SoE & EverQuest servers are still down.

In light of the recent Sony PSN / SOE security breach, I figured now would be an appropriate time to mention that you should probably be changing most (if not all) of your important account and passwords on the internet. Anything that might be linked to personally identifiable information that could have been potentially compromised from Sony servers such as: banking, email, games, paypal, amazon, etc. is all fair game. As always, make sure to practice good internet security, including keeping your firewall and antivirus updated and running at all times. If you are unsure of how to generate a secure password (ie. not puppies123), I prefer using PC Tools.

BioWare is giving away free copies of Mass Effect II!

As part of EA / BioWare's sequel celebration, they will be giving away free copies of Mass Effect II for the PC to anyone who purchased Dragon Age II. You must have access to your Online Pass code (The Black Emporium), though they have provided the ability to recover it for players that may have thrown it away after use. If you purchased Dragon Age II used, you aren't totally out of luck as you can still purchase the Online Pass and follow the steps in the FAQ to retrieve your code. Once you enter your code on the BioWare Social site, you will be provided with a new code to be redeemed in the EA Download Manager for your copy of Mass Effect II. The offer ends April 30th, so make sure to take advantage of it now!

Dragon Age II: Ancient Rock Wraith

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this post should be worth quite a few. I was able to capture a few shots during my battle with the Ancient Rock Wraith. While some of the shots are from cutscenes, the in-battle images did take a bit of work to set up properly. Yes, I was actually pausing the fight and setting up shots. Could I be any more of a nerd?

Dragon Age II: Massive Spider

The Deep Roads are full of some pretty nasty creatures, oftentimes more dangerous and grotesque than anything one might face on the surface. The Massive Spider is one of the first sub-Boss encounters you must face during Bartand's Deep Roads Expedition. It most definitely does not like fireballs to the face.

Dragon Age II - Bone Pit

With nearly two months left in Classic EverQuest, there isn't really anything new or interesting to post about or see. While not sitting around waiting for contested raid bosses to spawn, I have been putting some time into Dragon Age II. This will be the first in a series of posts showcasing some of the more cinematic moments and memorable boss fights from the game. Here is the first encounter with a Mature Dragon as part of the Bone Pit sidequest.

If you poopsock it, they will come.

In what will surely set a precedent for Fippy Darkpaw going forward, someone once again decided to petition a GM during a Vox poopsock. With 2 1/2 guilds present (does Citizen really count?), GM Technite thought it would be fair to spawn Vox a bunch of times and give everyone a shot at some easy loot. Hell, we don't even know what dropped for Armageddon, but we did manage to kill two out of the three Vox spawns that night (lolwut.)

Google Crisis Response: Japan 2011 Crisis

So, the current crisis in Japan is not very epic at all. What would be pretty epic though, is if you took this opportunity to help out however you can. Google has set up a crisis response page, which provides helpful links, information, and donation information (for those of you who can help financially). At the very least, think of all the awesome anime, video games, and fast cars that Japan provides for us. We owe it to them to lend a hand.


"On March 11 at 2:46pm JST a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred near the northeastern coast of Japan, creating extremely destructive tsunami waves which hit Japan just minutes after the earthquake, and triggering evacuations and warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive and severe damage in Northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation.


This page is being updated continuously to provide the latest information about this crisis, resources for those affected, and ways to contribute to relief efforts in Japan."

Plane of Sky, Take Two.

We decided to take another trip up to the Plane of Sky, mainly to finish off keying the rest of the guild so that future runs will operate much more efficiently. Fortunately, we were able to grab a few more items for the various Tests of Sky as well as some decent drops from trash mobs. I'm almost positive that every one of our Clerics has Weight of the Gods resting on their shoulders now, I'm sure we will be hearing the words "Grats, rot." on our next run. I was able to grab some pretty decent screenshots over the course of the night, so this post is serving as more of an image dump than an actual entry. Enjoy.

Ding 50!!

After many, many hours of mindlessly grinding away on orcs, spiders, kobolds, zombies, goblins and various other assorted things, it is finally over. Huzzah! I've hit the Classic level cap of 50 and can now focus on raiding and preparing for the Shadow Knight Epic quest. The bad news of course is that Kunark is just around the corner and with that we will see the level cap increase to 60. Fortunately, the level cap doesn't go up again until Planes of Power and that is still three full expansions away!

