The snow has melted and green of Asherson's Call 2, has appeared. So green, so nice. At first it felt like a brand new game. I didn't really pick up on where I was, so used to landmarks and fallen cities buried in snow. Even now, a few days into the green effect, I'm still lost at times. I love how the game engine can change like that. It was very unexpected, I just figured initally I was in a part of the world where it just doesn't get warm or something. It's also cool to stand right on a mountain edge where its green and lush on one side and then snow falling on another. Very cool stuff.
SallySue has made great progress, she's 22 now and still wet behind the ears when it comes to face to face combat. As a missile flinger, i just don't ever want to see a mob face to face really. I slaved my way hunting to 18, and then decided, ya know, I should do some quests. I did a few on my own, most vaults and dungeons that are rated 17-22 still pose a threat to me. Remember, fine when theres one, bad when many. At the end of these vaults, its always six mobs hovering together, i can never get just one, i get all six and then i die. After completing some basic quests my patron shows up. I haven't seen him since 16th lvl. He answered some questions awhile back, crafted me a nice bow, buffed me, etc... he offered to help me out, and of course i traded my ever so precious alliegence to him. But then he skipped town on me! Anyways he was back now, apoligzed and offered to help me with questing.
It was decided we should the soulbound quest. One of the new additions that was added last month. Its nice to have a world keep changing on you. Again, not totally expected but cool. Soulbound weapons, require you first to get a special key, (i had 3 of them, and I dont remember where i got them), get quest, go to a bad place, the firey crypt, kill a the end baddies, take their stuff (well the moonstone), give to quester, then go find a soulbound emblem for the wep of choice you'd like. Dark bidding afoot I say. We gathered up other like people that needed such quest done and headed out.
All was great until we picked up a few additional stragglers, (is that even a word?) and proceeded to the firey crypt. Like always one guy is in a rush the others are not, and someone dies along the way. Then theres a pause and we wait. Then it hits us, while waiting just inside the crypt, the lag demon takes out our party and the servers go down. Action for the evening was cancelled.
The next day I popped on late to see if anyone was around. Indeed my group was, but they all had completed the quest by then. Bummed out I sulked at my lifestone in Cavendo for 2 secs until one of them said "bout time you got on, lets go do it again!" I was happy that they wanted to the quest again and I was pleased with my fellows, and the patron. Finally after some much needed drudge bashing I got the goods, traded a staff emblem for a bow one, completed the quest and presto got a soulbound weapon. It's godly good damage for me at 22 now. Only complaint is that its so frickin huge. I feel like Sally is gonna fall over wielding it. We wrapped up the evening completing the next stage of the saddle quest in prosper. Basically faster Empire Strikes Back riders yet, I can't really tell. Anyways, one more quest completed. The group disbanded people when on their way and I went on to complete three more quests last night solo. The bow helps, but death still draws near when I get in melee range. The last quest got me killed twice. Its painful to have to get 300xp for one vital point back.
Overall AC2 has been rockin for me. Crafting has gotten expensive but still doable. I'm into items requring 52 traits and 300 gold. So cash is tight, I need more cash! I've been doing pretty good at suriving in deadly groups too. I got a pickup group the other day headed to the Drudge city. I needed to kill a Drudge Murk to complete a quest, a Murk at 23rd level was an evil red for me at 21. I joined a group of people headed to the city and watched superior group manage skills in action. It took me back to the days of EQ. Ya know the drill, seven mobs on side of the bridge, you and yer three buddies on the other. All of them are 16-17th lvl and yer 21. They say, "sally just tag one.." I say "they will all come", they say "nah no they wont." I do the shrug, and fling away. Sure enough the whole group of baddies goes wild and all charge for us, BUT, get stuck behind a wall. I love walls!
I dunno, sure I'm used to fearless leaders but shouldn't some "sense" be applied to upper management? Why am I always the one going..."umm guys?" Anyways, one all pissed off, i just went back to our side of the bridge, stepped out a bit and got them all on fire to start, heh, that helped alot in taking this position. The Drudge City battle was indeed fun, I felt I was gonna die every 10 seconds there as we made our way to the vault. At the end, just about to enter, our fearless leader, takes on too many and dies, as perdicted he should of died long ago. For me I live for ranged, let that mob come to me, for melees they want to get down, problem is, mobs like this place, are always within an ear shot of eachother so one melee rushes in and now the whole floor knows were there and now we got six. I guess they didnt think about pulling eh? Eventually our leader returns, and we have a talk about keys. I don't have one, so and so has one and then goes in without giving me one, the leader jumps down this massive cliff, takes a ton of damage and says ya "we'll get ya a key, i got seven" and runs past me and into the portal with a train behind him. Once inside he realizes oh ya i need to give sally a key. By then i'm dealing with the train and slowly, well quickly dying. I pull it off, i live but now no key. Inside my group decides we'll just fight to the exit and get out and give sally a key, but come on guys, i mean geeze! I hang around for a bit because i'm drawn to so much death near by, many red mobs just inches from where I'm standing I debate about hunting right there at the door just for fun. Course it should of dawned on me that this was all bound to happen. Groups, like this anyways, i mean you know right off the bat at times if they can do it, or not. Maybe part of the lure is seeing if fools running blind can pull it off. Though I was foolish not to realize that if my leader can train me, odds are anyone can. Another guy arrives with the whole frickin bridge gang, I dunno how they chased him up the hill and all but they all arrived with this one guy, i'm backed into the farthest corner of the hall, knowing, damn i need open space now! I run out into a massive group of drudges and die gloriously, there was no way out.
Still a cool place, I need to go back there.
