This Logan dude has some strange ideas about recovering my sisters body and saving Tyria. I’m noticing a very unpleasant trend with this guy. Most of his ideas place me in harm’s way or compromising situations, that DO NOT INCLUDE HIM! It also hasn’t escaped my notice that when he does tag along, he’s not the best fighter I’ve ever seen either. He talks a lot of smack but usually ends up face down in the dirt. Really, Logan? You might want to zip your lips more often and let me do the talking. Hmph.

This ride is rapidly coming to an end. It appears the only thing that will prevent me from hitting level 80 is not playing. Due to real life activities I have slowed my roll recently and yet, I’m level 60. Farming Caudecus Manor Caudecus Manor (CM) is the second instance you encounter in Guild Wars 2 (GW2). I’ll do a write up of my experiences there in a separate post. As with Ascalon Catacombs, I didn’t do the instance as soon as I’d met the level 40 requirement. I waited until I was able to purchase my second tier elite skill, Tome of Courage, for the strong “oh shit” healing skills. Sitting in my mid 50s with less than 2 gold to my name, I started asking people what they were doing to earn gold. I was routinely selling blue and green gear I didn’t need on the auction house...

Has it really only been 3 weeks!?! Good lord, I've already hit level 50 and I missed playing for a full 7 days. In a game where the max level is 80, GW2 feels like it’s flashing by too quickly. Leveling through the zones is the part of MMOs that I enjoy the most. I’m not grinding or racing my way through content. However, I do find that it all flows so seamlessly, completing objectives just happens. I don’t have to run here-n-there completing quests. Practically every section of the map has “stuff” happening that will provide XP if you participate. Combined with harvesting XP, crafting XP and staying up on my Personal Story, the XP is swooshing by. I admit to being a tiny bit concerned. I’m not prone to alts and don’t have an urge to re-run the zones again this soon after doing all the BWEs and...

From watching various YouTube videos, I knew GW2's first instance, Ascalon Catacombs (AC), was a real ball buster. Watching players run it on story mode, that's normal for WOW players, it looked as diffcult as any raid I'd ever done. On explorere mode, which is hard/heroic, I'd only seen two teams complete it. I was prepared for a slug-fest and that's exactly what I experienced.

I Ain't Doin No Damn Dailies! I my love-hate relationship with Blizzard's World of Warcraft, I blame them for the proliferation of daily quests in MMOs. I mean really, you want me to pay a subscription to log in every day and repeat quest content? I see, repeating instances isn't enough repetition. You've got to be out of your damn mind. I REFUSED to do daily quests when they were introduced into WOW and ticked as just one more reason I was done and moved on to other games.

Google cracks me up. Not sure how long this will be availble. Visit Google.com right now! Be sure to click everything you can.

I was back on the Support Forums looking through the thread about issues with Email Authentication and saw someone say, it was somehow turned off for them now and they could log in. I raced to my account page and it worked for me too. Tested logging into the game and am golden!! Character there, exactly where'd I'd left her with all her worldly goods in tact! OMG - Don't care how this was resolved - bug or one of the other ideas floating around about common threads such as many of us having GW1 accounts that used same address. I hadn't played GW1 in so long, I'd forgotten about it and that fact that email was the same. Or perhaps the CS Gods smiled on us today and simply disabled the feature for everyone with an open ticket but they haven't gotten around to updating the actual tickets yet....

Very disheartening and to me at least, the Support Forum response in the thread about people having this particular issues was a bit cavalier. People impacted by the issue don't care if "you just don't see the issue..." State of the Game Update says the feature can be disabled and will be disabled if requested. We need to "think that one through", as in, having email authentication removed for security reason???? Honestly, WTF do I care about account security if I can't even access my account or the game!!! I think my head is going to explode! Players impacted by this issue can't even post on the forums because that also wants you to authenticate yourself via emails we're not receiving. I had to log in using a different account. I don't care what the issue is anymore. I'll devise my own safe system. Maybe I'll triple link emails -...

