I'm continuing with a few more of Belghast's writing prompts today, namely - write about three favorite items from any video game ever, and about any goal I achieved in the past and what it was like to work towards it and eventually get it.
My first favorite item are consumables: Health Potions or Medkits (things that keep you alive) - specifically the type you can carry and use at will rather than the auto-use on pick up. I guess this habit goes back to my Ultima Online days where there was no delay or limit on potion use and has carried on since, despite the Potion Poison mechanic in Mabinogi (debuff from overuse) and cool downs in Neverwinter.
Second favourite item is the Berserk Sphere in Doom. I am a fan of unarmed combat, and while I was ok with the regular brass knuckles in this game getting the power up that let you smash demons into pieces with your fist was amazing, especially when coupled with an Invulnerability Sphere. :P
Last item for this list also contains a previously achieved goal. This is the decorative trophy pet: Mini-Liadri from Guildwars 2, which you can only get by succeeding in the fight against full-sized Liadri, the original final enemy of the Queen's Gauntlet. It took me many, many attempts over 6 days and learning from others both through exterior sources (like Jeromai's guide) and through watching other players attempt the fight.
Because it was so difficult for me, that victory tastes all the sweeter.
Showing posts with label Liadri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liadri. Show all posts
Friday, 10 August 2018
Friday, 17 March 2017
Darkest Dungeon: Facing the Abyss
Reports from Darkest Dungeon - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!
With a final push, the warrens are now clear. Once again, Wilbur was found this time whispering in the ear of a massive creature they call the Swine God. Despite losing Boris Pavlovich and Liadri, Dr. Shen and Rocket Man were able to scrape a victory through a battle of attrition. A second team composed of Yuria, Alvinia and Shalquoir, Party Girl and Lu Lingqi, vanquished the formless flesh while all being at the precipice of death.
Elsewhere we lost Andre who was strangled by a raving madman and Saranthor whose heart was exploded by a cultist witch. Also lost were Zhurong, Maughlin and Masu of the first exploration team sent into the Darkest Dungeon where tentacled priests worship a horrible beast that matches the description of the shambler let loose so long ago. Only Dieannin Avery returned alive, his mind half gone but with a map that might prove useful for the next expedition.
-Catharina
There's a large source of bacon.
With a final push, the warrens are now clear. Once again, Wilbur was found this time whispering in the ear of a massive creature they call the Swine God. Despite losing Boris Pavlovich and Liadri, Dr. Shen and Rocket Man were able to scrape a victory through a battle of attrition. A second team composed of Yuria, Alvinia and Shalquoir, Party Girl and Lu Lingqi, vanquished the formless flesh while all being at the precipice of death.
Elsewhere we lost Andre who was strangled by a raving madman and Saranthor whose heart was exploded by a cultist witch. Also lost were Zhurong, Maughlin and Masu of the first exploration team sent into the Darkest Dungeon where tentacled priests worship a horrible beast that matches the description of the shambler let loose so long ago. Only Dieannin Avery returned alive, his mind half gone but with a map that might prove useful for the next expedition.
-Catharina
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
NBI: Screenshot Safari! #NBI2015 #NBI2015Safari #EpicAchievement
It's time for another entry into Murf's NBI Screenshot Safari and this one falls under the Epic Achievement category. While it certainly looks like nothing is going on apart from me sitting there with a miniature woman at my side, those who play Guildwars 2 might recognize her to be Liadri - and the only way to get that mini was to defeat her normal sized self in the final, one on one, round of the Queen's Gauntlet. It took me a 140 attempts (hence why I look so tired) but it just made the victory all the sweeter. ^_^
Other on-going NBI activities:
Contains Moderate Peril still looking for NBI guest posts!
Gaming Discussion
Talkback Topic #2: Early Access and Kickstarter
NBI 2015: Poetry Slam!
Murf's Screenshot Safari
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Bad Support Attitude
Have you ever stopped playing a game because of bad support? I have!
I used to play Guildwars 2, even beat Zhaitan and Liadri. That is until the verification email no longer was being sent through to Yahoo. Their forum response was something like: "It's a Yahoo problem. You really shouldn't use Yahoo." Uh huh. Three guesses how I'm supposed to change that password too, since it also has to be verified through Yahoo.
I tried to see what Wildstar was all about, winning a key ages back. Apparently though this key wasn't for my region and the email they sent back was along the lines of "there is no way we can change the region of the key, or even replace it." Riiiiiight. Because you know, it would take a whole ten minutes to kill one key and generate another for the correct region. Just saying, since I used to generate keys for my previous company.
I'm sorry, the minute I hear a "not our problem" or a "passing the buck" method I get slightly pissed.
Even Mabinogi, which is supposed to have the -worst- support ever actually gives you updates on whatever issue you logged. Yes, most of the time it was a "We're getting to it and apologize for the delay" automated response which only gets sorted out two months later but you know what? They f*ing sorted it out, and they were apologetic and polite about it. Much more polite than I'm being now.
What happens next? I look at who makes these games where I've had bad support experience then I make a neat little list of other multiplayer titles they have... and avoid them.
Have there been any games that you have dropped because of bad support?
I used to play Guildwars 2, even beat Zhaitan and Liadri. That is until the verification email no longer was being sent through to Yahoo. Their forum response was something like: "It's a Yahoo problem. You really shouldn't use Yahoo." Uh huh. Three guesses how I'm supposed to change that password too, since it also has to be verified through Yahoo.
I tried to see what Wildstar was all about, winning a key ages back. Apparently though this key wasn't for my region and the email they sent back was along the lines of "there is no way we can change the region of the key, or even replace it." Riiiiiight. Because you know, it would take a whole ten minutes to kill one key and generate another for the correct region. Just saying, since I used to generate keys for my previous company.
I'm sorry, the minute I hear a "not our problem" or a "passing the buck" method I get slightly pissed.
You said it Starlord.
Even Mabinogi, which is supposed to have the -worst- support ever actually gives you updates on whatever issue you logged. Yes, most of the time it was a "We're getting to it and apologize for the delay" automated response which only gets sorted out two months later but you know what? They f*ing sorted it out, and they were apologetic and polite about it. Much more polite than I'm being now.
