I decided to disrupt Princess (my cat) for most of the day yesterday, and spent it spring cleaning. Moved all of her ‘beds’ around and rearranged the apartment, it looks much better now. I still have a few rooms to go, but it’s a start. Once that was done I headed in game to find Ultann’s boxed inquisitor at level 80 – woohoo! Less then a month to level from 1-80 using the recruit a friend method, which means he can start working on his epic now. We decided to head to Crypt of Agony and see if the Cardiocutter would drop (which it didn’t) or even the fabled ranged item for Ultann (which also didn’t drop). What DID drop though was that caster ring (legendary) with some pretty nice spell crit on it. Of course it would drop, since I had been trying to get it for my illusionist for quite some time and we never saw it. Thankfully, it’s also a nice ring for a bard who makes use of both CA’s and spells.

That was the only thing of note to drop within the instance, and afterward we decided to head to Courts off of Pillars of Flame in order to get some more guild experience (not to mention a good handful of craft rares). We one grouped everything except the final Black Witch who happens to elude us because our dps is too slow to take down a x4 before she ports most of us all over the zone, leaving either no healer, or no tank, or no dps (which makes everything even more slow). She also places curse of insanity upon the group which means you can get one shot if you go below a certain amount of power. Seeing as we were one group trying to take down an encounter meant for 24, we use a lot of power.

It was still a lot of fun, we still gained a lot of aa and the guild is nearing level 30 where we’ll be able to purchase a guild hall.

After that we headed to Chardok in an attempt to obtain the inquisitor starter which has been noted as dropping either there, or in Chelsith (or outside Chelsith). We didn’t see it and ended up calling it early because red encounters were absolutely ripping my bard to shreds.

The evening went well over all. The bard dinged level 74 and is 30% or so into it. As you can see above, she gets a good chunk of experience each kill. I wish it worked for quest experience too but such is not the case. At level 75 she can start doing shard missions, though you do have to be 79 to pick up the daily doubles. I haven’t begin to work on obtaining her skills yet, but that will be next. I cringe at the number of silicate loams I’m going to have to get.

I hope everyone else had an amazing Saturday, don’t forget next Sunday is Mother’s day!

An absolutely beautiful day yesterday, so I spent a lot of out outside doing some photography in a little village. It was fun, warm, but fun. Later on in the day I logged in to EQ2 to have a little fun. Ultann was busy doing Halls of Fate with Wpus and the boxed inquisitor who managed to climb to level 77 and I went back to working on my epic for a little while. Finally I had gotten my gathering skills high enough to work on it properly.

I completed the first portion that required me to harvest rocks in Kunark and deliver them to a dwarf in Butcherblock Mountains, then it was time to head to Shard of Fear and take down an Eye of Thul. These mobs are just before the graveyard and are pretty close to the zone in, so 5 minutes later it was complete.

Ultann had to leave for a few hours (and ended up being gone for the remainder of the evening) so Wpus agreed to help me level up my dirge. Now, I know. I already HAVE a troubador on Oasis, one who has her dirge AND troubador epic weapons because I’ve betrayed her THAT many times, but I love bards, I truly do. So of course it was natural (for me) to create another. I may betray her to troubador later on as well, I haven’t decided yet.

She started off at level 54, and is linked to the rent-a-friend account that I have so she’s got the benefit of 200% bonus experience. Not to mention 50% from my regular level 80′s on the account, and she had full vitality plus the Orb of Concentrated Memories which is the 5 year veteran reward that grants full vitality once a week.

Needless to say after running her through Clefts of Rujark and an instance within that zone, then heading off to Living Tombs, she was well situated at level 60. I had hoped to gain two more levels and push her to 62 which is the new tier for Mastercrafted gear (and I was planning on checking out new skills as well) but I was feeling pretty tired after a busy day so I decided to call it an early night at 9:30. Hopefully I can get those levels today instead, we’ll just have to see.

I’ve also found myself turning off most of the level channels on Kithicor, and instead joining the role play channels over on Antonia Bayle, which you can join no matter what server you’re on. One of the more popular channels is a player run tavern called “Raven Mythic” which you can join and listen to by /join antonia_bayle.RM  – the tavern is a gathering place for role players who play out their stories within, some acting as staff, others as weary adventurers who have come to sit by the fire and tell their tale. I’ve listened to the stories there off and on for the past two years, enjoying every minute of it. I’d much rather spend my evening leveling and watching the chatter of that one channel then listen to the elitist comments made by the general populace in 70-79. If you’re into that sort of thing, whether to partake or only to listen I highly suggest it.

Other then that, it was a quiet evening. Those are just as nice as one packed with things to do especially after a busy day. I hope everyone else had an amazing Saturday!

Yesterday I had some time to play with Kasul on my little rune-keeper. He managed to get an invite to Casualties of War (Thank you Ethic) and with that came a visit to the Kinship house in the shire. I learned something very important. Don’t drink from the Kinship Keg.

I took a sip, innocently enough. Just one sip. Before I knew it, I was passed out on the floor with a blurry image of Kasul hovering over me shaking my shoulders – and when I woke up I was in Tyrn Lhuig – Angman. This is a high level zone, at least higher then me. I was laying in a field surround by mosquito and when I managed to get my feet under me one of them came along and easily bonked me on the head. Of course my recall was down because I’d just used it, and guild recall was down.

