Mad King Thorn

Mad King Thorn busted through the deteriorating Lion in the Grand Piazza at 3pm on the East Coast. Here are some pictures for those over on the other side of the world who are sleeping or if you had to work.

That is one big Daddy!

Mad King Thorn returning to Lion's Arch in Guild Wars 2 for Halloween.

Since the hole has left a dungeon, I am guessing the only thing really missed was the cut scene that is shown above. You receive a 10 slot trick or treat bag which is useful if you ask me. I had just bought an extra slot with my last 400 gems and was thrilled. Also dropped all my gold to get that Halloween skin I wanted. XD

Bring it!

Being able to zoom out as much as I wanted. It felt good! Come on Anet, give us this option or at least halfway there. This made the battle feel epic.

Joined the Dirtbags Guild...[Dirt] Here I am with fellow guildy Yzzabel.                   

Act 2 and fighting a Family-Sized Candy Corn Elemental in Mad King's Labyrinth. I thought the name was super witty.

Ghastly Grinning Skull Shield. Should I have Betty use Flameseeker shield and save this for an expansion character? Willow can't use a shield being a Necro.

RL Pumpkin Carving

A special someone bought me a huge pumpkin for carving and believe it or not, I have never carved one in my life. After much research on techniques and steps, there was only one face I could think of after the past 7 years.

Heed my words...The Mad King WILL return!

There are whispers of warning in the crisp Autumn air, the Mad King will return so you better beware.

That is One HEAVY Book

Willow has kept busy with all the events and I just HAD to buy the costumes. After opening 15 BLC and 10 Mad King Chests, I got the Halloween Dagger Skin. Although I absolutely love zombies and use daggers, I am saving up for the Skull Shield for Betty. :O

Jackpot! Candy Corn mining in Guild Wars 2 makes it all worth it. Yum!

Using the right mining pick will make a huge difference.

As simple as the book may seem, it brings me great joy to wear it.

Reading what many are saying online, the broom ride is a hit. I have found myself flying across Tyria for fun and spreading word of the Mad King's return.

Costume Brawl might seem simple but I've caught myself spending a lot of time doing it. ;D

Knock, Knock! To where does that mysterious door lead?

Old Fashion Waiting Patiently Post

While most people wait for the Shadow of the Mad King update in Guild Wars 2, I decided to take some pics of the anticipation. Just like first Beta Weekend in GW1 Istan, it is a time to celebrate and par-tay!

Everyone putting on what is closest to a Halloween costume.

Tarnished Coast knows how to party...and we rock at WvW ;p

Breast Cancer Awareness Photos

Here are some of the pics taken for Breast Cancer Awareness Weekend. XD

Willow and Mitsuko...getting into a whole world of trouble.

You got my back?

Commanders and DWR#2

Ghosts and Ghouls getting ready for the Halloween Update.

WvW dominates the game play of PvP strategist in GW2 and as in most wars, leaders rise to orchestrate the brave into battle.  Originally being on the Fort Aspenwood server, which is mainly a PvP server, I was worried that the unofficial RP server would be weak when it came to WvW. I was willing to make this sacrifice for a more intelligent RP writer crowd. It seems the more intelligent crowd has it's act together and is willing to cooperate.

Commander Odinzu

Several Commanders have recently appeared with more gold going around, but the one I like to call Commander is Odinzu. I remember when he didn't have the Commander title and people still followed him. Why? Out of all the people to follow? Is it just plain luck and fate deals you your cards? Hogwash!

Being a Commander means a lot of people are constantly asking you questions and suggestions, as well as the occasional jealous troll. Odinzu however keeps his wits about him, seems extremely organized and more importantly keeps the attention of his squad. Before setting off for the raiding of a map, he asks his squad to take a seat and takes the center stage. He begins with story time and tells tales of a certain Charr and explains strategy so simple a child could follow it. Cheering him on, he always brings the promise of treasure and boy, does he deliver. Never have I made so much gold than with this treasure hunting purple kitty.

