Sometimes it is very hard to know what to do. I was asked to help someone the other day. A low level did a portal jump and ended up in one of two BSD's. Of course he quickly died.
I was leveling a vassal in old mine at the time with Mage. The vassal was doing well with just buffs so I logged Fist and ran him to Mayoi. When I saw him I noted he was in a thief alliance. Xile is filled with thieves and scammers. The Monarch is proud of how well his members steal.
As I already said I would help I was obligated. Still I did not want to help someone who might turn around and steal from someone else. In this case I ended up spending an hour or so trying to help but someone else got the body. They never could figure out which BSD the body was in. I searched the plains one but it was found in the other one.
What brought this up was X'ile being back in the news. Several members of his have figured out a new scheme. They wait in Metros until someone died in the pit, then volunteer to recovery their stuff. Of course once they have it they keep it.
Soul of Enlightenment was so slick with this scam that his victim help heal him as he looted his body. The guy is working several accounts with this con. As it is hard at times to get help it is easy to accept this offer. Don't be fooled. Better to let the stuff rot than let a thief have it.
Focus stone
To be make effective use of the Virindi Amulet I got last week I needed a Focus stone. The Focus stone is also good at helping my low lore problem.
I was hoping to see a party of Elders doing the quest sometime. I was in the hall and William the Bat was talking about the Focus stone, saying he only needed keys. I had a set of keys on a mule.
I loaded up the mule and gave William the keys. Then I loaded Fist de Yuma Jr to see if a quest would form. It was late and we did not get anyone who wanted to go on the quest. William said if I would frost lure on their shields for him the two of us could solo it.
I was a bit skeptical about this but the worst that could happen is I die. We picked up a 31lv mage for the quest and the three of us started out.
William made a portal and we buffed at the entrance. I had quit trying to do V's in life for now and quickly learned my IV. This made buffing much faster.
William opened up the door and headed off to the left while we headed off to the right. We killed some weak undead and William had the doors open about as fast as we could get to them.
The Boss undead died to William's sword in about three seconds. In the one fight I hit for 10 and got the final blow. William hits hard with that sword of his.
If figured the second part would be a lot harder. An Archer ran by us as we were buffing. I did not catch his level but figured it had to be high to try to solo it.
At the fire pit with the exploding Magna golems we caught up with the archer. I guess he figured it was harder than he thought as he begged to join us. With four it was fairly easy. Only bad spot was at end when one attacked the mage. William left his fight to support the mage. I was hitting off and on but mostly I was just a bother to the undead. William did the work.
I infused the stone and we ported out. Took all of 30 minutes or so. Nice fast quest for a very useful object.
Bodies, part I
I was hunting with Bleu Sky in the Lugie fortress. I'm hoping to get him away from Olthoi to fight something that; 1. Gave him full xp, 2. Had some danger to him, 3. Did not get others mad just for seeing him there.
We were doing well and Fist was making a bit of xp too boot. These days Fist does quests, Hollow hunting (With sing key cashing.) and body recoveries. I expect I'll be hitting the Bore soon, which will change that things lot.
At the last part the commander and the rest spawned right on top of us. We were the only two there. I took enough damage to be below healing. I took off around the corner and grabbed a quick elixir, then healed to full. Then I finished them off. No armor, darn it.
At that point I noted a lack of Bleu Sky in the battle. I was sure he was there at the start. Bleu Sky tells you, "Fist can you get my body." Aaaa, that explains it.
Around the corner was his body. Strange that he would have two shields. Going to have to get him some death item, he dropped some good stuff.
I ported to AB and took the Baishi portal. Blinks mule got me to the sub and I ran to Lin to meet Bleu. Gave him all his stuff. Humm why can't I give him this shield? Dam it is a no give item. Only way I can give him the shield is die.
Sky said he would get another one but I said felt, what the hell, my death count at 76 was to low anyway. I gave him all my Death items and armor and did the @Lifestone. You know, I have a lot of stuff. High value stuff it seems, shield did not drop.
