Taking a Wakfu off the Beaten Path

 Yesterday I read a pretty fun post from MassivelyOP that was a quick guide to the perfect MMO for you, and I stumbled upon a revelation . . .

- Dungeons and Dragons Online — CHECK!  In fact, I kept an entire separate blog about DDO and played it for what felt like years. Love the game. Love the offbeat community.  It's just all around great.  I even wrote a magazine article about it back in the day when print media was still a thing.

- Project Gorgon — CHECK! In fact, if there was new content for me to play, I'd still be playing it. I'm on the Discord server.  I've written a score or so blog posts about the game.  I even made a remix of the Serbule theme song.

- Wizard101 — LAFF!  Do I even need to justify it? I mean, this blog started as a Wizard101 specific blog and led to me getting a job at KingsIsle, so . . . 

- A Tale in the Desert — Tried it.  Hated it.  Didn't even understand what was going on. Sorry.

Which leads us to Wakfu.  Yeah, you know, that's one that I always thought looked interesting, but honestly, I was already wrapped up in another turn-based MMO (wink, you know which one), and never gave it a go.  Props to MassivelyOP for this suggestion. I guess I'm Mr. Off The Beaten Path because I downloaded it and actually tried it this morning based off of their suggestion.

My thoughts exactly, who knows, maybe you'll be useful...

I gotta say that onboarding was rough for me and that was the biggest hurdle.  

1- For some reason establishing my account was difficult and took a while just to get going.

2- The character creator left so much to be desired.  After you've chosen your furry of choice, all you really get to then choose is your sex and your hair style and color.

3- The long sessions of dialog on the starter world went on for entirely too long.

Given all that, I stuck with it and before I knew it, I was in a group killing strange fuzzy beasts.

Kill all the white cloud things with pink horns . . . GO!

Then some guy tried to duel me over and over, so I logged out and logged back on a few minutes later after grabbing a drink.

The class I chose is called the "Osamodas' Whip" I chose it because, surprise surprise, it's the pet class of the game.  So, eventually I figured out how to tame one of those goofy looking white cloud things with pink horns and made it my pet.  Not bad!

The tutorial area culminates in a grand battle against a pink and purple edgelord with a sword for a hand.  I like his style actually . . .

Oh but death does exist! . . . and I'm serving it up to you today!

I enjoyed the first area, but the game really opened up and felt good in that first post-tutorial area named Astrub. It was full of people with their packs on the ground selling stuff and finally felt like an MMO.

People and their packs on the ground in a Town Hub! That's such an eastern MMO thing to do!

Once I figured out how to click on the compass on the quest log and how that actually worked, I was off to the races. Before I knew it I had killed a couple hours and was level 11 with a full set of gear and a couple of different beasts I could summon to help me in battle. 

I totally get the attraction of this MMO and could see myself spending even more time here just because it's all strange but familiar.

blue skin with a giant pink helmet . . . LET'S GO!

I'm not sure how much more of the game I'll play.  There's a lot of clunky things that make this old game a little difficult to play, but there is a lot of charm and character here regardless. The music has an earworm quality to it that will get stuck in your head and it's a fun art style.  In fact, that's kind of a big thing about this game.  There was a 3 season long anime that coincided with the game, and you can even find all three seasons currently on Netflix. I may just watch a few episodes now for kicks.

So all in all, this was a great suggestion from MassivelyOP, who apparently knows me better than I know myself. It was definitely worth the free download just to say I had walked thoroughly off the beaten path.

Happy Dueling

Sinbad and the return of Pirate101!

Pirate101 . . . it's the game that got me into the gaming industry back in 2012 with a simple phone call from Fred Howard to tell me . . . you've interviewed for enough positions at KingsIsle, and we have the perfect role for you: Community Manager for Pirate101. BAM! So much changed for me in that moment!

We did great things for that game and launching Pirate101 was an amazing amount of work that I'm incredibly proud of. Ultimately, it didn't get quite as much fanfare as Wizard101, but the game is solid. While I'm not a part of KingsIsle anymore, I STILL love Pirate101, and how do I know I still love it?  Because today I logged in and played the first new quest update they've had in (insert titanic-64-years-meme-picture here). If there was ever a time to return to revisit your pirates, now is the time!

