A [Not So] Clean Break- EQ2

Today free character transfers are available in the marketplace, in EQ2, they will *poof* after today, no stocking up for later. I just used one to transfer one of Dire's alts to the same server as his main, on live. These tokens only work for live servers, they do not have anything to do with EQ2X, which a lot of people were hoping that they would [myself included]. It would have been nice to copy my Inquisitor there but that is the key word, copy. The transfer tokens are something different than a character copy.

We ended up reactivating our live characters and are now playing there, since we got a bit tired of waiting around on EQ2X to stabilize. We can always copy them there, in the future, when things smooth out. Maybe. Dire is happy to play his SK again and it's nice having levels under my belt again with my Inquisitor, Nyomi. I missed Ny! Funny how we can miss pixels, isn't it?

I am currently waiting on Dire's account to finish up the transfer with the free token and a manual transfer of one character to his other account that has DoV. I'm hoping the SK will get transferred fairly soon. It wasn't such a smooth transition from EQ2X back to live, as I hoped. He also had issues with the game launching and patching.

Apparently the SOE launcher is buggy and has issues with EQ2. I was told to remove and reinstall it from this download. A message on EQ2Players would have been great! I check it often and don't recall seeing it. I was told by support that it is 'pure luck' that it [the launcher] worked on my computer still. Your company's software working is luck, you tell people this? I decided to just call back since she was a bit rude and got a really nice and helpful gentleman on the next call, I still needed a manual transfer at this point, he helped me get things set up and I was a happy camper.

We finally grouped up a bit last night and Dire was enjoying the shadowknight a lot, he missed playing it he said. He's sitting at 54 and I 78, it's so nice to be able to mentor down to his level. I haven't really had much of a chance to level my character in the zones I left behind when I took my break but I hope to be visiting Velious before long!

I've also been messing around in my new Everfrost Summer Home. At first I thought this home was a bit plain but it's merely a blank canvas waiting to be turned into a masterpiece! It's really been fun to decorate and has much more room for customizing things, more so than the Freeblood lair, which is beautiful but pretty fancy already. Once I get it all set up I'll show it off, I think it's coming along really great. Plenty of room to expand upwards in adding rooms. My only problem is the item limit is very low, only starting with 400. I'm already getting close to this, I may have to buy another expander [100 extra item limit].

I know everyone and their brother are off playing RIFT.. Or rather,*snicker* waiting in queues. Sorry, had to go there! If you're one of those people, I do hope you enjoy it when you do get in. It's never any fun to wait in a queue. Have fun wherever your adventures take you!

-kaozz

Launch Day- DoV (EQ2)

Silly graphics bug on launch day for the CE appearance /claim items, they caused a  Nekkid Sable :(

Well, since the Freeport server is being a royal pain in the arse I thought I'd add a few links here, good stuff. I didn't get to really play, while I was busy most of the day/evening, I still wasn't able to do much, between crashes and long zone times. Of course expansion day always likes to rear it's, sometimes, ugly head! However, (EQ2X) Freeport has had some existing problems for awhile now. Server stability has been mentioned as the top priority for EQ2 and the expansion was to hold some fixes, which is why it went live before server stability was focused on- It was to contribute to fixing stability.

Is it any better? Not so far. They are working on it though. There was even a queue put in, temporarily. Some players even reported being 8000 plus, which seems a bit extreme to me, unless it is extremely temporary as in a minimum of a few hours. I have faith the folks at SOE will get things working soon, however it's been a bit unstable quite awhile and I think it's time to open up another server to try to take some of the workload off of EQ2X (free transfers, please). Maybe the server is too heavy, maybe not, at any rate it would be nice to see another server up eventually. I, personally, think it is quite a heavy load. I'd like to be able to play, not just today, just in general. I'm almost considering firing up the live account.

I'm not trying to sound like a downer, I know they are working hard to resolve things, I'm just sharing my thoughts, thinking out loud. Once things get resolved I am sure things will be just peachy with EQ2X.

More launch info from EQ2wire. Lots of good info here, check it out if you haven't!
DoV mini FAQ from EQ2wire.
EQ2X zoning issues.
Rundown on the issues of the day.

