Neverwinter & Birthday Cake

 



Neverwinter! 
I've been enjoying my stay in Neverwinter. The game is pretty laid back, questing is very simple and enjoyable and there always seems plenty to do. Currently I'm sitting at level 40. I look forward to hitting 60 in the future. The Scourge Warlock class has been fun but I think waiting until level 51 for the option of a permanent pet is a bit rough. I wish it was a bit lower, as the pet is very much a part of the class. Until you spec into it (level 51 or so) the pet lasts for a short period of time or five hits, whichever comes first.

I try to do a lot of foundries, they are always interesting because you never know what the direction the player is going to go with dungeon design and story. Having a daily for the foundries is just icing on the cake. I did try my hand at making one. It is quite a bit of work and I have a lot of appreciation for the players that create these dungeons. The editor is nothing like what I've created dungeons with in games like EQ2, which are easy but don't offer as many options. I suppose if you previously played with the NWN tools then you'd feel right at home. With everything being unlocked and not behind a pay wall, players can create some amazing quests right off the bat.

I've also been playing with the web game, Swords of The Coast, which is directly tied to the game. It has a mini game which you use companions for, they also level up. It is so addictive! You get in game rewards, nothing overly amazing so far. I did snag a new companion, a dog, from the lower tiers. You can also access crafting, the auction house, clean out your bags  and just a lot of things you can't do in most games when you're offline. There isn't an (official) app, I wouldn't recommend using a third party one either. The website runs fine on my phone though, so that is a big plus!

The Summer Festival is still here. I have been trying to grind a little bit for a few things. I will be moving soon and packing a lot, so I don't think I will be able to get much of anything this year. I hope to get more done in the Halloween event though!

Guild Wars 2
This month marks the two year anniversary in GW2. I haven't seen much yet on the website, mainly anniversary cash shop sales. People are already getting birthday presents but they go by character creation date. I started over a few times with characters and on my main I still have to wait 15 days, such a bummer! There is a cake blaster which shoots birthday cakes! I can't wait to get my own. This food lands on the ground and has some nice buffs. Would be nice if the gun was account bound as my newer alts will not get them for a longtime, they could really use the cakes. Other than that I do't know if anything is planned for an event. I feel for Dire, he just started with a new account, no prezzies for him :(

The only news today seems to be a contest offering prizes for developing a WvW app... I guess that gives them more time to make new content? I love the living story updates but sometimes they seem sporadic and I've missed quite a few. I do hope future content will be permanent in these updates. I'd like to see more depth added to the game, more tangible things to collect. I'd even like to see some work on the UI, making it easier to use fun items, potions, food, pets and such, without having to open the bag.

Dire has been slaying dragons. Last week he had his first shot at two of the world dragons, he had a lot of fun. I'm glad he is seeing more of the game. We try to do the daily and monthly, he completed the monthly for this month and was pretty happy he was able to grab the rewards. Diablo 3 released the new patch yesterday so I suspect he's going to be playing that for a few days though. But I am glad to see him enjoying the game again. He's doing a lot of world completion, and his favorite hangout seems to be Drytop. I mostly just hop around doing random things, playing some alts. Hopefully something fun is planned for a birthday bash. If you want to check out the gifts, Dulfy has them listed here. No mini this year either.

Have a great week!