Rock Boots are MINE!

Earlier in the week it was the Cloak of Flames, Bracers of Wind yesterday, and today . . . ROCK BOOTS ARE MINE!


The first thing I wanted to do with these new boots was go check out the Risia Ice Games ramp and see if I could stand on it without slipping.


Nope. I guess even some areas are still too slippery . . . even with the Rock Boots. It was kind of nice to see that the Iron Defender oil spit in Rushmore's Mansion had no affect on me though.

Speaking of Rushmore's Mansion, I had my first taste of that challenge today and have been getting schooled (as to be expected). It's definitely a different challenge than all the others I've done so far with significantly less (as in no) laying of torches in a pathway. That's a nice change. I don't want to say I'm burnt out on the challenges just yet, but if I end up upgrading these items to tier 3 or the epic 20th level versions, well, yeah . . . yeah, then I'll be sick of torches.

Rushmore's Mansion seems to be more about killing as much stuff as you can and breaking every barrel in sight. I'll have more to report when I finally figure this instance out. In the meantime, I've got some reading to do on DDM's realm.

Happy Dueling!

Bracers of Wind are MINE!

I know on the last post I said I'd be shooting for the Frozen Tunic, but to be honest, I'm really digging the Infused Chaos Robe I got from the Harbinger of Madness quests recently. In the end, it seemed a bigger upgrade for me to pick up the Bracers of Wind instead. Check these things out (this is the level 16 version):


My wife made fun of the name of this item after I told her I had just got the bracers of "wind." ;) RIGHT, you better brace for my wind! Obviously the perfect compliment item to the bracers of wind would be the blasting chime. You should get a set bonus for having those two items: on successful hit 10% chance to cast stinking cloud.

So, all my efforts to get these items has now left me level-capped, dangit. Team Spode has a rule that no one character can be two levels above the lowest level character in the group. Thus, I'm level capped. It's a good rule. You really have to keep within the same level as your group mates, and to be honest, I have no problem with "losing" experience. We're all so close to the top now, that it's really no big deal. Also knowing that these Cannith Challenges never stop giving great experience is good to know too. I kind of see them as a great fall back for people who are on their next lives. There's plenty of exp to be had here. (Although I'm dying to try out Fire Savant III when I finally get to take level 18.)

Next up for me, I'm thinking I'll go for the Rock Boots. The slippery surface immunity, earthgrab guard, and stoneprison guard effects are awesome! Although I rarely cast poison spells, you never know when that will come in handy. Black Dragon bolt, anyone? I'll probably have to swap my Dex bonuses over to my gloves, but that shouldn't be too hard to do.

Happy Dueling!

Risia Ice Games vs. Cannith Challenges

I talked a little bit about the Risia ice games last year. I was kind of bummed out that people seemed to be "cheating" to get the purple coins and I was just simply struggling to get the low level coins.

The Risia Ice Games made another appearance during the summer if I remember right (like Christmas in July or something). I did MUCH better with coin collecting then because I was in fact higher level with better spells and stats. I still don't use the "teleport" method. I just jump for my purple coins.


But in the end, it seems all I'm really searching for are the motes and the ingredients to make icy burst kits, but I'm not sure why . . . habit formed by the other three or so Risia ice games I've participated in. I was able to hand team spode a bunch of icy burst weapons back in July, but now it all seems we've moved past that need. So, I suppose I'm doing it for alts and . . . for money? Ok, i'll do it for money! :)

There is something hugely satisfying and fun about grabbing a big purple coin at the end of the jump though. That alone is addicting.

I also spent some time hitting the Extraplaner Mining quests last night since I'm still drooling over these cool gear upgrades. Quite honestly, I wouldn't mind having all of them. To those ends, I have a lot of farming to do. Quite honestly, I don't mind the farming since I'm enjoying soloing these challenges. Here's my component list after last night:


Needs more cowbell, I mean scorpions!

The Risia Ice Games and the Cannith Challenges are actually quite similar in some aspects. It got me to thinking last night, either I rent Ice skates for 10 minutes and shoot for the fabled recipe 5/20 from a purple coin turn in, or I spend 10 minutes earning a bit of advancement toward Cannith gear by laying torches and burdening kobolds. They both are like little mini-games within DDO. They both would end in a reward of some kind. They both are fun. Hmmm.

Right now I'm leaning toward the Cannith challenges. I think I want that gear just a little bit more than money or an icy burst weapon.

How's about you? Any plans to grab purple coins over the next week or two?

Happy dueling!

Harbinger of Madness -- hard mode!

Last night Team Spode wanted to up the ante in Harbinger of Madness and run it hard mode. The hope was that this would bring us a few more gear upgrades and perhaps sprinkle us with a few more experience points. Normally right here in the post is where I would say, but boy were we mistaken! *inserts picture of Team Spode looking like steaks*. I can't do that this time though because WE ROCKED!

