NBI: Poetry Slam 2015 (and Seven Sins) Round-up!

The NBI for this year is just about finished and it sure attracted a number of blogs I've not previously followed, swelling my link numbers from 59 to 107! I also managed to get a few participants (because I'm not as awesome as orignal host Syl) for this "Gold" themed poetry slam, and would like to thank everyone that participated. Hope the NBI was a good experience for all and I'll be seeing you around in the blogosphere. :)

In the meantime, you should give all the entries a look:

Randark's Bioshock Haiku
Donnalbain by Braag Son of Balin (who it posted on the forums - scroll down)
Braxwolf's Ode to Gold
Murf's Bar with a Coin
Izlain's Shutdown Gold
Pixel Money

For those interested I also compiled a small results list from the final "seven gaming sins" talk-back challenge and had 19 people reply. Of them:

11 - Don't mind sexiness in game
14 - Have a large backlog of games
16 - Opt out of non-rewarding or non-enjoyable acts
10 - Help strangers
4 - Yell at people when angry
2 - Stalk people out of hatred
15 - Get envious
6 - Kick or avoid weak players

Make of that what you will and thank you to all those who responded!

NBI: Screenshot Safari! #NBI2015 #NBI2015Safari #Selfie #Flight

It's time for my final screenshot for the NBI Safari! This is me and my shadow wolf mount, flying through the area of Spinward Rise in Neverwinter Online.

Technically, I think it could fit in any of the available categories but I'm going to go with #Selfie. =)

Selfie - its me!
Heroes or Villains - I'm a hero!
Landscape - With an awesome view behind me!
Epic Achievement - I'm also flying... kinda (shh I'm actually falling)!
High Fantasy - I'm riding a wolf made out of shadows, jumping about on a floating a earth node (flying island)!
The Scariest Place - This fall is near certain death, if I don't time my evade right.

Yes, I'm so awesome I can "evade" falling damage. :P

Anywho while I'm talking about airborne silliness I've been hearing a lot of noise about WoW killing flying because it "skips content". It wouldn't skip content if they simply had flying enemies. In Mabinogi if you get hit in the air your mount is summoned, you take falling damage, then you have to deal with whatever cluster of mobs you just fell into and in that game two regular enemies can easily destroy you (depending on player skill).

Better still is Perfect World where elves have wings, humans ride giant, flying swords and a bunch of quests actually lead to magical floating fortresses guarded by all manner of flying foes. Given that a good portion of the game is in the air it has some pretty good aerial (and by extent, underwater) combat. Guess what I'm trying to say is flying wouldn't be skipping content if you just put content up there. Oh well, Blizzard should know what it's doing. It's been doing it a long time after all. Right?

NBI 2015: Poetry Slam - PIXEL MONEY!

Here is my entry to this year's NBI poetry slam (which you only have a few days left to join in)! The topic this year is "Gold" and I thought this piece rightly shows just what most MMO players (myself included) are actually doing, be it intentional or not. I apologize now for the adult language and non-standard rhyme format. :P

-PIXEL MONEY-

Shiny coins, gold and wealth,
in game its better than health,
cause all life is cheap and free:
You just want that pixel money!

You can buy armor and pots,
home decor, weapons, lots!
Show off your bling if thats your thing!
Make your pixel money sing!

It's also pretty easy to get:
find a mob that ain't a threat,
kill it dead, make your hand red,
you'll get that pixel money yet!

Yup - its not made by a bank,
and it always smells very rank
the truth hits you with each scoop:
you're collecting critter poop!

They have bags you say?
Does that brighten your day?
What about those rats, spiders and bats?
Tentacled aliens or giant gnats?

You've found gold in them too
But have never before gone "Eww",
Cause you want what they've got
and you want awhole lot!

GET THAT PIXEL MONEY!

Rob that critter for PIXEL MONEY!
Reach into that corpse for PIXEL MONEY!
Up to your elbows in PIXEL MONEY!
Fill your bags with PIXEL MONEY!
Test it with your teeth! PIXEL MONEY!
Shower your friends with PIXEL MONEY!
Tell everyone about your PIXEL MONEY!

Cause he who has the most wins!

PIXEL MONEY!

Today I Smiled: Eurovision 2015!

Short post full of  music links in-bound!

One of my guilty pleasures is watching the song contest that is Eurovision, and for those of you who don't know what it is I think this image sums it up nicely. :P

Because fire solves everything!

Yes, that's a guy singing and performing on a flaming piano. As expected there were also hot ladies, angry ladies, a fat lady, and even a bearded lady assisting the hosting since she won lost year.

There was also all sorts of music: from Israeli Club Dance, to Russian messages of peace, to songs that sound similar to something else, and as usual a couple of WTF entries.

My personal favorites of the night were Voltaj from Romania and of course Guy Sebastian from AUSTRALIA (included for the first time ever)! For a country not even in Europe I'm amazed that he did so well. The ultimate winner was Sweden though, and I had no problems with that as I quite liked his song too. You should give it a listen! :)

NBI Talkback #4: Seven Gaming Sins

I suppose as the silly person who thought up this questionnaire I should be one of the first bloggers to answer it, though it looks like Knifesedge has already got the ball rolling! :)

Lust - Do you enjoy games more if they have scantily clad and "interestingly proportioned" avatars? Do you like playing as one of these avatars?

While I always prefer to play as my main male character (the same guy in every game), I certainly enjoy the worlds more when they give players the option to run around as under dressed hookers. Key word there is option. If the onus is on the player on how to dress then you can't really blame the designer. The reason I enjoy it is simple: it lets people be however they want to be. I quite dislike the notion that mandates that x type of people can only wear x type of gear. It's all about individuality.

Gluttony - Do you have a game backlog of unfinished games but still buy new games regardless?

Nope. Since I very rarely (closer to never) purchase digital games for myself my backlog is quite under control. I simply get gifted enough games and know that there's a large multitude of free to play titles out there that can keep me entertained for a long time. I do still buy games for other people, but their backlogs aren't my problem. :P

Greed - Do you enjoy hand outs in game? Have you ever opted to NOT do an action in game activity because the rewards to yourself were lacking?

Oooh I'm definitely one greedy player. I like getting hand outs sure, who doesn't but the question should be Do I give hand outs? Maybe to friends, or allies or people I decide are "good natured". I don't consider those handouts though - that's more just sharing resources. I absolutely hate in-game beggars.

