A Month in Gaming
My gaming time was somewhat erratic throughout March. Therefore when I did log in to an MMO I tended to pursue daily repeatable activities and linear quests. Content that could be easily managed and did not require a great degree of planning or concentration. My High Elf Guardian in The Lord of the Rings Online is currently level 72 and the PVE content I’m playing through is about five or so levels below that, so unless I make an obvious mistake, the risk of “defeat” is not high. I’ve also used these short periods of gaming to do further inventory management in Star Trek Online. My current policy for surplus items is to either pass it on to an alt if possible, sell it via in game auctions or just vendor it. It’s remarkable the number of items you accrue in MMOs that you out grow or simply never get around to using. Outside of MMOs, I simply did some game installation housekeeping. It seems there’s always a patch that need to be downloaded and installed.
March in Review:
I’ve been experimenting with live streaming and have run several technical tests recently. So far, I have only played STO as I cannot get LOTRO to “co-operate”. To make these tests less tedious for viewers, I stockpiled some Infinity Lock boxes and keys. I managed to acquire a Tier 6 ship which I subsequently sold on the exchange for 595,000,000 energy credits. I used these funds to buy the very rare Photonic Science Officer which use to be a reward from Cryptic for their player subscription referral scheme. This is the only bridge officer candidate that comes with Photonic Officer III ability, which reduces the recharge time of other bridge officer powers. I also acquired a Holographic James Kurland bridge officer. I wasn’t aware that these were even a “thing”. I was most pleased and amused.
In LOTRO I have been questing in Dunland with my High Elf Guardian and due to my current level earning little XP. This is the second time I’ve played through this zone and I’m still not especially enamoured with the story. The plight of the Dunlending is hardly riveting and they continue to be an annoying and unsympathetic group. I am currently in Galtrev, the primary town in the region, but it is a phased due to major plot development. If I want to leave the current phase I have to clear several secondary quests that will move the story along. It far from difficult, but it’s hardly enthralling either. Hence my progress though the game has reduced. I may consider relocating back to The Great River zone, for a greater challenge and a more engaging narrative.
I decided to revisit Assassins Creed: Odyssey which I’ve had installed on my PC since last November. There was a 5.9 GB patch outstanding which took a while to download and install. Once this was done, the proverbial “moment” was gone, so I played something else. I must get around to spending time in this game at some point. I subsequently found that all the various game launchers such as Uplay, Origin, and Steam needed similar patching.
I finally resolved all my addon issues with The Elder Scrolls Online. I now have my UI organised and have access to the data that I need. Shame I didn’t actually play any ESO after all that.
April Goals:
The annual First Contact Day Event has started in STO, offering the usual cosmetic awards and one practical item of gear. This year it’s a Replica Thompson Submachine Gun, as used by Captain Picard in Star Trek: First Contact. There’s the usual fun group activity where players assemble a replica of Zefram Cochrane’s ship the Phoenix. However, due to a flaw in the game design, players can go AFK if they so choose and wait out the event, collecting their anniversary vouchers when it finishes. I’m personally happy to do the arbitrary activity. So the simple goals I’ve set myself in STO this April are to obtain the Replica Thompson Submachine Gun and then finishing another featured TFO event, Peril Over Pahvo, that I started in March.
I guess the only practical plan I can implement for LOTRO is to keep going. I’m going to try and clear the Dunland related Epic Story and then brace myself for Rohan. Because Rohan means mounted combat and having a tank on a horse doesn’t sound like a recipe for fun. Maybe I can find someone in my kinship to buddy up with and see if this somewhat “taxing” stage of the game can be blitzed through.
I also intend to do my first “official” Contains Moderate Peril Twitch TV stream this month. It will be a somewhat minimalist affair. I’m not into the various bell and whistles that some streamers like. I simply want to play some games and have a discussion with a few guests. The technical side of things seems to be sorted so it’s just a question of actually getting the proverbial show on the road.