SOS mission complete

So it took around 40 runs to finally get the sword of shadows. I had the shard, scroll and seal for months just waiting for the sword to drop.

When it did arrive it was the dice gods that gave me their divine intervention. We completed VON 6 on Epic Elite and I raided the 4 chests and was about to recall when someone offered the sword for rolling.

Weirdly as I typed in /roll d100 I knew I was going to win. After all this time it just felt right. Sure enough I won the roll and boy did that feel good.

I have since bought a meteoric augment (had to use shards but was a bargain at a price of 12 shards) to beef it up and it is awesome. Well worth the work and better than any Thunderholme crafted gear I have made. It crits on a 13 when buffed and damage is in the 000’s.

Now Radzax has the sword it has made him more fun in melee. I wonder if my Artificer could use one shame it’s BTC never mind will just have to farm another .

Reincarnation of the Epic kind

Well what a year it’s been. As I blogged previously I had a dilemma about leaving my sole guild, pleased to say I made the change and joined a friends guild. My own guild made it to level 60 and I have toons in that guild should I want to move back.

So having changed guild I have better buffs. This has been a great help in levelling Radzax. I have been playing DDO as much as I can. Still addicted after 8 and a half years. Radzax has heroic completionist (life 22 now), 5 iconic past lives and in the next week or so he will ETR for the 12th time getting me Epic completionist.

I would like to say some of this was planned but my buddy Kyloor and I have basically just raced each other every life to the level cap. It may sound boring but it’s more about the banter and the end goal than the quests and I must admit zerging is now our norm.

I always run as a caster and bladeforged shiradi sorcerers are my favourite. To get my ETR completion I have had to try new things. I am currently a PDK Paladin with my Epic SOS finally getting some use. I have to admit its fun standing toe to toe with Velah and other end bosses.

So currently at level 21 and zooming in on that final ETR ( I say final but will probably go for triple completion over the next year). I promise to get some pictures for my next blog. Thanks for reading and hope to see you in game soon.

That elusive SOS

No this isn’t a cry for help. I am not lost at sea. I am seeking a Sword of Shadows. http://m.ddowiki.com/page/Item:Sword_of_Shadow

I completed my 20th Vault of night last night and in the end chest got a shard for the sword. Someone else dropped the actual sword. This thing is rare and it was the first sword I have seen since I started doing Epic Von’s.

Never mind I thought if I can pick it from the end reward list that will be great. But the list didn’t have the sword and so I will start again next life with my search. 20 completions is good enough for most raids but not it seems for VON.

On a big plus I now know this raid and can lead it without issue. It’s only taken me 8 years to master.

I wonder if it will take me 8 years to get the sword too.

Guilds and Goals

I started my guild on Ghallanda three years ago so that my two sons who play DDO and myself had our own place in the game.

Having developed their roles in the game and made their own friends I was left with a level 25 guild on my own.

I set myself a challenge to get my guild to level 60 so I could get a bigger ship get +30 resists and if I joined another guild I could always revert if I decided I didn’t fit. Having my own home to park alts and guild loot (I’m a hoarder) seemed a great plan.

Now that my guild is level 59 I am almost at my goal. The sense of achievement is pretty good (I don’t use sagas for guild favour and I don’t buy renown pots). I have played hundreds of hours to get here but now I’m thinking what’s next.

If I am to join another guild will I enjoy it. Having enjoyed my freedom so far, will I feel restricted or liberated from leader responsibilities. Will I get frustrated by guildies, probably. Decisions, decisions. I have seen lots of guilds at about the same level so there are many out there in the same position.

What if you could affiliate your guild with another within the rules. Keeping your individual achievements but working to help another larger guild too? A sort of merger of like minded guilds who could benefit each other whilst maintaining their own individuality.

Would that appeal to others? I love DDO and I want it to continue for years to come. Maybe affiliated guilds will allow more solo players to get the same rewards and benefits as large guilds keeping them active in the game.

What puts me off large guilds is the commitment. I like to do my own thing, sometimes very sociable, sometimes just grinding out xp to get onto my next life. I will eventually join another guild but may take my time in doing it.

I will have to think on what I mean with affiliation and how it might work. I know there are many guilds with only one or two people in them that sit waiting for an LFM to appear. How can their small guild benefit them in finding groups of like minded people? Maybe we should all just join a bigger guild?

I hope my meanderings make some sense.

Thanks for reading.

Epic reincarnation finally understood

Well if your reading this you likely play DDO and if not you should do.

I’ve been playing since April 2006 and would class myself as a novice still after all this time. The game keeps changing and I keep learning.

My caplet ironist (completionist) spellcheckers do make me laugh. Sorry getting sidetracked. My completionist Radzax has just ETR’d again. Previously I have ETR’d and then immediately HTR’d back to level 1. So I have only just realised a drawback with ETRing.

As a hoarder of loot I have found this a particularly hard lesson. When you ETR you don’t get the reincarnation bank. So having put all my btc items in my backpack before entering the grove I find myself with a full backpack at level 20 and no room for anything else.

If I now HTR I get an empty pack to start hoarding again. I also didn’t realise that as you keep all your completions and favour you don’t get the first time xp bonus when running quests. Going to take longer to get to 28 this life.

That said I am pleased I can keep improving my toon by earning epic past life feats.

So now I understand reincarnation completely. I have I E and H TR’d and it all makes sense. If you are not familiar with the process my advice is take your time and ask in game for help. Screw this up and you have to spend hours getting back to where you wanted to be.

Good luck TRing and may your d20’s always crit.

Thanks for reading.

Now back to Stormreach on Ghallanda.