So here is my shout out for Tarnished Coast's most excellent Commander Odinzu. ;p

Dark Willow Rising Issue # 2

Get those skillz, girl!

Swagg looks into the small golem and pulls out a small glowing orb. "OoOoh Shiny," Willow says with her arms posed like a Skritt. She chuckles and moves to take a closer look and Swagg takes two steps left quickly away from her. "No, bookey! Don't get too close just yet. This is an ancestral stone which is highly unstable and could be lost easily. You have something waiting for you at the Eye of the North but just be patient." 

"Where?"

"The Eye of the North, human? Your people have left entire legacies there and not one tale reaches your ears? Surely you," he begins and then stops, collects his thoughts and starts again. "I am Swagg, attending member in superior standing, Dean's List, Dynamics College," posing with a matter of fact face and stance. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Willow. Just Willow."

"Well, Just Willow, it is a pleasure to meet you. Not many a brave human comes through Rata Sum and understands how to get here on their own."

Not totally sure what he means by this, Willow persists, "The orb?"

"Ah, yes, no more delay." Carefully placing the orb at the small golems feet, he begins to rapidly press points around the golem and it instantly lights up the room in a flash.

Asura gate travel always leaves a feeling of loneliness, the feeling of being separated from yourself and anything. Not this time. This was the brightest light Willow's eyes had ever perceived and when her eyes were able to see again, she realized that she was definitely not in Rata Sum.  Lookin up she could see snow falling through the monster of a building in which she was standing. 

"We continue. Quoth! Nevermore," yells the Asura. He throws his arms out and his two ravens land on his outstretched limbs. Turning to each to get the message he continues, "We are perfectly safe for now, just have to worry about the residuals."

"What? Danger?"

"Not dangerous necessarily but..." Two ghosts appear out of thin air and begin heading towards Willow. But as quickly as they appear, she disappears.

"Please, spirits! I have no time for simple ghost," echoes her voice around the cavernous building. Swagg rolls his eyes and proceeds to introduce the ghost to Willow.

A Stranger Appears

Eye of the North and Willow's inheritance.

"This is it," points Swagg. "Here lies the remains of your Ancestor inside the statue."

"Inside?" Walking up to the life size statue, Willow sees herself in the carving. This is my ancestor? She didn't know anyone related to her. This woman lived hundreds of years ago the ghosts had mentioned. Fought around the time of the Guild Wars. Running her hands along her kin stone portrait, a heavy arrow pierces the center of the statue and shatters it to chunks of rock. "What are you doing?"

"It is easier this way. Go on and pick it up, it is yours now."

Hidden inside the statue were some clothes, a couple of daggers, a beautiful war horn and an axe. She used an axe like me? The clothes were worn with time and had faded colors but hummed with the power of still functioning runes. Sitting next to her crumbled inheritance she tears up and just when she begins to think about what this all means, another flash of light blinds her momentarily. 

Mitsuko Akechi is not to be messed with.

A young woman with cropped hair standing near the entrance with a bewildered look on her face eyes her and Swagg. Unsheathing her Greatsword and raising a Guardian's shield, the woman without losing a beat asks, "Who are you people? Where is this?"

Before Swagg could begin his Asuran introduction, Willow replies, "I'm Willow, this is Swagg. Who are you?"

"I am Mitsuko Akechi. Talk fast and explain yourselves or this can get ugly, quick."

Stay tuned for Willow's connection to the Flameseeker Prophecies.

Dark Willow Rising Issue #1

Ghosty New Necro

Over a month since Guild Wars 2 has been released and I must say, I am still impressed each day. I think the most ironic twist is that my Necro has become my main focus over the past two weeks after gripes about the profession. Discovering different ways to play Necro, I found dagger/dagger, axe/warhorn make a pretty mobile yet heavy damage build. I'm not into wells or minions but love leaping in and out of shadows. The whole Ghosty Necro look and feel not only makes wiping out mobs feel like I am playing a different game compared to other professions, but it carries well over into roleplaying.

How do I get to Rata Sum?

Bah! Useless Garbage!