Real life beggars I can support on occasion, but people asking for pixel gold or pixel gear are simply lazy. Have I ever opted to NOT do an in game activity that isn't rewarding to me? YES. Especially when I'm playing solo! Like most gamers, I look for the path of least resistance, that is the shortest path with the most profit. Why? Because time is valuable, and must be managed efficiently to achieve a balance of fun and progression.

In a party, I don't mind doing non-rewarding activities as usually the party makes the experience more fun. :)

Sloth - Do you ever leech or AFK in a party? Do you discourage others from attempting things that you feel are difficult? Have you ever seen someone that needed help, but decided not to?

I never leech or AFK in a party, unless it really is a "down time" moment where everyone is resting. Leechers kinda fall into the lazy pixel beggar category above for me, so I definitely don't want to be one of them. Do I discourage others from attempting things that might be difficult? Hmm. Not really. I'm usually always up for certain death missions "just for the lulz", though I do mention that fact ("we'll probably be caned :D") before undertaking it.

As for helping people that need help it really depends: as I mentioned above I always decide not to help pixel-beggars. People that are getting slammed by monsters though (who I see are actually losing) often prompt me to jump into the fray - even if it just means I get killed too. I'm supposed to be a hero damnit, so of course I should be heroic (though slightly insane)! :P

Wrath - Ever get angry at other players and yell (or TYPE IN CAPS) at them? Have you ever been so angry to stalk a person around in game and / or in the forums?

Yelling at things: YES! I try not to yell at people though. Not directly. I do quite like to talk & threaten & sing to monsters, NPCs, and myself. This is quite funny when I do it on voice chat as people think I'm crazy.

I've not gone player stalking for many years. Really, the only time I stalked someone out of anger was on a free shard of UO after some PKs ambushed our guild. I suspected that one of the PKs was actually using a game master account to spy on our movements and equipment to know when to hit us, so having a game master account myself I tailed the bastard and sure enough matched his IP to one of the newly recruited GMs.

I also caught him doing it again to another group and got screenshot evidence of the whole matter. Turns out the "mortal" guy also had a hacked ring which made it very hard for him to die. It felt good bringing all of this to the higher ups who then came with me to confront said "corrupt" GM face to face, stripped him of his powers, killed him in a public spot, and banned his account (it's why I quite like that ban hammer GW2 video). Alas the "mortal" only got his cheating ring taken away as punishment. I still took it as a win.

Ohhh yeah, then on another free shard there was another "bad" GM who liked killing players by popping tough monsters on top of their head. I didn't have a game master account there but I simply used all the tricks I had learned from before, figured out who his mortal was and then found proof of him being a scum (setting up his own tournament so that he would win and rewarding "himself" with a legendary weapon). I also found proof that on the previous shard he played on before he was kicked out for cheating. Bad example for one of the eight seats of virtue huh? Got him banned and then one of our guild mates took his place on the council.

Good times, good times. Haven't needed to go through those lengths to cane someone for a long time now though. Maybe I'm just mellowing out in my old age

Envy - Ever felt jealous of players who seem to be able to complete content you can't? Do you ever suspect they are hacked or are simply unfair?

Yes and Yes. I am both thrilled and envious when I see those videos of one dude soloing a five man dungeon, but because of all those bad experiences (see Wrath, above) I always, ALWAYS think they are cheating in some way. Maybe not even in an "illegal" way. Perhaps they just pay to win or use out of game voice chat or use more people to their own ends or use ANY form of mod outside of the BASE GAME (for me any who use those ARE cheating - even if its just UI organization, no question about it). Even if it just is a matter of skill I always think they are hacked first. It's just been ingrained in my nature.

Pride - Are you one of those people that demands to party with other "elite" players? Do you kick players out of your team who you feel are under performing?

Nope and Nope. Hell, "elite" players probably wouldn't want to party with me anyway. I'd be on the receiving end of those "kick" votes. As I mentioned before, yes, I like being efficient -when I'm playing solo-. When others are around that's just a bonus for me (as long as they ain't leechers). I don't really care how well or how poorly they do, as long as we are all having fun. I try to remind myself that regardless of the team, the only one I can truly rely on is me so if everyone else dies it's not really their fault. -I- should be better!

Now this changes somewhat if the team actually starts caring about winning. Then I start getting annoyed when they do badly, because they aren't having fun. Which means I am not having fun. What's the point in doing an activity that you do not find fun? Hope it's rewarding? Pixel-rewards kinda suck in the grand scheme of things. Just saying.

Other on-going NBI activities:
Please join the NBI 2015: Poetry Slam!
Murf's Screenshot Safari

The Lego Movie

If you are a lego fan, then everything is awesome! :D

This movie follows how one ordinary lego man becomes "the chosen one", finds love, friends, and learns more about himself and his universe. It's actually almost the same plot as any "chosen one" story but told a hyperactive, non-sensical and funny environment that is Lego, and there are some really impressive CG scenes in there. Especially animated lego water. Awesome.

The film serves as an amazing ad for Lego products too, as it showcases a lot of their range which has grown exponentially since I last played with it, that's for sure. I also quite like that they put the part numbers up on screen as well and the Act III reveal was one I really liked too.

Lego Batman is also awesome!

The problem with the movie is in it's very nature and it crosses into the too nonsensical for a non-lego person. Two of the six audience members when we watched this fell asleep. One claimed it was perhaps the worst movie she has ever seen.

To be fair she hasn't seen Halle Berry's Catwoman, Pineapple Express, or Steven Seagal's Attack Force, but still, that's a pretty strong statement to put out there and one I do take into consideration when scoring it two and a half building blocks out of five.

Personally I thought it was pretty cool, but if a movie puts audience members to sleep so early in the piece then there's definitely something wrong with it. Would I want to watch it again? Oddly - no.

NBI: Screenshot Safari! #NBI2015 #NBI2015Safari #Landscape

I'm putting this screeny in the #Landscape category because I have a feeling most of the others will be awesome, sweeping shots of the horizon so you can see the sky and perhaps get a sun flare effect like in J3w3l's shot.

Well, I thought I'd be different and show the a top-down view of the landscape when you are going 100KM/H off a tall cliff into a deep valley where your objective to "KILL EM ALL!" awaits while riding a rocket powered bike from the future that cannot, in any way, actually fly.

*Turns on blaring rock music*

I tried to live up to the name of the game: Firefall!

The next two screenies are for Jeromai's Nostalgia Trip writing prompt of things in games that no longer exist...

First up we have this little garden and over sized statue in Neverwinter City. As of Elemental Evil, those are no longer there - replaced by the huge and more functional elemental tree of balance.

If you haven't tried get up on to rooftops, you should. It's fun!