- Ulan picked up a Staff of Fleshshaping and the Insanity.
- Ophiga pilfered a Turbulent Epee.
- I snagged the Infused Chaos Robe.
- Spode had the pleasure of our company.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Team Spode loves Harbinger of Madness. Next week we shall attempt Yulthoon on Hard, wish us luck!

I have some fun video of Team Spode vs. Z'Miizith, the named beholder at the end of the "Missing" quest. (I like the name Z'Miizith because it makes me think of Mizithra cheese, which is delicious on The Spaghetti Factory's Mizithra Cheese Pasta with Browned Butter . . . man, I'm hungry right now) It's kind of hard to know what's going on in this video, but between my disco lights and the Beholder's prismatic sprays, it makes for a pretty awesome light show.



We were all pretty quiet last night unfortunately. Ophiga was suffering from a cold and anything more than normal mode tends to make us focus more on the task at hand and joke around a little less than normal.

Soon we'll be finishing up the Harbinger of Madness quest line and move on to something else. Necro IV has been calling us, as well as a few other areas. If you'd like to throw in your two cents on where Team Spode might head next, leave a comment below!

Thanks and Happy Dueling!

Cloak of Flames IS MINE! More Cannith Challenges Fun!

So, I've been going a little crazy on these Cannith missions this holiday weekend. You know, lots of time and extremely distracted children can make for some awesome DDO fun.

So check it out!


Now all that's left is to upgrade that a couple of times and add some awesome crafting shards to it. :) BUT, before I go that route, I think what I'll do is earn what I need to secure my next HAZ WANT Cannith item, The Frozen Tunic! Here's what it looks like.


To those ends, I'm going to need a lot of Magma Shards from the Lava Caves: Time is Money instance . . . and I'm already well on my way . . . man I love holiday weekends. I was a bit surprised to see the experience rewards I was handed for soloing Time is Money on level 17 difficulty and finish 4 of the star objectives . . . behold the most profitable 15 minutes of play time for me EVA!


Needless to say, I'm sold on this Cannith expansion. I love these challenges now that I'm starting to figure out how to run them. The hardest part is getting over that hurdle. Once you figure out how a challenge works, you're golden. Remember when I was lamenting over a level 10 completion of Colossal Crystals and only earning 16 Jade Scorpions. Yeah, the jade scorpion reward for this challenge completion at Level 17 was a very welcome site.


167 scorpions . . . much better!

I'll try to post more information on how I'm soloing these soon, but not until I post about tonight's Team Spode adventures first, which are just a few hours away (we moved the game night this week to Monday night due to the holidays).

Happy Dueling!

Extraplaner Mining: Buying Time? Soloed it!

I broke down and purchased the Cannith Challenges update to DDO about a week ago. This did a number of things for me:

1- I could toss all those ridiculous single tokens for missions and clear up almost an entire tab of inventory.

2- Opened up the challenges for me to explore on a whim.

3- Gave me a new goal in life: The level 16 version of The Cloak of Flames. Daddy has want.

To earn the Cloak of Flames I need 600 jade scorpions, 600 mephit wings, and 600 Arcanaloth Scrolls. To translate that further, to earn the cloak of flames I need to beat the Lava Caves: Colossal Crystals, Extraplaner Mining: Buying Time, and Extraplaner Mining: Labor Shortage Challenges a bunch of times.

Basically when I'm not playing with the Team Spode static group, I'm soloing. I'm not one to hang with the guildies or PUG a lot. Personally I'd rather solo unless I have a bunch of friends online that I know and trust (yeah, that's saying a lot for my guild isn't it--Hey! They supply me with guild ship buffs and I supply them with Favor . . . it's a relationship built on practicality more than love).

I'm happy to say that I've been perfecting my solo skillz with Lava Caves: Colossal Crystals since the last time I posted about it. I've got it down now where I don't need to purchase extra hirelings. I just simply park my cleric at the teleporter spot and run off to kill stuff on my own. I've almost got it to the point where I can get two progenitor crystals, but man is that tough. I haven't quite made that mental breakthrough yet. When I do though, you'll hear about it here.

The next challenge I've been soloing is Extraplaner Mining: Buying Time. I'm going to say this challenge is about 10 times easier than Colossal Crystals . . . and about 10 times more profitable. I usually leave this instance with two supply chests in my inventory and about 5,000 exp richer for my efforts, and this is playing on the level 12 and 13 difficulty when I'm level 17!


Here's how I do it:

1- zone into the instance and summon my level 17 cleric. I immediately buff myself and my cleric as much as I can.

2- I begin gathering up all the torches except for the one in the middle and the one leading off to the left.

3- I purchase extra time from the foreman and as many torches as are available from the crystals my kobolds have already farmed.

4- kill the first "incoming" wave. (doesn't take long)

5- begin by laying down my torch path to the left. Eventually my path looks a little like this:


6- I lay down the first five torches in building my eventual pathway and then run back to the entrance.