Plane of Hate: Ashenbone Broodmaster

So, it's probably worth noting that the Ashenbone Broodmaster is significantly harder than Innoruuk (a full-fledged deity, btw). Although they have approximately the same amount of hitpoints, the Broodmaster hits like a friggin' truck. Wargrade serves as a prime example of why you should not try to tank this guy. SOE, if you are paying attention, Mage pets and Harm Touch need a serious re-tune please!

Plane of Sky IV: Eye of Veeshan

After roughly 8 hours of clearing trash, hopping from island to island in the Plane of Sky, we finally arrived at our final target. The Eye of Veeshan is the last boss in the zone and a relative pushover compared to the rest of Sky. I suppose with enough Shadow Knights, any pre-Velious content is kind of trivial though. The loot was pretty terrible, a single measly quest item and some terrible Warrior belt. It wasn't a total loss though, as it happened to be the server first kill. Congratulations to everyone who made it happen, look forward to another successful clear very soon!

Plane of Sky III: The Hand of Veeshan

The Hand of Veeshan decided to show Sirran a thing or two about how to properly take down an entire raid force. This guy is so ruthless, he won't even let you leap to your death. People were jumping off the islands, willing to take their chances with the fall, only to be promptly summoned back and manhandled. It's worth noting that he technically isn't even a boss.

Plane of Sky II: Sirran the Lunatic

This is what happens when you have a full raid and not enough keys to go around. Sirran the Lunatic, an otherwise cheerful fellow, can be "encouraged" to attack and kill (ie. rape) your party. We probably spent more time summoning and resurrecting corpses than we did clearing trash.

Plane of Sky I: The Spiroc Lord

We ran into The Spiroc Lord a few hours into our Plane of Sky run. He isn't really a big deal, but we did manage to pick up a piece for the Jagged Blade of War quest. As an aside, bipedal bird men are pretty damned creepy looking. More updates from Plane of Sky to come!

Fear Me Mortals!

It's not every day you are called on to tank Cazic Thule, so I made sure to take this opportunity to get some pretty wicked screenshots during the fight. Surprisingly enough, I actually managed to survive the encounter! Congratulations to Raabe on Soul Leech, Dark Sword of Blood.

Everquest Nostalgia Part II - The Evil Eye Camp

Venturing deep into Lower Guk last night, I came across this baddie. Now, any classic-era EQ player would remember the Evil Eye. Not only did he drop a nice weight reducing bag, but in the early era, he dropped the awesome Manastone. This item was, of course, later removed from loot tables, due to its overpowered nature. However, it was not removed from the game, and those lucky few to possess a grandfathered stone saw its price skyrocket.

Interestingly, during the podcast, the developers hinted that they intended to allow old-world items, that no longer dropped on regular servers, to be be found once more on the Fippy server. It was said that these items would begin dropping about a month after the server launched. Only time will tell if this will include the legendary Manastone. But if so, one can expect screenshots like this to be at a premium, as travelers from all over the world will be heading to Lower Guk for a shot at at this epic item.

Efreeti Lord Djarn

After what seemed like hours of endless placeholder spawns, we finally got this sucker to pop. Efreeti Lord Djarn was no match for a well-timed Harm Touch, dropping faster than panties on prom night. To make up for his extended absence, he gave up the goods in the form of Djarns Amethyst Ring. This is probably one of the best rings for Hybrid/Casters in the Classic era. The resulting loot drama was retarded at best and ended with our Cleric refusing to heal the group and eventually getting himself killed. GG.

Return to Plane of Hate

Although not as exciting as the server-first kill news, I did manage to nab a decent screenshot of Innoruuk during the thick of battle. Shortly thereafter, I was gravity fluxed halfway across the room and murdered by Innoruuk's Chosen. Let's hope Kunark bosses pose more of a challenge, because Mage pets are absolutely dominating right now. So much for classic EverQuest! >__<

Lord Nagafen the Loot Piñata!

Unfortunately, the last time Lord Nagafen & Lady Vox were downed, we didn't have any cool screenshots to share. I was able to capture this fairly decent shot of Nagafen right before the killing blow was landed. Glorf managed to walk away with a Cloak of Flames, lucky bastard! The other gear is hardly worth mentioning. We did, however, manage to pick up one of the highly desirable Treasure Hunter's Satchels.

The Ocean of Tears

The aptly named Ocean of Tears offers many hours of goblin grinding and /ooc merriment. Here we are seen having a deep, philosophical discussion about the greatest rappers of all time. Ahh, how time flies when your mind-numbingly bashing your face into the key... er, having fun!

