Archived SWTOR Beta Tester Blog Pics Tips and Tricks

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=swtor-beta-tester-blog-pics-tips-and-tricks.html&Itemid=177

In this blog I will be covering the SWTOR Beta Test, my restrictions as a Beta Tester have been lifed at this point so I can now blog, discuss, and post pictures from the Beta from this point forward.

That being said let's start with the opening movie.  I wil be covering tips and tricks to give you a head start on the game as well as posting pics from the Beta.

In a Galaxy Far Far Away...

Clips from opening movie of SWTOR Beta


Jedi thought bubble: We are so screwed..



Imperial Soldier and Bounty Hunter classes after p*wning some face.



Enter 2 of the Sith classes

Obligatory Jedi vs Sith epic lightsaber battle.

Lightsaber throw ability

Force Leap.. one of my favorite abilities. Yes the Jedi is about to get owned.

Now on to the gameplay, graphics look good and the interface has much of the traditional MMO elements like WoW so if you're used to WoW you'll pick this up very easily. Here is a starting quest where you get an ancient Sith Warblade.

This is one of the hub locations in the Sith starting area at the base of the Sith Academy stairs. You'll essentially spend your first 10 or so levels on Korriban learning all your abilities and getting your first companion. Companions are controlled and can be outfitted by the player. More on that later. Korriban is expansive and has a good number of zones inc temples and tombs.

This is the Sith Academy a 3 level structure and quest hub with a bunch of different main quests and side quests. The quest givers, Cantina (Rest Zone), and Skill Trainers are all in here. Note about the Cantina (Rest Zone) If you want to build rested xp you need to log out in a rest zone.

I'm taking a transport (taxi) to another zone on Korriban for the next series of quests. Important note, as you are doing quests you have choices that affect not only light and dark side but also different choices can gain favor with the powers on that world and earn you commendations which are basically special tokens to buy cool gear with. Your choices in an earlier quest can come back to help or haunt you later so do not just randomly blunder through quests and click any response.

See this guy and how he has a gold star next to his name? Yeah it means he's powerful and will be a challenge and may kill you if you try and solo him. I took him down but I'm playing a Sith Warrior which is a tank class so I can take alot of dmg. Also.. explore!! You get extra xp and can sometimes find items that lead to other quests and hidden rewards. This game rewards you for doing more than just the main questline.

This is Darth Baras, your new master and his star pupil and your rival. This is after the whole incident between Darth Baras and your former master (who I really couldn't stand and elected to kill). It's important to note that choosing the correct responses influences a hidden value in the game of how much a particular character likes you which in turn affects all sorts of other things. This rival tries to kill you several times and you go through a whole plot of how to deal with him but it's important to remember the rules of the sith so you don't get yourself in trouble. In the end I followed the rules and let this guy try to kill me and then I killed him in self defense after making him angry enough to ignore Darth Baras' orders. So I got to kill him and no penalty for me.

Darth Baras gives you your first companion. A Twi'lek that seems to be a bounty hunter type class. And he tells you to, "Dominate her as you see fit." Game throws in some intimate domantion overtones here so not sure how far you can take that. Note: Companions have a visible indicator of how much they like you. This has various affects on the game, in general I think having them like you is a good thing.




Ok that covers most of lvl 1-10 on Korriban.  Next installment will be getting your lightsaber the Imperial Fleet and Dromund Kaas.

Archived Skyrim Blog Tips Tricks and Pics

 Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=skyrim-blog-tips-tricks-and-pics.html&Itemid=177

Here is the digest of my Skyrim Blog for the day covering a span of my adventures in Skyrim with some Tips & Tricks as well as pics from the game. Well I did it, I found my love in Skyrim. This hot sexy Argonian stud and we got married and became mates then hopped in the bed and made love. (Too bad Skyrim doesn't show that part) Now he lives with me and runs a shop which you can buy and sell from and he'll cook tastey meals and after you make love you get a special "Lover's Comfort" (afterglow) buff that boosts the rate of all skill learning by 15% for 8hrs.
Another beautiful shot in Skyrim showing off the wonderful fog and cloud laying effects as well as the beautiful trees. Looks kinda familar doesn't it.




