Time warp

     The night (I think) after Rift's Nightmare Tides expansion had launched I logged into Daethrys for a bit for the first time in a while. I oohed and aaahhhhed over the pretty graphics on my new computer and then got down to doing a few things. I emptied his bags, put a lot of things on the auction house and then went out and did enough quests to hit level 39 and move on to the next hub. In the process of one of the quests a neat dimension item had dropped and I installed it in Falharan's workshop dimension because it fit the theme. Then satisfied with my hour or so of work I put Daethrys in his dimension and logged off.
     A few days were spent hitting 50 in Archeage and then the next day I decided to pop onto Daethrys and finally have a look at the minions system I'd missed before. My first confusion was wondering why I was sitting in Lantern Hook. I was sure I'd left him in his dimension which should have popped him out at the next hub. My next confusion was that my bags were full of the leather gear and things I remembered putting on the auction house. Then I noticed his experience bar. He'd been barely into 39 why was it so full?
     Because he was level 38 again. I looked through his things... all the quests were back in his logs, unfinished. Everything was as it had been when I first logged in that other night. It was as though my hour or so of playing had never happened at all. I couldn't understand it. I didn't see anything in the chat about it... had there been some sort of bug? Would they fix it? Should I put in a ticket?
     When in doubt I've learned, always turn to the forums. WoW's are usually a cesspit of crazy... but if something has gone wonky in the game it'll be on the forums in very short order. Rift's forums too had an answer for me. Apparently several servers had crashed probably very shortly after I logged off. And Faeblight, which is Daethrys' server was the one without a recent back up. They had to basically restore it from a point 24 hours back. So... effectively my hour or so of playtime -hadn't- happened. Only it had. I'd done it. I'd taken screenshots to prove it. But for Daethrys' purpose they were just gone.
     It didn't take me long to empty his bags onto the auction house again or quest through to the next hub where I'd been. I'm sad to have lost the dimension item drop but it's a minor thing compared to all the maxed characters who lost their levels and their crafting and apparently the things they'd used during that time as well. Still it was such a strange feeling. Oddly surreal and for a moment I doubted myself. Had I really played for a while that night?
     I can't help wondering from an RP standpoint what Daethrys would think if he remembered both times he did all those things. As it was I can only imagine him having a rather intense feeling of deja vu.

Nightmare Tides and things and I'm still here in Droughtlands

     Rift's new expansion dropped today? Yesterday? I've been getting emails about it anyhow but since Daethrys was only level 38 this isn't so exciting for me. Still I couldn't resist logging on to see if there'd been any basic changes that would make a difference for my slowly progressing Huntsman. Not really, though I'd swear there'd been a graphics change. Only I'm not really sure if it was anything the game did or just that I'd barely poked my head in since getting the new computer. What I do know is... wow the new computer lets me play with things turned all the way up and it's gorgeous. It was beautiful on my old machine, it's even better on this one.

     Just look at how pretty Daethrys is. (Have I mentioned I love Kelari men?) I played with my graphics settings some, emptied his bags onto the auction house, and then quested long enough to hit level 39. It wasn't far. Quests and killing things seemed a bit easier. Not sure if there have been changes or just reacquainting myself. Daethrys definitely makes faster work of murder in Rift than Aelithar does in Archeage.

     Archeage definitely hasn't been supplanted. I spent the morning in Erenor(I think that's the name of that world) though Aelithar's reached the rather sloggy grind stage of questing. 47 last night and maybe a quarter of the way to 48 this morning. He's left Windscour Savannah now for Perinoor Ruins which so far is an interestingly creepy sort of zone.

