Well I figured out why I have had unplayable lag in the last week, it rained. I'm out in the sticks of Yuma AZ and the phone system goes to pot whenever it rains. It has been so long since we had a good rain I have forgot how bad it gets. Fortunately it does not rain that much here. It takes a week to dry the ground and after that things return to normal.
Meanwhile my play has been standing around with my mage and buffing people. Having my connection stop for 5 to 10 seconds every minute does not hurt if I don't move. If I so much as take a few steps when the lag hits I will have no idea where I would end up.
Revenge
My vassal Quren is making a new UA fighter and I was at the Lin Citadel buffing him. The lag was just starting to clear up by then. Quren's old fighter was not the best template. He finally got item at 35 and I think got him to about 40 before making him into a mule. Now he has a nice mage but misses being a fighter.
We were done and I needed to get mage back to Lin. It is not that much of a run and normally not dangerous. Just over a hill a Ursurn attacked me. I stopped to kill it in the hopes of a hide. From the back three Zefirs, two Shadows and a Shadow child attacked me.
I had minimal buffs on and was down to a handful of hit point in a hurry. It was off to the races. It was fortunate that I had my run buffs on because the land was suddenly full of a lot of nasty creatures who wanted a piece of me. Zefirs, Ghost wisps, Golems and sundry other monsters chased me over the hills.
Finally I got to a spot where only a few Mosswarts were attacking me. I dispatched them and did a full buff. These monsters may not be worth killing but I was not feeling merciful at this point. At full buff nothing was going to stand up to my rampage as I moved back and killed everything that chased me.
Focus stone
Friday was my first day where the phone system was working enough to let me play. That is the night for family quests and I had planned to get the Focus stone for Fist. Mage needs one as well but does not need it as much as Fist. It is not an immediate need but if I'm ever going to toss level VII spells it will be a must.
We started in Lin. I knew it was going to be a long night when I saw about 20 people there. A lot of people from other alliances were joining in as well. Someone made a portal to the dungeon and off we went.
We all buffed up and quickly cleared anything that moved. I had been here to help Jarad recover a body but was in a hurry then. This time I got to get a closer look at what was going on. First there was a jump into a steamy room. Hate to jump into somewhere I cannot see.
After killing a few undead we ended up packed in front of a door. A few people were not there so we waited, and waited and waited. A vassal of a vassal had made a wrong turn and jumped into the wrong room. Someone else was trying to help him but without success. Finally he said sorry and ported out.
I was in the steam room trying to jump back up to help. I might have done it with a full jump buff but without taking off my full protection gear I only got waist high. When I got back the door had been opened and I followed a vassal until we got to the last room.
The boss undead was down and people were waiting for a re-spawn. As it was safe I took off my protections and armor. The monster was dying in seconds so there was little danger. I buffed my gauntlets and was getting the kill over the others. With my fastest speed I was able to get in three hits to everyone else's one.
After about an hour or more everyone got the stone and we were ready for the second part. Someone used his key to get us into the portal room and I jumped in. I was a bit confused as the room is identical to the one I left. For a bit I thought the portal had not worked right. There has been times I have entered a portal only to end up back where I started.
Me and a handful of players headed up the next section. I saw a bunch of people ahead of us had ran over the bridge. I type "Stop" and "Jump down here". My group jumped down and started killing the exploding Magna Golems.
Somehow I got ahead of the group and me another fighter and a mage were all there was. The three of us cleared the way. The last undead had shields and I was not doing a lot of damage to them. Monsters with shields really can adsorb the damage. I go from 20 to 30 a hit to 4 to 10.
In the last room it got a bit nervous as I was hit with a lot of spells while nicking them down. With full level VI protects I was able to heal a few times to keep ahead of the damage. Just as the last one fell the main group arrived.
Everyone charged his stone and we fought one spawn off. I yelled for everyone to port out as we had a few who would not stand too long with the monsters here. A vassal asked where I was tied. Said subway and he asked for a portal. Just as I made the portal the monsters spawned. Without a weapon I could not fight so I clicked the portal. I was glad to see my vassal arrived there as well.
