Some of this might be redundant from what I talked about in Blood Fields, but I have points that I want to expandon a bit further than what I went into their.

I reached Renown Rank 54 on my Knight last evening, and made some headway into 55. Invader gear is right around the corner, I just need to make talismans for it all now. I’ve been playing the Knight almost exclusively of late, and it has been incredible fun. There are most definitely times when I miss the relative killing power of my Shadow Warrior, but most of the time, I’m just happy to be alive, useful, and a more versatile tool.

Unlike most Knights, I don’t run around with a shield. I carry my claymore with pride, and my group is glad for it, because the extra damage I bring sometimes means that healer is going to drop, or that MDPS is going to need to pay attention to me. I said it elsewhere, but I wish that shields were more effective. I far and beyond prefer the apperance of the KotBS with a shield over a two-hander. The designs and looks of the kite shields are just incredible. Detailed and rendered in motifs of flames and skulls that really stand out above almost anything else I’ve seen in this game. I’d say, that the shield is probably a small reason I started playing one. If only they would get used in PvP…

See, the problem I have, is that the majority of the time, the shield isn’t worth it for the way my group plays. We are heavily, HEAVILY into AoE. We try to bomb as many people down as possible. I don’t use Heaven’s Fury for the stagger most of the time. Sure I drop it when charging in, but mostly for the interupt of casting time, and the extra AoE damage. Follow that up with a staggering impact, my All out Assault ticking away, and my arcing swing, and people just lost 2-3k HP. A great way to soften up the masses for the BW who’s trailing behind me to mop up, especially if I end the rotation with a No Escape for 1200 damage, and a “You’re not going anyhwere bitches.” for 5 seconds. As a side note, God I miss the old No Escape, 600 damage, morale 2, and 10 second unbreakable root /lament.

All that said, a good chunk of that damage I could still do with a one-hander (except for Arcing Swing, wtb Chosen version so I can use it with a one-hander!). However, and this is a major caveat, the survivability of a shield just isn’t worth it. Virtually every time I play in my group, I die last. Unless I do something stupid like extend the length of three football fields to get through the front lines of the enemy, and go around corners out of sight of the healers, I die last, WITH a two-hander. If we’re in the middle of a crazy fight, I die last. Unless there’s a second tank, then he may die last, and I die, second-t0-last. Survivability has reached it’s maximum if I’m already dropping last.

Some people argue that it will take pressure of the healers to keep the DPS up, to which I say, fiddlesticks! Yes, my guild has some absolutely astounding and amazing healers, without whom, we as a group would never succeed. Still, we work hard in our guild, as all members, to keep our survivability cranked up pretty high. For instance, our tanks do not, I repeat, DO NOT, run with Focused Offense. It’s just a bad idea. Because of this, we’re all pretty sturdy, and I’ve never heard any of our healers say they had a hard time keeping us alive with less than 12 people beating on us.

Still, this does have some drawbacks. If our DPS classes aren’t around, or wer’re shy on DPS, opponents who have an over-abundance of healers will always be difficult. For instance, our group of two tanks, three healers landed in a scenario on Sunday that pitted us against five shamans, two DoKs, and one Zealot. Yes, eight out of twelve enemies were healers. The sad part is, I didn’t realize this until after I had gotten in combat, so I was unable to swap out tactics for Shatter Confidence until there were 3 minutes left to the match. Similarly, we went into a city instance that had more healers than I could shake a fist at, and I recognized almost every single name. Noone from our group was dieing, but neither were they. The ultimate standoff of boring.

As the game stands right now though, I wouldn’t go back to playing my SW, and I’ll never pick up a shield for PvP.

I wanted to post up a series of screenshots taken from EVE. So, for visual stimulus, continue reading.