And here is a collage from an old Ultima Online shard that let each player hold a large contigent of NPC mercenaries and pets. When my guild took control of Trinsic, we decided to build an army of them (over 200) as city guards - and yes, most of them died in defense of the city.

Dang, I miss my blue warhorse.

I don't think any other shard lets you do that any more. Indeed, the second iteration of that very shard prevented it.

NBI Talkback #3: What made you a Gamer?

I'm pretty sure I can attribute this to my brothers, who got me playing table top D&D (and memorizing the monster manual in case I run into any monsters in real) from a young age. They also encouraged me to watch them play through games like Shadowgate and Castle Wolfenstein. By the time I got a Nintendo family computer I think I already fit right into the "gamer" category. Battle City was one of my favorites, since it offered cooperative play.

Of course I also enjoyed making up games, just as most kids do I imagine. Games on paper, games in real life, games on the bus to school, during recess and lunch and definitely afterwards, etc. I imagine it helped that my best friend at the time was as crazy about games as I was. He was more successful with that background than I though.

Eventually I was introduced to Ultima Online and that started the whole MMO addiction for me. More recently I've rekindled my table top gaming love with board games, which isn't good because they can become way more expensive than the digital variety! Yeah, it's a strange sort of progression, but that's just how I am. Strange. :P

Today I Smiled: Live Action!

Been awhile since my last "Today I Smiled" entry and there sure are a lot of things for me to smile about. My Neverwinter Online: Vigilance Guide got featured as a "Bag of Tricks" entry on NWO-uncensored. I also quite like that the Wizards of the Coast release content on all mediums simultaneously which means that Elemental Evil is also hitting DDO and the table top game, meaning there are write ups for each of the evil cults.

The Newbie Blogger Initiative is also going full swing and this year I'm in charge of the Poetry Slam - looking forward to more entries coming in before the end of the month. Also happy to report I'm now up to 100 links from 59 when the event began. As a fan of the TV series Arrow and the Flash I'm also looking forward to Legends of Tomorrow, and am hoping the live action version of Shingeki no Kyoujin (Attack on Titan) does well. Kinda surprised to see a live action Parasyte there too!

If none of those interest you then perhaps this clip of Guildwars 2 killing, deleting and then banning a cheater will be enough to brighten your day, or if you want a more hands-on experience, try out the first two browser bragging games for this years NBI: the PvP blob consuming game called Agar and the colorful pixel gore of Critical Annihilation. :)

NBI 2015: How to avoid becoming Dormant

I dislike having "dormant", non-updating blogs on my blog roll. While it's true that my personal restrictions of "if you don't post in 3 weeks you get culled," on this matter are likely heavier than any other blog (I'm letting it slide for this NBI month) - I thought that I'd give some advice on how not to go "dormant" in the first place.

On those possibly rare occasions when you do feel like sitting down and just typing up a storm, put on some instrumental-only tunes and...

TYPE YOUR HEART OUT.

Personally all my posts now spawn in a notepad document before going anywhere near the internet. When I feel like typing, I find this method works best since there's no logging into a site, no needing a network connection or formatting issues to worry about just yet. All that matters are the words.

Sometimes I get an idea to type about something else so I separate out a section which serves as a possible title for a future post. For me, my "possible new content" goes above all the other stuff I've already typed about or am currently typing about (it's an organization thing). Don't forget to save and store a backup of this file regularly - doing so covers your bases as Contains Moderate Peril discusses in his blog backup post.

The idea is that it allows you to type out more than a single post in one sitting, but DO NOT post more than one or two a day. This eventually gives you a backlog of stuff. As an example, if all goes according to plan when this particular post goes up then I would have a backlog of around 30 posts waiting to go.

That's potentially 30 days (if I was a daily poster) of me slacking off from typing anything and more than enough time to recharge my batteries, as it were, for another type session in between. Imagine how much that can stretch out if I only posted 3 times a week? They don't even have to be superb quality or long posts - just something to keep the site "alive".

When you also realize that you can automatically schedule blog posts to post themselves, you can then do amazing stuff like continuing to post while you are actually away on vacation without any internet access (which I did earlier this year).

Be like Batman. Preparation is the key.

There is a small caveat here though: You should know which posts are time sensitive and act accordingly. For instance it wouldn't make any sense if I posted this after the NBI is already finished. Just use common sense and you should be alright.

Other on-going NBI activities:

Join the NBI 2015: Poetry Slam!
Browser Boasting Week 2: Critical Annihilation
Contains Moderate Peril still looking for NBI guest posts!
Talkback Topic #2: Early Access and Kickstarter
Murf's Screenshot Safari
Gaming Discussion
Jeromai's Writing Prompt: Screenshots of Non-Existent Things

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

NBI: Region-Locking Games

You might have heard than En Masse has blocked half the world from playing Tera. From this, Jeromai from Why I Game has setup a NBI writing prompt and I thought I'd participate - so you can totally blame him for this post! :P

My thoughts on Region-locking:

Speaking from a guild with members all across the globe, region locking sucks. It makes it so much harder to find MMOs that we can all play together on. While we play many games, we're still looking for that one that will cater to all of us as many free shards of Ultima Online did so many years ago.

Devil's Advocate section:

If a game is so poorly designed that it can't handle world wide participation then I suppose a Region Lock is necessary. Rubber banding and general lag is not a good feeling in any MMO, though my personal experience is that I more resistant / can put up with more of it than other players that like to vocalize on general chat.

I suppose in PvP games it would make things pretty frustrating too for the lagged out person, while those with good connections would just get bored from the easy kills / annoyed at you giving the enemy team free points.

Your in-game encounters with folks from different countries, good or bad (any cultural tendencies that you’ve noticed)?

What? Jeromai is asking me to be racist? Ok, if he insists! Haha just kidding, douche bags are spread among all types of folk across the world (especially in games that allow PvP). That said there are also really nice people that I've encountered over the years, some of whom joined my guild - the ones that share our view always trying to help people and abstaining from PvP.

We've had members from Australia, Canada, all over the USA, Thailand, Belgium, Holland, England, Ireland, Singapore, Finland, Brazil, Lithuania, Germany, Slovenia, Israel, Croatia, Portugal, Turkey, and Georgia (the country, not the state).

The most eye opening talk for me though was with our Israeli guild mate. We voiced our concern for one of our English guild members years back when there was a terrorist bomb attack near where he lived. While he was ok, the Israeli guy was just like, "It's like that everyday here."

We lost contact with him after he was conscripted into the army, which is obligatory when he turned a certain age, and have never heard from him since.

