You never know what reaction your actions have. I was in the Lin hall hoping my lag would clear enough to play Mage. I had worked up war two points the night before and was hoping to get one more. I was going yellow every few seconds and Mage had died several times that morning from lag.
A fighter comes up and said he had a body on one of the Nests and needed help. He said it was a Nest that few people knew about. I knew there was one Nest I had never been to so this was ideal. Even with lag I knew I could help him. I figured I would log mage and buff him at the Nest and lead the recovery with Fist.
I put on my armor and he summons a portal. I expected the normal nest port in. To my surprise I was falling. Aaaaa BDC, no need for Mage here. I messaged Bleu Sky to come on in. He was locked in portal for a while so I told him to log off and on.
Headed down one of the passages to the bottom. I guess with all the people are going to the Nests because BDC is very empty. The jumping pit was full of Olthoi. I knew the best way in was a side passage we could jump to. Before I could say anything he jumped down to the next step.
I jumped down and helped him in battle with a few Soldiers. He said there was no way he could jump down into a full pit. No worry, I could do this a when my melee defense was 30 points lower. I jumped down and cleared the pit.
Sky jumped down to join me and I ran out of the pit to the main section. Several Soldiers, a Noble and a few Workers and Nymphs were there. So was his body. I engaged the Noble and Sky tried to loot his body. Two Soldiers ran around the corner and attacked Sky. Sky did the wise thing and led them on a chase.
I quickly killed the Noble and other trash. Then I chased down the Soldiers and got them with Sky's help. We got his body. I said lets clear the vit now.
Got around the bend and lagged out. I got back with Sky fighting a Soldier. I tossed a heal on him as he finished it off. Got a few more with me facing them and Sky getting the back shots. Then I got a big surprise.
Bleu Sky said, "Can I be your vassal." I have never ID him before then. He is a 58lv swordsman with 9 vassals. I had been impressed with his play so I was glad to accept him into Elder.
I said, "Lets go get a Noble." We headed down to the pit and killed a few Soldiers that got in our way. Pit was not as full as I had seen it at times. There have been times you could walk across the pit on Soldiers. I jumped in and as I did all my weapon buffs dropped. That slowed down the killing a lot but I was able to kill everything but the Noble at only Stamina cost. I let Sky kill the Noble as I healed him.
Then I had an idea. I have been testing battles with my fists only. I had on my plate gaunts and put BD VI on them. Then we ran up to the ramp Noble.
I was hitting on my fastest speed, which is fast indeed. I was doing 8 to 12 damage but missing a lot. That HS attack plus was being missed. Still the issue was never in doubt as the Noble did not hit me a single blow.
We had one last battle to clear his vit and I made a portal back to the Subway. We met in Lin and I introduced him to the family. A good day, even with bad lag.
I'm often asked how I got such good vassals. Some come to me because of the column but most come as a result of helping others. The best way to get good vassals is to never look for one.
Last word on PK for a while
I play to have fun and things that take the fun away I avoid. I use to like watching the pk fights. The best display skill and tremendous ability. Well Demono has taken the fun out of it. Their lame actions and grief play makes me angry and I don't play to be angry.
The line was crossed today when I saw Demono himself running with the biggest lamer on MT. MK is despised by everyone. He is now in the Demono alliance. Under their protection he can loot, leach and cause his general bad nature to really shine.
I know that MK will still run up and start leaching my battles. I know that him and Demono will kill and loot my friends. I know they will have great joy in causing grief for everyone that crosses their path. I also know there is nothing I can do about it.
I was thinking of dropping out of our PK group. I'm a scout and general advisor there. I know that any event we have will have an attempt by Demono's to ruin. I decided to stay as a scout and just hope we see them as little as possible.
My advice to all PKs is let Demono have their little game all to themselves. The best thing is to give them no fun. Portal whenever you see one. They have fun even when they lose so let them run around looking for battles all day.
The other side of the story
Last column I put in a bit of history. This was as I was told or how I saw it. As in all things there is more information than one person has and different points views. So I'm posting a letter I got from Baalzevuv.
Nice story, but a few things are LARGELY incorrect :P
"A long time back Baalzevuv and Shiner created a join us or die alliance."