     My goal for myself is that if I can manage it I'd like to hit 50 before Auroria is released. Definitely before Warlords of Draenor if I can. I'm miles behind most people at leveling, I guess I'm slow at it. I don't think of myself that way in WoW where I can slog through things I've done before at a pretty good clip if I put my mind to it. Other MMOs where I'm reading every last quest and exploring things I haven't seen before, well the leveling slows down. I get distracted by random things.
     I love Archeage. This is an MMO that feels almost like it was made for me. It's got so many things I've always wanted in an MMO and even if in Free to Play I can't take part in all of them I love it for that. The PvP end game is not really my favorite thing, but oddly I find that when I'm not drastically outnumbered I'm much less terrible at it than I thought I was. I'm... actually almost having fun with the PvP sometimes. I'm not sure what to think about that. I do know that Rift will be seeing me back  at some point too, but I think it's Archeage that's my second MMO home.

Alts and Screenshot Spam

      I hadn't really meant to make an alt on my main server in Rift (Faeblight) unless another friend came to play there with me. But then I saw Kaozz at ECTmmo had a post on Dimensions and the Dreamweaver profession which had mildly intrigued me but which I can't really looked into enough to realize what it actually did. When I found out... I really wanted one. But Daethrys has put a fair amount of work into keeping his Outfitting, Butchering and Foraging leveled so I didn't want to drop any of them. Well, there's an alt for that. At least there is now.

     Meet Falharan. He's a Silenus Cleric for the sole reason that I wanted the fae pets. Turns out that so far it's also a lot of fun. He's a Dreamweaver, Daethrys is dumping all the artifacts at him to salvage now and he's set up his default Dimension as a workshop from which to make lovely things and dole them out to Daethrys first and foremost but also to the two rl friends I got to poke into Rift a bit with me.
     I love the idea of the Dreamweaver profession. It got me all enthused over Rift professions and over playing in Rift again, just as I am having a big slump in WoW. So Daethrys has gone from level 34-37 in the last couple of days and Falharan's already level 13 (mostly as a side effect of trying to get more burlap.)
    And because Rift is one of my very favorite games to screenshot in... there are lots of screenshots.

Falharan and his Satyr, Silaun.

Falharan and Alarie look like they hear something.

I don't usually leave the helms showing, but I'm kind of getting a kick out of this one, so for now it stays.

Some of my favorite shots of Daethrys are in moonlight. Shortly before he left Scarwood Reach.

Managed a half decent archery shot finally. Poor Friend sometimes dies because I dropped the UI and stopped paying any attention to anything but screenshotting :P

I don't think I was supposed to really get up here. But looking for the way up to a quest that I couldn't find I climbed way up on Lantern Hook. So of course. Screenshots.

Nice break on the hammock between killing things. I seem to have a thing for nighttime shots of Daethrys.

One of the many shots I took attempting a decent archery one... kept because the bloodspatter was too much fun to pass up.

I love going into new zones in Rift. Or in any MMO really. That feeling of exploring all over again. Didn't think I was a fan of desert zones really, but I love Droughtlands (and Uldum for that matter.)

MMO Housing

     This wasn't a feature I thought I'd be super into. WoW doesn't have it and I'd never thought about it being necessary. But then I tried a few other things that did and...I really like housing. In my head all of my characters have a home anyhow, a place they go to rest after a long day's journey, to lick their wounds and sleep. I never realized how excited I could get about having something like that in game. Then I tried Rift.
     They give you a free dimension pretty early on. It's not much, just a shrine on a hill, but it's mine. Daethrys has picked up a few things in his journeys beyond what he was given to fill it and they've all found a home there. A few more things I bought for it because I wanted him to have a home that looked like one. It isn't much, someday I want to make an alt and try the Dreamweaving profession and maybe make something bigger. But for now:

      The whole thing pretty much. It's really not big or impressive. You can't see the gravestone he added off to one side, or the weird makeshift hammock bed under the tree that he got from some quest mobs, but it's an overview.

     Standing in the doorway. It's cozy enough for a hunter who just wants a place to keep the rain off for a while.