And... more on EQ2X crashing and zoning issues:

'We going to bring Freeport back up with the login queue enabled so we can better evaluate the performance without overloading the server all at once.  We apologize for the issues you've experienced over the past couple of weeks and are working hard to resolve them as quickly as possible.'- Rothgar

'You're seeing a side-effect of a test we were running to figure out what's going on with the crazy load issues. We temporarily put a cap on the number of players that could be on the server at one time so we could analyze the behavior of a smaller load. That mechanism has been in place since the launch of EQ2X but we've kept the pop cap number so high that you've almost certainly never seen it.'- Smokejumper

On a better note, goodies ahead for The 12 days of Velious:

February 22: Othmir Day
Everyone who logs in on Launch Day, February 22nd, will receive an Othmir illusion potion. (Even those who aren't playing in Velious!) The potion has 50 charges, and is available one per character. Just be sure to log in each of your characters during the day to claim a potion, if you want the illusion for more than one character.

February 23: Guild XP Day
Build up your guild and your guild spirit with Double Guild XP, today only!
 
February 24: Free Transfer Day
One day only! Get a free character transfer token from the in-game Marketplace and choose your own server. Up to five moves allowed per account. Don't miss out on this one peeps!
 
February 25: Snow Days Discounts
Every day's a snow day in Velious, but today you'll find lots of cool prices on frosty-themed items in the Marketplace.

In the meantime I'm trying to decide if we stick with EQ2X through all of this or head back to the live servers. I'm not trying to jump the gun but this isn't looking too good with Dire being back after such a long break. After all, he wanted to start back on live to begin with. Decisions, decisions.

So, here's a cheer for those people working hard on getting things fixed, don't mind crabby ol' kaozz, she just wants to play her favorite MMO.

-kaozz

Lodizal Returns- DoV Launch (EQ2)

Al'Kabor- Now that's how an  Erudite should look

Massively has the DoV launch trailer up, check it out here. Just a few hours until the servers go down... I'm off to scramble for some more bonus xp while it's still available! Happy launch day, all hail the return of Lodizal!

-kaozz

EQ2 launchday schedule, webcast and news.

Duo

Tomorrow DoV releases, even though we are playing on our newest duo, I'm looking forward to the expansion and my pre-order goodies! More stuff for me to do when I do get there, right? I always loved the original Velious expansion so I am intrigued with this one, it even features ToFS which I always loved. Starting over has been fine thus far and the new server is much more populated, too populated really.

I have hopes that after the expansion is released efforts will be put into maintaining stability on the Freeport server. Smokejumper mentioned that this will be fixed, so it seems just a bit of waiting, no big deal. I only saw the servers down once this weekend but I read they were down a lot more. I suppose my timing was better than others.

I think Dire played more than I this weekend. I had errands to run so I didn't get a lot of time to spend playing. I did utilize some of the xp bonus so I can't complain. As I mentioned in one of my last posts, Dire ended up starting over with a bruiser, enjoying it more than the conjurer and so he worked on him over the weekend, making it into the mid twenties. Yay, Dire!

I didn't think he would be returning to the game with such a 'vengeance'. He is really enjoying the game and logging in without me which is nice to see that he is taking a shine to the game again. It's been quite awhile since he seemed to be having this much fun with any game. I'm very happy for him and I try to be really patient and help him along the way.

We managed to take our duo to Fallen Gate , yesterday. We had a nice time and the duo worked out well (bruiser, fury). We managed to work our way in some and had a nice time until we got slaughtered by an untimely respawn while I was out of mana. Then I think he had enough, so we headed out. Next,  the game started to freze up his computer. Nothing a fresh install couldn't fix. This time I downloaded the full game instead of the streaming client (which worked fine on my machine) and he hasn't had anymore problems again. So if you know anyone having this problem, the game freezing up upon log in- Maybe a fresh (full) install can remedy their issue.

Not too much new with us but we're having fun. I managed to grab the 'Romantic' title with Sable. I wasn't pushing for many of these but it's nice to have a few extra titles. I suppose I should have tried for more but I've been trying to do other things too. I did manage to snag the Moonlight Enchantments event, more goodies for the house!