Dark Willow Rising has made quite a story for herself. Although it is not a typical rag to riches story, she has made a few discoveries that have changed her life around in a whirlwind. 

Willow, as mentioned in previous entries, comes from the streets of Divinity's Reach and has only known a life of penury. Growing up with a stolid outlook of the world and a reserved personality, she has finally come out of her shell out of necessity. You can't be shy when a horde of centaurs comes at you. Her life changed the day a massive Norn woman asked her to hold some jewelry for her. Typically, Willow would have taken the jewels and disappeared for a few days until this woman left town, but something about her was different. Although the task appeared to involve laundering, why did she feel this was for the greater good? She seemed genuinely kind, a trait that wasn't too commonly found in people from her experience in DR. After being asked to hold the jewels for 3 days for a strange, criminal reason, the Norn woman, Betty, paid Willow with copper and an axe. 

"I will do my best to be Your Herald and I shall guide you to your destiny. You have reason to begin and leave the past to have never existed. Start new and true and make something of yourself. I'll be catching up on you and sending you to the right people at the same time."

Being trained in the dark arts of Necromancy does not put food on the table. The power to kill only pays mercenaries and bandits, and since Willow was neither, she had to steal to put food on her metaphorical table. A simple axe changed everything. She left the protective walls of DR and headed out into the woods. Cries for wood at market were common and she was determined to quiet those pleas and feed her own pockets. At first, the wood cuttings were ragged and most of the ruined logs could only be used for scraps. But with a little time, she was able to cut wood with a bit more grace and precision to merchant standards. 

A few months after she had a bit of silver saved up from her earnings, Willow opened a bank account in DR following a suggestion from Betty. "Never know what you'll end up finding or saving," she had said one afternoon far outside Queensdale. To her surprise, the day she inquired about registering, Willow was told that there was a package being held for her bloodline by the gentleman at the bank window. "A package? For me? How do you know it is for me? I don't even know my own family." How they knew or how long the package was there, it cannot be said for she had never used the bank in her 19 years of life.

When she opened the package, a small golem was stuffed lifelessly at the bottom of a yellowed jute sack. Running her hands over the body, a birth of red light brought the golem to life. "W00-H00!" /e cheers. After yelling orders and trying different ways to command the golem, Willow discovers the only thing that it can do is follow her. Not even a waypoint locator program which is a standard on most golems! After four or five days of being pursued by the useless machine and feeble attempts of scrap metal bargains at Mabon Market, Willow decides to head to Rata Sum and see if she can find it's maker.  

Artegon Woods Keep, House of Swagg

Wonderful outfit bought with the little copper she had left. 

What an intimidating city is Rata Sum to a human who has only been to DR, LA and even the Grove. Sure, DR and LA are titans in comparison, but the condensed city structure of RS can leave any cartographer puzzled and dumbfounded. That is unless you are an Asura. After being told she smelled bad by Statistic Asura and being shooed away by Synergenic College progeny, she was able to locate a golemancer from the Dynamics College. After proding and probing with no success, the old asura reluctantly admitted she did not recognize the model but knew of someone who might. He went by the name of Swagg and lived not too far to the North. 

The Keep wasn't too hard to find and everyone at the gate knew Swagg by name when Willow mentioned him. "Up the stairs! Top of the tower," the guard at the gate had said. When she reached the top of the tower, Willow was welcomed by two ravens, one white, the other black, followed by a ranger, tall even by Asura standards. "I was told you might be able to help? This golem has no functions from what I can tell. Unless you know something I don't."  Swagg was impressed because he had only read about the schematics of these alpha version golems that went back to the famous Asuran genius Oola's time.

"Simple. Run your palm over the back and THEN the front; if you are the TRUE owner that is," suggested Swagg before continuing on a rant that Willow could not follow. She ran her hands over the mini golem as instructed and a compartment opened to show what was hidden. A stone safely nestled in the heart of the golem was pulsing. What kind of stone?

To Be Continued...

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This blog entry is dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness and to my mother. She will be running a race next week for the cause and my support is with her and her friends.  And real Asura wear pink!

