Alright so I figure I might as well start reblogging here on this thing. For the first time in a long time I finally have something I want to blog about - well, rant about more so. Well, not a proper rant, more so a little annoying thing - a vent, but I'll get to that in another post.
So since I've came back nearly four months ago I've managed to re-acquaint myself with some of the finer points of gameplay. I still manage to make a potato (an idiot) of myself with my gaping holes of knowledge in regards to updated content. The most recent example of this was - apparently in some versions of BH missions, you can summon others in to join you? I'm still powerfully confused by this.
Shortly after rejoining GE, I was swiftly re-abducted into Halcy. Apparently I had 'just' be finally kicked to make room a matter of days before. Ironic, that. The political climate is quite simple, but much more active than I have seen it in years. There's a massive grudge match between around 8-10 clans. Or rather, there's just a handful of clans (and grumpy(?) leaders) that just LOVE to war everyone, and do so do religiously. Meanwhile the rest of us are stuck with it. Oh well. I've already found places safe to afk in where reds generally do not check.
That tends to be the biggest complaint during clan/faction wars, that it becomes almost impossible to AFK anywhere. With recent bugs rendering even premium areas Pk-able, this is almost true. Especially if you afk in places like Rion Dungeon, Skele Dungeon, Caeb, Bahamar areas, etc.. you know, the popular places to level. Even so, that's an awful lot of map to check, a number of channels, and only a few persistent reds doing the overall damage. Oh well, I'm happy to trade off a 'prime exp' location for one I can AFK for hours in.
Since returning I've finished almost all the quests, recruited all (? or nearly all) of the Kielce rnpcs, and some extras. I'd post a picture but we're talking an extra 15 characters. Marchetti, JD, Olivia, Heiran, Adriana, Cruise, Lhote, Caisse, Veil, Barrol, Cano, Grenma, Ion, Sierra, and Nena have been added. All of them were acquired on a daily basis throughout early January, and the rest added a few days or a week later throughout the end of February with the exception of Nena, who I managed to get just last week. Lhote was acquired through a PTE (Play Time Event ie: AFK in town until you got enough points to get a goodie).
That said, they've all been promoted to Expert or better. With diligent completion of the daily Kielce quests (And extra 5 Vet levels+ in Exp cards daily in rewards) I now have enough Exp Cards to insta-master all of my remaining Experts at their varying levels - yes all 30 of them. Yes I'm a hoarder. Yes, I'm still debating whether to actually do it or not. Hnnggg... but dat Fam Exp!
Ah well, until later.
~Alze
April 16, 2014
December 26, 2013
I Think I Just Ate A Phoenix Feather
So something strange happened today. I patched (twice) and logged into GE. For the first time in.. oh.. I don't even have an idea of how many months I've logged back into the game. I've been long removed from Halcy (dw I still love you guys), I've long forgotten 90% of the command shortcuts, let alone hardly remember where I even was quest-wise. (We won't get into my lack of recollection of what was valuable when I left, let alone what my 'dailies' even were at the time.) I'm not entirely sure what's led me to log back in, but I have.
Perhaps it's like sipping an odd wine to remember why you kicked the habit.
The above is my usual reaction upon logging back in the last 2-3 times I did since my hiatus status. Hasn't happened yet tonight. Between Tera (where I've been most of this past year) becoming overly easy, and a nasty arm cramp keeping me off of MS (don't ask how I'm managing to type, I just can't spam ctrl, a, s, and z repeatedly), I decided to poke my nose back into GE being it obviously:
1 - Hasn't died
2 - Hasn't been shut down
3 - There's still friendlist people online
Some of the clans have changed, some have stayed. I have no idea what the political climate is like, but I can make a good guess. One or several clans is probably dominating x-resource/raid/money-source much to the discontent of the rest of the server. It's usually how it goes.
I'm not sure I could ever get back into GE full-swing again. Actually, I know I cannot. With the way my life has changed over this past year, it isn't possible anymore. For that I'm kind of glad, or I'd be sorely tempted to rejoin in on the 'server-just-up-quick-kill-ALL-the-bosses' raids, as fun as they were last year.
Maybe it'd be fine to just poke around now and again. Just a little. I do, after all, miss my old nicknames.
Until later,
~Alze
Perhaps it's like sipping an odd wine to remember why you kicked the habit.
The above is my usual reaction upon logging back in the last 2-3 times I did since my hiatus status. Hasn't happened yet tonight. Between Tera (where I've been most of this past year) becoming overly easy, and a nasty arm cramp keeping me off of MS (don't ask how I'm managing to type, I just can't spam ctrl, a, s, and z repeatedly), I decided to poke my nose back into GE being it obviously:
1 - Hasn't died
2 - Hasn't been shut down
3 - There's still friendlist people online
Some of the clans have changed, some have stayed. I have no idea what the political climate is like, but I can make a good guess. One or several clans is probably dominating x-resource/raid/money-source much to the discontent of the rest of the server. It's usually how it goes.
I'm not sure I could ever get back into GE full-swing again. Actually, I know I cannot. With the way my life has changed over this past year, it isn't possible anymore. For that I'm kind of glad, or I'd be sorely tempted to rejoin in on the 'server-just-up-quick-kill-ALL-the-bosses' raids, as fun as they were last year.
Maybe it'd be fine to just poke around now and again. Just a little. I do, after all, miss my old nicknames.
Until later,
~Alze
September 16, 2013
Wow, that's a surprise.
So while I have not logged into the game in a very long time, and my general mmorpg playing has taking a sharp slide, I did find it very amusing to come back to this blog to find a very shiny 5-digit number on it. Suprender! 10k views has been achieved.
Da da da-da! *holds up above head*
I always figured this would happen *eventually* just.. not anytime in the near future, let alone be lucky enough to randomly check it on the exact day when this number would appear! Hah! Apparently I haven't quite lost my lucky timing touch yet...
..on a side note, I'm not terribly sure why people are still clicking. o.O This blog hasn't been truly updated since.. well.. since the start of the year. Funny how that works. Moving, getting married, and moving again will do that to a person. Not to mention all the other crazy events that have happened in my life since then.
Welp, time to patch up and see what's new in the world. Maybe make a few old posts of my fav Orpesia days way-back-when? The midnight boss runs? The conspicuous loot? The epic CW battles? The political intrigue? Scandal? And general sneakery?
Nahhhh.. no-body wants to read that.. maybe after I remember the control buttons and.. how to fix these god-awful in-game resolution settings..
~Alze
April 27, 2013
That Dusty Shelf
Time to dust this little place off a bit I guess. It's been quite a while.
Real life has settled down, and quite a few major things have come and gone and happened. I've hardly been on GE at all the entire last two months. Maybe a handful of times to poke my nose in for about 2 minutes, look around, and log out again. After a while I determined I might as well just be gone until they finally give some sort of answer about the lost enchantments issue before I consider resuming play.
Which they have. I haven't sent a ticket in yet, but I probably will soon once their service settles down.
Now, admittedly, I haven't been horribly affected by the enchantment wipe. In total I've only lost about four or so enchantments that I actually cared about as everything else useful was equipped on one character or another. Either way the duration the issue has persisted in combination with real-life events made it highly discouraging to continue pressing on in-game until it was fully addressed.
I think currently, I will wait until my mods are restored and then attempt a return into Castilla.
I say an attempt, as I'm not completely sold on playing as much as I used to be. A lot of things have changed since the merge, and things just aren't as they were before. The small group I loved playing with is no more. These were the people I would go and 3-man death wraiths with, and 5-man Cortes when the situation called for it. (Admittedly, or numbers were normally a tad higher than that, but when it got to bare bones a few could be on, we could pull through and still down these.) With the new server, there are new tasks, and with the addition of the mods vanishing, being 'small yet strong' wasn't so much of an option anymore.
Add in other vices/leader being gone due to irl madness (it wasn't just me), and another dear friend getting utterly nuked due to no fault of his own, and other close friends having already long gone.. it's difficult to stay sometimes when so much has changed. I liked our small group in Schiavona. It was like a small family. Little, tight-knit, we had each other's backs.
*Sigh*
I think it's time to log back in, see who is still around, who is where, and start contacting/asking questions. I wouldn't mind logging in to play casually, but long gone are my days of being able to play frequently and be able to be on reliably as specific times. My life has changed too much, and I can no longer do that.
I'm not 'leaving' GE.. not completely.. not yet. I'm okay with being 'on leave' but I'm not comfortable with being 'gone'. However incredibly close that reality might be. At this point, I'm really not sure. On the flipside, I really have missed writing up these blog posts. If anything, maybe I should get back into the swing of things at least for these. Something about the magic of pressing keys and sending thoughts to people around the globe charms me. Maybe this isn't the end, quite yet.
Honestly,
~Alze
Real life has settled down, and quite a few major things have come and gone and happened. I've hardly been on GE at all the entire last two months. Maybe a handful of times to poke my nose in for about 2 minutes, look around, and log out again. After a while I determined I might as well just be gone until they finally give some sort of answer about the lost enchantments issue before I consider resuming play.
Which they have. I haven't sent a ticket in yet, but I probably will soon once their service settles down.
Now, admittedly, I haven't been horribly affected by the enchantment wipe. In total I've only lost about four or so enchantments that I actually cared about as everything else useful was equipped on one character or another. Either way the duration the issue has persisted in combination with real-life events made it highly discouraging to continue pressing on in-game until it was fully addressed.
I think currently, I will wait until my mods are restored and then attempt a return into Castilla.
I say an attempt, as I'm not completely sold on playing as much as I used to be. A lot of things have changed since the merge, and things just aren't as they were before. The small group I loved playing with is no more. These were the people I would go and 3-man death wraiths with, and 5-man Cortes when the situation called for it. (Admittedly, or numbers were normally a tad higher than that, but when it got to bare bones a few could be on, we could pull through and still down these.) With the new server, there are new tasks, and with the addition of the mods vanishing, being 'small yet strong' wasn't so much of an option anymore.
Add in other vices/leader being gone due to irl madness (it wasn't just me), and another dear friend getting utterly nuked due to no fault of his own, and other close friends having already long gone.. it's difficult to stay sometimes when so much has changed. I liked our small group in Schiavona. It was like a small family. Little, tight-knit, we had each other's backs.
*Sigh*
I think it's time to log back in, see who is still around, who is where, and start contacting/asking questions. I wouldn't mind logging in to play casually, but long gone are my days of being able to play frequently and be able to be on reliably as specific times. My life has changed too much, and I can no longer do that.
I'm not 'leaving' GE.. not completely.. not yet. I'm okay with being 'on leave' but I'm not comfortable with being 'gone'. However incredibly close that reality might be. At this point, I'm really not sure. On the flipside, I really have missed writing up these blog posts. If anything, maybe I should get back into the swing of things at least for these. Something about the magic of pressing keys and sending thoughts to people around the globe charms me. Maybe this isn't the end, quite yet.
Honestly,
~Alze
February 8, 2013
Hiatus
So, everything is accumulating into a massive crescendo of IRL busy-ness. As a result, I'm going to be very much AWOL for the upcoming two months. Updates will happen - if/when possible.. depending on free time. Most likely nothing will happen until the weekends, and even then updates are very very iffy. I make no promise of keeping up-to-date until at least.. mid-April.
After that I should be around much more often. Technically I'll still be 'around' in the meantime, but very very much afk. If you happen to see me online, I'm afk or setting up to afk. Honestly, I'll prob be on a time or a few in between now and then, but until that time I can't promise anything.
Stay Lively Castilla (Don't you dare start on Bristia without me!)
~ Alze
After that I should be around much more often. Technically I'll still be 'around' in the meantime, but very very much afk. If you happen to see me online, I'm afk or setting up to afk. Honestly, I'll prob be on a time or a few in between now and then, but until that time I can't promise anything.
