A Quick Wednesday Post

Okay, I laughed. For some reason I thought of the tons of Kitties I've seen over the years in Warsong Gulch.

A Return to Normalcy: More Pugging in SWTOR

It definitely felt weird looking at the large block of free time the other night* and thinking to myself "I could actually run more a couple of flashpoints tonight!"

I've been playing that Jedi Shadow I'd originally started on Red Eclipse (pre-merge) and is now on Darth Malgus (post merge), and since she is at the end of Chapter 1 I figured she's at the perfect point to run some low-mid level flashpoints.**, so I queued up for several and got in without much fuss.

You have to understand that when the following is the case:

• I queued as DPS
• It's about 3 AM server time in Europe
• I specified about 4-5 flashpoints in my queue

that typically I'd have to wait about 15-30 minutes before something popped. However, I got into a flashpoint within 5 minutes at the most. I should know, because I figured I could get some chores done while waiting but I nearly got caught missing the flashpoints because I was AFK when they popped.

But really, that was the worst thing that happened through the entire evening.

The flashpoints were quick, clean, and even the "all DPS" flashpoint (Athiss) was easily handled by my team. I'll freely admit that while I requested DPS, I geared as a tank, because in an all-DPS flashpoint you're going to potentially be called upon to be either a tank or a healer in a moment's notice. Besides, I had enough tanking gear in my inventory courtesy of previous flashpoint runs, so I was covered just enough to not feel like a noob wearing PvE gear into a Battleground.***

While the lack of drama and wipes were the best part of the evening, I found myself in several flashpoints with a couple of the same people. I wasn't so thrilled about one (who kept saying "whatever, bb" when someone would say something to her), but the other was a really good DPS and pinch healer Smuggler. When we were down to just two of us on the last boss of one of the Hammer Station runs, she took out the last boss pretty much by herself while I "tanked".****

I'd have to go back to Wrath era WoW, when I used to get up at 6 AM to play for an hour before getting the (then) little mini-Reds ready for elementary school or preschool, to when I got to know most of the regular instance runners on a server. It was oddly comforting, knowing that the same people who worked so well together were still around, running the same instances. Perhaps it is better to think of the early morning crew as essentially a mini-guild, held together by the common goal of getting an instance completed.

I never got that sense of camaraderie when I ran BGs in WoW, because a) I no longer logged in early in the mornings, b) there were the server don't-call-them mergers that brought a larger pool of players together than before, and c) in the 40x40 BGs that I preferred the fights were so big that you rarely got the chance to know people to the same degree. I wondered once whether the 40-man BGs approached the scale of fight that you had in the old 40-man raids, but I concluded that wasn't the case because you could kind of putz around in  Mists-era Alterac Valley and not be missed at all, but everybody (and I do mean everybody) had a role to play in AQ40; people noticed if you weren't pulling your own weight.

Still, it's nice to find some regulars to run with from time to time. I'm not planning on joining a guild, since my free time is pretty imaginary most days, but it's nice to have that guild-esque feel to some in-game activity.

Without all the drama.





*Courtesy of the Olympics, my wife was glued to the television and let me have free rein of the desktop.

**With the leveling adjustments done in flashpoints these days, the concept of low-mid level range flashpoints doesn't exist. However, I'll always think of the Hammer Station through the Boarding Party / Maelstrom Prison (and Imp equivalent) level flashpoints as low-mid level.

***If you've ever been in that situation, you understand. Personally, that's why I would run the WoW 40-man BGs until I got a reasonable amount of PvP gear, because one person isn't typically going to make a difference in a 40-man run of Alterac Valley. Typically, anyway.

****There was only so much damage mitigation you can do when you're specced DPS as a Jedi Shadow, and I was tanking pretty much from the beginning of the fight when the "tank" died early in the fight before one of us could reach the healing station. I died with just a 1/8 of the boss' health remaining, and the Smuggler was able to take out that last bit before the next round of adds spawned.