So I ran back to Lin using the same steps. Stepped beside by body and did it again. Hell, shield still did not drop. Another run to Lin and a third lifestone. Bleu Sky is begging me to stop by this time but I was determined. At last on the third death and my 79th overall, the shield dropped.
Quren tossed a few buffs on me and I killed Lugies for half and hour. That cleared the 15% vit.
Bodies part II
I was hanging in the hall when I got a tell from Rajah' Shen. Now Rajah' seem a bit young or as least raw. He is a 50+ fighter who is in the hall a lot. We have become friends, even though we are an unlikely pair. I'm old and try to keep from insulting others, he is young and lets his mouth run a bit. Still we get along well.
Rajah' Shen said he has an unrecoverable body in the plains. He was a bit ticked as he had lagged off a cliff into an army of monsters. I was assuming that it was in an impossible place to get to, thus unrecoverable. I was hoping for some admin aid to recover it.
In talking to Rajah' I found it was not unrecoverable, just well guarded. By well guarded I mean about 20 Tuskers, 10 to 15 Virindi and 7 to 10 Shadows. Ok, it will be hard but not impossible.
I started by looking around the hall. Nyn was there but not responding. No one else was there that could live in the plains. Nyn got back from AFK and others started coming in. They in turn called a few. Rizean came in and I saw Toromada was on line. Balash was in a body recovery but got there in time.
In about 15 minutes we had an army to match about anything. We buffed up and Rajah' made a portal. Rajah' was grateful but worried. He felt it would be impossible to recovery this body given the amount of guards.
Now my plan, as always, is to move slow and kill anything in our way. With a mob this big control was a problem. I have seen high-level quest parties with far less power. Everyone rushed forward and charged into battle.
I had no choice but to just fight. I ran up a hill and parked. Target blast. I was mostly after Virindi as I can kill all but a master with one level VII Blade spell. Virindi with their de-buffs and war spells were more a danger than Tuskers.
Damage was not a problem. Any time I was hurt I would grab health off a passing Tusker. Killing them was easy. A few drains and a single fireball kills a guard. Then back to blasting Virindi.
The Shadows and Tuskers fell into a meat grinder of mages and fighters. After a five-minute fight we stood in a field of loot. I'm was impressed with how well everyone worked together. Balash and other fighters did not just fight but also kept the mages from being overloaded. Great team work overall.
I'm guessing my work on the hill looked more impressive that it was. I got several comments of, "You are one crazy mage." I'm sure that Balash, who took the crazy title away from Fist, was a bit worried about being pushed to bold.
Bodies part III
I logged on with Fist in the hall. As usual there was a large group there. They asked if I was up for a body recovery and recruited into a fellowship. I asked where this was and heard the dreaded word, "Plains."
I logged out Fist and logged in Mage. Got into one of the fellows. It seemed this was an on going project. Someone died and others headed out to recover, and died. Several people had numerous bodies strung out over a wide area.
We get a ride to the plains and everyone said they were ready. Now I have said how I like to do this. I see what direction I need to go. If there is an opening I run there. This may mean moving left or right of that direction as we move between spawns. If there is no route I kill what is in the way, them move.
I'm in the minority on this technique. Almost every one is a, "Run there and hope to live doing it." Viva Yo started the charge and we all followed. Now I don't know of you have seen the plains in full spawn before. This is one packed place. I was behind Viva Yo and off to her left. I could barely run for all the monsters charging her. I was bouncing off Tuskers and Virindi.
The radar told the story. There was a screen almost filled with orange, with a sprinkle of white and green dots.
I was lag turned a bit and lost track of Viva Yo. My plan at this point was to live until I got to a place I could make a stand. One green dot stuck to my heals. I was glad to see I had some help.
Things thinned out a bit so I stopped and started blasting. It turned out the person sticking to me was Rajah' Shen. He had changed him armor a bit so I did not recognized him at first. We were quickly joined by my vassal Fire-lady.