Stay Lively Castilla (Don't you dare start on Bristia without me!)
~ Alze
January 23, 2013
Bristia..?! And other news
Go I find myself in the sudden position to have 30 minutes time to burn on my hands. Splendid!
- CS list has been updated and is now functional. A few prices I haven't been able to find lately, but 90% of the prices have been corrected for this week's range. The list will be updated for one more week before being archived.
- Holy buckets questlines batman. @_@ So much questing to be done, there isn't nearly enough time for any of it. With several character recruitment requiring favor point quests, it's taking a while for some of them. Others are.. just being a huge pain. (I'm looking at you, Cruise.)
- Server is a lot more lively. For the first time in over a year I've actually had to turn down some settings due to lag from too many players on a map at one time. The broads are going constantly, and there is a much more sizable variety of items being sold on the MM on any given day than previously.
Oh, and server prices for everything has skyrocketed. It makes Castilla a seller's paradise, but bites for anyone who needs to buy certain gears. Apparently all the vis is coming from Bristia. Won't hear me complaining.
- So many characters, I've been able to recruit several, but their stances (and all the other new stances for pre-existing characters) haven't even been attempted. RL eats most of my time, so the extent of my GE experience thus far as mostly been instances and extensive recruitment quests.. and not much else. Considering how much has been done, its impressive. It's daunting to consider how much else there is I haven't even attempted.
- Sadly, all of my Scenario quests have been completed. That tab is completely empty now once again. Sadness. Oh well - my dismay hasn't been able to last one (we'll ignore the absolute TON of 'related' quests I have.. oy vey). 'cause.. we're getting Bristia.
Yes. Freakin' Bristia.
sGE is updating to Bristia soon.. and.. cripes sakes so are we - very soon. "I see your patch sGE, and raise you a Heiran."
..ok, so that was kind of a cheap shot.
But, we actually areHeyran Heiran, according to the big shiny intro page of theirs along with several other very notable Bristia NPCs.. On that note - I'm excited. Heiran is a pretty awesome character. You have to have a lot done before you can acquire her, but she's a lot of fun.
Frankly, the absolutely massive amount of content that was added to bring us from 8.5 to 10.23.4.. is.. quite ridiculous. It's been weeks since the server was launched, and still much of the player base is still trying to familiarize and adjust to the new features, characters, stances, instances, and other changes. Now there's news of Bristia.. coming 'Soon'.
It's just.. straight up 'content overload'. Given how things have gone thus far with T3 and the rate they go through new content (between first notice and implementation).. My bet? Bristia by March, if not sooner.
Good luck, Castilla, we're going to need it.
~ Alze
- CS list has been updated and is now functional. A few prices I haven't been able to find lately, but 90% of the prices have been corrected for this week's range. The list will be updated for one more week before being archived.
- Holy buckets questlines batman. @_@ So much questing to be done, there isn't nearly enough time for any of it. With several character recruitment requiring favor point quests, it's taking a while for some of them. Others are.. just being a huge pain. (I'm looking at you, Cruise.)
- Server is a lot more lively. For the first time in over a year I've actually had to turn down some settings due to lag from too many players on a map at one time. The broads are going constantly, and there is a much more sizable variety of items being sold on the MM on any given day than previously.
Oh, and server prices for everything has skyrocketed. It makes Castilla a seller's paradise, but bites for anyone who needs to buy certain gears. Apparently all the vis is coming from Bristia. Won't hear me complaining.
- So many characters, I've been able to recruit several, but their stances (and all the other new stances for pre-existing characters) haven't even been attempted. RL eats most of my time, so the extent of my GE experience thus far as mostly been instances and extensive recruitment quests.. and not much else. Considering how much has been done, its impressive. It's daunting to consider how much else there is I haven't even attempted.
- Sadly, all of my Scenario quests have been completed. That tab is completely empty now once again. Sadness. Oh well - my dismay hasn't been able to last one (we'll ignore the absolute TON of 'related' quests I have.. oy vey). 'cause.. we're getting Bristia.
Yes. Freakin' Bristia.
sGE is updating to Bristia soon.. and.. cripes sakes so are we - very soon. "I see your patch sGE, and raise you a Heiran."
..ok, so that was kind of a cheap shot.
But, we actually are
Frankly, the absolutely massive amount of content that was added to bring us from 8.5 to 10.23.4.. is.. quite ridiculous. It's been weeks since the server was launched, and still much of the player base is still trying to familiarize and adjust to the new features, characters, stances, instances, and other changes. Now there's news of Bristia.. coming 'Soon'.
It's just.. straight up 'content overload'. Given how things have gone thus far with T3 and the rate they go through new content (between first notice and implementation).. My bet? Bristia by March, if not sooner.
Good luck, Castilla, we're going to need it.
~ Alze
January 6, 2013
Cash Shop Prices and Ratios (Updated)
Below is a link to a simple glance at the current prices of CS items in Castilla, their gold cost, market selling price, and the gold/vis rate value of each item. This list is updated weekly/as time permits. Prices are all based on item costs on the Market Manager alone. Broads and private sellers are not included.
How to Use:
The initial column will list the item name, followed by it's Cash Shop price, amount of gold per individual item (if said item is normally sold in a pack of 5, 10, or 20, etc), the current Market Price according to the Market Manager (in millions), and finally how much gold per million vis each item is currently valued being bought/sold at.
With the Gold/Vis ratio a player can discern whether an item would be a good sale or purchase, or if they would be better off waiting. For example, in Orpesian markets a decent ratio on average was 15 gold per 1 million vis for items. When selling CS items with a ratio of 15 or higher, the buyer got the best deal as he is spending the least amount of vis per gold. When selling items of 15 or under, the seller is making the most vis per gold invested.
How to Use:
The initial column will list the item name, followed by it's Cash Shop price, amount of gold per individual item (if said item is normally sold in a pack of 5, 10, or 20, etc), the current Market Price according to the Market Manager (in millions), and finally how much gold per million vis each item is currently valued being bought/sold at.
With the Gold/Vis ratio a player can discern whether an item would be a good sale or purchase, or if they would be better off waiting. For example, in Orpesian markets a decent ratio on average was 15 gold per 1 million vis for items. When selling CS items with a ratio of 15 or higher, the buyer got the best deal as he is spending the least amount of vis per gold. When selling items of 15 or under, the seller is making the most vis per gold invested.
Here is a current list of cash shop items for the Castilla Server and their respective prices as of 1-21-13. This will be updated as often as time and circumstances allow.
The Maintenance Archive
Wondering when that Event Began? When it ended? When that crazy maint week occurred when things exploded and world nearly came to an end? Look no further than right here. Here at a quick glance you'll be able to easily see what went on each week, and how long ago something was. Records are archived bi-annually. The most recent maintenance will be listed at the top.
This page will be updated weekly after each Maintenance with the date, duration, and brief patch notes (links included) for Castilla each week.
January 23, 2013
Duration: 2:00-7:00AM EST (Extended + Emergency maints)
1. Colony War Schedule – Every Sunday 15:00 Game Time (New York Time)
2. Lyndon box will be available in Cash Shop
3. Issue on Fighter character “Con/HP” stats – Fixed
4. The following events will be extended for 1 week!!!
• Event Title: Are you a beginner? Don’t worry! You can jump up to Master level at once
• Event Title: Double EXP/Item drop rate to celebrate Rebirthing Granado Espada Online
5. The event will end after maintenance.
• Event Title: Enjoy the roulette with only 1VIS
January 16, 2013
Duration: 12:00-4:00AM EST
• Farm Merchant Shop – Fixed
• NPC Dr. Torsche Quest (A Plan to Revive Catherine) Client Crash – Fixed
• Family Skill Buff – Fixed
• White Santa Hat Image – Fixed
• Enchantment Chip Veteran Item Name Issue – Fixed
• Elephant Pet Issue – Fixed
• Trade Locked Issues – Fixed
• Family Summon Scroll Issue – Fixed
January 9, 2013
Duration: Launch!
Initiated Events:
• Event Title: Enjoy the roulette with only 1VIS
• Event Title: Double EXP/Item drop rate to celebrate Rebirthing Granado Espada Online
• Event Title: Are you a beginner? Don’t worry! You can jump up to Master level at once
This page will be updated weekly after each Maintenance with the date, duration, and brief patch notes (links included) for Castilla each week.
January 23, 2013
Duration: 2:00-7:00AM EST (Extended + Emergency maints)
1. Colony War Schedule – Every Sunday 15:00 Game Time (New York Time)
2. Lyndon box will be available in Cash Shop
3. Issue on Fighter character “Con/HP” stats – Fixed
4. The following events will be extended for 1 week!!!
• Event Title: Are you a beginner? Don’t worry! You can jump up to Master level at once
• Event Title: Double EXP/Item drop rate to celebrate Rebirthing Granado Espada Online
5. The event will end after maintenance.
• Event Title: Enjoy the roulette with only 1VIS
January 16, 2013
Duration: 12:00-4:00AM EST
• Farm Merchant Shop – Fixed
• NPC Dr. Torsche Quest (A Plan to Revive Catherine) Client Crash – Fixed
• Family Skill Buff – Fixed
• White Santa Hat Image – Fixed
• Enchantment Chip Veteran Item Name Issue – Fixed
• Elephant Pet Issue – Fixed
• Trade Locked Issues – Fixed
• Family Summon Scroll Issue – Fixed
January 9, 2013
Duration: Launch!
Initiated Events:
• Event Title: Enjoy the roulette with only 1VIS
• Event Title: Double EXP/Item drop rate to celebrate Rebirthing Granado Espada Online
• Event Title: Are you a beginner? Don’t worry! You can jump up to Master level at once
Raiding Roles: An Introduction
Many times players have been in squads for various raids and we've all heard the same questions. "Who's tank?" "Do we have a WC?" "Can someone bring Grace and Rio?" "Anyone have some ____ rings?" All addressing necessary matters to ensure a successful run. Whether tackling instanced raids such as Tower of Chaos or Clock Tower, or in the open field going after bosses such as Cortes, all raids have similar elements and roles seen time and time again throughout higher level GE gameplay.
Here I'll explain the mechanics behind being Tank, Whole Cancel (WC), DPS, and Support (and a bit about colony breaking at the end). What characters you can use, what teams you need, gear, and supplies are all detailed out below. The emphasis of this guide will be primarily for Tower of Chaos runs, however much of this information can also be used in other raids as well. A more detailed guide on specific tactics used for each role will be added (with luck) in the near future.
The Tank
Tank is one of the two most important teams in any raid, the other being WC. A tank's role is to keep the boss's attention on him, and no-one else while the DPS kills it. Your communication and understanding with the WC player is essential to success.
Characters: Stock Fighter, Coimbra Trooper as they are the only two characters with access to the Crusader stance in addition to the essential, innate skill Provoke. Take Emilia along with ETS (or a Wizard) with your Tank for ToC for constant Invulnerability, a vital Incantation stance skill.
Stances: Crusader, Incantation
Gear: Armor, 2DR shield, and a blunt. Type of armor and quality doesn't really matter as much as the tank is protected by Invulnerable buff 95% of the time. General rule of thumb is 30 base DR armor or better. For blunts the higher the AR better when it come to tanking Queen Valkyrie in ToC, however Trump blunts or better work just fine. Invulnerable rings are useful, but not required.
Supplies: Soul Crystals, SP regen potions.
Tips: Positioning and timing are key when it comes to the position of your two supporting characters, your tank, and the boss. Emi and Wiz need to be close enough to be able to cast Invulnerable upon your tank without needing to move closer when casting, yet far enough away from the tank to stay alive. Arguably the trickiest and most taxing role to perform, tanks are always in demand.
