EverQuest

Really quick update. I have posts waiting to finish writing about the economy in Pirates of the Burning Sea and other adventures in that world, plus starting the troubador and tradeskilling epics in EverQuest 2. The Troubador epic is apparently called the Ayonian Axe (like your guitar is an axe, get it?) – I’m busily doing the Poet’s Palace access quest so I can continue on it – and the tradeskill epic is an earring whose name I can’t remember off the top of my head, but it’s the same as that EQ1 Luclin-era FT3 earring every alt had, and is made from the exact same combination of crafted items, one for each trade. Yes, as a crafter, you will need the help of every other kind of crafter to finish your epic. The cloaks are just a little extra reward. Someone linked the armorer cloak, and so here it is via the dressing room for your viewing pleasure. Above, are the first things I made when I got online after doing my PotBS crafting for the day – mannequins, just wearing some Nightchord on the left and Melodic Xegonite on the right. I don’t know where the boots for the Melodic got off to, so I tossed Vhalen’s on the dummy. I never did get Nightchord boots even after doing Labs hundreds of times. ...

My blog gets its share of people looking for llama sex videos and stuff, but most of the people who come here seem to be looking to have specific questions answered. So, I’ll do my best. Playing Rock Band on Xbox Live I assume you already have an Xbox Live account, and can connect to it. Rock Band has many, many ways to play online. The one you’ll want to try first is the one where you form a band with people all over the world. From the main menu, choose Multiplayer > Quick Match and then log in with your instrument. The person whose Xbox Live account it is must log in first, then any other people locally, then you may invite friends over Xbox Live, and finally search for more players over Xbox Live. If a band is looking for the instruments you have in your band, you may be pulled into someone else’s band. Regardless, only one person will be able to select the songs, and everyone must have the downloadable songs before they will be selectable from the menu. All instruments for the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band support the headset, so make sure you’re wearing it, especially for the full band mode, so you can discuss which songs you’d like to play. I personally prefer doing random ranked Tug of War or Score Duels with people. Rock Band by yourself is only half a game. ...

After a month, the large portion of which was spent waiting outside raid zones or off playing alts or other games rather than just wait around, Clan of Shadows decided it didn’t really need another troubador after all. Wasn’t any real surprise. I’d been expecting it ever since we they hit Veeshan’s Peak. It’s a shame, I’m not happy about it. They were great people and I was really good friends with a lot of them. They gave me the option of sticking around for another two weeks for another vote, and maybe even two more weeks after that for a third, but that’s kind of desperate. I don’t know if I could really take another month waiting outside Veeshan’s Peak, maybe occasionally coming in to help clear trash until the real raiders showed up, hoping to somehow convince people I was worth having around. ...

If you really want to impress your level 66 alt, bring them to the Kylong Plains. No, really – the Plains aren’t just for the 70s anymore. Were they ever? Both my troubador and inquisitor were already 70 when Kunark opened, and both had a certain amount of raid gear, so aside from some bits of jewelry, neither found many upgrades here and the experience wasn’t that great besides. That would all change in the Fens, but Kylong Plains was useful really as a jumping off point to the rest of Kunark. ...

Well, if you insist upon knowing the truth, I spent the weekend learning to twirl drumsticks. Yes, really. Poring over Youtube videos, dropping sticks onto cats, sending them helicoptering across the room. I can do it, though. I can twirl drumsticks the standard (what some call, boring) way. There’s variations so you can do little quick twirls while playing that I have to work on now. And of course, the double twirl is still beyond me. Someday, maybe years from now, it will be as important to know, RIGHT THEN, how to twirl drumsticks, as it was when I taught myself the one-handed card shuffle. Well, actually, that STILL hasn’t really been all that useful (which reminds me: must practice one-handed card shuffle.) ...

Some highlights from the latest Test updates: The Avatars of the Gods have returned with renewed strength and new members: The Tribunal, Karana and Bertoxxolous. Yay! I never had a chance to kill an avatar. All three of these fights were a blast in EQ1. I think Karana was the last pickup raid I ever led in EQ1. Three or four guildies needed it so one night I organized a run for them and called in random people to help – Erollisi Marr had a strong pick-up raid community. Unfortunately, the loot was ninjad. I was very disappointed. ...

Kind of a mishmash post today. I start out with some EQ2, then move on to TV and lastly a little bit about work right at the end. Being a recruit in a highly successful raid guild going through Veeshan’s Peak for the first time leaves me plenty of time to play alts and watch TV shows :) The night before last, I worked a couple more levels with Winterwing, my Arasai bruiser who is bringing the fear to Butcherblock and about whom I’ll write later. Last night, I played Dera, whom I hadn’t played much since she reached 80 over the weekend. ...

When you ding in EQ2, everyone knows. When you ding 80, there’s an explosion of light and a legion of angels fly down from Heaven calling your name. “Dera! Dera! Dera!” they sang. I’d been carrying around so much level 80 stuff I could finally use. That Mace of Loving Skullbashery from the Anaphylaxis quest, for one. A nice necklace for another. None of the armor I wear is much good for healers, because SOE knows healers only wear leather. ...

The barrier that separates the calm veldt of the Jarsath Wastes from the hellish environs of Skyfire. We approached it last night with trepidation – this night, we were going to meet the Ring of Scale on their home ground. Once they spurned and imprisoned Trakanon. But now he’s back to rule over them all. The dragons of the Ring of Scale built this as their city and temple; outside prowl the creatures of the dragon’s home world and many of their young. They must conquer the outside before they are let inside. Inside, the dragons plot and scheme and guard the hidden portal to the Plane of Sky. ...

On the news that the new Prime Minister of Britain, Gordon Brown, would like to see knives removed from videogames, SOE today announced some small changes to its flagship fantasy MMO, EverQuest 2, which has previously showcased knives of various sizes and functions. The three main categories of actions in EQ2 can be broadly categorized as melee attacks, spell attacks, and healing. These will now be replaced Harsh Words, Stares and Hugs, respectively. ...