The road to level 40: Bladedancer

Yes, I know, I've been remiss in posting for a long time, but the reason why I haven't been doing so is that I've been busting my chops to get to Level 40 and on my way to becoming a Bladedancer.

I'm currently at Level 38 doing all I can to reach 39 so I can finally do my Bladedancer quest. I know that I can do them earlier, but I read that doing them at Level 39 would make it a bit easier. There are three quests that needs to be completed before you make the jump:

1. Trial of Challenger
2. Test of Fate
3. Judgment of Duelist

Right now, I'm at Trial of Challenger. What made it such a treat finishing this quest is that a couple of clanmates have helped me out along the way:

Bab--for lending me his D-grade armors
Cole--for helping me in dispatching the enemies on the first part of the Trial of the Challenger.Technorati Tags: Alcarcalimo, Lineage 2, Lineage 2 SEA

Gracia PTS for Lineage 2 NA Begins Today

While our L2 NA brothers and sisters are already diving into the the Gracia Update via the Public Test Server, all we can do from Lineage 2 SEA is observe. As far as I know, this marks the first time that Lineage 2 NA has overtaken SEA in terms of patches or updates.

Although we may need to wait awhile, at least we'll be prepared when the time comes for us to get the update (hopefully within the year?). In addition to the update notes link provided by Jercouzen in the boards, here's the complete Test Notes. There was one change that really got me excited:

Decreased Item Prices

The shop prices for all weapons, armor, and accessories have been lowered.

Yes, ALL of them have been lowered. Although it wasn't mentioned by how much, still it's a very welcome change for everyone.

In the meantime, while I wait for our turn, I'll be reading the PTS boards and get familiar with the bugs and possible workarounds.

Technorati Tags: Lineage 2, Gracia

Gracia Update: Details on the Exp and Vitality System

Since the Gracia Teaser site was up last July 7, there's been a steady buzz of excitement among gamers regarding the new update to Lineage 2. Most notable among the changes welcomed by most players is the Levelling part of the game.

Lineage 2 has always been touted as a hardcore grinding game. This has been its strength and weakness at the same time. Strength because only the hardcore players will be able to appreciate the constant fighting, while leaving those who aren't so hardcore biting the dust. This resulted into a situation where there were a lot of mid to high level characters and not much new ones. With the changes in the exp and addition of the Vitality system, newbies (like me) will have a chance to catch up with the rest of the population in L2.

For one thing, experience rewards for killing creatures and accomplishing quests has been increased across the board. This means that you’ll gain a lot more for generally doing the same things you always do. Running out of quests trying to gain experience, or continual creature farming, is not nearly as big of a factor any more. Also, new repetitive quests have been added in each race village to help out players even further.

You consume Vitality when you kill ordinary creatures and gain experience, though Vitality won’t get spent if you’re taking on a quest creature, if you don’t get experience for killing a creature, or if you’re taking on a boss. When Vitality is spent, your experience and SP bonus is greatly increased, depending on how much Vitality you currently have. If you’re maxed out in Vitality points (Vitality Level 4), your bonus will be 300% of the normal experience and SP gain. If you have a few thousand Vitality points (Vitality Level 1), the bonus is 150%. Because Vitality is so easy to earn, players will be in the bonus consistently and the overall experience gain can be huge.

So for those who are thinking of Lineage 2, please wait until Gracia update.

Source

Technorati Tags: Gracia, Lineage 2, Lineage 2 SEA, NCSoft, Gracia

Personal reaction to the 2x and 3x modification

As mentioned in my last post, the 2x for life and 3x every weekend from July to August has been implemented. There were some high level players who didn't like AMDG's move, however the new ones were very appreciative--including yours truly.

When I logged back in, I noticed that there were more newbies around the starter town (well, at least in the Dark elf's Village) than last time I was here. Could this be a spillover effect of free installers and the aforementioned in-game changes? Most likely. Whatever the reason, new players or old ones rerolling new characters is a good sign.

Another thing I've noticed is that grinding is less of a chore than it used to be. It's easier to level up, more loot falls on the ground, and I have excess SP ready to be used to gain new skills.

My concern are the mat prices. Since there's more mats falling off, will this finally lower down the prices? This will enable more supplies than it used to be. As Jercouzen said in the forums, it only takes a few players to lower down their prices and the effect will snowball.

Technorati Tags: AMDG, iPlayAsia, Lineage 2 SEA

Returning to Lineage 2 SEA

I've recently had my PC specs updated and I'm ready to dive back in to Lineage 2 SEA.

There's been a lot of changes since I was gone:

• 2x mod on weekdays is now permanent and 3x mod on weekends from July to August has been implemented . This applies to both experience, SP, and drops. It will benefit a lot of new players, and piss off some old ones. How this will affect gameplay remains to be seen. Obviously, this AMDG's way of pulling in new players.
• 7 days unlimited free access. Although you won't experience Lineage 2 as a whole as you will be refrained from trading with other players and using the global chat channels. The only way to get these features in is to top up. I hope this will reduce the numbers of adena sellers from camping in the newbie villages.
• Cadmus server. There's going to be a new server opened within this month. The Community Managers have confirmed that it will be a Pay-to-Play server and not a Free-to-Play one. However, they do have plans of doing a hybrid model. Plans are still under wraps on this one.

There's been a ton of in-game events as well! Jeesh! I missed out on a lot! Time to get reacquainted with Lineage 2 SEA.

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Technorati Tags: AMDG, Lineage 2 SEA, Lineage 2, in-game events,