Black(out) Friday?

 

*sigh*

Fifth Prestige Done! -- Wizard

Exhausted... it's 2:43am here.  But yeah.  Done!

Just an Update....

Well I promised an update of what I've been up to, so here it is!

After finally leveling WinterLace to 100 and finishing up her Gladiator promotion, I had to choose another character to focus on.  Since my 91 Mage, Dharalyn, was the next closest to prestige, I figured I'd just take that on next.

The Leviathan's Nest "grind" is fairly easy once you're able to make it down to the bottom.  I do not know whether the technique used to grind there is truly an exploit or just clever use of a game mechanic, but it's there and quite literally, hundreds of players are using this strategy to level up fairly quickly through the normally rough 9x levels, myself included.

I've always wanted a Wizard, particularly after my old guild, Ryekarayn and I, put together all of the completed Leviathan's Nest armor sets.  I particularly liked the Wizard set especially compared to the weird Warlock set.  The floppy witch hat is particularly appealing to me.  The Skeleton summon, along with Blink are okay I suppose, but oddly to some, not my general want out of my Wizard.  I do have a sneaking suspicion that once the Thunderbolt AOE is finally released, that it will be a Wizard-only skill.  I've been waiting three years for this skill and when it finally becomes available, I'd love to be able to use it.

I don't know how far I'll take the Wizard character.  In a matter of about 9 days, I've managed to get from 91 up to 98, using some 1-day and LH EXP Boost cards along the way.  Since the Leveling Bundles were on sale this past weekend, I used that opportunity to snatch up an Elite Bundle and activated it on her.  She's only 2 levels away from prestige, but she still has probably 27 days or so remaining on that bundle.  I guess I can continue to stick it out in LN through the expiration of that bundle or passing the 105 LN cap, whichever comes first. 

I also made an offer on a +10 Manitcore Staff, stats aren't great, but it's priced @7 Gems and the fact that it's already enhanced is uber appealing to me.  I really hate enhancing.  Whether the buyer will eventually sell it to me is another story.  The offer I've made is over a week old now and she hasn't been fielding better offers despite roaring about it daily.  If I do end up owning that Staff, that's definitely a bit of extra motivation to at least hit 105.

Some of the more observant of you (yes, you HolyD) have also noticed some activity on my HolyKnight, AutumnsVeil.  This is also attributable to Leviathan's Nest.  Thankfully my future-Wiz and my HK are on separate accounts, I'm able to play both simultaneously or use one or the other depending on the party's needs.

Being that Clerics in our guild are in somewhat short supply, I've been asked to fill in in that role at times.  While I had dreaded it at first, it's actually not so bad.  I have my progression of skills pretty much locked down, maximizing party damage, EXP gain, and survivability of the Mages/Archers in particular.  I'm actually having fun playing the HK role.  So much so that I even bought her a 50% EXP boost card! 

So how far will I take Autumn?  Again, I don't know.  I was fortunate enough to win a "Mace" Shield from the Lucky House in week one of its release.  Unfortunately, I think, I haven't gotten the offers I had hoped I'd get for it.  So pretty much, I've decided to just keep it.  I continue to vend it from time to time, but most of the offers I get are in the 2-3 Gem range, not at all what I would consider selling it for since the LH Orange rate is awfully low.  (Just FYI, I play about 8.5g worth of LH red capsules daily and that Shield is still the only Orange I managed to acquire through capsules).

Some other projects on the horizon, getting my 87 Archer up to Ranger (she's not listed on my character screen as I use her to really just get away from everyone) and possibly leveling up my Trickster again.  A cap raise was mentioned in the latest OSKI, so these future project may get put further on the back burner.

If a cap raise were to come, I'd want to switch my focus back to my SharpShooter... unfortunately, she's currently still 108 with only about 30% EXP gain.  Still a long way off from hitting the current level cap.

Another Prestige Down ... What Next?

Well after over a year of inactivity, I finally busted loose on WinterLace and got her to 100.  Much thanks to Blizzard_ and his Meteor_Shower guild for the help and motivation.  Couldn't have done it without you guys!

So what next?  Wizard?  Reaper?  Ranger?  Oh the possibilities.....  check back soon for an update!

Forum MVP - Silver Screen

While no longer a "weekly" MVP, forum events are always a great opportunity for players like myself to showcase some of our out-of-game talents.  They allow us to push our own limits of creativity and oftentimes help us expand our own knowledge base as we strive for better and better results.

This particular MVP event was a video and poster submission.  The theme of this MVP was that we were required to act out a scene from a movie using the Fiesta game engine.  For the posters, we just had to recreate a famous movie poster using Fiesta elements.  Pretty straight-forward.

This is the first video event I've entered so I hope I do well.  The prizes were definitely a factor in deciding to take on a project like this.  There are three grand prizes for the video category being awarded, a "custom Fiesta themed HD Flip Camera" + 30-day SparkCash item, and seven honorable mention prizes, "permanent SparkCash item".  Looking at the prize list, I figured I only needed to land in the top 10 to qualify for a decent prize.  We have no idea what the "permanent SparkCash item" really is.  Is it a costume?  Accessory?   I hope it's not a mount....

For the poster portion of the event, the prizes are what we typically expect, three grand prize winners receive a 30-day SparkCash item, five honorable mentions receive a 7-day item.

