Any interest with this?

Would anyone be interested in me doing a video guide to Shard of Dreams?

I don't have great recording stuff; I only have Hypercam 2 for the game recording itself, and a headset for voice. But I feel like even with not-wonderful quality showing may be better than telling in this game's case (*cough* Forgotten Hell *cough*).

I don't mind recording my next playthrough if there's interest for it, but I'm not going to do it if it won't be useful.

I just thought of this because I was revisiting a rather clumsily-made .gif I made and posted to imgur to give a more visual guide on how to reach a location, and then it popped into my head that video would probably be easier and better. Also, I'm looking at the daunting task of writing out instructions to the Ice Cave and I set a precedent with my ice puzzle screenshot-maps for the Makai stuff and oh my goodness I do not want to do that again, but I'd feel bad if I didn't give the Ice Cave the same treatment. I just think a video in that case sounds way more manageable for me.

Why?

I hit level 50 on my Scholar last night, and I'm working my way, with decent speed, through the MSQ to get to Heavensward.

Anyway, for every 8-man thing I've done thus far, I've been paired with an Astrologian. And every single one of these Astrologians has been in Nocturnal Sect?
Am I missing something here?

Nocturnal Sect adds barriers to Aspected Benefic/Helios, but those shields do not work with Scholar Galvanize.

Diurnal Sect adds Regen to Aspected Benefic/Helios and also increases attack speed.

Are the Astrologians I've been with just trying to get that extra +5% healing potency out of Nocturnal Sect, or what? Is it because they're a higher level than me? Because, I don't know, I don't really feel like I'm very useful as a Scholar if I don't have to throw out shields. Every single one has also overwritten my Protect at the beginning of the fight, and overwrites my Galvanize whenever I use Succor. The only thing they don't always overwrite is Adlo on the tank. And then they don't really ever seem to contribute to the actual healing at all, leaving me to do it with my otherwise quite-lack-luster Scholar heals.

Example is Good King Moggle Mog earlier. We wiped three times. The other healer wasn't really healing much, aside from using Aspected Helios. I was trying in vain to keep everyone up. Adlo on the tank whenever it was needed, Lustrate whenever it was available and needed. I think I used Sacred Soil once. Rouse + Whispering  Dawn whenever it was needed/available. Physick practically constantly. Didn't have time to do Cleric's Stance because the other healer wasn't healing aside from overwriting my Succor.

I mean, it just seems to me like Diurnal Stance would have been the better choice there. I don't have much in term of AoE healing. I can heal the tank just fine, but if they're handling the shielding, then I don't really have anything I can do for AoE except when Rouse + Whispering Dawn is ready to go. It's not like I'm going to overwrite with Succor because that seems like a waste of MP then, and even then, that doesn't really actually *heal* for much. I would have liked if the AST had been doing the AoE healing, since they're actually capable of it.

I really want to know though. Is there any reason why an AST would be using Nocturnal Stance with a Scholar (albeit a new one) in the party?

Which do you like more?

So, in advance of FFXIV's Heavensward expansion, I was messing around in the Benchmark to decide if I need to get a Fantasia or not.

And I would like some opinions because I'm, as always, very, very indecisive.

So, here's what my character looks like now (recreated in the Benchmark, obviously):

Dunesfolk Lalafell

And here's what I'm thinking of changing her into:

Raen Au Ra

I like them both a lot, but I don't want to make the wrong choice and have to buy another Fantasia, you know?

So, just looking for opinions. Should Cardboard Viking (Adamantoise server) be Lalafell or Au Ra?

Explain something to me.

Why do people in WoW find it fun to go to low-level zones and kill the questgivers on PvE realms?
I'm talking really low levels here. Like, the Pre-10 zones.

Because I have yet to hear a good argument for it. "PvP happened on a PvP realm," doesn't work because this is not a PvP realm. If the answer is "it's fun," then why in the world is that fun? There isn't any glory in killing low levels that have no way of protecting themselves, nor is it honorable to ruin someone else's fun by killing the questgivers.

And if you are killing low level NPCs, don't be surprised when one of them logs off and comes back with a max level. Sorry for ruining your fun, but you were ruining everyone else's fun, so it is quite utilitarian to then ruin your fun in exchange for everyone else's.

And I'm not going to guard your corpse or anything; I won't even attack you if you run off to do something else. But I am going to guard the area that was attacked for a while. You're free to get up and leave to do something else that isn't harming the fun of others.

Really though, I want to know the perspective of someone who enjoys this, because I certainly don't understand at all. Is there some angle to this that I'm just not getting?

Just something I noticed the other day...

