What are you playing now?

[Daaave]

I'll play the part a bit soon and see if I can come up with anything decent in terms of strategy, heh.

 

Two thing though, have you upgraded your weapons(especially the claws and lunar) and what difficulty are you playing on?

 

The claws and Lunar Staff are still at level one for me, Dragon Sword got me through everything easily up until now so I didn't bother with any of the others in terms of practice or upgrading. Probably my big mistake right there to be honest. Means I'm plunged in at the deep end when trying to get used to those two because I haven't even got an older save to mess around with them on for a bit. The claws do seem pretty easy to get to grips with though, lunar a tad more awkward, mind.

 

I'm on Acolyte I think currently, which makes my rubbishness that much more shameful.

 

/Brings out the "it's my first time" excuse.

 

Any help in regards to strategy would be great as well, think it's just one of those times where I need to get back on a roll again and I'll be set.

[mkreku]

I finished GTA4. It's easily the weakest GTA so far, counting from GTA3 and onward. I mean, hunting for 200 tiny pigeons all over an enormous city without any reward unless you actually find all 200..? Does ANYONE think that's fun? That's basically all there is to do except main story missions. The story was also weaker than usual and the ending was a let-down. It just trudged on in the same way as it started for about 30 hours and then it ended. Nothing more, nothing less. No conclusion or satisfying finale, just an ending.

 

And who took the decision to make every character in the game a 'friend' of yours that you have to pamper (ie. doing the same thing over and over and over) with every five minutes?! GOD that was annoying.

 

Even the races were weaker than usual. Not only were they that easy that I never had to replay one and I never lost one, the driving physics were so loose the cars felt like wet soaps in a bathtub. And that was BEFORE the rain..

 

It's still a good game, but seriously overrated.

[Tigranes]

I never understood all the rave about GTA, and only saw little bits and pieces, but I was always assured that San Andreas, for instance, had good missions apart from the pizza-delivering, taxi-driving crap (which was, oddly, all I ever saw). I did think the voice acting was very good.

 

And who took the decision to make every character in the game a 'friend' of yours that you have to pamper (ie. doing the same thing over and over and over) with every five minutes?! GOD that was annoying.

 

People like Fable, so I guess anything is possible.

 

I found a mod I liked for Medieval: Total War 2 but it keeps crashing, so channeling all that into working on the Toolset. Trying some NWN2 mods including Harp & Chrysanthemum (lovely), Asphyxia (pretty areas, not much else yet), Dark Waters (since when did Adam Miller start doing rubbish Harry Potter crap?), Tale of a City and a couple others. Throughout NWN1 and 2 I've never found a really exquisite module, though, and so many, even "hall of fame" ones, lack polish and professionalism (i.e. random in-jokes for quest names and no periods after sentences). Area design is good and they do some crazy stuff with scripts, though.

[Aristes]

My warrior is 446 blacksmithing and 442 engineering now. My hunter is 450/450 mining/skinning. My mage is only 395 tailoring and 411 enchanting. My rogue is 401 engineering and 407 leatherworking. My druid, the lowbie of the bunch, is 375 herbalism 371 alchemy. Overall, I'm very happy with crafting in WotLK. Yes, folks will be angry as hell about the fact that the mats are so much easier to access and the immediate epics aren't BoP, but I'm glad it won't take me forever and/or a fortune to max my professions. Right now, I'm really cash poor. In fact, my warrior doesn't even have an epic flyer. My hunter and rogue do, but my warrior is really the lynchpin of any instances we're going to do in the near future. As far as other things go, the quests are super easy and any character can get to level 80 long before they need set foot in any 3 of the zones. hell, do Borean Tundra, Howling Fjord, Dragonblight and choose two from Grizzly Hills, Zul'Drak, and Scholazar Basin and you're 80 before you ever need to set foot in Ice Crown or Storm Peaks. Hell, you don't need to set foot in Wintergrasp ever if you don't want, although I think the area is cool and it has wonderful mining in or out of battles. I've known a lot of folks with several 80s, but my hunter is my only 80. That's mostly because I don't have a lot of time and the time I spend online is mostly used to monger ore for my warrior. Hunters still have a good edge for leveling, of course, but my tank is awesome. I think it's my favorite class right now. The other reason I'm taking my time leveling my other characters is because I end up running guildies through dungeons. Even though there are other high level people to do it, I seem to have a certain felicity in remembering the basic layout of the dungeons even after only a couple times through. Not really an issue for the dungeons I've seen so far in northrend, as they're all pretty straightforward, but can be a real lifesaver for the outlands dungeons and, heaven forbid, places like Kara. I still think, in terms of all around fun game design, Kara is the best, but I haven't seen everything to judge. Anyhow, I'm at 80, 77, 75, 74, and 65 right now. I'll have to take that druid and level her to Northrend. Once you're in Northrend, leveling is super easy and the quests are generally quite interesting. I was hoping some of you guys might share some of your experiences from WotLK also. Just for ****s and giggles.