~~Spoilers below!!~~

When I logged in, Gandry himself directed me to Avery's Court to see a crew of stranded pirates.

Albano straight up calling me the "Second Best" Pirate in the Spiral

Albano, Ratty Piper, and Toombs were there to represent the WWE . . . I mean Sinbad the pirate. As the story goes, Sinbad and his crew were ambushed by the Crushers and they stole the Belt of Champions for the title of Best Pirate in the Spiral. 

While on the hunt for the Crusher's hideout you stumble into Poffo, a mean shark wrestler who wanted to throw down against my Fin Dorsal companion.

Shark Week has never been this good

After another battle with some vulture pirates you eventually stumble into a cat named Fliehr (an homage to Ric Flair most certainly . . . you see the theme by now lol) who also wants to throw down with you. Lucky Jack Russel was all about that dog vs. cat life and made quick work of him.

Time to get nicked, Ric

Finally you arrive at the best pun of the entire new quest line . . . the Crush-tacian himself who's all about the Crushamania!

Hulk Hogan never posed so perfectly

The Crush-tacian was perfectly fine with handing over the belt, but that wasn't the real worry. The real worry was a call from Sinbad up ahead to victory! Apparently you and Albano were just serving as a distraction while Sinbad made away with the Belt. At which point he abandons his crew and the Crush-tacian's gang and all of a sudden you have to survive a 3 faction rumble where you're enemy number one!

Hoooo boy . . . that's a lot of enemies . . .

That fight made me wish I had run it with 3 other pirates on my team instead of solo!  I didn't mind shelling out Crowns to hire some henchmen to finish it off . . . and yes, I needed those henchmen to finish it off.  I was totally unprepared for that.

Plucky Portia Marozzo the Swashbuckler Henchman to the rescue!

Rowdy Ratty Piper was surprisingly tough, but at the end, I was standing as the victor of the brawl and poor Albano was feeling a bit abandoned by Sinbad. Albano let on that the belt is great for stroking egos, but the belt has a different purpose all together, and that's to find, as he calls it, "a fabulous treasure, greatest in the Spiral." Even better, Albano will help you get it . . . "it" being . . . The Eye of the Liger!

Consider my interest piqued!

Playing through this quest this morning pretty much solidified in my mind how much I love and have missed playing Pirate101. It's such a great game. While I was online, RZ, a streamer and mega fan of Pirate101, invited me to drop by his stream and say hello.  I may just have to do that.

Happy Dueling!

MHA Strongest Hero Character Spotlight: Izuku Midoriya

It's the star of the show and everybody's favorite goodest of good boys, Izuku Midoriya aka Deku!

Main protagonist and huggable green-haired wonder of My Hero Academia

If you're not familiar with Midoriya, then you haven't watched the anime, but not to worry, the game actually has a story mode where you get to play through the highlights featuring the story of Izuku Midoriya! You'll be finding all about his origin story and how this quirkless kid born near the Shizuoka Prefecture grew into his power. He's a diligent student that studies ALL the heroes, but for Izuku one hero's commanding smile changed him for ever: All Might, the Symbol of Peace. Now he walks in his footsteps and . . . well . . . you'll just have to watch the anime to fully understand.

Here, chibi Midoriya! Have some nom noms and grow big and strong. 

Midoriya is your starting character for the game and is a great middle of the road character because of this. You'll find uses for him in just about every situation. He has a little bit of ranged attacks, but mostly, Midoriya is in melee mixing it up.

He comes in as a solid A rank character and is perfect for playing in PvE or PvP.  He's the bread and butter of the game, so he's a great well-rounded part of any team.  His move sets are as follows:

• Basic Attack: Heroic Combo—Uses his fists to volley a series of punches, then goes air-born to execute a 3-hit combo.
• Q attack: Shoot Style—Midoriya teleports to the enemy and performs a powerful kick that launches his opponent into the air.
• W attack: Smash—A chargeable ranged attack skill where Midoriya concentrates all his power into his fingers and flicks a power blast at his opponent.
• E attack: Swift Kicks—Midoriya dashes forward and performs a flying kick.
• Ultimate Move: Delaware Detroit Smash—Midoriya summons all his power to deal a huge devastating punch.
• Charge: Inherited Might—Enters a  state of "full cowling" where his attack is greatly increased.
• Dodge Attack: Speedy Counter—After dodging, he executes a 7 hit combo that strikes in a sudden blur of attacks.

