Archive | October 2012

A Deadly Night

So, I got to go on the HM TfB run tonight! Yay! Or it would be a yay if I didn’t do absolutely horrendous.

Just…wasn’t a good night–random lag spikes, I died in nearly every fight… 🙁 not even sure how well I did (I also forgot about combat logs for part of it…)

Despite that, we did get Kephess down which means new codex for me (as I didn’t get to be there for the kill last time) which means tomorrow will be solely dedicated to The Terror from Beyond! Yay!

…of course, I don’t know if I’ll be able to go 🙁 Unless someone isn’t around so I’ll be replacing someone, I won’t be needed so… and regardless, I will not be around Thursday either.

…I’m not really sure how I feel right now. ._.

Eeee :D

Oct9

My SWTOR Encylopedia came today! So exciting. The book is HUGE. Like bigger than my head and takes up our whole TV table and is an inch thick or so huge.

ANYWAY, I shall now talk about some things I find interesting 😀

Stuff about the Chancellor and the guy before her… And stuff about Nadia’s dad! So sad his wife died through childbirth 🙁 “Tobas first noticed Nadia’s bizarre use of the Force when, as a baby, she lifted his collection of Sarkhai artifacts into the air–all without moving a finger.” so cute~

Proper Address – I DON’T CARE IF IT’S BEEN SIR FOR AGES I HATE IT. …that is all. >_> “The Command officials who implemented the policy and their supporters believed it would simplify interactions between members of diverse species, whose genders (or lack of gender) might be unfamiliar to one another. Detractors believe that the policy actually increases confusion by forcing the use of imprecise language, and makes interactions awkward for anyone who isn’t male.”
*AGREES WITH DETRACTORS*

Some stuff on the Military:
-Uniform colors vary based on service and location of deployment
-Soldiers below Colonel Rank are permitted to wear field dress in all but the most formal occasions
-Commander can be used to reference anyone in Command, however, earning it as an honorific title is one of the highest achievements.

General Garza enlisted in the military at 15 (using forced identity credentials).

HAVOC SQUAD REAL NAME TIME:
Gearbox – Bex Kolos – Only Havoc Squad Member recruited from armored vehicle division. Longtime personal friend of Jace Malcom.
Wraith – Zora (well…this is awkward) – Recruited directly from Mercenary service by General Garza
Fuse – Vanto Bazren – Youngest Recruit in History. Advanced Degrees in Chemical and Structural Engineering and Music Theory.
Needles – Ryler Dorant – “Repeatedly waived from standard psychological evaluations under authority of commanding officer. Qualified expert in vital pathology.”

TROOPER COMPANION AGES:
Aric Jorgan – 30
Elara Dorne – 26
Tanno Vik – 34 (Enlisted records suspected of being false)
Yuun – 28

And M1-4X’s production cost was 15 million credits.

Jedi Knight gets a master after rushing in and saving a bunch of people.

JEDI KNIGHT COMPANION AGES:
Rusk – 40
Scourge – 300+
Kira – 20
Doc – 28
T7 – 200+ years of service

Jedi Consular – “a gifted Padawan travels to Tython to complete the final trials and become a fully fledged Jedi”

JEDI CONSULAR COMPANION AGES:
Iresso – 31
Nadia – 22
Zenith – 36
Tharan – 29
Qyzen – Unknown, but says to be middle-aged.

ONTO THE IMPERIAL MILITARY:
Many officers keep their personal weapons

Moffs have many more color options for their uniform and the designs reflect both their past and current services.

Imperial Army Ranks: General, Ensign, Colonel, Sergeant, Major, Corporal, Captain, Specialist, Lieutenant, Private
Imperial Navy Ranks: Admiral, Ensign, Commodore, Petty Officer, Group Captain, Corporal, Captain, Specialist, Lieutenant, Private

IMPERIAL AGENT STUFF:
Keeper doesn’t have much, but suspected to have been recruited from the navy.

Watcher Two (Shara–“unconfirmed”) is believed to be a product of one of their multi-generational eugenics program to produce ideal operatives.

AGETIME:
Vector – 26
SCORPIO – Programming age unknown, but Current Chassis age is estimated to be less than5.
Raina – 24
Kaliyo – 29 (unconfirmed)
Doctor Eckard – 65 (unconfirmed)

SITH STUFF:
While Thanaton is 55, Zash’s age isn’t mentioned.

Some ages mentioned of various council members…

SITH WARRIOR COMPANION AGES:
Pierce – 29
Jaesa – 21
Broonmark – Unknown
Vette – 21
Quinn – 37

Due to the war, the Sith order bothers with slaves who are force-sensitive which brings us to the Sith Inquisitor~

SITH INQUISITIOR COMPANION AGES:
Khem – 2,000+
Andronikos – 35 (unconfirmed)
Ashara – 20
Talos – 27
Xalek – 24

SMUGGLER COMPANION AGES:
Akaavi Spar – 28
Bowdaar – 197
Corso Riggs – 22
Risha – 21
Guss – 33

BOUNTY HUNTER COMPANION AGES:
Blizz – Indeterminate
Skadge – 37
Gault – 54
Torian – 18
Mako – 19

…there’s then lots of details about species and plants and stuff but I shall end it here~

So…

Oct8

…despite feeling like utter crud today, ended up going on a 8-man HM EC run. Our usual run didn’t happen due to it being Thanksgiving in Canada so I was taken along to this one.