This is a giant and several of his Mammoths, this is really important. Giants hit really really hard and can 1 shot you. They literally can hit you for over 200 dmg in 1 swing but they are not aggressive unless provoked. So avoid combat around them unless you're really careful to let them aggro on whatever you're fighting and not on you.



Oh noes! My friend he is about to be attacked and I cannot save him.... yeah well he isn't the one who needs saving. 5-1... not a problem for this guy...



Yep he's a werewolf, guess it's time to feed the beast. (This is your first exposure to the hidden werewolf society in the game.)




DOGFOOD!!! Oh wait that's Shannox's line.. of well it applies here as well. Om nom nom. Yep he turned em all into hamburger. These guys are part of the Silver Hand. Werewolf hunters that carry awesome gear, be sure to have plenty of bag space when facing these guys so you can play Monty Haul.




Yet another reason to do the Companion's questlines early, you can become a Werewolf, get awesome gear and... this quest takes you to a Word Wall and you learn the Dragon Breath shout which does an incredible amount of dmg and leaves targets on fire. It's a frontal cone attack with a 30sec CD and imho one of the better shouts in the game. Perfect for torching groups of foes and taking out really strong but fire weak foes like Ice Trolls and other baddies. Also does decent dmg to dragons surprisingly.




Trolls... why did it have to be Trolls... Sidenote: Trolls are annoying and regen health so do not back down ever. Go full force and burn all your stamina and magic as needed to kill them asap. Cold and especially fire are effective in putting the extra hurt on them.




FATALITY!! Troll has been disemboweled. o/
Oh btw in case you're wondering why he has the blue tinge it's because I have a frost blade equipped so it does frost and stamina dmg which can prevent enemies from using their power attacks on you which is a very good thing.
Regular trolls become much easier as you go up in level this is from the companion questline at the start of the game so depending on when you did the quest you could be facing them at around level 6-7. Once you get up around 14 trolls are much easier.



Stormcloak camp in the wilderness, finding a camp of your associated faction (imperial or stormcloak) is great because it gives you a friendly travel point and depending on the camp a trader or 2 so you can unload w/o having to go all the way back to a city.




Wonderful view from a ruin on the lower slopes of the "Throat of the World" This ruin has a spider boss, some decent loot and an interesting activation pedestal that juts out over the cliff that you need an item for which I haven't discovered yet but it looks out over a huge pass on the central mountain so it probably has some significance later in the game.




Spider Boss in the ruined tunnel. He hits hard up close but you can pepper him with ranged attacks or magic because he has a hard time getting at you if you stay back towards the upper part of the tunnel. I used stealth and a bow to take him down without much trouble.  I saved my game and drilled him to death with my magic bow on the first attempt and tried melee the 2nd time just to see how big he really was and how hard he hits. Yeah he hits hard if you try and melee him.  I saw him at the end of the tunnel blocking the door and so I stealthed and start hitting him with my magic bow I just backed up a bit when he got close and he would back off or deaggro so I could hit him with another sneak attack.

Hawt Argonian that offers to help you "relax" *keeps grinning at you like he thinks you're A) Hawt or B) A tastey piece of meat. Will sell you skooma and other naughty items.
Ok that's enough of a Skyrim report for now. I'm level 21 so far without any power leveling or anything like that and played the game a moderate amount of time. Still keeping up on my WoW raiding and some MW3. Happy Gaming :3

Archived Skyrim Werewolf Transformation Pics and Details + Other Skyrim pic

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=skyrim-werewolf-transformation-pics-and-details-other-skyrim-pics.html&Itemid=177

I would have posted this a little earlier but I've been captivated by Skyrim.  So here are hi res pics from Skyrim of the Werewolf Transformation as well as details along with some other Skyrim pics.


Goodbye armor, hello awesome. Werewolf Transformation in Skyrim upon completing questline.



Almost.. there... time to go all the way...

