Life is Just a MMRPG P1

I recently discovered this highly addictive and ultra-realistic game online. You get to play in an open world, there are about six-billion people. Sometimes it is epic, other times it is fail, depends entirely on how you take on bosses. You play with friends, and get into a number of guilds. Sometimes you level up and other times you don’t. Best of all- you get to have sex and nudity IN THE GAME (how awesome is that!) You’ve probably heard of this game; it has been around for ages- it is called LIFE.

Classes and Races

There are several races- and they don’t always play well together. However, all races can, in theory, play together. Communication can be challenging, the game creator made some language barriers, but it is possible to learn. There are also classes (listed below) which everyone can do. Some persons are better at a specific class than others and consequently do that mainly.

1. Tank (Single-target or Multi-Target)
2. Healer
3. DPS
4. Rogue

Tanking isn’t for wimps

Tanks take damage- a lot of damage. Their role in the game is to be the buffer against aggressive mobs and bosses for their party. (I will get on the party composition and how they work later.) Some tanks are fathers, others are mothers- they are supposed to protect you. Husbands (the more traditional kind) and boyfriends should provide the function of making you feel safe. Tanks are often the leaders of the group, the responsible ones. Not everyone in a tanking role is a good tank.

When the tank fails you get all the damage- and you can die. Well, maybe it isn’t always that bad- but you can get ejected from the guild, and drop a few levels. In this game you can’t respawn after death, which is why it sucks. Thus far I only know of  one player who respawned, and I think he was the game creators son- so he got a special passcode.

Awesome tanks are epic and everyone wants to have them around. The more awesome you are at taking damage and holding aggro (aggro is what happens when the environment wants to attack you) the more people want you to be their pressure suit. This can cause some problems. For example, you are in a small party and some other woman wants a skilled tank, and consequently may try to get you to change parties, or even change guilds (more on guilds later.) You can understand how this may be problematic- but hey, when you are good at what you do people want you to party-up.

Healers, Never Quest Without Them

I realize that there are several game-specific terms I am using. I figured the best way to talk about this game of life was to talk about the classes first, then the mechanics. Mechanics like parties, quests, leveling-up, boss-fights, and aggro are important to the game- and I may have to explain them in another post given how long this one is.

Healers are pretty cool but they don’t have the bad-ass reputation that Tanks (and DPS, to be discussed next) have. They are underrated but when you are in a pinch and taking damage you need them urgently. These are the people who take care of you when you are sick, support you when you vulnerable, even though you may be tanking a major boss fight. Not all healers are good. Some will pretend to heal you and then get distracted and let you die- or get knocked out. They should be cooking your dinner, maybe they should be giving you a ‘top-up’ but they are too busy doing their own thing to take care of you? Or, maybe your mom was too busy working to read you bedtime stories and listen to how your day went when you were a child. You know, lame heals.

I am not sure a good healer is easy to spot. It is experiential. You have to try them in your party and based on performance you know if they are any good. Everyone talks about Tanks, not everyone exorts the healer. However, when most people party-up they will take almost anyone who claims to be a healer- while they will only take good tanks.

DPS – The Damage Dealers (default)

Everyone can do DPS. Everyone. Even you. You get up, rub your eyes (if you are female) and just get out and tackle life. You may not be exceptional at taking damage or holding aggro, maybe you aren’t the person to run to when the team needs their hitpoints replenished, but you can do something. Sometimes you do a good job and conquer a boss, other times you aren’t throwing any big hits.

DPS (stands for damage per second) compete all the time, because it is so popular. For example, there is a battleground in the game called SCHOOL. You may think you are doing a solo-mission until it turns into a group quest and next think you know you are trying to out-do others. They put up a leaderboard and you have to make a certain grade to pass. If you do a good amount of damage then you are better than those who just couldn’t get on the charts. The society seems to like dropping people who don’t do a lot of damage. Some groups of underachievers forms but they eventually have a hard time leveling up in the long run.

Epic DPS is important in many quests. If you want to be allowed to do high level quests that have huge rewards you have to either do it or fake it. Otherwise you will be stuck doing lowbie quests and you won’t really level up. Leveling up isn’t important to everyone (they say things like, it isn’t about money…) but it does help when you want to own a house or a new car.

