<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>West Karana &#187; Nostalgia the Guild</title>
	<atom:link href="http://westkarana.com/index.php/category/mmos/everquest/nostalgia-the-guild/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://westkarana.com</link>
	<description>A blog about EverQuest, EverQuest II and MMORPGs in general</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:23:38 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Welcome to Mayong, EverQuest&#8217;s 51/50 server</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/06/16/welcome-to-mayong-everquests-5150-server/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/06/16/welcome-to-mayong-everquests-5150-server/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:44:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EverQuest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[51]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[51/50]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mayong]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=3694</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thanks to commenter Wimp, who revealed that EverQuest&#8217;s newest server, the one with the new &#8220;51/50&#8243; rule set (new characters start at level 51 with 50 AAs), has actually been (briefly) live and players have played on it. The newest server, Mayong, named after the legendary vampire lord who is a villain in both EverQuest [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/05/05/eq-why-the-new-5150-server-might-be-great/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: Why the new 51/50 server might be great'>EQ: Why the new 51/50 server might be great</a> <small>Every time I get an urge to play an explorer...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/05/02/its-official-the-new-everquest-server-is-chosen-plus-eq3-rumors/' rel='bookmark' title='It&#8217;s official, the new EverQuest server is chosen, plus EQ3 rumors?'>It&#8217;s official, the new EverQuest server is chosen, plus EQ3 rumors?</a> <small>WK&#8217;s own Neriak correspondent, Nashuya N&#8217;Hamsha, interviews local residents about...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/14/everquests-new-server-what-are-the-choices/' rel='bookmark' title='EverQuest&#8217;s new server &#8212; what are the choices?'>EverQuest&#8217;s new server &#8212; what are the choices?</a> <small>Way back in December, SOE mentioned offhandedly that they would...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="float:left"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mayong.jpg" alt="Mayong Mistmoore, from the Legends of Norrath art book" title="Mayong Mistmoore, from the Legends of Norrath art book" width="128" height="163" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3695" /></div>
<p> Thanks to commenter Wimp, who revealed that EverQuest&#8217;s newest server, the one with the new &#8220;51/50&#8243; rule set (new characters start at level 51 with 50 AAs), has actually been (briefly) live and players have played on it.</p>
<p>The newest server, Mayong, named after the legendary vampire lord who is a villain in both EverQuest and EverQuest II, will (according to <a href="http://www.thesteelwarrior.org/forum/showthread.php?p=283030">this thread on Steel Warrior</a>) start new characters in Flawed Defiant armor, and spell books full of the spells to that level.</p>
<p>New characters on Mayong immediately formed up to take down some dragons, and it&#8217;s pretty certain that Vox and Naggy won&#8217;t get a chance to draw two breaths before some random raid takes them down once more.</p>
<p>But this is EverQuest &#8212; <a href="http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/06/28/being-lord-nagafen/">nothing stops YOU from being the dragon</a>, toasting random raids :)</p>
<p>See you opening day on Mayong!</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/05/05/eq-why-the-new-5150-server-might-be-great/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: Why the new 51/50 server might be great'>EQ: Why the new 51/50 server might be great</a> <small>Every time I get an urge to play an explorer...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/05/02/its-official-the-new-everquest-server-is-chosen-plus-eq3-rumors/' rel='bookmark' title='It&#8217;s official, the new EverQuest server is chosen, plus EQ3 rumors?'>It&#8217;s official, the new EverQuest server is chosen, plus EQ3 rumors?</a> <small>WK&#8217;s own Neriak correspondent, Nashuya N&#8217;Hamsha, interviews local residents about...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/14/everquests-new-server-what-are-the-choices/' rel='bookmark' title='EverQuest&#8217;s new server &#8212; what are the choices?'>EverQuest&#8217;s new server &#8212; what are the choices?</a> <small>Way back in December, SOE mentioned offhandedly that they would...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/06/16/welcome-to-mayong-everquests-5150-server/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy 10th Birthday, EverQuest!</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/17/happy-10th-birthday-everquest/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/17/happy-10th-birthday-everquest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:04:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EverQuest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EverQuest 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=3136</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To celebrate EverQuest&#8217;s tenth anniversary, guides, GMs and the gods themselves are running through the servers getting down and giving treats. Nostalgia the Guild, EQ2 division, was there in force. Because, if you&#8217;re gonna talk Classic EverQuest, nostalgia is gonna happen. Plus, all this Shards of Dalaya stuff has me thinking about those good old, [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/26/happy-3rd-birthday-west-karana/' rel='bookmark' title='Happy 3rd Birthday, West Karana'>Happy 3rd Birthday, West Karana</a> <small>I haven&#8217;t done any of those posts about all of...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/09/01/happy-birthday-wizard101/' rel='bookmark' title='Happy Birthday, Wizard101!'>Happy Birthday, Wizard101!</a> <small>Back in July of 2008, I downloaded a new MMO,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/08/14/everquests-10th-anniversary-book/' rel='bookmark' title='EverQuest&#8217;s 10th Anniversary Book'>EverQuest&#8217;s 10th Anniversary Book</a> <small>Remember those spam books that you could get in the...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><center><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/eq10-2.jpg" alt="eq10-2" title="eq10-2" width="480" height="384" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3138" /></center></p>
<p>To celebrate EverQuest&#8217;s tenth anniversary, guides, GMs and the gods themselves are running through the servers getting down and giving treats. Nostalgia the Guild, EQ2 division, was there in force. Because, if you&#8217;re gonna talk Classic EverQuest, nostalgia is gonna happen.</p>
<p>Plus, all this Shards of Dalaya stuff has me thinking about those good old, old days, where we used to group up to kill fire beetles and run screaming when Queen Klaknak showed.</p>
<p>Really. Pathetic, right?</p>
<p><center><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/everquest2-2009-04-16-19-31-01-66.jpg" alt="everquest2-2009-04-16-19-31-01-66" title="everquest2-2009-04-16-19-31-01-66" width="480" height="376" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3140" /></center></p>
<p>When you log in, instead of trying to catch the Guild and Server Messages of the Day as they scroll past, you now get this lovely window which gives you those tidbits, plus new stuff at the marketplace, plus latest news, plus&#8230; I really like it.</p>
<p>I admit, I *am* a marketplace customer, so I go there all the time to see if they have anything new.</p>
<p>The Norrath Witness Protection plan &#8212; which changes your name, gender and appearance &#8212; is probably the best-named item I&#8217;ve ever seen.</p>