What happens next? I look at who makes these games where I've had bad support experience then I make a neat little list of other multiplayer titles they have... and avoid them.
Have there been any games that you have dropped because of bad support?
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Vindictus: King of the Trolls
[This is part of my Vindictus tutorials.]
I started getting into real trouble when I reached the troll inhabited Hilder Forest Ruins. It's like an exam of every boss you have fought, just that they move faster, hit harder, and are way uglier. I quite disliked the very first boss, Meperdu who has a unique(?) ability of pinning you against the wall and forcing the whole rest of the fight to take place in judo range (ie. zero distance). I could still beat him, but the one that really sucked was the king of the Shady Forest - Klaus.
I think next to GW2s Liadri he currently holds the most number of kills on me in any MMO. The difference is that while Liadri was a duel, Klaus is a raid boss, and given that I only beat him on my ninth attempt means he destroyed the first eight different parties I went in with! Even the Neverwinter's mighty Tiamat only won four times before I broke her winning streak. Unlike Tiamat though there is no strategy to Klaus. It's pure skill and luck and if you have enough of both, he can be soloed.
This did let me study him quite a bit, and as a ranged character, I found out why he is so damned tough - because he is a crafty bastard and all his hits take out a ton of HP.
Two moves in particular are what would always get me:
First is his charge. Yup, he runs in a straight line from point A to point B. Sounds easy to evade right? Wrong. Point B is JUST BEFORE his target. He then shifts direction (if the target moved) and continues charging to point C - through said target, and anyone else in the way. I would always dodge too early. It really has to be at the last split second that you move aside or he hits you with that giant horned helm.
Second is that he waves his magic mace/staff in the air. This actually sends out hard to see, translucent orbs at all players (+1) that SEEK. Again, you have to dodge at the last second, too early and it will track and hit you. Getting hit by any of these drain all your stamina, meaning you cannot run or dodge and making you pretty vulnerable to his charge which he likes to use right after. He also shoots an extra one, meaning someone has to dodge two translucent spheres. That final one not only drains your stamina but actually roots you to the spot.
I started getting into real trouble when I reached the troll inhabited Hilder Forest Ruins. It's like an exam of every boss you have fought, just that they move faster, hit harder, and are way uglier. I quite disliked the very first boss, Meperdu who has a unique(?) ability of pinning you against the wall and forcing the whole rest of the fight to take place in judo range (ie. zero distance). I could still beat him, but the one that really sucked was the king of the Shady Forest - Klaus.
Ho ho ho!
I think next to GW2s Liadri he currently holds the most number of kills on me in any MMO. The difference is that while Liadri was a duel, Klaus is a raid boss, and given that I only beat him on my ninth attempt means he destroyed the first eight different parties I went in with! Even the Neverwinter's mighty Tiamat only won four times before I broke her winning streak. Unlike Tiamat though there is no strategy to Klaus. It's pure skill and luck and if you have enough of both, he can be soloed.
This did let me study him quite a bit, and as a ranged character, I found out why he is so damned tough - because he is a crafty bastard and all his hits take out a ton of HP.
Two moves in particular are what would always get me:
First is his charge. Yup, he runs in a straight line from point A to point B. Sounds easy to evade right? Wrong. Point B is JUST BEFORE his target. He then shifts direction (if the target moved) and continues charging to point C - through said target, and anyone else in the way. I would always dodge too early. It really has to be at the last split second that you move aside or he hits you with that giant horned helm.
Second is that he waves his magic mace/staff in the air. This actually sends out hard to see, translucent orbs at all players (+1) that SEEK. Again, you have to dodge at the last second, too early and it will track and hit you. Getting hit by any of these drain all your stamina, meaning you cannot run or dodge and making you pretty vulnerable to his charge which he likes to use right after. He also shoots an extra one, meaning someone has to dodge two translucent spheres. That final one not only drains your stamina but actually roots you to the spot.
Friday, 29 August 2014
Captain Phillips
[Post #30 of the Blaugust Challenge!]
A movie based on the real life hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, Tom Hanks stars as the clever captain of that ship which begins the morning before it set sails from port. It is quite interesting to see the countermeasures used by the unarmed container ship when a handful of pirates decide to try capture it for ransom, and the shifting of focus between the pirates and their prey makes for a pretty tense and exciting film. Can't really give away more than that as it might take away from the experience for you. While Tom Hanks does his "captaining" very well, everyone else does a decent job in the acting department (pirates included). Also funny to learn that pirates get their crew via ye old school yard pick.
That said there are some changes I'd like to see which I think would make the movie better. The first part at the beginning before Tom Hanks reaches the docks could have been chopped. Some other people in the later part of the movie traveling from point A to point B footage could also be removed and replaced with "they arrived". Lastly I would have liked to see the part where the US NAVY goes in and brutally kills every single pirate, their families, friends and pets at the "pirate base".
Unfortunately that doesn't happen in real life either so I guess it's too much of a stretch. At least it looks like the Maersk Line learned their lesson and began employing security personnel on their ships. There are so many parts in the movie where I was saying out loud about the difference one or two armed dudes would make.
Anyway, before I get carried away further into real life vs movie life I'd better score this, and since I believe it is one that many people would enjoy I give it three and a half bullets out of five.
Blaugust Bonus: Writing Prompt time! "Do you collect in game pets? Various games have turned this into a mini game but are you a pet collector? If so why? If not why as well?" Yes and no, depending on the game. More on the no side though. There are three main barriers to pet collection for me. First, are they useful? If it's just a display item that you can get easily or by paying money then that holds no interest to me. An example for exception to this would be mini-Liadri in Guildwars 2, who while only being a "trophy" is one that I felt to be earned.
The second barrier is longetivity. If I need to take care of pets by any means other than occasionally healing it then it is too much of a hassle. Having to learn veterinary skills in UO for example (I think that combo was healing, taming, animal lore and anatomy) to maintain a viable ally was just not in my character. So, yes I had my mount and a random pack of critters for a short time, but it became too annoying to replace the pack as they died so I eventually dropped them altogether.
