Ze Weekly Nuggetsketch

>.> Ok so this is a cheat. I blame ArenaNet! :(

I didn't work on the piece last weekend cause I was doing BLA nonstop. XD

And then this weekend I'm wishywashying around, unable to decide which style I want to use. If I use a paintypainty style (my normal) it's going to take a lot longer... and I need to be done by 15th August to enter the contest.

If I do a more graphic style, like this one, then it'll be faster... but... I don't like that style as much.

AUUUUGH! *brain splodes*

On the bright side, I think this colour scheme has much more oomph than the original one.

Heroes of Three Kingdoms

Sooo, I've been poking around Heroes of Three Kingdoms, which is supposedly in its closed beta.

Supposedly, because:
1) There's no easy way to report bugs, even though I've found them
2) They basically sent the invitation to everyone and anyone who ever played a PWE game
3) There's no NDAs, no nothing... not that I noticed anyway. ;)

It fulfills my expectations of a PWE game. I.E. the gameplay seems to be the same old non-existent thing married to endless grind, the cash shop will doubtless be a vampire, and I already see bits of the casino system showing itself.

As long as you're fore-warned that that *is* what PWE games are, Heroes of Three Kingdoms delivers.

1) The quest text is interesting (at least, if you like Wuxia or historical Chinese stuff)
2) The world is beautiful
3) HoTK is emphatically historical - that means there are history nuggets hidden all over, and you get to meet 'legendary' heroes like Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, etc. (Or at least, I assume you will, from the way things have been going over my puny 15 levels!)
4) The music is nice. But only nice. Jade Dynasty's music is *gorgeous*. HoTK's soundtrack can get a bit repetitive.
5) Fashion (read, cosmetic cashshop items) promises to be as pretty as in all PWE games
6) Day and night cycles - gorgeous solar flares when riding into sunset, sunrise. It's such a little thing, but it matters.

SooOoOooo check it out. Despite the flaws in the gameplay itself, HoTK is very, very pretty. One could even say that PWE simply has a different focus from Western MMOs, and that gameplay isn't the core of the game at all. Just... be careful with your wallet.

Oh yes. And that's my newbie Charmer, Zhiruo (fan dancing/fighting healer archetype thingie) in her newbie clothes in Hebei, what I assume is a nooblet area. =) The city shots are of a city (duh) named Chang'an.

Online Personas - An Installation by Aaron Zinman

In the wake of the whole Blizzard-Activision RealID debacle comes this shiny, scary, fun toy! This toy was not inspired by the whole RealID thing that I know of, but it's still oddly relevant!

Online Personas - An Installation by Aaron Zinman

You puts in your namez. It searches (some parts) of the Intarwebz. It makes a pretteh graphic. It shows you how the Intarwebz sees you! Be aware though, if you share the same name with many other non-snowflakes, it will show an aggregate you!

Go forth my minions, play wif it!

(Also, apparently one of my closest friends was born in 1834, got married in 1814, and has 5 children. I think there's something she isn't telling me...)

Support | Kill Ten Rats

For those of us inclined to do so, the healer is a great role. Yes, it has problems in PUGs when three different people pull then blame the healer, but it is rewarding to see your friends made into boundless engines of destruction and victory.

via killtenrats.com

Great summary of why healerfolk heal. And no, it's not just because 'it's easier for you to get groups, NUB!'

Considering that I did 80% of my Guild Wars Legendary Vanquisher, Guardian and Protector titles with my lovedolls, and *not* with humans, ease of getting a group has nothing to do with it.

^_^

...which is why while, as those who don't like playing a pure support class rejoice at the lack of such in GW2, my little nugget healerheart quietly crumbles a little bit more.

Yes, I can play other archetypes. Yes, I do enjoy them. But I'm not in love with them. :(

The Battle for Lion's Arch 2

Having healed 7 groups through this, with only one disastrous failure (who of course opted to play 'blame the healer'), I've come to realise that not only has ANet created a gloriously epic finale... they've also managed to incorporate PvP elements into it.

Yes, PvP elements in PvE - Oh noes!

While some group setups do make things easier, it is entirely possible to do this event *without* a specific setup. Even without the obligatory minion master. So I'm not going to touch on what does or does not make things easier here in terms of which classes/skills are brought. Any group, playing sanely, can get through this. There've been reports of it being done without a healer - so - not even that archetype is indispensable if you play smart. (Again, very PvP.)