<p><center><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/eq10-3.jpg" alt="eq10-3" title="eq10-3" width="480" height="384" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3139" /></center></p>
<p>Brightknife, still in costume from the Flavor of the Month session, scored a cool robe and stacks upon stacks of fireworks at the celebration, so &#8212; Happy Birthday, EverQuest, from those of us at Nostalgia the Guild. You changed our lives and brought happiness, and how many games can claim that?</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/26/happy-3rd-birthday-west-karana/' rel='bookmark' title='Happy 3rd Birthday, West Karana'>Happy 3rd Birthday, West Karana</a> <small>I haven&#8217;t done any of those posts about all of...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/09/01/happy-birthday-wizard101/' rel='bookmark' title='Happy Birthday, Wizard101!'>Happy Birthday, Wizard101!</a> <small>Back in July of 2008, I downloaded a new MMO,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/08/14/everquests-10th-anniversary-book/' rel='bookmark' title='EverQuest&#8217;s 10th Anniversary Book'>EverQuest&#8217;s 10th Anniversary Book</a> <small>Remember those spam books that you could get in the...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/17/happy-10th-birthday-everquest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lord of the Rings Online: A CoW is born.</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/13/lord-of-the-rings-online-a-cow-is-born/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/13/lord-of-the-rings-online-a-cow-is-born/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:28:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lord of the Rings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[casualties of war]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hunter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=3104</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This whole Web 2.0, social media thing is pretty cool, isn&#8217;t it? Friday, the Lord of the Rings Online branch of Nostalgia the Guild, using Twitter and XFire, decided to move en masse from Windfola to the Landroval RP server to join the Casualties of War folk. Since it will take several weeks for the [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/03/lord-of-the-rings-online-champion-of-the-world/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online: Champion of the World'>Lord of the Rings Online: Champion of the World</a> <small>Yeah, it&#8217;s a Jimmy Buffet song. Did you REALLY want...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/01/19/lord-of-the-rings-online-hobbit-vs-troll/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online: Hobbit vs Troll'>Lord of the Rings Online: Hobbit vs Troll</a> <small>If Bilbo could see me now, why, he&#8217;d be talking...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/09/08/lord-of-the-rings-online-is-f2p-for-certain-definitions-of-free/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online is F2P, for certain definitions of free'>Lord of the Rings Online is F2P, for certain definitions of free</a> <small>Lord of the Rings Online launched as a free-to-play game...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><center><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/lotroclient-2009-04-11-20-43-27-24.jpg" alt="lotroclient-2009-04-11-20-43-27-24" title="lotroclient-2009-04-11-20-43-27-24" width="480" height="385" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3105" /></center></p>
<p>This whole Web 2.0, social media thing is pretty cool, isn&#8217;t it? Friday, the Lord of the Rings Online branch of Nostalgia the Guild, using Twitter and XFire, decided to move <em>en masse</em> from Windfola to the Landroval RP server to join the Casualties of War folk. Since it will take several weeks for the Turbine staff to slog through the backlog and move our current characters, I started a new Hobbit hunter and did the introduction Friday night.</p>
<p>Saturday, I spent a little more time and soloed to 14, including the epic prologue, completing every deed in the Elf lands of Ered Luin. (Yes, ALL of them).</p>
<p>Sunday, soloed the Epic quest to the last chapter and am just waiting for a group to finish up Book 1. My hunter is on the threshold of level 19, and is a Journeyman Tailor who has made most of her armor.</p>
<p>I have played Captain, Champion, Minstrel, Guardian and Warden up to at least level 20, and all of those have (at least) completed Book 1 (Captain is starting Book 4). And none of those classes was as little challenging as the Hunter.</p>
<p>Quick Shot to snare, Barbed Shot to Wound and set up for melee, then Swift Shot and that focused shot if needed, but usually I just let the monster crawl slowly toward me, then hit it with the melee strike that does vast damage if the monster has been hit with Barbed Shot. Two monsters? Set trap, snare and range kill one while second one stares at you from the other side of the trap. Three? Snare/Barb Shot one, then Barb Shot the others at point blank range and use that melee strike plus the other melee arts to bring them down. Hopefully one is in a trap.</p>
<p>Point, click, kill. The only reason I died, once, at level 16, was because I fell.</p>
<p>On the whole, a disappointingly easy class. I&#8217;m told they get teleports later on as well. I wonder how that fits into Tolkein&#8217;s lore. Tracking, too. If I got some more in-combat morale regeneration gear, I bet I could be a heck of a kiter.</p>
<p>Anyway!</p>
<p>Thanks to Ethic of <a href="http://www.killtenrats.com/">Kill Ten Rats</a>, I&#8217;m now a proud member of Casualties of War! So I can put a checkmark next to that in my list of things to do in my life :) I hope to meet up and hopefully group up later on! I&#8217;m also kinda excited that I&#8217;m very nearly caught up in levels to the rest of the Nostalgians with the new character, so when they get transferred over, I&#8217;ll have a choice of Hunter or Champion to group with them, plus my 36 Captain to hopefully meet up with some of the other mid-level CoWs.</p>
<p>Good fun :)</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/03/lord-of-the-rings-online-champion-of-the-world/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online: Champion of the World'>Lord of the Rings Online: Champion of the World</a> <small>Yeah, it&#8217;s a Jimmy Buffet song. Did you REALLY want...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/01/19/lord-of-the-rings-online-hobbit-vs-troll/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online: Hobbit vs Troll'>Lord of the Rings Online: Hobbit vs Troll</a> <small>If Bilbo could see me now, why, he&#8217;d be talking...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/09/08/lord-of-the-rings-online-is-f2p-for-certain-definitions-of-free/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online is F2P, for certain definitions of free'>Lord of the Rings Online is F2P, for certain definitions of free</a> <small>Lord of the Rings Online launched as a free-to-play game...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/13/lord-of-the-rings-online-a-cow-is-born/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>EQ2: Epic encounter in my bedroom</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/05/eq2-epic-encounter-in-my-bedroom/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/05/eq2-epic-encounter-in-my-bedroom/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:19:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EverQuest 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[One Panel Comix]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kobold]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[orc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[station marketplace]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=3046</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was really cool! See, Kasul and I were kinda bored, and we were alone in the guild hall, and we got to thinking about what we could do and so we &#8230; HEY! STOP SNIGGERING! OMG! You people&#8230; I swear. I&#8217;m gonna stop writing this post unless you stop laughing. It wasn&#8217;t THAT kind [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/02/26/eq2-a-bards-dream-an-epic-done/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: A Bard&#8217;s Dream, an Epic Done'>EQ2: A Bard&#8217;s Dream, an Epic Done</a> <small>I had only an hour left on my Maidens instance....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/02/11/eq2-guild-search-aa-mirror-more-epic-progress/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Guild search, AA mirror, more epic progress'>EQ2: Guild search, AA mirror, more epic progress</a> <small>Prices for the reflective smoldering shard have really tanked on...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/02/08/eq2-epic-bits/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Epic Bits'>EQ2: Epic Bits</a> <small>Funny thing about the Avatars. They aren&#8217;t the real gods...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It was really cool! See, Kasul and I were kinda bored, and we were alone in the guild hall, and we got to thinking about what we could do and so we &#8230;</p>
