Monday Screenshots: MVPs

 I scored back to back MVP nods in Marvel Rivals over the weekend.  One playing The Punisher and the other playing Hela.  I wanted to share the MVP screencaps and some thoughts on each hero.

The Punisher

15 kills / 2 deaths and a clutch quad kill

The Punisher is the first hero that Marvel Rivals players get to experience in the tutorial and I pretty much fell in love from that moment.  He has both range and close up potential as he sports a machine gun and a shotgun.  He also can deploy a stationary turret that he can use to mow down the enemy.  To help him get in place he can deploy ziplines and use smoke grenades.  His ultimate ability turns him into a pumped up machine gunner with shoulder rockets firing down on targets.

The biggest downside to playing The Punisher is his lack of mobility.  While the zipline grapple can sometimes get you out of trouble it is far too unreliable to be a consistent escape mechanism.  It is far better to use the zipline to get in a better position against the other team.  If another duelist or a tank gets in close to me while playing The Punisher it doesn't end well most times but there is something I've gotten better at that helps.

The Punisher has a second weapon with his shotgun and I see many new players overlook this.  It is a strong close range weapon and can delete soft targets up close but is slow between shots and even slower on reload so you have to hit your shots.  The shotgun is also a remarkable tank killer.  You won't win a 1v1 with a tank but if you are pushing an enemy tank or trying to finish one off there is no better weapon to get the job done.

A few things I'd like to see the game fix with The Punisher:

• The grapple zipline is unreliable because it is not clear what parts of a map can be attached to and which cannot.  I am sure this affects other heroes like spiderman as well.
• The smoke grenade needs work.  The smoke lasts for almost no time at all and it is easy for enemies to just push through.  Either add a stun to the smoke grenade if it hits a target or give more control to the player on the pushback so they can use it to juke enemies.
• Many other heroes get some form of health boost or protection when activating their ultimate.  The Punisher does not and with his clear announcement that he is entering his ultimate it is not hard to find and focus fire him down before his ultimate finishes activating.
  

Hela

EZ PZ 18 and 2 match

Hela is probably the strongest duelist (aka DPS) hero in the game.  She is sniper-like with her throwing daggers/swords and has outstanding mobility as she can shapeshift into a bird to escape or reach a perch from which to snipe from.  She also gets a stun orb and can float slowly down instead of falling.  Her ultimate boosts her health and launches her to float above the battlefield while she unleashes bombs.

I honestly only started playing Hela after getting repeatedly wrecked by her in many matches.  There is also a lot of feedback in the community that she is overpowered and after playing her a bit I would have to agree.  She is easy to play and get kills with.  She can lock down areas chokepoints and almost always escape danger with her stun and shapeshifting.  She is also very strong against tanks and if you can land headshots she is the "tank killer" most competitive team comps rely on.

She needs a nerf.

Sunday 12/15/2024 Post

 The Packers excised some demons last night at Lumen field and beat the Seahawks.

The Real MVP Jeff the Landshark

 I had a burst of inspiration and put together a video with some music and a highlight from Marvel Rivals.  Enjoy!

Heartlessgamer Rap

Who knows what the future of AI will look like, but for now, I am having a lot of fun exploring creative possibilities that were once beyond my personal talents, resources, and time. One such pursuit is music creation.

An AI generated image of an old(er) video game blogger creating music.
Sort of not at all what I look like.  I prefer my jeans NOT ripped.

Back in the day, I dabbled in electronic music (over 20 years ago!) and was a fan of the MTV Music Maker—a sort of video game for wannabe musicians. I even had a Napster chat channel where I shared my electronic music, though those early creations have been lost to time. Recently, I've started experimenting with Suno and AI-generated music, reigniting that old creative spark.

After some trial and error and watching YouTube tutorials on the best practices of song prompt writing, I've developed an AI-collaborative approach to lyric writing. The process is a partnership between my creativity and an AI assist. I contribute the core ideas and overall structure, while the AI helps refine the lyrics, ensuring proper length and rhyming.

The collaboration isn't always smooth. The AI sometimes changes key pieces of text—for instance, replacing "Keyboard mouse" with alternative phrases even though "keyboard mouse" is a key lyric considering I am a PC gamer.

These unexpected shifts can lead to more interesting results. When I got stuck, the AI came in with clever solutions. A perfect example is the line "every post he writes erupts," which the AI suggested when I was struggling to incorporate blogging into a verse.

Rhyming has been particularly fascinating. The AI's skill at creating unexpected rhymes—like "alien sand"—has been a delightful surprise. Of course, there are moments when I simply insist on keeping certain lyrics, rhyme or no rhyme, maintaining my bit of control over the process.