Whole Cancel (WC)
As vitally important as the tank itself, the WC team's role is to keep the boss debuffed at all times via using the Whole Cancellation skill. As long as a target is WC'ed, it cannot use any skills. Skill usage by the boss often spells certain death for the tank's team.
Characters: Emilia, ETS, M'Boma, Stock Wizard
Stances: Darkness, and Incantation.
Gear: Gear isn't important for this team, the only item you need is a rod or staff for each character so they can use their appropriate stance. What is necessary, however, is Whole Cancellation rings. At minimum three is required on a team, however timing is very tricky and there is no room for mishaps. To be safe, have six rings - two for each WCer.
Supplies: Soul Crystals
Tips: Lv 11 or better Darkness is required in order to land Whole Cancellation 100% of the time. This team is about timing. Again, positioning and communication with the tank is key when engaging a boss. Having Emilia or ETS along who can res and WC both is also very useful. However - all three characters must be able to WC and Invul.
DPS
While the Tank is taking all the potential damage, and the WC team is ensuring the boss doesn't pull any sudden tricks on the Tank, it's the DPS who gather and are responsible for killing the boss as quickly as possible. Arguably the easiest job there is within a raid, it can also be the most gear intensive, and expensive.
Characters: 1 ET Character, plus two other characters. Normally Magic x Magic or Magic x Ranged for Flare buff. Recommended characters to use are Calypso, Ralph, Elementalist, Helena, and Lionel. Other pistol/bayo users are not recommended due to inferior stance stats of Outrage and Flintlock compared to xbow users, however the new stance Unlimited Shot for Musketeers and Wanted Shot for Brunie and Garcia might negate this due to their improved stance bonuses.
Stances: Shadow Sting (Caly), Shining Sting (Ralph), Occultism and Augury (for buff) for Ele/Helena in addition to their single-loe stances (Rumor has this will be nerfed, however exactly when is not currently known), and Punisher (Lionel) are all recommended. Possible alternate stances maybe possibly be Unlimited Shot (Musk), and Wanted Shot (Brunie/Garcia).
Gear: Here, the mods and stats of the weapons used are everything. If you don't have it already, you'll want Lv 12 ET, with 32 or 33 AR weapons for the entire team. Weapons should consist of AR x Atk, AR x Racial, or Atk x Racial mods. Weapons should be +5 At minimum. Weapons that are +7 with three sockets (and socketed) is ideal, but not required. Wings, pets, and any other buffs that boost AR or Atk stats are highly recommended.
Supplies: Soul Crystals, Ancient Star Orbs, Pet (food), AM Boosts, Triumph Fillers, ammunition (metal bolts/bullets/elemental spheres/etc).
Tips: DPS' Scouts/Emilias/Vallerias are emergency back-up for the Tank and WC. Listen and pay close attention to the Tank and WC. If something is about to go wrong, they will know first. It is the DPS teams responsibility to assist the Tank and WC as needed. Usually this means ressing a member on either team, or using Refresh Mind on a WC character before disaster can strike. Just as the DPS and Support depend on the Tank and WC to keep them safe, the Tank and WC also depend on the DPS players to help when needed. DPS is one of the easiest roles and sometimes a 'catch-all category', as other roles tend to be more difficult to fill.
Support
This group is the simplest to gear and the easiest role to perform in a raid. Support is ideal for newcomers who want to raid but lack the knowledge how, or are unable to fill other raid squad roles. The Support's role is simply to keep the DPS players buffed at all times. However, don't the Supports' simple role fool you. Their useful buffs can make the difference between an easy, fun boss run or a long and difficult trial.
Characters: Grace, Lorch, Mia, Lisa, Angie, Vincent Rio, and Idge (not pictured) are all considered Support characters for either their buffs or debuffs that the can inflict upon the DPS or the boss.
Stances: Superior Blaster (Grace), Serenade and Prelude (Rio), Construction and Defensive Construction (Angie).
Gear: Items needed for Support characters vary about as much as their skills. Grace only needs a shotgun so she can access her Expert stance in order to use Hound Hound rings are favored, but not required. Lorch and Mia do not require any equipment whatsoever as their buffs are innate skills and not stance-dependent. Lisa and Idge/BSI are similar to Lorch and Mia in the fact their useful skill is innate, however Lisa/Idge need to have a high enough AR weapon equipped to be able to hit the boss as their skills inflict a debuff. Vincent Rio only requires a lute to access his stances, however Shining Ballad and a Prelude stance ring is highly recommended for Lv 13 SB.
Supplies: None
Tips: Each character has his or her own unique buff(s) and their game play will be dependent upon it. When playing Grace, Lorch, Rio, or Mia don't hesitated to ask for Refresh Mind when needed. When playing Grace, ask if everyone is ready before buffing hound as the buff is lost if a DPS has to change stance. Lisa and Idge need to carefully position themselves to attack the boss from behind to inflict their debuffs. Angie needs to bring sufficient toolboxes, and build Safety, Regeneration, and Construction wards that surround where the DPS has gathered.
Uncommon Roles: Cannon
Cannon isn't a role often seen outside of Colony Wars, and is rarely ever used. However there are times (rare and few as they are) where a colony-breaking character is required.
Characters: Either Claire or Jose are suitable for the job, as they are the only characters who can wield cannons in-game. It's been argued that one is superior to the other, but frankly they're so close in results it hardly matters.
Stances: Tested Burst (Claire), and Demolition Burst (Jose).
Gear: Arguably, the higher characters AR and the greater the Attack, the better the damage. However don't let mods alone fool you. The most essential asset to any colony breaker is Castle Crusher rings. A simple trump cannon with a pair of rings can easily out-damage a higher AR, better modded cannon without them.
Supplies: Lots and lots of Castle Crusher shells, which can be expensive.
Tips: It's recommended to have either two cannon chars and a character who can use refresh mind (Scout, Emilia/ETS, or Soho/STF), or one cannon with two RM characters. Alternately - depending upon the situation, one RM character + one cannnon + one dps type char can be acceptable, however not ideal. Also if you are in a map where it is possible to switch channels or go to barracks and return to the same place, you can switch channels/barracks and back as a way to reset the long cool downs more quickly.
Uncommon Roles: Kiting
This concludes the end of my introductory guide, however it will be expanded upon as time allows. Stick around for more in-depth how-to guides that will delve a little more in-depthly how these roles are done - Tanking and WC in particular. I hope this guide was useful and answered any questions you had, however if there are additional questions, or perhaps I've missed something, feel free to leave a comment and I will address the issue as soon as possible. ^^
Also a big thank-you to P.Luchon for helping me get the screens done in time. ^^
More to come..
~Alze
Here I'll explain the mechanics behind being Tank, Whole Cancel (WC), DPS, and Support (and a bit about colony breaking at the end). What characters you can use, what teams you need, gear, and supplies are all detailed out below. The emphasis of this guide will be primarily for Tower of Chaos runs, however much of this information can also be used in other raids as well. A more detailed guide on specific tactics used for each role will be added (with luck) in the near future.
- - - - -
The Tank
Characters: Stock Fighter, Coimbra Trooper as they are the only two characters with access to the Crusader stance in addition to the essential, innate skill Provoke. Take Emilia along with ETS (or a Wizard) with your Tank for ToC for constant Invulnerability, a vital Incantation stance skill.
Stances: Crusader, Incantation
Gear: Armor, 2DR shield, and a blunt. Type of armor and quality doesn't really matter as much as the tank is protected by Invulnerable buff 95% of the time. General rule of thumb is 30 base DR armor or better. For blunts the higher the AR better when it come to tanking Queen Valkyrie in ToC, however Trump blunts or better work just fine. Invulnerable rings are useful, but not required.
Supplies: Soul Crystals, SP regen potions.
Tips: Positioning and timing are key when it comes to the position of your two supporting characters, your tank, and the boss. Emi and Wiz need to be close enough to be able to cast Invulnerable upon your tank without needing to move closer when casting, yet far enough away from the tank to stay alive. Arguably the trickiest and most taxing role to perform, tanks are always in demand.
Whole Cancel (WC)
As vitally important as the tank itself, the WC team's role is to keep the boss debuffed at all times via using the Whole Cancellation skill. As long as a target is WC'ed, it cannot use any skills. Skill usage by the boss often spells certain death for the tank's team.
Characters: Emilia, ETS, M'Boma, Stock Wizard
Stances: Darkness, and Incantation.
Gear: Gear isn't important for this team, the only item you need is a rod or staff for each character so they can use their appropriate stance. What is necessary, however, is Whole Cancellation rings. At minimum three is required on a team, however timing is very tricky and there is no room for mishaps. To be safe, have six rings - two for each WCer.
Supplies: Soul Crystals
Tips: Lv 11 or better Darkness is required in order to land Whole Cancellation 100% of the time. This team is about timing. Again, positioning and communication with the tank is key when engaging a boss. Having Emilia or ETS along who can res and WC both is also very useful. However - all three characters must be able to WC and Invul.
DPS
While the Tank is taking all the potential damage, and the WC team is ensuring the boss doesn't pull any sudden tricks on the Tank, it's the DPS who gather and are responsible for killing the boss as quickly as possible. Arguably the easiest job there is within a raid, it can also be the most gear intensive, and expensive.
Characters: 1 ET Character, plus two other characters. Normally Magic x Magic or Magic x Ranged for Flare buff. Recommended characters to use are Calypso, Ralph, Elementalist, Helena, and Lionel. Other pistol/bayo users are not recommended due to inferior stance stats of Outrage and Flintlock compared to xbow users, however the new stance Unlimited Shot for Musketeers and Wanted Shot for Brunie and Garcia might negate this due to their improved stance bonuses.
Stances: Shadow Sting (Caly), Shining Sting (Ralph), Occultism and Augury (for buff) for Ele/Helena in addition to their single-loe stances (Rumor has this will be nerfed, however exactly when is not currently known), and Punisher (Lionel) are all recommended. Possible alternate stances maybe possibly be Unlimited Shot (Musk), and Wanted Shot (Brunie/Garcia).
Gear: Here, the mods and stats of the weapons used are everything. If you don't have it already, you'll want Lv 12 ET, with 32 or 33 AR weapons for the entire team. Weapons should consist of AR x Atk, AR x Racial, or Atk x Racial mods. Weapons should be +5 At minimum. Weapons that are +7 with three sockets (and socketed) is ideal, but not required. Wings, pets, and any other buffs that boost AR or Atk stats are highly recommended.
Supplies: Soul Crystals, Ancient Star Orbs, Pet (food), AM Boosts, Triumph Fillers, ammunition (metal bolts/bullets/elemental spheres/etc).
Tips: DPS' Scouts/Emilias/Vallerias are emergency back-up for the Tank and WC. Listen and pay close attention to the Tank and WC. If something is about to go wrong, they will know first. It is the DPS teams responsibility to assist the Tank and WC as needed. Usually this means ressing a member on either team, or using Refresh Mind on a WC character before disaster can strike. Just as the DPS and Support depend on the Tank and WC to keep them safe, the Tank and WC also depend on the DPS players to help when needed. DPS is one of the easiest roles and sometimes a 'catch-all category', as other roles tend to be more difficult to fill.
Support
This group is the simplest to gear and the easiest role to perform in a raid. Support is ideal for newcomers who want to raid but lack the knowledge how, or are unable to fill other raid squad roles. The Support's role is simply to keep the DPS players buffed at all times. However, don't the Supports' simple role fool you. Their useful buffs can make the difference between an easy, fun boss run or a long and difficult trial.
Characters: Grace, Lorch, Mia, Lisa, Angie, Vincent Rio, and Idge (not pictured) are all considered Support characters for either their buffs or debuffs that the can inflict upon the DPS or the boss.
