Death in Aion, it happens!

Mrs B magically found some extra quests in Altgard last night, and since she couldn’t get any from Morheim, it seemed like the best shot at getting her levelled.  All the quests she found was for the Black Claw area, and thus meant for a group.

 

After getting myself to the same quest steps as her we went off as a duo and attempted the quests.  There is one to pretty much kill each of the mob types in there so we ploughed on.  I lost count of the amount of times we died……

 

Its not that we cant take the mobs in there, far from it we can easily take 1 or 2 at a time.  The problems come when Mrs B proxy aggros two extra mobs since her aggro radius is larger than mine and we get 4 in one go… not good.

 

In the end we finished all the quests except the one to kill the Warlocks, them things hit HARD and with an add thrown in its death time.  Luckily Mrs B was close and so I told her to go grind.

 

Also Daddy B got in game on Telemechus too!  Not only that but he hit level 5!!  I could tell he was struggling though as I invited him to the group and was watching his health bar constantly, I wonder if he knows how to use skills etc and equip gear.  It wasn’t till I went to see him and I gave him some new weapons and armour that I think he was getting better at it.  Ill have to pop round some time to help him out for an evening, the tutorials are all well and good but if he didn’t take the information in then it will be best for me to guide him.

 

Tonight im not sure of the extent of the gaming will be, I have to go to a dinner on Thursday night and part of my duties is to entertain the guests for 10 minutes… now im no comedian or showman so this is going to be interesting.  I am playing with the idea of doing the evolution of dance routine but unsure as to whether I can learn it and pull it off in one day, otherwise it will be a complete wing job.  Another part of me wants to just not go, but that is cowardly really and will drop someone else in the crapper.

 

Who knows.

This weekend I have been mostly playing……

Bit late for this one this week I know but Aion has been commanding my attention recently.

 

First off a bit of news.  My Mum and Dad have gotten into MMOs recently by playing wizard 101.  My dad has always been a bit of a gamer mainly playing RTS or FPS games (yes he is pretty good and loves Halo).  My mum is still happy plodding about helping people now she is Grandmaster, my Dad on the other hand is the same as any other gamer.  Once he hit Grandmaster himself he spent some time gearing up but now he is bored.  

I went over to his house with a list of 15 MMOs (14 of which I have played!) to hopefully guide him onto another game.  So armed with my list we sat down and went through.  Sci-Fi out, which only trimmed two games from the list.  Level progression, so UO and Darkfall were gone.

I chatted to him about some of the games left on the list, namely EQ2, WoW, Vanguard, Conan and Aion.  Vanguard and Conan were removed due to the fact I couldn’t give him a good feeling about what to do at max level.  This left the big ones.  He was considering WoW but when I went round he had changed his mind.  I gave him the pro’s and Cons about it and in the end WoW was off the list.  Although I think it is extremely accessible to a new MMO player I would rather he went into the deep end so to speak.

This left EQ2 and Aion.  Both games I enjoy but right now im not playing EQ2.  The choice was made for Aion.  The main pull for my dad was that he would not be too far behind starting one day after release.

I warned him off about the queues and told him which server and side we are playing and left him to it.

He came round the other night to say he has the game and it was patching and left it at that.

 

Got to love the Aion armoury though, doing a search through what I assumed would be his character name tossed up one result…. On our server…. On our faction!  He had only gone and managed to create an Asmodian!  So far I see no progress at all on the armoury, but I put this down to the proper shocking queues to get on in the evening (our only time to play… you hear this NCSoft…..)  upwards of 2 hours.  We have started to log in at 1700 when I get home so that by the time I have walked the dog, eaten and put the kids to bed we can play!!! (Around 2000)!

This is fucking stupid…. Allow more fucking people to play or add new servers NCSoft.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnyway, levels currently sit at 22 for me and 19 for Mrs B.  We had to grind out the whole level for her as she had run out of quests.  All this grinding is doing wonders for me though and having not touched the quests in Morheim and im 22!  Tonight I will equip my new Stigma skill in place of Dual Wield.  I only equipped this as I had it available, I wasn’t using it.

Now that Mrs B is 19 we can get some quests in Morheim so will most likely spend some time tonight doing those.  I think at 21 we will go to the other place we can fly as rumour has it nobody goes there!

Aion is holding our attention nicely, I am feeling the pull to go PvP but 25 is looming… just gotta wait for Mrs B!

I must be able to see the future!

Last night I went out to some leaving drinks for a work colleague.  To cut the story short I came home and made a tit of myself in front of Mrs B which led to her having a restless night keeping me alive! (I wasn’t that bad honest)

 

However, I ordered her some flowers yesterday to get delivered today….. I must have known or something.

 

Anyway this is to say a HUGE SORRY!!!! To Mrs B, im never drinking again!

Another Nice Evening in Aion

Last night was a pleasant evening spent in Aion.  Major thing that happened is Mrs B had her gliding lessons and has begun to master it now.  YAY!

 

We aren’t powering forward which is mostly due to Mrs Bs playtime, she plays less than me so I wont do any quests without her which means I just grind instead.

