124503-morning-coffee-47-making-up-for-lost-time-edition

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That is a "Bacone" ... basically a cone of bacon stuffed with scrambled eggs, country gravy and topped with a biscuit. I'd eat two if I were you.
 
So for today, I'd like to ask a very pointed question with lots of possible answers.
 
"What have I missed in the last couple of months?"
 
I left just before the mega-server business and it seems like every day I learn about something that's changed, that I had no idea changed.
 
So, pick something that's been altered and tell me all about it.
 
1. Tex is a level 50 Stalker. I only have one piece of crafted 50 gear. Is crafted gear still worth getting?
 
2. Vet Shiphands give Renown even if run solo. Is there anything else that does?
 
3. Are the Crimson Badlands and Northern Waste factions even worth messing with anymore?
 
Anything else you can think of that I might have missed, that I probably don't know?	
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getting you up to speed on all the changes seems like a job for Vic. 
 
1. I have no crafted gear, but my endgame is hitting people with a big sword, so my pvp season 1 purples do just fine. 
 
2. With as many Saddles as there are at the moment, just run with people and rake in all the renown you can get your hands on. 
 
3. Debatable. You can get entry gear for raiding from the glory vendor as far as I know. If you want the giant demon sword you still have to go to CB, but I can't think of much else. 
 
"Anything else" is a rather vague question, tell me about specific things that matter to you and I can see if they have changed.
 	
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Good Morning US ;)
 
Unfortunately, I have not been able to play WildStar this weekend.
Chua Olivar was visiting his mate in RL, who lives quite a distance away, so these 4-5 days around easter were spend on "other activities".
So right now I'm trying to catch up on all the changes and see what is going to happen this week.
 
I'm already disliking the Drop 5 changes.
These changes provide so much work and research needed to get first of all the RPCore library upgraded to version 2, and then I need to somehow rebuild PDA into a new version.
Togglebutton announced he will drop PDA with the new Drop, so I need to either take his source and rewrite it into something new or get him to hand it over....
Either way, it's going to be a lot of work....
 
Speaking of Addons, got my paws on Generalist.
So new toy to play with alongside WatcherEx.
These 2 seem to be my biggest projects so far, and it's a handful.
Between all the raiding, roleplaying and day to day life, I need to find more time to actually work on these Addons.
I hope people actually use these ticket systems properly now so I can track changes and get stuff tested properly.
 
Outside that, I'm going to revamp Oli.
After all the shit that has happened, I want to play Oli as he was originally intended, and not the way he was pushed.
So right now I'm writing out a big plot and building my housing plot accordingly so I can actually play this out and introduce the new Oli.
 
Enough WildStar news for now...	
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			Having never interacted with Oli in game, what was he originally meant to be other than the violent nudest that we see on the forums?  	
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"Anything else" is a rather vague question, tell me about specific things that matter to you and I can see if they have changed.
 
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Having never interacted with Oli in game, what was he originally meant to be other than the violent nudest that we see on the forums?  
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Well, that's kind of it. There isn't much that really matters to me, outside of just having fun. I used to just PVP all the time, but I heard so many bad things, I haven't had the urge to jump back into it again. I mean, I don't expect I'll be doing arenas or anything rated, but are the practice games that bad?
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Morning :)
 
Tex, did you get your Amp and Tier point upgrades from your path stuff at....ummm....15 and 30 path level?	
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Morning :)
 
Tex, did you get your Amp and Tier point upgrades from your path stuff at....ummm....15 and 30 path level?
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Good Morning Everyone! 
 
I hope you all have fun in whatever adventure you are doing today. :)
 
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That is a "Bacone" ... basically a cone of bacon stuffed with scrambled eggs, country gravy and topped with a biscuit. I'd eat two if I were you.
 
So for today, I'd like to ask a very pointed question with lots of possible answers.
 
"What have I missed in the last couple of months?"
 
I left just before the mega-server business and it seems like every day I learn about something that's changed, that I had no idea changed.
 
So, pick something that's been altered and tell me all about it.
 
1. Tex is a level 50 Stalker. I only have one piece of crafted 50 gear. Is crafted gear still worth getting?
 
2. Vet Shiphands give Renown even if run solo. Is there anything else that does?
 
3. Are the Crimson Badlands and Northern Waste factions even worth messing with anymore?
 
Anything else you can think of that I might have missed, that I probably don't know?
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I ... don't know? Are those new things that don't just happen auto-magically?
 