More or less, it went well. Kephess even went down despite the glitches of some nightmare mechanics getting in there.

now if I could just stop sucking at rolls.

especially in things I’d rather not see ever again unless helping someone out ._.

Yays and not so yays

Oct8

So, Mr. Robot finally updated! 😀 very excited as now my thingy is up to date~ Looks like the amount of Surge lost for switching an Adept to an Enhancement just isn’t worth it. The little bit into 76% really won’t make that big of an issue with DR.

I may work on a thingy for my PVP gear as well soon.

Anyway, onto the not so yay’s… the first claim of not seeing the pet drop has come in 🙁 This, of course, means the drop is NOT 100% (although, it looks to still be quite high considering…)

if I wasn’t paranoid enough before, I am now 🙁

@-@

Oct8

So, some people have mentioned some concern because I haven’t written in a while! Sorry! I will say I still adore the game and still log in everyday… I’m just discouraged, I guess is one way to put it.

Besides having to work a lot of extra hours in order to raise money due to a lot of bad luck a couple of months ago, there’s just a lot of things I have been waiting for since early this year all coming at once.

Similarly, as mentioned, previous discouragement. I will put it simply with that I hate depending on people. I love helping others, but I hate asking for help myself. One of the top reasons I dislike operation pets is because:
1. The sucky drop rate
2. Lock-outs so I can’t keep trying
3. I would need 7-15 other people.

And I hate that.

And as silly as it seems, I am really paranoid that the Deep Wriggler’s drop rate will change in the upcoming patch. Also, the fact that it has 100% drop rate but chances are I won’t get one for months has a really negative effect on me as I feel like a failure, honestly. It’s like “oh hey, the only reason you can’t get me is you’re not good enough to do it”.

And if it wasn’t for the fact that there is a pet (100% drop no less) and it is officially clarified to be the only one I need (and really, what kind of good pet guide maker doesn’t have all the pets immediately), I wouldn’t even care that I may not have HM done yet. Yes, I need the codexes eventually, but it isn’t a big deal.

Essentially, it goes in this order:
1. Pets
2. Codexes + Speeders
3. Gear
4. Other items (Example: Karagga’s Helmet) – if these kinds of items can ever be placed to decorate your ship, this becomes #3 moving Gear to #4.

And being both a perfectionist and a completionist, having a lockout just sitting here stinks too.

However, a big thank you to a certain someone who is helping me at least stay somewhat calm by helping me earn credits for one of my first big goals: Getting the ship Legacy Stuff.

Then, the only other priority credit thing is getting the rest of the speeders I need.

But yes, that is why I haven’t written too much~ I’ve just been kind of down and don’t want to drag other people in it. Regardless, I still love the game and am still determined over cave mysteries–just kind of feeling like a failure.

Cantina Tour + Encyclopedias + Petness

Oct4

As usual, I will be talking about these in a different order than the title because I almost always do.

I recently received a message that the SWTOR Encylopedia I preordered will be shipping soon! If you are not familiar with it, it is not a guide book for the game, but actually a book that goes further into the writings and stories of the characters. If you’re interested in the lore and the story, you may find this interesting. It is why I got it and maybe also for hints of things to come too! It is written by the various writers of SWTOR so if you enjoy the player stories and companions, there is sure to be something of interest 🙂

Besides that, apparently this is happening! I kind of wish it was a different day in NYCC or at least actually in the building (I have asthma and Manhattan blocks suck >_>), but I guess we’ll see if our schedule can allow it. If it does, I will do my best to update with anything interesting! I really hope we can go, but will just need to see how things will work out.

Finally, someone on our server has gotten the Deep Wriggler. Nobody I know personally (which is probably better as I’d glare at them forever), but it’ll be a little disheartening everytime I see it 🙁 just one pet to go and so close, yet so far away… afterall, it’s not like I can just always go or anything either. To think, there’s a 100% pet and I don’t even think I’ll be able to get that anytime soon… by the time I may finally get to try for it, I bet the drop rate will be changed 🙁

Frustration :(

Oct3

So, today has been horrible. I’ve had the game crash several times due to issues with the Video Card…which had no issues until the patch so I do not know what the heck is going on, but it sucks.

Worst part is, if it doesn’t manage to repair (and sometimes even if it does, it then immediately crashed again), it actually sometimes forces me to restart my laptop as the game then just won’t close. It refuses no matter what I do.

*sighs*

Between the crashes and other things, today has been absolutely awful.

Yay!