<p>HEY! STOP SNIGGERING!</p>
<p>OMG! You people&#8230; I swear. I&#8217;m gonna stop writing this post unless you stop laughing.</p>
<p>It wasn&#8217;t THAT kind of encounter.</p>
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/everquest2-2009-04-04-21-58-41-05.jpg" alt="everquest2-2009-04-04-21-58-41-05" title="everquest2-2009-04-04-21-58-41-05" width="480" height="385" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3048" /></div>
<p>A couple of weeks ago, SOE put an Orc Centurion into their Station Marketplace thingy RMT thing. And I&#8217;ve been wracking my brains trying to think of what you could DO with it.</p>
<div style="float:left;"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/everquest2-2009-04-04-22-51-43-45.jpg" alt="everquest2-2009-04-04-22-51-43-45" title="everquest2-2009-04-04-22-51-43-45" width="192" height="240" class="alignright size-full wp-image-3049" /></div>
<p>And then, hey, we have that Kobold just sitting around in my guild room, eating any rats that get too close&#8230; what if we could make, oh, like a grouped encounter? Kasul logged in his carpenter and made a bunch of tents to choose from, the campfire, some decorative skull poles and a treasure box, and I pulled together some stuff from my room and invited an orc and a second kobold to join the first, and set them up in the crafting room.</p>
<p>Perfect!</p>
<p>We couldn&#8217;t leave it there, but there was a corner of the theater that was fairly unused, and there they stand. One of them even brought a snack for later.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll be back a little later with &#8220;A Mysterious Stranger Rips My Clothes Off.&#8221;</p>
<p>HEY! WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s about this weird girl who totally copied my outfit!</p>
<p>Sheesh. Getting so you can&#8217;t even BLOG in peace, these days.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/02/26/eq2-a-bards-dream-an-epic-done/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: A Bard&#8217;s Dream, an Epic Done'>EQ2: A Bard&#8217;s Dream, an Epic Done</a> <small>I had only an hour left on my Maidens instance....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/02/11/eq2-guild-search-aa-mirror-more-epic-progress/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Guild search, AA mirror, more epic progress'>EQ2: Guild search, AA mirror, more epic progress</a> <small>Prices for the reflective smoldering shard have really tanked on...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/02/08/eq2-epic-bits/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Epic Bits'>EQ2: Epic Bits</a> <small>Funny thing about the Avatars. They aren&#8217;t the real gods...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/05/eq2-epic-encounter-in-my-bedroom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lord of the Rings Online: Champion of the World</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/03/lord-of-the-rings-online-champion-of-the-world/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/03/lord-of-the-rings-online-champion-of-the-world/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:08:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lord of the Rings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=3039</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yeah, it&#8217;s a Jimmy Buffet song. Did you REALLY want me to&#8230;? Really? Okay, just for you, because you&#8217;re a friend, the real title of this post is &#8220;We are the Champions&#8221;. And, we will, we will rock you. Last night, I joined Stargrace and Kasul in LotRO for a little Nostalgia action. Gozad peeked [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/13/lord-of-the-rings-online-a-cow-is-born/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online: A CoW is born.'>Lord of the Rings Online: A CoW is born.</a> <small>This whole Web 2.0, social media thing is pretty cool,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2007/04/25/the-good-and-the-bad-of-lord-of-the-rings-online/' rel='bookmark' title='The Good (and the Bad) of Lord of the Rings Online'>The Good (and the Bad) of Lord of the Rings Online</a> <small>Gandalf points a new player toward the next step in...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2007/12/22/is-lord-of-the-rings-online-a-failure/' rel='bookmark' title='Is Lord of the Rings Online a failure?'>Is Lord of the Rings Online a failure?</a> <small>Over at Mind-Bending Puzzles, they&#8217;re concerned that the spike of...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Yeah, it&#8217;s a Jimmy Buffet song. Did you REALLY want me to&#8230;? Really? Okay, just for you, because you&#8217;re a friend, the real title of this post is &#8220;We are the Champions&#8221;.</p>
<p>And, we will, we will rock you.</p>
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/lotroclient-2009-04-03-07-34-47-79.jpg" alt="lotroclient-2009-04-03-07-34-47-79" title="lotroclient-2009-04-03-07-34-47-79" width="480" height="320" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3040" /></div>
<p>Last night, I joined Stargrace and Kasul in LotRO for a little Nostalgia action. Gozad peeked in for awhile, and if we can get some other Nostalgians &#8212; looking at you, Sirhyl and Malfi &#8212; to return, we will have a pretty amazing group. </p>
<p>I started off on my 22 Guardian, whom I love because she is just so SERIOUS looking, but in a cute way. It took quite a long time to get from where she was, in the Bree area, to the goblin area in the elf lands; by the time I finally arrived, Star and Kasul had finished up, and I played in the group long enough to realize that two tanks (Kasul is a warden) just wasn&#8217;t going to work.</p>
<p>I logged in first ever character from beta, Eraindiel. In beta, we were capped to level 15, so after I got Eraindiel, my champion, to 15 and completed Book 1, I made and played a minstrel, a guardian and finally a captain, who became my main when the game went live.</p>
<p>Eraindiel, being of the elf persuasion, had all the horsie stations in elf land (see, I am carefully and deliberately avoiding place names I&#8217;d probably get totally wrong).</p>
<p>Since I haven&#8217;t played her for anything other than her abilities as a weaponsmith and woodworker since before the XP change, her very first kill leveled her from 18 to 21.</p>
<p>Right through 20, the Hell Level.</p>
<p>Cost of new skills from level 18 through 21: about 400 silver.</p>
<p>Money on hand: About 50 silver.</p>
<p>Plus she switched from medium to heavy armor at 20, and went to the next weapon tier at 21. As soon as Stargrace headed out and our group broke up, I headed to the crafting table.</p>
