MMORPGenius

Ding

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:57:00 +0000

My first character, in the wonderful World of Warcraft, has hit level 80. I tried to prolong hitting 80 with a friend I met along my journey so we could hit the battlegrounds together and earn honor points for our gear. As it turns out, it puts you in a special twink group if you try to turn off your experience. It wouldn't let us in the same battleground when just one of us was still gaining experience.

My main goal is to get in the Arena and start competing. In order to do so I need to get closer to a level playing field with other level 80's gear. I'm starting to look closer at the mechanics and specs I can get into. I'm thinking of specializing in poisons and envenom as a sub-spec of assassination. Envenom might be better for PvP since it ignores armor one of the biggest problems I have in PvP as a rogue is high armored targets.

I finally got my dual spec and have been trying out my new combat spec for PvE. It's a little odd since I'm not used to it but soon I'll be pulling some nice DPS.

Rogue Changes in Cataclysm

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:23:00 +0000

YES YES YES! I've been loving my rogue, now up to level 76 he makes his final climb to 80. Now Blizzard announces their changes to the rogue class in the upcoming expansion. Adding new elements of combat making rogues even more versatile. Is that even possible?

Redirect (Level 81): Finally those pesky lost combo points can be transferred to a new target. Any rogue knows it's a pain in the butt when you are in fast paced battle grounds. You are often changing targets and the much needed combo points for finishing moves as it stands are lost in the shuffle if you don't keep with the same target.

Combat Readiness (Level 83): A little defensive move rogues will get. When activated, if they are struck by melee or ranged attacks, the rogue will receive a stacking 10% reduction in damage buff.

Smoke Bomb (Level 85): Last but not least, if rogues weren't hard enough to hit, the smoke bomb. This makes single-target attacks impossible if you are outside of the smoke. You can AoE the smoke cloud or go inside the cloud to attack the rogue. Great addition of strategy into this class.

I'm almost disappointed they announced the changes so early. It's still so far until the release date of Cataclysm.

Add-on Overload

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:15:00 +0000

I’ve recently dabbled into and discovered what add-ons are in World of Warcraft. An add-on can be anything from a tool that records the damage each person in your group does to tracking enemy targets. They are mini-software packages that enhance/alter your game’s interface. Some of them are considered cheating but in the eyes of the rules, they are permitted.

Most MMOs that I have played are against cheating, macros, and any software that increases a players’ advantage. Blizzard on the other hand, allows this and it can make a nice customizable experience for players. Some gamers I’ve talked to say they would quit a game without a user interface (UI) they liked. This gives them just that opportunity.

Good Scenario: Some of my talent points are in “Dirty Deeds”, which increases my talents damage done by a significant percentage when a target is below 35% health. There is no health percentage meter on the normal WoW interface in order for me to decide when is the green bar is at about 35% full. With a simple add-on, I changed that.

Bad Scenario: A guild mate discovered a player tracker recently. You have a little window that makes a sound when an enemy player is nearby. Even gives you his level and class based on any spells he used. It can be tricked if lower level spells were used but the chances are low. Doesn’t this level of add-on and information just give every class the Druid/Hunter’s crucial track humanoid spell?

Those are my examples of good and bad add-ons. Note: many players have different views and this is a highly controversial topic once you start deciding where to draw the line. Do we lose an edge if we don’t have the right add-ons these days? Where is the line drawn?

World of Soundcraft

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:20:00 +0000

I’ve stated before how much I adore sounds of games and the immersion it brings. Just this week I bought a new pair of Plantronics wireless headphones. Now available from Blizzard are World of Warcraft headphones, the same week I bought mine. The WoW headset looks decent but I can’t really count on the quality of it. I’d much rather go with the well known brand of Plantronics.

The main reason for my upgrade in a headset was the lack of mobility in my old one, it was a wired version. With the amount of time I play, I need the comfort and ability to move around if I need to. It was just too restricting before, well worth it for that fact alone.

I'm not at all impressed with World of Warcraft's sounds but after playing LOTRO don't know if much will impress me in the sound category. I've been using Ventrilo quite a bit with my guild and getting acquainted with everyone, we shut down open invitations and now require people to signup on our website.

My World of Warcraft Update

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:26:00 +0000

It's been about 2 months since I've started playing WoW. I started out with a Night Elf Rogue which made it to level 47 before I started a Dwarf Hunter. When my Hunter hit 47, I ironically fell back in love with my Rogue. I see he has a future in groups when he gets Fan of Knives skill at level 80 which is a nice AoE attack.