The song I lyrics I ended up with:

[Verse] 

HeartlessGamer plays all night long
Virtual worlds where he feels strong
Pixelated lands where he belongs
Chasing dreams with epic songs 

[Verse 2] 

Blogging tales of heroes grand
Defeating foes with just one hand
From dungeons deep to alien sand
He conquers all with a fearless stand

[Chorus] 

HeartlessGamer is his name
In the digital realm he stakes his claim
No heart to lose no love to tame
In pixels and code he’s got the fame

[Verse 3]

Keyboard mouse like a knight’s sword
From level one to final boss
Strategic plays no room for loss
He’s the legend and the lore

[Verse 4] 

Loading screens and power-ups
Collecting lives and winning cups
Every post he writes erupts
With cheers from fans they fill his cups

[Chorus]

HeartlessGamer is his name
In the digital realm he stakes his claim
No heart to lose no love to tame
In pixels and code he’s got the fame 

Lyrics in hand it was a lot of trial and error with different music styles and combinations.  What resulted was a few different versions of the song.  Personally I have a wide ranging music taste.  You can catch me listening to everything from Lean On Me by Bill Withers to Mad World from the Donnie Darko movie to my teenage years dominated by music from Korn.  I tried to mix many of those genres and musical styles into the prompting, but ultimately the style that worked out best was rap and electro-pop.

The two song outputs worth sharing are:

• HeartlessGamer Rap
• HeartlessGamer Plays All Night Long

Monday Screenshots: Cuteness Overload

 I had written Marvel Rivals off as a Marvel cash grab, but then I saw the game had breached 400,000 concurrent players on Steam so I had to check it out.  What I found was an enjoyable hero shooter with a spot on super hero feeling.  One of those heroes happens to be the cutest darn land shark you've ever seen.  Meet Jeff the Landshark!

Hi Jeff!

 Jeff is a support hero that focuses on healing and powering up teammates.  He does this in adorable fashion by rolling around and then going underground to do his "land shark" thing. Every-now-and-then he turns on his back and flipping a fish snack up in the air to reload his healing power.  Once charged up his ultimate shark attack swallows enemies and teammates alike and either can be spit out or better yet, for the enemies, is to just swim off the map with them.

The land shark can also climb walls!

Who's the cutest MVP?  Jeff!

Jeff Jeff Jeff!  MVP MVP MVP! 6 kills, 1 death, 25 assists - top healing, assists, and a 4 KO ultimate

The stats so far; not a great win rate but still a ton of cuteness!

Oh and did I mention Jeff can ride on Groot's shoulders for a team up moment?  Bad screenshot but you get the idea.

Thursday 12/5 Post

 Playing like garbage in the first half and then making it a close game in the second half against good teams; not a winning strategy for the Packers this year as they come up short against Detroit.  There was a sliver of hope that Jordan Love would get the ball back for a chance to come back in the end but Dan Campbell gambled and walked away with the house instead.

November 2024 In Review

 November 2024 has come and gone and with it I'm a year older and wiser as I celebrated another birthday that puts me somewhere in my mid-40s.

The Blog

 Blogger provided number (last 30 days graph so a bit off a full month): 18,200

 In other metrics:

• Posts:
  
• Target: 16 (weekdays minus vacation)
  
• Posted: 14
  
• Difference: -2 (the election results deflated my mood for a few days)
  
•  Search Trends
• "new world roadmap 2024", "new world 2024 roadmap", "new world road map 2024" continues to be the top driver of traffic even while I was on hiatus playing Throne and Liberty.  Of course we already had the 2024 road map and recently got the "whats next" update (which I need to post about still)
  
• "best battlefield game", "best battlefield", "best battlefield games" is proving it has a long run as it proceeds to drive traffic to Best Battlefield!?
• "throne and liberty daily checklist" also creeped up the list for a short run in November but dropped out fast
• "ashes of creation pirate software" also blipped driving some traffic to my post going over the video between Pirate Software and Stephen Sharif 

What I Played

 November started out strong with a lot of Throne and Liberty, but the game wore on me and I found myself less and less interested in the progression system which kept me from logging in.  By the end of the month I had given up on the game entirely.

 Which meant I had a hole in my MMO play space and to fill it I leaped back in New World.  It is honestly the better MMO of the two games and I'm enjoying my time back in New World far more than I was enjoying my time in Throne and Liberty.

Years Ago

1 Year Ago

Nov 2023 was dominated by New World posts

• New World Economy
• Brutal Road Map Update for New World
• New World Arena
• Rethinking New World's Progression
• and plenty more during that month
  

5 Years Ago

Nov 2019 was in the 'not a lot of blogging' era and nothing comes to mind.

10 Years Ago

In Nov of 2014 we got the first teaser trailer for The Force Awakens.  Oh the promise!  The excitement! Can we go back and pretend none of the other sequel movies happened?

And I was playing ArcheAge at the time.

15 Years Ago

In Nov of 2009 the rumors began to swirl about the imminent shutdown of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning as the grim reaper that is EA began to cut staff at EA Mythic.  I miss WAR.  I think it had a chance to be a better game than it turned out to be.