Ezekeil Rage, Log Book, Day 3

The meeting turned out to be rather dull. Merely some mid-level commercial exec by the name of Unash, looking to hire another hand to do some probe reconnaissance for anomalies and maybe some mining. In particular, she had requested to speak with me due to the state in which my ship arrived, her excuse was that my condition made it clear I could come out of a tight situation, but the subtext was clear. I was in a bind, and needed to get any work I could if I wanted to have any hope at life. The little information she had gathered on me, she took from what she made clear had been garnered from the transmission codes my ship sent to the station upon seeking refuge. Maybe I’m too cautious, but there was no chance I was going to show my poor hand to a potential employer, so I accepted her deal, and left for my quarters to await repairs on my ship.

The lift hummed softly as it sped me away from the upper levels of station Arkianavas III. I found it ironic when I learned it was named The School of Applied Knowledge given my situation, and nothing I had experienced since had changed that outlook. Looking out through the thick glass of the capsule let me gaze across the expanse of space that surrounded me. Stars glimmered through hazy beige clouds of particulate floating through time, unhindered by the interference of man upon its path. Carried by gravitational forces so powerful, yet subtle, that their inextricable path was not to be impeded. The light from each star became scattered and refracted as it passed through the clouds, producing a soft ethereal glow on the hard metal constructions placed in the heavens. The blue persistent lights harshly, dotting the hulls of the station, vainly competing with the splendor of what nature had already provided. The only interference to my view the steady interruptions of metal bracing in my glass tube, each one casting shadows across my form. Shaking my head from the reveries, I turned away from the view, and waited patiently for the movement to cease, and in very little time, the panel to the side of the door indicated my return to the belly of the school.

This morning, I awoke early, just before the overly chirpy ping of an alarm started up, performing it’s job as a reminder to my unconscious self to get moving, and do the work I had ahead of me. I am consistently curious about who I am, and what I could have done before docking in this corner of the universe. I have habits and behaviors that I fall into, without fail, every day. Coming awake before an alarm clock goes off being one of the more subtle and innocuous of them. I found myself feeling antsy and pent-up after rising from bed, and an inexorable urge to run, not towards or away from anything, but just run. The best description I can give, is that of an itch you are unable to reach. You know it’s there, and that nothing would be more satisfying than to run your fingernails across the offending spot, but no matter how hard you try, you are unable to reach it with. Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll do some laps around corridors or find some type of gymnasium. All I have to look forward today is popping probes into space, and adjusting their sensors to try to hunt down some collapsed wormholes, or maybe some concentrations of a valuable ore, or even better, the floating remnants of some lost asteroid-civilization!

I just re-read that last sentence, it seems I favor irony.

Ever want to discover a worm-hole? Yeah, that’s one more reason why EVE is so freaking cool. On a plus side, it works out well that I chose exploration as my first career type, and CCP releases a new video on how to better explore with probes the day after. Someone up there must love me.

I’m going to edge in on a Friday blog fight to artificially inflate my traffic.

The long and short of this whole ordeal, is that Tobold doesn’t seem to count anything as content unless developers put it there, crafted by hand. Syncaine and evizaer seem to disagree. Syncaine uses the argument that Tobold said he would (for the most part), while eivzaer systematicaly counters the base assumptions and premise to refute Tobold’s claims.

Perhaps what I found so interesting in Tobold’s post, was his complete dismissal of combat and player created content. That because he thinks player created/generated content cannot be measured, it is of no value, or should not be included in the bucket of what we call “game content”. Does anyone actually care where content comes from? If I go into Darkfall, do I care that the city I’m laying siege to was put in place by PCs instead of developers. I mean, I care, because it will probably result in a more fun, and meaningful experience, but do we gamers as a whole care? Do we put preferential game time towards developer created content over player created.

Then again, maybe the problem is the word “created”. Where do you draw the line at creation and generation. A few posts touched on this concept, and most seem to agree that a different color palete and set of attributes on the Vicious White Wolf compared to the Mangy Grey Wolf does not warrant creation. However, if you’re using a program to generate new frameworks for enemies and tiles for scenery, that’s creation? Is there some predetermined level of effort, or a measurable quantity of time to say that I created something as opposed to just generating it.