The three if us were blasting and hacking for a long while, it seemed every time we cleared it out more would spawn. There was a continued stream of Tuskers, Gieivvers and Virindi coming at us. Fire-lady is a low 50's mage and not really use to battles like this. Rajah' I was not sure of, having never fought by his side before. Both did outstanding. Good team work and attention to who was doing what. I would blast the Virindi as they mostly fell with a single spell. I would imperil the Tuskers and let Rajah' hack them up. Fire-lady would blasted and support.
By this time Midnight Mist had joined us as well. Now it was easy with another good mage to blast them.
Finally we had it clear and could take stock of what to do next. Off to our left comes a few green dots with a horde of orange behind them. I target the lead dot and see they are almost dead. Rajah' impressed me then. He shouts, "Heal". Level VII heal others spells are great. A single spell gave the lead runner 110 points back.
The people kept running and we were back to fighting. I'm guessing they did not want to chance us not being ready for a big fight and kept running to draw the monsters.
Midnight Mist chased after them and a short time later Sword Blade joined us. With two mages and two fighters we had the best combo for fighting. We got the coodi to a body of Midnight Mist. Now we did it my way. A short time later we got a message that Mist had died again.
We moved between spawns until we were blocked. Spells killed a few the rest were hacked as they got close. Mostly what we found were Gieivver Destroyers, not the easiest monster on the plains. Virindi fell before they got to us but Destroyers always made it to melee range.
In a short time and not that may battles we found Mist's body. At this point we decided to head back to the hall and regroup there.
Most had filtered back and we were ready to head out for more bodies. We gathered our army at the exit to BSD. When I say an army I mean it. An Elder body recovery in a bad spot is something to behold.
We started forward and got into a major battle. This spot was a nice challenge for even our power. Not that they were going to win but they might take a few of us with them.
At one point I was surrounded by Tuskers, Umbris and Virindi. I ran myself out of mana and had about 80 hit points left. Somehow I found a way to run and others attacked to keep them from following. Again I was impressed with Rajah' Shen. He was shouting to someone to heal me.
There is something called combat sense. This is a total awareness of not only yourself but those around you. You have to have this to be a good support mage. It is something you can train yourself to do but when things get tight you fall into a support self mode.
A rare person has this as a natural ability. They don't have to think about what is around them, they just naturally know. I'm getting the impression that Rajah' Shen is one of these. Two battles are not enough to tell but I have been very impressed with him so far.
We finally cleared and got all the bodies but one. A non-elder had a body but for some reason did not answer us. After repeated ignored tells we had to leave it.
Bodies part IV
I was hunting on the island. I was waiting for Jeff Sailor Bane and his friend Silven. We were going on my loop together. My loop takes us to a small bay and overland to the first turn in the big bay. From there we fight Wasps, Drudges, Greater bones and Firestorms until we get to the Corals. Then a few Corals until we get to the drop off point. By that time we are full of loot and ready to rest.
First time I took Jeff on that loop he was shaking at the end. I take it slow and easy, picking off things from a distance. Of course there are always surprise spawns but those are not that hard to handle. The real danger is people running through, dragging hordes with them.
Silven had died a few times before I got there and was on her way back. She needed the subway and unfortunately met and ass grief player.
The players name was Panopticon. He said he was opening up the Subway. Of course he opened up The Panopticon Complex. I found this out by getting the coodi of her body and looking at ACE.
I logged Fist and ported to AB. Running down the hill I saw the spawn of Shadows. Two Umbris and a Shadow. Usually there is a LT and a Pan with them. I decided to take advantage of that lack. I had my slashing weapon out and fully buffed with VII's. This is the best overall weapon I have and Shadows are weak against slashing as well as fire.
The Umbris would not draw so I decided to just fight them. Let me tell you, three Shadows in drain mode are more then a pain. They had me down below healing in short order. I was able to take out the Shadow with a fast attack but Umbris are a long time fight. With 600 hit points my 10 to 20 damage per hit makes for a prolonged battle. Add their draining and healing in and it is more than long.