And People Wonder Why MicroTransactions are a Thing

In Polygon's article on the 9th about Activision Blizzard's record breaking annual profits from 2016, three things stood out:

• Overwatch has an installed player base of 25 million, becoming the largest intellectual property by Blizzard (yes, that includes WoW).
• The profits by Activision Blizzard (4.87 billion dollars) were the largest in their company's history.
• $3.6 billion of the overall revenue from Activision Blizzard came from in-game content, such as lootboxes and WoW pets.

Activision Blizzard pretty much confirmed that Overwatch is now Blizzard's cash cow, and will likely get the lion's share of development going forward.

However, these lines from the Polygon article really caught my attention:

Games like Overwatch and World of Warcraft, along with the Call of Duty franchise, played a big part in raising Activision Blizzard’s digital revenue for the year. The company said that it pulled in a record $3.6 billion of revenue from in-game content, up 125 percent year-over-year (excluding King, the figure was still up 30 percent). That includes sales of items such as Overwatch loot boxes, Call of Duty supply drops and World of Warcraft pets.

Think about it. Activision Blizzard pulled down $3.6 BILLION from the "despised" in-game content such as loot boxes.

Is there really any surprise that everybody else is doing it?

Sure, legislatures are trying to restrict these loot boxes*, but Activision Blizzard isn't about to let that sort of pure profit vanish without a fight. And neither will EA or a lot of other, smaller companies that rely upon look boxes and cash stores to prop up their bottom lines. (Such as a TON of MMOs, not to mention social media centric games.)

Right now, if I were a betting man, I'd say that there will be a big kerfuffle by legislatures, but in the end nothing will get done. There's too much money on the side of the game companies (and investors) for any potential restrictions to last without immense political will. I wish that weren't the case, but I think loot boxes are here to stay until people stop buying them. And good luck with that, I suppose.

*Thanks to Syl for the article from the state of Hawaii's own attempts at the same.

Monday Musings: Speed Running Cademimu

I've been in Cademimu more than enough times over the years. While it's not my favorite SWTOR flashpoint, it makes for a nice urban setting and a pretty straightforward grind.

Cademimu is one of those flashpoints that lend itself to some judicious speed running as well.

If you know the drill, speed running past the group just after the second boss saves you a bit of needless fighting, and if you've the right skill you can hack a shuttle to bypass a lot of the trash leading up to that second boss. You can also bypass a ton of trash right before the bar scene early if you choose the right path through the trash.*

But what I wasn't prepared for was that final stretch of trash leading up to the final boss being speed run.

In retrospect it makes sense: you run all the way to the end boss location, wait for the trash to drop aggro, then you double back to pick off the few enemies on the way to Light Side/Dark Side choice location. But still, I wasn't equipped with any extra speed boosts** so I kept lagging behind the rest of the group, with the trash nipping at my heels. No, I didn't die from the trash (came close, however) but it felt disconcertingly like some speed runs in WoW's Halls of Lightning I've been involved with.

If this was what a Cademimu run is like these days, I have to wonder what Taral V and Maelstrom Prison are like.




*One of our team --not me-- accidentally aggroed a bunch of trash when running through that section, and we had to double back to fight them off before one of the droids showed up. Yes, for the record, we were running four DPS, so if even one of us were healing or tanking this would have been much easier. I might need to dust off my healing capabilities and see if I can start doing that again. Not sure if I want the stress that comes with healing, however.

**Outside of the temporary speed boosts that Inquisitors/Councillors have, that is.

Just What is This Thing Called "Free Time" Anyway?

/snort
From Pinterest.

My inability to finish an RPG/MMORPG has, once again, reared its head.

I got my party to the city of Baldur's Gate and acquired a few quests --both with timers-- and I realized that I'd likely have to block out a few hours to take care of some of these items. Sure, I could just save and walk away, but have you tried putting down a good page turner of a book at nighttime?*

So, once again I backed off and said "okay, when I get that sort of free time without any commitments, I'll take BG up again".

