So oi'z been finkin.

Yeh, oi knowz datz a danjerus habbit. BUT. Oi'z com up wif dis oidea dat oi'z finkin' moit spel da end o'dem order-y types.

Ya see, oi'z gotz me sum new treds. Sum FANCEE stuff, loik wot dropz in dat Vale place. 'An so oi sez to meself...

"Self? Youse a sneaky lit'l tuff git. Youse ken plink dem humiez faces rite off dere bodiez! So.... why dun youse fin' sum uvva gitz wot ken plink jus' as gud as you ken and make up sum Plinkin' Waaaagh! Youse ken get some shamanz for heelz, and youse Plinkers can Plink an' Plink an' Plink till all dem order-y typez iz D-E-D DED."

So oi iz. Oi'z fin' dis one git name Graffbow, and anuvva git name Blanka whoze for Plinkin', and oi'z fin' some git name Trizz, and wun name Moar, and wun name Sweetummz (tho dun youse be askin' dis wun wot type'o name dat iz for a greenskin, coz oi kent tell yeh...) and we'z gonna call us Da Plink Squad.

So oi'z got ta go plan dis new Waaagh! Lotsa werk to do fer me!

So oi'z been heerin' awl deez gits iz quittin' da Waaagh...

...but Nim ain't no quitter, dere, dat you ken be shoor. Oi'z not quittin' till all dem hairy ol' stuntiez, and all dem poncey poin'y eerz, and all dem flowery smellin' humiez is D-E-D DED.

We'z gots sum new gits in da gild deez dayz.... Urp'z been findin' em lotz, so he getz ta take a bit of a break and oi getz ta get out and Plink lotz more. :D

RABBLERABBLERABBLE

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. The guild is ridiculously active, and I have had a ton of stuff to do in terms of logistics lately that I haven't had much time to post much. We're up to Guild Rank 33, and have 14 or so people on every night, and I have been coordinating pushes, and recruiting, and talking to diff guilds about joining our (now buzzing) alliance... I've just been utterly burnt out by the time I log off. ;)

That being said, its RANTING time!

I'm going to touch on a subject today that I have touched on once before, and that others have also discussed in their blogs, but in a somewhat more "specific" way.

Today, I'm going to talk about Warhammer Whores.

Let me start out by saying that I have a ton of respect for the girls out there playing who are trying to "break the mold" if you will. Girls who bring their "A" game every time they log on. Girls who push the envelope, and are determined to build their reputation on merit and skill... and nothing else.

I consider myself one of those types. I have never, ever in my MMO career taken a handout simply because of my gender. I've never flirted or led a guy on in order to get him to do things for me in game, or to get him to give me things I want or need. I get what I want myself, and I earn every last little bit of it. It is this way for me in WAR, as it was in WoW, as it was in Asheron's Call... as it is in real life. As a gamer, I rely on being female for NOTHING, as in a virtual world with imaginary races and environments, the gender of the person at the keyboard essentially means nothing at all. What matters is HOW you play, and HOW you apply your morals and values to your interactions with other players, regardless of THEIR gender.

This brings me to the meat of this rant.

I hate. HATE. HATE with all the burning, back loathing in my rotten little heart all those girls who do NOTHING for themselves in games, rely on males to CARRY them and provide them with everything they need, and give ME and the rest of MY kind the reputation THEY are building for themselves. Like it or not, we live in a world of stereotypes. They are there in the real world, and they are there in the virtual world of WAR. How you conduct yourself IN GAME is a direct reflection on what type of person you are in REAL LIFE... and guess what, sweetie? You behaving like a HARLOT on public gaming forums, in Region chat, etc. ad nauseum DOES reflect on ME.

I don't want to hear about your sexual escapades in game, or what they have earned you. And just so we are clear, this doesn't make me a "prude". It makes me a female gamer with a little self respect. Want to know why you have no information regarding my sex life so you need to resort to ad hominem attacks? BECAUSE THOSE DETAILS OF MY LIFE ARE NONE OF ANYONE IN THE GAMES BUSINESS. And guess what? None of that information about YOUR life is anyone's either.... and we DON'T want to KNOW!

You consider yourself "liberated" and "open about your sexuality"? Well let me clue you in on why you're wrong.

Liberated, confident women try to BREAK stereotypes, not feed into them. We don't WANT people to think we got where we are because we have tits and sound good on Ventrilo. We don't NEED the attention from people that you seem completely dependent on. Why? Because we aren't terrible, no-skill scrub assed players who have gotten everything they've ever had in a video game by making it blatantly obvious that they're desperate for male attention and completely lacking any kind of respect for themselves.