<p>Or rather, Dera, Lysistra, and Eraindiel headed to their respective crafting tables. It took two hours to gather enough resources to make a full set of Heavy armor (and I had to borrow some resources from Kasul as well). Making two bright steel swords and a bright steel two hander took yet more resources, plus some sturdy hides from the captain. Then to spend yet more money slotting traits and &#8212; it took forever, but I got it done, and celebrated by logging in my 23 Warden and doing a quick Book 1.11 run to finish her Book 1.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll have to go back and make some more weapons for Kasul and Stargrace. I dread the resource gathering required. I have no idea why Turbine limits the tradeskills you can do. Just requires making so many alts because the prices for the goods of other crafters on the auction house is just out of control, unaffordable. When everyone is just trying to gouge everyone else, you have to go it alone.</p>
<p>Champions get so many cool attacks, but many are so similar it&#8217;s hard to judge between them.  I&#8217;ll have to do the math and see which give the most benefit at some point, because I don&#8217;t want four hotbars of largely similar abilities. I just want the best ones.</p>
<p>Still, I think I&#8217;ll enjoy being the DPS for our crew &#8212; unless Sirhyl and Malfi come back with their champ and hunter, in which case I will likely swap to Burglar. She&#8217;s holding on to the Tipa name at the moment :)</p>
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/lotroclient-2009-04-02-21-28-00-42.jpg" alt="lotroclient-2009-04-02-21-28-00-42" title="lotroclient-2009-04-02-21-28-00-42" width="256" height="320" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3041" /></div>
<p>Dera just looks so INTENT on something. &#8220;What is my purpose? Why am I here? Do those elves think my butt&#8217;s too big?&#8221;</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/13/lord-of-the-rings-online-a-cow-is-born/' rel='bookmark' title='Lord of the Rings Online: A CoW is born.'>Lord of the Rings Online: A CoW is born.</a> <small>This whole Web 2.0, social media thing is pretty cool,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2007/04/25/the-good-and-the-bad-of-lord-of-the-rings-online/' rel='bookmark' title='The Good (and the Bad) of Lord of the Rings Online'>The Good (and the Bad) of Lord of the Rings Online</a> <small>Gandalf points a new player toward the next step in...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2007/12/22/is-lord-of-the-rings-online-a-failure/' rel='bookmark' title='Is Lord of the Rings Online a failure?'>Is Lord of the Rings Online a failure?</a> <small>Over at Mind-Bending Puzzles, they&#8217;re concerned that the spike of...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/03/lord-of-the-rings-online-champion-of-the-world/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>EQ2: Brewday, or: How did I end up HERE?</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/14/eq2-brewday-or-how-did-i-end-up-here/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/14/eq2-brewday-or-how-did-i-end-up-here/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:40:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EverQuest 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brewday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brightknife]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=2875</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; No, please, just give me a second &#8230; I remember it, at least I think I do &#8230; Dammit, someone turn out the lights. Oh, that&#8217;s the sun? Then could someone PLEASE TURN OFF THE SUN? Gah. My head &#8230; Oh, you want to know what I did on Brewday? Damned if I know. [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/01/18/eq2-my-nexona/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: My Nexona'>EQ2: My Nexona</a> <small>Hey we&#8217;re gonna quickly run, quickly run From the entrance...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2006/01/20/a-seer-a-sage-and-a-champion-walk-into-a-bar/' rel='bookmark' title='A Seer, a Sage and a Champion walk into a bar&#8230;'>A Seer, a Sage and a Champion walk into a bar&#8230;</a> <small>Someone posted a long description of a guild he was...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/01/19/eq2-dera-loves-jackson-pollock-so-much-she-wears-him/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Dera loves Jackson Pollock SO MUCH, she wears him.'>EQ2: Dera loves Jackson Pollock SO MUCH, she wears him.</a> <small>When you ding in EQ2, everyone knows. When you ding...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/everquest2-2009-03-14-07-39-28-12.jpg" alt="everquest2-2009-03-14-07-39-28-12" title="everquest2-2009-03-14-07-39-28-12" width="480" height="385" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2877" /></div>
<p>&#8230;</p>
<p>No, please, just give me a second &#8230; I remember it, at least I think I do &#8230; Dammit, someone turn out the lights. Oh, that&#8217;s the sun? Then could someone PLEASE TURN OFF THE SUN?</p>
<p>Gah. My head &#8230; Oh, you want to know what I did on Brewday?</p>
<p>Damned if I know. The last thing I remember was getting together with the drummer from the band after a few of their songs and &#8230;</p>
<p>Would you STOP MOVING SO FAST? I have enough trouble focusing &#8230; well, just sit still or something.</p>
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/everquest2-2009-03-14-08-06-34-94.jpg" alt="everquest2-2009-03-14-08-06-34-94" title="everquest2-2009-03-14-08-06-34-94" width="480" height="378" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2876" /></div>
<p>Anyway, so I wake up back in the Guild Hall with a few kegs, a mostly-empty stone stein, a cabbage with eyes and an evil grin that calls me &#8220;Mommy&#8221;, and a tattoo on my rear that says &#8220;Brell Was Here&#8221;. I wouldn&#8217;t even have noticed if it didn&#8217;t hurt so damn much.</p>
<p>Anyway. I&#8217;m just gonna go back to bed for a week and then see a sage about getting that damn tattoo removed.</p>
<p>And if the sage so much as snickers, he&#8217;s dead. DEAD.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/01/18/eq2-my-nexona/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: My Nexona'>EQ2: My Nexona</a> <small>Hey we&#8217;re gonna quickly run, quickly run From the entrance...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2006/01/20/a-seer-a-sage-and-a-champion-walk-into-a-bar/' rel='bookmark' title='A Seer, a Sage and a Champion walk into a bar&#8230;'>A Seer, a Sage and a Champion walk into a bar&#8230;</a> <small>Someone posted a long description of a guild he was...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/01/19/eq2-dera-loves-jackson-pollock-so-much-she-wears-him/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Dera loves Jackson Pollock SO MUCH, she wears him.'>EQ2: Dera loves Jackson Pollock SO MUCH, she wears him.</a> <small>When you ding in EQ2, everyone knows. When you ding...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/14/eq2-brewday-or-how-did-i-end-up-here/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>EQ2: Don&#8217;t leave your guild hall without your appearance armor!</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/02/25/eq2-dont-leave-your-guild-hall-without-your-appearance-armor/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/02/25/eq2-dont-leave-your-guild-hall-without-your-appearance-armor/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:45:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EverQuest 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=2727</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a long time since I peeked beneath Dina&#8217;s appearance armor to see what all that cool stuff looks like. I&#8217;d gotten the TSO Tier 1 armor crafting book from a crafting mission Kasul and I duoed, and so was making TSO armor like crazy to fill up some gaping holes in my outfit. [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/09/23/eq2-thats-ms-guild-hall-constructor-to-you/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: That&#8217;s MS. Guild Hall Constructor to YOU.'>EQ2: That&#8217;s MS. Guild Hall Constructor to YOU.</a> <small>Thought I&#8217;d never finish the thirty gathering missions necessary to...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/27/improving-eq2s-appearance-slots/' rel='bookmark' title='Improving EQ2&#8242;s Appearance slots'>Improving EQ2&#8242;s Appearance slots</a> <small>EverQuest 2 allows you to do amazing things with interior...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/09/eq2-nostalgia-guild-hall-mania/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Nostalgia Guild Hall mania!'>EQ2: Nostalgia Guild Hall mania!</a> <small>Since I barely did anything to help with the guild...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s been a long time since I peeked beneath Dina&#8217;s appearance armor to see what all that cool stuff looks like. I&#8217;d gotten the TSO Tier 1 armor crafting book from a crafting mission Kasul and I duoed, and so was making TSO armor like crazy to fill up some gaping holes in my outfit.</p>