Hope everyone, out there, is having fun with whatever it is you're playing!

-kaozz

12 Days of Velious

 

Some very cool things to keep an eye out for this weekend! Bonus xp, events, sales and OTHMIR Illusion! Just thought I'd pass on some of the info, I'm enjoying my bonus XP and excited about the Gnomish races! ...Oh, and who doesn't want to be an Othmir?!

For EQ2:

February 18-22: President's Day Bonus XP Weekend!

On the first four days of Velious, enjoy bonus adventure, tradeskill and AA experience! This event runs from 10:00 am PST on February 18th until servers come down on Tuesday morning (currently scheduled for 3:00 am PST on February 22nd).

February 22: Othmir Day

Everyone who logs in on Launch Day, February 22nd, will receive an Othmir illusion potion. (Even those who aren't playing in Velious!) The potion has 50 charges, and is available one per character. Just be sure to log in each of your characters during the day to claim a potion, if you want the illusion for more than one character.

February 23-28: TBA

Information on this event/offer will be revealed each day!

March 1: Gnomish Aerodome Races

Get your first taste of flight! Players can queue up to take a gnomish aircraft through a torturous test-pilot course. Aerial race tracks are erected near the entrance to Butcherblock (the most hazardous course), Tenebrous Tangle (the longest course) and Lavastorm (the course that requires the most finesse). Find the gnome next the huge scoreboard, and talk to him to start the quest. Then just step on the teleport pad and you'll be warped to the starting line!

Participation earns prizes, and winners will receive a title as well as the ability to fly the craft around for a short time (aircraft is no-zone and expires after the event is over.) This event lasts for just one day, so don't miss out! 

All events/offers will run from 10:00 am PST on the day they begin until 10:00 am PST the following day, when the next event/offer begins.

EQ2 12 Days of Velious!

SOE President's Day events (and sales)!

-kaozz

Party Time!

Last month I was seriously thinking about pre-ordering RIFT. If you would have asked what I expected to play in March, I probably would have guessed RIFT. I was happy to be able to try things out and check in on beta but things like damage meters and the newly mentioned LFD (Yes, it appears that RIFT is getting a cross-server LFD ) system have sort of pushed me away. At this point I feel it's best to wait and see on this game. I don't have it in me to fall down the rabbit hole and find out it's just like something I've been running away from.

I did manage a pre-order this week for Destiny of Velious. While my current main is still pretty low, I plan on picking up speed soon. Plus all those pre-order goodies really made me drool. Both Dire and I pre-ordered the CE. In my opinion it looks like a decent expansion and Dire is very excited about gaining levels to be able to access it. Plus, I am relieved that DoV will NOT introduce gear score to EQ2. Whew! I was a little worried there for a minute. I want to stay clear of that type of game play, which erodes communities.

Dire is actually more excited about the game than I have seen him about anything, in a long time. Tonight he is going to make a bruiser, we thought it might be a tad better for a duo with my healer. I'm for whatever he wants to play but I think he missed being melee. He even asked if I wanted some Red Bull to give us some 'all nighter wings' (ha!) to blow through some levels with the bonus xp weekend. I haven't seen this type of MMO interest in ages!

This weekend many SOE games are treated to a nice XP bonus. EQ2's will last until the 22nd when the servers go down for DoV. I really enjoy the bonus XP that we get within SOE games. It's the little things like that which keep me playing their games. Plus I love GM and guide events, most games
don't have that little touch of flair.

Last night we had a community party in the lounge, on Freeport. It was hosted by our community manager, Amnerys. Amnerys was very awesome and handed out some really cool items such as a music box, robes (pictured at the top), plushies and some lovely flowers for the house. I was very happy to get some goodies! It was a neat event, mostly social, and there were tons of people around. Definitely a fun change of pace.

So, that's where I see us to be, for sometime yet, hanging out in EQ2's Norrath. There is always a fun event to look forward to, leevels, crafting and housing to keep us busy. The community isn't bad, for the most part, and the game suits me better than any other game I can think of. Enough fluff to keep me in bliss but enough of the true MMO things so I don't get bored.