Then again, why discount proceduraly generated content at all? I played Diablo 2 exhaustively. All the way to max level (99 or 100, which ever it was). I saw the same areas relativistically, and fought the same looking beasts over and over again, but I always had something to strive after. Should content instead be measured by how much play time it gives to the gamer instead of what was physically created? Does developer created content even matter if we as players don’t see large portions of it because the game took us past that content too quickly?

I don’t know, I’m getting rambly, and just avoiding work at the moment. As far as I’m concerned, content is unimportant if it doesn’t get used by the majority of the player base. Also, the player base doesn’t care who makes the content, as long as they have something to do. I’ve played the same scenarios in WAR more times than is probably healthy, but I don’t care. My soccer field of Battle for Praag has all the potential content I could want.

A bantam frigate

Edit: For some reason, my intro keeps getting deleted anytime I throw captions into an image and then edit my text later. It’s baffling me, and quickly approaching the level of pissing me off. 

In any matter, yesterday I continued my winding, treacherous route up the hill that we call the learning curve of EVE. After finishing the “crash course” tutorial, you’re given the option of talking with any of a set of agents who will give introductory missions on typical careers in the world of EVE. I went against the grain of my typical ways and chose exploration for my first lesson. The missions were definitely different, no combat, or enemies, no mining done as of yet. It was purely a go-see type of situation, with one where I grabbed some evidence. For all my “work” I was awarded with a low-end Tech 1 frigate, some isk, and some drones. I have a feeling that my next mission is going to have me getting my hands a bit dirty, in that I’ll actually launch some probes, seek out anomalies, and harvest the crap out of them. We’ll see, but it should be interesting. My plan is to do as many of these career tutorials as possible to build up a good starting fund of isk, and a strong handle on the game itself. 

Relatedy, I found a really cool app for my iPhone called Capsuleer. It lets me keep track of where I am, how my training is going, how much isk I have, and what my skills are. There’s a lot of other little features like server status, blog updates, and some buttons that are greyed out to me still. I imagine for bounties I take, or other similar thigns I have yet to experience. I can see it being a great tool for any player already, as I can see that the server must have gone down last night, and because of that, I’m no longer training any skills. 

Ezekeil Rage, Log Book, Day 2 

I arrived at the station in what my computer told was the early hours EST. My sleep had been fitful, and all my dreams seem to be nothing more than wisps and clouds. Obscure, half-rememberd images flitting across my mind, never settling or forming cohesiveness, like the plasma of a jump gate that never connects with its partner. I gladly crept my ship into the docking bay, and was thrilled at the concrete reality of comparative safety and purpose. I had successfully made my first step, and was energized with the idea of being whole again. 

The station was cramped, dark, and carried a general feeling of wetness about it. As if condensation had built up everywhere, and no one had bothered to prevent it from being the breeding ground of mold, moss, and other algae that can be found in the most inhospitable of environments. Ductwork, and tubing lined walls full of monitors and displays, glowing with incessant need to inform and sell. I pulled my jacket tighter about my body to stave off the cold, and took a step forward.  

After finding a banking terminal, and seeing that I had a meager savings that could be used for repairs and some basic services, I scanned a layout for the station. Spotting a bazaar of sorts, I headed towards some food vendors, and literally let my nose guide me. The entire corridor was covered with ramshackle huts, constructed from spare parts discarded from ships, lashed together with electrical wire, and covered in tattered cloth from discarded tarp or clothing. Dirty faces, and matted hair stood behind each booth, calling out wares and doing their best to entice the traffic of new arrivals to spend some isk. The first thing I came across that smelled mildly appetizing and triggered some sort of physical response, I purchased. It turned out to be some kind of meat and vegetables dripping juice in an edible wrap. It filled the stomach but other than that I can’t say much else positive about it. I can’t help but wonder, if this is what my mind recalls as being better fare, what would any of the other foods I passed have been like? 