Midoriya really shines with his 2 rapid Shoot Style kicks

You'll be learning all about combos while playing with Midoriya during the first part of the game, but remembering what those are can be a bit taxing on the brain. For Deku, try these combos out:

• Basic Combo: Use Basic Attack 5 times in a row
• Quirk Combo: Use Inherited Might Charge skill and again, follow it with Basic Attack 5 times in a row.
• General Combo: Start with two rapid Shoot Style Q attacks, follow with Basic Attack 3 times in a row, and finish with the Swift Kicks E attack. 
• Advanced Combo: Charge your W Smash attack, follow with two rapid Shoot Style Q attacks, and finish with Basic Attack 3 times in a row.
• Super Combo: Start with two rapid Shoot Style Q attacks, charge the W smash skill for a second, then follow with another two rapid Shoot Style Q attacks.

Using Smash to reset the Shoot Style cool down is a great tip!

The game gives you the iconic character to play at the start of the game, you'll be using him a lot, and he'll continue to impress as you rank him up to S and beyond. If you have any tips for using him in combat, please share in the comments below. Gameplay footage:

x

Happy Dueling!

How to Beat Stage 5-6 in My Hero Academia: Strongest Hero

I just finished beating Stage 5-6 on My Hero Academia: Strongest Hero, and I'm so frustrated about it.  I should feel relieved since I got stuck on the stage for a few days, and now I'm through it -- but no, I'm legitimately frustrated. 

For the past few days, all I've been doing is logging on to do my daily quests and daily reward track because I was stuck. I finally got so frustrated that I looked up a video on how to beat 5-6 and saw my answer exactly 5 seconds into the video.

Stage 5-6 -- it's the first big hurdle of the game . . .

The main problem here is that the game seems to force a certain hero choice for the battle no matter how you arrange your deployed heroes.  I tried shuffling them around, but it would still select the same hero. I tried beating the game with manual, auto, and even auto with timed dodges . . . nothing seemed to work. All Might would just wreck my character.

What really won the day was finding out I can pause between deploying units, select the character I wanted to use for the All Might Battle (which was Eijiro Korishima), and then click on the pulsing red boss crosshairs manually to send in the desired character to battle. (Red Riot kind of destroyed All Might in this level -- I just used auto-battle and tapped the dodge button a few times during the fight to ensure the win) Since this spot is the first time you need to choose a specific character and not just mindlessly click the pathfinding button, it's confusing. 

Click the hero, then click the crosshairs -- Don't click the hero and click pathfinding

Another part of the problem is that the character it typically auto-chooses for the final fight in stage 5-6 is almost right on top of the pulsing boss crosshairs on the map, so you could accidentally click on the wrong character while trying to click on the boss and cancel your character selection. 

On that same video where I found my answer, in the comments there were a good half a dozen confused people just like me wondering why they couldn't select the hero they wanted to use for the boss fight. I love when that happens because it's justification that it's not just me . . . the UI for this action is unintuitive. It's unfortunate because I almost churned out of the game at this point, and I'm sure if they looked at the data for the game, they'd find out that it's a dropping point for players.

Hopefully they've already seen the problem and have a fix in place so those that stumble upon this fight in the future don't get stuck here.

Happy Dueling!

MHA Strongest Hero Spotlight: Eijiro Kirishima

He's an unmovable powerhouse that packs a huge punch, it's Eijiro Kirishima the Sturdy Hero aka Red Riot! 

He's the essence of "manly"!