Party on and have a great weekend everyone!
 -kaozz

You Can Never Go Back

People in the old starting zones warmed my heart :)

You can never go back to those first new feelings for a MMO. While some people have dreams of recapturing those feelings on the Fippy Darkpaw server, it's just not the same game. I remember my first day in Everquest... *Flashes back* I remember running around lost, dying over and over, camping in groups at the newbie log, running around naked..Being scared... Getting oh so very lost in Neriak, I wanted to cry.... It was truly terrifying and awesome at the same time. I had never played anything like it.

But today, in 2011 I have, I've been there and done that, I don't really want to try to relive any 'glory' days. If I miss anything, it's long lost friends. However, I thought it would be nice to pop in and check out Fippy, see how things were. I know a lot of people are expecting things to be very similar to how the original 'classic' Everquest was but I didn't think that would be the case. The only progression server I've played on was Mayong, which I did enjoy, but eventually they all end up the same.

The ECTunnel was hopping, back in the day.

So yeah, I have no intentions on playing on Fippy but I had to pop in and check it out, I love all things Everquest, so I just had to! It was such a huge success today that another time locked progression server was added. Props to SOE for the success of the day. I do hope everyone has fun there but as a current player I like playing on my own server, I don't feel the need to pick up and start over!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not downing this experience, it's closer to any, if you want to try to imagine Everquest years ago. So here are my thoughts and comparisons, as creating a Dark Elf Mage on Fippy's first day. Mind you I waited till late in the evening to even try to log in!

Experience rate. It's pretty horrible, but it is to be expected that we don't race to the top. Fine with me. It is much slower than normal servers but then again there are only 50 levels currently. Compared to back in the day? It is really icky but it was worse back then, I dare say. Either way it makes no big deal to me, I'm not getting on that treadmill again!

Nobody in the 'ECT'... yet!

Combat. Ah.. I had hoped for some adrenaline pumping here, no not really, I think my heart is weak enough from those days. I don't remember being able to melee down any mob as a caster, back in the day. We have a different regen system here, it was actually ticking up as I fought mobs. Also there is  the out of combat regen system, back in the day you had to med with your face in a book for five to ten minutes! While annoying this gave us time to chat in groups, as I was not able to kill a yellow at level one, NAKED, back then. Then again who wants to do it like 1999?

WTS 2 bags of stuff at T1!

Community? There are chat channels. This sort of takes away from that old feeling. You got to know people as you leveled, talking in out of character chat [/ooc] instead of seeing the same trolls, day in and day out, in the channels. The chat channels were pretty much filled up will bull, people insulting those asking questions, being rude in general. Not a big surprise. There were a few nice people but mostly I saw bickering... AND... IN 1999 WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT WoW! Yeah, lots of comparing it to WoW. Seriously people? This is the granddaddy of MMO games!? I think things will smooth out when all those free activations for accounts die out and the tourists, back for a free ride down memory lane, head to greener, newer pastures.

Things we didn't have. We didn't have maps, we printed out maps, also you couldn't tab out of the game to look one up. Maps work on Fippy. That's fine with me, I hated getting so lost, it wasted a lot of time. It made the game a scary place though. Sense heading is pointless as you can use the compass, fine with me as I am directionally challenged. I remember binding it to my keys so I could work it up faster. Oh! Humans can see in the dark! *And the humans everywhere cheered!*

Am I doin' it right? I'm the only one here nekkid?!

No naked people?! Turning in your note to the guild master never gave you a robe. Does it even on normal servers? Last time I checked it didn't. You were handed some invisible tunic. Today everyone was running around in pretty robes. Back in my day we fought mobs NAKED! I had to, just for old times sake. It just wasn't the same. I went and got myself a pretty robe too. I don't think it is as hard to obtain plat either, judging by prices in channels and the coin gained from selling junk loot. Never did newbies have plat, maybe a few measly copper!

Classic Everquest UI.

Things of the past. Of course the UI is different from how it was back then. It was a small window in the middle of all these other things that filled up the screen. When you needed to med up for mana you opened your spell book and sat there staring at it, literally, hoping some monster did not creep up on you! Until level thirty you did this. Also we have the Luclin models, you can always opt to turn them off, I didn't even think about it. Since there are currently no mounts, you wouldn't be any worse off for doing so.