PvP stuff that Battle for Lion's Arch teaches:
1) Don't overextend
Don't run out the front gate into the arms of the waiting army, just because you can.
2) Don't clump up
AoE says hello.
3) Know when to fall back
Watch the battle, not just your target. Watch for if your party members ping energy, call for a fall back, or are in general under so much pressure that *you* decide to call for a fall back.
4) Use the terrain
After Isaiah, it's usually a good idea to retreat to the stairs between the two hills. Because Guild Wars has collision detection, this is perfect 'tanking' country. The main object of mobile affection stands between the two hills. The squishies hide behind the hills, and those that need the higher ground cautiously venture up one hill.
5) Your healer is not God
Play smart. You are responsible for yourself, more than your healer is responsible for you. And even if your healer were God, they wouldn't be able to save you from your own stupidity. Nor are they obligated to.

PvE stuff that you really should do:
Wear an infused armour set. Yes, Blimm's 'weapon' gives an aura. That aura only lasts a set duration, and is gone if you die. That means that if you die just one time, for whatever reason, and don't have infused armour, game over. Oh, and Isaiah brings a Jade Construct - before Blimm's 'weapon' is ready.

The Battle for Lion's Arch

ArenaNet has outdone themselves with the finale to War in Kryta - the Battle for Lion's Arch. It's just brilliant in so many ways.

1) Choice of Location
Setting it as a Master difficulty quest in Lion's arch means that players can a) Try to do it with just their heroes (effectively depriving them of 2 team members); b) Try to do it in Hard Mode, for the level 20 henches - I tried this for shits and giggles, let's just say I had the shits and the Mantle had the giggles XD; c) Actually brave the waters of going with humans, and ZOMG have FUN! This is the most fun I've had with humans on GW in ages, not counting good friends. It rawks!

2) Epicness!
The two leadup quests, and the final battle feature HORDES of enemies. All those red dots against your pathetic numbers of green dots (unless of course, you have a minion master to make more green dots...). It's fast and intense and just plain fun. It really shows off the great skillbars ANet wrote for the Peacekeepers. Whoever wrote those, kudos to you guys - they are beautiful, beautiful bars. Especially since they don't rely on spamming 'monster skills', which I've always found to be a bit of a cop-out, no matter what the game.

Contrary to the impression people demanding certain classes or builds tend to give, they aren't necessary. Being a decent player with a good bar is. But no specific class is necessary. But what about monks, you say? Well, the monk bar I'm running could also be run with no problems as a secondary, by anything but a warrior or paragon. (Yes, even a ranger could run it). There's only one skill they'd have to change, (a pve monk skill), and it's replaceable with a slow-casting pve equivalent.

3) The drops are good - if you have time to pick them up
I don't personally care. I'd do this if there were no drops! But the drops make it better! =) I got a superior vigor rune my second time round healing this.

In fact, I love this finale so much that if I'm not busy, I will most happily monk for it if you want a human monk. Soooo. Poke Wren Brownfeather (or variants thereof) if you're thinking of doing this quest. I'd love to come along! *smooch ANet* Be warned though, I don't run a conventional bar. And for this finale I don't want to run a conventional bar. I use a build that I find works better for me than the standard WoH/ZB/HB, even though it's not a PvX build. And keeping it isn't negotiable.

I need to post up a few of my 'Man, that looks weird but it works' monk bars at some point. I'd post it here (I'm not just being all SEKRIT LEETIST NUGGEET!), but it does need a tiny bit of explaining if you've never explored beyond HB/ZB/UA/WoH before. And a hero can't run it - it needs judgement to use. So I won't put the build here for now. If you really really want-a-zigga-zig-pie it, just PM me in game, and I'll explain it. =)

:( Only thing that makes me sad is completing this quest removes WiK content except when you have a bounty. For someone who's been killing them near nonstop cause they're so fun, that makes slightly sadpanda nuggets. ~_o Oh well. I can use the bounties to get my kill-vanquish fix!

 

Heroes of the Three Kingdoms - New PWE MMO

via flickr.com

Perfect World Entertainment sure does know how to create beautiful things. If Perfect World and Jade Dynasty are anything to go by, this new title: Heroes of Three Kingdoms, promises just as much visual (and audial!) splendour.

...and probably crap for gameplay! XD But PWE is so good at the first two that I will, at the very least, check this one out. =)

If this gets you interested too, just bear in mind that PWE is utterly, evilly, rapaciously brilliant at milking their F2P model games. Almost immorally so. 'Jade Casino' is one of the nicknames for Jade Dynasty, and the original Mandarin version, Zhu Xian has a similar nickname - only playing on the word 'Zhu' as a pun for 'Pig'. Greedygreedy money nomnoms!

But oh... what a beautiful piggy.