We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

Insert witty remark about 7th guest post here

Thanks again to everyone who helped brainstorm some guest post ideas a couple of weeks back and allowed me the honour of writing for them. The response was absolutely fantastic and it makes me proud to be part of such a great blogosphere.

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Here’s a little secret just between you and me: I’ve been having trouble performing lately. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking but it’s not that (in that area I perform like a chipmunk on a caffeine high). I’m actually talking about in a blogging sense and I guess I’ve just been feeling a little uninspired lately. Maybe it’s just a current dip with the MMORPG genre or a preoccupation with other things in my life but, whatever it is, I’ve decided to take action and try to shake things up a little. My solution? I’d like to write a guest post for your blog.

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If I told you that I gained 22 levels in 3 minutes in World of Warcraft what would you say? Would you call me a liar, a crack pot, or a cheat? Maybe you’d just ask for my secret? Well, fret not young one, for herein below lies the magic formula…

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Introducing your friends to the MMORPG genre isn’t particularly easy especially as they throw up a few obvious barriers to entry. “But it looks so boring” they complain; “But I don’t want to pay a subscription fee” they ironically whine as they leave the cinema having spent the same amount of money on a mere two hours of entertainment (or seven hours of torture if it’s a Kevin Costner film /meow). Trying to convert these naysayers is often difficult and no doubt you will get the urge at some point to pick up your 400 dungeon guide and smack them in the face with it but it’s definitely worth persevering as playing a MMO with your closet friends can be an incredibly rewarding experience.

Friendships are so much more meaningful online

I’ve been lucky enough to initiate a few folks into the Brotherhood Of The MMORPG and, although they don’t always stick around for more than a few months, I’ve learnt a few tricks of the trade that might help you out.

1. Gauge their interest.

There’s no point barking up the wrong tree. If your friend isn’t interested in gaming in the slightest then there’s probably no point wasting your breath trying to convince them otherwise. It’s all about picking your battles or something (if Sun Tzu played MMOs I’m sure he would’ve had a good expression for it).

2. Talk about your MMO experiences with them.

Once you’ve decided that your buddy is a potential MMO-gamer, slowly build up their fascination with the genre by telling them some of your favourite MMORPG stories. Make that time you got wiped during a raid a legendary battle for survival and the time a female Troll lent you 5 silver a delicate and unforgettable romance. Be careful not to over do it or come on too strong though but every so often just reminisce about a great experience you had in game. Trust me, it works.

3. Show them interesting posts or articles from the web.

A strategy I used with my friends to pique their interest was slowly trickling through great articles I’d found on the web. WoW and EVE Online are particularly good for this given the amount of exposure they get and the media frenzy they can generate. A few good articles about how popular WoW is or how stories from The Great War in EVE will definitely set their mind in motion. Avoid the articles about people killing themselves over it all.

4. Play it cool.

5. Go for the kill.

6. Play with them.

Although I’ve yet to hit level 80 with any of my characters in World of Warcraft (one day soon, I promise) and thus things may change when I do and encounter the Übermensch that awaits, I’ve been enjoying the sanitised PvP of Battlegrounds tremendously. In fact, aside from power-leveling my brother, the Esquire of Noob Town, it’s where I can be found spending most of my hours these days.

I’ve been leveling up three characters almost completely through Battlegrounds and here are my thoughts.

Warrior

Ah that old cunning AFK trick. Deadly in the hands of a master.

I’m regretting spending everything I had on dual speccing my Warrior at level 40 for the sole purpose of PvP. I’ve been leveling him up as Protection and, after blowing 1k to get an Arms spec for player vs player combat, I discovered that I much prefer Prot for Battlegrounds too. Doh. Oh well, at least I have a spare tree for trying that out new Unrelenting Assault tanking spec I’ve heard so much about.

I think the reason I enjoy Warrior Prot PvP so much is because it fits right in with my preferred style of play: charge into the thick of things and try to inflict as much damage as I can before I eventually get taken down (something about the glory of being a martyr really appeals to me… boy, I hope my psychiatrist isn’t reading this). Protection not only gives me that necessary survivability but it also gives a lot more control abilities like silence on my Shield Bash and stuns on Concussion Blow and Shockwave plus I don’t need to worry too much about stance dancing, a tactic which is far too subtle for the likes of me. Overall, the Warrior is my perfect match.

Priest

My Priest is an old character I’ve had since the start of last year and used to PvP constantly with when he was leveling up. Now well on his way to level 60, I’ve dusted him off for some further Battleground romping and it’s proving to be jolly good fun again. I have two equally potent PvP specs, one Shadow and one Discipline, each offering a very different playstyle. I find Discipline is better for when I’m in the lower level range of a BG as I can just follow the pack around, bubbling and healing everyone constantly and occasionally throwing out the odd DoT to rake in a massive amount of honour.

For a class that appeals so little to me in PvE, I find the Priest surprisingly fun in PvP, a good counter-balance to the melee intensive Warrior and one that has plenty of style and originality. Perhaps I was an exorcist in a previous life because I can’t help but get a thrill out of roleplaying a bible-bashing nut-job, out to cleanse the face of Alterac Valley.

Mage

Oh God, I detest Mage PvP, I really do. Maybe things will improve once I get into the higher levels but right now, at level 50, it’s utterly appalling and I can completely appreciate why Mages have a reputation for being the worst class at PvP in the game. My entire experience with the class has been hit and miss as I love the AoE insanity of dungeons (and flaunting DPS meter results in my friend’s faces) yet hate the snooze-fest that is Frostbolt-Frostbolt-Frostbolt solo PvE.

