Friday, December 12, 2008

Life After 101...

So, you're 101 now, congratulations... Then, what comes next? 260M+ Experience points to 102 seems rather a nightmare...

This leaves one wondering, what's a guy to do after 101...

I hate to admit it, but actually there is nothing much you can do after 101... Life after 101 can get pretty boring... Unfortunately, that's one of the downside of the game that hasn't been fixed yet... There is practically a little left to do once you hit 101.

Among the list of things you can do, well, first Hunt and enrich yourself, but what if you don't have a lot of friends that are willing to hunt as well? And its hard to find a decent party with people you barely know. Plus, moon valley and frost city is way too hard to explore... No wonder these dungeons flop...

Another alternative is Arena, to dispel boredom, but these Arenas are practically empty except the peak hours... which is just few hours a day...

Moving on, well, you can create another character, hahaha to enjoy the feeling of starting over again, but this would mean another set of expenses... Not advisable for people who spent much on their 101s...

Hmmm, what else can one do after 101? Oh, be part of the Rank 8 Frenzy... Although, it would be hard to find people for DS hunts, let alone a decent party... Power of friendship? Well, it would be hard if your friends aren't willing...

Well, that's the problem, most of the players quit the game after 101 since there is nothing left to do except TW. The glitter and excitement of the game goes away when you have nothing else to do and a little alternative. People get bored and leave...

Of course, these older population are replaced by new ones, but what if we could've made these guys stay?

They say they are working on it, but how soon can we see the results? When these highbies are already gone or have migrated to rival games?

Perfect World is trying to expand and attract new players, that's good, but what have they done to preserve the old ones? I certainly don't feel any... And from the looks of things a lot of players are turning 100s and 101s nowadays... Would that mean we get to see a lot more player leave in the coming days?

Life after 101 shouldn't be a bore, if somehow, they would act on it...

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Zhu Xian and Perfect World

had a first try earlier with ZX, my first impression "Man it definitely doesn't look like PW at all, but more of TANTRA" LOL
I would still go for PW in terms of Interface, screenshots are not misleading unlike ZX...
PW

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ZX

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Stat builds vs Skill builds > ZX limits your character to 150 skill points and 27 Celestial Karma Points, so this is where diversity comes in 1 class / job = different builds. There are passive skills you can choose from that adds either HP, Critical Rate, or Resistances. And what they call "Heaven Books" are the additional skills where you place your celestial karma points to, these heaven skills only enhances the effect of a pre-existing skill (thus in a way like the esteem books of PW)

Stat builds can easily be manipulated to suit your preference, while skill builds, you need to follow a certain tree since its only limited. (plus Stat point reset in PW is quite easier, compared to skill point reset in ZX wherein each use has a penalty)

There are no heaven or hell fairies, only talismans that changes their appearance depending on the level, job class, blood refine (fusion of 2 talismans), talisman accessories, upgrade. But these talisman has skills and you can learn new ones once they level up and you upgrade them.

Armors
you can only wear class specific armors at ZX, unlike PW where a Yu ling can opt to wear Heavy or Light Armors.
Crafted armors don't have the bonus attributes unlike PW and no crafted by suffix lol
And books are needed for one to learn crafting (there are armor specific books for each class, separated by gender)
Upgrading + affusing an armor gives it a glow depends on the level of refine.

Counterparts
if we have soul stones they have phylacteries (adds def, hp, dodge, hit)
if we have our immo, they have the refining phylactery
however, affusing (fusion of soul stones in PW) fails and if it fails, it removes all the phylacteries fused on the armor / weapon - whereas equipping soul stones in PW doesn't fail.