I'm getting more acquainted with my new guild mates and we have a Ventrilo server setup. I've already met a bunch of regulars and cool guys to jump in dungeons with, very fun. I hope I can get some prospective partners for the arena in the future.

I respeced my talent points to remove some things that won't be used in the higher levels. For example, I took 3 talent points out of improved eviscerate and I'm not putting any points into dual wield specialization (another entire explanation in itself). Here is the rogue build I have right now. Now I have mutilate a few levels earlier and I'm in love with it. Instead of spamming Sinister Strike which adds 1 combo point, I now hit mutilate that adds a minimum of 2 combo points and often a 3rd due to the high critical chance of mutilate.

Overall I'm impressed with World of Warcraft, obviously since I've been playing it at addictive levels. My rogue has a bright future and my hunter is on the shelf for now.

How Young is Too Young?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:18:00 +0000

Are MMO’s really for kids? The common conception from an outside view is that online games are suitable as entertainment for children. Would you keep an eye on your kids if they were in a chat room with a bunch of adults? Your view might be a little different from the first question now. That is essentially what it is.

What brought me to this topic is a guild I was finally able to manage to find. It has a lot of new people and was just opened up recently for new member recruitment. One of the members of our guild is an eleven year-old kid. I don’t know how the conversation started, probably when they found out he was eleven, guild chat was talking about virgins. When this young guild mate of ours defined a virgin as a “single lady person”, I just put my hand on my face in one swift motion.

We shouldn’t be letting a MMO take away the youths innocence, isn’t that what school is for? Let’s face it, this kid might be on the sheltered side but his parents are a little naïve to let their son play World of Warcraft unmonitored. You can tell his definition of a virgin was straight from his mother’s mouth. Like I said, in my opinion school is the best way for your kids to find out the finer, nastier, and real things about life not an MMO. Only after they have grown up a little bit should they be thrown into a game with a lot of socialization with adults.

Did the Internet Kill Real Quests?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:52:00 +0000

My navigation skills are flawless in games these days. It's not my superb sense or direction, but rather the map system every game seems to come with. If only in real life I could push my internal M key and see the map of my surrounding areas.

Back to my original post title, does the ability to find a quick solution to an answer completely kill what quests used to be? I'd like to see more wandering NPC's, real searching, and the OPTION to have some roleplaying in my RPG. As my brother and I were talking earlier, we both agreed that before the internet, quests were harder. You actually had a riddle to solve or a puzzle to crack.

My brother played a game that was before my time, Arena. This game was notorious for tough riddles and actually had an automated support line that charged for riddle answers. We both played the sequel, Daggerfall, in the mid 90's but my memories are vague on that. Many of you actually know this series of games by Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls. The 2 that hit the market recently were Morrowind which might have only been on PC and Oblivion that hit the console market and made a big name for Bethesda. I think they need to step up into the MMO market, they don't have any IP rights to worry about.

Trip to Best Buy - My Disney Land

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:29:00 +0000

Well my trip to return Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 failed. I think we might have a plan though. They won't let me return an opened copy but they will exchange it for the same thing...which happens to be unopened. Then we can return it, receipt or not it still has the price sticker on it.

I drove all this way so I ended up making the inevitable purchase of the Burning Crusade expansion pack and 60 more days of game play.

Bringing the Old School Back - Sega Genesis

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:38:00 +0000

I broke the World of Warcraft monotony with a little Sega Genesis. Nothing planned but I jumped on the chance and was thrilled when I came home today to see my roommate had setup the old Sega.

Does button smashing fun ever get old? For me it loses its flavor real quickly but so worth bringing classics back.

WoW Bad for Bloggers

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:38:00 +0000

It's been 8 days since I last posted on my blog, the longest span in the short couple months this blog has been running. Might I add that I just started World of Warcraft about a month ago? I'm not sure if I'm allowed to blame the game ignoring the fact that it's probably just my addictive gaming personality.

When you keep bargaining with your own mind, the hours of sleep sacraficed versus the hours of playtime left late at night maybe it's time to browse other game. I'm not alone out there, I know you people have your staple game you could play into the wee hours of the morning; World of Warcraft just happens to be mine.

I'm about a month deep into WoW with a newly started level 10 hunter and of course my little shanking buddy rogue level 44. I got a lot done during the week and feel I deserve a lot of hours in WoW but there I go convincing myself again. Getting ready for this level 40's PvP battleground tier. There is something about killing real people that I enjoy dearly, boy that sounds bad.

3D Gaming Coming Soon?