I was expecting good things in PvP from the Mage but unfortunately it has not delivered as I die tremendously quickly and have trouble putting out any decent damage. Of course, the class doesn’t lend itself to my “rush into the centre of the mayhem” playstyle so maybe that’s where I’m going wrong. I’ll give PvP another shot again once I’ve gained a few levels but, until then, I’ll be sticking to dungeon groups and cracking other Mage’s skulls with my Warrior.

Finding The Balance

If this triple-PvP experience has really taught me anything it’s how much better suited to PvP some of the class are than other and also, in most regards, how much Blizzard strive to try and perform the delicate act of keeping them all in balance for both PvE and PvP, a task which seems contradictory to me and almost impossible. I do wonder if they would be better off doing what SOE did in EQ2 and implement completely separate functionality for spells and abilities depending on the situation they are used it. It would make the devs job a whole lot easier and allow every class to gain a more even footing in both situations.

-Gordon

I’ve been having a spot of bother making money in EVE Online and was hoping to get some tips from veterans to help me out. Although I was subscribed to the game for a while last year and recently resubscribed a couple of weeks ago, I still consider myself a big old EVE nooby noob. It’s not a game I’m currently pumping huge hours into as I just don’t have the time right now but I do enjoy dabbling around with it on my weekends and slowly sowing the seeds of my galactic empire /strokes moustache maniacally.

Although I know it can be lucrative, I’m not a big fan of mining or general commodities trading so they’ve not been options I’ve explored much. I far prefer to blast things into tiny bits of space shrapnel which is why I’ve been mainly focusing on running missions and salvaging with my Cormorant. However, the cash is pretty poor. For each T1 mission I’m maybe getting around 100-500k ISK and that seems pretty low (I remember getting more from selling salvaged items last year). I’m assuming T2+ missions will give me more money so right now I’m trying to get enough cash together to buy and fit a Gallente Cruiser. Now I could just keep grinding away until I get enough cash but surely there must be an easier way?

Tipa and a few others suggested ninja salvaging as a tactic when I asked on Twitter and it’s sorely tempting although it would require me temporarily halting skill development on my main and skilling up and equipping an alt. As I was wisely advised, it’s apparently not a good idea to ninja salvage with any character you want to maintain a reasonable reputation for.

So if anyone has any words of wisdom or sagely advice about earning a buck or profiteering then I’d love to hear them. I don’t need to become a mega-zillionaire, just having a reasonable cash flow to kick start me into PvP and some more serious combat would be nice.

Of course, I could just buy PLEX and sell them for a small fortune to get me going but somehow that doesn’t seem as fulfilling to me as earning the cash myself in-game.

-Gordon

P.S. Is there a Gevlon blog equivalent for EVE Online? Preferably without the right wing craziness

Ah, that old cliché: if you were stranded on a desert island what MMORPG would you pick to take with you? Silly, I know, but if you look past the ludicrous nature of the question (’cause if you did have a fully functional PC, power supply and Internet connection, getting yourself off the island would be pretty easy and thus destroy the entire premise of the question) it does actually present an interesting consideration.

Gimme a PC, power and the Internet... and leave me be

For me, I’d want a MMO that, above all else, offered longevity. No sense in picking one that I get bored with after a few weeks or ran out of stuff to do in. No, I’d want one that offers me almost nigh unlimited playability and replayability and preferably one in which I can really get a sense of accomplishment and achievement. The game’s going to be my cyber home for the long, long time to come after all so better make sure I can make an impact in it.

That pretty much rules out World of Warcraft. As much as I enjoy the game, it’s more of a fun distraction than a fulltime hobby. Everquest 2 goes out of the window too because I’m already so familiar with it and I don’t even want to consider newer games like Age of Conan, Warhammer, Aion or Champions Online. They were fun but didn’t give me anything substantial to sink my teeth into. Plus how long they will continue to survive is anyone’s guess.

Star Trek Online? That could be good choice but given how new it is I don’t think it would have enough content to keep me going. Remember, I’m stranded on a desert island with nothing else to do accept for eat coconuts and chase the monkeys. In terms of sheer content, it would be hard to beat the old faithfuls like the original Everquest or Ultima Online. My only concern with those two is that their dated graphics and impenetrable UIs and controls would drive me to hanging myself from a palm tree.

Well, how about Lord of the Rings Online? Ah yes, now we’re starting to cook with gas (and by gas I mean the twigs I foraged from the tropical wilderness). I know it’s a great game and it’s got an established player based with a good amount of content. Perhaps this is exactly what I’m looking for… except I’m not sure how many times I could stomach seeing players wander by named things like “Leggolas” or “Araggorn”.

There is, however, one MMORPG that hits all of the marks and appeals to me on all levels. It’s vast, it’s deep, it’s ruthless and it has unlimited potential. Yes, I’m talking about the cousin that I always wanted to marry, the black widow that is known as EVE Online. I can’t think of a better game to throw myself into head first and totally obliterate my life with. I’ve only played it for a few months so there’s still a heck of a lot for me to figure out, explore and do. Plus it’s truly a game in which I could accomplish and achieve something; I did promise you all I would become a King in it after all.

EVE Online is one of those games that make me wish I was unemployed so I could just spend all day devouring it’s spacey goodness like a transfixed junkie. I skitter along the edges of it at the moment, continually enticed to resubscribe, the only thing holding me back knowing that it would swallow my life up completely. And I’m not ready for that right now. No, at the moment I’m happy enough with my packaged vacations to Disney Land of Warcraft. That’s honest, wholesome goodness that lets me keep all aspects of my life in balance and harmony. EVE though… EVE would utterly consume me.