More Another Time

This game sounds pretty complicated (at least when I reread it) but it really is pretty straight forward. Things happen outsdie of your control and if you aren’t careful you may get surprised a lot. A few expert players came together and wrote a strategy guide. Then a few others, whose expertise I am not 100% sure of , wrote some guides on how to tackle specific boss fights or areas. You can’t follow what everyone says, because they may be competing views. Sometimes you have to go with the advice of the other players you meet who have defeated the bosses that you are on- and other times you play it entirely by air.

You won’t die from everything, but you may get knocked down. However, I want to talk some more about leveling and the other mechanics I mentioned earlier. So look out for that in the next few weeks- as I try to make posts a reliable Wednesday occurrence.

 

Let the healing begin

I get confused by what I may have tweeted vs what I have blogged about. I know I told you about the death of my PC over a year ago- untimely and painful. I hope I told you about when my brother and I bought a PS3. I also hope I mentioned that I have a Blackberry 9700 now, having upgraded from the Bold 9000 series. Okay. All caught up!

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SC2 is HERE (after 12 years…)

Blizzard is finally releasing Starcraft 2. My copy is due to reach my hands next week, possibly by Friday. Of course, I need a machine to play this on. Ever since I subscribed to Maximum PC I have experienced a resurgence in interest in building a gaming/multimedia rig.

Zerg Rules!

Dream PC in Development

I had actually ordered these basic parts that would allow me to start gaming once the game arrives:

- Motherboard. This is an 890FX chipset motherboard. Best in class for AMD.

- Processor. Quad-Core Black Edition CPU. I was thinking about six-cores but I do not think they’ve got it right just yet.

- PSU. The PSU on my last right ruined my life, as well as two of my motherboards. This name-brand PSU should wipe away all tears.

I already have a fully functional case, graphics card, RAM and hard drive. I can swap out those parts later. Unfortunately my bank did not accept a credit card payment I made days ago, so consequently they have not allowed me to make the purchase. I canceled the order and decided to be more aggressive in saving my money so that I won’t have to rely on a single payment to decide my fate. That means August’s end for these parts.

Amazon-1, Newegg-0

You may notice that I am going to get these items from Amazon.com and not Newegg.com. Newegg.com doesn’t accept credits cards that are not based in the US. Amazon.com does. Therefore, I don’t need to jump through hoops anymore to beg Newegg.com for their business. Best of all, I am not compromising on price, and I get free 2-day shipping thanks to Amazon Prime.

$34.99 Cheaper than $516

So in the meantime, as my MBA programme comes to a close (July 29 last exam, August 12 last assignment) I still need something to kill the time. I am  going to get the RPG Dragon Age for PS3. Hopefully this will  satisfy my RPG craving until they come out with StarWars: The Old Republic.

I think this is who I will be. Dark-side.

 

Desktop vs Laptop

I thought that I had completely decided on the direction my technological future was going to take. After the death of my second motherboard, almost a year ago,  I had sworn to abandon desktop PCs forever.

I spoke with a friend (Bjyon) who reminded me of how easy it was to upgrade a PC, versus a laptop. The parts are usually easy to replace and if your motherboard is on the bleeding edge it can trade-up it’s parts for several years.

Therefore I present to you my two buying choices. I already have certain parts from my old machine that can be salvaged (case, hard drives) but other parts are too out-dated to stay in my build.

Laptop Winner

Meet the Sony Vaio F Series. I think this laptop is at the bleeding edge of technology. Perhaps to ensure it’s longevity I will want to add memory and a zip-thru bag but they aren’t necessary. The base price for this beauty is $1364.82.

Desktop Winner

I will need a new motherboard and processor as well as faster RAM. I will also need a faster graphics card. Windows 7 Ultimate is necessary because I have a Vista (32bit) now that just won’t do. The added bonus of building a desktop machine is for the DVR capabilities so that I can watch TV on my PC. Finally, the problem that started it all must be resolved with a proper PSU. The combined cost of all these items is $1,603.36. This does not include the cost to get it shipped (it is HEAVY) from Miami or brought through customs.

Laptop Pro

- Portable

- Plays Blu-ray by default

- Excellent for business trips and LAN parties

Desktop Pro

- Upgradeable performance that cannot be matched by a similarly priced laptop

- Can only be stolen from my house.