We also got our hands on Left 4 Dead 2 which I still revisit from time to time all these years later. There is nothing better than playing as the zombies in that game!

I was also celebrating World of Warcraft and Firefox hitting their 5 year anniversaries.  I swear this was just yesterday though... but 15 years... 15 years ago... that means we've had both of them for 20 years now!

Oh and WTF (What the Favre)!

 20 19 Years Ago

 Technically I have 20 named years on my sidebar, but mathematically 2005 is only 19 years ago.

 In Nov of 2005 I was posting about the keys to the World of Warcraft's auction house; a pastime in every MMORPG I've ever played.  The online market and economy is one thing that sets these games apart in my book.

Star Wars Galaxies' ill-fated New Game Experience (NGE) was getting the proper drubbing it deserved.  No more tears, or words, shall be shed in remembrance of this event.

Monday Screenshots: Brighter Shores

 I gave Brighter Shores a few minutes of my time and well... no... just no.  These screenshots will be the only record of my time in the game.

Almost feels like an AI-generated title image... and the buttons feel like a game from 25 years ago

Another world, another "heartlessgamer"!

And that's it.  I didn't play too much past the tutorial.  The game is clearly for an audience other than myself.  It feels like a game meant for web browsers 25 years ago.

Thursday 11/28/2024 Post

 The Packers beat the Dolphins and Jordan Love finally got his turkey leg!  Two legs in fact!

Happy Thanksgiving 2024!

 Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for all of you; you imaginary blog readers!

AI image generated with Microsoft Designer.
Prompt: A video games blogger who plays a lot of MMORPGs getting ready for a Thanksgiving feast.

Monday Screenshots: So Much To Do

Thanksgiving week is here, and you know what that means: chaos! There’s the turkey to pick up, the house to clean for guests, and... the map in New World to conquer. Yes, you read that right. I didn’t take time off just to prep for a feast with the family—I took time off because my New World map is an absolute disaster. Take a look:

Just look at all those quest and other markers! The New World: Aeternum update didn’t just shake things up—it packed the game with tons of new story quests and repeatable quests in zones like Cutlass Keys. Personally, I’m all for MMORPG maps that glow like a Christmas tree, brimming with things to do at every turn.

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI. The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness is the AI.

Sunday 11/24/2024 Post

 The Packers beat the 49ers and damn did it feel good considering the recent history against them.  Better yet; this loss likely puts the 49ers out of playoff contention.  Stick a fork in them; they're done!

Still Got It: New World Arenas and Outpost Rush

My second day back in New World, and I proved I’ve still got it by securing back-to-back victories in 3v3 PvP arenas. Afterward, I jumped into an Outpost Rush, which we won, and I ranked in the top 10 overall (top 5 on my team) with 11 kills and only 3 deaths. It felt great to be back!

 One thing to note; I am still using my "Frozen Inferno" build with minimal changes since I last played.  The artifact firestaff I use, Inferno, was my first upgraded artifact so is now 725 GS and also now has a gem slot so I slotted an electrified emerald.

 Oh and happy birthday to me (damn I'm getting old)!

Top damage and a 3-0 win in 3v3 arena

3-1 win in 3v3 arena

Outpost Rush; top 10 and an 11/3 KD ratio!  I'm back!

 

Why I Quit Throne and Liberty to Go Back to New World

I just can’t bring myself to play Throne and Liberty any longer, and it took logging back into New World for a few minutes to see why. New World is the better MMORPG. It’s better in every aspect I care about.

Sorry Helpie!

One thing I missed while I was in Throne and Liberty was how being zoomed so far out affected my experience. Playing effectively in Throne requires you to zoom way out, which creates a sense of detachment. Over-the-shoulder gameplay becomes impossible. In contrast, New World limits the zoom, keeping you behind your character, which feels far more immersive.

I spent almost no time staring at the UI in New World. There’s no constant tabbing to check if I have the right enemy targeted, no staring at my hotbar waiting for skills to come off cooldown, and no constant glances at a minimap in the top corner. Instead, I’m engaged with the game world itself, which feels much better.

Combat is a night-and-day difference between the two games. Throne’s tab-targeting system, paired with its overwhelming “word salad” abilities, is replaced in New World by an intuitive and immediate action combat system. What you see on screen dictates your actions—big fireball? Dodge big fireball. Enemy in front of you?  Press attack and hit them.  It’s that simple.

Then there’s the PvP. If there’s one triggering event that pushed me away from Throne and Liberty, it was may last dominion PvP event where I was repeatedly getting stunned and killed in seconds which was frustrating. I thought maxing out my gear and tank build would unlock the “can’t kill me” status tanks are supposed to have in Throne. Instead, even with 3,500+ CP, I died within seconds, often while stunned. Purge one stun? Another is coming.

Even without the constant crowd control, Throne’s combat remains unintelligible, drowning in poorly explained skills and convoluted mechanics. I had no idea what was happening half the time, leading me to mash my emergency buttons out of desperation. It’s the worst PvP I’ve experienced in an MMO.