Pink Asura Armor is the hottest look this month. 8.)

All-Star Lineup

Presenting My Character Creations

I finally have my 8 professions created and will give you my reasonings behind each one. Most people are either getting to level 80 or starting their alternate characters and might need some character creation ideas. Please feel free to message me in game, I would love to hear from you.

The Mesmer

Afasia Brokenmirror

I originally wanted to name her Aphasia Brokenmirror but it was 1 character too long, so I cut it short with the F.  I had known from the beginning that my mesmer was going to be Charr because I had heard through the grapevine that they would be rare. I plan to have bright colorful armor on her so that her illusions distract the eye. It also contrasts nicely with her white fur.  Speaking of distractions, her name is the longest length possible and I noticed this can be very effective in the heat of battle. The advantage that illusions also have your name will prove awesome in PvP when split second reactions are being tested.

The Engineer

Pew Pew OMG Lazer

ROFL!!!1! 0|-| 44`/! |-|0\/\/  |= (_) // // '/! Ok. I get it. I'm on the Tarnished Coast server and roleplay when I can. This name is against everything most rpers stand for. Can I not have a little bit of fun? I have great character names that can be taken seriously. This name just not one of them. In fact, I think the name matches the personality of this character. Fun loving and tech savvy, Pew is typical of Generation Z kids. Spoiled, self-absorbed and just wanting to chill. I feel this name is a tip of the hat to the technology generation, just as Tyria is having a technological revolution. Airships, plumbing and moving machines...the dark time the dragons have brought upon the world will lead to an Enlightenment. And FYI, since this is my only male human, he is the closest that looks like me. ;D

The Thief

LoKi Hermagistus

This was the last character I created and for a month I had no idea what race to make him.  I knew it would be a he and that he'd be a seedy character, just could not decide on a race for the life of me.  I decided to go Norn in honor of the first thief youtube video I saw from the closed betas. It does seem funny that a big ol' Norn can disappear in the shadows. Peek-a-boo~! Pretty scary. I named him after my GW1 Dervish because I drew a blank. I knew I wanted to play thief and would enjoy it but as you can tell, I've just been coming out blank with this character's backstory. Had a thief in D&D that I loved but I'll leave the past where it belongs.

The Warrior

Roadkill Kitty

Oh Lawd! This rough and tough Kitty will put a smackdown on anyone who gets in his way.  When I finally take him for a test drive that is. I spent all the last stress tests with Roadkill and fell in love with the Warrior class. This is extremely odd since I never like tanking or melee classes. But it is so much fun being an 18-wheeler and running down everyone. I had no idea. My brother has always said that I always go for mage or healer classes and end up looking like a dead dork when a warrior comes and busts me upside the head. Roadkill says enough is enough, no more Mr. Nice Geek.

The Necromancer

Dark Willow Rising

I'll be honest (am I not always?) Necro is my least favorite class next to Engineer. Not that I dislike them, Guild Wars fanboy here, they are just my LEAST favorite. Just like pizza. I LOVE pizza but pepperoni or vegetable pizza are my least favorite. I'll still eat it and enjoy it. ;p  This is my ONLY toon to be a direct descendant of an original GW1 character. As you've might of read in a past post, she is dirt poor and not the most likeable person. Just because you are from the direct line of those that lived in bright and shiny Ascalon before the Burning, does not mean you will be successful.

The Ranger

Swagg

Swagg: So Swagg 8.) He's got the moves, the class and the rocking pets to make it all work. This Asura is the epitome of cool. But in order for his swagger to come off as genuine, I've stripped him of Asuran arrogance. Regular "human" arrogance is enough, too much more and it makes people want to vomit.  How does Swagg show that he is a down to earth guy...uh? Asura? He will go out of his way to res someone in need. It is not beneath him. Swaggy!