Of course a Pan spawns in the middle of this and I have to kill it before going back to the Umbris. I used up 6 or 7 healing elixirs and a lot of hits on my healing kit. In the end I had to just stand there and heal. Fighting was useless and dangerous as they would just drain me back to full health.
Finally they ran out of mana and I could fight them. Just the other day Mage fought this many and more. While there was a point where I was in danger the fight took less than a minute. This one took at least three and maybe five.
Loot was nothing to brag about but I was out of pyreal and need something to get stones with.
After that I decided not to let myself get distracted and just head to Panopticon. On the way there I saw a massive horde of PK's headed to AB. There was a bit of a war going on this weekend and I guess this was a raid.
I got to Panopticon. There was a big battle going on with several people fighting Umbris. I found Silven's body along with others. I'm guessing this ass had a lot of victims today. I cannot be sure but I'm guessing the battle there was a body recovery group. I never have understood why people have to get their jollies by hurting others. Even the strongest players are going to die if they port into a group of Umbris un-buffed. If you're expecting the Subway Panopticon is more than a surprise.
Bodies part V
It is late Sunday night, or actually Monday morning. I have a bike ride at 5am planned and need to start the column after that. I had said night to everyone and logged off. Before I go to bed I check the boards for anything interesting.
At the top was a call for help from Isawa Kayumni. He had two bodies in the Lava Flow. Now the Lava Flow is about as nasty a place as you can go. Foggy, narrow and full of high level monster on a fast spawn. Most people run way up the hill and then back to the other side to avoid it.
This late at night I knew he was going to have troubles getting the power together for a recovery. I quickly logged back mage and asked if he still needed help. The answer was yes.
I buffed up and ported to the C-note Fortress. I blasted the Diamond golems and was lucky enough to catch a ride on someone's note. Isawa Kayumni was at the fortress as well.
We waited a bit for one other person who did not show. We found that a person was already at the Flow so we headed out. I was surprised to see a load of mages camping the Corals this late, or early as the case may be. I don't hunt Corals very much and if there are more than two people there I go hunt something else. I counted 6 mages but there may have been more.
The run through the White Wasps was a pain but my zig-zag running kept me clear of major damage. I don't even think about it any more. My fingers automatically start hitting the left and right keys when in spots like that.
The run through the Lava Field was scary as usual. The two of us met the third on the other side. I saw another body there as I ran passed.
Not the battle begins. What are we fighting you ask? Hellfires, Vapor Golems, Plasma Golems, Firestroms and if you go the hill a bit Silver Tuskers and Diamond Golems. We had two melees and one mage to fight them. Major problem as there were spawning fast.
We would charge in, kill a few and then be run out. Unfortunately the spawn rate was faster than our kill rate. Dark Pagan ran through the Lava Flow not expecting us to be on the other side. Said he was sorry for drawing stuff on us as he ran past. I said, "Stop and help us.", which he did.
With one more melee things got better. I had finish off a vapor golem and target a Plasma. Plasma golems are even harder to see than Vapor golems. I had it yielded and vuln when another one charged in. I had the first one half dead when they started piling level VI de-buff on me. Time for the beat feet move.
One quick drain for a little health from the full one and I took off. Dark Pagan ran to my aid, killing the weakened one and getting stomped by the healthy one.
During all this Iswa Kayumn got his body. I got permission to loot Dark Pagans body and was able to pick up the loot from the Plasma. We tried to get a hold of the person whose body we saw but he was not on. Dark Pagan worked off the vit and met me. I gave him his loot and half the plasma golems loot. Then finally went to bed.
Little humor
Peerless Atlan Claims Another Victim
Samsur Herald, 06/15/01
Arwic Reuters
Pen-Sword, Staff writer
At 5am local time Jerek LeetPker, the Samsur Representative of the Adventurers Guild was looking in on a new arrival to Dereth, one Robert A Twinker. Repeated knocks at the doors of the new arrivals temporary quarters went unanswered. Attempts to bribe him with gold letters, shards and SIKS also went unheeded. Concerned Jerek used his own key, forcing the issue.