The last barrier is cost. If it costs real money then I don't buy it. Mabinogi is a huge exception for me here though as the pets are cheap, some freely earned, very useful (you can play AS the pet) and perhaps most importantly CUTE OVERLOAD. I don't classify as a collector though, as there are many I skip. My initial plan was just to get something to help me fight, followed by transportation. I sort of earned quite a few more in the process... cough. My current barn consists of: a mini bear, a thunderbird, a black unicorn, a giant eagle, a thoroughbred horse, a cobra, a thunder dragon, three flamemares, an armored pegasus and four bulls. Don't mock the bovines, I used them to help me defeat one of the goddesses in the game!
A movie based on the real life hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, Tom Hanks stars as the clever captain of that ship which begins the morning before it set sails from port. It is quite interesting to see the countermeasures used by the unarmed container ship when a handful of pirates decide to try capture it for ransom, and the shifting of focus between the pirates and their prey makes for a pretty tense and exciting film. Can't really give away more than that as it might take away from the experience for you. While Tom Hanks does his "captaining" very well, everyone else does a decent job in the acting department (pirates included). Also funny to learn that pirates get their crew via ye old school yard pick.
Tom Hanks wishes he had one of those guns right about now.
That said there are some changes I'd like to see which I think would make the movie better. The first part at the beginning before Tom Hanks reaches the docks could have been chopped. Some other people in the later part of the movie traveling from point A to point B footage could also be removed and replaced with "they arrived". Lastly I would have liked to see the part where the US NAVY goes in and brutally kills every single pirate, their families, friends and pets at the "pirate base".
Unfortunately that doesn't happen in real life either so I guess it's too much of a stretch. At least it looks like the Maersk Line learned their lesson and began employing security personnel on their ships. There are so many parts in the movie where I was saying out loud about the difference one or two armed dudes would make.
Anyway, before I get carried away further into real life vs movie life I'd better score this, and since I believe it is one that many people would enjoy I give it three and a half bullets out of five.
Blaugust Bonus: Writing Prompt time! "Do you collect in game pets? Various games have turned this into a mini game but are you a pet collector? If so why? If not why as well?" Yes and no, depending on the game. More on the no side though. There are three main barriers to pet collection for me. First, are they useful? If it's just a display item that you can get easily or by paying money then that holds no interest to me. An example for exception to this would be mini-Liadri in Guildwars 2, who while only being a "trophy" is one that I felt to be earned.
The second barrier is longetivity. If I need to take care of pets by any means other than occasionally healing it then it is too much of a hassle. Having to learn veterinary skills in UO for example (I think that combo was healing, taming, animal lore and anatomy) to maintain a viable ally was just not in my character. So, yes I had my mount and a random pack of critters for a short time, but it became too annoying to replace the pack as they died so I eventually dropped them altogether.
The last barrier is cost. If it costs real money then I don't buy it. Mabinogi is a huge exception for me here though as the pets are cheap, some freely earned, very useful (you can play AS the pet) and perhaps most importantly CUTE OVERLOAD. I don't classify as a collector though, as there are many I skip. My initial plan was just to get something to help me fight, followed by transportation. I sort of earned quite a few more in the process... cough. My current barn consists of: a mini bear, a thunderbird, a black unicorn, a giant eagle, a thoroughbred horse, a cobra, a thunder dragon, three flamemares, an armored pegasus and four bulls. Don't mock the bovines, I used them to help me defeat one of the goddesses in the game!
Sunday, 17 August 2014
Highlander: Endgame
[Post #18 of the Blaugust Challenge!]
One problem the Highlander franchise has is with continuity on a few (but important) aspects of the overall story so for the benefit of this review I'm going to pretend none of the earlier films, series or cartoons exist and just base it on what I saw here. The story focuses on a bunch of immortals, aka people who have "a hard time dying" if they don't get beheaded, one of whom has a huge grudge to another that he has held for centuries, literally. Unfortunately the grudge bearer and main villain happens to also be stronger, so the two heroes of clan MacLeod have to combine their powers to stop him.
Throughout the movie there are various flashbacks to whatever time eras are called for. This is both cool and annoying. Cool in that the sets and costumes department did their job well. Annoying in that the characters speak with different accents (often humorous) within them, and that there are SO MANY of them sometimes strung one after another. Oh, did I mention that they have multiple flashbacks of things that happened earlier in the SAME movie? Well they do! It's like the director thought you would have forgotten at that point. Gahhh.
There's also a redundancy in characters. The entire bad guy group could have been reduced to main bad guy and main female. More importantly Donnie Yen's character could have easily replaced Bruce Payne's slightly overacted and much less skilled martial arts (actor wise) main villain. Well, the grudge would have been slightly shorter but it would have still worked. In truth the best part are the fights, especially with Donnie versus Duncan (Adrian Paul). I wasn't surprised to see Donnie acting as the combat choreographer in the credits.
In short, this is quite a flawed movie (I'm skipping a LOT of flaws such as obvious stunt doubles and reusing the same fight footage twice) - one that would probably only appeal to regulars of the franchise like myself. I give it one and a half katanas out of five.
Blaugust Bonus: I think I'm going to use another of Belghast's writing prompts today - "What is your favorite boss encounter in any game and why? What makes that encounter stand out in your mind and what can be learned from it?"
Like any gamer I have a pretty big list to choose from here, but I think I'll stick with the final Queen's Gauntlet match of Guild Wars 2 - a petite necromancer named Liadri. It took 140 attempts before I finally won the match against her, which is almost as bad as some of those Super Meatboy levels. Why is it my favourite? Because it was challenging (for me anyway, I'm not like Wethospu), solo only, and forced me to adapt. Don't know how many trait lines I switched between in all those attempts before I got one that worked.
Most importantly you could watch and cheer on others while doing so. I remember throughout that week meeting new people as we took turns laughing and advicing each other in between getting our asses handed to us in the various matches. Maybe that's why it sticks out most for me - it was the ideal social soloists setup. It was awesome.
One problem the Highlander franchise has is with continuity on a few (but important) aspects of the overall story so for the benefit of this review I'm going to pretend none of the earlier films, series or cartoons exist and just base it on what I saw here. The story focuses on a bunch of immortals, aka people who have "a hard time dying" if they don't get beheaded, one of whom has a huge grudge to another that he has held for centuries, literally. Unfortunately the grudge bearer and main villain happens to also be stronger, so the two heroes of clan MacLeod have to combine their powers to stop him.