[Calax]

My warrior is 446 blacksmithing and 442 engineering now. My hunter is 450/450 mining/skinning. My mage is only 395 tailoring and 411 enchanting. My rogue is 401 engineering and 407 leatherworking. My druid, the lowbie of the bunch, is 375 herbalism 371 alchemy. Overall, I'm very happy with crafting in WotLK. Yes, folks will be angry as hell about the fact that the mats are so much easier to access and the immediate epics aren't BoP, but I'm glad it won't take me forever and/or a fortune to max my professions. Right now, I'm really cash poor. In fact, my warrior doesn't even have an epic flyer. My hunter and rogue do, but my warrior is really the lynchpin of any instances we're going to do in the near future. As far as other things go, the quests are super easy and any character can get to level 80 long before they need set foot in any 3 of the zones. hell, do Borean Tundra, Howling Fjord, Dragonblight and choose two from Grizzly Hills, Zul'Drak, and Scholazar Basin and you're 80 before you ever need to set foot in Ice Crown or Storm Peaks. Hell, you don't need to set foot in Wintergrasp ever if you don't want, although I think the area is cool and it has wonderful mining in or out of battles. I've known a lot of folks with several 80s, but my hunter is my only 80. That's mostly because I don't have a lot of time and the time I spend online is mostly used to monger ore for my warrior. Hunters still have a good edge for leveling, of course, but my tank is awesome. I think it's my favorite class right now. The other reason I'm taking my time leveling my other characters is because I end up running guildies through dungeons. Even though there are other high level people to do it, I seem to have a certain felicity in remembering the basic layout of the dungeons even after only a couple times through. Not really an issue for the dungeons I've seen so far in northrend, as they're all pretty straightforward, but can be a real lifesaver for the outlands dungeons and, heaven forbid, places like Kara. I still think, in terms of all around fun game design, Kara is the best, but I haven't seen everything to judge. Anyhow, I'm at 80, 77, 75, 74, and 65 right now. I'll have to take that druid and level her to Northrend. Once you're in Northrend, leveling is super easy and the quests are generally quite interesting. I was hoping some of you guys might share some of your experiences from WotLK also. Just for ****s and giggles.

as they say in general forums "wall of text crits you for 99999999, You die"

 

as my sig states I'm a tank. Gearing up outside of naxx it's possible to get fully purple before you head into naxx but it's REALLY difficult and requires you to run every single heroic instance and get alot of rep up. I'm easily able to tank naxx but I'm frustrated with my guild atm because they seem to have it in their heads that about 15 people HAVE to go to the 25 man raid dungeons (the 10 man and 25 man content only really requires 2 tanks, or one REALLY geared tank unfortunatly) We had a yelling match where two of the officers ranted at me for about 15 minutes before I restarted my system.

 

Violet Hold is probably the easiest instance I've encountered yet. it's kinda like Black Morass in the caverns of time but the bosses are pretty much tank and spank (well one is a problem, but it's luck of the draw about which ones you get). I also got told by healers that I was too squishy for naxx (which isn't true, they're just used to running with a pair of tanks that are in Naxx gear rather than pre-naxx gear) and I should deal with it before my next attempt to enter the place. Problem is I can't really get better gear without being IN naxx so the healers are just talking out their ass. I donno, I might leave I might not, depends on how a follow up discussion with the two intelligent raid leads goes.