So, I was watching my boyfriend play FFXIII: Lightning Returns (I was reading him a walkthrough).

Just a question though...
If time has stopped then is Valfodr dead? I mean, he is the Arbiter of Time, so doesn't that mean he has some connection to time, and is therefore dead now that time doesn't exist? Or is his whole area just outside of time altogether and so he's fine?

I've been playing the game too, and I think I enjoy it much more than my boyfriend does. He gets frustrated with the new combat system because he's so used to the old one, but this combat system works much better for me!

5LP: Octofish Level 30

Just hit level 30! I feel like I'm still going strong and can keep going for a while. I haven't even felt like making an alt yet!
...It's really a shame that I've never, ever wanted a Warrior, huh? I still want a Mage. No matter what I do, I can't focus on one though...Oh well! Two-handed swords are my favorite weapons in most games anyway! If only I'd actually get to use one instead of an axe...

My gear right now:

First Responder's Pauldrons, Unbountied Cloak, Slaver's Chainmail, Tiger Strangler's Bracers, Head Inspector's Gloves, Fractured Belt, Dividend Leggings, Junglewalker Boots, Band of Foul Strength, Raptor Slayer's Band, Kadrak's Axe (2H Axe).

I'm going to go finish up my last few things to do in Northern Stranglethorn, and then move on to Stranglethorn Vale.

As a side note, has anyone else ever had the problem where they hate playing as the sort of character that they actually want to play as, but they can play perfectly well on classes that they don't particularly like? Because that's a problem for me in any game I play.

A Troublesome Dilemma

So, I just found out that the PS4 will not be backwards compatible.
This is quite the troublesome little conundrum I now find myself in.

I had been intending on getting a PS4 fairly soon, specifically due to the announcement of Kingdom Hearts III.

I'm pretty sure I've never mentioned it on this blog before, but I have been a huge Kingdom Hearts fan for many years. I have completed all the current games  (except CoM. Ugh, CoM) multiple times, and can recite the game lore coherently (as coherently as KH lore can be recited, that is) with ease, particularly anything involving Organization XIII.

I remember the first time I played it was when I was 10, in Disney World. I'm pretty sure it was in Innoventions in Epcot. I thought it was a Winnie the Pooh game (it was at the Destiny Islands bit in the first game). I didn't know the name, and could hardly remember the promotional image, but the game itself was stuck in my mind. A few years later, I saw a game called Kingdom Hearts at Walmart, I think. I recognized the main character on the front of the game and got very, very excited. This was the game I had played and loved. We bought it, and began playing it. Needless to say, I was emotionally scarred for quite some time after the whole Heartless ordeal in Destiny Island and stopped playing for quite some time. When I picked it back up again, however, I fell in love.
Fast forward to now. I have fully completed Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, Coded, and Dream Drop Distance. I've almost completed Sora's part of Chain of Memories (I'm on the last battle with Larxene, I believe), but I hate the card system, so I don't play it often.

Anyway, the dilemma is...

Do I get a PS3 or a PS4? I had been desperately hoping that PS4 would be backwards compatible. Since it's not, that leaves me with the issue of which one to get.

On one hand, PS4 will allow me to play KH3, which I am very much anticipating.
On the other hand, PS3 has the Kingdom Hearts HD Remix (KHII controls for KH1? Yes please), Journey, and Project Diva f, which are all games I've been wanting.

I'll be sad to miss out on either Kingdom Hearts title. :(

Just my ranting.

Have you ever chosen a class just for looks?

Like the title says, have you ever chosen a class just for the appearance of the class?
That's a bit like me and my GW2 Necromancer. I hate medium armor, and heavy armor isn't my favorite. Cloth armor, on the other hand, is perfect for my personal aesthetics!
So, that narrowed down my choices to Mesmer, Elementalist, or Necromancer.
I ended up choosing Necromancer originally because I really loved the equipment during character creation. I ended up staying with Necromancer because I enjoy the playstyle.

Oh, and did I post anything about this? I completely restarted. All GW2 characters, gone. Deleted. No regrets! I restarted with a new Necromancer, and I'm level 11 already, so I'm rather proud of myself. I refuse to let myself play any other characters until this one is perfect. I hope it works!

WoW: What is Your Favorite Capital City?

Just like the subject says: What is your favorite capital city in World of Warcraft? On both Horde and Alliance, of course.
Also, what is your least favorite?

On Alliance, I think the Exodar is beautiful! So I guess it tops my list. My least favorite is probably...Darnassus? I don't know, I get lost there and it seems like it takes a long time to reach your destination.