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 Challenge

NBI Talkback: GamerGate and Unfinished Games

For completionists sake I'm answering the first two NBI Talkback questions today, because I like to think that I can be both early and late at the same time. :P


NBI Talkback #1: How did #GamerGate affect you?

While it changed Izzy for the better, let Mr Luvvaluvva find more gamers, made WolfDragon feel ashamed, scared Rambling Redshirt and Starshadow and made Belghast and Liore paranoid, I'm afraid I'm in the "it had no effect whatsoever" camp along with Randar, Isey, Partybusiness, Tyrannodorkus and Jeromai. Sure a lot of people posted stuff about it when it was in full swing, but having my entire feed of people talking about something I didn't quite understand? Basically I just ignored all of it as like Tobold says, it's just "feeding trolls".

Since it's actually an NBI topic this year I thought I'd actually try work out what its about though, and guess what?

I still have no clue because it's become so many things. Too many. Whatever identity it was supposed to have is now lost on me and I am pretty much back to not caring as, from my perspective, it just looks like internet arguing.


NBI Talkback #2: Early Access and Kickstarter - Do you support unfinished games?

While I don't pay for any computer games for myself (it's a self imposed rule) as I get plenty gifted to me and know that there are enough F2P titles out there to keep me entertained, I will never purchase an Early Access / Alpha / Beta / Kickstarter as a gift for any of my friends unless they have it on their wishlist.

I feel that ultimately it all comes down to a matter of personal preference and have no issues with Dev's selling said "products" or "ideas of products" if people are willing to pay for them.

The closest example I can think of is something like this: You can sell a car without wheels. Some people will pay you for that, as there are still many parts that are usable. However, just because of that I don't want to assume that all my friends want a car without wheels - no matter how shiny the paint job is or how new the model.

NBI: Join the 2015 Poetry Slam!

In keeping with tradition of the past NBIs, I'm inviting all the NBI participants from newbies to vets alike to participate in this year's official NBI Poetry Slam! Yes, our usual host, Syl of MMOGypsy is sadly unavailable this time around but hopefully seeing all your entries will encourage her swift return! :)

Rules:

-This Poetry Slam ends on May 30, 2015 as it gives me the last day of the NBI to post up a link to all your entries! Just like all previous Poetry Slams, there are only winners in this competition. ;)

-All entries can be as long or short as you like. Free verse, classic rhyme, limericks, haikus, screenshot poetry, song lyrics, abstract poetry, all are fair game. Unleash your creativity! Then put it up as a post in your blog and either post links of your contributions in the comments below or at the NBI 2015 Poetry Slam thread on the forums. While you only need one entry to participate, you are free to put up as many as you like, just be sure to link all of them.

-The topic for this year is: "Gold (or whatever gaming currency you like)!" How you get it, spend it, want it, hate it, throw it away, use it as decoration... anything. Real world currencies are also valid as long as it still pertains to it's use in-game, buying games, paying subscriptions, etc.

-Try avoid using the Spandau Ballet song. :P

I look forward to reading all your entries!

Other current NBI activities:

-Moderate Peril's offer for you (newbie NBIs) to guest post on his site is still available! Don't be shy!

-Gaming Event Setup Discussion! Have your say in both the forums and on Izzy's blog!

-Talkback Challenge #1: How did Gamergate Affect you?

-J3w3l's Gaming Grudge Match: This week is Agar.io.
Consume and be consumed by horribly named (PKs) cells in this competitive game!

-Murf's Screenshot Safari!

-Jeromai's Impromptu Writing Prompts (found at the bottom of the post)!

[Technique Demonstration for NBI Newbies: I won't be updating my blog for a few days so this post remains at the "top" to try get more exposure.]

Neverwinter Online: Spinward Rise Vigilance Guide

[Part of my Neverwinter Online: Vigilance Quest Guide.]

Welcome to the final zone of Elemental Evil! It is actually more travel friendly than all the previous zones as you unlock each island, however it can also be brutal in the way of combat, especially on the last island. Like before, be careful of pure melee groups of enemies. While it is easy to tell if a bunch of cultists are skirmishers, it is a little less obvious for air archons. Simply count the number of bows / blades they carry to know what to expect.

The repeating quest here is "Howling Hatred". Don't go out of your way to complete that until you reach the second island. There are also jumping puzzles (yay!) which are the easiest tasks to complete on each island. Basically you just have to find the correct jump point and then press and hold space bar while moving forward. If those big chunks of rock can fly through the air, why can't you?

Once at the top, you can either jump back the way you came or simply "fall" down. If you dodge just before hitting the ground, all your vertical momentum is halted and you take zero falling damage. Neat trick huh?

Last thing of note is a personal one here. I didn't go into -any- instanced dungeon as I felt there was enough to do top side so I can't give you any tips for those this time (other than don't go alone). At least it makes it exciting for you right? ;P

No point in changing the color coding now:

Green - Easy and/or fast.
Pink - If there's nothing else to do.
Red - Better to take a break than do these solo.

AVIA LANDING

The first island introduces you to Kenku, Axebeaks, Owlbears and jumping puzzles! Unlike the cramped confines of the Fiery Pit, it's pretty safe to wander around here. There are two entries to the cult barracks, and the Western one next to the Kenku camp is less defended. You can also go in with style by jumping in from a glider tower.

*Harper Evandriel

• Tome of Air - Jumping Puzzle! Starts at the tall western glider tower.
• Learning to Fly - Collect 12 "flight" supplies from Glider towers (drops and pickup), kill 40 cultists
• Air Cult Assault - HE Encounter Silver - self completes sometimes. Odds of getting help to complete is high.
• Elemental Assault - HE Encounter Silver - self completes sometimes. Odds of getting help to complete is medium.
• Air Supply  - Sabotage supplies 6 then 6 airships. Lots of Fighting.
• Twin Breezes - Raid air cult barracks instance

*Skreel Swiftwing

• Birds of a Feather - Rescue 6 kenku eggs. All guarded. Pickup.
• Shiny Metal - collect 10 weapons from kenku (pickup from camp barrels and drop), kill 30
• Kenku - defeat 40 kenku (goes well with two above)
• Fight the Wind - defeat air archons in barracks instance

*Pirri The Swift

• Target - Blackfeather - miniboss kenku. Kill fast as a kenku spawn lives right outside his cave.
• Target - North Wind - miniboss hurricaine cultist. Kill fast he appears next to a large group of cultists.

*Brokar Ironshod

• Flightless Fury - kill 15 axebeaks, 5 owlbears (doesn't mix well with any other quest)
• Lesser Air Runes - Available after your first 16 tasks, mandatory to open teleporter to next island.