In New World, PvP is a breath of fresh air. The combat makes sense—dodge the fireball, hit the enemy, block the attack. Even in larger battles, I can understand what’s happening, and the game is responsive enough for me to make an impact. Stuns and crowd control, while present, are manageable and nowhere near the mess they are in Throne. I’d still like New World to refine these mechanics further, but compared to Throne, it’s night and day.

Even with New World introducing aim assist and target lock (which I’m still getting used to), the PvP remains far more enjoyable. In large-scale fights, I can follow the action and feel like I have a role to play. In Throne, battles often felt like meaningless chaos, leaving me with no sense of agency.

Best of all, gear in New World contributes to power without creating an insurmountable gap. Even though I’m still at 700 GS and many players are now 700+ (with a max of 725), I’ve noticed no significant disadvantage in PvP. It feels like I’m competing on skill rather than being outclassed by someone’s gear.

Another thing I missed was the trading post. Jumping back into New World, I was reminded of how satisfying the economic side of an MMO can be. Throne’s auction house, limited to premium currency, was a disaster. Not being able to trade for basic materials was frustrating. In New World, the economy feels alive. Items that were once worthless are now valuable, and I love placing buy and sell orders to carve out my slice of the market.

I don’t understand why New World isn’t more popular. And I don’t get why so many players are still sticking with Throne, especially with the upcoming Tier 2 items doubling the grind required for gear progression—unless you swipe your credit card. New World is the better game and offers so much more to players. Now, I just need to figure out how to convince my friends to leave Throne and Liberty and join me back in New World.

 

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI. The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness is the AI.

Throne and Liberty is a checklist simulator

The more I play Throne and Liberty, the more it feels like I’m trapped in a checklist simulator. Sure, the checklist(s) are long and varied, but a long checklist is still a checklist—and that doesn’t scream “fun” to me.

When I log in, the first order of business is teleporting to Stonegard Castle to do what every Throne and Liberty player loves most: shopping. Not for gear or anything exciting—just my daily/weekly ration of time-gated items. Cooking supplies? Check. Daily materials? Check. Mystic keys? Check. Thrilling stuff.

Since everything in this game revolves around contract coins, my next task is to knock out the daily contracts. There’s a faint whiff of strategy here—optimizing which contracts can be done the fastest—but let’s not pretend it’s exciting. It’s just a checklist within the daily checklist.

Next up? The daily dungeon runs. I burn through my dungeon currency, loot the rewards, and, when the currency’s gone, move on to other tasks. Because why enjoy exploring a dungeon when the game can cut you off once you hit your quota?

At this point, I’ll pull up the event schedule and start planning my life around the game. Is a world boss happening? Maybe a dynamic event? Oh, wait—I missed it because I dared to have a life outside the game. Too bad, no random low chance at loot for me.

When there’s no event to crash, it’s back to the grind in open-world dungeons, where I chip away at another time-gated currency. Of course, I’m not just grinding aimlessly—I’ve got more checklists for that! Open-world dungeon contracts bought earlier? Time to tick those boxes.

Somewhere in all this, I remember my guild contracts. Gotta kill the right enemy types in the right locations because if we don’t finish the guild contracts, the guild rewards vanish into the void. And while I’m in the guild menu, let’s not forget my mandatory time-gated guild donations! The sooner I check that off, the sooner I can donate more, because donating isn’t about generosity—it’s about efficiency.

Oh, and the weekly missions. Can’t forget those. Grit your teeth, win three PvP arena matches, and pray your teammates don’t expect competence from you because you’re just here to get it over with.  Track down those mystic portals, complete events, spend currency.  Don't forget to check off collecting your random reward for the weekly missions.

Somewhere along the way, I remember the battle pass. Yep, another checklist! This one even has me setting my “world tree leaf” to 90% so my amitoi can heal me when I don’t need it. Why? Because the battle pass demands it. Resistance is futile.

Speaking of my amitoi I need to remember to teleport to my amitoi house and send them on their next mission.  Then set a reminder to come back a do that again at the allotted time I set (1,2,4, or 8 hours).

Notice a pattern here? Almost nothing I’ve described is something I wanted to do. It’s all dictated by the game’s endless checklists, none of which care if I’m enjoying myself. Sure, I might want to do some of these things—but I’m doing them because I have to, not because I want to.

And when the checklists run dry? Might as well log out. The PvP is awful, the event schedule is rigid, and the PvE is fine, I guess. But without those rewards dangling at the end of a task, there’s little reason to stick around.

Some folks argue that “it takes forever to run out of things to do,” and fine, I’ll give them that. But that’s not the point. The problem is the compulsion. I’m not playing because I’m having fun—I’m playing because the game demands it. My personal enjoyment rarely aligns with the game’s busywork, and that’s why Throne and Liberty is wearing out its welcome.