I did finally look up a build and spend my Talent/AMP points, but I hadn't gone looking for any others.
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That is a "Bacone" ... basically a cone of bacon stuffed with scrambled eggs, country gravy and topped with a biscuit. I'd eat two if I were you.
 
So for today, I'd like to ask a very pointed question with lots of possible answers.
 
"What have I missed in the last couple of months?"
 
I left just before the mega-server business and it seems like every day I learn about something that's changed, that I had no idea changed.
 
So, pick something that's been altered and tell me all about it.
 
1. Tex is a level 50 Stalker. I only have one piece of crafted 50 gear. Is crafted gear still worth getting?
 
2. Vet Shiphands give Renown even if run solo. Is there anything else that does?
 
3. Are the Crimson Badlands and Northern Waste factions even worth messing with anymore?
 
Anything else you can think of that I might have missed, that I probably don't know?
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I run the practice battlegrounds just about every day. Now, getting a face full of Data Scape gear is pretty craptastic, but the immediate action, and just having fun with other players is still there. You are going to groan a lot getting your pvp gear, it will hurt when you see how little damage you do and how little effort it takes people to kill you. When it is done, you will be much more happy. 
 
So get a strong drink, take your licks, and when it is done we are one person closer to those warplots we always wanted the Saddles to be part of. 
 
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I run the practice battlegrounds just about every day. Now, getting a face full of Data Scape gear is pretty craptastic, but the immediate action, and just having fun with other players is still there. You are going to groan a lot getting your pvp gear, it will hurt when you see how little damage you do and how little effort it takes people to kill you. When it is done, you will be much more happy. 
 
So get a strong drink, take your licks, and when it is done we are one person closer to those warplots we always wanted the Saddles to be part of. 
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1. Tex is a level 50 Stalker. I only have one piece of crafted 50 gear. Is crafted gear still worth getting?
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Even if TB gives me PDA, I still need to rewrite RPCore to work with API10.
And it seems we're stuck atm, if you follow the topic :/	
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Last I checked, I already had a full set of PVP gear (not arena gear, just the BG stuff). I got mine back when you could buy it in advance, so I dinged 50 with almost the whole thing waiting for me. :lol:
 
Like I've said, I ain't very good at PVP, but I used to be very dedicated.
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Even if TB gives me PDA, I still need to rewrite RPCore to work with API10.
And it seems we're stuck atm, if you follow the topic :/
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I'd say PvP is absolutely good to get back into.  I'm not an avid PvPer but I've been having a lot of fun in battlegrounds with the esper and the medic.  Also, the Arena gear no longer has rating requirements, so just get in and play and you've got a short gear progression path to work towards.  And there should be additional kit available with the next drop I believe, and some retooling to downplay the benefit of powerful PvE gear (no idea if it's enough but the attempt is being made).
 
So, get your butt into a battleground and start doing... things.
 
Crafted gear is definitely a solid starting place, and might help you skip things going into dungeons.  You can't min/max them quite to the degree you used to be able to, but it's still a decent starting place for instant gratification.  Unfortunately with the "assault power uber alles" philosophy, even the best Archivos crafted weapon will not beat out that Arena purple weapon, so... another good reason to do PvP.  I suspect you can make better crafted armor than PvP armor though if you get the right stats on it in the right quantities.
 
I'd say if you hadn't maxed out CB and NW rep, it's worth doing that for the amp points.  It's been a little streamlined.
 
You'll be wanting to accumulate glory too through dungeons, and there's some very decent purchaseable gear for glory that you can get rolling into GA (be sure to have done SSM normal -- there's a bug that's getting fixed that required that one instead of Vet SSM), and if you've got an X-89 kill, you can get a bit more glory kit.  
 
As noted, path gives you an additional amp and ability point.  It's a discrete object you have to "use" so if you don't remember using it, you probably didn't get it.  Go visit the path vendor by the elder gem vendor and buy them.
 
You can also get some amp/ability points for gold rating for all shiphands and gold rating on all adventures, both relatively easy to accomplish (save for random crappiness that inevitably still occurs with Malgrave despite doing everything you can do).
 
And, with PvP there are amp/ability points for prestige, and an unlimited supply, though the ones after the first tiers are fairly expensive in Prestige.  Still, it's an option if you're doing nothing but queuing.
 
