Is the Blog Dead?

I think a lot of folks have been wondering whether I've finally given up on my blog.

Well... no. Not really.

The problem has been that I've had to focus more of my energy on finding a new job. Which also means that I've spend much less time playing.

In fact, I haven't even had any entries related to the release of Module 8, even though I've actually managed to find the time to log in with my new character slot and kick the tires on Turbine's "New Player Experience," also known as the NPE.

Although I like what Turbine has done with the NPE, and the way in which it works, I feel a certain sense of loss when it comes to what they've done to "remodel" the Harbor.

Sure, the Harbor looks more lively now than it once did. Especially with all the new boats docked at the various piers. But, they closed the old Aspirants Corner, and all of the streets down to the original Wavecrest Tavern. In addition, several of the quests have been removed from the game. Notably one of my favorites, Sewer Rescue. And I can't imagine why.

Granted, Kobolds really aren't as much a factor in the Eberron realm as maybe they appeared to be within DDO. But, given the production schedule Turbine must have had to launch the game, I can understand why Kobolds were used so prolifically while the developers tried to figure out how to implement Sahuagin. Especially since they play such an important role in the story of Eberron, for those adventurers crossing the Thunder Sea from Sharn to Stormreach. Anyone who's vessel has to traverse the region known as Shargon's Teeth had better have a Sahuagin escort. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't reach their destination.

Still, Kobolds became a part of the fabric of Stormreach because of the work Turbine did. And, it seems rather callous to simply remove the majority of quests that once included them. I think I'd've preferred the addition of quests that include the Sahuagin, rather than replacing existing ones. After all, Kobolds in other realms are often likened to sewer rats in the larger cities, precisely because of the way they can proliferate in the buried infrastructures.

Of course, Hirelings haven't been implemented yet. Turbine is hosting its Hireling preview event tomorrow. They had decided not to release Hirelings at the same time, as they didn't want to try to figure out whether the game was crashing due to the Hirelings, or because of some other technology they had implemented with Module 8. It think it was a sound development decision, as the game was actually pretty stable following the release.

Sure, there were a few teething problems, but Turbine has managed to work most of those out by now. Which is why I think the game will be going down today for an update which will make Hirelings possible for the event tomorrow.

Now, if you haven't been in-game for a while, don't think that Module 8 was only about the New Player Experience. The folks at Turbine also added four new adventure areas, each supposedly with a new quest in it, tied to the previous content for the Gianthold and the story of the Reaver's Fate. I've visited the area only briefly with Trinarius on the first evening following the release of the new module. I took Trin out to one of the new frozen adventure-scapes with Demab (Bashal). It didn't take long for the two of us to find ourselves in the middle of a party wipe.

I think it had something to do with the fact that we'd encountered a party of Ice Giants and, in the process of trying to explore the areas beyond their camp, Trin had placed a few Maximized Walls of Fire. Understandably, the Giants weren't happy about the excessive heat and banded together to remove the Dwarf and his companion from their frozen tundra. It was a spectacular battle, though. Demab even managed to survive the initial encounter, being only incapacitated by the Giants, but the second encounter with them was far more decisive in it's outcome.

So, we returned to the cavern in which the quest had begun, and decided to save any further adventures for another time.

Since that time, I had tried to host another Titan raid for the allied guilds, but turnout was mediocre at best, and we decided to go run the Vale of Twilight instead; PEBKAC is currently working on preparing himself for The Shroud, along with Belzur, PuddinTan and Bashal. We're trying to include as many others as we can, but filling a group for Vale quests is rather difficult at the moment, when most folks are out playing on Korthos island, or out exploring the new high-level adventure areas.

I'm not sure whether four explorers are sufficient to tackle the challenges of quest such as Rainbow in the Dark and the Coalescence Chamber. I suppose we'll just have to find out.

Oh, and as far as the blog being dead... why have I finally posted a new entry?

Well, I finally had my first interview in seven weeks of searching, and things are looking up. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

In the mean time...

Keep it fun!