Stances: Superior Blaster (Grace), Serenade and Prelude (Rio), Construction and Defensive Construction (Angie).
Gear: Items needed for Support characters vary about as much as their skills. Grace only needs a shotgun so she can access her Expert stance in order to use Hound Hound rings are favored, but not required. Lorch and Mia do not require any equipment whatsoever as their buffs are innate skills and not stance-dependent. Lisa and Idge/BSI are similar to Lorch and Mia in the fact their useful skill is innate, however Lisa/Idge need to have a high enough AR weapon equipped to be able to hit the boss as their skills inflict a debuff. Vincent Rio only requires a lute to access his stances, however Shining Ballad and a Prelude stance ring is highly recommended for Lv 13 SB.
Supplies: None
Tips: Each character has his or her own unique buff(s) and their game play will be dependent upon it. When playing Grace, Lorch, Rio, or Mia don't hesitated to ask for Refresh Mind when needed. When playing Grace, ask if everyone is ready before buffing hound as the buff is lost if a DPS has to change stance. Lisa and Idge need to carefully position themselves to attack the boss from behind to inflict their debuffs. Angie needs to bring sufficient toolboxes, and build Safety, Regeneration, and Construction wards that surround where the DPS has gathered.
Uncommon Roles: Cannon
Cannon isn't a role often seen outside of Colony Wars, and is rarely ever used. However there are times (rare and few as they are) where a colony-breaking character is required.
Characters: Either Claire or Jose are suitable for the job, as they are the only characters who can wield cannons in-game. It's been argued that one is superior to the other, but frankly they're so close in results it hardly matters.
Stances: Tested Burst (Claire), and Demolition Burst (Jose).
Gear: Arguably, the higher characters AR and the greater the Attack, the better the damage. However don't let mods alone fool you. The most essential asset to any colony breaker is Castle Crusher rings. A simple trump cannon with a pair of rings can easily out-damage a higher AR, better modded cannon without them.
Supplies: Lots and lots of Castle Crusher shells, which can be expensive.
Tips: It's recommended to have either two cannon chars and a character who can use refresh mind (Scout, Emilia/ETS, or Soho/STF), or one cannon with two RM characters. Alternately - depending upon the situation, one RM character + one cannnon + one dps type char can be acceptable, however not ideal. Also if you are in a map where it is possible to switch channels or go to barracks and return to the same place, you can switch channels/barracks and back as a way to reset the long cool downs more quickly.
Uncommon Roles: Kiting
Eek! It seems Alzeda is missing an image! D:
See under WC for an image of suitable characters, ty <3
If cannon is a rare bird, then kiting is practically the Dodo of GE raiding classes. In the past it was used in reference to killing Vergo way back in the day, but even so with the advent of certain Viron bosses, this class is still used today. The Kiter's role is similar to the tank. It's job is to gain the boss's attention and make it chase them while flying in a large circle around the DPS and Support teams.
Characters: Any wiz-type character capable of flying can perform this role. Incantation users are preferred (Wiz, Emilia, ETS, and Reckless Emilia), and ressing characters above that. (Emilia/ETS)
Gear: Here speed is the name of the game. Armor doesn't matter as much, but it can help. Here movement speed is more important than DR or defense. Wear Assassin Boots, armor with speeds mods/sockets. Gear that improves total SP are also useful, but secondary to movement speed.
Supplies: Boost Potion, Hermes Potion, Mithridart, Red Lollipop and any other item that increases movement speed in one way or another. It isn't necessary to possess all of these items, but having several (especially red lollipops) can be very beneficial. Also bring soul Crystals, and lots of sp pots.
Tips: Kiting is only used in rare circumstances where the boss is too strong to be tanked by any one (or sometimes two) teams, or other factors greatly disrupt normal tanking tactics. Not all speed-type potions are required. Play around with some, and find combination is needed to stay just ahead of the boss. You don't need to be going so fast as that you leave the boss in the dust, but fast enough so it doesn't catch you. Self buffing invulnerable is not required, however very useful when initiating.
- - - - -
This concludes the end of my introductory guide, however it will be expanded upon as time allows. Stick around for more in-depth how-to guides that will delve a little more in-depthly how these roles are done - Tanking and WC in particular. I hope this guide was useful and answered any questions you had, however if there are additional questions, or perhaps I've missed something, feel free to leave a comment and I will address the issue as soon as possible. ^^
Also a big thank-you to P.Luchon for helping me get the screens done in time. ^^
More to come..
~Alze
December 31, 2012
New Server, New Year
New Transfer, new host, new content, new opportunities, new characters..
So much new stuff!
New blog too, well, sort of. TAE is undergoing a major revamp in light of a contest ongoing in T3Fun's new forums (See Event 2). There are a number of ideas I've had floating around in my mind for months now, and this has been the final prod of opportunity to get them into motion. The overall look and theme of TAE won't change much, however the content and where it's seen will. The side bars will be completely revamped, and a lot of the current content taken out. Instead of a mass of family-specific information (ie: my hoard of characters) there'll be links instead.
The body of the blog will remain much the same, as posts on Family progress and game-specific guides will both be listed together, however a small mini-directory off to the right should help visitors in finding precisely what they're looking for. There will be a guide or two popping up in the next week, along with some pages to cater information specifically for the Castilla Server.
This isn't a terribly long post, as you can see. ^^;; It's no-where near my usual lengthy rambles (and much more upbeat than my last one), but sometimes something more 'bite-sized' is okay too.
Happy New Year everyone, and I'll see you next year!
~Alze
So much new stuff!
New blog too, well, sort of. TAE is undergoing a major revamp in light of a contest ongoing in T3Fun's new forums (See Event 2). There are a number of ideas I've had floating around in my mind for months now, and this has been the final prod of opportunity to get them into motion. The overall look and theme of TAE won't change much, however the content and where it's seen will. The side bars will be completely revamped, and a lot of the current content taken out. Instead of a mass of family-specific information (ie: my hoard of characters) there'll be links instead.
The body of the blog will remain much the same, as posts on Family progress and game-specific guides will both be listed together, however a small mini-directory off to the right should help visitors in finding precisely what they're looking for. There will be a guide or two popping up in the next week, along with some pages to cater information specifically for the Castilla Server.
This isn't a terribly long post, as you can see. ^^;; It's no-where near my usual lengthy rambles (and much more upbeat than my last one), but sometimes something more 'bite-sized' is okay too.
Happy New Year everyone, and I'll see you next year!
~Alze
December 30, 2012
That Restless Feeling: A Final Update
So pretty much all the events on the Sword 2 servers are drawing to a close. Things a finally winding down, the drama is slowly coming to an end. It's the final tune before the curtain call. Never has it been so quiet, silent, anxious. I'm not so sure if this is the quiet after a storm, or the silent brew right before one. It's right in the middle between closing the G1 chapter of drama, and opening a new one in T3. Honestly it's a bit fitting this should happen so freshly within the New Year..
..and I just can't shake that restless feeling.
I keep feeling like there is more to be done, something to do. The thought of leaving Orpesia - no longer being Orpesian - becoming Castillian (Castillan? Do we even have a word for ourselves yet?) is.. quite a notion to get used to. True this is all something we knew would happen, and was going to happen, for months now. But the fact that it is going to happen, and very soon, is.. well.. a bit shocking.
Perhaps I'm overly sentimental, but I get attached to these sort of things. After being within Orpesia for nearly five years (holy buckets that's a long time..) it kind of grows on you. The 'Drama' server, the history, the politics, the clans.. after playing so long it kind of 'becomes a part of you'. Your in-game identity, who you are. It separates us from the Bristians, and Illierians (Sorry, I have no idea how to put it ^^; - What DO Illier players call themselves?). It makes us unique within the player community. Now all three servers will be merging into one, Castilla. This sort of nerves reminds me of when xpvp was going to be introduced, but bigger. Much, much bigger.
I could launch into a lengthy debate, but I'll resist. It can be summed up as merely the consideration that each server is used to having only a select population being geared, and having access to certain raids exclusive to their own social and political class. Each server has at least a group accustomed to this. Now they'll all have to compete/share for the same amount of resources - and find a new 'pecking order' (if you will) amidst themselves with triple the competition. (Three, as in competition from their own server, and two others from the other two servers respectively). It's like tossing spiders into a jar to see which ones will come out on top. (Someone's cringing at me now xD). Gross or not though, it's a fitting comparison.
All that a side though, it's been one hell of a ride these last several months. Over two major events (and one minor), and several month's time of near-perpetual farming. This is what has been resulted to the Family in the end:
Unfortunately, I did miss recording some things, but nothing of much importance. This also included approximately 1992 Elite Treasure Chests, and approximately 6.6-6.7k Alphabet Boxes farmed over a span of 70 days for an average of 93 boxes per day. Honestly.. that math sounds a little weird to me, a bit high, but meh, this is just the tallies, not fact checking.
..and I just can't shake that restless feeling.
I keep feeling like there is more to be done, something to do. The thought of leaving Orpesia - no longer being Orpesian - becoming Castillian (Castillan? Do we even have a word for ourselves yet?) is.. quite a notion to get used to. True this is all something we knew would happen, and was going to happen, for months now. But the fact that it is going to happen, and very soon, is.. well.. a bit shocking.
Perhaps I'm overly sentimental, but I get attached to these sort of things. After being within Orpesia for nearly five years (holy buckets that's a long time..) it kind of grows on you. The 'Drama' server, the history, the politics, the clans.. after playing so long it kind of 'becomes a part of you'. Your in-game identity, who you are. It separates us from the Bristians, and Illierians (Sorry, I have no idea how to put it ^^; - What DO Illier players call themselves?). It makes us unique within the player community. Now all three servers will be merging into one, Castilla. This sort of nerves reminds me of when xpvp was going to be introduced, but bigger. Much, much bigger.
I could launch into a lengthy debate, but I'll resist. It can be summed up as merely the consideration that each server is used to having only a select population being geared, and having access to certain raids exclusive to their own social and political class. Each server has at least a group accustomed to this. Now they'll all have to compete/share for the same amount of resources - and find a new 'pecking order' (if you will) amidst themselves with triple the competition. (Three, as in competition from their own server, and two others from the other two servers respectively). It's like tossing spiders into a jar to see which ones will come out on top. (Someone's cringing at me now xD). Gross or not though, it's a fitting comparison.
- - - - -
All that a side though, it's been one hell of a ride these last several months. Over two major events (and one minor), and several month's time of near-perpetual farming. This is what has been resulted to the Family in the end:
Veronif/Cruz Event:
I must say, as a disclaimer, most of those cards were used Experting my hoard of characters. Same goes for the Soul Crystals (only a fraction of that original amount remains.. somehow) and all of that pet food is long gone. Though note that was all collected (and collectively used) over an entire month, however it has been a near solid two months since this event has ended.
Alphabet Event:
Unfortunately, I did miss recording some things, but nothing of much importance. This also included approximately 1992 Elite Treasure Chests, and approximately 6.6-6.7k Alphabet Boxes farmed over a span of 70 days for an average of 93 boxes per day. Honestly.. that math sounds a little weird to me, a bit high, but meh, this is just the tallies, not fact checking.
Christmas Event:
This event I *really* held off on pursuing especially in light of the fact that Ordinary Boxes weren't dropping the proper items, and frankly after three months of farming, I didn't want to look at another afk team ever again. These are the results of opening approximately 44 boxes - most of them Fancy boxes. I turned in 1670 tokens, which could be farmed in about a day and a half in places like Skele AA/SA. My MEP had run out by that point, however, and my desire to 'farm moar' had fled long ago.