[Aristes]

Aw, hell, I wanted to punish you for reading my block o' text. Anyhow, I know how you feel about the gear issue. You need to have some solid kit to do the damned raids, but you don't get awesome gear, even from heroics. You can get currency to buy awesome stuff from doing many heroics, but heroics don't drop much worth a damn over half the time. Until you can get into a raid, and have folks who will work with you, you're going to be at a disadvantage. Still, it would seem to me that you should be able to at least off tank for a raid. I don't know much about the Northrend ones, but they can't be THAT much different from BC, can they? dum dum doooooom!

 

Good luck with Naxx, bro.

[Rosbjerg]

I'm playing Crysis, since I now have a machine that can run it..

 

I bought if off a friend (along with Farcry 2) and I must say that both games are really pretty - if shallow. I finished Farcry 2 the other week and the story was weak, but I couldn't help loving that I could to sail, drive and run around in the enviroments - sniping people with my favorite weapon; The Dragunov. That might honestly be the reason why I kept playing.. Man I love that rifle..

[Calax]

Aw, hell, I wanted to punish you for reading my block o' text. Anyhow, I know how you feel about the gear issue. You need to have some solid kit to do the damned raids, but you don't get awesome gear, even from heroics. You can get currency to buy awesome stuff from doing many heroics, but heroics don't drop much worth a damn over half the time. Until you can get into a raid, and have folks who will work with you, you're going to be at a disadvantage. Still, it would seem to me that you should be able to at least off tank for a raid. I don't know much about the Northrend ones, but they can't be THAT much different from BC, can they? dum dum doooooom!

 

Good luck with Naxx, bro.

I could easily MT the thing where my gear is atm.

 

http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f97/40966-p...-gear-list.html

 

that's a list of everything you need to go to naxx without really entering a heroic. The hardest part for me at the moment is that I get a better piece of gear and my defense drops 5 points. so I've got to juggle trinkets and ring to try to keep myself above the cap. I'm probably one of the better tanks on the server, my biggest problem is I don't use my panic buttons enough.

[Hurlshort]

I'm playing Far cry 2 as well. It is stunning looking, and sneaking around with sniper rifle is a lot of fun. Still, the whole "entire country out to kill you" is pretty obnoxious and will probably make me quit sooner rather than later.

 

I'd pay for a mod that removed respawning enemies. If I knew clearing out a guard post mattered, it would make it a much better game.

[Aristes]

With the latest patch, it's easy to use the panic buttons because the cooldown is so low. I haven't had a chance to play any WotLK today, but I have to say that I'm certainly happy with my decision, a long time ago, to sacrifice my hunter for gathering in order to make my Warrior a blacksmith/engineer. Those goggles are great, even without the upgrade, especially considering you can equip them at level 72. The tanking gear on the blacksmithing side is great and, while most of the gear is BoE, the extra BoP sockets for the wrists and gloves are awesome. In fact, the extra sockets are prismatic and won't screw up the socket bonus if you're deadset on worrying about the socket bonus at any rate. My defense is approaching 540 already, and I'm only 77. Those extra sockets help a lot. I'd like to worry a little less about defense and up some of my other stats, but defense is king when you're trying to stay on your feet.

 

Anyhow, in addition to my WotLK forays, I've been trying to get Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches to work on either my or my wife's computer. No such luck. So far it's more like Rhiannon: Curse of the crappy cd. I don't know if it's the medium or the programming that's bad. I guess I'll have to head to frys to return the damned thing.

[Slowtrain]

Still, the whole "entire country out to kill you" is pretty obnoxious and will probably make me quit sooner rather than later.

 

 

Biggest flaw in the entire game, I fail to comprehend the rationale behind spending so much time on creating an immersive, almost sim-like physical world, and hen people it with a bunch of silly cartoon enemies.

 

Two actually warring factions + plus non-combatants could have made this game a real classic.

 

 

I'd pay for a mod that removed respawning enemies. If I knew clearing out a guard post mattered, it would make it a much better game.

 

 

Second biggest flaw in the game. Not so much that they respawn, (whioch they kinda have to do in a non-linear world), but that they respawn so fast. It takes away from the desire of the player to ibnvolve himself in the game. Bad design choice. Doesn't make sense at all really.

 

 

Sometimes I wonder if developers actually play the games they build, such are the many bonehead decisions.

[Hurlshort]

It doesn't even make sense most of the time. I'll be driving along in my yugo, or puttering around in a boat, doing no harm to nobody. Then some jeep will come tearing after me like I just blew up the town mosque.