Needless to say Kasul had an easier time of it and when he revived at least he was not too far away. Even though he was also unceremoniously dumped in a field some place. I guess that will teach both of us.

I paid the repair bill and we continued questing. The rune-keeper inched her way through 15 and most of 16 before I decided to call it a day. I didn’t get any crafting done, but I am sure I’ll manage to find a little time to work up the cooking and jewelcrafting.

I’ve already done all of the quests before on the other server with my minstrel, but I’m having a lot of fun with the rune-keeper. It’s interesting to make sure I align myself properly for either healing or dps depending on what I’m doing and who I am with.

The goal is to reach level 19 and be able to play with the Nostalgia who are still waiting to transfer, and work on my crafting. It’s a slow process but it’s been a lot of fun. Once we’re all there and settled it will be great to see some new sights, as I’m getting a little bit tired of running the same quests that I just did last week when I leveled the other character.

I was also happy to learn that I must have miss read the cost of housing. While it is still expensive, it’s not something that’s going to be completely out of my price range later on. I do want to purchase a home (seeing as housing is one of those things that I just enjoy doing) and I’ve been collecting a few house items to use once I get one. I’m not sure which area I’ll move to yet, but I’m thinking of avoiding the shire – since the Kinship home is there and my elf is constantly hitting her head on the low ceilings.

Alts are expensive. I know if I devoted all of my time to one character instead of the … 20 I have now, I’d probably have a lot more money in game. Not to mention moving servers would be cheaper, and my house would be the most impressive thing this side of Norrath. I’d also probably be fairly bored, because anyone doing the same thing day in and day out is bound to get boring eventually. 

I’m not the only one with a whole lot of alts. I’ve tried cutting back and all it results in is more alts being made. It’s a vicious circle. 

Yesterday I got the recruit-a-friend mount that grants members in my group a 10% bounce to experience so long as I’ve got the mount buff on. Great idea. I’ve named the horse “gassy” I’m sure you can guess why. The mount is also 55% run speed, which is great. Plus, it’s heirloom which means you can place it in your shared bank for all of your alts to use. Another big bonus since you can only claim one. 

The paladin is now sitting at level 46, and the new fury at level 42. Last night Ultann took his baby inquisitor and we all headed to Obelisk of Lost Souls which is my favorite zone in the game because of how twisted and dark it is. We gained access to the lower levels, and it was a lot of fun (and surprisingly empty for once). Today I will hopefully quest in Everfrost until the boys log in and then we’ll decide what we’re doing from there. 

I spent 15p last night outfitting the two characters which I knew would happen sooner or later. While I could certainly make it to level 70 without purchasing anything at all for them, I can’t solo that way realistically. I outfitted them both in tier-appropriate gear, and bought all of their spells at least adept1 quality, a few adept3 and M1 where the cost was right. They’re not twinked by any means, but it should be more then enough to get by. I wish Kithicor had a better ‘small’ population, people below level 60 as it were. I know the role play servers are bustling with activity, and I wish all the servers shared that enthusiasm but alas, they do not. Kithicor’s main population spends their time whining about how uber they are compared to someone else and shooting down those who are not as good as them. It seems like every single person I examine is decked out in fabled, and makes me wonder what ever happened. Alas, without a merge or a server transfer (which I can’t keep splurging on) I’ll remain there (for now). Fingers crossed for one of these two events happening in the future though. 

Over all it was a nice night. After I shopped I decided to call it an early night and got some sleep. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! Safe travels.

I’ve been leveling up a rune-caster on Landroval in order to catch up to the Nostalgians who have characters that are moving over (some time soon we hope). I didn’t want to pay to move a level 19 character when I’ve only devoted 24 hours to the class and figured it would be easier to just start over. I switched from a minstrel to the new class and then noticed ‘gee, there are a LOT of rune-keepers around!’ but I’m not going to let that bother me. In the past, it would have. I’ve never really grasped the idea of ‘playing what you like’ as opposed to ‘playing what is needed’ because I’ve constantly tied the two together. What I liked was something that was needed. As I continue to game though I’ve found it more and more important to play what I like because lets face it, things change and if you’re not at least happy with what you’re playing, well. What’s the point. It used to be a much bigger deal because I enjoy almost all classes – but I’m learning to narrow it down.

healer – support – ranged dps  - tank – melee dps 

That’s what I like to play, in the order that I like to play it. No big deal, nothing earth shattering. Anyhow – yesterday the rune-keeper climbed to level 14, almost 15. I’ve had a few deaths but nothing too difficult thus far. I have to keep reminding myself that last time I was doing this content I actually had a tank helping me out which made things far easier. It’s some times difficult to solo when I have to attune myself to either dps or heals. I’ve been getting by so far by placing a healing rune on the ground, and one of my two HoT’s on myself before combat begins (when ever possible) and then switching over to the dps which blocks out the rune from being cast as well as one of my HoT’s. I can take on three at once if they’re dark blue, but anything more and it starts to get messy. I typically get interrupted as I try to cast my DoT’s or my mez. It’s a work in progress what can I say. 

I’ve picked up crafting but so far have been doing very little of it, concentrating on catching up in levels instead. I also managed to snag myself an invite to CoW yesterday since Sarzan was home during the day (which happens to be when I’m around most as it were). Hopefully the rest of Nostaliga moves soon and we’ll be back to our regular leveling schedule before too long!