Judging by my schedule, I think I might get that sort of free time without much in the way of interruptions by sometime in late March. No, I'm not being facetious either; it's just that busy with two kids actively involved in high school --and one beginning his university visits-- and both parents working.

They say acknowledging you have a problem is the first step to treating it, but it doesn't help that I want to finish these games to find out how they end.**

Yeah, I've been there.
Melencolia I by Albrecht Dürer.
From Wikipedia.

And it's not like I can't finish any game at all, because I regularly play Civ and Civ-esque titles to completion. Those games, however, have one critical difference: I can walk away and save without getting so sucked in that I forget everything else. Plus, unlike an MMO they can just sit there in the background while I do other tasks around the house. Perhaps it's because I've cut my MMO teeth on a PvP server, but I've experienced way too many times of me going away, taking care of something or other for 15 minutes, only to find that I've been ganked while parked somewhere in the Arathi Highlands.***

But that's okay. If that's the worst quirk that I've got --stepping in before a self destructive urge takes over-- I'm in pretty good shape. Besides, it's not like I'm twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do.






*Back in the day, when Robert Jordan's Lord of Chaos was released, I spent the entire Saturday after acquiring the novel reading it. I finished sometime on Sunday --no small feat for a Robert Jordan novel of 720 pages hardcover-- and only then did I realize that I not only missed sleep I also missed eating anything.

**Okay, I know how BG ends, but the sentiment is the same. And this sentiment also extends to my to be read pile.

***Flying is a godsend for the MMO player who has to take a break. As is stealth. Neither prevent some determined enemy from trying to gank you --one L80 Rogue tried to gank L63 Quintalan while I was flying by dropping mount and attempting to kill me while falling-- but it's much much harder.

Baldur's Gate for non-D&D Players: Some Tips

Slipping back into Baldur's Gate (Enhanced Edition) was a joy for me, because I discovered I missed the (up to) six person party and the story that the game told. There was also the freedom to wander wherever you wanted --which, truth be told, got me into a lot of trouble-- and level up by exploring and performing mini dungeon adventures.

That said, I've a feeling that it was easy for me to get back into Baldur's Gate because I'm an old D&D player.*

There are --to put it mildly-- quirks about D&D 2e and earlier that newer players may find confusing. Yes, there's the whole Armor Class thing, but also the "how does this translate into a computer game" that people might not be aware of, such as the concept of "rounds" in D&D being translated into a computer.

To help out those players who are a bit confused about the Baldur's Gate way of doing things, here's some tips to help make your excursion into the Sword Coast a memorable one.

***

Rolling Up Your Character: Be Patient and Roll Often

About the best advice I can give you is to keep rolling until you get result totals that are in the upper 80s to lower 90s. The stats you get out of that are frequently worth it in the long run, as a caster will get additional spells per spell level and a melee fighter will get bonuses in hitting and damage. And while you won't run up against it here, in BG2 you will run into the situation where a caster's ability to get to the highest spell levels is directly tied into your prime stat: a Mage without high enough intelligence won't get access to those truly powerful 8th and 9th level spells.

***

Understanding Armor Class, or "Why Do the Numbers Go Down?"

Dungeons and Dragons grew out of wargaming, the pastime where players would fight simulated battles on a grid**, such as Gettysburg or Battle of the Bulge.

The 1991 version of the Avalon Hill
classic, Battle of the Bulge.
From boardgamegeek.com.

Instead of having nameless divisions or platoons and other groups of soldiers on the board, Chainmail and Blackmoor (the immediate predecessors to D&D) focused in on individual in the fight as an avatar. From there, it was a small jump to get to a recognizable form of D&D that we have today.

Still, those wargaming roots show up in some oddball ways, such as the Armor Class.