Here's an analogy of affusion in ZX, PW Version, imagine you have a 4 slotted Lion King Armor, that already has 3 limitless soulstone attached to it, and when u fuse the last limitless, poof it failed! all the other limitless that are already in the armor will be removed as well, LOL)

When refining fails in ZX, the armor / equipment disappears as well... LOL I'd rather stick to PW. Imagine, refining a Zi Ya then fails, poof your Zi Ya is gone as well... hahaha

Skill Names
Sexual Intercourse FTW LOL

Heard there are no "daily's" in ZX oh well... but i have yet to confirm

Quests
What I liked about ZX Quests, repeatable has EXP bonus haha... Although its kinda faster to level up when grinding rather than doing quests, unlike in PW, its a lot faster to level when doing quests than grinding (from 1 - 60)

And all the walking lol, you walk from map to map coz the teleport costs high...

Currency
ZX has the WOW (world of warcraft) currency style (gold, silver, bronze) uhm which is anyway easy to understand, however i'd still prefer the much simpler PW currency style

On vending, well I'd prefer the cat rather than the monkey (although i know suing loves the game because of the monkey vendors LOL, peace Mikee)

Hmmm

Overall, I'd still go for PW, the graphics aren't misleading, what you see is what you get type. Character customization still rocks (i hate it when i see someone who looks exactly like my character), Fashions that doesn't expire...
And the best part, the versatility and diversity in PW where I don't have to conform to any cloned builds... I can be whoever i want my character to be, i can wear anything I like... that uniqueness that makes me really say "this is ME"... this is my world, my game...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Gambling and Perfect World (A perfect Filipino Pastime)

Admit it or not, a lot of us are envious when we see something like this
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or when we hear wei xiao bao broadcasts someone obtained a golden lion or an intrepid badge, blue sea, red eye and limitless soul stones...

Who doesn't want them anyway right?

Next week, the rat box will be removed, only to be replaced by another one, the "Dusk" Box, plus new mounts and fashion on the item mall...

And thus, wei will be talking again non stop...

Sadly though, a lot of us don't realize that the chances are really "slim" to get one. Why wei broadcasts non-stop is because a lot of people are opening or to put it "gambling" on these boxes in hope to get the stuff they want. Lets say a 0.01% Chance and 1000 people opens the box at the same time, there would be at least 10 people that will have that certain item with 0.01% chance.

And in turn, Wei broadcasts it simultaneously, making an impression to a lot of people that "wow, it might be easy to get one" since there are successive broadcasts.

Again, another good built in marketing strategy within the game, thanks to wei's loud mouth hahaha.

Now, knowing these things, we would still ask, why do a lot of people still buys the rat box? The answer, Gambling has been part of the filipino culture since ancient times, and it comes in a lot of form; from cockfights, casinos, lotteries (sweepstakes, Lotto), even child games like teks, tatsing, and now it has crept its way into online gaming...

As long as there's a chance, we never stop, even at a high cost. Same goes with the rat box and possibly all the other lottery boxes they would release in the future...

We dread the fact that some players only bought 2 pcs and already has a lion/vulpine, while some of us spend a whooping 5k PhP and still got none. Although, that still doesn't keep us from buying and opening some more. The last one box goes until the next one, and the next last one, and before we knew it, we have opened tons again...

It's an addiction in its simplest form... We savor the feeling of excitement, anger, suspense and joy all wrapped up in those boxes... We put all our faith in Luck, rejoice when we get one, and tries again if we fail. The euphoria of finally having what we wanted is indescribable, yet after that we still crave for more...

Truly amazing... So, how about another box?

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Territorial Wars Map Wipe out, Implications and Aftermath

Everybody was dismayed after Level UP Live, the reason? Clans will not have access to their former territories as LU decided to implement a complete reset of the ownership of the maps along with the latest Patch - Moon Valley.

Mixed reactions were voiced at the forums, some disgruntled over the lack of high level MP and HP pots as well as the high cost of Heirograms and Amulets, while some minor clans expressed happiness over the fact that they will have a chance to claim a land for themselves.

A month has passed and finally after several set backs, it was done.
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The map was clean again. Which kinda reminds me of the very first TW. However, this time, everything would be all too easy.
Bidding was quite an amusing event as clans battle each other for the right to claim ownership. Some even have to place 200M bids just to secure their posts.
And after the weekend, the map turned into something like United colors of Benetton haha....
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Honestly, I wish the system would let the clan leaders pick the color they want, haha...

