Month: February 2011

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[GW2] Preparing for Norn Week

I’ve been officially told, norn week starts next week (with norn-sized versions of the tasty snacks human week brought us), and that gives us all plenty of time to get prepared this weekend. These shape shifting half-giants want to live life to the fullest. Their goal in life is to live eternally in legend. A skaald telling tales of a norn’s life is one of the highest pinnacles of achievement for anybody. At least that’s what the norn think. Their tale is an interesting one. Are they fallen kodan or half-human? Are their totem spirits splinters of the same gods the human’s worship? Does it matter? They are norn. And that’s that.

Still, over this weekend, we can prep for the Viking-like Guild Wars 2 race. Here’s a list of movies to get started. Feel free to add your own movies, music, books, or games in the comments below.

Troy – while this movie has little do with Viking, the entire movie is based on the need for a hero to create a legend to the point of disaster. This might be a starting point for many norn characters, a great hero without a legend.

13th Warrior – keeps up the legend vibe of Troy, but it also has the much needed Viking vibe. Replace the Wendol with the icebrood, and Antonio with an asura, and it’s nearly Guild Wars 2 – Norn movie.

How to Train Your Dragon – mostly a kid’s movie, but their humorous take on stubborn, heroic Vikings can’t be beat. The Viking in the opening scenes picking his teeth while dragons attack all around him makes me think of the norn every time.

Erik the Viking – norn life is one of hardship and tragedy, and that’s why norn make such light of it. For every tear there is a joke. For every blood-stained burial there is a beer-stained party. For every Beowulf, there is an Erik.

–Ravious
the wind that smells fresh before the storm

Evade Not Block

I promised to have some comments about Batman: Arkham Asylum, but I find that Zero Punctuation covers everything I would want to say. Great fun, I should try more stealth-based games since I also enjoyed the alien in Alien vs. Predator.

I never especially got the hang of the combat. This stems from a tendency that applies to other games and metaphorically to real life: I do not tank. I will always always always choose evading over blocking. I use ranged attacks, I kite, I play high Dexterity characters, I CC, I do not take an axe to the face if I can at all help it. This is probably just misplaced meatspace instincts, but my immediate reaction to a troll is to dodge the club rather than parrying it with my hobbit’s dagger.

In some games, this provides a real benefit. Attacks will have secondary effects, so evading attacks also evades debuffs. Other games let blocks or parries also stop the debuff component, whether or not that makes any sense. Some games have shields/armor reduce damage rather than deflect attacks, which means you get the debuff. And did I mention the 100-stone troll with a similarly huge axe planting it in your skull? That could ruin your whole day.

In many games, the proper move is “block and counter.” My plan is closer to “dive and shoot from behind cover.”

: Zubon

[Rift] Starting Soul Guide

There is actually one little big issue with Rift that I believe could have been dealt with in a different way. The problem is that the soul system is shoved in player’s faces in full. Of the 4 classes (warrior, rogue, cleric, and mage) each has 7-9 souls, and for the first 13 levels, players will be locked in to their three first choices. The soul tree system makes it a little easier because players aren’t really given the ability to choose bad skills, but initial soul selection is meaningful.

Now, I say this is a small issue in one light because no matter which three souls are chosen, players will get to the point where they can freely build from all the souls without much difficulty. However, it can be frustrating to choose a soul that is more oriented towards heavy group content or PvP without even realizing it because the player didn’t spend a good hour looking at the various soul trees. The game gives some guidance with a brief description and a note on which other two souls have the most synergy with the chosen soul. Still, I think with a little more narrowed path, players will have a lot more fun playing a “good” build right away.

Continue reading [Rift] Starting Soul Guide

I am not playing RIFT…

…until the official launch.  I’ve done my due diligence.  Well, as much as time would allow while I try to shed a few pounds off my carcass.  I’ve played at least 7 different builds to level 8.  Two to 10.  And one to 15.  I love how smooth, playable and re-playable the game is at the lower levels.

During that time, I’ve evaluated my play style.  As long as I can remember, a game hasn’t made me consider and reconsider how I want to play at launch like RIFT has.  While I’ve come back around to my old standard of ranged DPS, it’s been fun getting a brief look at the mechanics of the other three class groups of souls.

I’ve been tired of the classic PvE questing that has become the staple of any modern MMO.  I understand why it’s there.  And like many developers and players…I still don’t like it.  But it has become a necessary evil.

But Rift gives us an opportunity to bypass the normalcy of PvE questing with Rifts and invasions.  I’ve seen great progress made in the game with this dynamic content.  So much so, I’m going to spend much of my time closing RIFTS and fighting invasions when they pop up in Telera.

I’m also going to dabble in PvP.  As I’ve aged like moldy cheese, I’m finding more and more that I like the realm of PvP in most games.  I’m not sure the reward systems or even the point of PvP are all that well developed in RIFT.  So I can live without it, too.

The main reasons I’m excited about the game and why I plan to play after beta have nothing to really do with sitting down and playing.  They have to do with:

1.  Great communication regarding development.
2.  Excellent attention to player feedback.
3.  Using beta for what it has been intended – making the game better.

But now I want to save that excitement and enthusiasm and energy for launch…or more specifically…the head start…which begins February 24…reportedly.