The Elementalist

Delonix Regina

Named after my favorite tree, she is smoking hot, even for a salad lady. I originally created a red flowered, fire elementalist that matched my Beta version. But I found myself yearning to be a healer again and although I realize my role would be support and not healer, I figured any advantage will help. I deleted the original after getting to about level 5 and went back to character creation. Besides, I saw too many female Elementalist Sylvari that looked like me.  Back at the drawing board, I made sure to get a bit more creative with facial features and chose a hair color I was extremeley satisfied with.  Her hair is purple but at night, the tips glow a bright orange. Most people stick to a similar glowing color but I went to the exact opposite on the color wheel. Purple and orange make a nice contrast.

The Royal Poinciana is a beautiful tree and can grow large with the most stunning flowers. Looking at this tree days before character creation, I realized such a magnificent tree has a variety of colors that can be used. Especially since most I have seen have red, orange or yellow flowers. Although there are some purple flowered varities I pass by work everyday. Side note. Found out the true scientific name is Delonix Regia, but whatever. She is now lvl 18 and it does sound better. :p

The Guardian

Bump Back Betty

What else can I say about the Triple B that I haven't said already? I truly enjoy playing Guardian and she will always be my "first" GW2 character. I have spent some time with her in WvW and have found that I love both Snow Leopard and Tome of Courage as Elite skills.  I like to change it up every few minutes depending on strategy. Big Zerg! Headed right for us? Snow Leopard goes in and mows down 3-4 people before evading out just in the knick of time.  My fellow servermates fighting hard and things look grim? Have no fear! Ms. Bumpback brings out her Tome of Courage and heals the masses. The length and width of Protective Spirit is very helpful reaching team members a bit further from you.  Pacifism is the biggest troll to the opposing team and while there is no dedicated healer in GW2, Light of Deliverance fully heals up to 5 nearby allies. If that isn't extremely useful and supportive, I don't know what is. So that sums it up for Betty and her personality. She loves to be helpful and supportive. Carefree and generous. And if you're nice to her, she might send you some goodies to munch on. ;D

80 and Loving It

A Special Look at Betty's Journey

Giants are look smaller when you're a Norn.

This weekend Bump Back Betty finally hit level 80 and I must say, it was an exciting moment. I was on the island of Orr, fighting my way ever so closer to Zhaitan when I noticed a character by the name of Eagle Eye. I thought this was interesting and found myself fighting a Risen Eagle with him. I see this as a great addition to Betty's character development and have decided that the Spirit of the Wild, Eagle has decided to help her along side Snow Leopard. But the actual leveling to 80 was hilarious and here it is. The xp points that put Betty over the top was killing a...Risen Chicken. Yes, a chicken. It was a pretty big chicken, a Veteran in fact but I did find this entertaining.

That is one big Easter Egg! Big surprise when I found this.

After running around for 5 more minutes, I headed back to Lion's Arch and decide to give Betty the prize she deserves for a job well done. A Ruby Orichalcum Amulet, crafted by yours truly. Just what she wanted for Wintersday, thank Dwayna! I also changed up her armor colors a bit to look a bit more prestigious. I kept the Banana dye for the golden look but decided to change the light pink and blues to a dark, respectable forest green. It is now time for her to explore and find an armor that will fit her status as an Elite Guardian.

He doesn't look so tough!

Future plans include WvW, which I must say, Tarnished Coast has been rocking the past week. I am super proud that our server has been keeping a lead. If we control Stonemist, we are keeping the defenses up and if we do not control Stonemist, we are dominating the areas around it and wisely putting pressure on it. People are listening and working together and this is what is ensuring our success. Being respectful and stratigizing go hand in hand. People will not listen to you if you are demanding them to come to your aid or insulting them. The people who are putting battle tactics out there are obviously those who have figured the map and area advantages.

This is MY story.

Freaky Friday Forest Post

Being Nice is Harder Than Being Mean

Who here has said something nasty online? We are all guilty.

On Reddit this week, people were able to ask why their account was banned when their character names were not in violation of the naming policies. They put some of these people in their place by actually showing what they wrote in /map chat. For dropping N-bombs and BOTH F-bombs (sometimes both in one sentence) they had been temporarily banned; not so much for cursing but for verbal abuse.