Dailys for PvP also award some nice prestige, pick those up if you're doing them.  I don't know if the rewards for dungeons and adventures are as good.  There's also a weekly quest (it's persistent if you don't finish it in one week) for additional elder gems.  The PvP one takes a LOT of PvP to max out... I think that one is poorly done, so if you're also doing dungeons regularly, that one wraps up a lot faster.  I've never taken the questing one, so I don't know how hard that one is to max out.  The dungeon one is about...5 runs?  The PvP one can take maybe 20-40 battlegrounds depending on if you're winning regularly.  Since BGs are variable length and the queue time is variable, the dungeon one (to me) seems more attainable IF you're doing those sorts of things.
 
Guess that's all I can think of at the moment.  
 
We smashed face against Ohmna last night and made some progress but no kill yet.  Really need people keeping their heads on at all times.  It's such a long fight that I think repetition numbs some of the senses.  Plus Ohmna was doing some really WEIRD things.  Devours outside of the three ability phase, just after a threat wipe and before a body slam, devours right after the add phase ends.  Once we knew it was happening it wasn't too hard to adjust for but it cause a bit of a tizzy in yours truly as I've been leading the calls for Ohmna (and a separate person leading calls for power cells).  
 
Tonight is Attunesday (a Tuesday), so we'll see if we've got people mid attunement and try to help them out as much as possible.  I should put in that "add/drop feature" thread attunement.  I think it's solidly worn out its welcome as a gating mechanism by now.	
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Yep, Ohmna can bug out sometimes doing weird things.
As long as you know how to handle each encounter mechanic, you should be safe though.
And don't worry about the length, you will get the hang of it eventually.
We usually clear Ohmna in about 6 minutes now, burning her so hard we skip the second add phase usually.	
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I only worry about length in that I think that by the time we get to three head phase, there's a certain mental numbness in some raiders that has set in.  And when that happens, mistakes accumulate.  That being said, some of our raiders really need to hustle more on tentacles and know when it's safe to spread out (anytime we're not anticipating an erupt).
 
And yeah, it wasn't a killer, just I like an encounter to go by the numbers, and being able to anticipate the possibilities of what's next does aid.  Having the variability means we have to build against the potential, but it's not huge, just a little "huh?".  We are certainly not burning anything super fast.  Think we have multiple add phases, not just a "second" one.
 
Anyway, we'll get there.  Had some excellent pulls to begin but performance varied and dropped off as the night wore on.	
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			Especially now that they fixed the 6 heads bug. Makes the first burn phase all the easier.	
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I only worry about length in that I think that by the time we get to three head phase, there's a certain mental numbness in some raiders that has set in.  And when that happens, mistakes accumulate.  That being said, some of our raiders really need to hustle more on tentacles and know when it's safe to spread out (anytime we're not anticipating an erupt).
 
And yeah, it wasn't a killer, just I like an encounter to go by the numbers, and being able to anticipate the possibilities of what's next does aid.  Having the variability means we have to build against the potential, but it's not huge, just a little "huh?".  We are certainly not burning anything super fast.  Think we have multiple add phases, not just a "second" one.
 
Anyway, we'll get there.  Had some excellent pulls to begin but performance varied and dropped off as the night wore on.
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We've got ohelper.  The erupt lines and erupt radius are very nice.  Actually though I think that's maybe a SLIGHT crutch though during tentacles.  We get people religiously sticking to known "safe" zones when we NEED them to kill tentacles AND maybe take an eject if it means a tentacle dies.  People get on those lines and stick like glue.  Maybe I'll talk to Behalter though and see how he feels about rotating Ohmna to put the safe zones on tentacles (when possible).  
 
I wish OHelper would draw a line to your selected add zone and selected head.  That room is so featureless that I think people lose some time orienting on where they need to go after a spew ring-around-the-rosie phase.  Still we keep Ohmna oriented in a very fixed location so people should know pretty much where they are after a spew ends.
 
I may not have written very clearly.  When I say buliding against the potential for randomness I just mean that we know there's a slot where something CAN occur.  Since I"m leading calls, there's a lot of "slam on tank, next ability is spew" "offtank taking threat wipe, back to main" "be ready for 3 ability phase, potential erupt" "alright, first was devour, next ability WILL BE erupt", etc.  If I take the threat wipe and call out that a slam in imminent, and we get a devour, it's a mental hiccup in the smoothness of the fight.  So I build in verbal "threat returns to main tank -- probably slam next" and then Behalter will confirm slam is next when he gets the "yank" mechanism.
 