 

Why hello there sexy, yes I do look hawt if I do say so myself. Werewolf awesomeness is permanent, you can invoke your beast form at will it just has to recharge like any other ability. Abilities include: 100% Disease Immunity, Enhanced health and dmg resistance, All abilities and stats Enhanced in Beast form and scales with level. Beast Form abilities 1) Claw Rake 2) Shed target to fleshy bits... power attack 3) Terrifying Roar of awesomeness to scare foes senseless. Time in beast form can be extended and give you a buff if you nom nom on your foes. Yes you get to eat people n things. There is also a ring that extends time in beast form. Drawbacks: None, almost you don't get the rested skills buff from sleeping in a bed but you're a badass werewolf so who cares right? Turning into a werewolf in front of people has the same affect as if you assulted somone to my understanding. (Haven't tried it yet) Just don't do it if you have a non-werewolf follower or are in and around town or regular npc's. Btw, there is NO DEBUFF if you do not eat somone while transformed and NO auto transformation at night so it's pretty awesome.

And a close up




Werewolf vs Dragon = Dead Dragon and fat Werewolf. I ate'd him om nom nom. *burp*




Skyrim at night in one of the main holds (cities)



The moon rises over the Skyforge. Wanna make the best gear in all of Skyrim? Skyforge is the place. Master Smithing Trainer is there as well. You can get a jump on better weapons by doing the Companions questline which gives you early access to a Skysteel weapon which is great untill you can get ebony and deadric.




It's getting late so that's it for tonight, I saved a bunch of spots in the game so I could go back and take screenshots to share and I'll be posting more later.

Archived Bashiok confirms WoW Patch 4.3 for Nov 29th at the earliest. (Unofficially)

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=bashiok-confirms-wow-patch-43-for-nov-29th-at-the-earliest-unofficially.html&Itemid=177

Bashiok, who is a very well known Blizzard GM and personality unofficially confirmed Patch 4.3 Dragon Soul for Nov 29th at the earliest with his comments regarding the end of Arena Season 10 with the notation regarding patch release here is the direct quote from Bashiok's twitter.

Bashiok Bashiok

Season 10 ending November 29. Interpret that as you will. #indirectpatchreleasedateannouncements

And as everyone knows Blizzard usually coincides the end of Arena Seasons with the release of a new patch either on the end date or immediately thereafter so we can say with reasonable certainty it will be out either Nov 29th or Dec 6th based on Blizzards history.

Sorry I would have posted this sooner but I've been busy playing Skyrim :3

Archived Transcript of WoW Dev Live Q&A Class Balance and Design

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=transcript-of-wow-dev-live-qa-class-balance-and-design.html&Itemid=177

Here is the transcript of today's WoW Dev Live Q&A Class Balance and Design

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3914934/CoverItLive_QA_Class_Design__Balance_Now_Live-11_9_2011

Archived WoW Patch 4.3 Dragon Soul Pre-Patch Downloading Today

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=wow-patch-43-dragon-soul-pre-patch-downloading-today.html&Itemid=177

WoW Patch 4.3 Dragon Soul Pre-Patch is showing up in the auto-downloader today and it just downloaded something between 750MB-1Gig of new content goodness to my HD.

Archived Sony Limits Game Sharing to 2 Devices

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=sony-limits-game-sharing-to-2-devices.html&Itemid=177

Sony is making a change to its usage policies for PlayStation Network on November 18 that will limit PSN content to only two devices. As of that Friday, PS3 and PSP users will only be able to play their games on up to two activated systems, down from five. This policy will only be used for game content (as opposed to game and video content) purchased after November 18. Sony is also planning to provide a new PSN account management website where users will be able to "deactivate particular devices attached to their PlayStation Network account via their PC." So if you have had a dead PS3 or PSP for a while you'll be able to deactivate via the website rather than sending the device back to Sony to do it for you.

Read more: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/718092/sony-cuts-game-sharing-by-limiting-playstation-network-content-to-two-devices/?cmpid=sn-110418-facebook-28-fbfantrack#ixzz1cmWQq7ES

Personal Opinion: I have a PS3 and a PSP, I honestly don't see a real need to have more than 2 devices when you can deactivate an old one via the website in the case of an upgrade or replacement of a broken unit.