Throughout the movie there are various flashbacks to whatever time eras are called for. This is both cool and annoying. Cool in that the sets and costumes department did their job well. Annoying in that the characters speak with different accents (often humorous) within them, and that there are SO MANY of them sometimes strung one after another. Oh, did I mention that they have multiple flashbacks of things that happened earlier in the SAME movie? Well they do! It's like the director thought you would have forgotten at that point. Gahhh.
There's also a redundancy in characters. The entire bad guy group could have been reduced to main bad guy and main female. More importantly Donnie Yen's character could have easily replaced Bruce Payne's slightly overacted and much less skilled martial arts (actor wise) main villain. Well, the grudge would have been slightly shorter but it would have still worked. In truth the best part are the fights, especially with Donnie versus Duncan (Adrian Paul). I wasn't surprised to see Donnie acting as the combat choreographer in the credits.
Best yet most pointless fight in the movie.
In short, this is quite a flawed movie (I'm skipping a LOT of flaws such as obvious stunt doubles and reusing the same fight footage twice) - one that would probably only appeal to regulars of the franchise like myself. I give it one and a half katanas out of five.
Blaugust Bonus: I think I'm going to use another of Belghast's writing prompts today - "What is your favorite boss encounter in any game and why? What makes that encounter stand out in your mind and what can be learned from it?"
Like any gamer I have a pretty big list to choose from here, but I think I'll stick with the final Queen's Gauntlet match of Guild Wars 2 - a petite necromancer named Liadri. It took 140 attempts before I finally won the match against her, which is almost as bad as some of those Super Meatboy levels. Why is it my favourite? Because it was challenging (for me anyway, I'm not like Wethospu), solo only, and forced me to adapt. Don't know how many trait lines I switched between in all those attempts before I got one that worked.
Most importantly you could watch and cheer on others while doing so. I remember throughout that week meeting new people as we took turns laughing and advicing each other in between getting our asses handed to us in the various matches. Maybe that's why it sticks out most for me - it was the ideal social soloists setup. It was awesome.
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Treasures of the Crown Pavillion
Part of my Explorer of Tyria journal - you can find the rest here!
Been playing lots of GW2 lately due to this update mainly because of the amount of gold I'm getting zerging around the Crown Pavillion, and when there is no zerg - upstairs in the arena. I'm not the most efficient farmer but in comparison to my normal income in the game this its like I won the lottery. During my "balloon hunt" I secured Noxious Castrum in Fireheart Rise solo and decided to buy 500 units of deployable mortars as my reward and have used up half so far in the Pavillion. Their mileage varies, some being destroyed quick or shooting (automatic) in useless directions but when placed properly they sure net me a lot of extra loot!
Other people have been bringing in ember pets or ogre whistles which also help them out (more so in the solo arenas) but the best I've seen is people intentionally TWO manning "solo" arenas. I think they queue up to fight the same guy then one of them runs faaaaar away which then teleports them in together to face one opponent. These two guys fought the Norn and the Dog as a pair and then went in together to face subject 7.
Of course it is very bad when two people unintentionally drop into the same arena with different matchups because it seems that both bosses spawn! I'm not talking about the crowd favourite gambit either. I'm talking about Liadri + Dead Eye Dunwell combo. So... just dodge the shadow falls, shades, sniper shot and avoid the mines all at the same time. Goes without saying the two fellas that went in didn't last that long. :P
I also was fortunate enough to get a Royal Pass during a zerg run. This little scroll (which expires over time unfortunately) acts as an instant teleport to the Royal Terrace that really does hold all the handy vendors (except black lion traders) in a tiny area. Crafting stations, bank, guild utilities, a mystic forge and most importantly an asura gate that lets you decide where to go via dialogue prompt. Basically it removes the need for Lion's Arch entirely, and I am still hoping they nuke that city and all its residents into the dirt - sooner rather than later. If you have no royal pass, then just hop to the borderlands -> shop -> drop to character select -> pick same guy to reappear where you last were (prior to borderlands) for a similar experience.
Next update is the Queen's Speech where the "villain" who many assume is Scarlet and whom I believe to be Trahearne's evil gender swapped twin from the steam dimension will no doubt cause a minor disturbance. I'll probably take a look but in the end the path of least resistance to lots of gold will always win out. I also suspect another armor tier will be coming in again due to the current abundance of mithril ore (literally cheaper than carrots at the moment). Lastly I'm still wondering why Liadri didn't just slay Zhaitan on her own and save us all the trouble? They sort of break their own lore by adding ridiculously powerful NPCs in the world like that. Or... she couldn't be bothered doing that but is ok fighting as a spectacle in the arena? Guess she's just an attention whore.
Been playing lots of GW2 lately due to this update mainly because of the amount of gold I'm getting zerging around the Crown Pavillion, and when there is no zerg - upstairs in the arena. I'm not the most efficient farmer but in comparison to my normal income in the game this its like I won the lottery. During my "balloon hunt" I secured Noxious Castrum in Fireheart Rise solo and decided to buy 500 units of deployable mortars as my reward and have used up half so far in the Pavillion. Their mileage varies, some being destroyed quick or shooting (automatic) in useless directions but when placed properly they sure net me a lot of extra loot!
Other people have been bringing in ember pets or ogre whistles which also help them out (more so in the solo arenas) but the best I've seen is people intentionally TWO manning "solo" arenas. I think they queue up to fight the same guy then one of them runs faaaaar away which then teleports them in together to face one opponent. These two guys fought the Norn and the Dog as a pair and then went in together to face subject 7.
Wonder if they both get rewarded?
Of course it is very bad when two people unintentionally drop into the same arena with different matchups because it seems that both bosses spawn! I'm not talking about the crowd favourite gambit either. I'm talking about Liadri + Dead Eye Dunwell combo. So... just dodge the shadow falls, shades, sniper shot and avoid the mines all at the same time. Goes without saying the two fellas that went in didn't last that long. :P
I also was fortunate enough to get a Royal Pass during a zerg run. This little scroll (which expires over time unfortunately) acts as an instant teleport to the Royal Terrace that really does hold all the handy vendors (except black lion traders) in a tiny area. Crafting stations, bank, guild utilities, a mystic forge and most importantly an asura gate that lets you decide where to go via dialogue prompt. Basically it removes the need for Lion's Arch entirely, and I am still hoping they nuke that city and all its residents into the dirt - sooner rather than later. If you have no royal pass, then just hop to the borderlands -> shop -> drop to character select -> pick same guy to reappear where you last were (prior to borderlands) for a similar experience.