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI. The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness is the AI.

Block Twitter and X via uBlockOrigin in Firefox

 If you are like me, use Firefox, and have no desire to accidentally navigate to Twitter (or X) then follow these simple steps.  

1. Get the uBlock Origin extension.
2. Open the extension's settings
3. Go to My Filters
4. Add these two lines:
   
   ||twitter.com^$document
   ||x.com^$document
   
   
5. Click "Apply Changes"

This will ensure any link clicked for either domain will result in a blocked message instead saving you from feeling too dumb from clicking the link in the first place.

Enjoy!

 

Sunday 11/17/2024 Post

 For the first time in 85 years the Green Bay Packers have won a game by blocking a potential game winning field goal.  Of course it happens to be against the Bears because why not.  I almost feel bad for the Bears fans.

 

Pirating Ashes of Creation

Thor from Pirate Software recently sat down with Steven Sharif for an in-depth interview on all things Ashes of Creation. The conversation focused primarily on Alpha 2 and what testers are currently experiencing, but also ventured into the game’s future direction. I have a few thoughts of my own on this.

Watch the Interview Here:

The Node System and Factions

One of the highlights of the interview was the discussion on the node (city) system and how it’s distinct from being in a guild or a religion. Steven explained that players will be able to join different "factions"—not in the traditional MMO sense, but as groups that may cross guild boundaries. Imagine it like this: you work for a company but play on a softball team with friends from other companies, and then attend a different church. This flexibility sounds promising and could add a lot of depth to social structures in Ashes.

Spycraft and Politics

Spycraft was also a key topic, with Thor comparing it to the legendary espionage tales of EVE Online. Steven described how Ashes will offer tools for players to engage in political intrigue and espionage. While these make for great stories, my experience—including in EVE Online—is that they often sour the game for many players involved. It’s one thing to read about grand betrayals, but it’s another to be on the receiving end of them. How well this will play out remains to be seen.

The Corruption System

The corruption system came up as well. When you kill players not flagged for PvP, you accumulate corruption, which is purely punitive and comes with significant risk. Though corruption can be worked off, it’s a slow process. I have my doubts about how well this will hold up at launch, especially given the potential for abuse (e.g., hacked accounts going on a killing spree). It’ll be interesting to see how Intrepid Studios manages this.

The Asmongold Incident

The recent Asmongold drama was a topic of discussion. When Asmongold, a popular streamer, joined Alpha 2, he was repeatedly hunted down and killed. Since Ashes is a PvP-heavy game with no current new player protections, technically, he was fair game. However, Steven intervened, banning players under the justification of "griefing."

My quick take:

• Asmongold received preferential treatment; most players in similar situations wouldn’t see any intervention.
• Banning players simply for not adhering to one person’s definition of "griefing" is unsustainable.
• Griefing lacks a "common sense" definition and is nearly impossible to manage at scale.
• New player protection and reducing abuse opportunities are critical.

The good news is that Steven mentioned plans for future features to protect new players. While this may address situations like Asmongold’s, any GM intervention in PvP will inevitably require judgment calls—leading to inconsistencies and likely some drama.

Transmog Plans

Ashes will feature transmog, with indicators to help players identify what their target is actually wearing. I think this is a good compromise, though I’d prefer restrictions on armor type (e.g., no transmogging cloth to look like plate).

A Social, Group-Centric Game

Steven emphasized Ashes’ focus on social aspects, with leveling designed as a longer journey (estimated at 225 hours to max level) and grouping being the best route. There will be some solo content, but the game will primarily be group-oriented, including combat balancing.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this. I love solo and solo-adjacent gameplay and often play at odd hours when my group isn’t online. The old-school approach of finding a group, traveling to the meeting spot, and then having the group fall apart doesn’t appeal much. While I’m willing to give it a shot, I worry about the potential frustration of waiting on group availability, which could push players toward faster-action games.

Naval Combat and Deep-Sea Fishing

Naval combat also came up. While much of this system isn’t yet in the game, Steven’s vision sounds exciting, including the addition of deep-sea fishing for larger, tougher catches. That’s definitely my kind of content—I’d be ready to sign up for a ship crew immediately!

However, the naval discussion reminded me that Ashes is still far from launch. Alpha 2 is expected to last a year and remains feature-incomplete. Given the amount of feedback and polish needed, it’s likely still a few years away.

Steven’s Role and Vision

Wrapping up, Steven described himself as the "rudder" guiding Ashes’ development. This was a fitting metaphor, emphasizing that this is very much Steven Sharif’s MMO. As we saw with the Asmongold incident, he’s not afraid to get directly involved. Some will appreciate this, while others may find it concerning, as heavy-handed involvement isn’t always sustainable.

Final Thoughts

One thing is clear: Thor is having a lot of fun in Alpha 2, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Ashes of Creation remains the only MMO on my radar, and I’m cautiously optimistic.