The power of the game.
Saturday is my brother-in-laws day to play. He is on leave this week so I expect to seen him over here a lot. He has a sword fighter named Jeff Sailor Bane on Leafcull. He has gotten a lot stronger so I said he could head to a Citadel with fewer people.
He has a fighting partner name Moon something. Jeff and Moon had no idea how to get to Lin so I took over for him. I met Moon in Hebrin-to and we ran a bit to Lin. Then I got the coordinates to the Citadel. Safely tied I turned over the play to Jeff.
A while later I could hear cursing from my den and headed over to investigate. Jeff was in his underwear and several people were buffing up. He was at 27% vit and all his gear was on a few bodies strung between the exit and the jumping room.
I watched as he followed the group helping him and Moon. It seems there were both in the jumping room when the other fighters left. A 24lv and 33lv fighter would have a hard time holding it on their own. Both died and then died a few more times trying to recover.
Jeff was smart and did not try to fight before recovering his armor. The group slowly moved forward and he got all but one body. As a battle started in the main hallway leading to the jumping room Jeff started forward towards his body. I would see the Gigas on top of the block start to toss the rocks. I think Jeff was looking at the room and not the top as he was moving like the room was clear.
I yelled at him to run and he got the idea that what he was doing was not in his best interest. A line of Lugies followed him out of the room. He ran down the hallway and found a mass of Lugies coming out of the right hand room. He kept running. The ramp had a few so he ran some more. The next hall was packed and he made it all the way to the right hand turn when lag got him.
He was running down the hall then, flash, he was running against the wall before the turn. Trapped by three Lugies and no armor it was over with in seconds.
Now the emotional power of the game becomes clear. I have done this but it is the first time I have seen it in someone else. Jeffs hands were shaking too much to play. It is only a game but we can get into it so much that a few deaths can make us a wreak.
One of his helpers gave him some cheap armor the Lugies had dropped for some protection. Someone else buffed his weapon as with this much vit he could not even toss level III spells. Off we went to recovery the bodies.
I knew where both bodies were. Jeff had no idea so I stayed on his shoulder guiding him. He got the last body in the jumping room and I told him to run all the way back to the start. Shaking like a leaf he went outside for a smoke and I took over for him.
Moon still had a body to recover. I sent a message saying I was going to clear his vit and could then be more help than hindrance.
I took Jeff Sailor Bane to the weakest room to fight. With his vit his lore was too low to use any of his protection gear. This room has a lot of people who would be dead meat in any of the harder places. There are 6 Lugies that spawn there but only 2 or 3 at a time. Their dead quickly so even with no protection you have little chance of dying.
I cleared about half the vit and then headed to the weak jumping room. I quickly noted that the Lugies were not lasting very long. A fighter was killing them in 2 to 3 hits. I was surprised to see a 50lv player taking all the kills there. I mean even with vit there is no way a 50lv should be in the weakest of spot of a relatively weak dungeon.
Moon said she had recovered and was logging for the day.
After clearing the vit I saw that he had a key. Jeff said he wanted to use it so I headed up the hall to the chest. Someone was there using the chest. As Jeff was not that strong the spawns there were a bit hard for him. The fighter tossed a few buffs on Jeff and let him use the chest. Lot of nice people in the game.
It was very late before Jeff left for home. My wife cannot understand how we can play a game 15 hours straight.
The power of Bow
After Jeff left I logged my Fist on this server. He is an extreme template (anything with 10 endurance I call extreme.) with spec UA, Melee, Lore and Bow trained. Running along the beach of Eastham I was killing everything that I saw with ease.
Even with only normal arrows most things did not come close to me. This compares to the FF Fist I played the next day. The FF Fist had spec Life, UA, Melee. I believe this will be a very strong player an time but right now it is a pain to level.