<p>But &#8212; what does this stuff look like?</p>
<p><center><br />
<table cellspacing=5>
<tr>
<td align=center><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/everquest2-2009-02-22-23-56-36-63.jpg" alt="everquest2-2009-02-22-23-56-36-63" title="everquest2-2009-02-22-23-56-36-63" width="212" height="320" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2729" /></td>
<td align=center><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/everquest2-2009-02-24-23-04-41-07.jpg" alt="everquest2-2009-02-24-23-04-41-07" title="everquest2-2009-02-24-23-04-41-07" width="213" height="320" class="alignright size-full wp-image-2728" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p></center></p>
<p>Yeah. Like THAT. You will never see my characters undressed again, I promise! On the right, Dina is in her normal outfit.</p>
<p>She&#8217;s a bard. A troubadour! She sings happy songs that make people feel better! So&#8230; why does she dress in black? I DON&#8217;T KNOW. I have TRIED to put some color into her outfits, but it never works out, and soon enough she&#8217;s back in black.</p>
<p>But &#8212; cool axe, huh? Got that from Druushk last night, I think. We finished clearing Wing 2 and will probably finish up VP Thursday, leaving Saturday for TSO raiding or something. I love raiding. It brought me back to EQ2.</p>
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/fourplanes.jpg" alt="fourplanes" title="fourplanes" width="640" height="240" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2730" /></div>
<p>Sunday, Kasul and I did a bunch of TSO missions, including Anathema, one I&#8217;d never done before. It was full of cute puzzles, like the one above where you have to look through mystical windows at four planes from the original EverQuest, and place the correct idols beneath the window.</p>
<p>Was nice to get a glimpse into the past like that. Brings back so many memories!</p>
<p>Oh well. Time to get to work. Have a great day!</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/09/23/eq2-thats-ms-guild-hall-constructor-to-you/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: That&#8217;s MS. Guild Hall Constructor to YOU.'>EQ2: That&#8217;s MS. Guild Hall Constructor to YOU.</a> <small>Thought I&#8217;d never finish the thirty gathering missions necessary to...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/27/improving-eq2s-appearance-slots/' rel='bookmark' title='Improving EQ2&#8242;s Appearance slots'>Improving EQ2&#8242;s Appearance slots</a> <small>EverQuest 2 allows you to do amazing things with interior...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/09/eq2-nostalgia-guild-hall-mania/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Nostalgia Guild Hall mania!'>EQ2: Nostalgia Guild Hall mania!</a> <small>Since I barely did anything to help with the guild...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/02/25/eq2-dont-leave-your-guild-hall-without-your-appearance-armor/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A look back at 2008</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/24/a-look-back-at-2008/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/24/a-look-back-at-2008/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:20:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Age of Conan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Champions Online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chronicles of Spellborn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City of Heroes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dream of Mirror Online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EverQuest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EverQuest 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Florensia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guild Wars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mythos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pirates of the Burning Sea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vanguard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warhammer: Age of Reckoning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wizard 101]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World of Warcraft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=2494</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[2008 has been an absolutely amazing year for MMOs, and my personal progress through them. Last year at this time, I&#8217;d just found the absolutely most perfect EQ2 guild &#8212; they were great raiders, loved grouping, and were fantastic people besides. With Clan of Shadows, I managed to do every flagging raid for Ruins of [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/01/02/great-expectations-2008/' rel='bookmark' title='Great Expectations: 2008'>Great Expectations: 2008</a> <small>2007 opened with me splitting my time between EQ1 and...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/30/the-magic-8-ball-predicts-the-losers-and-winners-of-2011/' rel='bookmark' title='The Magic 8 Ball predicts the losers and winners of 2011.'>The Magic 8 Ball predicts the losers and winners of 2011.</a> <small>I suck at predictions, but everyone else is doing them....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/05/will-2009-be-the-best-year-ever-for-mmos/' rel='bookmark' title='Will 2009 be the best year ever for MMOs?'>Will 2009 be the best year ever for MMOs?</a> <small>In 2007, you could have surprised absolutely nobody by predicting...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>2008 has been an absolutely amazing year for MMOs, and my personal progress through them.</p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/everquest2-2007-12-30-22-10-50-69.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/everquest2-2007-12-30-22-10-50-69.jpg" alt="" title="" width="128" height="85" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1205" /></a></div>
<p>Last year at this time, I&#8217;d just found the absolutely most perfect EQ2 guild &#8212; they were great raiders, loved grouping, and were fantastic people besides. With Clan of Shadows, I managed to do every flagging raid for Ruins of Kunark and was ready to step in and do my best to help the guild as they conquered Veeshan&#8217;s Peak. It wasn&#8217;t to be; I didn&#8217;t make the full membership vote. It wasn&#8217;t even close. That disappointment, along with other things to fill my evenings, eventually led to the end of raiding. Without raiding, though, I didn&#8217;t have much incentive to log in anymore. I tried to make things work with another guild, Delusions of Grandeur, but it just wasn&#8217;t CoS. I guess if I couldn&#8217;t make it in CoS, I didn&#8217;t want to settle for a lesser guild.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/eqgame-2008-07-18-20-42-09-92.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/eqgame-2008-07-18-20-42-09-92-225x225.jpg" alt="" title="eqgame-2008-07-18-20-42-09-92" width="128" height="128" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1727" /></a></div>