Archived WOW Madness of Deathwing Boss Reveal

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post  http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=wow-madness-of-deathwing-final-boss-deathwing-himself-.html&Itemid=177

Bow down before the final Raid Boss and face the Madness of Deathwing!

Archived WoW Day of the Dead Guide

 Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=wow-day-of-the-dead-achievment-get-it-today-do-it-do-it-naw.html&Itemid=177

Today is Day of the Dead in WoW if you want your Holiday achievment you better logon and get it since this is a super short holiday.

http://www.wowheadnews.com/blog=196986/day-of-the-dead-nov-1st-guide

Archived New Digimon MMO Starts Official Service

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=new-digimon-mmo-starts-official-service.html&Itemid=177

Gaogamon I choose you!! 

I had a chance to Beta the new Digimon MMO game since I'm a Curse.com member and they just started their official service on the 25th.  I have to say that I actually enjoyed playing it and it has a decent MMO WoW-type interface.  The art and characters are true to the anime series and it's free to play as well.  They have a "cash" shop that allows you to purchase premium upgrades for your characters but you don't have to spend real money on it.  This online game like others has teamed up with the various reward companies and by trying a piece of software or taking a survey or watching a video you get the game's "premium" currency that you can use to buy such items or you can just buy them for ingame  normal currency from other players who open shops FFXI Style so it's easy to get what you want.





Official Game Site  link is below:

http://www.joymax.com/dmo/

Archived Transcript from the Mists of Pandaria Live Dev Q&A Today

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post  http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=transcript-from-the-mists-of-pandaria-live-dev-qa-today.html&Itemid=177

 

I participated in the Q&A today and here is the transcript, they answered a number of questions and fleshed out some things mentioned at Blizzcon.  More Q&A's are planned in the future to let the playerbase ask questions and give input to the Development Leads.

I would have posted this sooner but I had a raid immediately after the Q&A.

Mists of Pandaria Live Developer Q&A Today

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3825589/Dev_QA_Test-10_27_2011

Host: Community Manager ZarhymPanelist: Lead Content Designer Cory "Mumper" StocktonPanelist: Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street

Archived WoW PTR Tyrael's Charger Reveal

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=wow-ptr-being-updated-with-tyraels-charger-first-look-video.html&Itemid=177

WoW PTR Being updated with Tyrael's Charger. Here is the first look video just posted

Archived Diablo 3 Beta Announcement

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=diablo-3-beta-key-giveaway-official-.html&Itemid=177



Blizzard is giving away Diablo 3 Beta Keys every week untill release this is an official Blizzard event and all you have to do is go to their Diablo Facebook page and like it then fill in your info. P.S. If you already have a Battle.Net account be sure to use the same info so they can sync it up and add the key to your account so you can download the client.  Link to Blizzard's Official Diablo Page is listed below.
http://www.facebook.com/Diablo?sk=app_159171887509265

Archived Blog Post WoW Mists of Pandaria

Original Gaming Furever Blog Post http://www.gamingfurever.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=2011-10-26-16-21-25.html&Itemid=177

A new playable race will be added to the next WoW expansion Mists Of Pandaria: The Pandaren. This will be the first playable race since Cataclysm added Worgens and Goblins. Unlike previous expansions, this one adds only one playable race, the neutral Pandaren, meaning both Horde and Alliance can play as the adorable/deadly bears. This would be the first time a playable race would be accessible to both sides.
A new class has been added for the Pandaren: The Monk. You'll be able to unlock the secrets of martial arts as a damage dealer, healer, or tank.

Read more: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/717670/pandaren-race-announced-for-world-of-warcraft-expansion-mists-of-pandaria/#ixzz1bve944Yc

Welcome to my new Blog The Digital Howl.  I will be covering a variety of topics but mainly focusing on gaming industry news, gameplay videos and How-To's, Technology News, and a few other topics.  I have an active Facebook and Twitter presence and I have recently started a Youtube account to share gameplay videos and commentary.  I will start off by setting up an archive of my old blog posts from http://www.gamingfurever.com where I blog and post reviews for the Furry Gaming Community.  Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the blog.