Next update is the Queen's Speech where the "villain" who many assume is Scarlet and whom I believe to be Trahearne's evil gender swapped twin from the steam dimension will no doubt cause a minor disturbance. I'll probably take a look but in the end the path of least resistance to lots of gold will always win out. I also suspect another armor tier will be coming in again due to the current abundance of mithril ore (literally cheaper than carrots at the moment). Lastly I'm still wondering why Liadri didn't just slay Zhaitan on her own and save us all the trouble? They sort of break their own lore by adding ridiculously powerful NPCs in the world like that. Or... she couldn't be bothered doing that but is ok fighting as a spectacle in the arena? Guess she's just an attention whore.
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Disquiet Week
Been pretty silent on the blog this week (mainly for one reason below) so I thought I'd post about a few other games I've come across on my travels.
Ultima Forever
Being a big UO fan I was keeping my hopes up for this one, despite the changes to the realm and the simplification of the game. Now it is finally out and guess what? I can't play it. Yep, they decided to not release it for PC instead going for mobile devices. That's nice, except I don't play games on anything BUT PC. Guess I'm the minority now. Oh well - I suppose it was just not meant to be.
Age of Wushu
After my previous write up (featuring castration!) I decided to give the game the benefit of the doubt and downloaded it via a painfully slow link on their website. What's up with that? It's like they don't want people to play. Age of Conan was a bigger download but finished faster? Anyway the first few screens leave a truck load to be desired. Mabinogi has a better login screen, seriously (Mabinogi also recently got guns... and vespas! o_O). On to the game itself and the graphics and animations seem to be pretty good if you can get past all the people flying around (age of wire-fu). The skill system which is much like Mabi where you train them individually would probably work well too.
However I just couldn't get into it. Maybe because the screen is cluttered with names, clunky controls, or maybe because everything is so reading intensive - even skill names and stances are almost small sentences like "Swallow the Whale". It didn't help that latency is an issue as well. One of the tutorial quests is to learn blocking. Basically you tell an NPC you are ready and press right mouse to block. He punched me three times in the face before it registered that yes, I was -actually- blocking already. I'll try it out a bit more sometime to see if it improves but my first impressions aren't good.
Age of Conan
I've occasionally been posting about this and it seems I've run into the forseen lack of content (solo content anyway) to do at higher levels. Not really a bad thing since it IS an MMORPG after all, but being a loner on a free pvp world does make it a bit more challenging to do group content. They don't joke around about group content either. One of the early ones past Tortage is to defeat a Cock Handler (as in chickens and roosters you gutter minded people). He's only around the mid level 20's. I still can't beat him with my level 51, which is where I think I'll leave my "test"(?) character for now. Should be interesting to see if I get a free level 50 in a few months.
Card Hunter
Tobold has been championing this browser based, tactical game of nostalgia for awhile now. Sorry to say it's not really my cup of tea, but hey it works and it's free. Just don't expect XCOM quality stuff from it, nor any meaningful story to tie all your battles together.
Meanwhile, back at the Queen's Gauntlet in Guildwars 2... "DAMN YOU LIADRI!!!!!" >.<
Ultima Forever
Being a big UO fan I was keeping my hopes up for this one, despite the changes to the realm and the simplification of the game. Now it is finally out and guess what? I can't play it. Yep, they decided to not release it for PC instead going for mobile devices. That's nice, except I don't play games on anything BUT PC. Guess I'm the minority now. Oh well - I suppose it was just not meant to be.
Age of Wushu
After my previous write up (featuring castration!) I decided to give the game the benefit of the doubt and downloaded it via a painfully slow link on their website. What's up with that? It's like they don't want people to play. Age of Conan was a bigger download but finished faster? Anyway the first few screens leave a truck load to be desired. Mabinogi has a better login screen, seriously (Mabinogi also recently got guns... and vespas! o_O). On to the game itself and the graphics and animations seem to be pretty good if you can get past all the people flying around (age of wire-fu). The skill system which is much like Mabi where you train them individually would probably work well too.
However I just couldn't get into it. Maybe because the screen is cluttered with names, clunky controls, or maybe because everything is so reading intensive - even skill names and stances are almost small sentences like "Swallow the Whale". It didn't help that latency is an issue as well. One of the tutorial quests is to learn blocking. Basically you tell an NPC you are ready and press right mouse to block. He punched me three times in the face before it registered that yes, I was -actually- blocking already. I'll try it out a bit more sometime to see if it improves but my first impressions aren't good.
Age of Conan
I've occasionally been posting about this and it seems I've run into the forseen lack of content (solo content anyway) to do at higher levels. Not really a bad thing since it IS an MMORPG after all, but being a loner on a free pvp world does make it a bit more challenging to do group content. They don't joke around about group content either. One of the early ones past Tortage is to defeat a Cock Handler (as in chickens and roosters you gutter minded people). He's only around the mid level 20's. I still can't beat him with my level 51, which is where I think I'll leave my "test"(?) character for now. Should be interesting to see if I get a free level 50 in a few months.
Card Hunter
Tobold has been championing this browser based, tactical game of nostalgia for awhile now. Sorry to say it's not really my cup of tea, but hey it works and it's free. Just don't expect XCOM quality stuff from it, nor any meaningful story to tie all your battles together.
Oh no. A 2 dimensional dragon.
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Queen's Gauntlet: Thief Experience
Part of my Explorer of Tyria journal - you can find the rest here!
Decided to leave some notes hidden here which will hopefully help fellow thieves have an easier time through the battles in the Queen's Jubilee. I've not completed it yet myself, so I'll be updating as I go along. If you are a non-thief then Dulfy's general tips will probably be a better place for you to look! :)
Queen's Champions (open world)
These five combatants must be randomly found and fought in the open world one at a time, and are only available via balloon event. You'll probably run into them if you go hunting all the balloons like me. As a bonus, defeating one gives you a guaranteed arena ticket. If you run into trouble, you can always bring help to defeat them. You can also lure nearby monsters to "help" you as they will aggro the champ when you stealth.