As a liberal and someone who always stands up for free speech, I surprisingly found myself delighted when I read this. I have noticed how brazen people become when they can hide behind a computer screen.  They also do not think of the consequences of their actions because the Internet is not a face-to-face reality but an electronic cold world. You do not see the look of hurt on the person's face who you have insulted. You can not be empathetic to someone you do not know. Just ask yourself these questions the next time you are about to say something nasty to someone online: Would I behave this way at work? At school? In public? No, you would not. Because saying nasty things to people in public is not socially acceptable and unless you are a sociopath, you would feel a sense of shame for being so uncouth.

Into the Mists

LFG The Villany of Galrath

I have spent some time in PvP the past few days and find it exhilarating. I did a lot of WvW during the BWEs but have only spent about half an hour since launch. Until the servers are not balanced I will not throw myself to the wolves to be torn apart and have to pay for armor repair. Currently, Tarnished Coast has control of about 5%, another server has 4% and Northern Shiverpeaks owns the rest.  In two weeks when the servers are balanced I'll join in but I refuse to be a victim of Zergfest 2012.

Now sPVP Map Conquest is where I have been sneaking in every once in a while. Looked up armor possibilities and tried to figure out which build would be the best for my style of play.  I noticed that too many people were running away from me during battles, so I set up a lot of immobolization and it has been highly successful. Where you going? Stay right there! WHACK! I've been finishing off a whole slew of peeps. The Triple B is currently using Sword/Shield and Scepter/Torch with Signet of Judgement and Signet of Wrath as my  movement impeders. Also, one of my runes chills the area when I swap to sword so I can hack and slash whoever is around me. Hint to other Guardians: If you can keep 'em still, you can put a whole world of hurt on them. Stupid thieves! ;p

In terms of team strategy, people need to start realizing that zerging on these small maps is a sure loss.  The best strategy is to split up in teams of 2 or 3 but this is easier said than done.  Most people are stubborn in PvP and do what they want to do without thinking about the team. I also noticed that in PvP (GW1 as well as GW2) there is this lack of communication or people thinking their way is the only way. Maybe it is just that there is lack of experience but let me put an example of how I came to these conclusions.

Forest of Nifhel

The Triple B, daughter of Snow Leopard

The battle has begun and I have spawned blue so I immesdiately hit "Save Yourselves" and sprint to the Henge. I see that my whole party is headed to the Henge and quickly think to myself that we need to split up so I take the initiative and head directly to the Keep. At this point, everyone who was headed to the Henge obviously gets confused and follows me to the Keep. WHAT? Do you see what zerg mentality and the stubborn insistance of letting someone else do it does? The Henge went uncaptured and nobody followed up by heading Northeast and killing Chieftain Utahein. We successfully got the Keep but we missed out on 35 points because we did not do the essential task of taking our area. Was I to blame for trying to break free from the wolf pack or rushing to the Keep? Or were the other players at fault for blindly following someone like me and not thinking for themselves? Maybe tonight makes a week and people still haven't thought about the best strategy methods for maximizing points.

Later, being on a team that did split up wisely and efficiently, we faced an enemy team where EVERYONE was roaming around in a group. The other team member I was paired up with ended up slaughtered and we respawned at different times. I ended up alone and headed to the mines to neutralize the point. We had the other 2 capture points so I figured the enemy team would be busy trying to reclaim those. Within seconds, the whole enemy team was headed for me. Why were they headed to a point they had under control? I'm figuring that they saw me during a retreat from the Keep, all alone and helpless.

I found myself alone a few times against 4 or 5 enemies and could tell how they were so excited to finish me. They all striked F and I saw 4 finishing animations going, all trying to take advatnage of the wonderful Ms. Bumpback. I laughed at this. You all really followed little ol' me? What you do not understand is, I am willing to take one for the team (every now and then) and have pulled you away from your true purpose on this map. To win! So go ahead, get your moment of satisfaction of hitting a girl when she is down. Trololo!

Swagg All Day

Congratulations to Arenanet for officially releasing Guild Wars 2! Friday night's prelaunch was a very exciting moment but due to the work week, I only lasted 30 minutes.