All in all, I finally feel sufficient in the amount of weapons I have (albeit nearly all need to be chipped). There are enough wings to keep a team equipped constantly for a solid two years. Enough Caeb Passes to live amid the vesps an entire year. 10hr pots to stay buffed for 250 days. 1hr pots to stay buffed 11 days. And Triumph fillers for a solid day and some change. I really, truly honestly do not know how I'll use these up.
This entire year I have been able to progress considerably, both in gear and game play. I must say, it's been quite a ride. Until next year, Orpesia. We'll see you in Castilla.
Exceedingly,
~Alze
December 16, 2012
Decemble Rambers
Seems a bit strange after having the Alphabet Event for three whole months (yes, it really has been that long) that the entire thing is finally coming to a close. As of this last maint the boxes no longer drop from mobs, though the already-farmed boxes still exist in-game, as well as all the letters, and all other event-related paraphernalia. The UPCs will be in town until the Christmas Day maint next week. With a little luck, the words will change one more time before then during this weeks maint as Raiden has hinted. I really hope so, I'm just a few tokens from another shiny I want to get.. /QQ
As far as my Farming Guide was going, I had it about half-written when the end of the event was announced. With only a few days left of farming itself, I decided it wasn't worth finishing for a 48hr benefit at most, and so it has been archived for now. If in the future a similar event is implemented I'll dust it off and finish it. Until then, well, it won't be.
I believe, instead (whenever time permits - heaven knows I've been severely short on that) I would like to flesh out a Raiding role guide. Not a guide on how to do x, y, and z raids.. but rather how to successfully fulfill the needed role within the raid to ensure success. It'll be divided into categories of: Tank, WC, Support, and finally DPS, in probably that order. I'll list preferred teams, gear, needed rings, useful buffs, stances required, and other information. With a little luck it'll be out by the time we switch over to the new server (lawl), or perhaps within a month or so after.
With three servers merging into one, there will be a lot more people to go raiding with, but the need for people who know who to tank/wc/etc won't necessarily decrease. In Orp, as far as I'm aware, there only tends to be a few certain people who nearly always fulfill the same roles. It tends to be, if they are not around or available for a raid, it simply doesn't happen. Besides, I think there would be more volunteers for other roles other than support/dps if people realized how little they actually needed to do so.. It's DPS that's the most gear intensive, imo. I'll save myself from rambling. I'll save that for the guide itself. :P
IRL has been a mess of busy schedules, so while I've managed to farm quite a bit during the Alphabet Event, I reallly haven't played much at all, save for the brief instances of come back from afk/empty inv/set up team/go afk again. Winter is a super busy time work-wise as it is, and with other plans also cooking on the back burner, free time? What play time? /nervous laughter x.x *cough* Ah well, so is life sometimes.
And cold. It's also freaking cold. It looks like the Katovic Snowfields outside, and feels like it too.
Admittedly, I do keep thinking of the massive update we'll have as Sword 2 becomes Granado Espada once again as it switches hands from G1 to T3Fun. It's labled as 10.23.4 (which is just a breath shy of Bristia, as far as I know - or maybe that is Bristia? The specifics are a bit unclear currently..). Ramiel (our resident t3 Admin) has been posting Update Previews on the new forums about once a week. So far it's only really listed 9.5 stuff, but I'm interested regardless. My theory is they're working on patch goodies from 9.5 -> 10.18 -> 10.6 -> 10.23.4 and we'll see thread updates as they progress that far. Either way, regardless of how you slice it, its a massive amount of content. And considering it's been a solid year since we updated to 8.5? About time!
Event-wise I've farmed up.. a seriously unhealthy amount of boxes. Sometimes I envy others who have farmed up a ton more than me, though, I'm not sure they blew all their tokens getting all the Promo Chars/Puni either.. which is exactly what I did. Alllll of them (well, sans the ones I already had ofc). Actually in hindsight it's kind of curious they'd even have Asoka in there.. actually a lot of things have been highly curious about the event.
1 - Punisher stance being readily avaliable (via tokens, ofc)
2 - Asoka being readily avaliable (after previously being stated that s2 was allowed 200 (or was it 300? I forget) Asokas *ONLY* and no more for server balance concerns.
3 - The insane amount of Raiden boxes one can acquire, and how 32 and 33 AR weapons have absolutely plummeted (I mean this in the fullest sense of the word) from 200m-1b in prices to a scant 50-100m ea.
4 - Not to mention, how all the Rune, HQ jewel, Const Symbol, and feso markets have been utterly ruined compared to what they once were.
From what I understand, it all boils down to one thing - future availability. Weeeeell and there was that lil factor of keeping a highly disgrunted community pacified and playing long enough to make the transfer. But that's besides the point.
Now I can't say anything about anything in point 4, but 1 and 3 points are all items that are either A - easily avaliable in other versions, for equally cheap prices (or so I've been told, #3), or are simply easier to get than in the current version (#1). I've heard Asoka gets nerfed a bit, so she isn't quite as Imba.. though I might be all washed up on that.. buuuut.. I'm just repeating what I've heard.
..Cripes.. in <20mins I've belted out all that ._. Yikes. I'll save some other content for later.
Possible future rambles:
- That supposed Raid guide, if/when it happens.
- Final loot tally from the Event Marathon we've had.
- Future speculations
- Feature: The new Family Level system and how it works. (Yes, yes I know there are translated guides on it, but there are a few quirks about it I've found that I haven't seen addressed.)
- Feature: Castilla AA
- ...maybe some other quirks if I think of them?
- Family profile page? (Yeah, I've been slacking on that. xD)
- Brief recollection on the (very recent) history of Orp and it's clan politics. (A background sort of glance)
Annd.. I think that's all I got. However, if anyone has any ideas/suggestions.. I'm all ears.
More 'Rambers' later.
~Alze
As far as my Farming Guide was going, I had it about half-written when the end of the event was announced. With only a few days left of farming itself, I decided it wasn't worth finishing for a 48hr benefit at most, and so it has been archived for now. If in the future a similar event is implemented I'll dust it off and finish it. Until then, well, it won't be.
I believe, instead (whenever time permits - heaven knows I've been severely short on that) I would like to flesh out a Raiding role guide. Not a guide on how to do x, y, and z raids.. but rather how to successfully fulfill the needed role within the raid to ensure success. It'll be divided into categories of: Tank, WC, Support, and finally DPS, in probably that order. I'll list preferred teams, gear, needed rings, useful buffs, stances required, and other information. With a little luck it'll be out by the time we switch over to the new server (lawl), or perhaps within a month or so after.
With three servers merging into one, there will be a lot more people to go raiding with, but the need for people who know who to tank/wc/etc won't necessarily decrease. In Orp, as far as I'm aware, there only tends to be a few certain people who nearly always fulfill the same roles. It tends to be, if they are not around or available for a raid, it simply doesn't happen. Besides, I think there would be more volunteers for other roles other than support/dps if people realized how little they actually needed to do so.. It's DPS that's the most gear intensive, imo. I'll save myself from rambling. I'll save that for the guide itself. :P
IRL has been a mess of busy schedules, so while I've managed to farm quite a bit during the Alphabet Event, I reallly haven't played much at all, save for the brief instances of come back from afk/empty inv/set up team/go afk again. Winter is a super busy time work-wise as it is, and with other plans also cooking on the back burner, free time? What play time? /nervous laughter x.x *cough* Ah well, so is life sometimes.
And cold. It's also freaking cold. It looks like the Katovic Snowfields outside, and feels like it too.
Admittedly, I do keep thinking of the massive update we'll have as Sword 2 becomes Granado Espada once again as it switches hands from G1 to T3Fun. It's labled as 10.23.4 (which is just a breath shy of Bristia, as far as I know - or maybe that is Bristia? The specifics are a bit unclear currently..). Ramiel (our resident t3 Admin) has been posting Update Previews on the new forums about once a week. So far it's only really listed 9.5 stuff, but I'm interested regardless. My theory is they're working on patch goodies from 9.5 -> 10.18 -> 10.6 -> 10.23.4 and we'll see thread updates as they progress that far. Either way, regardless of how you slice it, its a massive amount of content. And considering it's been a solid year since we updated to 8.5? About time!
Event-wise I've farmed up.. a seriously unhealthy amount of boxes. Sometimes I envy others who have farmed up a ton more than me, though, I'm not sure they blew all their tokens getting all the Promo Chars/Puni either.. which is exactly what I did. Alllll of them (well, sans the ones I already had ofc). Actually in hindsight it's kind of curious they'd even have Asoka in there.. actually a lot of things have been highly curious about the event.
1 - Punisher stance being readily avaliable (via tokens, ofc)
2 - Asoka being readily avaliable (after previously being stated that s2 was allowed 200 (or was it 300? I forget) Asokas *ONLY* and no more for server balance concerns.
3 - The insane amount of Raiden boxes one can acquire, and how 32 and 33 AR weapons have absolutely plummeted (I mean this in the fullest sense of the word) from 200m-1b in prices to a scant 50-100m ea.
4 - Not to mention, how all the Rune, HQ jewel, Const Symbol, and feso markets have been utterly ruined compared to what they once were.
From what I understand, it all boils down to one thing - future availability. Weeeeell and there was that lil factor of keeping a highly disgrunted community pacified and playing long enough to make the transfer. But that's besides the point.
Now I can't say anything about anything in point 4, but 1 and 3 points are all items that are either A - easily avaliable in other versions, for equally cheap prices (or so I've been told, #3), or are simply easier to get than in the current version (#1). I've heard Asoka gets nerfed a bit, so she isn't quite as Imba.. though I might be all washed up on that.. buuuut.. I'm just repeating what I've heard.
..Cripes.. in <20mins I've belted out all that ._. Yikes. I'll save some other content for later.
Possible future rambles:
- That supposed Raid guide, if/when it happens.
- Final loot tally from the Event Marathon we've had.
- Future speculations
- Feature: The new Family Level system and how it works. (Yes, yes I know there are translated guides on it, but there are a few quirks about it I've found that I haven't seen addressed.)
- Feature: Castilla AA
- ...maybe some other quirks if I think of them?
- Family profile page? (Yeah, I've been slacking on that. xD)
- Brief recollection on the (very recent) history of Orp and it's clan politics. (A background sort of glance)
Annd.. I think that's all I got. However, if anyone has any ideas/suggestions.. I'm all ears.
More 'Rambers' later.
~Alze
November 19, 2012
Something to Consider
Alright so this is an idea I've had bumbling around in my mind for a while but never fully decided to execute. I've decided though that over time - as knowledge, interest, time, and subject matter permits, I'll begin to make and post up guides on various topics onto my blog.
It's interesting to look at what search terms have brought people to TAE and often I see what they were searching for isn't information they'll find here, which frankly is a bit unfortunate. It's always a bit of a pain to be hunting for info on something, click on what you hope will help give you the answer just to find everything 'but' the info you're wanting.
So, without further ado, I'll be adding a 'Guides' and 'Searched' tag onto certain future posts. I'll still make posts about the Fam itself and it's progress (lawl, when I finally DO update that - most likely after this event ends) however I think I will aim a bit more on the finer things of game play often overlooked, forgotten, or just not even noticed. Things might be a bit slow right now, but I would like to pursue this path.
Alze note: Slight disclaimer here though, it might take me a while to get going on this, or update on here at all. A definitely timeline I cannot guarantee. For me IRL, winter is a super busy time at work so it's difficult to get any consistent free time.
More soon
~Alze
It's interesting to look at what search terms have brought people to TAE and often I see what they were searching for isn't information they'll find here, which frankly is a bit unfortunate. It's always a bit of a pain to be hunting for info on something, click on what you hope will help give you the answer just to find everything 'but' the info you're wanting.
