Terraza the producer for EQ.

http://www.twitch.tv/mmorpgcom

Hope to see you there!

-Grak

And here is the episode!

Wayback Wednesday Ep 2 VOD

2012-03-22T18:24:00.003-05:00

Here is a VOD of Wayback Wednesday Ep 2 that had special guest Craig Morrison of Funcom.

We talked about all things Age of Conan. Enjoy!

Tera CBT 4 Patch Notes

2012-03-21T18:14:00.002-05:00

A new Beta coming up and a new set of notes. I'm interested in the Treasure Trove events.

Cool New Stuff

In PvP situations, player level will be exposed when you target another player (just like monsters display their level). This should help those "fight or flight" decisions.
Doubled the maximum number of characters you can type into all chat channels. We promise it won't go all "Barrens chat" on you, though.
Increased difficulty from levels 1–15 on an experimental basis. Players will have around 30% less HP and return to baseline by level 20. That red bar at the top of your screen? Kinda important.
Terron Treasure Trove Event: Added surprise boxes around the world (except for Island of Dawn). We'd tell you more, but then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?

Bugs Squashed

Certain quest items were nonexistent due to continent restrictions, but now they're back. Quest gatherables and monsters will be back in Osgarath province for level 30–33 characters.

Tera CBT 3 Contest

2012-03-20T17:00:00.001-05:00

For the Be Creative section of Tera's CBT contest I created the following video. I hope you enjoy!

This is my guide to Lancer Game Play in Tera CBTs.

Wayback Wednesday Ep 2. Age of Conan Dev Interview

2012-03-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

On March 21st Wayback Wednesday is very pleased to announce we will have a very special guest on our show. Episode 2 will feature Craig Morrison of Funcom. Craig is currently the game director and producer for Age of Conan.

Wayback Wednesday Ep 1 EVE Online recap.

2012-03-18T18:56:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, Rob here to recap Wayback Weekend Episode 1 and our foray into the world of EVE online.

First, it is an injustice to eve to refer to it as just an MMORPG. It is that, but it is also so much more. It reminds me of a MMORTS where you have control of one unit. Your ship.

EVE is a very complex game with a lot of depth to it and while I did not get a chance to explore everything the game has to offer, or even 5%, I can tell you it is very meticulous and all about the details. If you are not a details person, EVE is not the game for you. If you like SIM CITY and digging deep into setting individual tax rates, and making sure every citizen was happy with you, and you like space exploration, you will feel right at home in EVE.

Briefly let's take a look at the character creation process.

We have four factions to choose from

The Gallenta Federation, The Amarr, The Minmatar, and the Caldari. Each has their own technologies that they specialize and are more proficient in. I created an Amarr on Wednesday so for this video let's create a Minmatar.

From there we pick our bloodline. I choose the guy with cornrows. There is also a number of sliders to specialize your appearance but I have never been one to mess with those so I just went with the presets. I then chose my ancestry and education. Presto bingo. I'm a ship captain.

We then start the very thorough and detailed tutorial. Let's walk through the first quest together.

First we find out that we are dead. I always love starting a new game only to discover that my real body has just been euthanized.

You will also be given a skill book at the beginning. Make sure you train this. EVE gives a whole new meaning to the daily quest. You have to train your skills in real time in order to improve them. You can also only schedule 24 hours worth of training at a time. Set an alarm clock. If you are a min/maxer you are going to need it.

Before we embark on our first mission I want to show you the inside of the space station. In addition to training skills in real time you apparently walking in real time as well. They evidently take no running in the halls very seriously.

Our first quest is going to familiarize us with the games UI and take us to find our first real ship instead of just flying around in our escape pod.

We talk to our virtual assistant and she provides us with a quest to get our first ship. When she offers you the quest make sure you accept the quest.

Once we are in space we will want to right click anywhere there is open space in the game and select to warp to our location. This is going to take us to a warp gate because our target area is outside the area we are currently located in. These are referred to as multi jump trips.

At the gate you will have to select it and activate it. This will jump you to the next area where you will collect your first ship.

