The best MMO for a new player?

Reader Velmonte asks: Tipa, what game would you consider for a person who is just breaking into the world of mmo’s? One of my friends, has been wanting to try one, but I need to suggest a game that has basic quests, but is still fun, colorful, and immersive. I was hoping you could help me out! Thanks! This is a really great question. With new MMOs coming out every day and hundreds to choose from, it can be crazy trying to find the perfect game. Fact is, maybe you can’t find the perfect game first try, or maybe after playing an MMO a bit, you find yourself ready for something new. ...

April 14, 2010 · 7 min · 1446 words · Tipa

Daily Blogroll 8/19 - L2Test edition

Having heard about the EVE Fitting Tool from a helpful commentator, I spent a lot of time last night working some Battle Clinic builds into viable builds for me. VERY happy. Later on, the corps went on an impromptu trip through a wormhole, where we were relentlessly shadowed by the corp (Bones) who had staked it out. They allowed us to take on a Sleeper cell before we left. We got some T3 loot, but since we’d all brought expendable ships (that’s my Exequoror “The Liberator” hovering outside the wormhole), we weren’t up for taking out the second wave, which included a battleship. (Drew at Wizard of Duke Street has a little more about wormholing). ...

August 19, 2009 · 5 min · 955 words · Tipa

Daily Blogroll 5/4 -- Dragon Claw Style edition

Yes, this is the Daily Blogroll MY OWN BLOG didn’t want you to see! I’m kinda tired of Free Realms. Not the game; heck, considering my computer now refuses to run Lord of the Rings Online for long, I’ve been spending most of my gaming time in Free Realms. Beau is having fun playing. Pete at Dragonchasers took a 75 degree turn and went from being marginal about the game to a fan in just three short days. Syp of Bio Break is still dubious, but what does he care – his wife is Tinker Bell! ...

May 4, 2009 · 3 min · 502 words · Tipa

Wizard 101: Plague Oni, why can't I quit you?

Check out that xp bar! Less than one bubble to 46… I was tired and tuckered out last night from two late nights of programming image filters (the latest result is the candy-colored candy shop seen in my ShutterCal widget), but while a test image rendered, I thought maybe I’d just jump into Wizard 101 and see if Suri was up for a trip through Big Ben or Kensington. I love running through Big Ben. ...

January 9, 2009 · 3 min · 521 words · Tipa

A look back at 2008

2008 has been an absolutely amazing year for MMOs, and my personal progress through them. Last year at this time, I’d just found the absolutely most perfect EQ2 guild – they were great raiders, loved grouping, and were fantastic people besides. With Clan of Shadows, I managed to do every flagging raid for Ruins of Kunark and was ready to step in and do my best to help the guild as they conquered Veeshan’s Peak. It wasn’t to be; I didn’t make the full membership vote. It wasn’t even close. That disappointment, along with other things to fill my evenings, eventually led to the end of raiding. Without raiding, though, I didn’t have much incentive to log in anymore. I tried to make things work with another guild, Delusions of Grandeur, but it just wasn’t CoS. I guess if I couldn’t make it in CoS, I didn’t want to settle for a lesser guild. ...

December 24, 2008 · 10 min · 1997 words · Tipa

DOMO Mission night

You don’t lose xp when you die in one of Dream of Mirror Online’s missions, which is very nice of the devs, because, who’d do them then? We died A LOT. It was mission night in the “Deadly Gods” guild, and we went all over the Mirror Worlds, advancing the plot lines that take you through the game. First, though… I got my alchemy to 10 (FINALLY! And with plenty of powders left over, too!), and made my Hunting Knife. It took two tries, but I had enough blue powder for three, so I wasn’t worried. I had to level up the dagger in order to upgrade it, and that was just about the time I got invited to a Male Bird of Paradise group in the Phoenix Tower. There was a lower level thief in the team, so I figured I’d get to use my AE abilities. ...

December 24, 2008 · 4 min · 828 words · Tipa

Crayon Physics Deluxe & DOMO Christmas

Ripped right from the refrigerator door, Crayon Physics Deluxe answers the age-old question, “What if those drawings I made in kindergarten were REAL? And I had to guide a ball around them to collide with stars for points?” The developer has just released the beta/demo, so it’s only the first two worlds and a partially functional level editor, but it’s cool to think of inventive ways to bring your drawings to life as incredible, crudely-drawn, machines. ...

December 23, 2008 · 3 min · 429 words · Tipa

DOMO: Level 25, but Alchemy is hard :(

Taking on the Giant Butterfly outside the bandit camp in Copperhorn Mountain Nobody is as impatient at my slow progress through Dream of Mirror Online as I am. I wanted this weekend to be all about the Alchemy. I lost my Alchemy levels (as well as Thief level 24) in the Great Rollback Disaster, and I wanted to make that all back, but mostly the Alchemy. I have this grand design for my weapon upgrades. I REALLY want to make my own level 20 weapon. The bonuses for a crafted Hunting Knife made with Excellent-grade materials make it a FAR better bargain than the one you can buy from a vendor. Plus, its Earth bonus damage would make it a great companion to my level 23 Damp Knife, which carries a Water bonus. ...

December 22, 2008 · 5 min · 968 words · Tipa

DOMO: Train to Zone!

They say you can’t polish a turd, but I beg to differ. Placid Plains is full of Premier Pupu, so, yum for that. After spending a good hour doing alchemy (now level 8 from making level 0 recipes; today I will make level 8 recipes to 10 and beyond, hopefully), I thought I’d track down the fairy that supposedly gives a quest to upgrade my flying speed in Collingwood City. Which is smack-dab in the middle of high level zones, so it was with some care that I flew there. ...

December 18, 2008 · 7 min · 1337 words · Tipa

AFK today ~

Computer on, online, but AFK while at work today. Today, while I am converting bond letters at work, my DOMO character will be doing a LOT of harvesting – this is designed in to DOMO, it’s not an exploit. In fact, DOMO will even log you out when you’ve harvested as much as you can, which is nice of them. I’m ALSO downloading a very large MMO that I can’t talk about yet. So, busy day for me, busy day for my computer… ...

December 16, 2008 · 1 min · 91 words · Tipa