<p>I started poking around back on EverQuest. I really missed my characters there. Not raiding, so much, but the friends, community and camaraderie that makes EQ unique. A lot of people commented that they&#8217;d love to play through EQ again, if they didn&#8217;t have to do it alone. So I thought we might do together what we&#8217;d never do alone, and along with ten or so fellow former EQ players, started Nostalgia the Guild on the Luclin server. NtG peaked in mid-summer when we got to dragon killing level and put the hurt on two of the three bosses of the original EQ, Lord Nagafen and Lady Vox. (We never killed the third, Phinegal Atropos, as a guild). SOE&#8217;s summer Living Legacy program had the unexpected side effect of boosting the power of our armor and weapons to raid levels, and a lot of things became possible with very few people. Although fairly diminished, NtG still meets Fridays to explore Old Norrath.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/everquest2-2008-12-16-00-45-28-72.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/everquest2-2008-12-16-00-45-28-72-225x225.jpg" alt="" title="everquest2-2008-12-16-00-45-28-72" width="128" height="128" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-2450" /></a></div>
<p>Stargrace took the Nostalgia idea and brought it forward 500 years to the devastated Norrath of EverQuest II. I eventually transferred half my characters from Befallen to Najena to join the guild there. I&#8217;m getting the urge to raid and group again, so I may be moving some of them back to Befallen&#8230; the loneliness of a server I have no history with dooms me to pickup groups with players I have never met and will never meet again. Nostalgia EQ2&#8242;s two active members aren&#8217;t enough to build a group or a raid&#8230; so there&#8217;s not much to do unless I want to do it alone. I hate playing by myself.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ss.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ss.jpg" alt="" title="" width="128" height="191" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1503" /></a></div>
<p>In February, I restarted my Neopets account with the sole goal of reaching and beating level 100 of their Shapeshifter mini-game. Shapeshifter starts out as the kind of brain twister that is fun to solve, but quickly goes well beyond the bounds of anything that can be solved by unaided humans in a normal lifetime. So this supposed kids game is really a test of your ability to develop an algorithm that can solve an enormous non-directed decision tree before the Sun goes nova. With help and encouragement from other solvers, I developed a Python program I called Shifter that could solve the hardest levels in no more than a day, and often far faster. On April 1st, 2008, I solved the last puzzle and was the Neopets Shapeshifter Champion for the entire month.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/potbs-2008-02-04-07-22-06-88.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/potbs-2008-02-04-07-22-06-88.jpg" alt="" title="" width="128" height="102" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1315" /></a></div>
<p>February also started my short-lived affair with Pirates of the Burning Sea. My son wanted to give it a try, so I bought a copy for him, intending to buy a copy for myself if I liked it. He grew bored with it. I liked it a lot, and made a character on his account, got up to a fairly decent level and was getting my free trading skills up, working through the storyline, and getting involved in some really exciting battles at sea.</p>
<p>It was on Station Pass, too! This was somewhat of a killer, actually. My son is not on the Station Pass, so I would have had to start paying for one or pay the PotBS subscription fee to keep playing, all the time I could be playing it for nothing extra if I just had my own account.</p>
<p>I wasn&#8217;t sure I wanted to start all over again, or pay to buy another copy of the game, so I just let it lapse. There were plenty of issues, but the game had amazing character and ship customization, absolutely gorgeous and tense battles, and I even liked the story. Sailing back and forth on the Caribbean though, not so much. Having to depend on a wide variety of people to make goods, definitely not so much. I wanted to play, but I just didn&#8217;t have the time or the money.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/mythos-2008-04-10-00-47-41-12.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/mythos-2008-04-10-00-47-41-12.jpg" alt="" title="" width="128" height="102" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1573" /></a></div>
<p>I felt sure that by the end of the year, I&#8217;d be totally engulfed in the one sure-fire hit MMO of the year, Flagship Studio&#8217;s Mythos. I&#8217;ve played a lot of Diablo clones, and even some, like Cronous, that try and take the action RPG into the MMO realm, but none had nailed it like Mythos. Even before they expanded the heavily instanced Overworld into a more world-like map with zoning only for cities and dungeons, I felt they had made perhaps the ultimate casual MMO&#8230; Rumors of money trouble inside Flagship turned out to be truth, and over a tumultuous weekend, Hellgate: London, their other title, was taken by their Asian publishing partner, and Mythos was dead.</p>
<p>I would like to be playing Mythos right now.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<div style="width:128px; height:128px; text-align:center; float:left; padding-right:10px;"><strong>Insert Massively Logo Here!</div>
<p></strong>In March, a major new chapter of my life began when I was hired to blog about breaking MMO news for Massively.com. The pressure of writing so many articles, keeping a full time job, trying to keep Nostalgia rolling, and raiding in EQ2 eventually left me unable to do any of these things well. I put my full time job first, where it had to be, and focused on real life issues, like getting my son enrolled in college and figuring out how to pay for it (answer: I didn&#8217;t. I am broke all the time now :( ). My Massively adventure ended after an ill-fated trip to the SOE Fan Faire put me in massive (sorry) debt, and my job was cut down to doing EQ2 guides, a task for which I was incredibly unsuited, since I was hardly playing EQ2 at all at that point (which continues to this day), and I&#8217;d never written a guide to anything in my life :P Massively and I parted ways in September.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<p>I went back to writing just for West Karana, where I planned to change the direction of the blog from just chronicling my adventures in mainstream MMOs to seeking out, playing and being an advocate for lesser known MMOs.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not that I don&#8217;t like the AAA, high budget, huge marketing department MMOs. I just find them too similar to each other. So many players look eagerly to a new MMO to banish the blahs they feel with the game they currently play. They play the new MMO for awhile, discover that it&#8217;s essentially the same as the game they already played, and pronounce the entire genre dead.</p>
<p>I was looking through MMORPG.com&#8217;s list of games, and some of them looked totally, wildly different from anything I had ever played. Somewhere in those hundreds of games would have to be dozens that went in a new direction.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, there were. BUNCHES!</p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/wizardgraphicalclient-2008-07-28-06-33-12-891.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/wizardgraphicalclient-2008-07-28-06-33-12-891-225x225.jpg" alt="" title="wizardgraphicalclient-2008-07-28-06-33-12-891" width="128" height="128" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1759" /></a></div>
<p>In early July, I discovered Wizard 101, probably via Massively. This was an entire MMO built around a wildly kooky collectible card game. I was absolutely and utterly hooked. This was the sort of thing I&#8217;d been looking for &#8212; an MMO that was just entirely out of left field. It was superficially a kid&#8217;s game but quickly turned into a game requiring strategy and teamwork and great skill in deck building. I played until they turned out the beta lights, took a couple week&#8217;s break, then started right in on the live game.</p>
