Star Wars: The Old Republic: Plague breaks out on Alderaan

Rakghoul Plague has infested the peaceful planet of Alderaan and I’ve participated in the event for the first time when the event went live yesterday.  The last time the Rakghoul event was in game I was playing something else and didn’t participate.  However, I jumped in with both feet on two Republic characters yesterday.

My consular, Laughlynn, took the opportunity to further explore Alderaan and pick up some bonus series quests.  I particularly love the taxis on Alderaan that are non-mechanical.  There is just something so peaceful and majestic about taking a taxi on Alderaan.  I’m a little biased admittedly since Alderaan is my favorite planet to date.

First off, the Rakghoul tunnels on Alderaan are beautiful.  I spent a lot of time just enjoying the beauty of the environment yesterday while exterminating the affected victims.  There is a definite challenge to the event when you aren’t at maximum level and at the low end of the level range for the planet.  However, I love the challenge and had fun yesterday. 

Laughlynn did great even against the level 55 creatures when others were around.  They were hard to touch at level 39 but so long as she wasn’t fighting alone they were fun and a challenge.  Now those elite level 55 creatures and bosses were impossible to touch, every once in a while I’d manage to get a hit one of the but it was rare.  Still it was a blast!

Abi’gail had a much more difficult time at level 28.  The tunnels and the infected were definitely a challenge for Abi’gail.  More often than not her light sabers were nothing more than flashing purple sticks of ineptitude as they failed to land a hit.  Against the level 25 Rakghouls she was successful but those level 34 plus creatures were an exercise in misses.  But you know what?  I didn’t care, the tunnels were beautiful and I still managed to complete event quests and gain reputation while having fun.

This morning I logged on to my level 15 bounty hunter, Steph’ana, who has been stranded on the Imperial Fleet for a year now.  However, she is getting play time these days and she contracted the plague while on fleet.  Steph’ana is now on Balmorra and setting out on the great Hunt.  I got this great picture of the effects of the plague before she purchased a vaccine from the medical droid in Sobrick.

Technorati Tags: Star Wars: The Old Republic,SWTOR,cash shop,Free to play,F2P,Rakghoul Plague,Alderaan,Balmorra,Bioware,EA

Lifestyle: Game Behavior & Work?

At some point we’ve all thrown our hands up and stormed away from the computer in complete and utter frustration because of something another player did that we took personally.  Question is, how do you handle the behavior of others and your own behavior in game?

My darling husband and I are polar opposites about game etiquette.  He tends to take the behavior of other players extremely personally.  I tend to let things roll off my back.  I’ve tried to come up with an explanation for why this might be and I think it boils down to the simple fact he has far more life stress than I do and thus the little things crawl under his skin and irritate him much faster.

Don’t get me wrong, there are certain behaviors I find deplorable in video games, but when that happens I usually can resolve that issue by simply turning off the offending chat channel and going back to doing my own thing.  Hubby doesn’t seem to be able to find an in-game solution and usually logs off in a grumpy mood.  When this happens, I know he won’t be playing said game for a couple of weeks.

Do you consider your gaming time working or play time?  Question, no grumbling, comes up here quite often to be honest.  I think it comes from an ability to let reality slide into the background for a while, versus taking everything as a life and death situation.  Once again, we are on opposite sides of the coin on this question.  I let reality slide, take things at my own pace, and don’t sweat the small stuff.  He, on the other hand, becomes so focused on the end goal that he forgets to stop, slow down, and remember it’s just a game. 

The small stuff drives him absolutely batty, truth be told.   Take the small stuff, combine with behavior he deplores, and you have an epic meltdown worthy of a preschooler who lost his ball.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand why he gets so annoyed but he works himself up so much that is scary and funny at the same time.  When it happens to me, I log off, do something else, and go back on a different day knowing the situation will have resolved itself.  He seems incapable, it’s all or nothing.  I’m worried about him.  Gaming is supposed to be relaxing, it’s not supposed to be stressful and a second job.  When games become more stressful than relaxing, it’s time to take a break and find something else to do for a bit. 

So honey, when you read this tomorrow don’t worry playing what I’m playing; play what let’s you relax.  I’d much rather you were relaxed and healthy than miserable and working at a hobby. 

Technorati Tags: lifestyle,gaming,video games,marriage,small stuff,stress,etiquette