Overall? It was neat popping in and seeing so many people, there were groups all around and much soloing even a few nice people were trying to be helpful. Some were trying to start groups and I saw several box groups running in sync. I don't remember being able to solo so well [at the lower levels] and I think classes like Mages and Necros will have it pretty easy as far as soloing goes. Heck, most classes, besides rogues, won't have it that bad compared to back then, if they try to solo, considering greens and light blues of today. I will say that the experience, for the most part, should be rewarding to those that enjoy grouping.

It was nice seeing groups everywhere.

So, I wish Fippy and Vulak'Aerr the best of luck! It was nice to visit but it's not the same, even if it was, it might be a bit too nostalgic!
-kaozz


Need some help?
Some Helpful INFO!
Everquest Progression Server FAQ
Everquest: The Newbie Zone FAQ- Lots of good info!
Everquest official [Newbie Zone] Forums- Great place to check for info and ask questions.
Everquest Spells- Zam.. A bit of hand holding linking this ;)
Zam- [Allakhazam] The best database for EQ besides LUCY
Mapfiend- Got maps?!
Communicating with people across servers and SOE games!
An awesome tool to be able to talk to friends across servers and other SOE games.

Last but not least you can use the station launcher to chat with friends, remember EQIM? Well it pretty much works the same. Check it out here. Scroll down to Friends Panel.

Protip ;) There are no ? and ! for quests... H key is your friend! H is for HAIL! Alt+Q opens the quest log and Q is also the default setting for auto attack... And /Q quits. So just be careful with your Q button ;)

Comfort Zone

So, today the Everquest progression server, Fippy Darkpaw, goes live and RIFT open beta starts. I don't think I'll be playing either. I currently play Everquest, on a frequent enough basis to not have any nostalgia for the old days. I was there and I like how things have evolved, I have lots of characters I love and I don't need anymore. I am sure it will be a blast but there is no going back to the past. I hope those that join have a wonderful time, I will look forward to hearing about how it goes.

I'm considering letting the EQ accounts die out for awhile, still having fun but it's a bit much playing more than one MMO, currently. I think I sort of got a bit bored waiting so long for the free transfers to FV. I'll pick things up down the road. I just can't focus on two, these days, and keep up with them enough that it's worth it.

As far as RIFT goes, I think I just got tired of waiting with that also. I sort of lose interest if things drag out too long with MMO games. I start getting interested in other things. Not to say I won't play RIFT, I know I will, in due time. I just don't think I will be pre-ordering or playing it right at release. I'm pretty content now.

Last night I was talking to Dire and, as I sometimes do, I told him I wished he played EQ2 with me. Long story short, he made a comment about playing which led to him wanting to sub and make a char on the EQ2X server with me. I think my jaw hit the floor,  I didn't think he would play again, though I wished, very much, that he would. So if he will stick with it, that's where I plan to be for quite sometime- EQ2. I'm snug, like a bug in a rug, in my comfort zone there.

Since he's played before, I decided to set him up with bags, a mount, a house and some neat appearance items. He works long hours so a smooth transition back into the game made things easier for him. He enjoyed the Conjurer class a lot, I've been thinking that it would be one he really would enjoy- if he ever played again!

I considered starting up our characters on CB again but I think the FP server is a nice place to be. I do think we need another server up, soon, for EQ2X. The server has been crashing quite a bit and having long load times, it has a heavy load and I know that can't be good, all that crashing. Over the weekend it was down quite a lot. I'm sure it will be dealt with, here's to hoping for a new server to take some of the stress off Freeport!

So, I'm in a happy place now. Plenty to do, more catching up but at least not alone this time around! Mentoring will bridge any gaps that may happen as we level at different speeds. It's so nice to be able to group together at any level. I'm here to stay on the FP server. I look forward to the adventures ahead!

-kaozz

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! Hope everyone is having a sweet day! I've been trying to get all those goodies in my MMO games before this holiday is over. There are some really great events around but I think I've enjoyed the EQ2 holiday event the most! Free Realms was a close second, except for a bit of a grind, I suppose the xp in it is a bonus!