It may have appeared to be like that for some, but we DID keep our numbers small initially :) In the case of Wartorn, Trinity wanted to swear to him, so I allowed it as long as he joined us. Wartorn just figured "what the hell" and made some vassal experience out of it :) She refused to let me kill him ;) Wartorn and I used to bitch at each other camping BDC :P
"After a time Killean and others stood up to them and forced a truce"
Killean always worked against me :) Should have seen all the backstabbing he dished out ;) Him and I still have a little bad blood because of how he handled himself during the allegiance wars. The only thing we agreed on was no looting. I ensured his PKs would see me often when they turned red ;) Requiem faded out to poor management on my behalf and the departure of the mule known formerly known as Requiem. We were never really beaten, as I perceive of it. Of course, I am biased :P
"Anyway the Demono PK's see Baalzevuv and run to a portal as fast as they can."
Untrue. I am friends with most of em. We used to be old school PKers in the past. After our little egos mended their wounds, we had nothing to fight about. Vortec and I remain as pretty good friends. I took the time to meet some of their other PKs without dishing out insults, and am impressed. (minus the Kalebs)
(Editor note, they did shout 108 mage and run to a portal.)
"He felt that if he gave them enough vit they would not be able to loot."
Untrue. I turned PK because someone said I should on the boards. I figured Id try it out. Unfortunately, its hard to respond to @m when youre concentrating on what the red dots are doing. Monster AI is easy to judge, "Thunder-Storm-I" is a lot harder. Its detrimental to my allegiance to remain as a full-time PK. The red dot scene remains prioritized near the bottom.
There is a certainly philosophy that Demono PKers follower. I honestly cant say its wrong, but I do disagree with it. My goals are not that of brute force. I do not have the means nor the willpower to actively step up and distribute the Wrath of Baalzevuv anymore. The keyboard is mightier than the sword!
Later, dude!
Halleck
Powerleveling
My brother-in-law plays on Saturday. When he gets his own computer he will restart on MT and I will powerlevel him up to about where he is now. Our patron there is Daimyo Samurai. When Jeff takes a break I log the Fist there and play some.
I got him to 6lv and Daimyo Samurai offered to powerlevel me a bit. I did not want to take away from Jeff's playing time so I set a time for Sunday. He also set me up with much better armor and a good bow. Up to then I had been using all store stock stuff. With an extreme template and al 80 armor, death came fast and often.
I met Daimyo Samurai in Hebian-To. We were about to leave when my wife got home early and wanted me to do something. I logged about 15. I got back and Daimyo Samurai sent me a message to meet him in Teth. LOL a little weak to get there on my own. 6lv with 21 hit points.
He got a hold of an alliance member who provided me with a ride to Teth. There he ran me to the LS and did a little buffing. Now the hunt.
First thing we ran across was some Tommies. He imperiled them and I killed each one with one shot. That was nice. Then he got some Drudges riled up and healed himself while I pored arrows into them. This took a while longer as I was using stock arrows.
I said I needed better arrows and he escorted me to the bowyer and I got a load of AP arrows.
Next up was some Iron Golems. He imperiled one and it started marching towards him. I fired arrows and was doing good damage. I saw his buddy was a bit pissed at me for doing that. I was 7lv by then but knew I had 0 chance against it. The only reason I had done well was nothing had attacked me.
One shot and I was dead. Started back to the Irons and a Sliver rat spawn right next to me. We ran back from the LS and got one body. Went after the Irons again. This time there was only one and it stopped attacking Daimyo Samurai and turned on me. I had it down and knew I could kill it. His spell and my arrow hit at the same time.
The good thing was the vit was clear as soon as I hit the LS. Ran back and hit a spot of bad lag. I was at the LS before I saw what hit me. I have three bodies to recover by this time.
Death meant nothing as the vit was clear with one or two monsters. The only real down side to dying was losing the buffs.
When we first started I saw some Grivvers on a cliff ledge. At one point Daimyo Samurai led us there and put a de-buff on one. I knew better than to say there. As soon as I saw one move I was running. Daimyo Samurai typed "Run" but I was way ahead of him.
After an hour of this I was at 9lv and had Item. I had put all the points into Endurance, Health and Stamina so I was ready to fight on my own now. Daimyo Samurai suggested I log there. I told him I really did not belong in Teth. Someone made a portal to the Subway. I took that and Daimyo Samurai logged.