Upon entering he found Robert lying on the ground, a peerless atlan staff gripped in his hands. A closer examination by the representative revealed that a minor stone had been placed in it, but that it had long ran out of mana. Spent mana stones were discovered on the desk.
"Its a crying shame really." Jerek was quoted as saying, "Newbs show up in Dereth all the time, only to be seized upon by greedy monarchs looking to expand their power base. This poor guy was probably offered keys, motes, shards, specks, armour, pyreals - whatever, to get them to sign up." "It looks like he was bribed with a full Atlan. I bet the monarch was a master alchemist and was tied to the crater. He gave the guy the infused ingot and enough cash to buy the stamp, buffed the hell out of him, then had him turn it over to the magma golem."
"He, the monarch, made a mistake though when he added the minor stone. The poor man - like all of the rest of the citizens of Dereth - couldnt resist the debuffs, probably lowering his focus well below zero. In such a comatose state he stared blankly at the weapon until he starved." After some prompting Jerek admitted hes seen this kind of thing before. He even admitted to seeing an actual newb using a training sword on a drudge. Strange indeed in these days of bribery and plenty.
Even though there are no solid leads at this time, investigations are ongoing.
David Kelk
=== this is repost form the Solclaim server board ===
***Part II of the AC Secrets Trilogy***
<@Modahater> Ok folks, welcome to the latest Tusker Developers Chat
<@Modahater> I got extra power this evening: I can cut you off at any time; I can cut you off before youve typed it, so dont even think it. Remember only one question each.
<@Modahater> Id like to thank Tuskine and NanoTough for giving us chimps an opportunity to do this tonight.
<@Modahater> Without further delay, Id like to introduce Aleister the Virindi of Tuskine to help kick things off.
<+ Aleister the Virindi > Thanks Modahater. Welcome to the May Tuskers dev chat. With me tonight are Sean Tusker, Jesse "DevilTusker" Curlhischeek, Ken "Male Tusker" Poop and Tony "Wan" Kerr.
<@Modahater> OK, lets go. First up is Njalfrjaqz the Demigod.
<@ Njalfrjaqz the Demigod> Why is the loot on hooms so crap? Every time I loot them I just get half a dozen war mastery robes and a ton of portal gems. I mean WTF? Why cant they just drop more food?
<+Sean Tusker> There is a bug in the hoom loot generator. We are working on it, but it is proving quite hard to isolate. And you got to remember that only the higher level hooms are ever going to drop decent food. Done.
<@Modahater> Heh, I got some pies of a hoom last week that were so good I ate em before I ate the hoom. Next up is Plug.
<@Plug> Are there any plans to give Tuskers the ability to use magic, so they can compete with the Virindi? Since reaching level 128 Ive spent most of my time in BSD, but it really pisses me off constantly having my kills drained and skimmed by Virindi. Most of the hooms in BSD are running around with half health.
<+Aleister the Virindi> You had the chance to pick your race at character creation. Tuskers already have extremely sharp claws, and were not about to unbalance things by giving them magic abilities. If you dont like it, you can always reroll as a Virindi Done.
<@Gripper> When are you going to do something about the hoom lag? Its getting ridiculous. Last week I saw a level 18 male tusker kill a level 80 hoom that was stuck in lag. Lower level players can make a vast amount of experience by taking advantage of this bug.
<+Wan> Yes, were aware of the hoom lag bug. Its a toughie - please bear with us. And remember: it is an infringement of COC for players to gather in large numbers to cause the hooms to lag.
<@Rex> Are there any plans to introduce any new monsters? Dont get me wrong, I enjoy killing hooms, but sometimes I think it would be nice to kill something else.
<+Aleister the Virindi> We decided during game development to provide lots of different playable races, but only one monster. Looking back, I really dont think we could have done it any other way. Right now, it would be difficult to change the coding to allow for other monsters. It just isnt a priority.
