There’s a dirty not-so-secret out there: us filthy Euros are the second class citizens of the information age.

How do I know?

We can’t get a Kindle (one or two) from any of the EU Amazon sites (of which there are many) which means no easy download of books to a portable reader.

No easy electronic reading for you, Euro-trash!

It took forever to get iPhones (legitimately) in Europe.

And we’re shafted when it comes to MMOGs.

Take the 2-year Anniversary of Lord of the Rings Online for example. The EU clients can buy the original Shadows of Angmar game for just a fiver (Pounds or Euros, take your pick) . . . while US players are able to buy the ENTIRE GAME (Mines of Moria plus Shadows of Angmar) for just ten bucks. Want MoM in Europe? Twenty limey notes or thirty federated currency. Sure, you don’t really need the MoM content to play until after you hit level 50 . . . unless you want to play one of the new classes. But it’s the principle of the matter! WHY do we get consistently screwed?

Another fine example is the Steam store. I love Valve, but why is it that I have to play amounts in Euros equal to what other customers pay in dollars? Please, just let me pay in dollars! I’m smart enough to convert the costs, and this is how I know you’re overcharging me by more than 30% . . .

I’m sure this is just your way of paying Europe back for having more culture, better fashion, a greater history, and underage drinking. But come on America! Stop trying to profit so much off our backs or taunt us with your shiny toys. We’re more likely to bother buying things (and pulling your economy back out of the toilet you flushed it down) if they’re available and priced reasonably than if you selfishly hoard or jack up the price of digital items which have, of course, no import duties . . .

These (and many other) examples of how EU citizens (and those in other parts of the world, of course) can be experienced on a daily basis by those of us outside of America. While we don’t have to put up (as much) with your “Tea-Party” protests (complete with signs that read “no contry (sic) has ever taxed itself into prosperity” and “i own a gun”), your incessant need to buy every new self-help book or video, and the horrible habit you have of tucking your t-shirt into belted jeans, we would like to have the opportunity to pay a reasonable price for a product or service, and not have it take years to arrive on our shelves. So throw us a bone. Stop treating the world like it’s America vs. everyone else and start offering everyone a fair shake!

(My American half was stuffed into a closet by my Dutch half during the writing of this post. He survived by singing the Star Spangled Banner and reciting baseball facts.)

There’s quite a few blogs dying a slow death (or a quick one) around the WAR community at this point. Of those not dying the quick way (by posting “I’m outta here”) you have a large number who are “hanging on by a thread” so to speak. I suppose I’m one of those as well. I’m not throwing in the towel, but I’m not not throwing in the towel . . . and I’m not subbed.

There’s a lot of different reasons why people are less interested in playing WAR than they used to be. First off, the game has been out long enough that people are getting burned out as is NORMAL for MMOs. A certain number of people (and often hardcore people) will just flat out get too tired of a game to continue on past the 6 to 9 month mark. Others will find that they’re not tired of the game, but that it does not appear to be going in the direction they want it to, and rather than stick it out and hope for a miracle, they jump ship. Still others will just have decided that the game is not what they want. Lastly there will be those who are leaving because they’ve “gotten a better offer” and found an MMO (or other passtime) that is even more suited to their needs, though they still like WAR. That’s just four reasons . . . there are others . . . probably enough to fill a book.

Fallen WARriors aplenty right now as the game continues to struggle.

In my case (as I have mentioned before) I am not sure the game is going the right direction for me. The focus right now is (in my eyes, mind you) on the wrong elements. I think that the most vital thing (outside of fixing class issues) is end-game RvR . . . and in specific City Sieges. I believe that Mythic needs to be in crunch time mode (they’re not as far as I can tell) working 16 hour days and sleeping at the office (or a nearby hotel, whatever) in order to get that specific element COMPLETELY REVAMPED. Not fixed. 80% changed. Because it is flat out not fun at all. Not. At. All.

How should they fix it? There’s ideas enough floating around out there. I’d offer a few quick suggestions in the form of what players (in my experience) generally want and talk about though:

• There needs to be enough of a challenge involved in City Sieges that players are not bored.
• The competitive nature of City Sieges needs to not result in one side getting blanked . . . nobody wants to play for x amount of time and get nada.
• Imbalanced NPCs are not a solution to lack of PC participation.
• Contribution systems are a joke as they stand and should be scrapped or made far more intelligent.
• Scenarios should be completely separated from instances in order to preserve balanced play.

Will I play WAR again? Not sure. I might.

Until then, Greykell is level 13 in LotRO.

So over the past month I’ve spammed you thrice with content I had pre-written a while back. It was ready to post, and related to something I like to do, which is play a Permadeath metagame.

