Group oriented or solo play character

As I bounce around different games, I notice that very early on I decide whether I will spec my toon towards being an effective team-player, often at the expense of the single-player experience, or if I will be selfish and spec him for solo play. Often, especially as one gets near the level-cap, the consequences of such a decision can become quite dramatic.

My first ever MMO toon is my healer in EQ2. I specced him for solo-centric play, mostly because at the time I did not know what a raid was and what it entailed. I put most of my Achievement points in maxing out his damage soaking and damage dealing aspects, at the expense of his healing power, in other words your typical battle priest build. Good if you play by yourself but kinda sucks for your teammates.

I have done the same thing on my rogue in WoW, where I don’t really intend to get into the raiding scene and play mostly for myself.

On the other hand, looking at Age of Conan and Warhammer, I am leaning more and more towards building  team oriented toons and set a group-play centric development path for them.

My point in all this is that I just noticed that I have a tendency to categorize MMOs as being “team” or “solo”, which also helps me determine how committed I will be to a title, “solo” games typically being the ones which will see that lowest commitment level from me.

Interesting.

Stop the Insanity!

So I’m now enjoying my two free months playing EQ2 and also getting back into WoW, and what do I get in my email ? A free month of Vanguard! I wish they had waited before doing this but oh well. I’m pretty curious to see what they have done with the game since I left, although I’m already aware ( and disappointed ) that they did not add any new content to Kojan, the native continent of my orc dreadnight.

From this experience I am even more mystified at people who juggle 3 or 4 MMO accounts on a monthly basis can truly get some enjoyment out out of the games they play.

Summer makes me jumpy!

It sure does seem like the warm season is pushing me towards a frenzy of activity, including in the MMO world. While checking my Sony Station account, I noticed that I had 2 free weeks of Star Wars Galaxies left, so I checked the title out. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be returning on a regular basis to SWG. I can’t put my finger on it, but it just does not generate any excitement in me. I could point out the clunky targeting system, the strange mission journal and the deserted server I was on as contributing factors for my apathy, but maybe it’s that I am just too jaded. Oh well.

Since SWG didn’t hit the spot, I decided to give World of Warcraft another look, this after a two year abscence. So far I am finding it alright. Contrary to many people I enjoy the cartoony graphics, it really does give it a special flavor. But for now, it has left me a bit underwhelmed, I thought I’d be more excited about coming back to this mega success.

The reason for this may lie in the fact that my EQ2 playing has picked up. I just joined a guild and am starting to catch up gear-wise with the rest of the crowd, which makes me want to devote most of my energy to this title, preventing me from fully diving into anything else at the moment.

And I have yet to logon to Age of Conan, event though the game box that is sitting on my computer desk taunts me daily…

The Waiting Game : Age of Conan

I pîcked up AoC on release day. I have it installed on my PC, but I have yet to activate my account and play it. You see, like many “veteran” MMO players, I have a “wait and see” policy regarding newly released massive titles. Some suggest to wait six months before even touching a new MMO. I don’t go that far, my waiting period usually being around two to three months. Having just come across this Funcom announcement about future AoC developments, I now find myself being happy that I waited before jumping in and leaning more and more towards waiting an actual six months before playing. The main reason for this is that Funcom is not only planning on lauching several new features in the game but also enhancing old content and adding quests, which means that compared to initial players, I should have a vastly improved first contact with the game if I refrain from jumping in now, a fitting reward for my patience !

This just confirms my future “MMO consumer behavior” regarding new title launches. That being said, I’m curious to see if I will really be able to restrain myself from playing Warhammer Online at launch, me being a long time Games Workshop groupie. If I could manage that then I would truly be a master of self control !

We shall see.

 

 

 

Rough welcome

I’m back to EQ2, and I must say, it has not been a completely smooth transition. After playing my commando in TR, with it’s fast-paced, adrenaline rush gameplay, getting back in the saddle with my templar and his pitiful DPS has been rather painful. I can’t believe how long it takes for me to take down mobs and how weak he is. This is surprising since I specced him for melee combat, your stereotypical battlepriest, and still his damage output is anemic. I am also feeling a bit of annoyance with mob placement in some of the zones, which can be very crowded and hard to safely pull in.

Being level 68 I tried some of the solo mobs in Rise of Kunark and find that I can barely take them on. I consulted the templar class forums and got a few good tips there. Hopes it helps because it would sadden me immensely if I were to find that my character is in fact gimped and unplayable.

Mass effected and now back to Norrath!

Well. I just finished Mass Effect, this after playing it obsessively for about a week ( with the combat seetings on eazymode ), and I must say that it was quite an enjoyable romp ! My main criticism is that it is too short ! It definitely brought back memories of Knights of the Old Republic and it’s rich storyline. I can’t wait for the sequel.

In other news, I recently posted about how I liked getting some free gametime from MMO companies, essentially your typical “comeback to us” marketing ploy, and lo and behold, what do I see in my email 3 days later ? Two free months of EQ2!!! So as my Tabula Rasa sub is winding down, I am getting ready to take up my templar and continue his adventures in Norrath. So  my summer is pretty much booked MMO gaming-wise ( I have picked up Age of Conan but am waiting a bit for them to patch it ).

EQ2 being my very first MMO, it has a special place in my heart. Whenever I hear the opening musical theme for the game I get a warm fuzzy feeling as it takes me back to my early days of discovery of this whole massive gaming genre.

This may also be a sign that I need to upgrade my meds.