Sinze I’m lazy (’s true) here is what I wrote on the blog:

Quilldragon is to be a fantasy blog that focus extensively on fantasy literature. By that we mean that Star Trek is not fantasy literature, and neither is World of Warcraft or Xena the Warrior Princess. Instead we will focus on our genre and deliver news of books, authors and happenings; reviews of old and new books; insightful and interesting articles about the genre; and everything else we can come up with.

If you love fantasy this is the place for you.

Enjoy.

I have been keeping an eye on the Land of the Dead content, and although it all sounds really neat I doubt it’s enough to bring me back. It wasn’t really lack of content that put me off before, but have say the game is definitely stepping in the right direction. An entire zone for PvP, a solid goal to fight for (access to a dungeon - a unique and entertaining dungeon on top of that) and changes to the armor set acquisition process. That is all jolly good, but I will continue to observe it from a distance to see what it actually turns out like. I notice an absence of solid changes to the actual campaign, still two missing cities, still a lack of GOA initiative, and I doubt horrible performance have been more than marginally improved.

Negative commentary aside. I continue to play EVE, and I have to say I enjoy it more now that I’m starting to get a grasp of things. The almost vertical learning curve is still above me, but at least I have climbed a good way. Once I reach the summit the climb will be worth it, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. The prospect of playing a game with the game world the size of a small universe is frightening. And exciting. Frighciting. For those who are unaware of all the possibilities in EVE there is a great article on Destructoid explaining it all in easy terms and serve as a beginner’s guide. I got more 21-day Extended Trials to give away if anyone wants to. All new EVE subscribers from W&W will receive 1.000.000 ISK for free, courtesy of yours truly. That’s right, Mythic, I’m stealing your subscribers! Recruit-a-friend this!

Ahem.

I was going to create a new blog where I could write about anything, but I haven’t got around to it yet since I’m in the middle of another project. It’s called Quilldragon and is to be the greatest (don’t laugh) fantasy literature blog. It will deal with news, reviews, articles and other stuff. We are 6 people so far (WAR blog readers will know several of them) and if you are interested about fantasy and want to write for the blog you are welcome to join. Just send me a mail.

I’m not actually sure what is keeping me from enjoying the game like I should, and it’s certainly different from person to person. In the latest patch my biggest feature was the keep upgrade and the real prospect of “owning” a keep.  It wasn’t the Land of the Dead, Quartermaster system or any other stuff that jumped out at me - it was the focus on keeps and RvR. I’m disappointed how RvR is separated in WAR - how it feels like something optional rather than mandatorily. Most of the zones consist of PvE quest areas, and then you have a zone in the middle where you can walk in and kill other players. I don’t want that. I want a full RvR game where all the land is subject to attack, where there are no borders that you can stay behind to safely go AFK. I want keeps to dominate the landscape and serve a defensive purpose, not being a loot piñata. The game is not like that, never has been like that, and probably never will be. Different people, different wants.

The keep upgrade system is a step in the right direction, but it came far too late for me - my mind was already set. Maybe if they progress on that line of thought I might come back in the future, but for now I’m not satisfied.

Meanwhile I have rebooted my old EVE Online subscription, and so far it’s pretty good. It was over a year I played that game (and it was only for a month), but now that I returned I just activated the account and downloaded the client. That was it. From the moment I decided to try EVE again to when I was in the game was about one hour. I got all eleven expansions (!), including the two new ones since I last played, for no extra charge. This is what I look forward to with WAR’s live expansions; if I want to start play WAR in one year I want to do the same. (If you want a 3 weeks trial key for EVE send me a mail. Recruit-a-friend, yet another thing EVE does better than WAR.)

What about the blog? I know I don’t want to stop blogging, because I love doing it. Either I carry on the proud name which promise (but never delivers) on hot barmaid action with bearded wizards, except with a much wider perspective, and probably not discussing WAR at all. Just like Syp I doubt I want to attach a blog to solely one game yet again. It’s nice to be recognized in a niche, but there is so much other stuff I want to write about, and talking about other games on a one-game-specific blog feels like walking into a Superman party dressed as Batman. The other way is to start a new blog, I can’t decide.

1st Place by Ardua with 31% of the votes

The Dark Elves soon regretted taking the Shaman up on Mushroom Curry

2nd Place by Wiqd with 23% of the votes

DoK: Wait wait … Don’t … move … a muscle. Aaaargh! How am I supposed to torture, maim, kill and destroy with only 1 contact?!

Sorc: Is this it?

DoK: *sigh* That’s a rock.

