Another game i wanted to play for years, laziness and knowing that this game is open world PVP made me hesitate to try it, but why?! i mean it is virtual world, what is the worst thing could happen? i always have the choice to close the game in the end.
Age of Wushu is a Chinese game based on Chinese martial arts, the game tried to be different than most MMORPGs:
No levels, it is skilled based game, you upgrade and acquire new skills in different ways.
No classes, everyone starts with basic skills, then join a school .. or not, the school gives you new skills.
Combat works like Rock Paper Scissor, in the game you can attack or parry or block.
NPCs have reputations, you can gain or lose reputation with many NPCs, not just factions, and when you gain reputation with some NPCs they give you quests and open new content for you.
Your character does not quit the world when you logoff, your character can work while you are offline, there are many activities to do while you logoff.
Online players can kidnap offline players!
This is some of the systems the game have, i wanted to play this game just to explore the world and take screenshots, walk around and just enjoy the world, the game didn’t allow that without going first into tutorial.
I made a character and started playing and questing so i reach a point where i can travel as i want, surprisingly no one attacked me, maybe because i’m a new player? while i was exploring the and going from a farmland to a city, i encountered a criminal, a wanted person, an NPCs which i should kill.
I kept going and ignored the NPC, but i loved what happened here, random encounter and i have choice to fight or ignore, i like this, i wish to see more of this kind of randomness in other MMOs (looking at you Blizzard!).
I’m starting to understand more the appeal of sandbox MMOs, and i wish to see more of them, alas many survival online games focus too much on PVP as the main features, players are the content, my wish is to see PVE sandbox MMO.
For now i’ll keep walking around Age of Wushu, just enjoy the world and the music (good music), read Age of Wushu wiki to understand its systems, and here is some screenshots.
I can say that i gave EQ2 enough chance, it is one of the games i like to watch others play it but not play it by myself, not any more anyway, here is what happened.
At first the game was enchanting, a new world, new systems, there is so much to see and learn, the adventure started on a ship, tiny zone with simple quick quests.
Then i moved to Isle of Refuge, larger zone with many quests and more details, i can level up harvesting and crafting, there are shiny collections, interesting story, i’m still enchanted by the game and happy to play it.
After the Isle i moved to the big city of Qeynos, huge place with many sub-zones, so many quests makes me move around the city, there is more harvesting and crafting, more shiny collections, more mobs and loot, i’m still enjoying everything here, it took me a long time to finish all the quests, level up my profession and even choose my profession path to be a and Outfitter who will choose Tailoring later.
The crafting system is huge compared to WoW system, i haven’t reached level 15 yet and i have more than 900 recipes in my recipes book, many items are useful for me, so many items i can make for my house, crafting is another class you have to level.
So i spent so much time in Qeynos just doing what the game provide, questing, crafting, decorating my house, collecting, but in the end i ran out of quests and i have to go outside the city to start my adventure in the world.
Some quests in the city sent me to Antonica, and here i started feeling bored quickly, the zone is vast and empty, well not empty but there are large spaces where there is nothing there, not a mob or a tree or anything, so many quests ask me to kill 10 of gnolls of this kind, and another 10 gnolls of another kind, and 12 gnolls for their ears, kill wild life, kill bugs, kill bears … etc.
I haven’t seen any shiny collection objects, there are less harvesting nodes and i needed to search for some of them (like stones and dens) to collect some rare materials, i could not find what i wanted, there was a lot of running around and a lot of killing mobs and a lot of closing the game and return to do all that later and repeat.
WoW zones are much smaller in comparison but they have more life to them, they have more details even when these details have nothing to do with quests, the zones in WoW give me a reason to explore and look around, where in Antonica i didn’t find a reason to do that, when the zone is empty why go there?
So maybe Antonica was not the right choice, maybe i should’ve gone some where else, i was so close to reach level 20 and maybe buy a mount, maybe i should tried that, but honestly i could not, Antonica was so discouraging, when i skipped playing the game for a day i thought this is a sign, i’m not enjoying it anymore, time to remove it.