Blazing Gun
Has pretty devastating combos but only if he HITS you with his normal shot first. Evasion more important here but don't be afraid to get in his face with smoke shot. If he begins chain combo knock down, hide or use shadow refuge to take a breather. Also try to backstab him... a lot. Getting mobs to assist is recommended as most of his attacks only hit 1 target. Switch to bow if you need a breather to let your skills recharge.
Lightning Blade
Enjoys teleporting, but all her attacks are point blank so just sit in a smoke cloud the whole fight and she'll never hit you.
Whirling Edge
One tough cookie. Use your bow and stay away from her dervish spin. If you evade it 5 times she gets dizzy and falls over giving you the chance to pounce. At half health she starts throwing stuff too but it's her melee you must look out for. Don't count on smoke blind this time since her spin attack is so fast, but you can still use it to go invisible and backstab.
Queen's Gauntlet (main arena)
Basic Tips:
Bring thieves guild to spreads aggro. When on dagger/pistol your basic combo should be smoke shot, heart seeker, regular attack (from stealth). Generally you always want to normal attack from stealth (so shadow heal/shadow refuge/smokescreen heart seeker all valid too) for big damage. When on pistol/pistol your standard combo is body shot/unload, while on short bow I primarily use the normal attack and the crippling shot. Remember you only have 2 minutes before the floor opens! Also, unless your foe is shielded in some way - you should open with your elite skill as your first move. The announcer gives you tips of your remaining time at 1 minute, 30 seconds and last 5 second countdown I think. Lastly eating mango pie before hand is helpful!
Starting traits on 30/0/30/0/10.
Round 1: Hammer Norn
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
This big guy only has one dangerous move which looks a lot like an ettin smash, only this will down you if you happen to be infront of him. Ironically that's the best place to be. Get in his face early with smoke shot, heart seeker then backstab from stealth and repeat. You can eat all his normal attacks, when he winds up for the big one just dodge through him to get around and repeat.
Round 2: Variable size Quaggan
Gear I used: Shortbow, Dagger/Pistol
The more you hit him, the bigger (and stronger) he gets. So what? Bring signet of shadows (+25% movement) and use shortbow headshot to cripple him while you kite/evade. This combined with your elite skill should be more than enough to finish him in time. Use poisons to make it go even faster. If you like you can even tripwire and caltrops him - he'll never hit you. If you feel pressured to finish him off quick due to time limitation and he's near death you can switch back to dagger/pistol for the smokeshot heartseeker combo. Important to smokeshot so that he misses his opening attack.
Round 3: Tornado summoning Sylvari
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
This annoying plant lady summons a ton of tornados which will toss you around the arena. Fortunately she doesn't have much health so open with thieves guild (or your choice of elite) and burst her down quick. I'm not good at dodging her air strikes so I opted to get in her face immediately (which requires some luck to win). She did manage to down me, but with her low health I still finished her while prone. When I fought her again with my second trait line (see below) with the on fire gambit I demolished her easy with dual pistols.
Round 4: Shielded Book Guardian - Tier 1 Boss
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
Don't bother with the scorpion wire, it won't work. Instead just stand on the opposite side of a dark pool and wait for her to step into it to remove her shield. In addition, dip your toe into the dark pool briefly and pay attention to what the "darkness" buff looks like. This is what saves you from her one hit kill solar flare. As soon as it runs out, find another pool quickly - don't ever be without it. Other than that just burn her down with the dagger/pistol combo.
Round 5: Angry Charr
Gear I used: Shortbow
Supposedly he hits harder as he has less health. I wouldn't know because I just opened with thieves guild then kited him with the short bow and signet of shadows. Super easy.
Round 6: Bad Pussy
Gear I used: Shortbow, Dagger/Pistol
The only thing this panther has going for it is it's super high health. Again short bow kite with signet of shadows, but just to cripple it. Thieves guild also distracts him for a bit. Meanwhile, go pick up 25 rage orbs that spawn randomly in the arena while doing so, once you have them you'll have plenty of time to burn the cat down in close quarters.
Round 7: Asura Pyromaniac
Gear I used: Dual Pistols
This guy has four basic attacks: a one hit slaying close quarters one, a ring of fire (that if you cross you die), a slow moving flame that I had a tough time "seeing" and making the floor you stand on catch on fire meaning you have to keep moving. He caused some serious problems for me, until I decided to bring assassin's signet and signet of malice with dual pistols - this burned him down nicely using unload.
Round 8: Pirate Quartet - Tier 2 Boss
Gear I used: Dual Pistols, Dual Daggers
Four opponents, each bringing different buffs for their fellows (including a full heal) means you need to focus on a single target at a time. Bring signet of shadows, caltrops and trip wire then kite the two melee-ers with your guns as they are most dangerous. I killed the captain first, then the first mate followed by the gunner (switching to daggers to burn him down faster once less than 50%) and Stiches the medic last (again switching to daggers). Don't be afraid to steal from any of them either, especially if you have thrill of the crime traited. Time is really against you here.
Round 9: Blue Goo
Gear I used: Dual Pistols, Dual Daggers
Changed traits to 30/30/0/0/10.
Had to change my traits to fight this slime ball. Bring scorpion wire and don't open with thieves guild. Instead kite and use your guns till the main slime (he's spitting out mini slimes at you the whole time) is down to half, then scorpion wire it away from the little ones - open thieves guild and burn it down fast with your daggers. I still got the blobs, shmobs achievement using this method.
Round 10: Sniper
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
Easiest tier 3 fight, even did it with 3 gambits (fire, exhausted, hamstring). Bring blinding powder and scorpion wire. There are insta-death mines scattered around plus the guy has a kill shot that will down you after he teleports. First move should be to target him and "Steal" then blind him, pop thieves guild and use normal attacks till he warps. Scorpion wire him quickly back to you and proceed the blind stabbing. Once he tele's again shadow shot to him and burn him down till he dies. If he survives to do another tele, you WILL need to dodge his next shot since your other skills will be on cool down.
