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.
Saturday, 9 May 2015
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
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.]
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
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
*Skreel Swiftwing
*Pirri The Swift
*Brokar Ironshod
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
*Skreel Swiftwing
*Brokar Ironshod
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
*Skreel Swiftwing
*Druid Okobo
*Pirri the Swift
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.. :)
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
- 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.
- 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.. :)
Monday, 4 May 2015
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
*Horath Pegra
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
*Thannis Beke
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
*Captain Montrose
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.
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.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
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
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)
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
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.
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
- 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.
- 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)
- Rescue Mission - rescue workers from Underlift
- The Verge of Collapse - stop bombs in Underlift
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
Saturday, 2 May 2015
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):
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.
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).
Friday, 1 May 2015
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
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
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
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.
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
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
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