Eijiro is another U.A. High School classmate from Class 1-A who has a style and charm all his own. He lives by a chivalrous code of honor with an idolization for a old school hero named Crimson Riot.  It's a moral-centered combination that continues to help him survive the bumps on his road to becoming a Pro Hero. Although he seems to lack a sense of pride about his quirk, he uses his powers of hardening his body so that he has both enhanced durability and enhanced strength. The more he uses his hardening powers in a fight, the more his appearance changes so that his hair and teeth become more jagged and monstrous looking. 

Landing a huge set of blows against a training bot.

Eijiro Kirishima comes in as a solid B-rank character that feels more like an S-rank character when you play him, but as per normal in MHA: Strongest hero, you can always raise their rank through character shards.

In combat, his abilities are more about timing your defensive moves while delivering a quick succession of attacks to keep your opponent locked up as long as possible. In PvP you may find yourself sweating a bit, but in PvE he does almost everything right when on Auto-attack. His move sets are as follows:

• Basic Attack: Hand Dagger—Hardens his hands to make a series of attacks.
• Q attack: Red Counter—A defense status that absorbs damage before striking back.
• W attack: Red Gauntlet—A charge-up skill where you delay a bit for a huge jump attack.
• E attack: Red Charge—Kirishima charges in and deals extra damage to his opponent.
• Ultimate Move: Red Shatter—Pays homage to his idol Crimson Riot while punching several times in a row building momentum until a huge final hit that can shatter the earth around him.
• Charge: Impenetrable Hardening—Enters a state where he's immune to damage.
• Dodge Attack: Manly Punch—After dodging, strikes back with a big hit.

Red Charge is the centerpiece of so many of his combos

While it may be easier to put the game on Auto-combat and let your device to the heavy lifting for you, knowing a character's combos can really come in handy for maximizing damage. For Kirishima, try these combos out:

• Basic Combo: Use Basic Attack 5 times in a row
• Quirk Combo: Invoke Charge (Impenetrable Hardening) then press and hold E attack (Red Charge)
• General Combo: Use Basic Attack 5 times in a row followed by five Red Charge E attacks in a row.
• Advanced Combo: Use Basic Attack 5 times in a row, followed by W attack (Red Gauntlet), then E attack (Red Charge) 
• Super Combo: Start with Red Counter Q attack, follow it with five Basic Attacks, then W attack (Red Gauntlet), and finish with E attack (Red Charge)

Train him up and make his chibi smile!

If you need a sturdy tank that deals seismic punches with a touch of invulnerability, Kirishima is a fun hero in your line up.  Give him a try and please share any tips you may have for using him. Gameplay footage below.

Happy Dueling!

MHA Strongest Hero Spotlight: Denki Kaminari

It's Danki Kaminari aka the Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt! 

Ranked up and ready to go!

In the My Hero Academia world, he's a part of Class 1-A at good old U.A. High School with his sights set on becoming a Pro Hero. He's an instantly lovable character that's friendly and casual.  The nature of his ability tends make him a hero that typically holds back until he's sure his friends are safely out of the way so he can unleash a huge surge of electricity that leaves him in a paralyzed state (which the anime plays up by making him look like a cute yet blubbering idiot).

Indiscriminate Shock! 1.3 Million Volts!

In MHA: Strongest Hero, Denki Kaminari comes in as a pretty standard B-rank character when you pull him, but you'll eventually be able to increase his rank through character shards.

In combat, his abilities are more about ranged attacks, which makes him an interesting addition to your lineup, especially for PvE (not so much for PvP). His move sets are as follows:

• Basic Attack: Electric Surge—Fires 4 shots of electric bolts
• Q attack: Lightning Bolt—Calls down a bolt of electricity at a targeted enemy
• W attack: Shock Rays—Release electricity from his body to attack nearby enemies
• E attack: Lightning Chain—Surges a bolt of lightning that chains enemies together
• Ultimate Move: Indiscriminate Shock—Unleashes a full 1.3 million volts of electricity around him
• Max Charge: Electric fists—lurch forward with a charged fist attack
• Dodge Attack: Shocking Counter—After dodging, releases voltage to enemies around him

Leave them and me both drooling!