7- Kill the next incoming wave. After this, I usually buy additional time and more torches, extra kobolds, and kobold barrels.

8- I run back and lay down the next five torches in building my eventual pathway (laying down extra barrels if I have them and killing all the baddies in my pathway as well) and then run back to the entrance.

9- Kill the next incoming wave. (If I can, I buy even more additional time even though this kills one of the star objectives I'm going for).

10- At this point, you should have made your quota, and I just stay put for the next incoming wave because it's usually a horrible named that will just tear the kobolds apart . . . and surprise surprise, she looks like an old familiar foe of Team Spode!


11- For my final HOORAH I drag my cleric along with me and finish up my path. About 33% percent of the time, there will be a spirit dragon in the room I went toward. I summon up my efreeti buddy and we all lay the smack down on the dragon.


12- By this point my mana is usually at empty and I'm relying on Echoes of power for damage. Kobolds will start to die back at the entrance and time will tick down to 0:00 and the challenge will complete. Congratulations, time to profit and do it all over again.

I really like this challenge. I've heard some negativity about them, but this particular challenge isn't one I'd gripe about. It rocks in fact.

Let me know if you have any extra hints or tips on this instance, and I'll update this post with them.

Thanks!

Happy Dueling!

Bursting Yaulthoon's Harbinger of Madness Bubble

Last night was a lot of fun. Team Spode was warned about the final boss in the "In the Flesh" quest by Ekeiram, and definitely Yaulthoon is not an easy fight . . . even on normal mode, but Team Spode would not be deterred! Even if we went an hour OT on our regular playing time.

The night started out pretty mellow. We just needed to help Tony finish up the Sinister Storage quest since for some reason he didn't get flagged as completing that quest last week. Basically this quest asks you to defeat waves of "sinister" Xoriat baddies as they flood into a storage room. Unlike the good ol' Protect Baudry's Interests level 2 quest, there's no giant crate of supplies to protect. This is just straight up slaughter as you wipe out all the Thraak Hounds, Mind Flayer Mages, and creepy Taken as you can until Mahlurat (a flesh-render of the nastier variety) shows up.

There was nothing much to report from this quest other than Team Spode was victorious! A couple Staffs of Fleshshaping dropped for us. MAN, so upset the Staff of Fleshshaping has the same look as my Master Transmuter's Staff. Ahhh well. :)

Compared to Spode's new sword, the INSANITY, the looks of my meager weapon is definitely nothing to get excited about. Here's a short exchange from last night where we discuss the size of Spode's sword.



In the Flesh is a great instance and definitely an epic ending to the Harbinger of Madness quest series. How often do you get to be trapped in a mind flayer's mind, being blasted with Psyionics in DDO? I'm not sure, but I think I'll put this experience down as "unique" to the game.

Since I finally figured out that Fraps was the answer to my problem of not being able to record what I'm saying while videoing AND since I'm in kind of a video mood today, I'll just let the combat video speak for itself. (need to turn down the pick up of my headset mic so that I'm not subjecting people to the background sounds of my real life home LOL)



Of course, that victory was after about an hour of trying to figure out exactly how to go about killing this thing. The first time we saw the globes coming at us, I thought, well . . . perhaps you have to hit them back at him baseball style. (scratch)

Not much longer after that we figured out that the bubbles would burst the bubbles holding Yaulthoon's prisoners. The DM's voice helped us realize that made yaulthoon susceptible to damage. Thanks DM!

The real problem was with that horrifically beautiful Mind Thrust ability from the Mind Flayer. Every time we'd get Yaulthoon down to about 15% life left, he'd just rip us apart with these beautiful strands of pink death. On the third attempt we decided to check DDO Wiki and see what we missed. What we had missed were (as I so eloquently state in the above video) "those darn pods around his feet."

That made all the difference.

The other major challenge from In the Flesh came in the form of what is known as a doomsphere. From what the wiki is telling me, there are only three doomsphere mobs in the game. Dead Pykzyl (which surely is a street name of saying Dead Pickle) wiped us a couple times as well . . . we'll be back to destroy you Mr. Dead Pickle! We're saving our revenge for the upcoming weeks.

At the end of the day and largely thanks to the sweet 20% exp bonus going on during the holidays, Ulan dinged 15 and I upped my level to 17. Spode finished two of the three 1500 kill quests in Gianthold, and now is only 3 ranks behind my exp lead in the group. Just between us, I think he's on a mission to pass me by. :D

Of other news, it's good to hear that Lessah is back amongst the community! Cocktail Hour's X-mas special was a good one! Also, can't forget to mention DDOCast's Holiday special as well. I've been downloading back episodes of DDOCast lately and listening to them on my drive to work.

I gotta figure out a segment . . . I just gotta!

Happy Dueling!