WINDCALL TEMPLE

The second island is home to the rather safe cultist binding workshops, and the more dangerous air elemental summoning portals and altar of Yan-C-Bin. The encounters are a little stacked at Yan-C-Bin's place so expect multiple groups during combat there. Fortunately you should only need to do that a few times.

*Harper Evandriel

• Greater Tome of Air - jumping puzzle! Starts from the only glider tower near the workshops!
• Clearing the Air - add incense to 5 shrines at Yan-C-Bin's altar
• Air Cult Assault - HE Silver - self completes sometimes. Low chance for players to assist.
• Elemental Assault - HE Silver - self completes sometimes. Low chance for players to assist. 
• Slaad Summoner - Kill the summoner in the Howling Maw instance

*Skreel Swiftwing

• Order out of Chaos - Gather 15 Slaad control gems from cultists (drops). Can get them from Avia landing - easier fights = faster
• Fiends of Limbo - Kill 40 Slaad at the pool of chaos. Slow to kill, doesn't even count if not in pool. Stupid.
• Feeding the Slaadi - free sacrificial victims in Howling maw instance

*Pirri the Swift

• Target - Windshear - Miniboss air archon - spawns near campfire. Kill fast to avoid archon respawn.
• Target - Glark the Rancid - miniboss death slaad. Tough fight: Hardest of these mini boss assassinations. Expect to continuously evade moving AoE "monster" while fighting him.

*Druid Okobo

• Unbound Anger - release 5 air eles. Easy, you only have to fight cultists to do so.
• Windbreaker - disrupt 5 air ele portals. All guarded.
• Archon Anarchy - kill 35 air archons (goes well with above)

*Brokar Ironshod

• Greater Wind Runes - Available after you finish 16 of this set to unlock teleporter to the final island.

THUNDERHEAD REACH

The final and most dangerous island is home to Cloud Giants who are rather adept at defeating adventurers since they never come alone. You'll get a "Scrying the Skies" mandatory quest to look through four telescopes which doesn't count to your Vigilance Quests but does give you a good idea of how the last island is laid out. The instanced dungeon here is Nimbus Tower which is probably where the Air Prophet is, but after hearing it takes 40 minutes to clear solo I opted to just leave it alone.

*Harper Evandriel

• Grand Tome of Air - jumping puzzle! Starts from low broken tower next to two giants.
• Eyes in the Sky - gather 6 intel reports from cultists (Farm at Avia)
• War Chests - recover 12 war chest treasures (pickup, often guarded by cultists)
• Whispers on the Wind - collect 10 messages from cultists. (drops at a low rate. Best farmed at Avia)
• Air Cult Assault - HE Encounter. Very tough.
• Elemental Assault - HE Encounter. Very tough.
• Tempest in a Bottle - stop rituals in the Nimbus tower instance

*Skreel Swiftwing

• Giantslayer - kill 8 cloud giants. Good news: they mostly come in pairs. Bad news: they mostly come in pairs.
• The Cloud Forges - kill 4 cloud giant smiths. Usually come with air archons.

*Druid Okobo

• Archon Anarchy - slay 40 archons at Thunderhead Reach.
• Lofty Ideas - collect 5 air magic scrolls from cloud giants (drops)
• Cloud Magic - collect air magic lore and win Nimbus Tower instance

*Pirri the Swift

• Target - Rastari - kill cloud giant miniboss, the easiest cloud giant to kill since he comes alone!
• Target - Grackel - kill owlbear miniboss, hits hard with no telegraph. Good practice of controlling AI, has no nearby allies.

Once that is done you just need to collect the Seed of Air, which might look like it's guarded by a giant and a bunch of air archons but if you dash along the left side and go all the way to the edge of the cliff they ignore you long enough for you to collect the seed and get out of there. Once that's done, congratulations - you have finished Elemental Evil! Enjoy your new artifact weapon. Don't forget that if you hit level 70, you can get an off hand artifact weapon too. See Sgt. Knox.. :)

Neverwinter Online: Fiery Pit Vigilance Guide

[Part of my Neverwinter Online: Vigilance Quest Guide.]

This is the part where I remind you to spend those perk and power points you have accumulated, because the Fiery Pit is one dangerous place. Not only do enemies spawn pretty close to each other, which is annoying when going after mini bosses, but sometimes they spawn as SILVER enemies. Be sure to look before you leap! Also, the way the map is structured is that there is only one camp right at the start. This means there is a lot of travel time added on as your quests lead you deeper in.

The map is connected by central bridges patrolled by fire giants. You can avoid them by timing your crossing. Wait at the 90 degree angle of the bridge and just as the giant is about to step out, rush past and hop on the railing closest to you. The idea is to break his line of sight so he loses aggro. Alternatively just kill the giant.

Each area also has a "Making the Rounds" quest which you should take for extra XP. In the second and third areas, try ensure this task is completed before returning to base. Be especially careful about large groups of melee guys. If 5 skirmishers hit you it's most likely lights out. Use crowd control early to gain the initiative.

Lastly, you get a short quiz right at the beginning for some extra XP. While it's worth reading the lore, here's a quick recap that should get you by:

The Fire Cult is the enemy here, trying to awaken Maegera. The good guys, helping descendants of Delzoun who curiously called for outside help, have almost won and control half of city [fun fact: the other half of the city looks exactly the same] but due to low supplies need adventurers to finish off this war. Duergar are present too but are attacking everyone.

As usual, the color coding remains the same:

Green - Easy and/or fast.
Pink - If there's nothing else to do.
Red - Better to take a break than do these solo.

FIRST PATROL

Your first patrol mainly deals with the North East and South East parts of the map. Keeping this in mind, collect quests for the one spot to complete them faster and stop by the camp to resupply / sell / juggle quests every time you switch from one to the other. The Excavated Tomb is the instanced dungeon here but I recommend skipping it entirely as you'll almost always have something else to do topside.

*Grogbi Ironbeard

• Burning Sensations - collect bloodburn scorpion venom 5 kills NOT pickup (North)
• Connecting the Dots - investigate suspicious bodies (North)
• Geyser Samples - collect geyser samples (North. Do not attempt if Emberclaw is awake.)
• Mushroom Medic - collect 16 shrooms (North, mostly guarded by duergar)
• The Missing Spy - collect duergar runes (South pickup - points marked)
• Hostile Neighbors - defeat duergar 40 (North)
• Orders for Destruction - kill demolitionists and get orders (North AND South)
• Target: Olgi Fren'rah - Duergar Theurge miniboss (North) - expect nearby demolisionist team(s) to attack.

