I'm slow at leveling

     Aelithar is level 38. I'm slowly getting there in this game, though I feel slow. Aside from the two Harani the hubby and I play sometimes, my friend SprYte and I added a pair of elves on Calleil. But mostly I think what makes me slow is that there are so many things I can keep getting distracted by doing. Some of them help with leveling like the dungeon I ran with three guildies and a random dps we picked up. That was an adventure. We were dps (and in my case rather tanky) things and we'd been hoping to find a healer outside the dungeon. Turns out the only thing we could find was another dps. As a paladin I was the only one with any Vitalism skills at all. So rather than attempting to tank I found myself attempting to heal with a grand total of two healing spells. Thanks to a well coordinated group we did finish Burnt Castle and it was loads of fun.
     I'd only intended for Aelithar to have Silverbirch for a mount. After all in a game where your mount is persistent in the world and has to be carried in your bag, collecting seems silly. But then I found out that the Lilyut Horses you could purchase on Mirage Isle not only ran faster and had melee based attacks, but also could be leveled and upgraded. Needless to say he promptly went to Mirage Isle and spent most of his gold on a foal. Raising it up was simple enough once I realized I needed a carrot and then Blackthorn got most of the way from level five to level ten simply running the longest way from Solzreed back to Cinderstone Moor.

    There is just so much about this game that's done right or at least right for me. Trade packs, farming and mount leveling conspire to keep all the zones busy and alive. (I can't be the only one riding a lot of places the long way to level up my mounts, can I?) Not only that but the world it pretty enough and busy enough to be a place I just want to be. Aelithar has several hereafter stones in his bag, but often as not traveling involves just riding because I'm simply enjoying that.
     Mounts as persistent entities in the world that you can level and gear is something I have always wanted in an MMO. Add in combat abilities for them and  they are something that I easily get attached to and that becomes part of my character's story. Battle pets are a wonderful concept as well though I've done very little to level mine. Aelithar's a paladin so for me his mount is a more important thing than his battle pet. Knights and trusty steeds and all that.
     The mix and match ability of armor and weapons is great for me too. Aelithar's been using a sword since level 20 (the same sword incidentally :P) but one of his guildies offered to make him a weapon if some of the mats were acquired and after some thought and internet research I decided the best thing for his primarily tanky build was a club. He got a new sword from questing the day the club was finished. The dps for the sword is slightly higher but the club is close enough to feel comparable when questing and his heals have at least doubled their output making him feel more like a paladin than ever.  It's great that some classes can function best by mixing armor types and possibly unexpected weapons.
     I love the way classes work as well, though I've got to talk myself out of taking Vitalism on everything. Aelithar had to have it to be a paladin, Mirzai ended up taking it because his hit things in the face partner sometimes needed healing. And Vanydor the elf I'm playing with a friend has taken it because that ended up rounding out his Archery/Shadowplay combination into something called Ranger than I couldn't pass up. I've got enough credits for one more slot, so maybe I can talk the eventual Firran out of being healer-y.
     Someday when more land is available I'd really love to go patron and make a house. I love the houses and the making and decorating them yourself part is another thing that feels great. I also think I might like a boat. A real one that's a bit bigger than the little rowboat he got from a quest.

     Something like the one he's on with his guildies here.

     I really enjoy the combat animations too. They look very dynamic. And if will admit to getting a kick out of this quest where not only were there the usual fantasy game succubi to fight but incubi too. I have very rarely seen incubi in games because they aren't sexy women so it was nice that the sort of sexy (mostly creepy) demons come in both genders for once.
     Overall I'm still loving this game. And Aelithar is 38, which is where Daethrys in Rift and Tirasiel in Aion have both ended up hitting hitching points. But right now I definitely feel like Aelithar's going to move on past and keep working toward 50.