While it may be easier to put the game on Auto-combat and let your device to the heavy lifting for you, knowing a character's combos can really come in handy for maximizing damage. For Kaminari, try these combos out:

• Basic Combo: Use Basic Attack 4 times in a row
• Quirk Combo: Start with E Attack (lightning chain) and then follow it with 4 basic attacks
• General Combo: Use Basic Attack 4 times in a row and follow it with E Attack (lightning chain)
• Advanced Combo: Start with E attack (lightning chain) follow it with 4 basic attacks and finish with Q attack (Lightning Bolt)
• Super Combo: Start with E attack (lightning chain), follow it with W attack (Shock Rays), follow it with 4 basic attacks, and finish with Q attack (lightning bolt)

Try to master the Super Combo in the Training Ring

He's a fun hero to add into your line up.  Give him a try and please share any tips you may have for using him. Gameplay footage below.

Happy Dueling!

CR 337 —Taking it to the Nth Metal Degree in DCUO

I'm continuing my daily grind in DCUO and playing with Team Spode on Sunday nights. There are still a few pieces of gear I need to buy to complete my set for this expansion, but for the most part I'm just going with the flow.  In other words, I log in, I do my dailies, and I log out.  

However, lately I've been a bit more focused on raising my artifacts, and I can already see the results.  Last Sunday Team Spode hit their usual raids and group instances, and my DPS was up! After thinking about that a bit, the only thing I can really attribute to that being up was that I was able to raise the level of two of my three trinkets. Being able to keep up with Spode in DPS despite him outpacing me by 75-100 Skill Points is kind of encouraging.

I'm using a sorcery build that's highly focused on amplifying my fury pet's damage and building supercharge, and I've been pretty happy with the results. (You know how I love my pet classes in MMOs.) The real power has come from coupling the Fury Pet with the Source Shard Artifact's Godwave Strength skill.  When that happens, my Fury becomes super charged and lands a huge series of hits, with one of those in particular hitting over 100k.

Me-wow!

Taking a big chunk of time off from playing DCUO (what's a 3-4 year break anyway?) got me a fair bit behind the rest of Team Spode, and especially when it comes to leveling trinkets and skill points.  The only way to level trinkets is to power them up with something called Nth Metal. The first 80 levels of a trinket kind of sail by, but when your trinket gets above level 120, things slow waaaaaaay down, and it's easy to tell that this is one of DCUO's major monetization legs for the game.

So, let's break down the ways to get Nth metal.

1- Probably the number one thing you can do when you log into DCUO daily is hit that stupid Vault instance that's been in game forever.  At the end of the run, you'll typically receive a rarer piece of Nth metal worth a bunch of trinket exp.  

2- If you have Nth metal detectors and know you're going to play the game for at least an hour, pop it and for the next hour your Nth metal finds will be up and you can also get your hands on Nth metal caches that can contain 3 pieces of Nth metal each.  You'll typically find anywhere between 3 and 6 Nth metal caches per hour with an Nth metal detector running.

3- Just play the game. Nth metal naturally drops from mobs that you outright defeat (not the mobs where you have to click on them to capture them), so farming "defeatable mobs" is your best bet for farming.

4- Buy booster packs of Nth metal in the store. Yup, it's pay to win, but if you want to drop $100 on Nth metal, you certainly can and will (if you're hungry for artifact exp).  

5- Buy Nth metal caches off of players in the auction house. Um, this is super not worth it . . . gonna be honest. The metal to money ratio is pretty bad. One cache for 2-4 million game cash? I'd rather spend my in game money in other ways, but to each their own.

So my Soul Shard artifact is currently at level 150.  When I get it up to level 160, 25% of the time, using a superpower will instantly refresh my Godwave Strength ability from the shard, and my DPS will jump . . . and it'll be awesome and fun. I can't wait for that to happen. When it does, I might just make Lord Spode jealous of my DPS once again.

Soul Shard at level 150

One thing is for sure . . . no way I'm dropping $100 real cash on Nth metal.  It's the farming life for me.

. . . or perhaps if I really want to DPS, maybe switch builds to Munitions Skill instead of Sorcery?  Nah, I love my Fury pet too much.

Happy Dueling