Chance meetings
From the subway I ran to Eastham and hit the LS. I felt I could hunt the beach for a bit. Goal was 10lv. I found that I could fight well there and did not die. I mostly used my bow but will soon move to UA. Bow is trained and UA is spec'ed. Bow is working well but the future is UA.
While hunting I saw a fighter run up. It went like this from his point of view; (spelling edited)
You say, "NO WAY"
Fist de Yuma says, "Hi"
You say, "the real one?"
Fist de Yuma says, "one and only"
Fist de Yuma says, "I have it on all servers"
You say, "my god it is an honor"
Fist de Yuma says, "my pleasure"
You say, "we finally meet in game"
Fist de Yuma says, "bound to happen "
You say, "Epsilon the Believer here.....this is my other main Alex"
Fist de Yuma says, "small world you know"
You say, "Heh, yeah, but what are the chances?"
Epsilon the Believer and I have been posting back and forth on the newsgroup for ages. We had never met on game. My two "Fist" templates are based on his advice. It is a small world that two people can meet like that.
Is Life a requirement?
Well depends. It is darn close to being a requirement. As Steve in the Newsgroup points out there are 8 protects and only 7 slots for them. The reason life is not a total requirement your melee defense and armor can take the place of the armor spell.
I currently have all 7 protects at level VI with one exception. Blunt or Acid has to be at V. Add to this very good armor and shield plus a buffed melee defense of 350.
A mage or fighter with life magic will have these protections far earlier that I did. Of course I don't have to spend a third of my hunt buffing.
For PK you must have life or have a life mage to team with. Items will not be as good because no matter how good you are, you will get killed a lot on PK. Then some slimy looter will have your items. The only saviors these days are death items. The new portal gems are great. Costly but a PK with 20 of them can use his full items.
Newsgroup tales
Nasier discovers why solo play can lead to rapid heart beats.
Last night was another one of those nights that reminds me why I keep playing this game. I keep finding things I missed and this one almost scared me to death.
I was about to call it a night and I have a friend report that he met the strange manifestation of the lag beast where he could not move but was being attacked. Much to his annoyance, he was only dimly aware of his positioning at the time. I finished selling the gear I had plundered from the dead Olthoi and I had not yet heard the good news of the discovery.
"How confidant are you? Need a hand?"
I could hear the frustration in his voice "I think I could use one."
He gave me an approximate location and I headed off into the dires. As I ran, I made it a point to contact Kepura. She was already in the town of Ayan Baqur and could be there long before I would. She agreed and we were on our way. Upon hearing what we were up to, our friend Osprey asked if we needed a extra pair of eyes. I began to get a little smug. We were going to find this body.
I was making for the northwest coast of the direlands when Kepura announced that she had found it. Life is good, Ill spare the lecture on death items for another day. Right about then I crest a hill and see a small two story farmhouse ahead. I thought to myself; How very odd. What kind of farmer would be this deep into the direlands. The land was too dry and rocky to work. A pair of large grievvers were in the front of the house and a pair of obsidian golems were to the right. Perhaps I should check in on the occupants.
As I reached the front of the house, I noticed a camp of the more powerful banderlings within earshot. Okay, I need to get into the house quickly to avoid the debilitating spells they cast. I made it to the door with a Beserker on my tail and a mounting pile of crippling enchantments.
I fling the door open and am greeted by a lich and a lich lord. Hmmm, uh oh. I duck in anyway, thinking to take refuge up the stairs. I run up the stairs to find more undead. One of which is fast enough to fire one of its more powerful spells on me. This is not looking good and then the panic set in. I dont know where *I* am. I am about to be the one with the missing body.
The banderling had followed me up the stairs so I dashed back down them to freedom. I had not seen their pet lag beast. It let me get out the door before it knocked me back up the stairs and into a corner. At this point the magic was flying fast and furious and the banderling was being increasingly successful in his attacks due to the magical help of the rest of his band. Only the hearty healing hot kimchi was keeping me alive.
Realizing escape was impossible, I dropped my shield and drew my staff. Portal space enveloped me and I find myself back in the tranquility and cool mountain air of Zaikhal, my heart about to burst out of my chest with terror...but I had lived.
No matter how jaded I like to think I am, Dereth still hold excitement in exploration.