3rd Place even between Drak

Male DE: *laughing loudly* Some greenskin *laughing* asked you WHAT?? *laughing*

Female DE: He…he…*laughing and gasping* asked me if I’d go with him *gasping*
to the warboss’s barn dance! *breaks into hysterical laughter*

Greenskin: *seething*

And Sek, both with 10% of the votes

MALE: huff…huff…we…huff…made it…huff…

FEMALE: I…huff…told you…huff… dropping a pit of shades on two order warbands wasn’t a good practical joke…

And with this, the fifth installment of the hugely successful series that has broken all the boundaries of humor*, the Caption This is going on hiatus. More info in depressing post I will write tomorrow, when the brain cells are properly aligned with the matrix.

* user experience may vary

1. by Wiqd
2. by Bolt
3. by Drak
4. by Ardua
5. by Greg
6. by Engubica
7. by Stogie
8. by Sek

I really want one of those dogs. I have friends who recently quit WoW who I would love to bring over, but I’m not going to bother until I can get a dog at the same time.

That’s the point I wanted to make, and further writing of this post seems unnecessary. I don’t think I need to bring up past entries from the Book of Grudges to explain how disappointing this is.

1.  What is your current main character’s name (or names, if you play multiple games)?  Explain how you chose the name.

Facepalmer the Choppa. Why? I believe I even wrote a post about it, that’s how much I care about my name process.

2. What was the name of your very first character in an MMO?  Explain how you chose that name.

My first MMO experience was the open beta of WoW, and I had a Paladin named Keryn. I leveled him to 40 and got the mount and everything, but I still believed Retribution was viable back then. As to the name, it was a name I had been using for a while and it originates from a character in the really good The Winter of the World books by Michal Scott Rohan.

3.  Have you kept a specific name through various games, or do you tend to change your naming habits based on the individual game?

I tend to create new names from game to game, but I also bring names with me that I have used before. For example I still name characters Keryn or any of the other names I have used. However it’s not something I try to do, since old names carry with them a lot of personality and in role-playing games it can somewhat ruin the experience.

4.  Do you ever reserve names, planning to use them for characters that you might play later?  If so, what are they and why do you hold on to them?

The only times I tend to reserve names is when I know I will create a new main character (like for a new expansion), so I don’t need to waste precious leveling time picking names. Other than that I dislike the use of holding names, since you are keeping other people from using them just for the chance that you might use it someday.

5.  Of the three common archetypes in MMOs — tank, healer, DPS — which is your current main character?

Facepalmer is a DPS Dual-Choppa-Wielding Suicide Bomber.

6.  What archetype was your very first character in an MMO?  Why did you choose it?

Just like I said in the first question, my first character in an MMO was a Paladin in WoW. Picking the class was not something I did easily; because I spent countless hours reading the class descriptions on the site before the game was released. Warlock sounded nice with dark magic and stuff, while being able to transform into animals sounded wicked as a Druid. In the end I picked Paladin because I have always loved the class in Dungeons & Dragons, imaging the WoW edition to also be a holy warrior who kicked butt. 

7.  Are you usually attracted to one archetype over another, or do you play them equally?  Why?

I tend to stay away from pure DPS classes for some reason, usually sticking with healers and tanks. I guess it’s because I like feeling appreciated, really contributing to the bigger cause and taking responsibility. As a tank you keep the mobs focused on you so that the dumb DPS won’t get beaten into a bloody pulp, and as a healer I keep the DPS alive when they are dumb enough to manage that. However I like soloing and delivering damage as well so that’s where the indecision starts.

8.  What is your favorite feature from an MMO you no longer play?

The sandbox universe of EVE Online. Go wherever you want, do whatever you want. The freedom in that game is so big it’s almost frightening.

9.  Is there an MMO that you would play if it was free?  Which and why?

WoW probably, because I would love to log in on weekends and just chat with old guildies and maybe run a 5/10 man instance. As long as I stayed away from any kind of want for gear/mount/gold I would probably be ok.

10.  How do you measure the success of a character in an MMO (total kills, titles accumulated, wealth, rare items collected, level reached, etc.)?

The amount of friends I make and the amount of fun I have. It might sound silly but without any of those the amount of gear, wealth or status you have are worthless.

5 bloggers I also want to probe for answers:

• Greg at Tome of Knowledge
• Dont at Blame the Healer
• Ardua at Echoes of Nonsense
• Spinks at Welcome to Spinksville
• Rivs at Way of the Chosen

Let there be probing.

Edit: whops, forgot #5.

That’s right, it is time for another Caption This contest. The price is the usual Bucket filled with Glory, Renown and Respect.

Submit a caption to the above image in the comments below. As many submissions as you want but each can’t be longer than 200 characters. I will then pick out 8 finalists and you get to vote for a winner.

If you got a picture from WAR that could be used in the contest you can send it to me.