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:01:00 +0000

Is it already here? In my email today Alienware in their newsletter catches my eye with the word "3D". The Alienware brand is owned by Dell, they are offering a 23-inch monitor with some sort of Alienware OptX technology and a Geforce 3D Vision Kit for a whopping 700 bucks.

Gaming is really all about immersion and I think they are heading in the right direction. I don't think it will be many years until MMO's are developed completely with the 3D aspect in mind.
The 3D set might be a little premature in the market but I would love to hear from somebody that has tried it.

The Future of Online Gaming

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:24:00 +0000

The Boss Goes Down

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:32:00 +0000

For the 2nd time ever on the Tibia server of Keltera, Chizzoron the Distorted and Zulazza the Corruptor, the drakken bosses were slain. These "raids" in Tibia are unlike other games where you gather your troops and enter an instance. It's random, very very rare, and you better hope there are a lot of people online.

Main blocker: Tarlo Darkhalf (lvl 248)

The Team: Dem'rel (lvl 167), Sloiq (lvl 116), Soldre uf Forchun (lvl 117), Mindless'soul (lvl 100), and Nigha Aigon (lvl 73)

This is already an amazing feat, but the small size of the team is even more impressive. These bosses can kill the blocker in 2 hits, the whole team is wiped if he dies. Congratulations to my great friend Tarlo and the others that contributed to Tibian history.

My First Mount in WoW

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:58:00 +0000

I found out I could have a mount when I went to my first battleground (PvP) and everyone but me pulled out a tiger to ride on. I stumbled upon a mount trainer the very next day an bought the starter tiger that has a required level of 20.

Also got into a guild with about 80 people in it, 1 beginner I met in the guild is just as addicted as I am.

The combat system and skill tree is set up interestingly. For my rogue class, for example, there are 3 main areas of expertise; subtlety, combat, and assassination. Here is an example link of what my level 80 end game skills look like. This is a PvP example setup I nabbed from just any ol' google search.

Random dungeons using the dungeon finder tool has proven to be a good social tool. I thought it was taking socialization out of MMO's at first, making half of the questing instanced. Quite the opposite, you get into groups with people more often than you would. Forced cooperation can be a good thing, it will definitely help you get experience as a noob.

Hanging With The Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:23:00 +0000

A trip out to our local bar proves you can have fun with games just about anywhere. We played a game of Golden Tee, me and 2 other people. Immediately knocking some close shots to the pin in the beginning holes, I was feeling it. On hole 10, I was lined up quite nicely for my 2nd shot as you can see in the video below (Youtube videos are automatically produced on great shots and hole-in-one's).

Today is also the big game. Get out there, have some good food, and get home in one piece.

Record Feature With Xfire

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:46:00 +0000

My new favorite tool Xfire has an awesome record feature that I've been testing out the last few days. Now I know from my last 2 videos that I recorded this morning, it will keep what I hear in other applications, integrated into the video. Impeccable timing on this video and the song coinciding with it.

Unfortunately, the size of the videos per second is enormous. Maybe I should need an Xfire expert to help me get the most performance out of my videos. I don't know if I can record in anything other than .avi. Falling in love with Xfire, not to sound like a commercial but its the best social tool for gamers out there.

WoW Finally Starts

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:58:00 +0000

I get myself to level 10 and there are finally some decent things to keep me entertained. The second tier of my Rogue skills were available to me for a few silvers. Wielded with daggers I trot around the lands looking for quests to earn some quick exp while slaying random creatures.

There was about 2 levels before I stumbled upon a first-aid trainer that I was a little bored. They could do better in World of Warcraft in the beginning. To me, Lord of the Rings Online was more immersive and started out much better than WoW did. Also the graphics seem a little cartoonish to me and took getting used to. I was able to create some bandages from my first-aid skill with materials that I already had from killing creatures. To my disappointment, the bandages healing didn't work in combat.

We'll see if this game can hold my attention for more than a month. Guild Wars is getting a little monotonous and is losing its appeal. I'm certainly glad there are no monthly fees because I don't think they would make the subscription cut if I had to choose.

Looking at WoW and AoC Trials

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:35:00 +0000

After giving both World of Warcraft and Age of Conan about 7 levels each of my time; I haven't been particularly excited about either of them. Age of Conan does take a step into the MMORPG evolution and introduces a hack-n-slash style combat system. It takes you out of the normal select, auto attack, and press skill buttons between your automatic attacks.