Meet the Coolest Asura Ever, Swagg

Chilling with my homey, Rocko.

They told us that we could log in up to 3 hours early on Friday night and I was ready. I was spamming log in like everybody else 4  hours early. You can never be too sure. Why did I find the need to log in right when the client went up you might ask? One word name reservation! Because of Asura naming conventions, one word names were going to be hot and I figured someone would want the name Swagg.  I logged in, picked Tarnished Coast for my server and clicked Asura, male, ranger and skip to the end. (I could NOT spare a second in character creation) I entered Swagg and as soon as it went through started cheering like I did when Spain won the Eurocup this Summer. Okay, I admit, I was louder. I had been losing sleep about not getting this name. Once in the game, I went back and deleted Swagg since the name is reserved for 24 hours. Risky but it worked, took my time remaking him and I was set. Betty was next.

Why bother? We Can Play Forever!

Changing armor color daily until perfect. Stay tuned for pictures.

I made Betty with her fabulous cornrows to emulate my GW1 monk, Homeboy Cornrow and was off to start her legend. I completed the tutorial and slayed Issomir but was immediately kicked off and had to start again. There was major lag but what do you expect the first hour of launch? I was exhausted, I had been up since 6:30am EST and it was 12:30am EST. I knew to leave well enough alone and decided I would be playing laggy for a while and would enjoy the game more with some sleep. This was no stress test or beta! GW2 would be there when I wake up!

I didn't bother posting anything the past few days figuring anyone who would be interested in reading this blog would be too busy playing. Shoot! I was too busy playing.

Crafting Addiction

I mentioned in a previous blog entry that I was excited to try out crafting and spend some time on it. But I NEVER anticipated how much I would love it! I went with Jeweler and Chef thinking I would benefit from the money to be made from jewelry and the boosts from cooking. The variety of recipes are to be appreciated and I enjoy sending my friends full course meals and treats. Sharing is caring! The elegant yet simple system of jewelry crafting is fascinating and I find will be highly useful when you want to boost a stat.

Most people I know are trying to finish areas but I do not have the patience to stick to one zone. I don't feel this is what Arenanet intended for us to do. I finished Hoelbrak and the Grove and decided I will do little by little of the other areas. My true motivator and purpose in Tyria is to go from area to area in search of crafting materials while stopping to do whatever event or quest heart feels right at the time. I always have top of the line sickles and pickaxes ready to put a hurt on any node that looks at me funny. I stopped with the wood chopping after I realized how expensive steel and darksteel tools were getting.

Starting gold today. Made sure I saved up for extra xp.

Black Lion Trading Company

I bought 4,000 gems on Sunday and was a little nervous when they didn't show up immediately. I realized that I put my faith in Arenanet when I did this and would have to be patient. I knew they had to have a system in place in case this happened.  The purchase appeared immediately on my statement so I had proof that it was processing or being worked on. The next morning they were waiting for me in the gem store. :D

I bought the 3 character slots I wanted to be able to make all the professions. (Haven't done them all, too busy crafting.) 1 extra bag slot for Betty. The best purchase I used my gems for were 2 bank slots that OH MY! am I ever thankful for those with all the excess jewelry I have for sale when....well...

The Black Lion Trading Company has been down since prelaunch. It was up for a bit but would freeze up and if you were lucky could get in after 20 minutes of waiting. I have so much jewelry to sell it is crazy. One of my alternates was made just to hold a whole bank slot of jewelry. The poor Necro who I want to mistreat is currently holding some expensive jewelry for Betty and will get paid very little. Oh the struggles of the proletariat! At least I found a way for her to make money so she can afford a copper axe involving her character development.

Oh happy day when the Black Lion trade Company comes back into commission. I understand that people are having a horrible amount of lag, log in issues, errors and account bans. However, the only issue I truly have is with the BLTC which prevents me from doing what I need to and enjoying the game to the fullest. I have to admit that the sleeping quaggan (maintenance down picture) is adorable and because of this, I will be patient for a while longer.

Roadkill sleeping at BLTC in LA.