<@Kufmud> First, Id like to say a big HELLO to Borf, Thug, Tro-
<@Modahater> You gotta love this new chat control system. NEXT!
<@Irresolu> Is it my go now?
<@Modahater> You just went. NEXT!
<@Charlotte> Are there any plans to improve the Grooming skills? My Tusker took both Combing and Toothpick, but many other players - especially Virindi - say Im completely gimped. OK, its nice to be able to get the little bits of hoom out of my fur and teeth, but I think there should be more to it.
<+DevilTusker> Expect some exciting changes to Grooming skills, especially Toothpick, real soon. From next month it will be possible to use your Toothpick as a weapon. Youll have a small thin pointy weapon that does awesome piercing/slashing damage. I know it sounds crazy, but wait till you see it. Theres going to be a lot of people wishing they specced toothpick. Done.
<@Openpaws> Are there any plans to allow Tuskers to moult in the summer? With all this fur, it gets hot, and I get real sweaty.
<+Male Tusker> I really think you need to get out more ...OTOH, maybe we should make you drop your tusker coat on death? Done.
<@Dork> Any chance well see hooms above level 126? Most of them are under level 50, and for me - at level 178 - the experience sucks.
<+DevilTusker> When the game was designed, we never expected players to reach level 100, let alone level 178 and above, so we didnt see any need to allow hooms to exceed level 126. There are technical reasons that make it difficult to do it. We are, however, taking steps to try to increase the average level of hooms in the game. Done.
<@King> Will we ever see tree-housing?
<+Sean Tusker> We would like to do tree-housing, but dont expect to see it anytime soon. Done
<@Extas Lugian> Wy carnt we hav an unlimmitted suplie of roks?
<@Modahater> HEY this is T-U-S-K-E-R Dev Chat. Go away. Next.
<@Sparky> Why is the hoom AI so erratic? Like, some hooms employ sophisticated tactics and are hard to beat, while others are complete plonkers and just stand still while you beat the crap out of them.
<+Sean Tusker> Were very pleased with the hoom AI. We deliberately set out to create a monster that exhibited a wide variety of different behavior. At one end of the spectrum we created some hooms with AI comparable to that of real players. At the other end, some of them behave like total morons. We think this adds to the realism of the gaming experience. Done
<@Winja> When can we expect to see some Tusker love? Ive been playing the game since beta, and when the game started Tuskers were one of the strongest races around. Now were always falling back relative to the other races. Im level 128, but I find it difficult to kill any hoom over about level 50. On the other hand, Ive seen Skeleton Bone Lords of level 85 trashing hooms in their 70s.
<+Aleister the Virindi> Some of the other races started off much weaker than Tuskers and the changes have simply balanced things up in favor of these other races. Youll like the improvements to Toothpick, but dont expect much more. Done.
<@Lassie> When are you going to stop the constant harassment from the Virindi? Whenever I hunt in the Dires theres always a couple of leet dewds playing Virindi who show up and either start taking my kills, or drag the hooms over on to me when Im not ready.
<+Aleister the Virindi> Sigh . its not our job to police this problem. If you dont like it just move on somewhere else. And dont forget that Dereth is a huge place: you dont have to hunt in the BSD or the Dires. Boy I cant even remember the last time I saw Tuskers hunting in Holtburg. Done.
<@Ulaing> Wen wil we see the weppon skils fixxed? UA is too strong. Theres no way som Tusker uzing his clawz shud kil faster than a mity Lugian with an ax.
<+Male Tusker> *Sniffs the air* I think we got ourselves a troll here... possibly even a Lugian in Tuskers clothing. Done.
<@Princess> When are you going to fix the bug that prevents several hooms from mobbing you at once. Its real unexciting when one hoom attacks you while the others just stand by watching.
