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