[Llyranor]

I think you miss the point of the game. I think the point of the game is to KILL EVERYTHING THAT MOVES!!!!!!!!111!11!1!

[Slowtrain]

I think you miss the point of the game. I think the point of the game is to KILL EVERYTHING THAT MOVES!!!!!!!!111!11!1!

 

 

while admiring all the pretty scenery as well.

[Rosbjerg]

Or the fact that mecenaries in small "normal" cars will stop, get out - only to be literally shot to pieces because you're sitting at a mounted turret..

 

Nobody is that stupid..

[Maria Caliban]

Nobody is that stupid..

 

No matter how stupid an action is, there's always one person who's *that* stupid.

[Tale]

Played lots of Persona 4 the past two weeks. Taking a break until my Strategy Guide arrives tomorrow and to play Storm of Zehir.

[Maria Caliban]

I hit level 38. Leveling has slowed to a crawl even when I fight level 42 mobs, I've reached the gold cap, the fights are all easy - I just beat Cerberus, a boss, without using one health potion - I don't pick up yellows or greens now. I like TQVault, it's a program that lets you store objects, and I'm building collections.

 

The drop system is again problematic. I

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Alpha Prime, the damn thing will not get into a window and I want to play it in that manner.

 

EDIT: Fixed it.

Edited January 6, 2009 by Deadly_Nightshade

[Shryke]

I hit level 38. Leveling has slowed to a crawl even when I fight level 42 mobs, I've reached the gold cap, the fights are all easy - I just beat Cerberus, a boss, without using one health potion - I don't pick up yellows or greens now. I like TQVault, it's a program that lets you store objects, and I'm building collections.

 

The drop system is again problematic. I

[Bokishi]

Alpha Prime, the damn thing will not get into a window and I want to play it in that manner.

 

EDIT: Fixed it.

 

haha worst fps ever

[Calax]

With the latest patch, it's easy to use the panic buttons because the cooldown is so low. I haven't had a chance to play any WotLK today, but I have to say that I'm certainly happy with my decision, a long time ago, to sacrifice my hunter for gathering in order to make my Warrior a blacksmith/engineer. Those goggles are great, even without the upgrade, especially considering you can equip them at level 72. The tanking gear on the blacksmithing side is great and, while most of the gear is BoE, the extra BoP sockets for the wrists and gloves are awesome. In fact, the extra sockets are prismatic and won't screw up the socket bonus if you're deadset on worrying about the socket bonus at any rate. My defense is approaching 540 already, and I'm only 77. Those extra sockets help a lot. I'd like to worry a little less about defense and up some of my other stats, but defense is king when you're trying to stay on your feet.

 

Anyhow, in addition to my WotLK forays, I've been trying to get Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches to work on either my or my wife's computer. No such luck. So far it's more like Rhiannon: Curse of the crappy cd. I don't know if it's the medium or the programming that's bad. I guess I'll have to head to frys to return the damned thing.

heres the wierdest thing about Tank gear, at 77-78 you can easily get to 540 defense. However as my gear has been upgraded I've been having to resort to other means to KEEP my gear up because most of the epic gear acutally has less strait defense and more of dodge and parry ratings.

[mkreku]

I started playing some weird game called Sryth (I think): http://www.sryth.com

 

It's almost like playing ne of those old adventure books where you had to make decisions and then turn to the correct page to see what your decisions entailed. It's very relaxing though and can easily be played while you do other stuff. Unfortunately the creator wants money to unlock all the game content.. and not only a one time sum, he wants people to subscribe to his game! I mean, seriously, World of Warcraft can get away with it because of the constant updates and massive world (and addicting gameplay), but a text based, browser based, home made game that absolutely tiny..? Uh.. right.

[Fionavar]

Still on The Witcher

[Musopticon?]

Any help in regards to strategy would be great as well, think it's just one of those times where I need to get back on a roll again and I'll be set.

This will be long-winded since I just got coffee into my system.