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI/ChatGPT. The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness is the AI.

Monday Screenshots: I really like my chair

 I really, really like my chair throne in Throne and Liberty.  I show it off whenever I get the chance and these screenshots show that!

Sitting on my throne

Sitting in my throne waiting for a world boss to spawn

Sitting on my throne in a co-cop dungeon

Sitting on my throne waiting on another world boss spawn

Sitting on my throne getting ready to take on Talus

Sitting on my throne getting ready for Adentus (aka the dentist) fight to start

Well that sucks

 

 There is a long gone Heartlessgamer that would have been happier with today's results, but reality and old(er) age wizened him up.  Unfortunately that means today sucks.  This one is going to hurt for a while.  There is a non zero chance we never come back from this.

 The worst part is the truth that has been staring us in the face: this is America.  This is who we are.  It's time to grapple with that reality and the consequences of it.

October 2024 In Review

 October 2024 is in the books!

The Blog

 Blogger provided number (last 30 days graph so a bit off a full month): 19,800

 Note: this is missing the first few days of October where there was a spike in traffic visiting my Hurricane Helene posts.  You can see it falling off on the left side.

 

 In other metrics:

• Posts:
  
• Target: 0
  
• Posted: 24
  
• Difference: +24!  With the hurricane havoc every post was a win!
  
•  Search Trends
• "new world roadmap 2024" remains the top result that drops folks onto the blog
  
• "best battlefield game", "best battlefield", "best battlefield games" continue to drive traffic as well to Best Battlefield!?

What I Played

 October started with no gaming due to the hurricane causing power and internet outages, but towards the middle of the month I was able to get going with Throne and Liberty and that has consumed most of my gaming time.  I have two level 50 characters now and am working to max out my main's gear.

 I did spend a little bit of time in New World as well.

Years Ago

1 Year Ago

 Last year in October 2023 we got a chance to play The Finals beta and I ended up really enjoying it.  It didn't hold me long term but my oldest son is addicted and plays every day.  He is pretty good at it too.  Every once and a while I hop back on to play with him.

 We also got the "mind blowing" Star Citizen video.  A year later I am not sure anyone can say the game is any closer to what that video promises.

 Oh and New World's expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth, launched.  It brought mounts, level 65, level 700 GS, and a bunch of changes to the game.  It was light on content and staying power, but feature wise it was great.

5 Years Ago

  Oct 2019 was in the 'not a lot of blogging' era and nothing comes to mind.

10 Years Ago

 In October of 2014 I was getting a chance to play Archage for the first time.  I honestly couldn't remember the game all that well so it was good to re-read my initial impressions post.  My... uhhh... younger self does come through in the post.

15 Years Ago

 Setting a milestone and trend that continues to this day in October of 2009 World of Warcraft launched cross-realm (aka cross-server) dungeons and thus ended the idea that you were limited to the server you joined in an MMORPG.

 For fantasy readers: we received the first Wheel of Time book co-authored by Brandon Sanderson.

 We also got the Left 4 Dead 2 trailer; one of my favorite game trailers of all time!

 20 19 Years Ago

 Technically I have 20 named years on my sidebar, but mathematically 2005 is only 19 years ago.

 In Oct of 2005 we had hints that Diablo 3 may become an MMORPG.  Oh how wrong we were!

 We all celebrated Raph Koster starting his blog in 2005!  And he is still at it today which is pretty cool as I've gotten the chance to catch up with him over Discord as he works on his new project, Stars Reach!

 Oh and I got banned from the World of Warcraft forums for posting a picture of a magazine article.  A magazine I physically had in my hands.  Ironically this ban stands to this day!

Monday Screenshots: Throne and Liberty Halloween

 Some screenshots from the Halloween Event in Throne and Liberty.  I think the team did a really good job on the visuals here!

Lots of pumpkins!

Halloween dungeon; get in the flying pumpkin!

Don't forget to block or enjoy your flight into the abyss!

Pumpkin boss mechanic; get in the pumpkin to avoid the wipe!

F this pumpkin.  If you know; you know.

Amazing decorations at Purelight Tower!

Obligatory armor skin: the pumpkin helmet

I'm on the "Crazy Taxi" side

 I don’t usually dive into politics on this blog, but every now and then, something just grabs my attention. If you looked back far enough, you'd probably see that I’ve drifted between the right and left over the years. Since around 2016, though, I’ve found myself firmly on one side—and it happens to be the one where a VP candidate is unafraid to show off his Crazy Taxi skills. Plus a Mountain Dew!  Now that’s a candidate I can get behind!  Kamala is pretty cool too.