Both Fists are 12lv but the Fist with the bow can kill three Golems with little danger. Hit and run with a distance weapon makes it laughable. Not so the FF Fist. Even with the ability to imperil the monsters he has a hard time. The main problem is getting stuff where he can fight one at a time. Two Water Golems at once are beyond his ability.
Where this really came to the forefront was in a battle with a broken fragment. It may take 10 or more arrows for the LC to take one down but it was impossible for the FF one to do it.
I gave it a really good try. I hit on it until it was under 15 hit points. I ran a short distance and healed. (Using life skills as I don't get healing until 20.) I ran back and started to pound again. I did this over and over again. I used up all my heal potions and most of my stamina elixirs. After 5 minutes I said the hell with it. What little damage I did it healed with drains. I don't know how much mana this 9lv monster has but it never ran out.
I know that in a few levels they will be little problem but for now their a lesson in frustration.
Unselfish mages
A player named Paladin of Darkness had some vit and asked me for help. I was a bit short on time and recommended he go to Old Mine to clear his vit. I showed him the way to Old Mine using the Awric Mines. I buffed him up and felt at 30+ he should not have a problem.
I was back a bit later and he sent me a message. He had died in Old Mine after the buffs wore off and could not find his way though the Awric Mine. I had some time now so I could help him.
The trip though the mines was uneventful and with a few buffs Paladin of Darkness had cleared his vit. We got his body with little trouble. I then started buffing the other players and imperiling the Lugies. The other players quickly caught on that imperil is a nice spell.
I had a nice pack of fighters chasing me around the mine so they could kill a Lugie in a few hits. It is fun to see weak low level players having that much fun. I told Paladin of Darkness that any unselfish mage can do this. He said that I was the only one he knew.
I though back to the mages I had met while growing up and he was right. A mage that helped others was a rare creature. I remember meeting 50+ mage that did not even have "Heal Other" in his spell book.
When I fight with a fighter War skill is not used. I de-buff the monster and keep the fighter alive. To do otherwise I might as well be fighting alone.
I had read a few stories about quests that had fell apart. The fighters did not protect the mages and the mages did not support the fighters. It was a group of individuals and not a team. Elder even had to make a post on how to get fighters and mages to work together for a quest. It was so simple that I did not understand at first why it had to be said.
At high levels mages and fighters are going to have to learn to work together. I hear on the boards how the new mage armor sucks because you have to kill Grievvers that a mage sucks against. This is understandable. Strangely few of these mages had a melee they could work with to get the acid drop they need.
With a mage supported fighter Grievvers fall easy. I'm guessing that Turbine is trying to get mages and fighters to work together more. I see it getting worse not better.
Let me tell you guys, it is easy. All it takes is trust and being unselfish. Your job is not to fight. Your there to support the fighters. Fighters gain so much from a mages support that I don't understand why their not clamoring for it. Instead all I hear is complaints on how mages are too powerful. As Ben Franklin said "We must hang together or surly we will hang separately."
Not taking hints
I had plenty of warning that this was not the day to play. With several days of not playing I ignored them. I logged on with my vassal Menelaus saying he was going on the island quest. This is one I have wanted to go on for a while now.
While talking I had a frozen screen and a blinking yellow. We did not have enough players but there was another group that had started already. We decided to join that one just for the experience. I logged mage and made my way to the island.
We met up by the Coral Golems. Rather than wait I buffed up to do a little hunting. I helped an archer recover his body and killed a few bandies. By this time everyone had got there.
I made the mistake of not buffing my run. When I go into this part I hunt slow and kill everything before moving on. Their idea was to just run. As the tail end charley I should have been ok as long as I did not fall too far behind.
With spells flying and me stuck in a crowd of monsters chasing the group I did not see how fast my health was dropping. When I saw what it was at I hit my portal key and prayed it was soon enough. I hit the LS with 6 hit points. Scrolling back I found a Fire Wisp had hit me for 80 with a lighting bolt VI.
I messaged the fellowship what had happened. I planed to meet up with them for the next part of the quest. Two people died and I helped one by giving him some buffs.