Anyway, going back, the wipe out may have helped smaller clans to revitalize themselves, but as soon as the Major clans start their rampage (in response to the War of the Jade Throne event), we'll be back to the same situation before the wipe out.
Now what would this thing result to? Well, people will start moving again from those smaller clans back to the clans that still has territories, which in turn might cause these small clans to disband and just be absorbed by the major players.
As Sandro said at the discussion on PW forums, they could tip the scale of the battle between major clans, but not as a player on the map, but as pawns to the bigger clans.

And so, the goal of the map wipe out, will miserably fail. Well, it may enjoy success at the first part, but sooner or later, it will create that frustrated feeling creeping over these minor clans. They had their first taste of land, only to be snatched away from them the week after.

Which makes me think, is it really worth the hassle? Only time can tell...

Friday, November 14, 2008

New Mounts, New Box, Additional Expenses...

Rat box will be gone by November 24th, bad news? Maybe for some who desperately wants a Golden Lion. But don't fret, because another one is coming out, this time with the basilisk (snake mount), plus 2 new mounts and fashion items on the item mall...

Here's the snake:

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and Midnight, one of the new Mounts
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Nice marketing strategy I would say, surely, a lot of people would be cramming up to load since it's only a few days away before the Rat box containing the golden lion would be removed, and they'd be timing it for the close beta of a rival company's game... (Zhu Xian Online).

And the loading frenzy won't stop there, since after the 24th, new mounts are readily available on the item mall. Here goes the "d bale ng mahal bsta mauna" mentality of most players come into play... End Point = LU's Profit...

Also, on the 24th, there would be a "special announcement", wonder what it will be? A modified Exp-Item-Soul? New items? Availability of Golden Lion on the item mall? New promos and schemes?
Well, your guess is as good as mine...

DH Stones, the new SS / PG???



Blame Avon hahaha... But seems to me, people are cashing in nowadays on crafting Du Heng stones for AFK leveling, replacing the old Tugudug style (SS/PG).

Well, the price of gold is really high and PG (precision gold) crafting is not profitable anymore.

Avon was the one who originally introduced the selling of these stones to the lazy people of dragon (myself included), but there's more than what meets the eye. Recent observations revealed you can get as much as 600k worth of EXP daily from crafting level 4 jade stones alone, great for someone too busy to grind his or her character.

Well, its kinda low comparing to PG where you can get millions of EXP per day, but its preferred since aside from you just have to go back after several hours to check, you can resell the stones as well, earning a little profit in the process.

Here's a rough breakdown:
Whole day jade crafting cost = around 48M
Number of Pcs Produced = 700 per kind, total of 3500 level 4 jades
Exp for 3500pcs level 4 Jade = 567,000
Profit Gained
sell it for 15k a piece = 52.5M -48M = 4.5m
sell if for 14.5k a piece = 50.7M - 48M = 2.7M

Now, why would some people sell it for 15k while others 14.5k a piece? Well, the answer lies on how much they would be able to get yuan back to craft again.
If you will be selling it for 15k chances are, it will take you 2-3 days to dispose them all. Whereas, selling it for 14.5k lets you dispose all of them in 1 day. Which would you think is better?
Also, with a lot of people selling stones now, you also have to be competitive, or else, you'll end up waiting for the stones to be sold so you can craft another set.

It's a lot of work, but at the same time, you earn while your character gains EXP... Hmmm... not bad don't you guys think?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Another Trip to Memory Lane

While waiting for the results of the bidding, here's another batch of pictures from my treasure chest haha

Hades Residence

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Hades Rat (Boss Raid)
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Hall of Frost (HoF)
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20+ People Getting Wiped Out by our Favorite Boss Elite Purple Dragon (Back then)
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Helping fellow Members with Boss Quests
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Lotus' First TW Minutes before the Start.
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Inside Battleground
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Remembering that Fateful Day... So we may never forget...
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It's really fun to see old pictures, makes me realize a year has already passed and now gearing towards another. Times have change, so do players... Some moved out, some stayed, while others gave up playing for various reasons... Change is really inevitable..