<+Male Tusker> Programming out the so called "courtesy bug" has been one of our biggest challenges. We think have fixed the problem in the citadels and the BSD, but Olthoi players have reported that in the OHN the bug is still quite common. Were working on it, but we cant guarantee you wont still see some unexpected anomies. [Osito: oops - sic]
<@Mophead> Have you got any plans to fix the direction control? Im getting fed up with spending all my time running blindly into walls.
<+Wan> This is another toughie. Until we crack it the work around is to stand still and let the hooms come to you. Youd be surprised how effective this tactic can be. Done.
<@Siouxsie> Is there any chance of seeing a chat system introduced so you can talk to other players in game? After all, theres an entire AI system allowing the hooms to talk to each other. BTW, the AI controlling their incessant chat is awesome - last week I watched a dozen lines of chat between two hooms that actually made complete sense.
<+Aleister the Virindi> Theres been a lot of demand for this. Expect to see a fully fledged chat system for players within the next few months. Done.
Is it true that the Virindi are the best player race?
<+Aleister the Virindi> I can honestly say that is not true *looks away and blinks rapidly*
<#Virindi Executioner> HEY NOOBS -
<+Male Tusker> how did he get in here-
<#Virindi Executioner> THE VIRINDI WIL REWL U
<#Virindi Executioner> ALL YOUR DEV CHAT ARE BELONG TO US-
<@Modahater> Dont worry, Ill soon shut him up -
<#Virindi Executioner> U WIL NEVER SHUT ME UP I O//||Z U GIM-
<@Modahater> Got him.
<+DevilTusker> I heard they permabanned his butt over at the Virindi Executive Lounge
<@Modahater> OK people, the excitements over; next up is Doppleganger
<@Doppleganger> Is there any truth in the rumor that some of the hooms are played by employees of Tuskine or NanoTough?
<+Aleister the Virindi> Heh, I wish we could do that, but we just dont have the resources.
<@Modahater> ROFL, someone once said that maybe the hooms are the real players and were the monsters.
<+DevilTusker> LOL, how would we ever get a real player to spend 24/7 beating the crap out of you guys in BSD? We could never afford to pay them enough!
*******************************************
[All characters are fictional. In so far as there appears to be any criticism of Turbine staff, this is entirely intended in fun. Personally, I think you guys are doing a great job. Also, I think you moderators are doing a great job too. Please dont ban me from anything.]
Harry, Sword - L 54 and staying there
Mu - Dagger
Reti - Fighter/Mage
Osita de Felpa - Alchemist/Cook
Osito, retired - ALL SOLCLAIM
This was written by my brother Jeff.
Keeps you Coming Back:
All so often my brother has talked about grief players. I have had my fair share of them. At times they have drove me totally crazy and made me ask myself why I am playing this game. I mean besides it is a lot of fun, who really needs the headache of some idiot. I believe that the words you speak are a direct reflection if the person you are in real life. It is because of that I feel really sorry for some of these people.
As most who know me, know there is nothing I would not do for a friend or a Elder, and other players if they ask right. I am not talking about kissing my but, I am just saying ask in a polite manner, dont insult me or tell me what I am going to do.
Well...... last night I had two incidents that made me realize what it is that keeps me coming back to ac day after day. The first was a really good friend/hunting partner, was going to help me get the "V" Amulet. I way over lvl 45 and cannot go on the low side.
We were not prepared for the quest the other day but due to some logistical things and we missed it. I was really bummed because I have been trying to get my lvl 6 spells down for some time now.
So in JSB comes to the game and I get a tell for me to meet Silven (primary toon) Sonda (secondary toon). I meet her and she gives me a "V" Amulet and says....SURPRISE. I about fell out of my chair. She had teamed up with another really good friend, Midnight Mist, and Torq, and gotten the "V" Amulet for me.
I was really beside myself and speechless. I cannot, even at this moment, find the words to thank those individuals enough. For the first time last night JSB cast lvl 6 spells with minor fizzles. Thank You to the three of you, straight from the heart.