*Horath Pegra

• Crystal Coercion - Collect 18 pickup Bloodiron Crystals (South)
• Quell Hounds - kill 25 hellhounds (South)
• Traitorous Scum - Kill Duergar traitors (south)
• Target: Irestund - Fire Giant miniboss (South) - expect nearby Hellhounds to attack.
• Rescuing the Spy - rescue people from Excavated Tomb instance (South)
• Water Brigade - steal water barrels from Excavated Tomb (South)

SECOND PATROL

Your next tasks will be found on the Center and South areas of the map. The Burning Heart instance is the dungeon here, but again I recommend skipping. Enough to do top side. Or, use the time to take a break from all the intense fighting! Go have some cookies or milk or something! If the player is tired, you won't be as effective! :P

There's also a scavanger hunt quest here called "Services Rendered" to collect 25 mithril ingots. It can be annoying at first if you don't know where they are, but goes rather fast when you do. You can also switch channels to get ingots from places you've already visited. Look for them under wagons, in corners, on staircase bannisters, on the roof, ledges, anywhere and everywhere in the center you can jump to is fair game. To get you started here are nine of them, starting from the great hall directly across the camp.

1) Next to Center Throne
2) from Throne turn left, behind pillar
3) from Throne turn right, behind some curtains
4) from Throne turn around, under bench (probably first one you will pick up)
5) on long rod thing above the fire pit
6) South side staircase from great hall: nook in the wall
7) South side staircase from great hall: two along the left side (easy to spot)
8) North side staircase from great hall: On the south railing of a giant's bridge
9) North side staircase from great hall: On a pillar near #8. Just look down stairs and to the left.

*Farah Dahl

• Hot to Handle - collect 4 fire archon armor and dump them into wells. (South, lots of Archons near the wells)
• Snuff Out the Flames - kill 45 fire archons (Any, but I suggest South.)
• Tactical Ventilation - close 6 vents at the forge. (South)
• Target: Singe  - Fire Archon Ash disciple miniboss. (South) - expect nearby archons to attack.
• Torch Bearer - collect 12 iron torches from cultists (South and Center). Middling drop rate.
• Contained Explosion - Silver HE: Rocks fall. (Center)
• The Burning Heart - Burning Heart Instance
• What the Blazes? - extinguish elemental blazes in Burning Heart instance

*Thannis Beke

• The Searing Sentinels - defeat 5 fire giant guards. Evade well. (Center)
• Spiker Striker - kill 10 flame spikers. (Any)
• Target: Flamberge - flame spiker mini boss (Center) - expect cultist group to attack
• Controlled Burn - collect scrolls / element cores + burn 5 (Center, lowish drop rate).
• Services Rendered  - collect 25 mithril ingots. Pickup. See above. (Center)
• Trial By Fire - Take damage from fire archons (40 atks w/o death) - Requires patience. Ideally use the first archon you see just outside camp so you can hand this back in when done.

THIRD PATROL

Your final patrol deals with the North West and South West zones, as well as the West center. Unlike before, it doesn't really matter which zones the quests lead to as you will be visiting all those areas if you are going for the extra XP from "Making the Rounds". An easy highway to the North West exists where you just have to cross one bridge north, then follow the path West all the way, avoiding the patrolling bridge giants.

The instanced dungeon here is the Cistern, and in it you will encounter Vanifer, the flame prophet. Unlike the last two fools she is quite capable of killing you on her own, behaving much like an Ash Disciple. Her area attacks are extremely dangerous and failure to evade or block will probably result in death. She also starts with a bodyguard (take him out fast, but cleanly) and summons more adds as she takes damage. Due to this I highly advise luring her out of her chamber and using the whole rest of the dungeon space to fight her. I also recommend using single big hits for this fight, instead of swinging blades continuously so that you can concentrate more on evading.

Eventually, she will run away. :P

*Lucas Shaneway III

• Barrier to Entry - seal doors with magic barriers 6 (South West)
• Slaves to Business - rescue 8 dwarf slaves (South West)
• Cache on Delivery - dig up 8 caches. Marked. (South West)
• Financial Tracking - plant 10 magic coins. Marked (West Center)
• Pillage First - kill 30 cultists (Any)
• Target: Nuria Pyrellis - cultist flamewrath miniboss (South West) - if using ranged, can be fought without aggroing nearby cultists.

*Captain Montrose

• The Plumbing Job - fix 12 pipes at water pumps (all guarded, North West)
• Sabotage - defeat cultist saboteurs (North West, goes well with above)
• Brute Squad - defeat magma brutes (North West)
• Saddle Down - collect 10 fire strider saddles. Drops 100% from Strider Riders. (North West)
• Target: Captain Felcrest - miniboss fire strider. Many mobs nearby and he runs around a lot. (North West)
• The Cistern - fight Vanifer in Cistern instance
• Ring of Fire - Vanifer's ally in Cistern instance (then Vanifer herself)

Once that is all done the last thing to do is to pick up the Seed of Fire, guarded by a few measly archons at the wells. You shouldn't need help beating them up to reach your objective, and if you are lucky someone might already be there just hunting fire archons anyway.

Neverwinter Online: Reclamation Rock Vigilance Guide

[Part of my Neverwinter Online: Vigilance Quest Guide.]

Reclamation Rock is home to very dangerous bulettes, but it also has the easiest starting area of all the zones to complete. Personally, I've been using it as extra XP for my characters who already have finished the campaign. This guide will be using the same color coding as last time.

Green - Easy and/or fast.
Pink - If there's nothing else to do.
Red - Better to take a break than do these solo.

BEACH CAMP

My favorite spot as it gives easy access to quest givers and to traveling back out to the world map. The instanced dungeon here is the Crypt of Ascension, and if you do decide to go in there you will find the entrance behind an illusionary rock face. Make sure you have both quests to make the trip more worthwhile if you do attempt it.

*Dassar Truebow

• Adepts of Ascension - rescue acolytes    
• Scouting Ascension - kill enemy scouts   

*Imbross Irri'karr

• Black Earth Survey - investigate / disrupt training camps   
• Cult Infiltrators - talk to infiltrators (usually on ground level)
• Stealing Their Mettle - steal cult weapons
• Scouting the Forest - talk to ranger scouts (usually on higher ground)
• The Heroic Way - complete HE, rescue merchant
• Tombs of the Watchful - Visit 5 tombs (open world) fight inhabitants, interact with something.

