* stumbles in, mumbles something to the Newbie Blogger Initiative newbies about never worrying about taking a break, just hop back in and keep going and everything will be fine *
Did you miss me? I’ve been working my butt off doing SCIENCE and traveling across multiple time zones to tell people about it. I’m exhausted but happy, and I’m finally home and playing games again. Since it is the end of the month I thought I’d just take a quick stock of what I’ve been playing and what my plans are for July.
Chroma Squad
This was the Aggrochat game of the month, and I had to rush to play as much as I could after getting back from my trip. It is a funny little tactical RPG with some tycoon elements, all about being the Power Rangers cast of a super sentai show. I never liked the Power Rangers much as a kid, but this game is funny and endearing. I only got through one “season” before we recorded the podcast, so I’m hoping to finish the game in July without the time crunch. I don’t think I will love it as much as some of the other Aggrochat folks, but I’m definitely enjoying it.
Diablo 3
The season is winding down and so is my enthusiasm. I had been toying with the idea of fully completing the season journey this time around but I’ve lost all my motivation at this point. I’ll be content with my stash tab this time around, and look forward to season 7 instead. I’m really hoping that with Overwatch out and Legion almost ready, that Bliz will start making some more noise about this franchise this fall.
Stellaris
I was spending hours engrossed in this game right before my trip. I have yet to hop back in at all since I got home. I know they just released a pretty nice patch, but I will want to make a new game to see everything and starting from scratch is not appealing right now. Except for the part where I would really like to try a multiplayer game, and if I can make that happen this game will probably move up my priority list.
Destiny
Through encouragement, curiosity, and outright bribery from Belghast, I’ve gotten sucked into playing Destiny lately. It has been many many years since I’ve played much in the way of first person shooters, and I was pretty awful at it for a few days. Lately I’m feeling more comfortable with a controller in my hand though, and have been greatly enjoying the game. I’m not thrilled about doing pvp or dungeons strikes much, mostly because I know I’m still pretty terrible and don’t want to have people rage at me. Every day I’m getting a little better and a little braver though. It helps that I have voice chat turned off so I don’t have to hear if people are yelling at me.
FFXIV
Speaking of people raging. My last post had lots of super positive things to say about FFXIV. Almost immediately after that I healed a random dungeon with some tank who heaped abuse on me, and any enthusiasm I had for the game went straight out the window. It is funny how fast one bad experience can sour an entire game. I’m sure there’s folks out there who will say I should not let it get to me, grow a thicker skin or stay out of MMOs but frankly, F*** that. I used to be the kind of person who would just let trolling or abuse roll off me or even turn around and criticize back but at this stage in my life I’d really like to enjoy my hobby without having to tolerate or participate in the toxicity that sometimes comes with it. I think it makes me extra angry because FFXIV is a game that is notable for having a far better community than almost any other MMO I’ve played. I’ve still had some fun doing old content for mounts with friends or seeing some of the new story and dungeons, again with friends. I haven’t seen any more abusive people and things have been mostly enjoyable. My sub expires in just a few days though, and I don’t think I can justify renewing for maybe one night a week of fun.
WoW
WoW is in a weird place for me right now. I am subbed basically because I can do so without paying any real money, and use the time to prepare for Legion when I might actually want to play the game. I’ve been logging in almost exclusively to do my wizard chores on 9-15 alts (depending on how much I care about my secondary servers on any given day) and collect free gold, with a tiny bit of old raid farming for transmog/mounts on the side. WoW isn’t a game to me right now, it is a holding pattern, it is a chore. I am simultaneously trying to squeeze every ounce out of the free gold machine while gleefully anticipating the day when I never have to look at my garrison again. It is a matter of giving up any enjoyment I might get out of the game now, in favor of putting myself in a better position to enjoy the game when the expansion comes. To those who say I am playing the game wrong, and should be enjoying myself right now I say: No. This system is available and I will participate in it so that I can get rewards I’m looking forward to down the road. It is no different in any way from the grueling torture of the Insane achievement, months of agonizing repetitive tasks, more “fun” activities given up in favor of a longer term goal. This is a method of play long supported by Bliz, the systems have changed but the underlying carrots and horrible horrible sticks are still there.
July
I don’t have a list of small, specific goals for July like many other bloggers do. I want to get better at Destiny, finish Chroma Squad, see more of the Arcterra content in Wildstar, and make as much gold in WoW as possible before they nerf garrisons. These seem reasonable, and vague enough that I will probably meet them and get to feel good about myself for it!