Throne and Liberty 1.5.0 Patch Incoming

 The next Throne and Liberty global patch 1.5.0 is rolling off the assembly line tomorrow (10/31).  I spoke into my AI box and told it what I was interested in and it spat out this summary for me:

Throne and Liberty Update 1.5.0 Highlights

Throne and Liberty’s Update 1.5.0 lands October 31, packed with new content and impactful tweaks:

New Battle Pass & Shop Gear

The Phantom Tracker’s Star Battle Pass launches October 31, bringing exclusive emotes, a spooky Amitoi, and new outfits. The Lucent shop refresh also offers themed cosmetics for a festive look.

Big Gameplay Enhancements

• Field Boss Rewards: Boss portals now scale better with player count, offering more spread and better odds for rewards, including new Epic reward chests for selecting your preferred Epic loot.
• Combat Adjustments: Faster crowd control immunity buildup makes getting CC’d less punishing in group fights.
• Dungeon Fixes: Bugs in Death’s Abyss are squashed, and Adventure Codex objectives now award more XP.

UI & Quality-of-Life Tweaks

Extra chat tabs, visible health bar shielding, and a better Guild Points tracker make it easier to stay connected and organized.

Bug Fixes Galore

This update smooths over crafting issues, character movement, and controller function—setting players up for a smoother, more polished adventure.

... and honestly the AI (ChatGPT) did really well here with what I gave it as my interest areas.  Specifically I told it my favorite dungeon was Death's Abyss and it picked out a change specific to it.  I also mentioned I was interested in epic loot which it used well.  I also said to make sure to let me know if there was a new battlepass (which I knew already but wanted to see if the AI would interpret correctly).  I also asked if there were any changes to CC / crowd control and it picked them right up!

 I am sure there is more I could get out of reading the actual full patch notes but time is limited here and I'd rather play around with my "read the patch notes for me" AI than read actual notes myself :)

Why doesn't Throne and Liberty use a blind auction house?

 RMT (real money trading) is rearing its ugly head in Throne and Liberty, but the developers are pushing back by penalizing players caught engaging in these transactions. When players are caught buying Lucent (the premium currency) from RMT sellers, they’re hit with negative balances in game, which the community seems to find amusingly effective. But it raises a question: Why is the game in this situation when there are better ways to design the systems to minimize RMT?

A screenshot from Throne and Liberty showing a negative Lucent balance due to a player being punished for buying Lucent off third party sellers.

 Taking a step back first: it's surprising that RMT is this prevalent, especially since there’s no direct player-to-player trading in the game. Player A can't buy items directly from Player B. Instead, all exchanges happen through the auction house, which is restricted to premium currency and a limited selection of items. Even calling it an "auction" system is a stretch, as there’s no bidding—everything is listed at fixed "buy it now" prices, and listings are anonymous, so players can’t see who’s selling what.

 This setup makes RMT transactions fairly obvious. For example, if someone buys an item for 10,000 Lucent that typically sells for 10, it's likely RMT-related. While it’s possible players are simply transferring Lucent this way without any real money trading hands it doesn't seem in the "spirit" of the game for players to move Lucent around like this.

 Given the lack of player-to-player trading and the limitations on which items can be traded, it seems like Throne and Liberty could benefit from a blind bidding system. In this setup, sellers wouldn’t see listing prices but only the most recent bid or purchase prices. When a player bids on an item, they’d either get a match or be informed their bid is too low. This would eliminate the obvious RMT loophole as players can no longer pick which seller they are buying from.

 Blind bidding has worked really well in other games such as Final Fantasy 11 and seems like the obvious design choice in Throne.  This blurb from the wiki I linked sums it up best:

In the auction houses of FINAL FANTASY XI, sellers designate an asking price when they put items up for bid. The first bidder to offer a price higher than the asking price gets to purchase the item.

 I can't even think of a legitimate reason that any player ever needs to buy something in Throne's auction house at a higher price than the current lowest price which means it is perfect for blind bidding.

 While Throne and Liberty’s current auction system limits direct player trading, it inadvertently leaves space for RMT to thrive, impacting the game's economy and balance. The blind bidding system would minimize opportunities for suspicious transactions that are likely RMT. As the developers continue to combat these issues with the negative account balances, it’ll be interesting to see if they consider more structural changes to the marketplace.

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI/ChatGPT. The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness is the AI.

Monday Screenshots: Daily and Weekly Checklist for Throne and Liberty

 I’ve described Throne and Liberty as a “chore” to play, but I keep logging in because my friends are there, and I do find some moments of enjoyment. Since I’m sticking with it, I decided to get organized and establish a daily and weekly routine. Part of that involves visiting specific vendors to buy time-gated items they offer. I came across a helpful image on Reddit that breaks this down, and I thought it’d be useful to share. 

Note: The only item I don’t fully agree with is the Rare Parchment. You can earn 33 of these by completing a single contract, so I don’t see much value in spending contract coins on them. Contract coins are hard to come by, so I’d rather save them for other items. However, if there’s nothing else you need from the contract coin vendor, the Rare Parchments could be worth picking up.

Your Throne and Liberty daily and weekly shopping list; see notes above about Rare Parchment!