*Baram Hannikar

• H1 - Heroics - As of this post, currently bugged and finishes by itself: Free XP.
• Deployment Orders - get orders (pickup or mobs)   
• Training Manuals - get training manuals    (pickup or mobs)
• Cult Connection - gather journals from cultists (goes well with below)
• Fighting the Earth - kill Rock Claws (the West cultist camp has 7 in the vicinity)
• Grinding the Gravel - kill mercs and throwers  Leading the Avalanche - kill elementals (doesn't really mesh with any other quest)   

CITY CAMP

Ah the city. The grind of this zone begins now. Fortunately there is a secret tunnel (near one of the scouts) that leads up to the tavern to save travel time. There's also a new secret tunnel that leads from the cathedral to Scar Keep. From inside the cathedral if you are facing the doors, turn right and look for stairs down. The instanced dungeon here is the Underlift, and because the quest selection here is so poor I actually do recommend going in there (with 2 quests) to save time. The crazy bomb throwing dwarf boss in there isn't too bad. Just kill the adds and you will win. I sure hope you know how to tell the difference between a mimic and a treasure chest though (cursor has bag = regular chest).

*Brother Satarin (Cathedral)

• Posting the Truth - put up posters. If contested by other players, switch channel.
• Warding off Madness - gather materials to reinforce wards (tainted water x4/archon dust x4)
• Holding the Streets  - draw out cultists on street. Use corners for cover or leave quest circle if hard pressed.
• Rocky Foundations - kill 40 earth elementals. Not too bad since the marked zone has around 20. Archons count.
• Rock Tumbler - kill galeb duhr. (Rare to find in the area, especially if contested)
• Voices of Stone - kill 10 blackmantle sorcerers (more rare than above, even with the new summoning scrolls)

*Councilman Graves (Cathedral)

• Rescue Mission - rescue workers from Underlift
• The Verge of Collapse - stop bombs in Underlift

*Hedgewizard Nottin - (Scar Keep)

• Hedging against Plague - not a vigilance quest (doesn't take up a slot), but good for bonus XP. Collect notes from cultists (100).
• Call to Alms - collect alms (drops anywhere and pickup from zone) then hand them out
• Recovering Reconstruction  - collect construction supplies (drop / pickup) and rebuild
• Hero of the City- complete ANY HE (good combo with below)
• Shaking up the Town  - complete Earthquake HE - High odds of others doing this as it is right outside the cathedral. If currently active, try get this and Hero of the City to complete both.
• Hostile Induction - Complete Press Gang HE - can be difficult without aid or sniping from cliff top.

MEMORIAL FIELDS

The most annoying area of all the zones purely because of it's crappy quest choices and tough or rare opponents. Expect to be here awhile. The instanced dungeon here is the Lost Tomb which happens to be where the Earth Prophet, Markos Unrayle is encountered. He has a pretty big room to fight in but isn't that much of a threat. Kill his adds while fighting (so kill him slowly) or lure him near the entry so you can murder him with ease. Because of the low quest choices here, I do recommend visiting this at least once (with two quests).

There are also Slaad (frog men) present who are numerous and pretty annoying to fight (long to kill/use up too much resources), so I try to avoid them.

*Captain Dunfield

• Black Earth, Stone Heart - stop ceremonies in Lost Tomb
• Stay of Execution - rescue captives from Lost Tomb

*Captain Lynn

• Stone by Stone - Kill 3 Blackmantle Generals. All are casters. Not all are equally defended. Choose targets wisely.
• By the Horns - hunt 6 gorgons. Slightly rare, one in Graveyard and one next to graveyard. Alternate as they respawn or channel hop.
• Landshark - hunt 8 bulettes. Easy to find, but very dangerous.
• Defying the Rock - HE Encounter. Very tough to win. Concentrate on the non-silver/golds on the wings to up the kill count quickly. Better odds for randoms to assist than the HE below.
• Bannermen Forever! - Raise banner to spawn a Silver HE. Defend.
• Taking Measures - take 500k damage and live. 15 min limit to complete. As a rogue and ranger I couldn't do this. Might be ideal for Cleric / Pally.

*Brother Theodosian

• In Memorial - Check on Graves - Easy.
• Stolen Memories - collect mementos (drops). Good combo with Defying the Rock.
• Memorial Heroes - complete grave robber Silver HE. - Soloable but be careful.
• Toad Bait - Close Slaad Limbo Portals. Often contested by other players. Best right AFTER the Slaad invasion event finishes.
• Toadkiller - Kill Slaad, can find many to the East along the outer cliff.

Once that is all done, you just have to pick up the Earth seed and are finished with this area. That might be a little challenging though as one of the Blackmantle Generals sits right on top of it with two or three groups of lackeys. Get a buddy to help you clear it out or channel hop to find one that has recently been cleaned out. If you skipped the last part of Drowned Shore like I suggested, it is time to go back there and curb stomp everything.

Newbie Blogger Initiative 2015! #NBI2015 #NBI2015Safari #HeroesorVillains

It's that time of year again for people who are thinking of starting up a blog, are currently blogging, or have lapsed in blogging to hop in to / continue to ride / or get back in the saddle and join the Newbie Blogger Initiative 2015! Despite the name it's actually open for all ranges of blog experience as one of its main purposes is to create a community for game bloggers / vloggers / podcasters / and the like to interact and support each other.

Personally speaking, it's also a great way to get an injection of traffic on your site plus you get to find many other blogs (new and old) to link to for reading purposes. To that end I'm lifting my usually strict cut-off point in my blogroll this month to welcome all the new blood, wayward sheep, or new found veterans to reinforce my current count of 59 links. This also means you can also expect out of the blue oddities like hashtags in the title apparently.

If you want to get involved simply do any or all of the following (which I totally stole from Syp @ Bio Break):

• Stay in touch with the official NBI Twitter account!
• Read the latest announcements on the NBI forum.
• If you’re a new or lapsed blogger, then you’ll want to register on the newbie blogger check-in. We use this forum to keep track and promote blogs, so having your link on it is incredibly important.
• Sponsors (veterans) have a sign-in as well, and if so desired they can put themselves out there to be a direct mentor.

One of the neat things I've always liked about the NBI are the events that the sponsor bloggers come up with, and Murf has wasted no time in getting the ball rolling with his #NBI2015Safari, a simple screenshot contest. Since this post is technically interrupting my Neverwinter Online Vigilance Quest tutorial I thought I'd get in early in the "Heroes or Villains" category with a pic from that game - featuring the only enemy that actually requires 25 players to work in synchronized tandem within a time limit to achieve victory.

Tiamat!