For my video submission, I had originally planned to find a movie scene with a female voice-over and recreate the scene with my Fiesta characters using multiple computers.  I had considered the opening scene to Underworld, where Selene (Kate Beckinsale) gives the backstory of the movie, or Lord of the Rings, where Galadriel explains how the One Ring came to be.  I finally decided on a scene from Terminator 2, where Sarah Connor contemplates the situation she finds herself in, entrusting the safety of her son, the last hope for humanity, to the very machine that previously tried to hunt him down and kill him.

Here's that original entry:



After giving it some thought, and watching it over and over, I just didn't like it.  The voice-over quality was extremely poor and it just wasn't exciting, so I decided to rethink it.  Instead of a monologue-type scene I decided to go with something a bit more action oriented.  A scene that had no spoken dialogue but was still powerful all the same.  For that, I turned to TOP GUN.  Anyone who's seen the movie immediately remembers the opening sequence with all the fighter jets taking off and landing from the aircraft carrier, the ground crew hustling about, inspirational, powerful music playing in the background... So that's where I went.  I figured I could use movers to simulate the jets, use some newbie looking male characters to work the grounds crew detail.  Well, here's the result:



I'm much, much happier with this entry.  Although the editing isn't perfect, I thought it was decent.  Since I only used Windows Live Movie Maker to edit the video, I was fairly limited to what I could do.  I wanted to best replicate the original scene, but I couldn't do the close-up zooms, or backlit, shadowy actors like the original.  I did what I could just dropping a sepia-toned filter over the movie and dimming the brightness to try and match as best I could.  Like the original scene, the brightness gets amped up as the scene progresses, simulating more daylight.

We were only allowed one video submission, so I chose my second one.  I think I made the right decision.

For the posters, we were allowed three entries, I only squeezed in two, but I think they're good enough to land in the top 8 at least.

The first submission was based on the I Am Legend movie poster:

The second submission was, of course, based on Jurassic Park:

The event submission deadline passed about 2 hours ago and the GMs closed the submission thread.  Hopefully we see the results back shortly!  Wish me luck!

A Dream Come True .....

No words need to be spoken.

Warp Scroll Inflation - The Elegant Solution?

We've all been there, pressed for time, shouting, going vendor to vendor looking for an Uruga or Alberstoll Ruins scroll only to find prices in the hundreds of silver.  Do you bite the bullet and shell out nearly a gold for a scroll or two or hop on your mover and get to walking?

Warp Scroll prices affect us all, and while I absolutely commend those that take advantage of the market pricing, enough is enough.  Some changes were proposed by members of the community requesting all travel scrolls be sold via NPC.  And while that is a nice solution to have, if the scrolls were priced right, it absolutely decimates the existing Warp Scroll market.

That's why I'm a big proponent of something a bit different.  We've all seen the giant Airship in Uruga right?  Some of the more attentive of us have also seen it crisscrossing the skies in Burning Rock.  Wouldn't it be nice to actually have a use for this invention?  While I'm not suggesting a complete working model ala FinalFantasyX, just a warpable use would be sufficient.  Here's what I propose:

1. Warp Scrolls to remain as drops in game and will not be sold via NPC.
2. The Uruga Airship becomes active as a 'warp gate' of sorts with transport from Uruga to Burning Rock and Alberstoll Ruins and back.

Let's look at point 1 in conjunction with point 2.  The reason I do not want a simple NPC selling warp scrolls is because it would destroy that market completely.  The Warp Scroll market should remain in place, but having an option like the Airship, will bring the costs significantly down.  The current sellers can continue peddling Warp Scrolls as a convenience item, saving the player time from running all the way to a waypoint to use the Airship.

Warp Scrolls will provide an alternative when out in the field, when the Airship and any landing point aren't a time-saving alternative.  Say you're grinding deep in Temple of Spirit farming Black Shadows for 95 Jewelry pieces, wanna quickly restock before someone snakes your spot?  You still have the option of using a Warp Scroll to Alberstoll.  If that's still too much of an expense you could always scroll all the way to Elderine, hoof it to Uruga and board the Airship.  You have options.

The Uruga Airship would offer 3 destinations:  Uruga, Burning Rock, and Alberstoll Ruins.  A Swamp of Dawn waypoint is also a possibility along with Dark Land and the next town release.  Your available destinations are determined by your current level.  At level 80, you are allowed transport to Burning Rock, at level 90, you are allowed transport to Alberstoll Ruins.

As far as where the waypoints would be located, I proposed the following:

 

In Uruga, the choice is simple.  The Airship is located near storage, so the waypoint would be located there.

 

In Burning Rock, the "settlement" area where the NPCs are provides a great, open landing space.  I don't think Kidmons spawn in the camp area anymore, but this can be fixed if they are.

In Alberstoll Ruins, the area near the Water Stone/Black Bears.  This little area is a little odd as it's fairly wide open and home to only about 9 Black Bears.  I soloed some of my repeat quest there, but I never see anyone else in this spot.

Use of the Airship, however, isn't free.  I would suggest the Uruga to Burning Rock route cost 100 silver one-way, either way, Uruga to Alberstoll costing 150 silver one way, either way.  Travel from Burning Rock to and from Alberstoll would also cost 100 silver.  While it's not exactly cheap, it is a cheaper alternative to what we're faced with now.  And of course you still will pay a premium for the convenience of having Warp Scrolls available anytime purchased from players.

Let me know your thoughts on this.

Oh and hey, if you're wondering about that NPC in there, he's apparently supposed to be used for something in Roumen.  He's been sitting quietly in the game files for quite some time, why not get some use out of him!