With the basic necessities of life in hand, I focused upon my immediate concerns of my situation. My Ibis definitely needed some repairs, and I needed to get work if I wanted to have a hope of making it very far after that. I was lost in thought as I made my way back through the slow crowds towards my hanger and ship. Perhaops, if I had been paying more attention to my surroundings, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see two men standing outside of my docking bay. However, I wasn’t, so I failed to notice them until I looked up to palm the door open to the platform leading to my ship. 

Both men before me were dark of hair, and light of eye. Physically, both were in clearly good ship, fit and strong, attaining the posture of those who are sure of their physical capabilities. The man on the left was the shorter of the two, and wider in the shoulders and chest. Their garb was clean, crisp, professionally laundered and serviceable, if not high-quality. No colors or patterns adorned their outfits, and by all accounts their clothes could have passed unnoticed anywhere they went. Their demeanor, on the other hand, screamed of discipline that is found in the military and of professional armsmen in service to a corporation or wealthy individual. This type of appearance would most definitely stand out in these halls of the poor and destitute. Anywhere that the lower rungs of society gathered, the outstanding and successful became a symbol of their own failure or bad luck, marked and noted, in anger or envy. 

Of the two men, the one standing to the left addressed me first, in a deep baritone, ”Are you Mr. Rage?” 

Taking a bite of my meal, I had to quickly decide how to respond. Usually, strange, well-trained men waiting for your arrival, and who know your name when you just found out yourself, aren’t the type of people you want to associate with. However, given that they DID know my name meant a possible connection, and it had been dropped right in my lap, a gift from the gods above it seemed. So, I gave one quick nod of affirmation, unsure of what to expect out of this sudden turn of events. 

The taller fellow to the right glanced at his associate then turned back to me, speaking in a voice as flat and devoid of emotion as ice, as if the consequences of what he was about to say could be of no interest to him, or anyone else, “If you would be willing, our employer would like a word with you on possible work you could perform for her. If you will report to the location we provide in three hours time, we believe that it would be mutually beneficial for all parties involved.” With the finality of a closing door, he bit off his last word, and both men pushed their way through crowds, away from the hangar. 

Pulling out my data pad, I saw the location of the meeting was to be held in the higher levels of the station, and the necessary codes to enter the meeting room. I had mere hours to use, and a ship to be repaired. If I was going to be able to do any work, that Ibis had to be in good working order.

The live event for Warhammer started yesterday. For those who were around this time last year, it will be familiar, as the celebrations and the holiday are the same. Keg End has returned, and brought with it all the drunken debauchery, frantic release of fireworks (which I’ve oddly not seen any yet), and inebriated, whole-sale slaughter of everything that you would expect from a holiday in the world of WAR. This years live event tasks seems particularly easy to achieve than previous events. Mostly it consists of a lot of /boast’ing to enemies (dead AND alive) and /toast’ing of allies. Of course there’s the requisite kill X numbers of the enemies, and a few side track missions to cross out the other bullet points required to get the event item.

Of course, maybe that’s why I feel a bit lackluster about this event, it’s been boiled down to overly simple tasks that most anyone could finish in just a few hours play time. Maybe that was the intent, to give all of us winter gamers an easily reachable goal in the hectic heart of the holidays. Intended or not though, it feels somewhat disappointing to me, as I was looking forward to an event as spectacular as the events we’ve had earlier this year. We didn’t need a repeat of assassin’s marks, or masks of awesomitude, but something on the same level would have been good. Still, I can’t complain too much, the refurbished Black Fire Basin has come back, and it’s freakin’ awesome how it is now, if you’re not camping the enemy spawn that is.

This is what my first frigate looks like.

I’m going to try something mostly different for me. I’m thinking about writing my impressions of the days in EVE from the perspective of my character. A bit of roleplay, if you will. I know very little of the actual history of EvE (EVE? eVe? which is it!?), so I’m sure I’ll be way off in some bits of it, but it’s all in good fun. Maybe I’m just in a roleplay mood lately, what with my earlier letter to Sigmar and all that. I didn’t accomplish a whole lot yesterday, basically did the crash course all the way through, bought the “Learning” skill book, and queued up a lot of skills to plug away at. I’m hoping to get out there and do some missions tonight. I will say, the new tutorial is a lot more user friendly than it was even earlier this year, so props to CCP on that one.