Oct3

I got to go to 16-man HM Terror from Beyond tonight! 🙂 Got to do the first 3 bosses and we got REALLY close on Kephess! Got him to 2%. I think they’ll get it tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don’t know if I’ll get to go again (I was a fill in afterall), but I’m glad I got to go for at least a little bit :3 Plus I got new codexes! <3 And I think my healing has improved so yay T~T

Wonderous Egg has never been out and nobody has one

Oct2

Yep. I got a response, they went through the information and our answer:

So I passed everything on to our dev folk for investigation, I can confirm for you that no one has ever gotten the wondrous egg. My only guess can be that folks may have gotten it mixed up with the other egg (an easy mixup for sure). I also fear that the information you received from our CS agents appears to be incorrect, at least as far as we can tell, no one has ever gotten the egg nor has it been distributed in-game.

As for why it was mentioned in the Patch Notes… I’m guessing it just changed all the data on the eggs and they just wrote them all there as it was technically updated…even if not out yet. Afterall, the white crystal has been around for how long now? 😛 Just not actually achievable.

What I would like to know though…who thought this was a good rumor to start? And why did so many sites put up this information without any facts clarified? It’s…frustrating.

At least it’s finally over. However, rumors say it may be the pet in Nightmare Explosive Conflict.

(on a happier note, got my enhancements yay~ Unfortunately, down to 180K due to ripping stuff out. Sorry, but I worked too hard on my 26’s to just replace them 🙁 )

If this sounds confusing…

Oct2

…it is because I feel really sick so I’m going to apologize in advance.

So, I remember reading this post a while back in regards to “Gambling Boxes”. For those not familiar with them, they are boxes that can have a number of items (I have seen some places have up to 60 items in a “Gambling Box”), usually with a few rare items. And usually all the items or at the very least, the rarer ones, can only be gotten through these boxes.

What bothers me is the fact that when they mention the Cartel Packs, they do not say they are not Gambling Boxes in a topic that is about them which really worries me and makes me think they really will be Gambling Boxes over random item packs.

“How are random item packs different?” You don’t really ask but I’m continuing this format anyway.

An example of a random item pack just means an item pack filled with a random collection of items–for example an armor set, a pet, and a mount. Those items are pretty different and have randomly been decided to put in a pack together, however, every time someone buys that pack, it is always the same armor set, pet, and mount. That is Cartel Pack #1 and it will never change.

Another example, however, is a mixture of a Random Item Pack and a Gambling Pack where there’s fewer options, but you are paying for more due to it coming with more. So, you’d buy the set and you will get an armor set, pet, and mount but which of each is random. So let’s just make an example:

Armor sets:
Blue
Pink
Red
Yellow
Rainbow

Pet sets:
Lobel
Tauntaun
Orobird
Monkeylizard

Mounts:
~~Mantyke~~ Thranta (sorry, I told you I am sick >_>)
Tauntaun
Orobird
Pod Racer

You then buy a pack and you get: Blue Armor Set, Orobird Pet, and Pod Racer Mount. You then buy another and maybe you get Rainbow Set, Lobel Pet, and Tauntaun Mount and then maybe you get one more and you get horribly unlucky and get another Blue Armor Set, another Lobel Pet, and another Pod Racer Mount. Just completely random which you get, but you will get one of each type.

…if you couldn’t guess though, I prefer option 2. It’s just…a random collection of items. And maybe if I buy Cartel Pack #1, I can find someone who bought #2 and we can trade–like if I hate the armor set, maybe I can trade it for their pet.

The first season of Cartel packs will draw heavily on preexisting armor appearances that haven’t been used for player-wearable equipment thus far. They’ll include some new models, but we did not draw on endgame content appearances for them.

Unsurprisingly, the Cartel Packs will be limited. I just hope it’ll be a reasonable time–like a month or so. I’ve seen too many sites where they just do like a week.

Regardless, I really hope they will make the items tradeable. Gambling packs suck enough to begin with, but even more so when you’re stuck with the crud you got. I have awful luck. There is another site I go to where they, unfortunately, make their donation items random. They released about 10 items last month. There were only 2 I didn’t like. 7/10 chests I bought were one of those items. 1/10 was the other of those items. Leaving me with 2/10 that I actually wanted.

I was, thankfully, able to trade for some, but others I actually had to donate more to get and that stinks. In fact, there is another site I quit when I realized the average amount to get everything was about $300. The sad truth of these things are, they are brilliant ways to make money even if it makes more people miserable.

I’ve seen more people boycott features like that than those who buy them. The issue comes in that the people who do buy them are more than willing to spend thousands to get everything and in the end, they pay more money than the people who do not buy those items at all. And I hate gambling in real life–gambling for virtual things is just kind of infuriating to me (and having money issues right now doesn’t help).

But yes, considering the response to the topic, I am really really really worried. 🙁 I hope, if they unfortunately do go that route, that they will at least be tradeable… but I really hope they’re not and they just didn’t think to say something.