     A closer view of the interior. It's amazing to me what you can actually do in terms of customizing. I haven't done a whole lot here, but everything can be moved and rotated and scaled and left where you like it. The two planks in the past of goodies he got with the dimension became shelving. I bought a bed, some flowers, an inkwell, a journal and scaled down a vase to fit on the shelves and suddenly it looks like somebody lives there. It's not spectacular, but it could be.
   
     Lord of the Rings Online has housing too, though it's a bit more annoying needing to pay an upkeep on it. You don't get to really own it, just rent. Still as soon as Sadrondir had the coin he had to have one in the Elven neighborhoods.

     It's lovely on the outside, especially at night with all the windows lit. And rather small on the inside. The customization isn't nearly as impressive or freeform as Rift. There are set slots and certain types of things that can fit in them, and you can rotated them, but other than that, they are as they are. Still his house has music... and a story. When I had first got it I didn't have much gold so I was sparing with it. He bought the music and a piece or two of furniture. I had picked up a wall coloring somewhere and there was a painting in his leveling box.

     Furnished mostly with quest things and with a changed floor it looked a bit like this downstairs.

     And this upstairs. Cozy enough but not really very attractive. Still it was a work in progress. Well then one evening at the Prancing Pony I met an elf looking for a Kinship. Mine was kind enough to invite him but while they were busy in an instance I ran around with him. He bought a house... and then we ended up traipsing all over so he could buy lots of furniture and then spent an hour furnishing the place. He asked for my opinion a lot. Joking comments were almost made about everybody assuming Minstrels were good interior decorators, but I bit my tongue.
    And then he gave me -all- of his leftover and extra furniture along with some pieces he'd picked up deliberately for me.

     The downstairs now looks like this from one angle, much cozier and more attractive.

     The upstairs has a bed and pictures now. It looks like a place he can get some rest after a long day in the Barrow Downs.

     From the bed, the door leading downstairs. I've since used up every last interior slot. Nothing more can be placed in his house and though things could be changed some... it's done. And I wish there was a bit more I could do with it. Still it's got pretty green walls and a nice tile floor and down stairs there's a bookcase.

     What more could a simple Minstrel really want when he can't afford a bigger house? I did change the music and add a bit more in the yard. But it's done. And though it might not be Rift's Dimensions... it's a whole lot better than nothing. I'm anxiously waiting on time to get Tirasiel his last two or three necessary levels so I can see what housing is like in Aion.

Little Moments of Delight

     Just a minipost of screenshot spam of little things that delighted me in my various games. Saving the thinking post for later.

Aion: 

     I LOVE this hairstyle. Love it. It looks like something I'd design myself and it makes me happy. Also... Tirasiel got an earring as a quest reward. I noticed on the character screen that he's now wearing one! I've never seen this in any other game. It makes me grin.

     I have no idea what this guy is. His name is Mantigar and he makes you kill stuff that is beneath him. That I do know and am amused by.

     Neat ruins in the background, but mostly the Karnif, what a nifty looking critter. I like it. Tirasiel on the other hand killed loads of them.

Rift: 

 

     I love this house. Daethrys couldn't go there because there were loads of Guardians around it who didn't like him, but it was fun to look at from afar.

      Rifts look really cool. This one's all creepy and tentacle-y and Daethrys looks like he's checking to make sure Friend is coming to help out.

     I love weather effects in game. Rift's are beautiful. The color of the air, the sounds that go with them, but best of all, my kirin's scales sparkle like their wet and Daethrys too looks just a bit wet and uncomfortable. I should feel bad for keeping him out in the rain to take screenshots.

Lord of the Rings Online:

     Night sky. I love it and a new mount. Horse of the Jester which Sadrondir has christened Laughter. I love horses, and for all its other minor graphical flaws Lord of the Rings Online has some of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen.