[RIFT] Faction Cool Factor

Open beta began yesterday with Rift. I am heading to the Guardian side initially at launch after I have spent most of the invitation-oriented beta on the Defiant side. The Defiant are a cool, god-forsaken magitech alliance. They comprise three different “new” races, lots of cool lasers and devices, and a total sense of independence. In their tutorial, the Defiant oppose fate and time by building a time machine to change the past for heaven’s sake. Then, we have the Guardians.

Having only experienced the Defiant side, I believed that the Guardians were going to be this boring vanilla faction. The Defiant have races with cool names I can’t even remember, and the Guardians have humans, elves, and dwarves. The Defiant are rebellious, and the Guardians are just part of the system… man. I also saw my prejudices confirmed in various forums on Rift. It seemed that everybody was excited about the Defiant, and “mature” guilds were considering rolling Guardian side just to get away from that immature crowd.

Continue reading [RIFT] Faction Cool Factor

Ambush

sneaky warden He will never see this one coming … from five yards away, straight in front of him, on a flat stretch of dirt.

: Zubon

Update: no, that is not using stealth. You can Ambush from stealth, but there is no induction timer in that case. She just walked up to the guy, crouched down with a javelin for five seconds, and planted it in his forehead.

It’s Not You, It’s Me

City of Heroes is great as ever, and for those of you who like advancing one character rather than pursuing CoX’s altoholism, they have started adding alternative advancement. There is lots to do, and if you are an Achiever, the sky is the limit.

My problem is that I am an Explorer, and City of Heroes pre-dates World of Warcraft. “Been there, done that.” There are some things I have not tried, but the gameplay rarely differs all that much. It was good to come back after about a year off, but I do not have that drive to play. If my old group of friends were still there, I would enjoy the companionship amidst a familiar environment, but random people are insufficiently exciting even if I do remember some of them from back in the day. Maybe if the server were really hopping, and I could instantly get a group for anything, but that would likely mean lots of interest while I am in-game without the drive to log in.

But seriously, if you have not played, it is always a good time. Or to visit again. If you want one of those “15 days free with subscription/re-subscription” codes, I can have them send you one (or any current player can).

: Zubon

(Super)Men in Tights

Less than a week ago, I was forwarded a 10-day key for DCUO since I apparently mentioned that I’d not tried it. Having no new content in LoTRO to play with, I figured I’d give it a try. I posted about my first night’s comments, but I would be remiss if I did not post beyond that, because I feel it left an unfair sheen on the game, especially since no one else here has given it a review. I seem to be the beta/trial guinea pig. Maybe I should apply for hazard pay.

Anyway, I’ll get into my usual wordy, detailed review in a bit, but a quick summary for the skim readers: It’s a fun game. It’s the lovechild of World of Warcraft and City of Heroes. Actually, that’s not really true, but that’s a lie you can understand (/hattip Discworld). DCUO is faster paced than CoX, yet allows you to have the same type of fun that CoX does with being super. My main complaint is that it is a very fast burn – I hit max level on day 4 of my 10 day pass.

Continue reading (Super)Men in Tights

[BioWare] No Good Deed

EDIT: So BioWare it seems is pretty swift with making sure this is made right. They sent me a copy of the email, which I am not authorized to share, but it does break it down in a pretty “plain language” format. I still think they are a little bully-ish because it starts out with mention of the “binding legal contract,”  which can set the reader to defensive right away. But, the crux of the email is “we want to promote you guys!” The email even discusses the need to pay for server costs, etc. vs. the benefit of being promoted. Thanks to BioWare for the clarification.

Wait a minute. So BioWare contacts Star Wars: The Old Republic fan-sites, those that are exclusive to their game, and reminds them that if they are making money on their fan-site, then according to a two-year old click-through agreement, BioWare cannot promote the fan-site. And, this is controversial? Did I miss a takedown notice or Valentine’s day sacrifice of a goat force fed chocolates to death on BioWare’s steps?

To be fair (and given that I have not seen this offending email), it seems that BioWare’s intention to promote community backfired. It seems to me that BioWare wants to promote fan-sites, and are trying to remind the fan-sites that BioWare can only do so if the fan-site follows some reasonable terms. This of course blew up in their face, as most things do, when a simple request is inundated with legalese to a ridiculous degree. Of course they came off as bullies when using language that normal humans don’t speak. Even my wife [constantly] reminds me of that!

Lawyers should not be contacting fan-sites unless they intend to sue them. If all BioWare wanted to do was hope to promote more fan-sites a short, simple email from a community manager would have sufficed. Don’t fire the Death Star when a simple psychokinetic strangling will do the trick.

–Ravious
the first one’s free

Hat Tip: BioBreak

[GW2] Humans – Can You Hear the Thunder?

The most interesting part, in my mind, of the Guild Wars 2 human week was not what was told. That is not to say I wasn’t incredibly impressed with the setup and delivery. It’s just that if I were to choose a human as my main character, I might want to look at what they aren’t saying… Where the focus wasn’t.

For good reason, Guild Wars 2 is narrowing the scope of the world back to the continent of Tyria where the first Guild Wars, Prophecies, took place. There are five playable races, of which all but two are believed to be native to the Tyrian continent. The charr and the sylvari are definitely native. Asura came from beneath the Tyrian continent, and have never spoken of being in other places in the world. Finally, the norn’s origins are unknown, but their are theories they might be half-human anyway (given that they… might be the same species in the most copulatory sense). This leaves the most decidedly non-native humans.

Continue reading [GW2] Humans – Can You Hear the Thunder?