It's just keeping the flow going, letting people know what to expect.  Not like we're changing any group comp for it or strategy adjust.  It's just that feeling of "I *know* this fight"	
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There's also a weekly quest (it's persistent if you don't finish it in one week) for additional elder gems.  The PvP one takes a LOT of PvP to max out... I think that one is poorly done, so if you're also doing dungeons regularly, that one wraps up a lot faster.  I've never taken the questing one, so I don't know how hard that one is to max out.
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Hey everyone!
 
I didn't think I got that much done last night... but looking back I think I actually did? Made some adjustments to the elevator tubes that should make it easier to get around. They're still dangerous XD, but I think with a little more work they should be a bit more user friendly.
 
Also started setting up the lab in the new space. I decided to put the conference room overlooking the testing area, so that Nikson could bring in investors and show them new weapons or armor, etc.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Also made the "corner office" as I'm calling it, which will be Nikson's personal office.
 
 
Raiding tonight, but I'll probably be back at it Wednesday, need to rearrange Nikson's personal quarters since he doesn't need a desk anymore. Hopefully it'll save me some more decor, and then its downstairs again to finish out the ship!
 	
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Absense makes the heart grow fonder.  I've been seriously missing Wildstar since we started this moving process.  Finally, last night, I got our internet to work.  Just in time to go to bed.  So you'd think tonight I'd be on, right?  Band practice tonight.  >.<  And it's one I have to really work at, since our gig in Lancaster is coming up on Friday, the last time playing there was a complete nightmare we were lucky to sound decent in, and we're running through the whole set tonight to make sure we've got it.
 
One day, I'll get to log in.... one day....  If I can get home tonight at a decent hour, I might see you guys around 11 or so.	
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Absense makes the heart grow fonder.  I've been seriously missing Wildstar since we started this moving process.  Finally, last night, I got our internet to work.  Just in time to go to bed.  So you'd think tonight I'd be on, right?  Band practice tonight.  >.<  And it's one I have to really work at, since our gig in Lancaster is coming up on Friday, the last time playing there was a complete nightmare we were lucky to sound decent in, and we're running through the whole set tonight to make sure we've got it.
 
One day, I'll get to log in.... one day....  If I can get home tonight at a decent hour, I might see you guys around 11 or so.
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Happy to hear your internet is working now. I've missed you guys!
 
You won't be seeing me tonight, if you get on. I'll be looking at the inside of my eyelids at that time. :)
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Happy to hear your internet is working now. I've missed you guys!
 
You won't be seeing me tonight, if you get on. I'll be looking at the inside of my eyelids at that time. :)
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Heh, yeah, same here. 
 
Though I just discovered that Netflix put the other six seasons of M*A*S*H up this week ... so I might be scarce for a few days, myself.  :ph34r:
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1. Tex is a level 50 Stalker. I only have one piece of crafted 50 gear. Is crafted gear still worth getting?
 
2. Vet Shiphands give Renown even if run solo. Is there anything else that does?
 
3. Are the Crimson Badlands and Northern Waste factions even worth messing with anymore?
 
Anything else you can think of that I might have missed, that I probably don't know?
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			Organics, always stealing the bacon. 	
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So that bacon wrap cone thing...do you think I could sell it with some Squirg?  I am always looking to add new items to my noodle cart.  
 
It is so funny.  You would think that I would be much further along with "progression" than I am, considering that I have been playing since launch.  I have spent so much time running with my guildies, and helping new guldies learn dungeons and adventures, I haven't ever gotten to a point where I just farm stuff with people.  That is something that I am looking forward to, I am starting to feel more and more like I have earned that finally :) Don't get me wrong.  I absolutely love helping new people find their way and learn fights (without being carried), but it is starting to be a real goal of mine to get attuned. I checked off another adventure tonight (with help from some great guildies), and will probably start working on dungeons more heavily in the coming weeks. 
 
Just for some interesting stuffs, Doom Kitty will be looking at scheduling another Fashion Gala at the end of this month, and our one year birthday is coming up next month for the Black Dagger Society.  We would love to celebrate with the server...so more details to come later for that as well.  
 
Does anyone out there run any contests within their guild?  What kinda stuff have you all enjoyed?  
 	
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			I'll make coffee today.	
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