It’s funny how we go in waves. Well, maybe you don’t, but I surely do.

Just a few months ago I got my hands on a better PC, so a whole world of gaming possibilities was opened up to me. In the interim, I’ve played a ton of games. Some were more time-intensive, like MMOs and RPGs, others were more session-based like MOBAs and FPS’s. With so many titles (not counting the consistent stream of free content via Playstation Plus) it’s easy to see how one could jump from game to game and spend little time in any. This has been the case with me, but there are some stand-out titles that I completed before moving on. Like I said, I go in waves. One week I’ll play a game straight through before moving on, and the next week I’ll merely sample a smattering of them.

Diablo 3:

Back in March is when I got this PC, and my first purchase was Diablo 3. Loot 2.0 had just occurred, and I had already rolled a Demon Hunter and Wizard on my Dad’s account (while I was visiting). Those characters obviously didn’t transfer over, so when I started anew, I played the Wizard from 1-60(ish). Shortly thereafter, Reaper of Souls came out, and there was a new bit of content to explore. By the time I finished Act V, I was level 68, and put the game down again.

On the back burner it sat until just a few nights ago. I finally decided it was time to at least get my Wizard to 70. In the process, I ended up falling back in love with the game and have had a few sessions. Now he’s level 70 with 7 paragon levels. Thought it’s not traditional, he’s now wielding a giant two-handed axe, and that’s something I love about the new loot system (and in general, how combat works in D3). The stats on the axe are very much class-appropriate, and since your basic attacks tend to be special abilities, the weapon tends to serve as a stats-booster.

A bunch of my friends are playing the game more regularly as well, so that lead into me playing a Hardcore character with J3w3l last night. Soon enough we were level 10, and things were going well. I made a Demon Hunter (as I never made a new one after getting my own account) and J3w3l rolled a Witch Doctor. I like the Witch Doctor more now having seen it in action, having not really played the one that I initially rolled.

By the time we were both level ten we were really starting to mow things down. Things were hairy for a while, but we got to the point that we meshed pretty well. Luckily Eri tends to have a similar playstyle to my own, though I think most people play D3 in a similar way. By the end of the night I had earned a few new Hardcore achievements, but I’m sure my overall score is sad to most people who have played the game for any length of time.

ArcheAge:

So I made it into the second closed beta event for ArcheAge. I’m torn about playing in these beta events because I know that upon launch the servers will be wiped and any progress made will be lost. Still, the meat and podtatoes (I see what you did there!) of the game lies beyond level 30. That’s the part of the game I really want to see, and unfortunately it will take longer than the time I have remaining to get there. This is due in part to me not wanting to spoil much of it, but also not wanting to grind to 30 so quickly. I think during the open beta (whenever that happens) I might actually play to 30 to get a grip on what happens at that threshold, so I can decide if the game is truly for me or not. So far I really like it, but that’s because my imagination tells me that post-30 content is going to be cool and different. My cynical side tells me that I’ll probably be disappointed. So this time around I only really played it for a few hours on Thursday. I might try to squeeze some more time in today, but I know it won’t include getting to 30, so I might just not bother.

 

This is one mechanic I like that I haven’t really seen since EQ2 – climbing. They have a few spots where this is possible, and I meant to mention that before. It’s really not something you’d find on a feature list, but it adds to immersion, because who can’t climb things? But how many games include it? Exactly. Another thing I will mention is that ArcheAge might be the flavor of the week now that ESO and Wildstar have died down, but man, there sure are a shitload of people playing it. I was getting bogged down at times by the sheer number of people wandering around the starting areas. I did officially clear the starting portion of the map, and as soon as I hit the next bit of civilization, more people. I haven’t seen a population like that in any game in a long time, but that’s probably due to my never partaking in MMO launches.

Guild Wars 2:

I absolutely love the art direction of this game. It’s seriously pretty, but stylistic at the same time. Running around, seeing the chat bubbles pop up and feeling like a comic book, not to mention the painted-on style of the map. It’s just right up my alley.

I also love the cutscenes for more important story-related material. It reminds me a lot of SWTOR, and I’m unaware at this moment which game came first. I’ve just been a bigger fan of High Fantasy than Sci-Fi for as long as I can remember (but don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars/Star Trek like a good nerd should) so it appeals to me more in this game. Plus the lore is interesting because I really know nothing about it, whereas playing through EQ2 I already knew stuff from EQ1, and the same with Warcraft(RTS)/WoW.

Another neat feature is the vantage points or whatever they’re called, in which you find a marker on the map, and when you get to the appropriate location, a small cutscene shows you the lay of the surrounding land. It’s beautiful.

I still haven’t progressed much farther at this point, but I believe I’m going to main the Thief, and try to start moving forward this week. More as it develops.

#diablo3 #archeage #guildwars2 #blaugust #stateofthegame