The basic concept of an Armor Class is something every MMO player gets: get better armor, you get better numbers, and the baddies have a harder time of hitting you. But AC going downward, rather than upward? That's an artifact of the wargaming ancestors of D&D, so while it may seem counterintuitive to go down, from a wargaming perspective it does make sense (older wargames used charts a lot to determine battle outcomes, and AC going down came out of those charts).

So when you get armor that is enchanted to be "+2", your AC actually goes down 2.

As a general rule of thumb, you want the tank type --the fighter or ranger or paladin-- to have an AC less that zero as quickly as possible. They will take the brunt of the hits, and if you can also load them up with magic resistance so much the better. The last thing you need is your tank being feared --or worse, mind controlled-- and then your squishy companions will get steamrolled.

An AC of 0 to 2 for your non-tank melee people is also recommended, but due to class limitations you frequently have to use magic to get yourself down to that level.

Now, while a Mage can't wear leather (or better) armor, they do have access to magical bracers that lower your AC to at least the level of studded leather or better. Sure, it's not going to help much against a fighter gunning for a Mage, but it's better than nothing.

***

Party Composition Does Matter

Yes, you're familiar with the old trinity --Tank/Healer/DPS-- but in a D&D group you need to cover a few more items than that.

First, you need a Mage and a Thief. You can get away with a Thief equivalent, where a Mage has a ton of Knock and Invisibility spells to work, but it is frequently easier to just have a Thief.

But a Mage is absolutely essential. You will run up against magic wielders in the game, and you will need to mount an effective defense (or offense) against them. Mages are even more squishy in BG than they are in WoW, so you have to protect them from direct attack at all costs. The old joke about 1st Level D&D Mage dying when being attacked by a squirrel isn't too far off the mark.

From pinterest.

You also need a healer type, whether it's a Druid or a Cleric. Sure, you can buy healing potions, but there are a limited number of them in the game so you need to get healing from other methods, and  Cleric casting Cure Light Wounds is the easiest way of getting that. Plus, healer types do have access to a variety of great buff and debuff spells, and don't be afraid to use them, especially on boss types.

Next, you have to pay attention to the alignment of your party. It kind of goes without saying, but evil party members don't get along well with good ones. You can tell how your party is meshing by listening to their talk while your party is exploring. If the party doesn't get along, party members might leave.

From pinterest.

Finally, don't forget you can resurrect characters at a temple. So if you lost a character in a fight, go ahead and visit a temple to rez them. Sometimes that's better than trying to refight the same fight multiple times.

***

Save Often

In a game such as BG, frequent saving is absolutely essential. Renaming save files before going into a situation --such as a dungeon-- that you might want to go back to is also critical. I got about partway into one such dungeon before I realized I drastically underestimated the healing potions I was going to need, so I went back to that earlier save and spent some time leveling and acquiring more healing potions.

From my perspective, saving is so critical that I frequently will save every 2 minutes in a dungeon because of all the encounters and traps. Which leads me to....

***

Traps are a Thing

Yes, dungeons and other areas are trapped. Lethally so.

Having a Thief in front, sneaking around and detecting traps, is critical for survival in a dungeon. And you'll often find traps next to traps, especially the closer you get to an end boss.

From looneydm.blogspot.com.

When leveling a Thief up, place an initial emphasis on improving Hiding, Finding/Removing Traps, and Picking Locks . Even then, you may have to wait some time before traps appear in your screen. So, look at your surroundings and ask yourself "does it make sense if someone would stick a trap here?" If it does, just wait a bit longer and then creep forward, because you're likely right.

One last tip, potions that boost a Thief's abilities are absolutely essential in some areas, particularly once you get late in Chapter 3. But be smart about using these potions; like healing potions, there are a limited number of them in the game.

***

Combat is Round Based, Not Speed Based

This is one of the harder things for MMO and MOBA players to adjust to when playing BG. If you play a game like WoW, you're used to the timing on cooldowns and the attack speed for your various moves. But in a game like BG which is based on D&D, the combat consists of various rounds where everybody gets a turn. Sure, there's the Oil of Speed in-game which speeds up the number of attacks per round (and your movement speed in general), but everybody still gets a chance to attack within a six-second combat round.***

Magic items don't improve the time it takes you to attack, but they do improve your chances to hit and what damage you inflict on enemies.