While waiting I decided to hunt some Corals. I worked my way down the pillars without seeing a free Golem. I did tossed an imperial on one a fighter was engaged with. I saw a crossbow user up ahead. A Coral spawned and I yielded and vuln'ed it. As soon as it started marching towards me the crossbow user started shooting.
I brushed it off and moved up. There were two of them ahead. The crossbow user was set up and not moving. I asked him. "Are you going to fight it or are you waiting to leach off of me?" I did not get an answer, he just stayed there waiting. I have stopped getting mad at the weak cowards because it is not fun. I yielded it and Vuln it. Two charged at me, which unless I get a string of resists, did not worry me.
The crossbow user started shooting as I expected him to. Just as the two reached me a third came up from behind. Sandwiched between three Golems was not going have be a happy ending so I ported out.
I got back and rebuffed. Set out to hunt again. I killed one and was setup to fight two more. Everything froze. I could id the golems. I could move a bit but everything else just stood there. I saw a fire wisp a few feet away. I really hate these chain casting bastards of unlimited mana. Nothing to do but log and hope for the best.
I fully expected to be at the LS when I got back. As I logged I was I was at the same spot as before. Then a long string of "Fire Wisp tossed spell but you're an invalid target." Messages.
It always takes me many seconds to fully log on so I knew this was going to be close. When I finally got on three Coral Golems and the Fire Wisp were attacking me. I quickly hit war mode, got the right tap and ported out. I checked my xp and found I had a grand total of 70k for the two buffing sections. I should have 300k or more.
Things were not working out for my mage so I logged my archer. I had been having big problems on the island of late. Big hits were really getting bad. I decided that the problem was my shoes. Everything hits low and I had al 10 quick IV slippers. I found some quick IV boots on a mule a few days ago and was hoping that would fix the problem.
The problem with the boots is a missile requirement of 165. Being a first generation template he has missile. Unfortunately I was about 35 points short. I was determined to get it and using split pea I saw I would need about 700k to get 160. With a buff I'd have 165.
I put on my armor and headed out. Everything was going normally. Still taking big hits but not as big. I felt that after I got the spells working on the boots it would improve even more. Quickly at first then slower and slower I pushed up my missile.
I hit a part of the island were I was working my way back to the bridge. A guy ran by with a long line of monsters chasing him. I stopped and waited for them to return. I then picked them off on at a time. I knew that if I didn't the group was going to end up at my back.
I moved up the beach a bit more and was fighting two Shallow Devourers. Someone again ran by with a pack chasing and this time they all stopped and attacked me. I ran as soon as I saw what happened but it was too late. The final killer was a Cursed Wisp. It was not my day for Wisps.
Not a good drop. My strength V shirt is a rare and valued item. I did not feel it would be too hard a recovery as everything here attacks the legs. I felt I should be able to work off the vit by the time I got there.
That was working as I was down to 3 vit in short order. I saw two Foul Moarsmans on the beach. I shot one and had it dead before it got to me. Turned to the second, and, game froze. Blinking red then green. A bunch of screams and I was dead. I never had a chance.
I worked my way back to the body without fighting this time. My leggings and boots were on the body. I got there without problem. Nice thing about an archer is you don't fight on the spawn spot. I looted all but the pyreal. I was trying to pick up the last few Pyreal when it froze again.
This time it did not recover. I could not get back in. I checked my connection and found it was not the zone this time. A call to my IP got a message. They were down nation wide. I waited anyway and got a tech. He said some were up and he would check Yuma.
Shortly I got back in. A little bit later I got the other body and started working off the vit. I had the vit clear and could see the bridge. Two last Shallow Destroyers were all I was going to kill. I was shooting at one with both nipping at me when it all froze again.
I knew there was a small chance I was still alive. Since I was shooting at one it would die soon. By not turning on the other one it might get bored and return to the spawn spot. Also it was a Destroyer and not a Devourer. I evade Destroyers.
I called the techs again and they get me back up in about 10 minutes. I had lucked out. Other than three Dillo's I had to kill I was ok.
I finally took the hint and logged for the night.
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