AoC's combat system is unique and might be what you are looking for if you are bored with MMORPG's in general. It is known by many as an adult game; one of blood, gore, and nudity. That's right, they let you strip your character down to bare skin. This is a downfall and upside in my opinion. While some people might play a female character to have something to look at while they play, you are going to get the perverted people taking it too far. If you are there for porn, go somewhere else, 8 gigs of hard drive space isn't needed for all that.

I'll keep giving WoW and Age of Conan a chance but with a little effort behind that. My current gaming comfort zone is learning Guild Wars still. It's so interesting, fun, and competitive. However, something about Guild Wars has built a less than stellar community. I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe the competitiveness and lack of noob friendliness?

The New Game Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:41:00 +0000

Lord of the Rings Online is on the back burner for now. Guild Wars is fun but I'm not bound to it with the no monthly fees it has. Tibia is only fun for an hour at most out of the day. I utilize my resources and find people with similar game tastes as me. I thought about going back to Dark Age of Camelot even. I might actually have the boxes with serial keys stashed away in some boxes.

It's inevitable that I have to try WoW to consider myself an expert in MMORPGs. So yes, WoW haters, I did download the trial version and probably have to buy it unless some other game jumps in front of me. I'm about 4 or 5 levels into it and like everyone says, it's taken pieces from other MMOs and made it really user friendly. I was only on it for about 2 hours but it was a quick start like LOTRO was.

Also into the trial list is Age of Conan, after seeing a trailer review of AoC I decided to download its hefty 8 GB trial game. I haven't started it yet but it looks like a good ol' bloody, gory, hack-n-slash adult game. We'll see if they get me. I'll get some other opinions on it as well.

LOTRO Billed Me 2 Months Too Early

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:21:00 +0000

This is exactly why I keep my recurring game subscriptions on prepaid debit cards. I don't get hit with a $35 bank overdraft fee, it's just a buck. Today I tried to log into Lord of the Rings Online and my account was suspended due to non payment. There wasn't enough money on my prepaid card for their mistake to effect me. I sent a support ticket in and hope to hear this mistake is fixed. I ordered 3 months in advance for a discount rate at 30 dollars and they billed me 1 month after that. Get it together Turbine, Inc. You aren't getting a renewal as good as the game is. I'm getting my 2 months worth though, in between my other gaming journeys. There are a couple unfinished goals to accomplish.

A Taste of Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:42:00 +0000

Some days aren't all about being a single game die-hard. There are the days you hang out, chill, and play the casual gamer role. Yesterday, I started with Guild Wars, got my level 207 back in Tibia, and even went out to Timber's and played some Golden Tee with my brother.

Golden Tee, one of the most popular bar games in the United States, right up there with pool. For those of you not familiar with GT, it's a video golf game in bars that takes skill and therefore I love. Calculating winds and slopes, determining shot placements, and club selection are all things involved in making a great golfer. Even cooler, you earn clothing every 5 games, every 30 birdies, 10 eagles, and each hole-in-one. You can see my set of gear I had at the time of my hole-in-one months ago in this video.

Addicted to Guild Wars PvP

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:15:00 +0000

I haven't played LOTRO in about a week. Guild Wars immediately captured my attention as soon as I got the hang of it. They are completely missing the boat, they have their staple as PvP, why make money solely on PvE expansion packs? Most of the veteran players, however, do get into the PvE more than I expected.

I had one multi-year veteran named Dylan show me the ropes to using my Ranger in PvP. The concept was simple yet difficult to pull off. The first part is easy, spreading poison throughout the enemy team. The second part not so easy, using special skills to interrupt "rupt" caster/healers/mages so those power houses have less effect. Dylan and I went to a 1 on 1 area where we could test out my rupting skills. All I needed after that lesson was testing out my fast-twitch reflexes in real combat over and over.

Different PvP Types

Random Arena (RA) - This is where a wiiiiiiide variety of skilled players meet up and are randomly given teams of 4. If the team wins their match, they can stay together until next match. You can stay with your team as long as you keep winning. If one leaves, a random player will replace them next match. Most of the time it's fight to the death until one team is eliminated. Other times it is to see who gets the most kills and you just keep respawning a few seconds after you die.

Codex Arena - This is the basic arena style match 4 on 4. You get to pick your team in the waiting area before the match. There are a lot of pickup teams looking for people. This is a competitive zone and is where I happened to start, bad idea. Go to this arena when you have plenty of RA matches under your belt.

Guild Vs. Guild (GvG) - I haven't had enough experience nor am I good enough to do real guild on guild action. These battles consist of 8 vs. 8, much different than your 4 on 4 matches. There is an observe option where you can see the current GvG battles that are going on in Guild Wars. This shows you what it takes to start really competing, it looks fun.

