SpinPics: February 2020

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Thoughts on Elder Scrolls Online

I read over at Bio Break Syp’s post on his issues with the Elder Scrolls Online combat (e.g. lack of feedback) and that struck a chord. Like all my MMORPGs, I have phases where I am actively playing ESO, usually … Continue reading →
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Dungeon levelling and summon-alts #WoWClassic

We’re carrying on with our Classic World of Warcraft character levelling, almost exclusively via dungeons. The only quests I’ve made time for since we got high enough to start the dungeons has been Paladin class quests. We’re stuck in a … Continue reading →
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Friday, February 28, 2020

Strategic alt choices

As always happens when I’m deep into a particular MMORPG, the temptation to create “just one more alt” reared its ugly head recently. I was watching my husband make his new vulpera character in World of Warcraft, whilst also switching … Continue reading →
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Expectations regards difficulty in MMORPGs

Over the last few days we’ve played several sessions of World of Warcraft’s 8.3 patch, Visions of N’Zoth, and in parallel we’ve also played through the early parts of Neverwinter’s Undermountain content (Module 16). Playing both games it’s interesting to … Continue reading →
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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Conjured food and drink

Although I’m sure it doesn’t taste that great, and the lack of variety could get on my modern-sensibility nerves, in MMORPGs I do enjoy playing with classes and items that can conjure food and/or drink. I suppose it’s less of … Continue reading →
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Visions of NZoth, patch 8.3

Yesterday saw the European launch of patch 8.3, Visions of NZoth, for World of Warcraft (retail). In about two hours we played as a duo through the first sections of the new story-line, with NPC dialogues and a host of … Continue reading →
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Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Weird and wonderful creatures

We’re ploughing through the Undermountain module (16) content in Neverwinter, and I wanted to post a few screenshots of the weird and wonderful creatures we’ve been encountering. This module takes us deep into the Underdark, inside the mega-dungeon of Undermountain. … Continue reading →
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Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Neverwinter in 2020

Well, it seems it doesn’t take much to get me to go back to a MMORPG that I enjoy playing. Especially if my husband or friends are interested in playing it. So I mentioned Neverwinter recently, and one thing led … Continue reading →
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Back in the text chat era #WoWClassic

It’s a little strange when playing World of Warcraft Classic just how much slower some aspects of the game are. Yes, the combat is fundamentally similar to World of Warcraft (retail), but the pace is noticeably slower. Characters have fewer … Continue reading →
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Monday, February 24, 2020

Delving deeper into Undermountain

As we dig deeper into the current gameplay of Neverwinter, I’m impressed with some of the sweeping changes that have come since we last played. The new zones are enjoyable and have some great non-player characters to interact with as … Continue reading →
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Undoing system changes in MMORPGs

A few random thoughts came together today when I thought of system changes in MMORPGs that I’d most want to undo. System changes in these online, ever progressing games are inevitable as it’s part of the value proposition to players … Continue reading →
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Sunday, February 23, 2020

Quest failure condition overcome

Last night we decided, in our gaming trio, to return to Dungeons & Dragons Online. If we stick to the game this time our goal is to get the 2 character levels needed to get this trio started on the … Continue reading →
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Screenshot backups

I take a *lot* of screenshots when gaming, writing this blog gives me an excuse for doing so but I would probably anyway. For several years now I’ve been conscious of the need to take more regular backups of all … Continue reading →
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Saturday, February 22, 2020

First rules supplement, the Signalleer

Similar to my first published module, I’ve published today my first ever D&D rules supplement. The Signalleer is a class option for the 5E ranger, by default, as an Eberron archetype with abilities and equipment themed on a magical signal … Continue reading →
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Dungeoneering in its purest form

After our second Dungeons & Dragons Online session, I decided I should post a few of my screenshots of the more interesting places and sights we’ve seen. Our characters are level 8.4 (two ranks or ‘pips’ out of 5 towards … Continue reading →
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Friday, February 21, 2020

Delving into Uldaman

In World of Warcraft Classic, we’ve just graduated from Scarlet Monastery (finally!) and taken our first run on Uldaman. This dungeon has so many nostalgia-filled memories for me personally, but for the friends I’m playing with as well. The dungeon … Continue reading →
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Environmental challenges in MMORPGs

I’ve been reading about environmental challenges in tabletop roleplaying games and started thinking what examples I could come up with from this genre. I’m talking here of ways in which a combat encounter or character’s progress can be made more … Continue reading →
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Thursday, February 20, 2020

When persistence pays off

Sometimes in MMORPGs dungeon runs are just not doable, the party’s gear level isn’t high enough, or you have the wrong mix of classes to pull off a win given the challenges ahead. No amount of player skill or coordination … Continue reading →
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Of static dungeon groups

I often mention static dungeon groups in my posts since I’m usually involved in at least one at a given moment. As far as WordPress’ search tells me I’ve never really talked about this style of gameplay as the topic … Continue reading →
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Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Friendliness vs isolating mechanics in MMORPGs

How welcome are other player characters when you’re out and questing? Do you ever chip in to help fight or heal a stranger when out in the field? These are the questions I’m writing about in this blog post. I … Continue reading →
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