Classic Era Draws to a Close... or does it?

After defeating Cazic Thule tonight, the road to the continent of Kunark was revealed. In 90 days time, the world of Fippy will be at a crossroads. Do we go on to explore this strange new world, or do we stay behind to continue enjoying the challenges of the classic era? In a democratic twist, the denizens of Fippy Darkpaw will be given the opportunity to decide for themselves which path to choose.

Immediately upon the death of Cazic Thule, discussion erupted all over the world about what it all meant, and what would happen. As can be expected, some were jubilant, as Kunark has long been rumored to hold treasures beyond all imaginings. And some were not so pleased, as they felt the world was changing too quickly, while they still had much to experience and enjoy. One can expect the debate to continue over the next 90 days, while we all prepare for a vote that has the potential to change the world forever.

Cazic Thule Crushed!

So I, along with some friends, decided to pay a visit to the domain of the Fear God himself, Cazic Thule. After spending much time killing every single one of his minions, we wanted to say hello to the big man himself. It was only after he elected to death-touch one of us that we were forced to take lethal action, and put the monster down. Regrettably, his corpse rapidly despawned upon being looted, and I missed the opportunity for a better screenshot. However, I am sure I will have many more such opportunities in the days ahead.

Innoruuk Down!

After clearing out Plane of Hate to get some gear for the guild, we decided to pay the Lord of Hate, Innoruuk, a visit. Incidentally, as a Dark Elf Cleric, he is my deity. I guess I'm going to have to find a new god to pray to. Grats to all on the server-first kill, but more challenges await before the Classic era is complete!

Fippy Darkpaw: Nagafen and Vox Down

Reblogged from FippyDarkpaw.com 

Twisted Legion once again showed their prowess by being the first on the Fippy Darkpaw server to slay both Nagafen and Vox last night. This means the Classic Planes of Fear and Hate are now open! Congrats TL on the kills.

Erudite Clerics FTW?

A few nights ago, we managed to get a some people together for an old fashioned dungeon crawl. We had a fairly interested combination of races and classes with us, including a fabled Erudite Cleric. Woogie (our tank) was of the opinion that Erudite Clerics are the most difficult to play and therefore, badass. Izual (our resident Erudite Cleric) disagreed.

You have slain Xantipa!

While Tremeear and I have been grinding away, the screenshots have been piling up. Since we have neglected to post anything interesting as of late, I will leave you with this marvelous gem. While fighting in Beholder's Maze, (to avoid the constant training in Runneye) I decided to pull from a bit deeper in. Of course, things didn't quite go as planned, as I aggro'ed Lord Soptyvr.

He promptly made me his bitch and turned me loose on my own party. Our poor druid, Xantipa, got the worst of it I fear. Once he was done with my party, he continued to charm me and took me back to his lair. I don't want to remember the rest of the details. The scary part is, I made it out of this alive. I can't say the same for my dignity. GG.

Everquest Nostalgia Part I - Great Group Chat

Being on the Fippy server sure brings back memories. Grinding away for experience can get tedious at times, and group chat was a fun (and often times hilarious) way to pass the time. Some of the funniest discussions I've ever engaged in occurred in the context of an EQ grinding group. As is evidenced above, sometimes the chat is unintentionally hilarious.

Earlier in this South Ro group, we had killed Lockjaw. Grats to Beein for winning the vest!

"That's it, swine! You're outta here!"

Two Minutes Earlier:

Tremeear tells the group, 'train it away'

Tremeear tells the group, 'that's a kodiak'

That's some pretty sage advice Tremeear.

Over the next week, I expect the Commonlands guards will be working some serious overtime trying to keep the local wildlife at bay. Let's just be glad they were only young Kodiaks!

F#&KING KODIAKS!

So I think this about sums up the leveling experience on Fippy Darkpaw so far. The newbie zones are ridiculously crowded, there are plenty of high level aggressive mobs all around, and XP gain has been significantly reduced. Only 47 levels to go, let's do this!

Fippy Darkpaw Incoming!!

With the release of the brand new EverQuest Time-Locked Progression server, a few of us old school EQ junkies have decided to fall off the wagon again. So far, it seems that the folks who have been working on the new server have put in quite a bit of effort to ensure that the experience is what The Sleeper and Combine servers should have been. The plan, as it stands right now, is to leap right in and attempt to get ahead of the pack. Fighting over highly-desirable camps all the way to 50 is not my idea of fun, so let's hope the grind will be relatively smooth. More updates will follow as we progress!