On Horde, I love Thunder Bluff. It's so easy to maneuver! I also think Silvermoon is really nice, although it takes a while to get around. As for least favorites...it's really a tie between the Undercity and Orgrimmar. I hate them both equally.

Don't Know

So...I went into my first dungeon yesterday...As Florayia...
I'm not entirely sure if it went well or not. I couldn't get recount to work, so I can't tell exactly how my dos was compared to the other people in the dungeon, but...I don't know.
I feel like more than half the time, the enemy would be dead before I could even fire off any spell besides Moonfire.
 I was getting some fairly high numbers when I did manage to hit, I think. Or at least, high to me. I was way undergeared as well, having been questing and having no heirlooms. I believe I'm still using gray bracers, since I haven't gotten any green ones. I didn't really get any loot in the dungeon either, so no new things for me! Whee!

Should I keep sticking with balance and see how it goes, or should I switch straight to Feral, because I know I'll be doing good dps with it? I'm really rather torn about it. I wanted to do balance to try something different, which is also why I'm trying to do dungeons this time around (instead of going back and doing the same quests I did fairly recently on Theeriyi). Should I just give up on that and go Feral instead? Or go back to questing?
I don't know what I'm doing! I'm new to dungeons! Help meeeeeeeee~!

So, I stuck with it; did a couple more dungeons. I feel like I'm doing better now, although that may be because I got recount working so I feel less self-conscious about it.

WoW: What are your favorite Specs?

Just as the title, says, what are your favorite specs to play? Or, what specs would you want to play, but don't, for various reasons. What are your least favorites?

Warriors, I only really like Arms. I'm not fond of duel-wielding, but I love the look of great swords. My least favorite spec is the tanking one, whatever it's called...I will never, ever tank.
Ever.

Paladins I like retribution. I don't feel right healing as a Pally, and, again, I hate tanking. So, ret!

For Rogues,  I loooove subtlety. I honestly hate Combat though. I know people who like it, but I'm just no entirely fond of it. I love the play style of sub too much to ever switch!

As for Mages, I've tried all three before, and I'm fond of both Arcane and Fire. I feel like Fire is a bit more fun though, since Arcane is rather predictable. My least favorite is Frost, despite the water elemental pet.

With Shamans, I'm fond of all three specs. I guess my favorite is Elemental, and my least favorite is Enhancement though?

Druids, I love both Feral (cat), and Balance. I hate the bear tanking spec, for obvious reasons, and I'm not fond of Druid healing.

I absolutely love Windwalker Monks, and I'm rather fond of Mistweavers as well. I hate Brewmasters. Not only because they're tanks either! Every time I've seen a Brewmaster out playing, they haven't been very nice. I'm sure there's nice ones out there, but I haven't had the pleasure to meet one.

With Warlocks, I'm not fond of Destruction. I used to really love Affliction, but I'm leaning more towards Demonology now.

As for Hunters, in my opinion, the only way to go is Marksmanship! That stems from my love of archery in real life though, and less to do with the spec itself. My least favorite is Survival.

As for Priests, I love Shadow and all, but I love Discipline more. I'm not fond of Holy.

I...I feel like I'm missing one...? Am I? WHAT AM I MISSING?!

What is your favorite WoW zone?

I want to know what peoples' favorite zones are!
For example, anyone that knows me well enough would know that my favorite zone is Zangarmarsh. I think mushrooms are cute looking!
Well, it's my favorite zone aesthetically, at least. I actually hate questing there.
As for zones that I actually find fun...I really enjoyed the Worgen and Goblin starting zones, in particular. There's so much plot! I'm also rather fond of Westfall, Southern Barrens,  and Un'Goro Crater. I liked Azshara enough the first time I went though it, but I honestly can't stand the minigame-sort-of-things every Horde character. I also love Northern Barrens as a zone, although the questing is kind of meh.
Sadly, there are some zones I will never get to experience due to my extreme arachnophobia. ):

So, go on, tell me about your favorite zones!

WoW Pet Peeves

What is the one thing that annoys you more than anything else about WoW as a game? I'm not talking about the social aspect, but as a game?

Personally, I absolutely hate the awkward transition period between questing zones. The equips are so mismatched! Hatred!!!!

Although, that isn't really specific to WoW. It's the same for any game. It just annoys me immensely when my character's outfits don't match!

Must. Reach. Max. Level. For. Transmog!

How do you level your alts?

I want to know how people level up their alts, if they do at all.
Do you quest? Dungeon? PvP?
Do you level for the sake of leveling? For transmog? For professions?

As for me, I mostly just quest. I've never done PvP, as I'm not interested in it. I only recently started seriously dungeoning, but even then, only as a healer. I level for transmog. Goodness, I want to be level 85 so I can make outfits...