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to obtain the gorgeous Pink Unicorn from the EQ2 event but I found out that farming the candies and love notes wasn't as bad as I first thought! All of the items can be farmed in the holiday instance- Nektropos Castle: Love's Errand. If you're still scouring regular mobs roaming outside in the world, don't waste your time! Head to this instance, it can be ran over and over- even after the quest has been completed. The drop rates are far better than any you will find elsewhere.

So, yes I farmed up 300 tokens and was granted my lovely pink steed! I am so excited, it's so pretty and it even has little hearts floating around it! I'm still working on some more tokens for a few more crafting projects I want to finish. So much I still need for the house, with the instance having a high drop rate it makes this task much easier.



I decided to create a small clip showing off my Pink Unicorn. Enjoy! If you recognize the song, it's the theme from 'Lie To Me'- Great show btw! Just a small little segment for those who haven't seen this pretty mount.

Free Realms had an update over the past several days, I haven't logged in for a few! There has been a new VIP program implemented, I'm not too clear on the whole deal, yet. There seems to be a bug where nobody is gaining status, it should be fixed within the next update.

There are also some really cute Bambi [free!] promotional pets! They are adorable! There are three: Bambi, Thumper and Flower. I took some footage of them, as well as some of the other Valentines Day goodies.



Last but not least, the February Member's Pack is in! A white teddy bear costume and 10k gold are in the pack. I was happy as I thought the suit very cute indeed. Free Realms Insider has more info on the update, pets and VIP program here. Check out the video starring: Turkleton!

And that's about it! May you all have a lovely Valentines Day, may it be with good friends or someone special! And... One more video- EQ2 has a cute one that is a must see!




<3 As you wish...
-kaozz

You've Got Mail- Everquest

Check your email, you just might have an email stating: Your [Everquest] account has been turned on for free from 210/2011 to 2/21/201. You may want to check out the progression server or you might just want to check out some old haunts! Yes, you can indeed play wherever you want, any server, with this free time.

I just used this free time to transfer some characters to FV from our old server. I'll definitely be spending some time utilizing it! I love free stuff- Thanks SOE!

Anyhow, much is in store, free transfers to FV and Zek servers currently, the progression server is something to consider also and the anniversary events are heading our way, next month.


-kaozz

Valentine

Nothing like some exciting new content to draw me back into my favorite games. This week I've been having fun with some of the Valentine events, especially in Everquest 2. The events offer some nice rewards and there is even a token system, the thing is- the candies and notes required for it have a horrible drop rate. Normally I wouldn't complain but there is a new Pink Unicorn for 300 Errolisi tokens that I just don't know if I can bother grinding for. However badly I want one, I think it's a rather horrible grind. I read, last night, that the turn in for the tokens would produce more in return and I can say after turning in a large handful, today, I did not notice any change.

Other than that I've had a wonderful time, EQ2 has some of the best holiday events in any MMO. This is my first time actually playing during this event. Last year I think I was playing Everquest which doesn't have any events, this time of year. There was even a fun instance to head to and I could explore it solo or take a group along with me.

There are some fun titles, neat clothing, a pet and lots of lovely housing items. I love all things 'Valentine' and the rewards are the icing on the cake for me. I managed, thus far, to get the Flirtatious title, which I thought was very cute. There are people everywhere doing the quests and it's nice seeing an abundance of players running around in the spirit of the season. There is a lot to do!

Last year I also managed to miss the Free Realms Valentine event. It's fun with some questing and a mob that spawns every fifteen minutes to fight for rewards. However, to gain some of the rewards I really want, from the instances, it's a very nasty grind. I probably gained 20 levels across all my professions and I've decided to call it quits on the event, giving up on several items I really wanted. Almost every single time I got a wall sticker for housing or some silly consumable candy. Not fun. Not cool. I did manage to get a few new items, so it wasn't all in vain.

Everquest isn't holding any Valentine activities but the cash shop has a few neat items. Yesterday I did most of my transfers to FV and was stumped on who to play! I decided to do some leveling on my Druid and we had a wee bit of power leveling going on, last night. The Druid is a class I've always loved and played over the years, it's nice to play one again. Who doesn't love ports heals and buffs! It will be a nice addition to our little army of characters, once she gains more levels, sitting at 58 currently. I even found her the cute, little, useless bear pet! He must be like level five, seriously. Poor little guy.