By the end of the night we were level 15 and 13, slow going but im enjoying taking it in.  Im champing at the bit to try out the pvp but it will come in time.

 

I think she really is enjoying Aion, but its hard to get a verdict from her, to be honest if she didn’t enjoy it she wouldn’t play would she?

 

I still haven’t made an alt, I don’t feel the need to, Gladiator is everything I want in a class.  I practiced different rotations and timings yesterday and I will need to actively time some fights to see if what I am doing is faster, it certainly feels it but ill let you know.

 

Node Ninjas are starting to die out a little bit which is a bonus, I think I got my extract vitality skill up to around 50. I will be looking at raising my cooking skill (as that’s the trade I want) when I feel ready but right now im still stuck in the levelling curve.

 

Tonight I may not play much as I have a leaving do to go to, I don’t think ill stay late but ill show my face.

 

Have fun everyone!

Legion Formed

Yesterday both Mrs B and I joined the Legion which we intended to when we chose our sever, Akatsuki was formed which I have been informed means New Dawn in Japanese.

My friend Taso from Warcraft was the one who got me over here, it sounds like the sort of fun PvP guild that I need to be in.

 

Well last night wasn’t a mass of levels, but enough, starting at level 7 I ground to Ascension, became a Gladiator again and ground to 12.  Mrs B on the other hand was late on and so I ground her to 11.  Not too bad.  Grinding definitely is the fastest way to level.  SOLO grinding that is, I haven’t found a mob that we can duo, or even a camp, which is good enough for us both at the same time.

No doubt I will though.

 

I love the Asmodian wings though, the sleek blackness makes them look like crows, very happy with the choice here.  The cloaks are also very cool, draped over one shoulder.

 

I hope that Mrs B can stay focussed with Aion, I personally think she can, and once involved in the PvP she will be quite happy.

Aion Headstart – It Begins

Last night was the first day of the Aion headstart,  I got myself in front of my PC in good time and chatted to some more friends while we waiting till one of them says “im in”

 

Boom I start hitting the login server and get in to the char select quickly, Mrs B on the other hand logs in and her client is in Korean…..  Not good.  All signs point to her running in English.

 

I log off and look at the size of my Aion folder and consider firing it across the network onto her PC, I decide not to.  Instead I delete her language folder and copy mine across, which works!

 

Both of us attempt to log in to be met by the queue, both of us are in the 600’s.

 

We eventually get in game around 9pm.  The queue for me peaked at 906 people, and that is JUST on my server alone!

 

We had some fun though and got to level 7 and 6 I think.  I am hoping that we can get on tonight and reach ascension.  Then we can sit down and enjoy.  I am wondering if more servers will be opened for actual release or if caps will be increased.  If not then these queues are going to get silly!

All game subs cancelled!

Yes you read that right!  As of this morning all of my game subs are cancelled!

LOTRO was a nice distraction but as usual it was filling the void till something shiner came out and that is Aion.  Ive cancelled WAR a couple of days ago but also have now cancelled LOTRO.  I just am not playing it at the moment.

For the next week ill be plodding through Runes of Magic and Wizard then it will be Aion.

See you there!

Aion – A Female Gamers Perspective

I asked Mrs B to write a post on how she is finding Aion but she refused citing her dyslexia and inability to type at any great length,  therefore I will be conducting an interview with her.

See below!

TMG> How long have you been playing online games?

MrsB> For around 6 years. Since we got married and moved in together.

TMG> What was your favourite online game to date?

MrsB> Dark Age of Camelot. Nothings ever been able to top it.

TMG> WHy did you start gaming?

MrsB> Because you made me… you get fed up of me slagging off all games and you made me try it, and I very much enjoyed it.

TMG> So where did you hear about Aion from then?

MrsB> You told me about it, then I saw the wings and thought oooh!

TMG> What about Aion caught your eye?

MrsB> The wings!!! LOL!

TMG> What are your opening thoughts on the character customisation?

MrsB> I thought it was cool, I was able to change everything, I dunno, dont write that in, tut, why you typing that, you’re a dick. I like to customise it to the way I like it and spend ages doing it, and I was able to.

TMG> Any extra options with it you would have preferred to see?

MrsB> Not really, id say it was a pretty solid customisation.

TMG> How does the character customisation compare to other games?

MrsB> Its a lot more detailed, other games you get the basic hair colour and skin colour, but here there is a lot more.

TMG> What do you think about the “newbie experience” perticularly the 1-10 game?

MrsB> I thought it was very enjoyable its a lot better than, for example, Warhammer, its a lot easier to play. The levelling speed (Elyos) was quite quick but not overly quick, but wasnt slow. It felt about right.

TMG> A lot of people are saying that the game is a grindfest, does it feel this way and does that put you off?

MrsB> No the quests are really good, you dont have to grind, sure there are no innovations with quest design but you can only take that so far. DAoC itself was pure grind, im used to it.

TMG> How useful are the tutorial hints at the start of the game?

MrsB> They were good but nothing was much different from any other game. If this was my first MMO then the hints are very good and would guide very well.

TMG> How are the graphics?

MrsB> Very cool.

TMG> Do the graphics sway you to play the game or do they not really matter?