Tell meeeee XD

(Pictured is my healer, Pannya, waiting in a tavern for her que.)

Starting Zones

So, I've played through all the starting zones at one time or another, and there are some I love, and, of course, some I hate.
My favorite starting zones are definitely the ones for Worgen, Goblins, Tauren, and Orcs. Also, on the MoP beta, I adore the Pandaren starting zone. The Worgen, Goblin, and Pandaren starting zones just have fantastic storyline, in my opinion. I really loved the pre-cataclysm Tauren starting zone, because I felt like my Tauren was really out hunting. I don't mind the new version of it though. I just like the Orc starting zone in general, even though I've found that if I have a cold, I can't play there because the bright-orange makes my eyes water...
On the other hand, I absolutely loathe doing the starting quests for Draenei, Dwarves/Gnomes, and Forsaken. I used to love the Draenei starting area. Now...not so much. I think I've done it too man times that it's just become obnoxious for me. Dwarves and Gnomes, I feel, having a boring storyline for their starting zone. As for the Forsaken...well, let's just say the Undercity frightens me, so it's only natural that I wouldn't like playing in their starting zones.
Are there any starting zones that you just loooove to play through again? What about ones that you may like the race, but you hate the starting zones?
Actually, here's a better question. Have you ever created a character of one race, then traveled to a different starting zone? I have. I often make Blood Elves and run myself all the way over to Mulgore to level!

Why I Alt

I was thinking the other day about why it is I can't focus on one character for any long period of time. I think I found my answer. I hypothesize that I need to see change in my characters' appearances. If there isn't enough change, then I get bored. Simple as that. That's why I play so many alts; so I can see different characters each time I play. If I feel like playing a Mage in cloth robes, I can. An hour later, if I feel like playing a Warrior wearing full plate, I've got one. Then, I want to use a bow as a Hunter, I can do that too. I end up quitting a character when I no longer see change in them. If my Priest is sitting around in the same old robes for 12 levels, I don't want to play her anymore, but if her robes change sometime in there, I'm still interested in playing her. That's why I tend to have better focus on games where I recieve equipment at set intervals (10, 15, 20, 25, etc.).
So, I've come with an idea that will hopefully help me focus on all my alts. I'm going to take a screenshot of them every five levels. This way, when I start to get bored, I can look at the pictures and see how they've changed. If all works out well, this will hopefully inspire me to keep working.

I think this is also a good time to introduce my WoW characters on my main realm, Tanaris. They are all very low leveled at this time because I only recently switched realms. I was originally Horde-side in Nazgrel.

Pannya: Level 21 Discipline Priest. She's for when I feel like healing. She's also the closest thing I have to a "main." She's a Worgen because I like Worgen.
Elzabethi: Level 10 Arms Warrior. I like plate armor and two-handed swords. Enough said, really. This is my first time playing a Warrior, and I'm liking her. I'm not interested in tanking though. She's a Human.
Larolleyi: Level 8 Mage. She's going to be Arcane. I really like the idea of Mages, so I made her. She's a Gnome because I really wanted a Gnome,  but I didn't feel like a melee class fit them.
Novelani: Level 7 Hunter. She's going to be Marksman. I love archery, and I do archery in real life. I hate the pets, but I love the playstyle of the Hunter itself. She's a Draenei because Draenei are one of my favorite races in WoW, along with Tauren.
Ugyuu: Level 1 Druid. She's going to be balance. She was named by my boyfriend. She's a Night Elf because I like their druid forms better than the Worgen's.
Nyoro: Level 2 Paladin. She's going to be Holy. I'm not sure which yet. I don't like Paladins very much, but I wanted to try healing with one. She's a a Dwarf becuase I didn't have a Dwarf yet. Named by my boyfriend.
Rowenellia: Level 6 Rogue. She's going to be Subtlety. I love Subtlety Rogues. They're so much fun. I hate leather though, which makes it harder. She's a Human because I thought it fit a Rogue best. Also, she's named after the closest thing I've every had to a main: Rowenellia the level 60 Shadow Priest, on Nazgrel.
Thearixic: Level 4 Warlock. She's going to be Demonology, I think. I felt like making her, so I did.
Shamisen: Level 2 Shaman. I don't know what she's going to do yet. My boyfriend asked me to make a shaman named Shamisen, so I did. She's a Draenei, apparently because her horns look like cat ears.

I also have a level 1 Human Warlock named Theeriyi, but she's just saving the name for when MoP comes out; then she'll be deleted and magically reborn as a Monk (probably a Mistweaver, maybe Windwalker).

So, I want to know. Why do you alt?