<p>If anyone wanted to dip their toes into MMO gaming, I wouldn&#8217;t give them a copy of EverQuest II or World of Warcraft. I&#8217;d sit them down in front of Wizard 101, right where the Headmaster of Ravenwood School of Wizardry is giving a test to see what sort of wizard you are. It&#8217;s not Hogwart&#8217;s by another name. It&#8217;s something new, unique and fun. Wizard 101 was one of the breakout hits of 2008, and I expect wonderful things from it in 2009.<br style="clear:left"/></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/cityofheroes-2008-08-28-07-06-42-61.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/cityofheroes-2008-08-28-07-06-42-61-225x225.jpg" alt="" title="cityofheroes-2008-08-28-07-06-42-61" width="128" height="128" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1881" /></a></div>
<p>My on-again, off-again relationship with City of Villains flipped &#8220;on&#8221; again for awhile in July and August. I love the idea of a super-hero, comic book game, and I like what NCsoft has done with the game since they acquired it from Cryptic, and the character creator is unparalleled, but&#8230; the repetitive gameplay just can&#8217;t keep me for long. I started to get into their crafting system, but after awhile I just stopped logging in. I&#8217;m still subscribed, for now, because I am waiting for the mission designer coming in Issue 14 or 15. I want to see what that is like.<br style="clear:left"></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/sporeapp-2008-09-11-23-25-49-86.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/sporeapp-2008-09-11-23-25-49-86-225x225.jpg" alt="" title="sporeapp-2008-09-11-23-25-49-86" width="128" height="128" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1966" /></a></div>
<p>Spore owned my gaming time for a few weeks in September. I really wanted to like the game and very much enjoyed building new creatures, vehicles and space ships. I just didn&#8217;t get into the space game that is the majority of the time spent playing &#8212; you breeze through the other portions in an hour or less. It still has a place on my hard drive.<br style="clear:left"></p>
<div style="float:left"><a href='http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/domo-2008-12-14-11-32-57-40.jpg'><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/domo-2008-12-14-11-32-57-40-225x225.jpg" alt="" title="domo-2008-12-14-11-32-57-40" width="128" height="128" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-2441" /></a></div>
<p>Recently, I&#8217;ve chucked pretty much every game into the back seat in order to play Dream of Mirror Online. I played this game briefly earlier in the year, and it made a very good impression, but the huge number of games out at that time pushed it away before I&#8217;d gotten to level 10, where the jobs, and the game itself, open up. As I played it, I couldn&#8217;t help remembering the last game that made me feel this way &#8212; the original EverQuest. I began to notice a lot of similarities between the games &#8212; death penalties, slow leveling, an emphasis on community over leveling, wide open zones and dungeons &#8212; it was EverQuest! A Taiwanese game company had managed, somehow, to meld EQ&#8217;s gameplay and community with the Asian anime-flavored, cinematic games. Absolutely stunned me, and I am having a lot of fun playing it.<br style="clear:left"></p>
<p>Honorable mentions: Guild Wars &#8212; I want to play this more. Why don&#8217;t I? I don&#8217;t know! Probably because I hate playing alone. Florensia &#8212; another Asian import. I loved the fact that it had a cool land game AND a pirate-themed sea game, but it reminded me of DOMO so much, I figured I&#8217;d just play DOMO (good call). Vanguard &#8212; even though it runs crappy on my machine, I still pick it up now and again, and it still has a spot on my hard drive. Spellborn &#8212; this was intended to be a major part of my fall gaming, but it has been pushed to next year. I still have high hopes for the game, if not for the publisher&#8217;s commitment to the title.</p>
<p>2008 was a very intense year for MMO gaming, full of tales of intrigue and adventure &#8212; and that&#8217;s just the marketing departments! Some of this year&#8217;s biggest releases &#8212; WoW&#8217;s expansion, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online &#8212; I just could not find time for. 2009 isn&#8217;t looking as intense as 2008, but it might well be SOE&#8217;s time to shine if they can get The Agency and Free Realms out the door. Champions Online is also scheduled for the year, and perhaps DC Universe Online as well, giving NCsoft&#8217;s City of Heroes a run for its money and market share. News of Star Trek Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic should keep people thirsting for more space-themed adventure in 2010. And, Spellborn!</p>
<p>Happy holidays, fellow gamers :)</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/01/02/great-expectations-2008/' rel='bookmark' title='Great Expectations: 2008'>Great Expectations: 2008</a> <small>2007 opened with me splitting my time between EQ1 and...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/30/the-magic-8-ball-predicts-the-losers-and-winners-of-2011/' rel='bookmark' title='The Magic 8 Ball predicts the losers and winners of 2011.'>The Magic 8 Ball predicts the losers and winners of 2011.</a> <small>I suck at predictions, but everyone else is doing them....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/05/will-2009-be-the-best-year-ever-for-mmos/' rel='bookmark' title='Will 2009 be the best year ever for MMOs?'>Will 2009 be the best year ever for MMOs?</a> <small>In 2007, you could have surprised absolutely nobody by predicting...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/24/a-look-back-at-2008/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>EQ: Exploring the Depths of Darkhollow</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/20/eq-exploring-the-depths-of-darkhollow/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/20/eq-exploring-the-depths-of-darkhollow/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:49:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EverQuest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[depths of darkhollow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stoneroot falls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=2464</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Depths of Darkhollow, EverQuest&#8217;s tenth expansion was set in the vast underground series of caverns of Underdark Darkhollow, a vast series of caverns beneath Norrath inhabited by the remains of the Illithid Illisin empire and the upstart, warring factions of the Wurine (werewolves). It continued the previous Dragons of Norrath expansion&#8217;s effort to reposition EverQuest [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/07/01/exploring-the-overworld-in-mythos/' rel='bookmark' title='Exploring the Overworld in Mythos'>Exploring the Overworld in Mythos</a> <small>As is way too often the case, I start writing...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/09/20/eq-stillmoon-temple-and-the-dragons-of-norrath/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: Stillmoon Temple and the Dragons of Norrath'>EQ: Stillmoon Temple and the Dragons of Norrath</a> <small>It was another light night, but we had a cleric,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/10/new-everquest-hot-zones-rmt-and-frostfell-missions/' rel='bookmark' title='New EverQuest hot zones. RMT, and Frostfell missions'>New EverQuest hot zones. RMT, and Frostfell missions</a> <small>Much thanks to Danshir for reminding me last night that...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/eqgame-2008-12-19-20-26-00-27.jpg" alt="" title="eqgame-2008-12-19-20-26-00-27" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2465" /></div>
<p>Depths of Darkhollow, EverQuest&#8217;s tenth expansion was set in the vast underground series of caverns of <del datetime="2008-12-20T16:13:38+00:00">Underdark</del> Darkhollow, a vast series of caverns beneath Norrath inhabited by the remains of the <del datetime="2008-12-20T16:13:38+00:00">Illithid</del> Illisin empire and the upstart, warring factions of the Wurine (werewolves). It continued the previous Dragons of Norrath expansion&#8217;s effort to reposition EverQuest back to its Norrath-centered fantasy roots after two large expansions, <em>Gates of Discord</em> and its follow-up, <em>Omens of War</em>, took players off Norrath and into the middle of an alien invasion. After all, where could you go when you&#8217;d just killed off all the gods of Norrath in <em>Planes of Power</em>?</p>