I almost re-subbed to WoW just for the holiday events. This will be the second year I've missed the newer Valentine event and I just hate that. I have a lot of my plate right now, I'll probably just hold off for another year on the event. Much fun to be had still, in other games!

<3 BE MINE?
-kaozz

For a peek at the EQ2 Valentine holiday events check here.
Free Realms Valentine events found here.

Everquest- Transfers!

Easy bake server transfer... Now instant!

I've been waiting quit awhile on the free transfers to pop up on the Firiona Vie server in Everquest. Today is the day! I'm very happy to be able to have (most of) all my characters here on the same server. I am still pondering on buying a couple of extra character slots because right now I am still not able to transfer a few characters. I really want my cleric to be moved over so I at least need one more.

I suppose lately I've been getting a bit bored because I've really been wanting to play those characters with Dire and now we can mix and match our duos! Lot of fun ahead and even though some characters did lose names I really liked, I'm still quite happy to have them home!

If you want to transfer to FV (or Zek) it's simple and painless and it's free. Basically you just type in /servertransfer on the character you want to move, check if the name you have is available (change if not) and *bam* you're all done. It's instant, pretty simple and I was very impressed. Check this out for more information on the moves to Zek and FV servers.

So, I should pick up more so on my playing in Everquest this week. I'm so excited I don't know which character to start on, as they have all been spread around for way too long!

Here's the full patch notes for today and we're still just a few days away from the progression server opening on the 15th! Things are lookin' good in Everquest.


-kaozz

Direction

A direction I want to steer clear of, these days, is that where players rely on meters and gear scores to tell then what's going on- basically add-ons which tell us every little bit of info. Players use these to gauge and judge other players, instead of getting to know them or basing anything off of skill and taking into account things such as working as a team. For me this sucks the fun out of the game. It becomes one big competition, you're on stage trying to be a super star, not working together.

Some friends and I have a group where we share info about RIFT and keep in touch during the betas and today I saw a parser linked which set off alarm bells in my head. It's called RIFT combat parser and it claims to:

• View stats for everyone, just your group, or just you.
• Charts of your damage and healing abilities and see which one’s are pulling their weight.
• Charts of your damage types to help you find your strong points
• Know who is pulling their weight or compare rotations in-game with the live stats overlay

I was sorely disappointed that this is already the direction people are pushing and we're still in beta. IF this is the direction of this new game I'd may as well stick with WoW. It will catch like wildfire, don't fool yourself. Why would I want to go to a game that mimics the things that bother me- reasons that caused me to no longer enjoy- the game I just left?

I think allowing things like these condones this behavior and pushes elitism while hindering people from working together. Sure this one appears to run in the background but anyone can copy and paste the reports into chat. This is something I really want to get away from and it's a huge let down seeing this kind of stuff so early in the game.

There's a game that's already heavily reliant on this type of play. Why not keep your meters there?! I suppose this gives me some things to think over, I've not yet pre-ordered.

I'm out to have fun not impress pugs with healing meters or dps meters. If anything can push me away from a MMORPG it's this. Let me have my fantasy game without all the bull. Maybe I'm jumping the gun but I can't help but feel a tad disappointed.

-kaozz

A Casual Stroll

It's been quite a few days since I wrote a blog post, Dire ended up getting the flu over the weekend and I've been trying to avoid catching it. It's been a busy weekend and I've been just casually playing. I only managed to pop into RIFT beta for one day.

I decided to check out the guardian side, Saturday morning. I wanted to see the other side for myself. I like both sides of play, I think I prefer the defiant races a tad more. I wanted to catch up with some EQ2 friends but I just didn't have enough time to play much through this last beta. I suppose a part of me isn't wanting to play through it too much either.

I mostly played Everquest 2 this past weekend. Enjoying the little things like housing, crafting, events and just casually strolling around Norrath, enjoying myself more than I have in quite sometime. Just having fun at my own pace and embracing whatever it is I want to do at the moment. If any game really feels like home, after all these years, it's EQ2 [besides Everquest, of course]. While I didn't start when it first released [I went in the direction of WoW] I feel a real strong pull to it when I've been away for too long.