So this is the end of EQ2 for now, maybe i’ll go back one day.
They chose 1.12 version of Classic WoW, that is the last patch before Burning Crusade.
The old code is not compatible with current login system or modern graphic cards.
Old code does not support modern security and anti-cheating tools.
They decided to use modern code with old data to make the game.
They are working on updating the data formats and databases.
I wasn’t expecting any news about Classic until Blizzcon 2018, but glad to hear something about it, and Blizzard wrote enough details about the challenges they face to update the game and make it suitable for their current platform.
Of course no news about Classic can ever live without the same old comments written again and again, the “rose tinted glasses” or goggles comment, the reminder that classic “sucked” or the warning that people will abandon the game as soon as the play it … sigh, we need a bingo card for these comments!
Anyway, glad to hear about classic, people who live to devour happiness can keep trying … i will still enjoy Classic 😀
I’ve been sick for few days now, nothing serious just cold, sore throat and coughing, almost gone now, and it is time to try a new old game, Everquest 2.
The game is owned and developed by a company called Daybreak, it used to be part of Sony in the past, i made an account in Daybreak website, went to Everquest 2 website and downloaded the game client.
Quick install then the client started downloading the game, but it was a quick download because it only download part of the game, while you are playing it will download more as you play, but you can make the client download the whole game, just press on the setting button to do that.
I was excited to play the game, it is one of two games i wanted to play since mid-2000s, WoW is one and this is the other, i watched many streams and videos for it, i know i’ll love it.
The game start with making a character, but first you should choose which server type you want, there are 4 types of servers, one is open for everyone, and the rest need subscription or what Daybreak call “All Access”.
The server types:
Traditional: normal servers, open for everyone, have PVE and PVP servers, access all content.
Progression: like Classic WoW, progression start with first release content then add expansion slowly.
Event: server offer some kind of competition or a race to achieve something.
Free trade: players can trade almost any item on this server.
So as a free to play player i have one choice here, the traditional servers.
Making a character starts with choosing your class, there are 4 Arch-types, each one have different classes, most are available for all races, few or available just for neutral races and good or evil races.
For example:
Paladin is available for neutral and good races.
ShadowKnight is available for neutral and evil races.
EQ2 Wiki have good overview for all the classes, many of them are hybrid, it’s not like WoW where a tank is just a tank, in EQ2 each class offer something more, DPS and healing, or DPS and crowd control, some offer DPS with buffs and debuffs.
As for races, there are many to choose from, there is a rat race and cats race, you can imagine all the chances to make bad jokes 😀 there is also frogs, fae which is my favorite because it can fly, yes you need to reach level 85 but no other race can fly except the Arasi which is the evil kind of Fae.
Few of the classes (like Beastlord) and races are locked and only available for subscribers.
After choosing your class, race and making your character, you have to choose starting city, and for me as someone who never played the game before i don’t know the advantage of each city, but in the end you are choosing starting zone, you can always move to another zone if you want.
Then choose a name and you are ready to go.
Note: you may see a choice to create level 100 character, i think you should not use it if you are a totally new player.
You start in a Micro-zone a ship in the middle of the sea, you do few quests here, it is a zone to teach you the basics without overwhelming you with so many things, when talking with NPCs you have to right click them and choose “hail” or left-click and type /hail.
Here is an advice: take it really slowly, EQ2 is not a small game, there is so much to do and so many systems, so take your time and try to understand what is going on, the game offer help system, and you can always visit EQ2 Wiki for guides, they have a great guide you can read to understand the game.
Help panel, read it, don’t skip it
After quests in the ship you reach Isle of Refuge, much larger zone than the ship, here you can learn other stuff, like gathering materials, all characters can do that without training, it’s not like WoW where you have train yourself skinning or mining to gather materials.
Also you will learn to collect shinies! this is the best thing ever, you’ll see a yellow glowing on the ground (later you’ll see them in other colors) click it and collect it, add it to your collection.