<p>EverQuest found the answer in Dungeons and Dragons&#8217; tales of the Underdark, the mystic realm far beneath the surface world.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s where we found ourselves last night, in Stoneroot Falls. The zone is named after the the huge falls that get their source ultimately in the river that cuts through Nektulos Forest.</p>
<p>Tarfu and Elryndal were on when I got on. We&#8217;d decided last week to head to Stoneroot, the 65-70 hot zone, to get some experience after a few weeks bopping around in the Planes of Power. To be honest, though, I didn&#8217;t feel the experience in Stoneroot was all that better than it was in the Plane of Fire. It was, though, someplace new.</p>
<p>Coldheat logged on before we headed out, so my cleric mercenary got the night off, a big relief to her, I&#8217;m sure :) I felt kinda bad for Coldheat, though.</p>
<p>I&#8217;d hated Stoneroot Falls when I played a cleric. It&#8217;s a zone full of ramps, water, and crazy shifts in elevation. It is very, very hard to get around in the zone without invisibility and levitation, neither of which were easy to come by for a cleric. Invis potions cost 13 plat a shot in PoK, and levitation &#8212; for a PST player in an EST guild, it was unusual to be able to grab a SoE from a ranger or druid before everyone headed out to the zone. <em>The Buried Sea</em> expansion would fix this with guild banners, but that was still in the future.</p>
<p>Deep Orcs in the second section of Stoneroot, not far from the secret entrance to Dreadspire Keep, seemed best for our level on tracking, and we headed that way.</p>
<p>We pretty much made, and wiped on the first pull. Oops.</p>
<p>On the way back, Coldheat died and Elry and Tarfu got pinned down by continual adds in the water. We eventually got it together and let Elry pull with pacify.</p>
<p>We settled down to a good, three+ hour grind after that. I dinged 68, Coldheat got level 64, Tarfu made like twelve AAs (used a potion) and I think Elry said he had over six.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m now either at or just beyond the level of my first serious character, my druid Etha. Closing in on my rogue, also named Tipa, who&#8217;s 70, and within sight of my highest level character, the level 75 cleric Brita. Still 17 levels from the current cap, though.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m hoping we can do some of the easier Darkhollow missions sometime. There were some which were just crazy hard, but others were fun and had great loot.</p>
<p>It was a really fun night. It was great to talk to Lazarretto, who is having fun in his new guild and has started up his own EQ-focused blog, <a href="http://completeheal.com">Complete Heal</a>, which everyone should check out :)</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/07/01/exploring-the-overworld-in-mythos/' rel='bookmark' title='Exploring the Overworld in Mythos'>Exploring the Overworld in Mythos</a> <small>As is way too often the case, I start writing...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/09/20/eq-stillmoon-temple-and-the-dragons-of-norrath/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: Stillmoon Temple and the Dragons of Norrath'>EQ: Stillmoon Temple and the Dragons of Norrath</a> <small>It was another light night, but we had a cleric,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/10/new-everquest-hot-zones-rmt-and-frostfell-missions/' rel='bookmark' title='New EverQuest hot zones. RMT, and Frostfell missions'>New EverQuest hot zones. RMT, and Frostfell missions</a> <small>Much thanks to Danshir for reminding me last night that...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/20/eq-exploring-the-depths-of-darkhollow/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>EQ2: When giant dogs attack!</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/16/eq2-when-giant-dogs-attack/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/16/eq2-when-giant-dogs-attack/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:26:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EverQuest 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nostalgia the Guild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buddy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[frostfell]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=2449</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was trying to get a decent screen shot of my new Frostfell quest armor when Buddy brutally attacked! One of Dora&#8217;s final tasks when she betrayed to Freeport was to befriend Buddy, and then take evil delight in killing him. But Dora used her new necromantic powers to bring him back. Somehow she brought [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2007/07/12/dogs-and-frisbees-why-mmos-suck/' rel='bookmark' title='Dogs and Frisbees: Why your MMO sucks.'>Dogs and Frisbees: Why your MMO sucks.</a> <small>There&#8217;s this dog. Every day he runs out of the...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/11/08/eq-the-attack-of-the-killer-bees/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: The Attack of the Killer Bees'>EQ: The Attack of the Killer Bees</a> <small>The plan was to go to some experience hot zone...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2006/06/21/eq-betraying-qeynos-proving-my-worth/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Betraying Qeynos &#8211; Proving My Worth'>EQ2: Betraying Qeynos &#8211; Proving My Worth</a> <small>Freeport loves that whole &#8220;I am the MASTER, you must...</small></li>
</ol>

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/everquest2-2008-12-16-00-45-28-721.jpg" alt="" title="everquest2-2008-12-16-00-45-28-721"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2451" /></div>
<p>I was trying to get a decent screen shot of my new Frostfell quest armor when Buddy brutally attacked! One of Dora&#8217;s final tasks when she betrayed to Freeport was to <a href="http://westkarana.com/index.php/2006/06/21/eq-betraying-qeynos-proving-my-worth/">befriend Buddy</a>, and then take evil delight in killing him. But Dora used her new necromantic powers to bring him back. Somehow she brought him back &#8216;wrong&#8217; and he grew to enormous size. He&#8217;s now the guardian of the guild hall&#8230;</p>
<p>But sometimes&#8230; when CERTAIN people forget to FEED the dog&#8230; he can be vicious.</p>
<p>Maybe it was the new wings that set him off. I didn&#8217;t feel like my wings matched the armor at all, so I wondered if that gnomish barber in West Freeport could fix that. And for a single gold piece, he could!</p>
<p>I didn&#8217;t think that a new wing design would set Buddy off, but I guess all he can really see of me is my wings.</p>
<p>Someone PLEASE call him off and feed him! I&#8217;m tired of hiding here under the woodworking table!</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2007/07/12/dogs-and-frisbees-why-mmos-suck/' rel='bookmark' title='Dogs and Frisbees: Why your MMO sucks.'>Dogs and Frisbees: Why your MMO sucks.</a> <small>There&#8217;s this dog. Every day he runs out of the...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/11/08/eq-the-attack-of-the-killer-bees/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: The Attack of the Killer Bees'>EQ: The Attack of the Killer Bees</a> <small>The plan was to go to some experience hot zone...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2006/06/21/eq-betraying-qeynos-proving-my-worth/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: Betraying Qeynos &#8211; Proving My Worth'>EQ2: Betraying Qeynos &#8211; Proving My Worth</a> <small>Freeport loves that whole &#8220;I am the MASTER, you must...</small></li>
</ol></p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://yarpp.org'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/12/16/eq2-when-giant-dogs-attack/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