Today the support wiki page says if you have a hacked account or issue blocking log-in that was submitted before Sept 2nd and your ticket has not been handled, submit a new ticket. They link what steps to follow to help prioritize your ticket appropriately. *sigh* Seems simple enough except - how I'm supposed to categorize my ticket, aka what steps to take to actually report this issue again, is confused by the wiki itself. If you follow the wiki steps for the Customer Support section, where is says what batch of tickets they've moved past and what to do if you've been missed and have a game access gating issue, it says to do one thing. Okay, my issue prevents me from getting into GW2 so I fit that description. However, if you read further down and check my explicit problem, "Email Authentication" those steps are completely different for...

Had a great time talking to the Sisters from No Prisioners No Mercy podcast about GuildWars 2. How it burns that I'm currently locked out of GW2 waiting for resolution of an issue with email authentication, as in, someone PLEASE DISABLE IT FROM MY GAWD DAMN ACCOUNT! OMG, 6 days and counting for my Support Ticket to address the problem. Listen to the podcast here.

This is pretty incredulous to me so I'm going to count down just how long it takes for this to be resolved so I can access GW2 again. Gory details here, if you're up for a wall of text. :-)

HAPPINESS TURNED ANNOYANCE I pre-ordered GW2 over 2 years ago via Amazon. When the pre-purchase program was announced I immediately purchased two copies. I've done all of the BWE events. My enjoyment of the content was such that I was certain other members of my family would enjoy it too so I purchased more copies. For met at least, the Head Start was great minus some annoying issues like "overflow" messages spamming me during combat. Or if you say no, you'd rather just stay on overflow, the game spams you every couple of minutes anyway asking you if you want to move. Benefit of crafting was diminished with the trading post AND in-game mail being offline in a game with no character trade feature. Color me puzzled about that until the hacking wave started. The inconsistent behavior of the grouping mechanic coupled with the overflow system certainly made grouping with...

Please don't let the voice, writing style or whatever the hell it is, getcha twisted. You're free to stop darkending the doorstep of my blog if the realization that I'm black bothers you, as much as it did some of my now former guild mates. Unfortunate that an inappropriate conversation in guild voice chat during the GW2 BWE3 event revealed the uglier side of a few people. I can't say it wasn't a kick in the gut that after playing games together for FOUR FUCKING YEARS we're parting company for such a reason. I remind myself that you can run into ingnoramuses anywhere and the anonymity of the internet gives them balls they don't have in real life. Their crime is ignorance. Mine was actually giving a damn about some of them. Not everyone in the guild is guilty. However, since I can't readily distinguish the friendlies from the hostiles,...

FINALLY, WE HAVE A RELEASE DATE!!! I'm so excited for this game I can hardly stand it. It feels like it's been forever but I'm very pleased with the quality, love and care they've put into GW2. I hope to be playing it for a very long time. I'm crossing fingers, eyes and toes that guild halls are introduced in the not too distant future. Next BWE, I'm going to focus on PVP and WvW to get more exposure before release. OMG GW2 is almost upon us. It will be great to be playing something again with guildmates from Casualties of War.

If you’re like me, you didn’t start thinking about swimsuit season until it was staring you in the face. If you’re like me, you’re a geek by day whose job entails mostly sitting behind a desk or sitting in a chair for way too many meetings. If you’re like me, many of your hobbies also involve long periods of sitting – reading, writing and creating handcrafted accessories. And then there’s the gaming.

I’m still tired from the lack of sleep over the weekend. I had a good time playing GW2 during the 2nd Beta Weekend Event. Constant disconnects aside, it’s definitely the most fun I’ve had playing a MMO in quite some time. The PVE content is good but the real highlight on that side is the dynamic event system. Most especially, when there are bosses involved. When it takes 25+ people fifteen to twenty minutes to take a boss down, it’s exciting and a huge rush. It’s very interesting to see how players are filling the gap of not having healers and tanks. People pop in and out, trying to hold the mob’s attention. Most everyone will try to revive fallen players – more able bodies helps! Players who are able try to intervene on behalf of others being hammered into the ground. It’s quite amazing to see everyone work together...

Yes, I'm a bit crazy. I freely admit that I can overthink things when it comes to gaming. *Smile* I've been trying to figure out which weapon combinations best fit my play-style and it has been maddening - in a good way. I love the options and how each can significantly alter how a class plays. My only problem is that I keep changing my mind. Most every combination on the Guardian feels good! Flipping back and forth using a Skill Calculator wasn't helping much with my decision. I needed something I could review all at once. This is NOT scientific. I loosely categorized the skills based on offense only, defense or some combination. Obviously, the damage/offense output is "potential" output based on the stats provided in the tooltips which won't consider talent specs and gear. For me, this was good enough and gave me a bird's eye view of...