So, without further ado, I'll be adding a 'Guides' and 'Searched' tag onto certain future posts. I'll still make posts about the Fam itself and it's progress (lawl, when I finally DO update that - most likely after this event ends) however I think I will aim a bit more on the finer things of game play often overlooked, forgotten, or just not even noticed. Things might be a bit slow right now, but I would like to pursue this path.
Alze note: Slight disclaimer here though, it might take me a while to get going on this, or update on here at all. A definitely timeline I cannot guarantee. For me IRL, winter is a super busy time at work so it's difficult to get any consistent free time.
More soon
~Alze
October 4, 2012
Soup and Crackers (Alpha Soup Pt 2.5 - Veronif/Cruz Event)
Just when you begin get settled into the new farming routine...
G1 has added yet another event to the crazy montage of events, the Good Samaritan Event, also known in other versions as 'Anxious Veronif and Starving Cruise' event (which, I also hear, was removed due to conflicts with v10.18). Right when one would think we didn't have enough to farm for.. voila.. moar stuff. On the upside, its a very simple event and an easy way to gain lots of princ pots, exp cards (vet and expert G both), pet food, soul crystals, stance exp cards, and even socket fluxes. On the downside, the addition of these new event items required for this event (White Crystal, High Viscosity Liquid, and Unknown meat) has effectively nerfed the rate at which boxes can be farmed for most families.
Don't get me wrong, the boxes aren't dropping at any less of a rate (as, actively collecting with 1 char, I can still acquire the same number of boxes per hour as I did last week), but that the addition of these new drops means more boxes are missed. A lot more boxes. Check this QQ screen of the first 19 hours of farming after Maint ended. The first record (not in picture) began at 3:00, 0 boxes, 0 Samaritan event mats. First line in image was 8hours later at 11:30am, the following line 11hrs after that at 10:30pm.
G1 has added yet another event to the crazy montage of events, the Good Samaritan Event, also known in other versions as 'Anxious Veronif and Starving Cruise' event (which, I also hear, was removed due to conflicts with v10.18). Right when one would think we didn't have enough to farm for.. voila.. moar stuff. On the upside, its a very simple event and an easy way to gain lots of princ pots, exp cards (vet and expert G both), pet food, soul crystals, stance exp cards, and even socket fluxes. On the downside, the addition of these new event items required for this event (White Crystal, High Viscosity Liquid, and Unknown meat) has effectively nerfed the rate at which boxes can be farmed for most families.
Don't get me wrong, the boxes aren't dropping at any less of a rate (as, actively collecting with 1 char, I can still acquire the same number of boxes per hour as I did last week), but that the addition of these new drops means more boxes are missed. A lot more boxes. Check this QQ screen of the first 19 hours of farming after Maint ended. The first record (not in picture) began at 3:00, 0 boxes, 0 Samaritan event mats. First line in image was 8hours later at 11:30am, the following line 11hrs after that at 10:30pm.
A normally this should have been from 36 to 100-120 boxes (approx)
That's about 60-80 less boxes a day. /AlzeQQ
Curiously enough by actively looting this afternoon in one hour I netted 7 alpha boxes, 3 liquids, 6 meats, and 11 crystals. For me at least, this seems to prove that the new event items are indeed crowding out the boxes and once again this has become a matter of whether or not a loot pet is able to keep up with the rate at which items are dropping. It was barely keeping up before, now it's just completely underwater.
Complaints aside, this event is truly delicious in it's own respects. How it works is players gather at least 1 of each item: White Crystal (looks like talt), High viscosity liquid (looks like Liquid Gas), and Unknown meat (like any other meat in this game xD). Having one of each forms one set, which when turned into Veronif the player is rewarded with one random item. Amongst these is also Tasty Meat and Tasty Crackers which can be turned into Cruise (or Cruz, as he's called here) for additional rewards. As a result, there appears to be three separate reward tables.
Veronif - per Set:
- Mystic Ampuleb (Ampule) x1
- Princ Pots x1
- Tasty Meat x1
- Tasty Crackers x1
Cruz - Tasty Meat:
- Event Triumph Fillers x2
- Expert G EXP Card x10
- Veteran G EXP Card x10
- Training Card G x2
- Alphabet Box x1
- Principal ampule x2
Cruz - Tasty Crackers:
- Health-Generator x20
- Training Card G x2
- Soul Crystal x10
- Pet food x20
- Expert G EXP Card x10
- Veteran G EXP Card x10
- Event Socket Flux x1
Mystic Ampule grants Lv 20 Bard buffs (Insistendo, Accelerando, and Meditivo) for 15 minutes. Princ pots give the standard Lv 12 Principal buff for 10 minutes. Triumph Fillers grant +1 AR/DR for 10 minutes. Training Card G grants 1m stance exp. Each G EXP (Vet/Expert) card gives 10% exp for their respective name promotion. Health-Generator returns 8k hp to a char upon use.
After I'm able to collect and turn in more sets, I'll make another post listing the percentages these rewards are given at. I must say this event is absolutely marvelous for leveling up characters. It is ridiculously easy to get a character from Expert to Master daily by doing nothing but afk farming. I theorize, it'll be very possible to insta-master one, if not two characters daily by using the Expert G cards alone.
Broken Event x Broken Event = ..Oh heavens.. I do believe Orpesia has turned into a test server. o_o;;
Moar haxness to come..
~Alze
September 28, 2012
Alphabet Soup: Part 2
The entire week of farming was fairly simple for the most part, though it seems the longer this event draws on the more drama the spikes up from it and malicious gameplay arises. People first complained of spinelles and bms, and later reports of pkers has arisen since then. Given Orpesia is a non-baron server pk isn't something often seen unless it is between warring clans (previously, before the feature was removed) or now between the factions of Sahasrha and Dronarati. Unfortunately, squadding with an opposing faction will make you red, even against your own faction. Not something I was particularly thrilled with at all, but, eh, if someone wants to kill you/your faction/clan/whatever for whatever reason or purpose, they will find ways to do it.
..Anyway, I'll leave that topic for another time.
Over the week the afk farming netted near 500 boxes resulting in juuust eeking by to acquire 30 tokens just in time to buy Punisher from the token shop before Maint began. (Much thanks to a dear friend for helping me with those last three Rs!). The purchase was none-too soon as post-maint Punisher was increased in price from 30 to 40 tokens, and all UPCs' prices rose from 10 to 15 tokens each. In addition, the original words were rotated out in favor of new ones, Orion, Stars, and Queen. I was pretty excited about this move as I had enough letters from the previous week to buy 10 tokens as soon as I could access the shop, and did so with relish.
An additional change was to the Alphabet Basket which I had ignored/skipped over in my previous post. With the Alphabet Basket a player can put in 1 letter (doesn't matter what one) and get back a random item. Previously they weren't of much interest, as half of the prize list consisted of Lollipops. The other items were Elite Treasure Boxes, Swampangler Spinelles, Amrita, AMs Boost, and Teleport Scrolls. Pretty mediocre stuff, well, maybe sans the boxes. Over maint this received an uber boost to also drop every Raiden's Angel series box from I to X. Previously cash shop boxes that have been since removed, they are known for having a chance to drop Angel Series (33 AR) and Draconic Series (32 AR) weapons. A complete list of what box drops what item is available here.
Currently the Raiden's Angel VII box is bugged and refuses to drop anything when opened, so it's generally advised people hang onto them until they can be fixed.
Another little perk added after maint was the addition of an absolute ton of Parasols dotted across Gigante Beach.
Utilizing the new words after maint, I traded in enough tokens for Emilia the Sage, Pose Guide Book 11, and a Black Dragon Pet. In addition to a Master Explorer Pack I snagged last week to help with farming (and for SA access) this brings the total to 52 words turned in thus far, and as of writing this nearly 1.1k boxes farmed. Oh, that was another thing over last maint - box drop rate was increased 50%, however due to my now casual farming endeavors, I still gain boxes about the same rate per hour this week as I did last week. (5-6/hr)
Should my more favored maps ever open up at some point, it would be interesting to try farming there once more and seeing how effective the 50% boost is. While some players have reported an increase in drops, some still complain that their drop rates are mediocre to pathetic at best. Personally, I'm of the opinion it's due to area set-up/team composition, but I'm sure it makes things no less frustrating for the affected parties. Currently I'm leveling my Vets and maxing their stances as I farm, which means I have to use different teams than I prefer. I'll keep track of how different team combinations affects my box farming, and post on it later. Until then..
~Alze
..Anyway, I'll leave that topic for another time.
Over the week the afk farming netted near 500 boxes resulting in juuust eeking by to acquire 30 tokens just in time to buy Punisher from the token shop before Maint began. (Much thanks to a dear friend for helping me with those last three Rs!). The purchase was none-too soon as post-maint Punisher was increased in price from 30 to 40 tokens, and all UPCs' prices rose from 10 to 15 tokens each. In addition, the original words were rotated out in favor of new ones, Orion, Stars, and Queen. I was pretty excited about this move as I had enough letters from the previous week to buy 10 tokens as soon as I could access the shop, and did so with relish.
An additional change was to the Alphabet Basket which I had ignored/skipped over in my previous post. With the Alphabet Basket a player can put in 1 letter (doesn't matter what one) and get back a random item. Previously they weren't of much interest, as half of the prize list consisted of Lollipops. The other items were Elite Treasure Boxes, Swampangler Spinelles, Amrita, AMs Boost, and Teleport Scrolls. Pretty mediocre stuff, well, maybe sans the boxes. Over maint this received an uber boost to also drop every Raiden's Angel series box from I to X. Previously cash shop boxes that have been since removed, they are known for having a chance to drop Angel Series (33 AR) and Draconic Series (32 AR) weapons. A complete list of what box drops what item is available here.
Currently the Raiden's Angel VII box is bugged and refuses to drop anything when opened, so it's generally advised people hang onto them until they can be fixed.
Another little perk added after maint was the addition of an absolute ton of Parasols dotted across Gigante Beach.
Sit back and relax for a nice buff...
If you move your characters beneath and use the 'Sit on the floor' pose, the posing characters will all gain a buff that grants 50% exp for two hours. It makes for an excellent boost to any vesping expedition, for similar powerleveling task.
Utilizing the new words after maint, I traded in enough tokens for Emilia the Sage, Pose Guide Book 11, and a Black Dragon Pet. In addition to a Master Explorer Pack I snagged last week to help with farming (and for SA access) this brings the total to 52 words turned in thus far, and as of writing this nearly 1.1k boxes farmed. Oh, that was another thing over last maint - box drop rate was increased 50%, however due to my now casual farming endeavors, I still gain boxes about the same rate per hour this week as I did last week. (5-6/hr)
Should my more favored maps ever open up at some point, it would be interesting to try farming there once more and seeing how effective the 50% boost is. While some players have reported an increase in drops, some still complain that their drop rates are mediocre to pathetic at best. Personally, I'm of the opinion it's due to area set-up/team composition, but I'm sure it makes things no less frustrating for the affected parties. Currently I'm leveling my Vets and maxing their stances as I farm, which means I have to use different teams than I prefer. I'll keep track of how different team combinations affects my box farming, and post on it later. Until then..
~Alze
September 21, 2012
Alphabet Soup: Part 1
So after months of very little of anything going on, an unexpected custom-made event for the Sword 2 servers was added this last Maint consisting of a very delectable Alphabet Event. In short tradable Alphabet Boxes drop at random from all mobs in-game. When opened, the boxes drop a random non-tradable letter. These letters in form of three pre-determined five-letter words can be traded in for prizes to a designated NPC. Depending on how completed the word is at time being traded in, dictates the tier of rewards the player can pick from.
Prizes of Note: A minimum of # correct letters to any one word will grant some of the following prizes.
The last two, in my opinion, are the most exciting items of this event. Pose Guide 11 has thus far never been released in our version, though it was been requested and sought for ages. Diamond Tokens can be spent in a shop (avaliable at the same UPC) for a myraid of extremely valuable items.