Once you have your ship jump to the second mission location and collect the cargo.

You can see here that the warp jump effects are pretty spectacular and the graphics of EVE look like it could be actual pictures taken of space.

I want to show you two other mission types as well.

First there are combat missions. Combat is fun and meticulous.

Weapon type and position are very important. Different weapons have different optimal ranges and you have ti be within those ranges to destroy your enemy. In this mission I have been charged with destroying space pirates which I have located and in the process of closing in on. You can see his health gauge here. (Show gauge.) His second life bar is fluctuating because I am doing damage to him but not fast enough. He is repairing it as I do it. I realize I am too close to the target and back away. Once I back out to an optimal range he dies rather quickly. One of the other things you may have noticed I opened was a set of white rings. When you are engaged on multiple targets this can help you see where everyone is positioned and what their distances are from you.

In addition to space combat missions and collect and transport missions there are mining missions. The game is quick to tell you that mining is the backbone of EVE. Your first mission will provide you with a civilian mining apparatus to equip to your ship. You will then have to hunt down asteroids. The best way to find them is to use your UI in the top right and set up a filter to display asteroids. Different asteroids will contain different types of minerals. This a great way to play the game semi-afk if you have other things you need to do.

To sum it up EVE Online is a very unique game. I really enjoyed the time I spent with it but it is definetly not for everyone. But if you are looking for a space sim that has some nice eye candy EVE just might be in your wheel house. CCP is currently offering a 14 day free trial to check it out. While I was playing EVE had 43,427 accounts online and only 1400 of those were trial accounts. That's a pretty decent population. CCP also has three other promotions currently running. First they have a buddy program. This is like most games. Get a friend to sub, you get swag. Second is the power of two program. Current and former players can create a second account with 180 days of game time for 49.95 or 3 PLEX. The last promotion they have going on is if you order the eve fan fest in HD you get a exclusive in game ship for free.

I hope you find this video informative and entertaining. If you did I ask that you please subscribe to my channel or follow me on twitter @grakulen. As always, thank you for watching.

Copernicus, coming this year!

2012-03-17T19:12:00.001-05:00

Todd McFarlane on an interview with Up at Noon casually drops that Project Copernicus is supposed to drop this year.

Bring it!

Source interview.

He drops the news at around 11:50.

Tera: The Amaranthine Heart

2012-03-16T21:50:00.003-05:00

This week the first of three short stories set in Tera was released.

This is a very generic fantasy story that could have been set in any world. This story doesn't really do anything to add to the lore. While the author does attempt to identify every character as a specific class set in Tera this could have just as easily been set in The Forgotten Realms.

It isn't terribly written and only costs a dollar so if you are a fan of everything Tera you will want to get it. If you aren't then save your buck.

A Guide to Enchanting in Tera.

2012-03-15T16:45:00.000-05:00

One of the more interesting game systems in the upcoming MMO Tera is the enchanting system.

To most gamers that have played other Korean MMO's in the past Tera’s enchanting system might seem straight forward but to your typical western MMO player it can be more than a little complicated.

One of the first things you need to do before you attempt to enchant an item is to make sure you can even enchant that item. That that nice blue chest piece of awesomesness you are super excited about you just won in Bastion? Yeah... you can't enchant it. While some MMOs you can enchant any item you come across, the same cannot be said for Tera. You are not even guaranteed to be able to enchant all items that are uncommon (green) or rare (blue) quality items. Some greens items can be enchanted, some blue items can be enchanted. In the items description it will tell you if it is enchantable, extractable, and remodelable. It can be any combination of those 3 or none of them at all. This line will also list what tier the item belongs in.

After you have decided what item you would like to enchant and determined that you can in fact enchant it you will need to go to a vendor and buy Alkahest. Alkahest is the consumable used in the enchanting process. Alkahest is inexpensive and at higher levels appears to be just more of a nuisance than an actual functioning gating mechanic.

You do not have to travel to any special crafting area to enchant your item. All you will need is the Alkahest, the item to be enchanted and the item that you will destroy in the enchanting process. I prefer to do my enchanting in the field away from everyone. No one wants to see a grown Aman cry in case I fail.