Anyhow, I'm done. I need to go see if my guildies need anything further from me (which they probably do... *sigh*) and then see if I can ninja-logoff and go lay down on the couch for some TV time while I wait for Clubbin to get back from errands and take me to see Star Trek!

Cheers!

10 Probing Questions

1. What is your current main character’s name (or names, if you play multiple games)? Explain how you chose the name.

I'm currently dividing my time between two mains:
R40 Squig Herder - Nimboo Paani
R40 Shaman - Urp Stinkbref

Nimboo's name was chosen to go along with my retired Zealot's name, following in Indian food theme. Her name was Vinda Loo, a spicy Indian main course, and his name, Nimboo Paani, is a delicious lime drink with rock salt in it.

Urp was named in the traditional Greenskin manner, however, his name is also in keeping with my Indian food theme in that it's what you do (and have) after a heavily curried Indian meal. ;)

2. What was the name of your very first character in an MMO? Explain how you chose that name.

My first toon's name in an MMO was Aliana al'Aqbar, and she was a melee swordfighter character in Asheron's Call. I chose her name because she belonged to a race called the Gharun'dim, who were a Middle Eastern desert-dwelling people, and I thought the name fit her ethnicity.

3. Have you kept a specific name through various games, or do you tend to change your naming habits based on the individual game?

I change my names based on who my character is and where he or she comes from... so I guess it depends on the game, since each game has it's own races and nationalities. I try to steer clear of "mundane" names, since I don't play an imaginary race in a fantasy game only to name my character something that I'd likely find in a phone book.

4. Do you ever reserve names, planning to use them for characters that you might play later? If so, what are they and why do you hold on to them?

I have, in WoW, after my toon was hacked and her name changed... just so I could get it back if I wanted to. I reserved my Choppa's name before they came out just in case someone else thought of it, so it wouldn't get swiped (I just thought Choplivva was a little to clever to let slip through my fingers).

5. Of the three common archetypes in MMOs — tank, healer, DPS — which is your current main character?

One is a healer, and one is RDPS.

6. What archetype was your very first character in an MMO? Why did you choose it?

Aliana was a melee swords(wo)man. I chose it because I decided after playing a caster class for a short time that I'd rather hack at things with something sharp.

7. Are you usually attracted to one archetype over another, or do you play them equally? Why?

It's dependant completely on the game I'm playing and how the mechanics work. In AC, I enjoyed MDPS. In DAoC, MDPS. In WoW I was a caster at first and then played a tank, and in WAR I prefer RDPS and healers. WAR is the first game I'd ever had any interest in healing.

8. What is your favorite feature from an MMO you no longer play?

I miss the penalties imposed on players for dying in PvP in AC. You had to have some kind of skill and know how to either defeaet your enemy or escape them with your life unless you wanted to lose half your money and your most valuable items.

9. Is there an MMO that you would play if it was free? Which and why?

Eh, WoW maybe, but it'd really just be another chat program for me. I don't have any interest in playing the game, just in keeping contact with people I used to play with.

10. How do you measure the success of a character in an MMO (total kills, titles accumulated, wealth, rare items collected, level reached, etc.)?

Depends on the game. In WAR I guess Rank first, then Renown Rank second. Gear kinda falls in with the Rank/Renown Rank thing, so I guess it's an indicator, but not of skill-- more of time spent. I guess time spent can equal experience witht he game, and therefore be somewhat of an indicator of skill, but I've seen plenty of folks in DP or Invader that were god-fricking-awful, so either way it's a bit of a craps shoot.

WCPI!

This week, the spotlight is on Lokax, over at Mmmmm Gud .

I just love his stuff. It's nice to be able to hit up his site for my husband's Choppa and check out some well thought out Theoryhammer or to read some of his comedic posts about the state of the game. This one especially hit home, since once I rolled Nimboo (and even moreso now that Urp is 40) my personality pretty much split into a Greenskin half and a humie half. ;D

Go check him out!

Finally... 40!!!

Congratulations to my little gitface Urp on hitting R40 this morning.

Tomorrow he will be in Bilerot and Enclave praying to Mork (...or is it Gork?) for some good Sentinel drops.

I am so pleased with my decision to reroll... incoming shaman buffs notwithstanding.

