Lord of the Sith

I've been having a blast in SWTOR.  I recently finished chapter two of the story on my new inquisitor who is already level 40!

Not So Long Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

My return to The Old Republic has been wonderful.  Bioware has done a great job polishing the experience and rounding out the edges of the free to play conversion.  There is a lot of negative blather on the internet about the game, but I've found the people that play it, of which there are a great many, have a positive outlook on the game, and enjoy their time there.

When I'd originally played SWTOR before, I'd spent most of my time as a Sith Juggernaut.  I left that character around level 40.  Instead of jumping back into a higher level character in the middle of a story I don't really remember, I decided to start a new character.  I settled on the Sith Sorcerer.  I always end up wanting to heal anyway so this seemed like a good investment.  It's been a great way of easing back into the game and the numerous changes that have been implemented since I left (Yay group finder!).  I'm also really enjoying the Inquisitor story.

A Return to Space... and my blog

I recently lost a job that had kept me travelling, and since my financial future isn't in any immediate peril, I plan on enjoying the free time my new job affords me.

Eve Online's latest expansion, Odyssey, revamped exploration in some very significant ways.  It's both more accessible and more fully featured now.  I've had a lot of fun getting back into eve with these changes.

Minmatar ships being my vessels of choice I head out into the unknown piloting the well named "Probe" in search of lost riches.  The first step in becoming a wealthy explorer is getting learning to scan down these elusive sites.  The interface takes a little getting used to, but it does provide a great deal of information, like most of Eve.

Lotro Troubles and Other Adventures

Technical difficulties have kept me from Middle-earth, but I'm hopeful that my fresh install will solve my crashing problem.  I've kept in touch with my Kin via our website, but I'm anxious to bash some fresh orc skulls soon.

In the meantime I have a few milestones in other games.  I just cleared normal difficulty in Diablo 3 with my barbarian.  This isn't my first clear, but I play my main Monk with a friend that has been busy with multiple jobs lately.  The barbarian has a great feel too it.  The reverberations of your abilities and the mess you make of hordes of enemies is very satisfying.

I also hit summoner level 30 in League of Legends after over a year of casual play.  I'm a person that avoids pvp in MMOs, Eve Online aside, but I really enjoy a good contest.  Fighting games are fun, but the added element of team play offered by MOBAs really sucks me in.  I even spend a lot of time watching pro tournaments and such.

Hopefully next week I'll have a tale of goblin skewering and elf song (reading The Hobbit for the first time to get my tolkien fix in the mean time.), but until then,

Happy Hunting!

-Kup

Festival of the White Lady

My Kinship holds a festival every year on Landroval, and this year's theme was Eowyn's Faire, celebrating strong women.  We marched in formation throughout Bree stopping at landmarks as our band performed and we danced and set off hundreds of fireworks.  The turnout was incredible and the enthusiasm and support from the community made for one of my favorite moments in gaming to date.

Newbie Blogger Initiative Final Challenge

I hopped onto the blogging horse due to the Newbie Blogger Initiative, but have not kept up with any of these challenges because truth be told, I didn’t notice them until today ><. However, this final challenge really sums up the spirit of the entire event.

Ravalation, Diary of a Gamer Girl - Currently covering Lotro, Swtor, and Mass Effect, which are wonderful choices, this blog is full of beautiful screenshots and entertaining commentary. Her appreciation of these games really comes through in her writing.

Gaming for Introverts – I’m more of a homebody than an introvert, but Pamela seems a kindred spirit. She is currently playing Diablo 3 and waiting for Guild Wars 2. She has a very rich writing style, and her perspective is genuine and relatable.

Horrible Ball of Fire – I’ve always enjoyed reading stories of Eve Online, and the tales of Hasugo Numani are getting better with each entry.


Please give these folks a read, and I'm including the full list of newbie bloggers after the break.

Legendary Lore-master

I ended up following the epic quests around through most of my forties, and I started Volume 2: the prologue to Moria as soon as I turned 45 per the advice of some kinmates.  These being level 50 quests provided some challenge, but they are doable with a little care, and the rewards, including your first two legendary items, are well worth it.

I found the base of the legendary item system, leveling up your weapon, using points to rank up it's special attributes, to be simple enough and fun, but I think the real complexity and grind will come with deconstructing and such once I am actually into Moria.  I'm reserving judgement until then.

I was also lucky enough to finish collecting all of the pages for my first three legendary traits with all of my running around, and I used the need to level up my new legendary items to grind out the stuff I needed to complete my legendary class quest that I also started at 45.  I spent some skirmish marks on the last round of items that required boss kills in some level fifty instances or a chunk of gold on the auction house.  I've been enjoying the eagle, but I completely understand why some folks don't use him.  For now, I think he is a strong choice, but I think that once I have more AOE capability I will find Ents Go to War much more useful.

All this excitement aside, by far the most fun I've had has been the night I spent in Goblin Town with some very helpful and skilled Kinmates.  That place is sooooo huge, but full of challenge and intrigue.  I highly recommend delving its depths if you ever get the chance.

Until next time, happy hunting!

-Kup

P.S.  I think I'm going to start taking screenshots with fraps, the lotroclient seems to go to an extreme with compressing them.