So unlike the arms race in a game such as WoW where people try to squeeze out the last bit of speed in attacks and CDs when doing progression raiding or PvP, the arms race in BG is a bit more quaint. (But still important.)

***

Enemies Will Use Magic (and Magic Items) Against You

It's not just a matter of getting loot to drop from enemies in BG, but those enemies will also use that loot against you. The baddie that is wielding a Wand of Magic Missiles is going to use the damn thing in a fight, so be prepared. Likewise, a Cleric is going to try to fear your party, and a Mage will try to control and turn party members against each other. They're not dummies, you know.

This guy notwithstanding.
From 1tonghost in photobucket.

Besides, they can unload everything against you while you have to manage your magical stocks for multiple fights in succession, so trying to match them in firepower isn't necessarily the greatest idea either.

***

Be Judicious in Using Magic

As I alluded to several times, there's a limited number of potions in the game, and it's way to easy to accidentally blow through all of them and then be left with nothing.

Likewise, casters have a limited number of spells per time spent between rest periods. When you run out, you have to rest to regain your spells.

An MMO player may have a lot of difficulty managing this, because they're used to Mana/Energy/Whatever that gets recharged as a function of time (but drinking helps to speed it along).

My advice is simple: see those Kobolds over there? Don't use magic on them unless you absolutely have to. Wait for the ogre that's just over the next rise, and even then don't burn everything on one fight unless you look overmatched. Treat magic as if it were the rarest thing in the world, and then you'll appreciate it more.

***

Some Things are on Timers

There's some party related quests that you acquire that are on timers, and if you don't complete them... Things happen. Bad things.

You'll know these quests when you see them, and even the ones that aren't explicit in the timer will have someone constantly prodding you to do what you said you'd do. Listen to those in-game reminders, because you don't want to find yourself missing party members --or worse!-- because you dallied in Beregost for a few more days.

The game does do this to push you into an uncomfortable situation by making judgement calls, but the rewards are frequently worth it in the end if you manage to see the quest through.

***

Line of Sight Works Even at Different Heights

If you're hunting for something that's down in a valley --or an open air prison (nudge nudge)-- and you don't see the item down there because the trees and slope blocked you, this is a reminder that the line of sight is more sophisticated than you might expect in a 20 year old game.

***

Cursed Items are a Thing

There are far more cursed items in BG than I typically see in a regular D&D campaign. So if you see a sword that has that blue glow of magic, don't simply equip it and believe everything is fine. Because there's a non-zero chance that it's not. Take advantage of the Identify spell and visiting places that can identify magic for you (for a fee).

From pinterest.

***

Even the Weakest Enemy Can Overwhelm You With Numbers

Just sayin'. You'll understand this once you get to around 3rd or 4th Level.

***

Not Everything is Going to be at or Below Your Level, Either

And yes, the inverse is true too. No shame in backing off from a fight when you're unable to get a single blow in.

From reddit.

*"Old" as in "was around playing D&D back when Gary Gygax ran TSR".

**Or sand table if you played with tin soldiers and whatnot.

***Weapon specialization ranks will also give you additional attacks per round, so a fighter should use those rather than generalizing.

On Misinterpreting This Place in the Blogoverse

I'm used to seeing on the blog stats the occasional spike when a web crawler goes through the blog; I just kind of shrug and move on.

This time, however, the junk link is from an actual YouTube video*, so I figured I'd better check to see what the hell is going on.

You know it's bad when the first comment for this particular video is "STOP SPAMMING!" (emphasis mine)....

On the bright side, the "monetization" video had only 700 views, so whatever they were attempting to do, they aren't getting eyeballs. Or maybe they thought PC had thousands of readers or something....





*Sorry, I'm not going to post the link here. Why do the work for them?