I love the ease of travel, the events that pop up so very often, like the festivals, it just feels like there is always something to look forward to. I'm blissfully enjoying being casual and things feel like an adventure, not something forced. I love the fact that no matter what level I am, I can always mentor down and help a friend, or perhaps go back and finish quests I missed.

Yesterday I was crafting in the guild hall and some members were admiring my cosmetic outfit which was very flattering and made me all shy at the same time. They were some people from CB server and it was nice to catch up with them. They offered much help, if I need anything, and it was quite refreshing. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I'm still hanging in there with Everquest. I just didn't get much time to play this weekend. The progression server is getting closer and I'm considering playing there, at least at little, with a friend. We'll have to see how it all works out! If the free FV transfers go through soon, as I've heard they will this month, then I'll be pretty busy with all my characters again!

So, that's about all I've been up to, taking a nice long stroll through casual land and enjoying every moment of it. 

Have a great week all!
-kaozz

Winter Slump

I said curl up on the couch with the cat... Not curl up on the cat...!

Sometimes it does one good to just curl up on the couch with a cat [and The History Channel] and take some time away from MMO games. Being under the weather has given me some time to step back even more than I had and a chance to see what I felt I was missing. Put things in perspective and read lots of blogs from my phone, I love my Android.

It seems a lot of people are feeling the lull that [this early part of] 2011 has brought with in. We all looked forward to the new year and new games it would bring but still they are slightly out of our reach, if we wiggle our fingers we can almost reach RIFT... almost!  RIFT is still several weeks away but there is another beta up soon, at least. I think a lot of us are over analyzing things and feeling burnt out in general. Some of us keep playing the games we tire of and others just keep talking about them, which can sometimes be just as bad.

There isn't much else to talk about so we just regurgitate different reasons and aspects why we feel this or that way. If you're not going to play RIFT then you probably feel like things are still very far off in the distance, as far as something new to look forward to.

I think in the end we just have to either take things for what they are or just move on. WoW will eventually change direction again, classes will get changed up and we'll all have to relearn things over. It never fails, things change up on us just when we get use to everything. I see people who are upset in the direction that EQ2 has taken and it's the same with all games, once you've played them long enough. As they start to age we start to really tire of them.

Right now these things seem to be magnified as we sit in this lull waiting on something else to come around for distraction. New expansions are not always enough to hold us or perhaps they went in a direction we disagree with. We start to feel stranded.

I'm just as guilty as the rest, just some perspective of being AFK a few days! I'm trying to stay out of this slump and have fun even while waiting. My best advice, for those wanting to play something but not put too much into it, is to pick up a FTP MMO and give it a shot. There's no big loss and it gives us some time away from the norm!


-kaozz

Sick Day

I've been very, very sick over the last few days, everyone is sick. My son and I went to the doctor yesterday and I was given an inhaler- OMG I CAN BREATHE, and I'm still not sure what it is we have. It's not the flu but it sure feels close to it.  I've not played much more than an hour in any of my MMO games this week. You know I'm sick if that's the case... Plus my other meds make me super groggy sometimes. Even Dire is sick, the worlds biggest baby when he's sick. Don't tell him I said that!

I did manage to catch up with some old guildies from my guild on CB server, who have moved to EQ2X, which was stellar! Many are planning on playing RIFT, we're going to try to keep in touch and play on the same server. We're all looking forward to the next beta and I hope to catch up with them there too. They're an awesome bunch of people, I've missed them.

I've also had a WoW friend pick up on EQ2 but I've barely had a chance to say a little more than a hello. Logging in to touch base before retreating to my blanket on the couch!

I have had a lot of time to read blogs in my feed, on my phone. So even if I don't reply to comments here or post one on something witty you wrote, I'm still reading! Sorry for just a short post, I plan on writing something interesting later this week! I have some ideas, just not the energy today. Plus our power keeps going out, I don't feel like trying to fight that. Too cold here in Houston today!

Stay warm peeps!
-kaozz