Alliance Vs. Alliance (AvA) - Interesting setup here, there is 3 teams of 4 vs. 3 teams of 4. Each guild has the option of joining 1 of 2 factions. Depending on your faction you can travel to a certain place looking for a team of 4 which didn't appear to be difficult, it was quite crowded. The objective in this mission is to get 500 points before the other faction. You gain points by killing opposing faction members but more importantly is capturing bases. There are supply stations to capture as well as this sort of castle base that I think gives more points if your faction is holding it. I've only done 2 of these matches so far.

Reuniting With Old Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:37:00 +0000

If you play a MMO long enough you probably have had a lot of interaction with other people. When you move on from a game you've just worn out, you might get the feeling to stop in to see your friends. That is just what I did the other night with one of my best friends on Tibia. I played the game religiously for an entire year and after playing other MMORPGs I have no idea how I did that. The no level cap was pretty awesome though. With my dedication I raced to level 200 within a year which is pretty unheard of.

Meritshoota (me)
level - 207
vocation - paladin

Tarlo Darkhalf
level - 243
vocation - paladin

We wanted an exciting place to hunt since it was my first time in over a month to go out hunting. There is 1 place I haven't been yet that would be perfect for a duo such as ourselves. Zao, the most recent addition to Tibia, ruled by a race of ancient lizards. We were at the heart of it. Me and my guild leader and great friend. Fighting our way into Zao Palace was difficult even with 2 of the highest levels on the server.

We fought our way through these hard hitting lizards to the bottom floor of Zao Palace where the mighty Ghastly Dragons dwell. Equipped with assassin stars, over 500 potions each, and nerves of steel, we destroyed all 15 Ghastly Dragons that were down there. No good loot dropped for us and we were tired and ready to head back. We didn't feel like scrapping the lizards to get back out so we booked it. Tarlo headed up first and the lizards were swarming, he ran a loop around the room to keep them off me. I ran ahead of him, going up floors through masses of lizards and healing a lot. I hit a spot of a bunch of lizards, maybe 6 around me, low on mana I had to resorting to spirit potions. I was a little trapped and had to move diagonal, low on health and mana out of the trap now I drop dead. A mage lizard hit me with a wave from behind.

Alas! Brave adventurer, you have met a sad fate. But do not despair, for the gods will bring you back into the world in exchange for a small sacrifice. Simply click 'ok' and you will be returned back to Tibia.

Small sacrifice my ass, it's more than 1% of all the experience I have ever gained and demoted down to level 206. Still, it was good hunting with a good friend. Worth the journey.

Guild Wars - Review After 4 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:31:00 +0000

Guild Wars is a tough game to get into for the average gamer. Their combat system is a little weird, I definitely like LOTRO's combat system better. These 4 on 4 PvP matches are addicting. As soon as I bought the game I created a "PvP Only" character. I still had no clue what I was doing, my roleplaying character I started the free trial with was only level 6. The max level in GW is 20... a little low. I'm just here to master the game like usual and fuel my competitive side at the same time.

Sometimes you just need a good mentor. Having a lack of one resulted in losing a ton of my first few matches.

There were 2 initial arenas that I was able to hit from the start of creating my PvP only character. I tried half of the classes they had to offer but was just simply way underpowered from my lack of knowledge of the PvE system tying into the PvP system. Going down fast and hitting weak wasn't going to stop me from enjoying this though. However, I'm on the fast track now trying to get some of these PvE campaigns done so I can keep up on the PvP side.

Overall, It has a lot of downfalls and weaknesses but an awesomely competitive PvP system that reminds me of my xbox 360 gears of war days, 4 vs. 4. Keep in mind Guild Wars 2 is announced to come out in 2011. I hope they step up their game big time and compete with the big boys. First on my watch list is GW 2.

Just a Wandering Noob

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin Moore) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:55:00 +0000

It turns out I already had my primary class set to ranger. What I was searching for was a secondary class, the same set of choices I had for my primary one. I chose to be a monk as a secondary class so I can heal and resurrect my allies. It should make me a good group tool. I'm at level 6 so far and haven't really had any group interactions, not unusual but I'm ready to at least make a new friend or 2. I think I'm about to buy the whole set of Guild Wars for 50 bucks. I'm interested in the competitive PvP and no monthly fee, who can beat that? I'm going to gain a few more levels and meet up with old friends in GW from different games. If anyone has a character there that can help a simple ranger/monk newbie let me know, I'm Merit Arrowslinger.