Feel free to add some more pros and cons. This purchase goes down in May either way.

 

A Stitch in Time

So the Hurricane has come and gone. I still have my roof- minus several shingles and for the most part we are all dry. I lost electricity for a total of six days and almost lost my mind. I have now discovered that I am a slave to the light. I tried walking in Darkness but on the final day I couldn’t take it anymore. My lack of light (plus the random temperature changes and some allergens) made me quite sick. I have some flu/infection/something that only antibiotics can fix, and Allegra can relieve. I am forbidden to drink anything dairy or cold but atleast my Doctor gave me two days to stay home and recover.

While here I would like to reach level 50- but all the WOW servers are down for maintenance until 11am today.

In other news- I have put my PC building plans on hold yet again. All I need is the RAM and a Case with a PSU but I am holding out a little longer. I need to invest my money. I want to be in a different/stronger position in one year. I therefore will forego that bling system for another month or two. I will not give in to temptation just yet. Check this out- U$860 for a 50″ DLP HDTV. I should buy it now and worry about the consequences later. What I do to discourage myself from it is I remember that is how some people get AIDS.

In essence I am going to take it easy and continue plotting and scheming. One day I will have everything I really want.

 

In Oblivion

RPGs. These represent the loveable alternate realities some of us live each day. Some people have MMORPGs like World of Warcraft that they sink themselves into and join with other people. I have never been that good at RPGs but since I beat Fable: Lost Chapters my self-confidence increased a bit. My brother is a master in RPGs though- even from the Guild Wars days. I have decided to increase my confidence some more by going far in Oblivion then I can cross over into an MMO.

Oblivion. I decided to enter the game without reading any guides- chooing a class, sign and major attributes at default. Then I read a guide. I am so far off target it is stunning. I can’t believe the amount of work I have to do to get to some semblance of order. Thanks to this link for showing me the light.

The game is old but it is still stunning. Playing it at night- at night (meaning night in the game and night in real life) is really fun and can be scary. Those dungeons are horrible. I have had to run away twice because some vampire guy decided to rush me with his big axe- and I am only an apprentice!

So, when I am not working, or hanging with my loved ones I am right over there in Tamriel. I am the Imperial Warrior Johnny Depp.

 

Its been awhile

Here we are again.

Life has been extremely busy for me for the past couple months. I have moved from upstairs to downstairs- and had to bear all the costs of that migration. Work continues to be extremely hard and all engrossing and I continue to breathe- thankfully.

I now have a vga cable for my Xbox 360. This cable works pretty well. It delivers High Definition quality to my 19″ WXGA. At first I wanted to get a KVM switch but I set things up in a neat way that allows me to swap audio and video pretty quickly without any pain.

TK needs new shocks and new tyres. I am putting that down as an action item for the end of February. After paying off all my debts for the December migration I am just now rebuilding my finances so I am not going to be broke-flat-broke again. Nope, those days are done. Sadly though a new set of shocks will run me between 23k and 48k. Somewhere that claims to sell genuine Mitsubishi shocks (Berts Auto) charges 12k a pop while Universal Shocks sells for 5k-6k for one. Universal Shocks claims there is no ‘Mitsubishi factory made shocks’ and that instead the shocks are made by other companies. Sounds like aftermarket to me. However, who is really going to pay 48k for shocks when I need four new 15″ tyres? This car thing is serious. Atleast my belts are installed properly and I seemingly only have a problem with shocks and tyres and nothing else.

If you backup a lot of media you should know that knowing where to find it is key. For the past four or more months I have had everything on one of three large spindles. I emptied one of the spindles and found 20 blank dvds plus two copies of things I rearchived because I thought I had lost the former archive- and that is one spindle. I have one more major spindle left because the second spindle was mainly blank discs- closer to thirty.

I am selling the Nokia 9300 to my cousin- or atleast I intend to. I want to get the Blackberry Pearl. I have assessed my usage and I don’t use any killer apps on my phone. I use mainly the standard PIM features and especially email. My 9300 can’t deliver that email and I haven’t been able to find any local contacts to upgrade it. I am going to try to not pay for the Blackberry service but I think the Blackberry 8100 is where I should be right now.

I hope to post more regular updates.