The first time I heard of 38 Studios was during my first multi-boxing experiment in World of Warcraft. During that time of my WOW career, 38 Studios acquired one of my all-time favorite add-ons, Azeroth Advisor. If you never used it, you missed something I thought was very special. Like many gamers, I was pulling for Curt Schilling and his company. What gaming enthusiast hasn’t dreamt of developing their own game some day? I sure as hell have daydreamed about it. Personally, I think that’s one of the reasons MineCraft is such a huge hit. The sandbox environment is ripe territory for would be game designers to build mini games to share with others. Politics and drama about what did or did happen aside, it’s a tragedy all the way around. People are out of jobs, some after having relocated to work for 38 Studios. And someone’s dream has died...

OMG, Just Release the Game Super excited about the next Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend. According to GBTV some of my areas of concern are being address such as, parties being taken into same overflow instances, improved key bind options (thank gawd) and stability. Although I had zero performance issues once I was in the game, changing characters and making new ones, often led to errors that prevented me logging back in for periods of time. I can’t wait to delve more into my personal story but won’t be doing that until release. However, I might roll a race I have no intention of playing at launch and try theirs. I really like this solo RPG element being added to a MMO. I loved it in Age of Conan and so far, it’s even better in GW2. As anxious as I am to play more, I won't go any further...

Appreciate knowing for sure. Now I can tell my kids (young adults) to stop asking me every time they see my face or hear my voice. Having enough trouble containing my own excitment without having to carry theirs too! :-) Oh well. *sigh* https://www.facebook.com/GuildWars2/posts/10150882710644209

I took a long break from gaming and blogging after my mother passed away. What initially brought me back was the desire to level from start to finish with a gaming friend. RIFT STILL FELT FRESH Our game of choice was Rift. A long time WOW player, he hadn't joined the crush of adventurers when the game launched. The character I created would turn into my third to have made it into level 30 content, third cleric and second to max level. Although the excitement of highly populated zones was gone, Rift's leveling content holds up exceptionally well. The options are diverse and the content so dense, that I never felt bored from having done those levels before. For me, Rift’s PVE game ranks right up there with the behemoth, World of Warcraft. A RETURN TO WOW After a few weeks being at max level again, my excitement started to...

Now that the heady pleasure of finally getting to play a bit of GW2 has worn off here are some additional improvements I’d like to see implemented. More Explanation of Basic Mechanics I know GW2 is about a non-linear, experimental, free roam and exploratory experience. However, there is so much that it borders on too much for the introductory experience. I’d like to see the personal story cover some of the new/unique GW2 mechanics. You’re set in a very immersive setting. A bit too much has to be known going in or looked up somewhere external while you’re playing, which immediately breaks immersion. Confusion is not entertainment. More Options for Key Binding Increased key binding options – Doesn’t support alternative key settings or using multiple keys which means using CTRL or ALT + another key is out. As someone who relies almost exclusively on the keyboard, I found this too...

I spent what time I could in the first GW2 Beta Weekend Event. I wasn't alone in being sad when it was time for the event to end. I had great time overall. Initial server instability was the only large hiccup over the course of the event. By late afternoon on Saturday, things stabilized and I didn’t experience any issues accessing or playing the game beyond minor bugs here and there. My biggest challenge was deciding which profession I liked most. I want to start the game knowing what I’ll be playing has my main character. However, the versatility of the classes I tried combined with how the play style changes based on the equipped weapon(s) made it a very tough call. What I thought would be near the top of my list, Necromancer, was quickly removed as a candidate. While the Guardian, something I hadn’t even considered until until...

I'm stil taking things rather slow. I knew the holiday season would be very difficult with my mother having past so recently. We did what we could so that the little ones in our immediate family enjoyed themselves.

Life is short and over before you know it. Live with conviction and inspiration. Keep what works and be your own change agent for the things that don't. Be happy, fair, sincere, loving, honest, disciplined and inspired!