And thank you (that means <333333) to Thirteenmoons for the shiney bits you gave him today. He's wearing his new Waaaghat and it looks awesome on him. :D

OMFG 1.2.1

Squig Herder

* Basic Squig: Increases pet's Toughness and Wounds by the amount of Toughness and Wounds the Squig Herder has in item stats.
* Drop That: Fixed an issue with this ability’s tooltip.
* Gas Squig: Increases pet's Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill by the amount of Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill the Squig Herder has in item stats.
* Horned Squig: Increases the pet's Strength, Toughness, and Weapon Skill for 100% of the Strength, 50% of the Toughness, and 50% of the Weapon Skill that the Squig Herder has in item stats.
* Run Away: This ability no longer stacks with other movement increasing abilities. Additionally, this ability’s duration is now listed on the tooltip.
* Spiked Squig: Increases the pet's Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill for 150% of the Ballistic Skill and 50% of the Weapon Skill that the Squig Herder has in item stats.


Shaman

* Big Waaaagh!: Reduced this ability’s cost, cooldown time, and range.
* Bleed Fer Me: Increased this ability’s damage.
* Brain Bursta: Increased this ability’s damage.
* Bunch o Waaagh: Increased this ability’s damage.
* Geddoff! : Increased this ability’s damage.
* Get'n Smarter: This ability will now also deal damage over time.
* Gork's Barbs: This ability has been redesigned, and now has an entirely new effect. It will now reduce incoming healing on the victim, and damage the person who healed them.
* I'll Take That!: Increased this ability’s damage.
* Life Leaka: Increased this ability’s damage.
* Scuse Me!: Increased this ability’s damage, and increased the amount that the victim's resistances that are reduced by.
* Shrug it Off: This ability has been redesigned, and now has an entirely new effect. It will now place a buff on the target that will restore their health if they fall below 15% Hit Points.
* Yer a Weaklin: Increased this ability’s damage.
* You Got Nuthin!: Increased this ability’s damage.


I'm impressed. Now if they can get these changes off without half of them being broken or breaking four or five other things per fix/change, I'll be a happy little gobbo.

And a funny story...

So I wanted to test out the new Squig Herder pet damage on the PTS. I was tooling around Dragonwake, but noone was really mucking about out there, so I killed some NPC's at CoF and tried to get a real feel for it. Spikey (which is the Squig I'm specc'd for) now does 328 dmg per hit with my current stats and crits for over 500. Nimboo was a grinnin' gobbo! BUT... he was a little bored, and wanted some REAL action.

So he went to Thunder Mountain to see what he could see, since one of the keeps was flagged and the place was about half Order controlled and half Destro controlled.

He gets to Bloodfist Keep and the first thing he notices is that the guards there are half stunties and half greenskins, which strikes him as a little odd, so he goes in further to investigate. As he enters the keep, he hears fighting up int he lords room, even though none of the doors are down!!

Now Nimboo, being inquisitive by nature and desiring to defend the Keep Lord from any harm, heads upstairs to see what is going on... and what does he find?

A R40 Knight of the Blazing Sun attempting to solo one of the champs in the lord's room! (GG Valria, by the by... exploiting into keeps on the PTS is still exploiting!)

So he summons his Spikey Squig and unleashes all his gobbo fury on the Knight, who runs upstairs. Oddly enough, none of the NPCs on the top floor attack the Knight at all, but Nim will not be daunted. The Knight attempts to punt him off the top of the keep, but he is saved by his fortunate position in relation to a battlement, and his Spikey Squig is still whacking away at the Knight, who is now hiding behind one of the pillars instead of attacking him (?????) it takes an inordinately long amount of time for the Knight to kill Spikey (which made Nim VERY proud of him, incidentally), so out comes Gassy Squig, who proceeds to fart green poopies all over the Knight, who is STILL trying to hide behind the pillar!

Unfortunately, he does not realise Gassy Squig just targets him and drops AOE and will move if he loses LOS, so with the help of Gassy and some shrewd movements, Nim vanquishes the exploiting Knight, gets 1700+ renown for killing him and a loverly 325 renown defense tick. :D

Short version: Nim is extremely happy with his new buffs, and his Squigs are happy too.

The downside to the abovementioned buffs? Vinda will likely be permanently retired. No fixes for Zealots = Vinda on the shelf unfortunately. I can't reasonably play a gimped toon when I have two that will likely be fully functional after 1.2.1. :(