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Territorial Map Wipeout Maintenance

Heroes of the Perfect World!

We would just like to remind everyone that our servers will be unavailable tomorrow from 9am to 2pm, November 12, 2008.

This is for the Territorial War Map Wipeout - Declaration of War

Also, tomorrow will be the beginning of our War of the Jade Throne and be part of Perfect World History!

Discuss it here

Source

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A Quick Glimpse of the Past...

It's really amazing how time flies... A year ago I was a lowly Yu Ling trying to figure out my way through the bushes of perfect world... Now, though I'm still trying to cope with constant changes, I can say I'm seasoned already. Weathered and toughened by experience, I had a good share of laughter, tears, frustration, anxiety, sorrow, anger, defeat, triumph, and love that I never thought would happen in this Virtual World. Although it's kinda late for a blog like this, well, its better late than never...

Let me take you back what its like when everyone was barely starting....
when i was a cub...
tugudug o! XD
the cubs... way back Open Beta, life seems pretty easy nowadays, we have a lot of high levels to tank, but back then, we're pretty much on our own... And did I mention, No wine... haha Disaster Valley was a 4 Hour ride when you're all 59... and Yao Jings were indispensable that time... My first time with Treasure Grotto, a record breaking 6 hours hahaha... Miss those days...

first pk @ dragon server lotus vs zodiac
The First PK War at Dragon Server, Zodiac vs Lotus...

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And oh, this is me... The oldest screenshot of myself that I can find... Lost the older ones since I had to reformat my PC...

As the game progressed, Territorial Wars was introduced to the game. My first time? 'twas with monsters, on Ice Bound land...
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First Lotus TW Video Courtesy of ate Aims (rosenbaum)


And it all began...

The first "major" war as they called it, was between Trinity and Lotus, for Greatwall, where Trinity came out as the victor, this defeat crept into the walls of Lotus, creating cracks that would eventually split the clan apart...

Meanwhile down south, Holy Order also lost to Zodiac on their first encounter.

For months Clans waged war, conquering and getting conquered, ultimately, to qualify for the first Battle for the Jade Nightingale, four clans rose up and made their mark - Holy Order led by Khanum, Trinity under Repsaccer, Zodiac by Junkie and The Lotus Clan, then handled by Egwene...

Slots were drawn and the very first Server match was between Lotus and Holy Order, where the latter emerged as the victor. Zodiac also succumb to Trinity's prowess during the second match...
Although they have good strategies and able players, Trinity were no match for Holy Order at the finals, probably due to level gap as well as better equipments.

And the rest is History as they say, Holy Order pulled a comeback to win the Crown during the inter server championship... and afterwards, conquered the lands of Zodiac and Trinity, forcing the two clans to merge under one banner - Celestial. Hence the epic tale of the Empress versus the two Kings came into life...

One's rise to power is not without the expense of another... Celestial chose the weakened Lotus (then Holy Order's trusted ally) as its prey...

And so it goes... I'll probably write all the details I can remember on a separate post...

On a lighter note, amidst all the hiatus, I was kinda happy getting my fairy... or burger as they call it. Without a doubt, I had my mind set on Hell from the very beginning (the reason why will be posted on a separate article).
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Turning 89 after the envoy...

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Swan Mountain

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Lunar Crystal... Hmmm, tanked by the gayest Yao Shou ever to hit PW (hehehe peace Louie)

And of course the Dungeon Part
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Suing's uncle (the monkey king)

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Fire Cloud Fox

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Brahma

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Dig

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Final Step

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The first time I stepped inside Helldom...

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New Esteem Deserves a New Look, don't you think... hehe

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And so, as the story goes On, the long awaited dusk patch arrived (finally after waiting for months)
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And then Frost City, and then now, Moon Valley...

Which transports me now back to the present...

Well, that was a long one, but kinda nostalgic...

"A picture oftentimes become so much more that it brings to life what it has captured, it tells our story, it makes us experience what it is to be right there, and makes us remember that part of our life... In them we see ourselves once more..."