Diamond Token Shop: Sage Necklace, Black Dragon Pet Box, AtP, EtS, BSI, StF, ICP, Ralph, Asoka, three different never before released 33 AR Mechanical Series Weapons (Sword, Pistol, Bayonet, and Fire Brace), and the ever elusive, coveted, and drooled over Punisher Manual.
Personally, I'd absolutely love if they'd add Innocento if they're going to be so brazen as to include a stance as elusive as Punisher.
Even if the boxes decide to just be bishes and not give everything at all - you can trade in random letters for basically crap items. Hey, at least at the end we can empty our inventories of these letters when the event finally closes! Oh - did I mention Raiden gave no end date to this event? It's going to run at least for several months. Theories speculate until we get our patch update which - thus far - we have had virtually no news of whatsoever.
Now, gleeful news aside. Nothing would quite be right in Orpesia or it's sister servers anymore these days without a bit of drama. Now something to note is that the player presence on the forums has been incredibly restless and increasingly disgrunted of late due to lack of information updates and general visual absence of most everyone G1-affiliated. Frankly, I haven't seen the player base this frustrated/up in arms in.. well.. ever.
Anyway during the first 18 or so hours of the event, Alphabet Boxes dropped like absolute rain. It was definitely possible to farm 18-20 an hour in high spawn areas, if not a tad more in others. Considering it would then be possible for a single family to farm upwards of 400+ in a day (in semi-ideal situations), the 35 diamond tokens it would require for a single Punisher manual in the Token Shop would be laughable, let alone the other rewards.
There is little doubt in my mind it would have been possible to complete the entire shop within a week. It really was no secret this was broken, something more or less the entire player base could agree on. Fortunately (or unfortunately) G1 agreed on this as well and in a brief dc, they adjusted the rate.
Currently I theorize the drop rate was reduced to 1/4 or so of what it was previously, based upon my own farming experience. For me, this is still okay as in some areas one can still farm an avg of 5-6 boxes an hour, which still isn't too shabby. The great downside to this is this requires afking in an area with a very high spawn rate. The number of said type of locations in Sword is incredibly limited to just a few maps. ie:
In short, unless you can secure yourself an ideal location in 2-3 maps, most of the player base is somewhat screwed in more normal/slower spawning maps. As it is, I've heard from several people of only collecting a handful of boxes over many hours, some, collecting only a couple if any at all. Though a nerf was needed, I do believe it's currently a bit too rough. Given as the event is still very new (and not even a full 2-days old yet) I'm sure there will be more tweaks in the future. I just hope they're the best ones.
~Alze
Prizes of Note: A minimum of # correct letters to any one word will grant some of the following prizes.
- Two Correct Letters: AA passes, Ti/Te runes, 1 day 80% combat manuals, 7-day crystal wings, and a smattering of lesser interesting items.
- Three Correct Letters: Letizi boxes, Const boxes, Expert chips, Lv 32 weapon crystals, and other misc.
- Four Correct Letters: HQ Spod and HQ Obs items, Aries Symbol, DH, Red Tiger Box, 30 Day Exp Explorer Pack, and Magic Earring Rec.
- Five Correct Letters: 30 Day Master Explorer Pack, Princ pot, Rose Wing coupon, Sage Necklace, Capitaine Costume for Fighter, Pose Guide 11, and Diamond Tokens.
The last two, in my opinion, are the most exciting items of this event. Pose Guide 11 has thus far never been released in our version, though it was been requested and sought for ages. Diamond Tokens can be spent in a shop (avaliable at the same UPC) for a myraid of extremely valuable items.
Diamond Token Shop: Sage Necklace, Black Dragon Pet Box, AtP, EtS, BSI, StF, ICP, Ralph, Asoka, three different never before released 33 AR Mechanical Series Weapons (Sword, Pistol, Bayonet, and Fire Brace), and the ever elusive, coveted, and drooled over Punisher Manual.
Personally, I'd absolutely love if they'd add Innocento if they're going to be so brazen as to include a stance as elusive as Punisher.
Even if the boxes decide to just be bishes and not give everything at all - you can trade in random letters for basically crap items. Hey, at least at the end we can empty our inventories of these letters when the event finally closes! Oh - did I mention Raiden gave no end date to this event? It's going to run at least for several months. Theories speculate until we get our patch update which - thus far - we have had virtually no news of whatsoever.
Now, gleeful news aside. Nothing would quite be right in Orpesia or it's sister servers anymore these days without a bit of drama. Now something to note is that the player presence on the forums has been incredibly restless and increasingly disgrunted of late due to lack of information updates and general visual absence of most everyone G1-affiliated. Frankly, I haven't seen the player base this frustrated/up in arms in.. well.. ever.
Anyway during the first 18 or so hours of the event, Alphabet Boxes dropped like absolute rain. It was definitely possible to farm 18-20 an hour in high spawn areas, if not a tad more in others. Considering it would then be possible for a single family to farm upwards of 400+ in a day (in semi-ideal situations), the 35 diamond tokens it would require for a single Punisher manual in the Token Shop would be laughable, let alone the other rewards.
There is little doubt in my mind it would have been possible to complete the entire shop within a week. It really was no secret this was broken, something more or less the entire player base could agree on. Fortunately (or unfortunately) G1 agreed on this as well and in a brief dc, they adjusted the rate.
Currently I theorize the drop rate was reduced to 1/4 or so of what it was previously, based upon my own farming experience. For me, this is still okay as in some areas one can still farm an avg of 5-6 boxes an hour, which still isn't too shabby. The great downside to this is this requires afking in an area with a very high spawn rate. The number of said type of locations in Sword is incredibly limited to just a few maps. ie:
In short, unless you can secure yourself an ideal location in 2-3 maps, most of the player base is somewhat screwed in more normal/slower spawning maps. As it is, I've heard from several people of only collecting a handful of boxes over many hours, some, collecting only a couple if any at all. Though a nerf was needed, I do believe it's currently a bit too rough. Given as the event is still very new (and not even a full 2-days old yet) I'm sure there will be more tweaks in the future. I just hope they're the best ones.
~Alze
July 5, 2012
The Miracle of Coffee
So, I figure it's time for another Ramble Update. The Family recently has undertaken an unusual challenge, one of inventoring the entire collection of the Family's belongings and tallying the amount of their presumed worth. One never really realizes exactly how much "stuff" they have until it starts being listed in an ever-growing notepad document.
The Bounty Hunter roulette and Raff drop tallying has continued, and thus far ratios has remained rather consistent though there was an odd time of receiving const boxes from Raff four days in a row. That was quite entertaining. On that note - Scorp symbols are nowhere to be seen. @_@ The const symbol collection has grown since the last update, but Scorpios still remain incredibly.. not there.
In other news, the Family has acquired their first-ever eln. As everyone else in the Family currently resides in elbs, this is quite an exciting change of pace. In crafting-news, the 'to-make' list has been increasing constantly. Practically all of it is accessories. Quite a few artisans to be crafted.. if only there were a few more magic I'd be more enticed to craft them!
As it stands, the recipes I have I don't really need to craft due to existing items in the Family's possession. However - the items I actually need more of? Trololol.. good luck scaring up some of those. They're not so much 'rare' or 'elusive' as 'refuse to show up to go into Alz's inventory'.
Went on a little chipping spree earlier this evening. Got completely trolled on a couple braces, and got some decent mods on another few. I finally have a brace with a atk+golem mod! The racial itself is a bit troll, but it's at least something. The only other golem racial in the Family's possession is a gaiter. Handy in some situations - but not when ranged chars are needed more. In addition, a nice life racial, troll daemon, and even more troll double racial was chipped today. Considering I rarely chip, and tend to despise the process, this turned out to be quite fun. ^^
Claire was finally Mastered earlier this week. She was spam-fed exp cards I've been collecting from a daily Viron quest I do for rep. On a whim, Adelina was taken out of the dusty barracks and given Bloody Feast and let loose upon the unsuspecting mobs in Skele. This works as a double-advantage as 1 - she has jack crap for sabres currently, thus pitiful killing power xD and 2 - A chance to gather some items in preparation for the 'Patch of Doom' as I call it, whenever it arrives. Ie: Sword 2 updating to 10.6. Eventually. One day. .. >_>
Also - on a side note - Don't stay up 30+ hours via having a normal day, staying up through maint, then mob-slaying your little heart out til the following afternoon. It's just... bad... bad idea. You end up sleeping 8hrs during the entire afternoon and be stuck up late, awake, writing stuff like this. xD So, maybe not entirely bad - but still. 8hr doze all day on the 4th of July? Tsk tsk!
More shenanigans to come..
~ Alze
The Bounty Hunter roulette and Raff drop tallying has continued, and thus far ratios has remained rather consistent though there was an odd time of receiving const boxes from Raff four days in a row. That was quite entertaining. On that note - Scorp symbols are nowhere to be seen. @_@ The const symbol collection has grown since the last update, but Scorpios still remain incredibly.. not there.
In other news, the Family has acquired their first-ever eln. As everyone else in the Family currently resides in elbs, this is quite an exciting change of pace. In crafting-news, the 'to-make' list has been increasing constantly. Practically all of it is accessories. Quite a few artisans to be crafted.. if only there were a few more magic I'd be more enticed to craft them!
As it stands, the recipes I have I don't really need to craft due to existing items in the Family's possession. However - the items I actually need more of? Trololol.. good luck scaring up some of those. They're not so much 'rare' or 'elusive' as 'refuse to show up to go into Alz's inventory'.
Went on a little chipping spree earlier this evening. Got completely trolled on a couple braces, and got some decent mods on another few. I finally have a brace with a atk+golem mod! The racial itself is a bit troll, but it's at least something. The only other golem racial in the Family's possession is a gaiter. Handy in some situations - but not when ranged chars are needed more. In addition, a nice life racial, troll daemon, and even more troll double racial was chipped today. Considering I rarely chip, and tend to despise the process, this turned out to be quite fun. ^^
Claire was finally Mastered earlier this week. She was spam-fed exp cards I've been collecting from a daily Viron quest I do for rep. On a whim, Adelina was taken out of the dusty barracks and given Bloody Feast and let loose upon the unsuspecting mobs in Skele. This works as a double-advantage as 1 - she has jack crap for sabres currently, thus pitiful killing power xD and 2 - A chance to gather some items in preparation for the 'Patch of Doom' as I call it, whenever it arrives. Ie: Sword 2 updating to 10.6. Eventually. One day. .. >_>
Also - on a side note - Don't stay up 30+ hours via having a normal day, staying up through maint, then mob-slaying your little heart out til the following afternoon. It's just... bad... bad idea. You end up sleeping 8hrs during the entire afternoon and be stuck up late, awake, writing stuff like this. xD So, maybe not entirely bad - but still. 8hr doze all day on the 4th of July? Tsk tsk!
More shenanigans to come..
~ Alze
May 18, 2012
An Overdue Report
Since the last update:
Vesping:
- Ralph reached Vet, and subsequently Expert.
- Made a new Wiz (Female) who was Experted, and maxed all stances.
- Lorch reached Expert
- Mia reached Expert
- Grace reached Master
- Lisa reached Master
- All Understudies reached Lv 100, but have not been promoted to Vet (yet) - ie: Auch Infantry (F), Rescue Knight, Claude, Jose, Alejandro, Irawain, Kurt, and Tiburon.
Family Level has reached Lv 48. I'm just two away from 50, now. =)
Dailies: The following will be divvied by month, and a final overall statistic. This does not include raids like Crow, Prison, HWC, etc as they were completed irregularly. Rather these stats come from completing Instanced Raff, 2 Occulta BH runs, and 1 Caeb BH run daily. (Sometimes I messed up and didn't reset Occulta x.x but it only happens once in a while.