After you have found your grassy knoll to craft on you can either open up the enchanting window through the systems navigation menu or you can open it up with the default hot key T… So press T to open up your enchanting window.

The enchanting window looks like a funky jukebox that has 3 boxes in it, an anvil, and two hammers. In the middle box will go the item you are enchanting. Flanked by the box on the right will go the Alkahest and on the left will go the item you are sacrificing to the +1 gods. After you have placed all the materials in their boxes you will have to click the confirmation window. At this point the two little hammers will beat the heck out of your items. When the hammers are done you will probably have a +1 item and congratulations are in order because you have also earned an achievement. You and Your Plus One.

At +1 this weapon gained 6 attack, and 13 extra damage. After we enchant this weapon a few more times at +3 it has gained19 attack, 41 Extra Damage and earned the first enchantment bonus. For this weapon it is 4.5% more damage when attacking small monsters. Also if this is the first time you have enchanted a weapon to +3 congratulations again. You just earned another achievement. On the Plus Side.

This next part is where enchanting can get even more confusing for gamers that have only played western MMOs. You can fail to enchant an item. When this happens your little guy will mope around and cry and kick at the ground. You will lose your Alkahest and the item you sacrificed but the item you attempted to enchant will be ok. You can also critically fail to enchant an item. When this happens you still lose the Alkahest and sacrificial item but you also end up losing an enchant level on the item you were attempting to enchant. These critical failures can cause you to fall below the +3, +6, and +9 threshold for your enchant bonuses, so if you fail to enchant from +3 to +4 or at +6 to +7 this is especially punishing because you lose your items, lose a +1, lose your enchant bonus, and result in more crying from your avatar.

The majority of the items you will want to enchant will have an enigma on them; because of this they are called Enigmatic Lance, Pants, Great Axe, etc. In order to remove these enigmas you will have to use an identification scroll that you can purchase from vendors. These identification scrolls can get to be very expensive. You will want to remove enigmas from enigmatic items because the enigma hides enchant bonuses that can only be activated once the enigma has been removed. These bonuses also vary depending on the item and you will not know what the bonuses are until you remove the enigma. For example one set of superior lancer boots have +1% to movement speed at +3 item enchantment, an additional +1% to movement speed at +6 item enchantment, and an additional +2% to movement speed at +9 item enchantment. The pictured example has at +3 4.5% more damage when you attack small monsters, +6 Do 3% more damage when you attack other players, and +9 has a 50% chance to regenerate MP when combat starts.

There are also some restrictions you need to know about the item to be sacrificed. First, you must use a weapon to enchant a weapon and a piece of armor to enchant armor. You can use an axe to enchant a sword or a sword to enchant a Staff but you cannot use boots to enchant an axe. Likewise you can use gloves to enchant boots and boots to enchant gloves but you cannot use a sword to enchant gloves. Also the items must be in the same tier. Tier 1 items are needed to enchant Tier 1 items and Tier 5 items are needed for Tier 5. You do not have to remove the enigma from an item in order to sacrifice it in an attempt to enchant another item. You can leave the enigma on and still be successful. You can use common items as the sacrificial item. At +1 to +3 you can use white, common quality, items in the enchanting process. Any higher than +3 and you will more than likely fail, or critically fail. The higher the level of enchant you are attempting the higher the quality level of the item you are sacrificing should be. This is where enchanting can start to get expensive and why Alkahest is an unnecessary gating mechanic. Also enchanting an item does not bind it to you. You can enchant items to +9 and place them on the Auction House.

I hope this helps answer some of the questions you may have had regarding enchanting. If not please leave questions or comments in the box below.

NOTE: After this was originally published there has been at least two other types of Alkahest added to the game that will help prevent you from failing to enchant and reducing your item level.

Rift Carnival of the Ascended

2012-03-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

I really liked Rift.

For whatever reasons I stopped playing it. The other night for my stream on MMORPG.com I decided to give Rift a run again to see what had been added and I can say with all confidence.... a lot.

Watch and find out.