Ezekeil Rage, Log book, Day 1

The first noise I remember hearing was an annoying, sharp beeping. It’s persistance and level was one that could not be ignored no matter how willfully my mind wished shut out the unwanted intrusion. With a soft groan, I rolled onto my stomach, palms flat against the deck of my ship. Exerting sore muscles, and protesting joints, I pushed myself up, and swung a knee forward to provide balance. As I lifted my head to look around the compartment, my still-blurry vision slowly registering the reality of my situation.

A red light infused everything my eyes fell upon, an ominious portent of some disastrous events that may yet still come. Panels rent open, with snapped wires sparked flashes of angry bluish-white as the current they carried sought out a path to continue its journey upon. Ductwork and piping that hugged the walls released thin streams of mist, leaking vital gasses from some miniscule crack. Looking out the front panel, all I saw were stars, asteroids, and the dust clouds that were the hallmark of any view into space. I had to prioritize my problems if I wanted to get back to something recognizing civilization. A plan, enforced order, and hard work would see me through any problems. But first things first, that damn beeping had to stop. A short search and strong pull quickly brought peaceful silence to the ship, and I could get to work.

After patching any leaks in the life support, I set about rewiring what I could and patching together some semblance of a computer interface. The ramshackle results proved sufficient for the most minimal of actions. Engines would fire, some sensor arrays worked, and my mounted turret would be able to at least deter any weak threats. I pulled up coordinates for the closest docking station, and set the autopilot. Satisfied with the work, and confident that imminent doom was no longer about to descend upon me, I relaxed and tried to go over in my mind what brought my current situation.

They say idle hands are the devils workshop, and perhaps this can be applied to my situation. While going through the motions of survival, and working on keeping safe from the cold vastness of space, I was behaving off of instinct. Each movement and action taken as naturally as I run my stylus across the datapad in front of me. Forming each letter and word without consciously partaking in the activity. With a time of reflection and introspection, I’ve come to the frightening realization, that I have no memory prior to that horrendous beeping. The only evidence I have of my identity is the name-plate hanging around my neck, the few scraps of clothing I found in a foot locker, and a collection of reading material stored on the drive of this data pad. Mostly military and political history. I should be terrified by all of this, and a nagging portion of my head is telling me that something is terribly, terribly wrong and I should be able to see it.

Hopefully when I dock at this nearby station, I can figure something out, someone who knows me or recognizes me might be able to point me in the direction of some answers. If not, I’ll see what I can scrounge up in regards of repairs for this old Ibis and then work my way up from there, I may just have to learn everything all over again.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

Adam Gershowitz briefly explains the underdog system. As he says himself, it’s a simple system. I’ve remained mostly quiet on the system itself, not really having a fully realized opinion on the matter yet. It seems like it can be a good thing, but I can also see it being nothing more than a speed-bump for the dominating side, as opposed to an actual boon to the losers. Honestly though, I’m okay with that. If they could just get realm balance down, the underdog system would be far more beneficial I think. Anyway, have a read of it if you have somehow missed this news.

Space itself transfixes me, I think it’s beautiful. One of the things I remember most about EvE was how gorgeous the scenery is. Flying through dust clouds, and seeing purple nebulas in the distance, and the reflection of a star off a planet’s surface. They did an incredible job at rendering the beauty of space, and I hear they recently made it even better.

So, I want to play this game. I want to give it a good, serious, concerted effort at overcoming the hurdles of getting a foot up in this game. So, are there any readers out there who play or have played this particular title, that could give some advice to a noob. I mean the whole gamut, from character creation to travel. I’m as clueless as a swaddled babe.

Oh, and did I mention they use some righteously good techno in their promo video? Yeah, pure win.

Edit: Somehow, I lost my first paragraph of this post. I have just now re-added it.