Nasier
Leafcull
Leadership is not easy or easily learned. The next writer gets a taste of what is needed.
As I was heading back to "Q" today from the Citadel to drop off some loot I passed a couple of level 22s from my Monarchy. I dont know how most other people feel about their Monarchy, but I am finding that I enjoy playing with 99.9% of the people in mine when I stumble across them. That 0.01% may even be attributable to a few who didnt even notice Id sent a greeting. At any rate, I chatted for a few seconds and then wished them luck as I was about to go on my merry way... letting them know they could feel free to invite me on any quests they did in the future (I love tagging along for new adventure).
"Wait." Not to knock the typical player near the cits, but after hearing that I really expected a request for a subway portal. It would have been difficult too... as I havent learned any spells yet for the magic school I DID happen to learn (not item).
"Could you help us on a Quest now?" Wow. I mean... wow. I never seriously expected anyone to take me up on these offers and I hadnt realized that sad fact till that very moment. At only level 31 and feeling very inexperienced, I suddenly felt like it had become partly my responsibility to stop these two from getting killed. Heck... I didnt even know what quest they wanted to do. Having offered my aid, I did the only thing I could do... I said yes.
Flint and Ceta wanted to get some low quality ore for their hollow weapons and wanted someone a little higher in levels to help them in the mine. Ironically I had done this same quest the day before solo, unable to find anyone interested in tagging along.
It took a while to get started as Flint (actual name somewhat different) had some things to do first and I wanted to see if anyone was looking for motes. Outside of a nekode supplied by my Patron I have pretty sad equipment and I wanted to see if I could fetch anything useful for a mote or two.
When we all said we were ready to go we spent another minute or two standing around. It didnt occur to me that my two new adventuring buddies were waiting for me to lead on. "Oops" I thought to myself and began the press onward. Little did I know that that would be just the first of several "impromptu Leader" mistakes I would make in the next half-hour.
Before I continue on I should remark on my earlier comment about returning from the citadel and learning magic. I had posted at an earlier time about not visiting the citadel. After that post I decided to check it out... and decided that it can actually be fun if you go there with that "Unreal Tournament" mentality. I like to run around there and think of it as a large human/lugian war. My favorite time in the citadel is when there are a couple of us in a line fighting greater than 10 lugies... when it almost becomes a game of chicken. As for the magic... thats something Im still unsure of.
I rerolled my UA and decided to train Life Magic. After playing my first character I knew I didnt enjoy casting spells, but from reading this group... I thought I would eventually need life. To stop myself from changing my mind, I took it right off the bat. So now... if I ever need Life magic... Im ready to put xp into it. At level 31... I just can bring myself to spend the time buffing myself yet.
Well, back to our little story.
We headed on our way to the Lugian mine after sharing the coords. I didnt say anything about planning for the run as I was kind of assuming everyone thought the way I did. I ran up ahead and would occasionally stop to swing at higher level stuff to get their attention away from Flint and Ceta. The problem was that they started stopping to fight alongside me. A bit later in our run, I realized how badly the stops were slowing us down and suggested we skip fighting and just keep running (we were engaged with beasties at the time). I explained my reasoning for my stops and...
eh?
RUN! RUN! RUN!
The 3 of us took off as I noticed the 2 shadows and possibly Shadow LT (much darker black) taking swings at us. The current problem was that I was much faster than my 2 partners so I stopped to let them get ahead of me and then turned around as I realized they werent catching up.
"why are they running in place?" I thought to myself shortly before porting to the lifestone.
I thought this was pretty funny myself but was more concerned about the my partners. Honestly, I figured they could make the run without problems at level 22 as long as they didnt stop to fight anything. I caught up eventually to find them still waiting patiently by my corpse. All I could think was "these arent even my vassals and Im feeling overwhelmed". Honestly, I dont know how you patrons do it... I have enough problems watching other peoples vassals :)
PS- And you dont even want to know about how I found out Ceta was a mage after we started engaging Lugies in the mine. "I cant land any of my spells". Oops.
(Editor Note; The lugies a this place use hollow weapons that bypass protections spells. It is also filled with magic traps that drain all spells and mana. Mages die quick there.)
LQuillen
lvl 26 Sho UA (Solclaim)
Lee Quillen
lvl 31 Sho UA Fun Gimp (Solclaim)
No comments:
Post a Comment