Cute Overloaded

[Introduction]

I was over at Addicting Games yesterday, and I somehow got suckered into trying the free-to-play game Wizard 101. At first, I thought I was going to be sorely disappointed. The game was not really intended for an older audience, of which I belong, but rather for teens. I was expecting a lot of childish antics (which there was a little bit of), crude behavior (of which there was not much), and horrible gameplay.

[Childish Antics]

Yes, there are some younger players around. Most of them can't chat because they don't have their parents permission. This is a godsend. There are still some that can chat, and do so both openly and with a lack of tact. There are plenty of limitations to the text chat. If you type something in that is not on the acceptable chat words list, it gets posted as "..." instead of what you wrote. This can be a pain in the ass at times, but generally makes things a lot easier on the eyes. In the end, it also makes the game far more enjoyable.

There is a lot of one-upmanship in Wizard 101, which brings me to my next point.

[Crude Behavior]

I must preface this next section with the fact that the people that play Wizard 101 tend to be younger. By younger, I mean in their teens. They like to show off their pets and their mounts and they "glam" outfits. If they don't like what you are wearing, they will boldly tell you and everyone around you how much it sucks. They pick on people who do not have mounts, at least a little bit. Lower level players don't get picked on as much, but higher level players have this de facto standard applied to them, and if they don't fit the standard, they are outcasts.

Outside of these couple of things, however, people are generally friendly and willing to help each other out. If you are clearly not doing well in a battle, other players jump in to help out. If you need to do a quest that is a bit more difficult, you need but ask, and a number of players will be glad to assist. The older players know where everything is, and are more than willing to show you around if you only say the words. There are even players who shout out in the streets that they are looking to assist the newer players with their quests. All-in-all, the community is far better than I had imagined.

[Horrible Gameplay]

I was really, really, really, really, really expecting the gameplay to be substandard at best. In fact, I was expecting to stop playing within about 10 minutes of loading the game.

Much to my surprise, the gameplay is fairly decent. The quests make sense and move smoothly from one to the next. The combat system takes a little bit to get used to, but has a lot going for it, from pre-fight set up to in combat tactics that need to be done. The fact that anyone can join your fight, seemingly without loss of experience or loot gains, is a godsend when you accidentally pull too many mobs. The spell system has a lot to offer, from the ability to choose which paths you would like to take, to the ability to customize your character's effectiveness in many situations.

Items, and their associated bonuses, don't always make sense, and will take some searching google to fully comprehend what specific things do or are for. Everything stat-wise, has a symbol associated with it. Once you know what the symbols are for, you can quickly choose the gear that is most beneficial to your current situation. Some gear adds bonuses to combat offense, some to defense, some give the ability to use spells in combat that you normally would not be able to use.

In the end, I played to complete all of the free-to-play quests. Took me a couple of hours, and I may at some point in the future decide to continue on my journey and subscribe to the game. It seemed pretty fun at first, and I definitely enjoyed the time I spent there. I would have liked to have a couple of friends with me that I knew, but otherwise, it was a nice little ordeal.

Oh, Holy Night

I decided to play some Killing Floor again, just because I have not played that game in quite some time. To say that they have made some changes would be an understatement. They have redefined quite a bit of every class, and have added loads of new achievements.

In addition to that, they have added the Twisted Christmas event to boot. Running through January 4th, players will face off against hordes of zombies in Christmas attire, from the Santa Patriarch, to the Gingerbread Gorefast, and everything in between. I think the funniest thing is when a Bloat dressed as Santa comes within range of you and says "Cookie?"

Anyway, fun little game. Kill loads of zombies on any number of maps. With a wide range of classes. Be prepared to spend some hours doing this. It is well worth it.

Genie in a Bottle: Three things Guardians wished everyone knew.

Introduction

I play Lord of the Rings Online. My main character is a Guardian. I find that many people don't fully understand what a Guardian does. Sure, they all know that the Guardian is a tank. Most know that Guardians can do decent damage these days (thanks to Turbine for actively developing the class as something more than just a tank.)

But, here are three things that Guardians wished everyone knew about them:

Number One - Narcissism

If we are not getting hit, we can't generate threat. Most of our threat skills are reactive based. Sure, we get things like Vexing Blow, Engage, and Challenge, but those skills don't generate enough threat to be able to control the flow and pacing of a fight. We need to use things like Whirling Retaliation (in the parry chain), Litany of Defiance and Shield-Taunt. None of these are readily accessible without being attacked by something, and preferably multiple somethings.

One of the biggest pet peeves of mine is when I run in, hit Challenge, and then the Champion comes in right behind me and hits their horn. Sure, the stun is nice, but while the mobs are stunned, the Champion is happily throwing down massive aoe damage while the Guardian is sitting there with nothing hitting them. Then, the healer complains about why the Champion is taking so much damage. Obviously, it is because the Guardian was unable to generate threat due to an untimely stun.

Number Two - It all Boils Down to One

While I am all for balls-to-the-wall DPS in many situations, there are plenty of times when the DPS classes need to just chill the fuck out. This is especially true when there is only one mob to fight, be it a boss or the only mob in the area. If you remember from the first point, Guardians need things hitting them in order to generate threat. With large numbers of mobs, this is very easy. With only a single mob, it is much harder, as you have fewer block and parry responses. This means we generate less threat overall. A lot less. In fact, with fewer aggro generation skills against single targets, the Guardian is less effective at generating threat than a Warden against a single mob.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when the DPS classes decide they are going to just go all out against a single mob, and then complain about why the tank can't hold aggro.

Number Three - Taking the Bull by the Horns

Should we be moving faster? Should we be moving slower? This should be something the tank controls directly. While there are times when other people need to step up and take charge of pacing in an instance, most of the time, the Guardian's role is to make sure that he or she can hold aggro over not just the course of a single fight, but over the course of the entire instance. I can't speak for other Guardians, but I keep a close eye on the rest of my fellowship's morale and power. I know how much they are going through, and how quickly. I know when I have to take a break. I know when they have used skills which have a longer cooldown and we will need for future fights. I keep an eye on everything going on around me.

This generally means I do not stop unless I feel we need to. Sometimes, a fellow will tell me that they need to stop for something, be it a cooldown, some regen, or something outside of the game. I don't mind stopping if asked to, however, I do mind people just stopping because there is a lull in the action. Many times, I have a reason for not stopping. Maybe I got a lucky block at the end of a fight, and it gives me an advantage in threat generation in the next fight. Maybe my Guardian's Pledge is up and ready for use, and the healer doesn't have to work as hard. No matter the reason, it is important to let the tank lead and set the pace for the group. Successful groups let the tank do this. Sure, you can succeed when you take it nice and slow, but I love the action. The more the merrier.

Conclusion

I likely don't speak for all Guardians in Lord of the Rings Online. Maybe I don't speak for any of them. In my experience, however, I find these things to be important to the game, and important to the success of many a fellowship. Guardians need to be the center of attention. Guardians need time to generate threat against single targets. Guardians need to be able to set the pace. Well, maybe not the last one as much as the other two, but all three are valid points.