Key thing to note: Raff gives 4 lv 100 items, and 2 asos per instance, hence those numbers are considerably high.
February (being this wasn't posted before) Listing began: 13 Days Completed.
- 3 consts (from raff) - Capricorn, Pisces, Leo
- 30 Expert tokens
- 17,000 in rep cards
- 52 Ancient Star Orb boxes (26 from BH missions)
- 74 Lv 100 items
- 2 e92 items
- 17 Vet tokens
- 1 Artisan rec
March - 29 of 31 Days Completed.
- 6 Const Symbols
- 71 Expert Tokens
- 33,500 Rep from cards
- 73 Asos
- 180 Lv 100 Items
- 7 e92 Items
- 1 Magic rec
- 91 Asos
- 175 Lv 100 Items
- 10 e92 Items
- 0 Magic recs
- 38 Vet Tokens
- 1 Arti rec
May - In progress.
So far I've noticed...
Instanced Raff:
- Gives a Const box about 25% of the time ie: 1 in 4 runs will yield a Const box.
- Gives 4 lv 100 items, and 2 Asos boxes always.
BH-Occulta
- 40% of the time BH Occulta will give you Expert Tokens
- 20% of the time will be Lv 100 items.
- 20% of the time will be Honor B (500 rep) or Honor G (2,000 rep) cards. Between these two they are about 50/50, leaning slightly more towards Honor B than G.
- 10% is Asos
- 5% e92 items
- Remaining %'s are scattered due to rounding.
BH-Caeb (ie: Sedecram)
- 40% of the time will be Vet Tokens
- 30% of the time will be Lv 100 items
- 10% of the time will be Asos boxes
- 10% is Honor G cards
- Artisan recs drop slightly more often than Honor B, at 1.5% vs Honor B's 1%
- Remaining %'s are scattered due to rounding.
Phew~ So.. yeah.. a little curiosity evolved into a lengthy Notepad document, which morphed into a spreadsheet.. somehow.. still not completely sure how that happened.
I've also noticed - if I tally up all daily runs, it's really easy to spend close to 30m on just extra roulettes when you do all the raids. By that I mean: Dailies, Crow, Basement, etc.. 30m hurts. Omigah. Hence, until Markets decidedly improve - the Family shall hence become moochers and be satisfied with the two roulettes given to them.
More posts soon? Who knows~ stay tuned.
~Alze
Vesping:
- Ralph reached Vet, and subsequently Expert.
- Made a new Wiz (Female) who was Experted, and maxed all stances.
- Lorch reached Expert
- Mia reached Expert
- Grace reached Master
- Lisa reached Master
- All Understudies reached Lv 100, but have not been promoted to Vet (yet) - ie: Auch Infantry (F), Rescue Knight, Claude, Jose, Alejandro, Irawain, Kurt, and Tiburon.
Family Level has reached Lv 48. I'm just two away from 50, now. =)
Dailies: The following will be divvied by month, and a final overall statistic. This does not include raids like Crow, Prison, HWC, etc as they were completed irregularly. Rather these stats come from completing Instanced Raff, 2 Occulta BH runs, and 1 Caeb BH run daily. (Sometimes I messed up and didn't reset Occulta x.x but it only happens once in a while.
Key thing to note: Raff gives 4 lv 100 items, and 2 asos per instance, hence those numbers are considerably high.
February (being this wasn't posted before) Listing began: 13 Days Completed.
- 3 consts (from raff) - Capricorn, Pisces, Leo
- 30 Expert tokens
- 17,000 in rep cards
- 52 Ancient Star Orb boxes (26 from BH missions)
- 74 Lv 100 items
- 2 e92 items
- 17 Vet tokens
- 1 Artisan rec
March - 29 of 31 Days Completed.
- 6 Const Symbols
- 71 Expert Tokens
- 33,500 Rep from cards
- 73 Asos
- 180 Lv 100 Items
- 7 e92 Items
- 1 Magic rec
- 34 Vet Tokens
- 1 Artisan rec
April - 30 of 30 Days Completed
- 9 Const Symbols
- 73 Expert Tokens
- 68,500 Rep from cards- 91 Asos
- 175 Lv 100 Items
- 10 e92 Items
- 0 Magic recs
- 38 Vet Tokens
- 1 Arti rec
May - In progress.
So far I've noticed...
Instanced Raff:
- Gives a Const box about 25% of the time ie: 1 in 4 runs will yield a Const box.
- Gives 4 lv 100 items, and 2 Asos boxes always.
BH-Occulta
- 40% of the time BH Occulta will give you Expert Tokens
- 20% of the time will be Lv 100 items.
- 20% of the time will be Honor B (500 rep) or Honor G (2,000 rep) cards. Between these two they are about 50/50, leaning slightly more towards Honor B than G.
- 10% is Asos
- 5% e92 items
- Remaining %'s are scattered due to rounding.
BH-Caeb (ie: Sedecram)
- 40% of the time will be Vet Tokens
- 30% of the time will be Lv 100 items
- 10% of the time will be Asos boxes
- 10% is Honor G cards
- Artisan recs drop slightly more often than Honor B, at 1.5% vs Honor B's 1%
- Remaining %'s are scattered due to rounding.
Phew~ So.. yeah.. a little curiosity evolved into a lengthy Notepad document, which morphed into a spreadsheet.. somehow.. still not completely sure how that happened.
I've also noticed - if I tally up all daily runs, it's really easy to spend close to 30m on just extra roulettes when you do all the raids. By that I mean: Dailies, Crow, Basement, etc.. 30m hurts. Omigah. Hence, until Markets decidedly improve - the Family shall hence become moochers and be satisfied with the two roulettes given to them.
More posts soon? Who knows~ stay tuned.
~Alze
April 13, 2012
Raff Gift of Win and Baffling 'Cold Calls'
So earlier this evening while completing dailies, the Family came to the stark realization that they were out of Yellow Leaves for their daily Raff instance run. MM, oddly enough, didn't have any so it didn't look like it would be an option til a clanmate generously gave a small stack of leaves out of the blue. What came of that now avaliable raff run? A Constellation Box. What came out of that Constellation Box? A Pisces symbol. What's so awesome about a Pisces symbol (besides it's value)? It was the last symbol I needed for a 2nd complete symbol set. :D
Heck, freaking, yes.
On a side note: Helena + Asoka works quite nicely for Occulta BH, however the one trick of it is, is to have Asoka within range of Necro's aoe, and having Helena out of it. It took me a little while to figure the exact spacing, but here it is.
Heck, freaking, yes.
On a side note: Helena + Asoka works quite nicely for Occulta BH, however the one trick of it is, is to have Asoka within range of Necro's aoe, and having Helena out of it. It took me a little while to figure the exact spacing, but here it is.
Such a fine line between pwn and pwn't
The two green lines were made directly over actual lines on the floor. As long as Asoka stays *just* behind that line, and Helena doesn't enter the Box area, they're both fine. However if Asoka is even *on* that line infront of her? Helena will get hit. It's very tricky, and sometimes takes a bit of maneuvering to get them situated just right - but it can work out quite nicely.
Also - no spacebarring what so ever. Click-to-attack only, as going on spacebar lessens the distance between mob and character. It's a very slight difference, but here it matters.
Also - no spacebarring what so ever. Click-to-attack only, as going on spacebar lessens the distance between mob and character. It's a very slight difference, but here it matters.
- - - - -
Tactics aside, I find myself in another befuddling predicament. At some point in the day when I am in Auch - par daily or every other day - inevitably someone will PM me asking for help/vis/gear. This utterly baffles me. I don't mind giving out advice and how-to do something, but some things I still do not understand.
For instance one person was seeking X-amount mil of vis (not much), yet only asking for 1k increments (clever!) However, for amounts so low, that's easily farmable in low places such as Prison and Fire Isle. Heck, just farm up pure ores and npc them and voila ~ profit. Judging by their fam lv, they at least had some vets if not expert too. Why they didn't so that instead (much more profitable and less time consuming) I have no idea. /baffled.
In short, I just plain don't get it. This rarely ever happened before, but within the last couple weeks it happens very frequently. Perhaps I should whip up some guides so when people ask me 'Can you help me with ____ can you give me ____?' I can say 'Go read this here ______ - it'll give you all the info you need, havaniceday kthxbai. :D' I mean.. not to sound antisocial or anything but.. all the 'Can you give me vis/items' stuff is.. kinda.. ew. x.x
I never asked for items as a lowbie player, never asked for gear, or donations. I stuck it out on my own, figured out the steps I needed to take, and worked towards achieving what I wanted to acquire. That isn't to say people never lent me gear, but rather I never went out seeking it - let alone messaging complete strangers. I guess.. it just strikes a nerve with me. =/ /rant.
More bipolar-esque posting ahead! Stick around. :3
~Alze
April 9, 2012
Almost missed the 'Title' line..
Omigah, Blogger, y u be so strange, la?!
I'm completely not used to this layout. @_@ It feels so WEIRD.
(To anyone who doesn't have one, they revamped how a lot of it looks from the writing side of things. It feels so.. strange. ._.)
Anyway, time for an update/to-do list.
Update:
- Bought Ralph for a slightly higher sum than desired, but still not a bad price.
..Actually that alone has been holding up a lot of progress. The Family has been hoarding up vis to ensure Ralph would be purchasable, which includes holding off on other expenditures. Most notably expensive upgrading/chipping practices as the Family has... quite a number of items that need both.
- Family Lv has now hit Lv 46 - Just four more levels to go for 50!
To-do:
- Achieve Fam Lv 50 in preparation for 9.5
- Level, Expert, and max Darkness on a new F Wiz.
- Begin crafting Family's first const (evar!) - a LoE
- Craft 1 (possibly 2) e100 Fire Braces in preparation for 9.5
- Upgrade Le Scarces @_@
- Pray to the chipping gods/threaten their oracle (*cough*ench chip lady*cough*cough*)
...aaand there are some others, but that's the main important ones at the moment.
Other news:
Partly out of curiosity, I've been keeping track of what drops I get from my daily BH/raff runs. I've been keeping track since mid-Feb, so perhaps by mid-April I'll post what I find.
Also, ironies and trolldrops, most notably:
More to come later. :3
~ Alze
I'm completely not used to this layout. @_@ It feels so WEIRD.
(To anyone who doesn't have one, they revamped how a lot of it looks from the writing side of things. It feels so.. strange. ._.)
Anyway, time for an update/to-do list.
Update:
- Bought Ralph for a slightly higher sum than desired, but still not a bad price.
..Actually that alone has been holding up a lot of progress. The Family has been hoarding up vis to ensure Ralph would be purchasable, which includes holding off on other expenditures. Most notably expensive upgrading/chipping practices as the Family has... quite a number of items that need both.
- Family Lv has now hit Lv 46 - Just four more levels to go for 50!
To-do:
- Achieve Fam Lv 50 in preparation for 9.5
- Level, Expert, and max Darkness on a new F Wiz.
- Begin crafting Family's first const (evar!) - a LoE
- Craft 1 (possibly 2) e100 Fire Braces in preparation for 9.5
- Upgrade Le Scarces @_@
- Pray to the chipping gods/threaten their oracle (*cough*ench chip lady*cough*cough*)
...aaand there are some others, but that's the main important ones at the moment.
Other news:
Partly out of curiosity, I've been keeping track of what drops I get from my daily BH/raff runs. I've been keeping track since mid-Feb, so perhaps by mid-April I'll post what I find.
Also, ironies and trolldrops, most notably:
Doesn't know the meaning of 'Atk'
A BH Occulta roulette drop.. now where might this sound Familiar?
More to come later. :3
~ Alze
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