 

Honestly, your biggest problem is your lack of experience with the other weapons. It's possible to win the game with just your chosen weapon(good luck with a pure scythe run though), especially with the well-rounded DS, but it's a lot easier and rewarding to at least try out the new gear you acquire as you go on. Not to mention, having three or four nice upgraded weapons gives you a larger playing field in terms of available combos and really how you approach encounters. I enhanced at least DS, Lunar and Claws periodically(they have something for every situation), but immediately tried to max Tonfas, Kusari-Gama(no one seems to realize how awsum that thing is) and Dual Swords, because that's just how I roll. Pick a few guns as your main and concentrate on kicking ass with them. Same with the combos, master a couple from every weapon(especially ones that you can link into the dreaded Izuna Drop, since you can't be hit while doing it) and leave the really showy crap for when you know you can do them safely.

 

A few things: Surviving in higher difficulty levels in NG2 is based on avoiding damage. That might sound obvious, but the fighting system is built from the ground up to avoid taking damage. Ruy has several "invincibility frames" in his animations, split seconds when he's invulnerable, and a lot of the combat against the official "harder" monsters in the game rewards you for taking advantage of that. For instance, the Claws, if upgraded note, have several combos where Ruy teleports around and spends a lot of time in the air and these not only serve as moments of invulnerability where incendiary shurikens, warlock fireballs etc can't hit you, but also give you a breather from the constant pummeling you face by making Ruy unreachable for the moment. The Izuna Drop is a prime example. And a really cheesy method against human enemies.

 

On Acolyte(hey, I started on that too, shut your face), you don't really need to dig deep into that system, but it helps to take the gist of the strategy to your heart. Pick an enemy and separate him from the throng with any quick combo of you choice(say, forward+x+x+y+y) or circle your enemies with constant dashes and rolls until some straggler charges, if you get a couple of good clean blows in, the chances are the enemy loses a limb and it's obliteration time. With wolves, for instance, if you keep circling a pack with roll jumps or just keeping your block up and dashing simultaneously(slow, but makes you almost invincible) you'll get a running attack by a new furry friend for certain. Now, another good tactic is to master the Wind Path, or the dash you can make immediately after blocking. It doesn't always avoid throws, like the Kuja tail grip, but if the attack starts with any blockable animation, hold your block and push dash immediately after the attack hits, a wind path towards the enemy will get you behind him most often. Pound into him, wind path again, repeat until the horde is on you and you have to change your chosen target and circle the group again. When a wolf does the running thing, wait till he's near and quickly dash to the side to avoid the running throw. Put a combo in and change the side with another wind path or a dash and keep hitting his back or side. Eventually an arm will fly off. Good, that wasn't so hard, right?

 

However, tight corridors pose a problem and really make you love every moment you spend in an invisibility frame. So, it's good that you got two things with the longest frames in the game: Ninpos and Ultimates. On ninpos, it's better if you stop thinking them as straight damage dealers, but tools. An unupgraded fireball makes you unreachable for as long as the animation lasts. When in a pinch, hit the ninpo buttons and savour the moment. Some boss attacks(like all the **** the lightning worm throws at you or the massive bone walker's annoying kicks) can be completely avoided with that. My fave nipo, The Wind of Blades(or limb rain) is the best combo against massing groups of ninjas and soldiers, since it delimbs just about everyone. Suddenly the battlefield is an obliteration fun zone, just as long as you avoid their suicide attacks(dash next to an enemy and push y, repeat, never run next to delimbed enemies). The flame phoenix ninpo makes foes lose their ready stances and interrupts attacks, which is a blessing with some demons. Black hole is a flyer killer. Forget about the ratings and go on a ninpo spam. The game will drop one or two chests in a level which always max your ninpo bar, since some of the chests only contain the essences you need at the time. Same with the essences that spawn. Ultimates on the other hand, are a bit more difficult to get off. First of all, once you see a blue or a red essence you don't immediately need(even a tiny one will start an Ultimate), keep your block on so you don't immediately use it(since Ruy only attracts the globes when your block is down) and dash into a position that will net you the largest amount of enemies but also give you a split second of time to suck the essence and start the UT by holding y pressed a heartbeat.

 

Most of the ultimates are separated into a couple of combos, which you may direct slightly. So once you are well into(say, 5 slashes) an ultimate, point Ruy into another enemy and so on. You'll get it. Now, a word of warning some of the first level UTs really suck. Especially Lunar only shines once you upgrade it the second time. It's ultimate ends with a massive expanding circle of fire(yeah, it makes no sense, "power of the moon" wut) that wolves really love. A real group killer, you'll love it.

 

Hang in there. And don't forget about the scythe, bosses hate it.