When you have a full set of a collection you can turn it in to a collector, an NPC who take these collections from you and give you awards, and the awards are worth it, good gear maybe something more later, i don’t know.
In the Isle of Refuge there are many NPCs who explain many systems to you, talk to all NPCs, don’t leave without leveling up all the gathering skills and maybe crafting some items, explore the whole zone and do all the quest, take your time, because you can’t return back to this island.
Here is what happened to me, i pressed a button called “recall” and it teleported me to a city of my choice, i could not go back and finish my quests in Isle of Refuge, i have to start a new character, but that is ok, i know i’ll make mistakes, that’s how i learn.
So, what do i think about EQ2? right now i love it, the game feels old and goofy sometimes, the graphics are old school but the game itself is so rich with content and systems, if you are like me and you can have fun with any game no matter how old it feels .. then you’ll enjoy EQ2, give it a try.
Ok … so much written here for “step one” i hope i don’t keep writing long posts for each step … sorry for the length 🙂
Just random moment … Pepe demon hunter and unamused hunter
So it is, WordPress tells me my blog is one year old, yay i guess, well it is good to know that i want to keep writing here, so onwards to the second year, and thank you for visiting, following commeting, you give me another reason to keep writing … and here is some random stuff.
I want to race change my main, i counted how many human alts i have in WoW and i have too many! so i thought i’ll race change my main into Gnome (what else?!) but looking at the price of race change makes me hesitant, starting a new Gnome hunter is out of question here, because my main have most exalted reputations with many factions, i don’t want to waste that.
I’m sure i’ll just go for it and change to gnome, but maybe not now.
Waiting for 8.0, whenever that patch coming it will come with Legacy mode for old raids and dungeons, i’m not 100% sure it’ll come with patch 8.0 but Blizzard is planning that for BfA.
Currently i rarely farm old raids and dungeons for transmog gear, i always enjoyed doing that but the changes in Legion made it less appealing to keep farming, i don’t like it to loot a boss and all i get is 5 gold, it get frustrating when i want that one piece for transmog set and i could not get it no matter how many times i try, so .. waiting for Legacy mode.
I installed Everquest 2, i read on MoP that Everquest 2 have an offer, a level 100 free boost, it was so tempting, so i downloaded the game and then i changed my mind, not going to use the boost but i want to play EQ2.
here is a boring story, there was a weblog called Joystiq, i started following and reading that weblog since day one, it was part of large network of many good weblogs, it was written by a group of writers and everyday there is a lot of new things to read.
Then Joystiq made new sub weblogs for different consoles and one sub weblog Warcraft called WoW insider in 2005, after two years they made another weblog called Massively which focus on all kind of MMOs and i followed both from day one.
Now that was the golden age for the weblogs in my opinion, so called “social networks” didn’t have major role back then, many independent weblogs thrived.
Anyway, one day in Massively there was a stream in Twitch, i clicked and i saw Everquest 2 in the stream, i remember the streamer (MJ) was in a dungeon, it was some sort of mansion, with bookshelves and red carpets, i don’t remeber much of the stream, but that dungeon left good impression on me, the stream made me want to play the game, but i haven’t done that yet.
Later all these weblogs will be part of AOL, and then AOL killed many of them and with that it killed a very happy place for me in the web, i’m still upset about it to this day. WoW Insider team started Blizzard Watch, Massively team started MassivelyOP.
Basically all i wanted to say: Everquest 2 is a game i wanted to play for a long time, and it is free to play, it have so much content and systems it will make any new player feeling lost for a long time, it have more than 13 expansions, some of them are mini-expansions.
From Massively OP post i found a link to a Let’s Play series for Everquest 2, an MMO i love and planning to play, in the series there is a video for housing i hope you watch to see one of best housing systems in all MMOs.
I talked before about housing in WoW, just imagine EQII housing in WoW, how much content it will add?
Also you will learn to collect shinies! this is the best thing ever, you’ll see a yellow glowing on the ground (later you’ll see them in other colors) click it and collect it, add it to your collection.