Round 11: Norn and Dog
Gear I used: Sword/Pistol, Dagger/Pistol
Wasn't going for the extra achievement here so I just brought ambush trap, assassin's signet and blinding powder. Open with thieves guild and tank the Norn keeping the blind up. The dog enrages when the Norn drops but it still couldn't hit me through the smoke. Had to switch to dagger heart seeker to end it faster though since the floor was about to open.
Round 12: Liadri the Bitch of Shadows - Tier 3 and Final Boss
Gear I used: Pistol/Pistol. Full Carrion armor with runes of the Undead, Orrian truffle and meat stew
Changed traits to VI,III / V, VIII/ I / II, VII / 0.
Skills: Hide, Shadow Refuge, Spider Venom, Signet of Shadows, Thieves Guild
Phase One has her immune in a shroud of shadows. Jeromai has a pretty good guide of how to get past this stage, and I highly recommend it since it helped me. Your only attack against orbs here is mug so save it for them. For the last crystal pickup (when lots of shades are chasing you already, drop a shadow refuge that is half in one "red" zone and half in the other. This gives you a few more options and seconds before you move on to phase two to heal a little and to activate the venom and very short lived thieves guild. They last a little longer if you can run to a safe spot before summoning. Goes without saying that each time the venom is ready in phase 2, activate it.
Phase two is when Liadri really turns on the heat and begins chasing you. Basically you want to run towards where the black stuff last fell while unloading on her, moving either clockwise or anticlockwise using the whole arena. When you are able to hide (gain more ground) or drop another shadow refuge (in the next safe spot, not where you are) you will want to do so - just like you want to dodge away from Liadri when she strafes next to you. Be sure to open with the "1" skill of pistol from hiding to maximize damage. Also try not to waste dodges to avoid shadow falls, as with the signet you run pretty fast. It is still imperative you have that orrian food to get more dodges too - you simply won't last without it. I should mention that I finished just as the "five, four, three, two, one" countdown was ending so it's either not the best build or I'm not the best player. :)
Lastly I tried numerous builds before settling on this one. Don't be afraid to switch it up to favor your play style and don't get discouraged by defeat! I think that's the main point against Liadri. Instead just try to always better your previous result. As an example, here were my roadblocks through 140 tries (yerp I kept count):
1st Day: Couldn't get past 1st crystal throw.
2nd Day: Couldn't get past 3rd crystal throw.
3rd Day: Managed to hurt her 10% on my best run.
4th Day: Managed to hurt her 50% on my best run.
5th Day: Completely screwed up, didn't do as well as previous day.
6th Day: Ran out of time during combat and a few tries later...
Finally a mini worth something. To me anyway. ^_^
Decided to leave some notes hidden here which will hopefully help fellow thieves have an easier time through the battles in the Queen's Jubilee. I've not completed it yet myself, so I'll be updating as I go along. If you are a non-thief then Dulfy's general tips will probably be a better place for you to look! :)
Queen's Champions (open world)
These five combatants must be randomly found and fought in the open world one at a time, and are only available via balloon event. You'll probably run into them if you go hunting all the balloons like me. As a bonus, defeating one gives you a guaranteed arena ticket. If you run into trouble, you can always bring help to defeat them. You can also lure nearby monsters to "help" you as they will aggro the champ when you stealth.
Heavy Hammer
Nullify his strong ranged attacks by facing him head on with dagger / pistol using the smoke shot combo to take him down.
Has pretty devastating combos but only if he HITS you with his normal shot first. Evasion more important here but don't be afraid to get in his face with smoke shot. If he begins chain combo knock down, hide or use shadow refuge to take a breather. Also try to backstab him... a lot. Getting mobs to assist is recommended as most of his attacks only hit 1 target. Switch to bow if you need a breather to let your skills recharge.
Lightning Blade
Enjoys teleporting, but all her attacks are point blank so just sit in a smoke cloud the whole fight and she'll never hit you.
Whirling Edge
One tough cookie. Use your bow and stay away from her dervish spin. If you evade it 5 times she gets dizzy and falls over giving you the chance to pounce. At half health she starts throwing stuff too but it's her melee you must look out for. Don't count on smoke blind this time since her spin attack is so fast, but you can still use it to go invisible and backstab.
Stony Shield
Reflects attacks and summons small upheaval pillars. Also knocks you back if you're in melee. AoE attacks are best with this guy which also means he takes longest to kill (bring help) since he denies your big backstab later on. If you happen to be using pistol / pistol be sure you time your unload skill properly or it will be you on the floor. ;pQueen's Gauntlet (main arena)
Basic Tips:
Bring thieves guild to spreads aggro. When on dagger/pistol your basic combo should be smoke shot, heart seeker, regular attack (from stealth). Generally you always want to normal attack from stealth (so shadow heal/shadow refuge/smokescreen heart seeker all valid too) for big damage. When on pistol/pistol your standard combo is body shot/unload, while on short bow I primarily use the normal attack and the crippling shot. Remember you only have 2 minutes before the floor opens! Also, unless your foe is shielded in some way - you should open with your elite skill as your first move. The announcer gives you tips of your remaining time at 1 minute, 30 seconds and last 5 second countdown I think. Lastly eating mango pie before hand is helpful!
Starting traits on 30/0/30/0/10.
Round 1: Hammer Norn
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
This big guy only has one dangerous move which looks a lot like an ettin smash, only this will down you if you happen to be infront of him. Ironically that's the best place to be. Get in his face early with smoke shot, heart seeker then backstab from stealth and repeat. You can eat all his normal attacks, when he winds up for the big one just dodge through him to get around and repeat.
Round 2: Variable size Quaggan
Gear I used: Shortbow, Dagger/Pistol
The more you hit him, the bigger (and stronger) he gets. So what? Bring signet of shadows (+25% movement) and use shortbow headshot to cripple him while you kite/evade. This combined with your elite skill should be more than enough to finish him in time. Use poisons to make it go even faster. If you like you can even tripwire and caltrops him - he'll never hit you. If you feel pressured to finish him off quick due to time limitation and he's near death you can switch back to dagger/pistol for the smokeshot heartseeker combo. Important to smokeshot so that he misses his opening attack.