Lastly, I just realized that Contains Moderate Peril is offering a chance for up to four newbie bloggers to guest post on his site! For people new to the whole blogging thing believe me that's pretty good - try not to let that opportunity slip by! (For other sponsor blogs, please advertise this too).

Neverwinter Online: Drowned Shore Vigilance Guide

[Part of my Neverwinter Online: Vigilance Quest Guide.]

Welcome to the Drowned shore. There is a repeating quest here called "Gutting Fish" from the Zhentarim Agents which you should always get for bonus XP. You'll complete it a few times while doing the vigilance tasks. I'll be using colors to indicate what quests should be prioritized and which should be avoided.

Green - Easy and/or fast.
Pink - If there's nothing else to do.
Red - Better to take a break than do these solo.

ENTRY CAMP

Main thing to note here are the mines. Glimmerstone is filled with lizardmen and some sea hags. Silverdrip is filled with sea trolls and many sea hags. These two are "open world" dungeons in that other people can just enter your same instance. The main trick here is to coordinate your tasks when you go in one or the other. Goldseeker's Folly is the INSTANCED dungeon, which means you will not get randoms helping you out. Don't go in there unless you either have both quests for that area and/or have the mandatory task after you've completed your first 16.

*Alinda Greenwood

• Riptide Molly - Sea Hag miniboss wandering outside the mines
• Healing Harvest - gather vine blooms and shrooms (shrooms from the mines)
• Herbal Malady - Collect Gurglewort Sap, add it to Humanoid food crates in Glimmerstone or Silverdrip
• Alinda's Bounty - Collect Olhydra's Emblems (drops)
• Mysterious Symbol - find symbol (drop) check it against book
• Sea Hag Slaying - kill sea hags
• Heroic Encounter: Breaking the Ice

*Udo Stonekin

• Deepclaw - sea troll miniboss in Silverdrip mine
• Needful Things - Supply crates from Silverdrip or Glimmerstone
• Silver Strike - get silver ore from Silverdrip
• Sea Trolling - Kill sea trolls
• Goldseeker's Folly: Mine Rescue - rescue miners

*Bellan Norell

• War Machines: Destroy 3 war machines at nearby keep
• The Tidemaster - boss in Glimmerstone
• Reptillian Reavers: Hunt Lizardmen
• Shock Troops - kill trolls in Silverdrip AND lizardfolk in Glimmerstone (only in the mines)
• Heroic Encounter: Ranger Rescue - at nearby ruined fort
• Goldseeker's Folly: Rogues Gallery - kill minibosses in the mine
• Heroic Encounter: Subterrenan Surge - Gold level Heroic, tucked away in a dungeon

HILL CAMP

The most efficient way to clear this part I found was to AVOID THE KEEP in the Northeast of the map as there's a lot of pointless and dangerous fighting in there. After completing your 16 tasks here you will get a mandatory quest to raid it anyway. Ideally bring the two Sea Hag's Hold quests when you do make the trip to maximize your time there. Be careful of a lizardman ambush at the pool part of that instanced dungeon too.

Most of the tasks here involve killing lacedons and hags, or collecting merchant goods. ALL of these can be found near the camp. Collect merchant goods from the cultist camp just to the right of the Hill camp (stand at the fire at face the road). Ten steps and you are there.

*Xalliana

• The Render - lacedon boss
• Undead from the Deep - lacedons
• Drowned Menace - kill lacedons
• Green-Eyed Monsters - get a hag eye
• Attack on Blackdagger Keep - kill enemies, destroy supplies at the keep.
• Heroic Encounter: Pillaging the Pillagers - HE located deep in the keep.

*Ranolf Kemp

• High Road Warning - post signs
• Getting Goods - recover trade goods from monsters (use the nearby cultist camp)
• Taking Stock - recover merchant wares (from keep OR mobs, use the nearby cultist camp)
• Heroic Encounter: Merchants in Distress
• Crushing the Crushing Wave - slay cultists
• Maelstrom - mini boss cultist in keep area

*Lanric

• Hateful Horrors - kill green hags
• Heroic Encounter: Cultist Ambush (very near the camp, high chance for assists)
• Ranger Reports - gather reports
• Scaly Persuasion - kill cult agitators
• Life Guarding - free captives (found in watery lacedon areas)
• Mossy Meg - hag boss just outside the keep
• Sea Hag's Hold: Down the Drain - drain pool
• Sea Hag's Hold: Worse Than Death - free captives

After you have finished these and the mandatory quest I suggest you go to Reclamation Rock and do the quests there, coming back afterwards to do the final area with better gear and feats for an easier time. Your call though.

SEA ELF CAMP

The main problem here is that most of the quests lead across the map to the beach, wasting a bit of time on travel. Make sure that the four quests you pick up are completed before coming back. The Inn tasks on the other hand, are right beside the camp. If you do those, complete them and hand them in / pick up replacements before going to the beach. A word of warning with the Inn - on the main level, enemies from upstairs can and will aggro you so expect to fight more than one enemy group when you get there.

*Guard Harris

• False Priests - kill cultists in Inn (careful once you exit the basement)
• Avenging the Guard - kill cultists (30)
• Beach Combing - collect salvage (pick up)
• A Seafood Diet - collect crab meat (10 drops - not all crabs have meat though), eel grass (pickup 5)
• Slade the Thricedrowned - miniboss cultist
• Stolen Memories - recover mementos (drops x5) Abysmal drop rate.

*Iolas

• Breathless - recover necklace of air breathing (drop x1) Slade Thricedrowned usually has it.
• Surge - miniboss water ele
• Stemming the Tide - kill water eles (20)
• Water Warriors - kill water eles (24)
• Heroic Encounter: Aquatic Elf Abduction - HE silver level
• Heroic Encounter: Fountain of Fear - HE gold level, hard

*Seychell

• Waterbourne Warning - deploy 3 buoys at the beach
• Hullbreaker - miniboss troll
• The Ravenous Host - kill lacedons (12) - probably tired of them by now though :P
• Heroic Encounter: No Room at the Inn - HE (silver tough, starts at main floor so multiple groups right away)

After finishing that, you just have to do a few tasks for the Sea Druid hiding in a tree then you can go fight Gar Shatterkeel in the Sea Cave instance. Like most Neverwinter Bosses, he summons adds as he loses HP. They are finite, so if you kill the adds you will win eventually (Gar is basically a caster so most of his attacks are easy enough to evade, just kill him slow). Alternatively, just lure him far away from his starting spot to eradicate him at your leisure.

Once that is done, just one more trip through the "hard water" is required to collect the Seed of Water and you are done! I wonder if anyone has actually drowned in there.