The second was I am in AB hunting away and due to an idiot I got in a jam and die. Not having the proper death items I lose my leggings, Impen 6 and strength 5. Pretty important gear. So I run back to the den and ask this one toon to help me with some buffs, Victor the Vicious, so I could recover. Before this I had never talked to him, never met him. He knew about me from my brothers column. Then out of shear kindness he did the following.
With vit my lore drops just enough that I cannot cast. I give him some comps and away he buffs. Just before he buffs he goes, "where is your brother, this is a family emergency?". Well at the time fist was preoccupied so I was solo. (editor; big body recovery) Victor buffs me and away I go, never realizing that I would get what I think is going to become a very good friend. I go in and recover and lose vit.
Just about then I get a tell, it is Victor. We were having some small talk and he asks me if I need anymore help, I said no I had recovered. Then he asks me what I was carrying for death items. I told him 9 sho gems. He told me I should get some robes, but I told him I was poor and could not do it at the time.
Lately I have been more concerned with lvling and did not pay attention to the cash flow as I was restocking. So he comes over and without a word gives me a "M" note and a SIK. I ended up giving him the sik back but then he gives me another "M" note. I traded them in a went and bought some robes. So with deep gratitude I will be prepared next time I die.
Another quick one was about a week ago, in metos Daron of Holt gave me enough motes to make a ignot. I had gone to metos in AB to get some motes to make my last atlan. It is waiting for the Black Stone. He was in an argument with a grief player, a total loser. He sent me the chat log via email in his defense, what a backfire.
I tried to simmer the argument down some but in the end Daron just squelched this drain on society. I could not thank Daron enough, but with me there he was losing kills so I was very grateful and it was very kind what he did. It is instances like these that keep me coming back for more. These people actually go out of their way to help others, I have realized that me and Fist and Elders are not the only ones who do.
It is these acts of kindness that will return to them 10 fold. If someone helps you, like these people have helped me, DO NOT take it for granted !!!!! Instead be very thankful and try to do the same for others. With that.....Thank you all again, and thank you to the Elders for taking me in and giving me a good home.
Jeff Sailor Bane Lvl 52 Sho Swordsman.
More on good people
It never ceases to amaze me when you are the beneficiary of just plain old luck. I logged on last night to pick up a xbow which a friend (Melek) had promised me. We are both part of Amids monarchy on Thistledown. Upon meeting up with him in Rithwic, he also produced a "composite stave with stock" (about 3/4 of the comp bow quest) and gave this to me also.
Here I have been assembling the pieces for this weapon over several months and out of the blue, he presents me with this gift. Amazing generosity on his behalf, no wonder he has a thriving vassal chain! But it gets better...
Standing beside him at the time was a character whom I had not met previously, who introduced themselves and upon hearing about the composite stave and stock quickly said, "I have the strings, so lets go get this thing finished!". This player is called "Rim the Dragonfly", a lvl 65 tradesman. I had managed to collect 3 rav guts so far, but had not had the strings made. Now I had a player who I had only just met, and who was not part of our monarchy, offer to get the xbow completed.
So off we run to Lythorpe (sp?) where he is based. Next thing I know, I have been buffed with coord 6, focus 6 and xbow 6, my rav guts have been turned into an Excellent Oiled String, and I am being told to give "stringing it" a go! I had been given 6 extra strings incase I had some trouble. My xbow was sitting at 265 and I was feeling lucky!
Of course, with the way my luck was going, nothing was going to stop me. I strung the xbow first go. Rim then asked it I had a thighbone to add as the handle. I produced a Dark Rev Thighbone which was quickly carved into the high grade handle for the xbow. I then attached the handle to the xbow and within the space of 20 minutes, from when I logged on, I had a top of the line Composite Xbow thanks to the amazing generosity of others. I still cant believe it!
To Melek and Rim the Dragonfly, what can I say. Many thanks and I am in your debt.
It is events like this that keep me enthralled by this game. Not an every day occurrence, and while grief play is on the increase, it is great to know that the other "type" of player still exists.
Cheers,
Staffie, L40 Staff Fighter (Xbow Trainee)
Thistledown
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