Round 3: Tornado summoning Sylvari
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
This annoying plant lady summons a ton of tornados which will toss you around the arena. Fortunately she doesn't have much health so open with thieves guild (or your choice of elite) and burst her down quick. I'm not good at dodging her air strikes so I opted to get in her face immediately (which requires some luck to win). She did manage to down me, but with her low health I still finished her while prone. When I fought her again with my second trait line (see below) with the on fire gambit I demolished her easy with dual pistols.
Round 4: Shielded Book Guardian - Tier 1 Boss
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
Don't bother with the scorpion wire, it won't work. Instead just stand on the opposite side of a dark pool and wait for her to step into it to remove her shield. In addition, dip your toe into the dark pool briefly and pay attention to what the "darkness" buff looks like. This is what saves you from her one hit kill solar flare. As soon as it runs out, find another pool quickly - don't ever be without it. Other than that just burn her down with the dagger/pistol combo.
Round 5: Angry Charr
Gear I used: Shortbow
Supposedly he hits harder as he has less health. I wouldn't know because I just opened with thieves guild then kited him with the short bow and signet of shadows. Super easy.
Round 6: Bad Pussy
Gear I used: Shortbow, Dagger/Pistol
The only thing this panther has going for it is it's super high health. Again short bow kite with signet of shadows, but just to cripple it. Thieves guild also distracts him for a bit. Meanwhile, go pick up 25 rage orbs that spawn randomly in the arena while doing so, once you have them you'll have plenty of time to burn the cat down in close quarters.
Round 7: Asura Pyromaniac
Gear I used: Dual Pistols
This guy has four basic attacks: a one hit slaying close quarters one, a ring of fire (that if you cross you die), a slow moving flame that I had a tough time "seeing" and making the floor you stand on catch on fire meaning you have to keep moving. He caused some serious problems for me, until I decided to bring assassin's signet and signet of malice with dual pistols - this burned him down nicely using unload.
Round 8: Pirate Quartet - Tier 2 Boss
Gear I used: Dual Pistols, Dual Daggers
Four opponents, each bringing different buffs for their fellows (including a full heal) means you need to focus on a single target at a time. Bring signet of shadows, caltrops and trip wire then kite the two melee-ers with your guns as they are most dangerous. I killed the captain first, then the first mate followed by the gunner (switching to daggers to burn him down faster once less than 50%) and Stiches the medic last (again switching to daggers). Don't be afraid to steal from any of them either, especially if you have thrill of the crime traited. Time is really against you here.
Round 9: Blue Goo
Gear I used: Dual Pistols, Dual Daggers
Changed traits to 30/30/0/0/10.
Had to change my traits to fight this slime ball. Bring scorpion wire and don't open with thieves guild. Instead kite and use your guns till the main slime (he's spitting out mini slimes at you the whole time) is down to half, then scorpion wire it away from the little ones - open thieves guild and burn it down fast with your daggers. I still got the blobs, shmobs achievement using this method.
Round 10: Sniper
Gear I used: Dagger/Pistol
Easiest tier 3 fight, even did it with 3 gambits (fire, exhausted, hamstring). Bring blinding powder and scorpion wire. There are insta-death mines scattered around plus the guy has a kill shot that will down you after he teleports. First move should be to target him and "Steal" then blind him, pop thieves guild and use normal attacks till he warps. Scorpion wire him quickly back to you and proceed the blind stabbing. Once he tele's again shadow shot to him and burn him down till he dies. If he survives to do another tele, you WILL need to dodge his next shot since your other skills will be on cool down.
Round 11: Norn and Dog
Gear I used: Sword/Pistol, Dagger/Pistol
Wasn't going for the extra achievement here so I just brought ambush trap, assassin's signet and blinding powder. Open with thieves guild and tank the Norn keeping the blind up. The dog enrages when the Norn drops but it still couldn't hit me through the smoke. Had to switch to dagger heart seeker to end it faster though since the floor was about to open.
Round 12: Liadri the Bitch of Shadows - Tier 3 and Final Boss
Gear I used: Pistol/Pistol. Full Carrion armor with runes of the Undead, Orrian truffle and meat stew
Changed traits to VI,III / V, VIII/ I / II, VII / 0.
Skills: Hide, Shadow Refuge, Spider Venom, Signet of Shadows, Thieves Guild
Phase One has her immune in a shroud of shadows. Jeromai has a pretty good guide of how to get past this stage, and I highly recommend it since it helped me. Your only attack against orbs here is mug so save it for them. For the last crystal pickup (when lots of shades are chasing you already, drop a shadow refuge that is half in one "red" zone and half in the other. This gives you a few more options and seconds before you move on to phase two to heal a little and to activate the venom and very short lived thieves guild. They last a little longer if you can run to a safe spot before summoning. Goes without saying that each time the venom is ready in phase 2, activate it.
Phase two is when Liadri really turns on the heat and begins chasing you. Basically you want to run towards where the black stuff last fell while unloading on her, moving either clockwise or anticlockwise using the whole arena. When you are able to hide (gain more ground) or drop another shadow refuge (in the next safe spot, not where you are) you will want to do so - just like you want to dodge away from Liadri when she strafes next to you. Be sure to open with the "1" skill of pistol from hiding to maximize damage. Also try not to waste dodges to avoid shadow falls, as with the signet you run pretty fast. It is still imperative you have that orrian food to get more dodges too - you simply won't last without it. I should mention that I finished just as the "five, four, three, two, one" countdown was ending so it's either not the best build or I'm not the best player. :)
Lastly I tried numerous builds before settling on this one. Don't be afraid to switch it up to favor your play style and don't get discouraged by defeat! I think that's the main point against Liadri. Instead just try to always better your previous result. As an example, here were my roadblocks through 140 tries (yerp I kept count):
1st Day: Couldn't get past 1st crystal throw.
2nd Day: Couldn't get past 3rd crystal throw.
3rd Day: Managed to hurt her 10% on my best run.
4th Day: Managed to hurt her 50% on my best run.
5th Day: Completely screwed up, didn't do as well as previous day.
6th Day: Ran out of time during combat and a few tries later...
Victory!
Finally a mini worth something. To me anyway. ^_^
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