Well, that didn't take long.
Somewhere in the middle of Kun-lai Summit my rogue dinged 90 without a single piece of heirloom gear on her (that was still active, anyway; I kept the Inherited Insignia of the Alliance just because).
This was the quickest I'd leveled to max level in a new expac area, and if I'd have been a non-stealthie class I'd have finished even sooner because I avoided a lot of mobs while out questing. By comparison, I dinged L80 in Storm Peaks on Q, and L85 in Twilight Highlands on Neve and Tom.
And while it's going to be nice for questing, PvP just got a big punch in the gut.
I mean, really. Most of my gear is in the L414 range; what do you think would happen if I got into WSG with that gear iL?
I considered running scenarios and/or instances, but really, they didn't appeal to me. I didn't feel like dragging down a scenario with my (relative lack of) DPS, and while instances might work, if I'm going to be spending time getting badges I might as well get Honor instead. Okay, I have to be honest: I queued for an instance long enough to see the DPS wait time for a normal was 45 minutes, and decided I'd much rather get two BGs in before a single instance popped.
That said, just any old BG won't do if you're not geared up for it. A rule of thumb of mine is that the more the players on a side, the lesss impact a single player will have. Therefore, for an undergeared toon, my best bet is to stick to the 40 man BGs and ride on some coattails.
Oh hai, Vann! Nice to see you!
It feels weird walking around Neverwinter.
The last time I was in the Jewel of the North was in the video game Neverwinter Nights, back before D&D 4E and the Spellplague. Even though she is dead now, I keep expecting to see Lady Aribeth, Paladin of Tyr, wandering around the Protector's Enclave.
I also expect --as a Cleric-- to be managing my available spells and keeping an eye on balancing healing with utility. But in Neverwinter, based as it is on D&D 4E, all of that is out the window. Neverwinter is far closer to a Diablo-esque game than a traditional MMO in terms of gameplay. The commands alone feel better suited to a gamepad than a keyboard.
Still, it is an addictive game, and I recognize the Forgotten Realms lingo in the NPCs you meet.
Kids and MMOs, Part Whatever:
I called the kids down to dinner last night, and as she sat down my youngest got a funny look on her face.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I didn't park my Smuggler before coming down. She was in Black Sun territory."
I headed for the stairs. "I'll take care of it."
After moving her toon into a corner, I returned to the table. "Kiddo," I began, "Why is your Smuggler wearing a dress?"
"Um....."
"You realize you put on gear meant for a counselor, right?"
"Oh, so THAT's why she looked weird!"
Somewhere in the middle of Kun-lai Summit my rogue dinged 90 without a single piece of heirloom gear on her (that was still active, anyway; I kept the Inherited Insignia of the Alliance just because).
This was the quickest I'd leveled to max level in a new expac area, and if I'd have been a non-stealthie class I'd have finished even sooner because I avoided a lot of mobs while out questing. By comparison, I dinged L80 in Storm Peaks on Q, and L85 in Twilight Highlands on Neve and Tom.
And while it's going to be nice for questing, PvP just got a big punch in the gut.
I mean, really. Most of my gear is in the L414 range; what do you think would happen if I got into WSG with that gear iL?
I considered running scenarios and/or instances, but really, they didn't appeal to me. I didn't feel like dragging down a scenario with my (relative lack of) DPS, and while instances might work, if I'm going to be spending time getting badges I might as well get Honor instead. Okay, I have to be honest: I queued for an instance long enough to see the DPS wait time for a normal was 45 minutes, and decided I'd much rather get two BGs in before a single instance popped.
That said, just any old BG won't do if you're not geared up for it. A rule of thumb of mine is that the more the players on a side, the lesss impact a single player will have. Therefore, for an undergeared toon, my best bet is to stick to the 40 man BGs and ride on some coattails.
Oh hai, Vann! Nice to see you!
***
It feels weird walking around Neverwinter.
The last time I was in the Jewel of the North was in the video game Neverwinter Nights, back before D&D 4E and the Spellplague. Even though she is dead now, I keep expecting to see Lady Aribeth, Paladin of Tyr, wandering around the Protector's Enclave.
I also expect --as a Cleric-- to be managing my available spells and keeping an eye on balancing healing with utility. But in Neverwinter, based as it is on D&D 4E, all of that is out the window. Neverwinter is far closer to a Diablo-esque game than a traditional MMO in terms of gameplay. The commands alone feel better suited to a gamepad than a keyboard.
Still, it is an addictive game, and I recognize the Forgotten Realms lingo in the NPCs you meet.
***
Kids and MMOs, Part Whatever:
I called the kids down to dinner last night, and as she sat down my youngest got a funny look on her face.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I didn't park my Smuggler before coming down. She was in Black Sun territory."
I headed for the stairs. "I'll take care of it."
After moving her toon into a corner, I returned to the table. "Kiddo," I began, "Why is your Smuggler wearing a dress?"
"Um....."
"You realize you put on gear meant for a counselor, right?"
"Oh, so THAT's why she looked weird!"
Lol, maybe the dress was too stunning to pass up!
ReplyDeleteNeverwinter really does feel Diabloesque. I'm still enjoying it, I'm fascinated by the Foundry quests and wondering when the leveling will slow down. I'm level 23 now and it seems I keep dinging at an alarming rate. I have yet to get into anything from the queue. Could be as usual the time of day I play or I'm doing it wrong.
I think she saw Stamina being better, and so she equipped it. I have to make sure she's looking at more than one stat before deciding to equip it.
DeleteAlthough, if I told her that she chose the dress "just because", she'd probably kick me in the butt. She's gone from a "I want to wear a dress everyday!" in Kindergarten to "You can't MAKE me wear something girly girlish!" as a Tween.
I wonder about the leveling in Neverwinter too, although you've passed me up by quite a bit.
Your kid stories are so adorable. I can't wait until my little girl, only 11 months right now, is old enough to play around with computer games. She already giggles and waves hello to my Pandaren toons, and is a little weary of my Goblin mage.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on level 90! I leveled one toon to 90 before 5.3 (or whatever patch it was) lowered the experience needed for 85-90, and just leveled my second post-patch. And it did fly by! I didn't have any heirloom gear or purchased items. I just equipped my quest rewards, and didn't seem to have any problems. Sure it might have taken me a bit longer to quest and level by doing it this way, but like you, I play how I feel like, not how others would do it.
My one comment on scenarios is that you really don't need to be geared to run them, or at least the regular versions. I was scared to queue at first too, because all I had on was quest gear. But I REALLY wanted the baby hydra pet that released with the Escalation patch, and in order to get it, I had to complete a questline that opens with running two scenarios. So I took a big breath and queued for the regular versions, and just followed the person who took off first. One of the two scenarios involved one round of deaths, but we just ran back and pushed on. It was all much less dramatic than I had made it!
Sayville? Is that you? How've you been?! I haven't heard from you in ages!!
DeleteI'll have to remember that about Scenarios, because I know that the lack of a trinity might make things more difficult to stay afloat, particularly if it's three DPS.
It is! I had to take a break from gaming for a bit to have my baby girl, but picked it back up a little while ago when I rediscovered having "free time" after she finally started napping and sleeping well on her own. I recently started a blog for fun (Orgrimmar Public Library), and picked up reading yours again! :)
Delete