Sunday 10/27/2024 Post

 The Packers keep on winning keeping their QBs undefeated streak alive.  Backup QB that is.  Jordan Love goes down and Malik Willis steps in and just like last week the game comes down to a game winning field goal from our newly signed kicker.  You can't make this stuff up!  What I can make up though is a combo image!

Things I do like about Throne and Liberty

 In my last post, I laid out all the reasons Throne and Liberty drives me nuts—yet here I am, still playing. Why? Because there are moments in this game that are so incredible they make me forget the frustrations, even if just for a while. Throne and Liberty pulls off some things I haven’t seen any other MMO do, and for that, it’s hard to walk away.

 First off—and I’ve said this so often that other people are starting to repeat it—the game’s performance is incredible. One standout feature is the seamless transition time. If you press B to recall back to town, you’re teleported almost instantly. Ready for a dungeon with your party? You’re transported there near instantly.

I'm not the only one impressed by the tech!

 On top of this, the game handles large groups of players remarkably well. I’ve joined open-world boss fights with hundreds, possibly over a thousand players. Sure, it’s a chaotic blur of lights, but the fight remains perfectly playable, allowing players to execute the boss’s mechanics reliably. Seeing a massive zerg of players fighting a giant monster is the essence of what an MMO should be!

 After 30+ years (holy crap!) of playing online games, I’ve learned to appreciate technological improvements. Whatever magic Throne and Liberty uses to enable near-instant loading and the ability to support thousands of players in one area deserves praise—it should be the standard!

 The game makes full use of these technical feats in its open-world dungeons. These aren’t small caves in the hillside; they’re massive, multi-tiered labyrinths requiring proper groups or careful solo planning to navigate.

 Just last night, my group spent an hour descending to the 6th floor of Syleus Abyss, where it felt like we were drilling down to the center of the earth. At the lowest level, we encountered massive lava pools and enjoyed knocking enemies off bridges into them. All the way down, we were flanked by hundreds of other players carving out their own spots in the dungeon. It’s a vibrant and dynamic environment.

 

The sixth floor of Syleus's Abyss.  Open world dungeons FTW!

 One of my favorite, albeit most frustrating, dungeons is the Sanctum of Desire. It only opens when it rains—which is annoying but also what I love about it! In so many games, content is always accessible with a click. Knowing Sanctum opens only with rain adds excitement whenever someone calls out, “Hey, it’s raining! Go, go, go!” It’s reminiscent of Dark Age of Camelot’s Darkness Falls dungeon, where everyone rushed in when conditions were right.

 This leads me to another feature I love: the server’s top players can activate world-changing abilities. One example is the power to make it rain. Sanctum of Desire has a world boss that spawns on a schedule, but if it’s not raining, players can’t get in. The other night, I watched our entire server plead with a top player to trigger rain so we could all rush in to fight the boss.

 Another thrilling aspect is that these open-world dungeons turn into PvP zones at night. Nothing beats the tension as two groups of players stand off in the depths of a dungeon, waiting for the clock to hit nighttime. The victor keeps their farming spot; the loser is kicked out. In Sanctum of Desire, if it’s not raining, the losing team can’t even get back in.

 Add in the “Eclipse” ability, where players can trigger nighttime across the server, and the stakes go even higher. Just recently, an Eclipse was triggered while hundreds of players waited for a world boss. The guild that triggered it was ready and ambushed everyone. I was frustrated after getting killed, but looking back, all I can think is, “That was freaking cool!”.  Players can literally change the world.

Eclipse! PvP is ON in the open world dungeons!

 I spend a lot of my game time in these dungeons, even though rewards stop once you run out of Abyssal Contract tokens. I really enjoy pushing deeper into more challenging areas and claiming my little farming spot. It’s a truly multiplayer experience that thrives on open-world interaction—and Throne and Liberty delivers here.

 Scheduled world events are another highlight. Whether it’s a “kill the most wolves” event or one where you can jump onto the back of a giant flying whale, there’s always something happening. The game even provides a schedule so you can plan for upcoming events.

 The game also excels at providing in-game information. Every item has an info icon you can click to see how to obtain it, listing vendors, quests, or other sources. You can click on a map location to see enemy types, then click on an enemy to view their loot drops. Once you learn the system, there’s hardly any need to visit an external wiki. 

Map > Area > Monster Info > Loot Table > Details about the drop without ever having to alt tab from the game!

 In the end, these moments I love—epic dungeons, massive player battles, and real-time world changes—are exactly what make Throne and Liberty’s shortcomings so frustrating. This game has the potential to be truly groundbreaking, with technology and ideas that could set a new standard for MMOs. If only the combat and PvP were tighter, if gearing weren’t such a grind, and if the progression caps weren’t so limiting, Throne and Liberty could be exceptional. For now, though, I’m sticking with it, because there’s still nothing quite like the experience it offers.

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI/ChatGPT. The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness is the AI.