Mostly Eye Candy

     

     Last night a friend and I popped onto Rift for a little bit of a change of pace after very frustrating LFRs in WoW. Daethrys was able to buy her a horse and we went off and shut down a rift before curiosity got the better of Daethrys and he went off to do a quest he'd been given with part of the Unicornalia event that's going on. (Oh how I covet those unicorns! Sadly I know I'll never manage it this year.)
     The beauty of Rift continually surprises me. Every time I log in I find something beautiful to screenshot and things that capture my imagination. Daethrys spent the day in the Highlands today (unexpectedly) working on a quest that I think ties in with the latest content. It's very good xp anyhow and the zone is just gorgeous. I wish I'd taken more screenshots than I did and think I'll have to revisit it even if it's for no other purpose than to screenshot everything.

Loved the look of this lovely but slightly forbidding bit of forest... all full of very cranky fae.

On a rise overlooking the house from the first picture.

     I wish I'd taken shots of the storm that was going when I arrived or the high rope bridges he crossed for the quest, but the zone was busy with holiday stuff today. Maybe next time.

     I spent a little time in LOTRO today too. Sadrondir has acquired all the holiday mounts he can get without me putting out some real money so you'd think I would be done. But he decided he wanted some prettier clothes than his crafted gear so he earned the leaves for that today and learned a couple of dances while he was at it.

     The new clothes suit my image of him a bit better, though he's sort of surprised me by turning out a bit different than I thought he'd be as a character, still, pretty clothes suit  him. (And I still love this harp.)

     The alts did a bit too. Curongalad finished the tutorial and took up making armor (and promptly made himself a new set. Mistelir worked the leather Sadrondir had sent him and then sent it off to Curongalad along with a club he made for him and Curongalad promptly made him a new set of clothes. They'll only be doing minimal questing and processing what they can of what Sadrondir sends them for the moment. 

     And then before I logged Sadrondir insisted on the circlet to go with his outfit.

     He wears flower wreath far better than I expected and this shot, taken in the split second when the Milestone action is finished but he hasn't vanished yet shows off the new tunic and circlet really well. And some of the other things that LOTRO did surprisingly well. The characters may be less attractive than some but the animations for some things are spot on. And he's a lovely springtime minstrel. Now I just have to talk Curongalad out of needing a fancy horse for himself...

Rift Progress

     My Rift progress has slowed down some as I renewed interest in a couple of other projects tried a few new things but I still really love logging in and doing some questing. Daethrys is making his way somewhat slowly through Scarwood Reach at the moment.

     It's an interesting storyline but more than that I like that I have to think about what I'm doing a bit harder than in a few other MMOs I've played. With stuff at his level Daethrys can manage to get into trouble if he's not careful and sometimes it's been fun being crafty and careful and using the Kelari racial to get around things. There was a long quest chain into Trollblight Caverns that I absolutely loved even if halfway through I failed to find a tunnel leading on to the next room. (Oh caves without maps, you are my bane in every game ever.) That evening I'd hearthed out without completing all the objectives and the next day I tried going overland to find what I was missing before realizing I just must have missed something somewhere deep in the troll and Aelfwar infested cave.
     The Kelari racial got a lot of use then to avoid fighting many, many things I'd already fought and finally I made it all the way back through and discovered what I'd missed. It maybe should have felt like a nuisance but I absolutely loved it.

Not the room I missed, just a really neat looking one inside the caverns.

     I think sometimes having to bee just a little bit cautious makes things feel more like a real adventure. It gives me time to think about Daethrys as a character and how he's handling stuff and I like that. And getting lost and taking unexpected turns can lead to lovely screenshot opportunities. As can climbing things you have no real reason to climb which is another thing I find myself doing a lot in rift. The lack of fall damage makes it pretty non-punishing to be just a little crazy on mountains. And the views sometimes make it rewarding. Granted I don't think any game other than Wildstar will ever feed my inner climber its fill.

    Some of the environments in Rift are just odd too. The Aelfwar in Scarwood Reach are messing with Life Rifts so there are all sorts of strange plants around them and I can't resist taking screenshots at the ones that make me stare. This will probably always be one of my favorite screenshotting games.

Daethrys' loyal pet is named Friend.