Since I’m currently in MMO crisis I’m going to mess about with some Lord of the Rings Online for my next Permadeath dabble. The rules are as follow:

1. There’s a limit of 14 real life days (not-so-coincidentally the game’s trial length) to this challenge.
2. There is to be no tolerance for death whatsoever and any death (even death by bug) ends that character’s run.
3. There is no grouping allowed, so all requests by others to join forces must be declined.
4. There is no trading allowed, thus everything I need I must buy from vendors, find, or make.
5. The highest level character at the end of the trial period is the official score. (My record is currently 13 or 14 I believe.)

I already know from experience what kind of character I want to play. My personal preference for this is the Minstrel. Despite being a slower killing and less overtly powerful character than many others, it is resilient, and with my zero tolerance policy (which is seriously harsh to be honest) I’ll need all the help I can get staying in one piece. Though I have previously played a Hobbit, I will be trying a different race this time around in order to make it a bit more difficult . . . as if I really need to. Fortunately the Minstrel is available to all of the races. I have not yet tried to play an Elf of any class, so I’ll be creating one for this challenge. I will be outfitting myself to some extent, so the Explorer is my chosen vocation.

Greykell begins her Permadeath adventures in LotRO.

I’ve not got any specific server in mind for this character so I’ve chosen a random European base of operations. Since I appreciate calm and peace, I’ve chosen the English roleplay server Laurelin.

So I’ve made level 5 and not died yet. Wish me luck. More updates to come.

So I’ve returned from my vacation. It’s taken me a couple of days to get back to writing something here. Mainly because I’ve been a) asleep (oops), b) getting some crap accomplished (yay), and c) uninspired.

The third point is the most notable. This blog was started (among other things) to deal with the subject of MMOGs. Something which should have been obvious about me from the beginning (but may not have been) is the fact that I cycle through MMOs. So while WAR was my “main game” when I started this blog, it will not remain that way for the lifetime of the game.  In fact, at present, I’m trying to decide what I want to do . . . considering WAR as a game is just “killing time” until June at present.

This may seem like a harsh assessment to some of you, but is is a VERY fair one in my eyes. In essence Mythic has banked on Tomb Kings being cool enough to keep people waiting for it. In the meantime not nearly enough is being changed (nor have I seen solid plans for change) about the things that truly break the game at this point. As such I’m “in crisis” again and have yet to decide where the majority of my playtime will fall.

After having climbed part of the way up the sandstone massif at Red Rock's old quarry site.

Aside from that (which will just have to work itself out . . .) I’ve had a great vacation. I’m back and feeling refreshed. I have a lot of creative energy and I’m working on building that up even more. I’m not sure how much of it will spill out through this outlet in specific, but I can say that I’m going to be doing even more writing than I have been. Just maybe not as blog posts. *shrug* We’ll see.

Vacation highlights included:

• Getting a new Panasonic Lumix camera to replace the 4 year old Canon Ixus.
• Seeing relatives I’ve not seen in more than 20 years.
• Being back “home” again.
• Nostalgic bookstore feelings.
• Wynn Hotel and everything in it.
• Le Reve show.
• Nearly $700 in poker winnings (4th of 32) in my first tournament ever.
• $310 won in one spin of the slots.
• Majestic Red Rock and Lake Mead views.
• Easter Egg hunt(s) with Ethan.
• Easter Dinner with parents and grandfather.
• Watching Krod Mandoon with Maaike and my dad.
• Seeing the Mariners kick some butt again and again (9 and 5 woo!).

So in coming days you can expect more from me regarding all manner of different stuff. I’ll report on my MMO trials and tribulations, as well as talk a bit more about creativity and what I’m doing on that front.

So you see, I’m not dead yet.

Previously we’ve covered the basics of setting up Permadeath rules to play by, and also planning out your strategy for being successful while adventuring under these “hardcore” rules. This week is all about thinking about the skills you’ll need to play, and how you can best develop them.

Playing For All The Marbles

Permadeath play requires most players to develop a whole new set of skills, mainly because these skills have been degraded over the course of MMOG history. As the genre has evolved the trend has been for new MMOGs to remove the consequences of poor play. This is in fact one of the reasons that a Permadeath playstyle is so attractive: it provides a definite penalty for poor play. Avoiding those consequences is what Permadeath play is all about.

If the last section was all about the strategic planning which goes into Permadeath play, this one covers the tactics involved in actually surviving. Once again there is a listing of things you need to keep in mind when you are playing under Permadeath rules. There are plenty of ideas which are relevant to specific games, but this list should cover things you’ll run into more often than not when playing most MMOGs.

• Be prepared.

• Check twice before engaging.
• Practice to develop your skills.
• Develop your situational awareness.
• Know when to fold ‘em.
• When in doubt, walk (or run, or recall) away.
• Trust your instincts.
• Don’t dwell on your mistakes, learn from them.

Methuselah equips new gear on-the-go after reaching a new level.

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