MrsB>  The graphics dont really make the game any better, Warcraft is cartoony but its still popular, they dont really matter to me.

TMG> What is the main draw for you with Aion? What is the thing that will keep you playing?

MrsB> I dont know. I just like the videos, it looked cool. I dont really know anything else.

TMG> How stable has the BETA been for you so far?

MrsB> Pretty good, I had one disconnect and one bit of difficulty logging in but its ok with a restart.

TMG> Will you be playing the game on release?

MrsB> Very likely yes.

TMG> What character will you be playing on release?

MrsB> Asmodian Cleric

TMG> Why?

MrsB> I always play healers! I find them the most enjoyable as im not great at DPSing.

TMG> What do you not like about Aion?

MrsB> Nothing yet!

TMG> Any closing comments to any other females out there about online gaming?

MrsB> Dont slag it off before you try, it can be quite relaxing when you want to chill out, and get away from the kids!

There we are then, Mrs B’s comments on Aion and gaming!

This weekend I have mostly been playing…….. and Aion impressions!

Nothing!

Had a very busy weekend which saw me help a friend move on Saturday and then help out with a Charity walk on Sunday leaving little time for gaming.

The big news on the gaming scene is the (almost)Open Beta for Aion.  Almost is the key word as the only people who seem to actually be able to play are those whom have pre-ordered the game.

I bit the bullet and ordered myself a copy just to try it out.  Mrs B actually made favourable noises towards Aion when I showed her a video so was interested in her thoughts. 

Character customisation is a HUGE thing for her, me im the general random spammer till I see something I like then ill tweak it.  But Aion actually had me doing it myself.  The sheer amount of choices you can make are staggering and I actually felt attached to my online look.

Going into the game I was worried I would be put off by the eastern looking graphics but I reminded myself I played Guild Wars and didnt mind the graphics of that so I went in with an Open mind.

First impressions?  Favourable!  Generic UI, generic go here and kill XX creature but it feels well done, the combat feels visceral, I love being a melee class in this game, I have jsut ascended to be a Gladiator (Which is what ill play in release) and love the combo system, I think Mrs B who is playing a Cleric enjoys it too.

We havent really got all that far as there still are a couple of bugs, mainly with the login server but that aside its a very polished game… which it should be seeing as its A) Korean, and B) Been out for 9 months or so in Korea.

I can see us playing it for some time in the future, which means my Warhammer Online account will close, unless they make keeps destructable and add a third faction I wont be back soon.

My hope is that the Abyss PvP is not too twitchy and that keeps are worth taking and fun to do so, ill see if I can find any detailed reviews on it.

Ill also get Mrs B to write down her first impressions of the game to include for your reading pleasure.

This weekend I have been mostly playing…..

Ive decided that every Monday will be this post.  This weekend I have been mostly playing: Lord of the Rings Online.

 

Since the free week we had a while back ive been pottering about Middle Earth a little.  As I said to Mrs B “Theres nothing actually wrong with the game, I never got burnt out with it, I just moved on to other games I had my eye on.  It seems to be the game I turn to when I get burn out from OTHER games.

 

Well the recent stoppage in playing has basically come about as im finding WAR less fun than I wanted it to be.  My subs have lapsed and will be staying that way unless something takes my fancy.  Again theres nothing WRONG with WAR really, if im in the guild group for RvR its fun, ill let it settle down a little then play some more I think.
Anyway back to LOTRO.  Having stopped before Moria was released I am a little behind the curve so to speak, I stopped with my Guardian at 46!  Well some mad levelling skills and a purchase of the Moria expansion now puts me close to 51.  The world itself is what keeps me hooked in Middle Earth, I love Tolkein.

 

So this weekend I managed to get Mrs B to play!  We dinged her Minstrel 44 and fired out some of the fellowship quests before she turned to make an RK last night.  I thought RK was the best way to entice her back and it seems to be working she hit level 10 in about an hour! That’s quick! I remade my champion and it mustve taken me 2 days to get that, maybe because I get distracted by anything shiny and run off to look at it though who knows.

 

The tank rot has set in with me again though.  I remember when I first started LOTRO I spent a little time umming over a champion or a guardian.  I picked Guardian.  I wish now I went for champ.  Right now I don’t think I have the want to tank again.  I play games to get away from stress and pressure.  If you need to know the instance inside and out to tank then is it fun?  Part of me says yes as you are still playing the game and tanking is actually (in my eyes) easier than anything else.  With a simple tank and spank mob you literally grab aggro, turn the mob and tank.  That’s it!  DPS needs to worry about tail swipes, cleaves etc but not me, as long as im doing ym job then fine.

But having to know the instance inside out is what gets me, I hate that feeling of not wanting to tank anything for anyone as I don’t want to make one mistake and be labelled a bad tank.

I think the test for me on this will be the 3 man instances, we can go in around 51/52 so if I can get Huns minstrel up then we can play with an old Kin mate who is about to see how my tanking goes.

 

So Mrs B hit 44 and 10

I hit 50 and 15.

 

Also hit Grand Master Farmer, just Supreme to go, no real point to it but it’s a good distraction.