The White Rider (Part 3)

Highlights: Resolina completes Tarlang's Crown, Gondor Roving Threats, and factions

November 23rd - 28th

Spreadsheet Friday: Tarlang's Crown. It is no secret that Western Gondor has an entire section dedicated to group content. There are 4 "Bank" Dol Amroth dailies, 5 repeatable dailies, one vector quest (not required), and I think 14 total chain quests in the area. I like to imagine Elaelin rolling around on the couch complaining about eating too much while reaching for the remote control, so we had a few other members of the kin pop-in for the group run. Centralac, Rainbow, Dreadrick, Erestandir, and Findro were intertwined in tonight's activities. Things got a little tight around a level 107 burglar roaming in the enemy camp. I don't think the enemy will be attacking a level 110 or higher. Of course we couldn't possibly finish the 25 Quests Deed in one night. We kept coming back until we could finish the deed and the "finale" quest. That quest gives you 3 Unique Head Cosmetics with the catch of attaching your current level to them.

But wait, there's more! Gondor Roving Threats & Warbands. Yep, we went around killing all the big baddies. Western Gondor warbands are all soloable but Central Gondor has the added "you must kill the entire squad of enemies" condition. There might only be 3 Eastern Gondor warbands but Thangol-ya, the Mûmak is definitely a challenge. I'm just happy I dedicated 16 trait points into the blue line for Cry of Vengeance so I can resurrect instantly. Though Luruyak may seem like an easy Roving Threat, he can pull out the ugliest abilities (not as ugly as the Mirkwood Troll). I was feeling rather silly and made quite a bit jokes: I got 69 Marks dude! (Bill and Ted), waiting to fight Gundlag from on top the scattered rocks (Tremors), Luruyak (Don't talk back). There was one Roving Threat in Eastern Gondor that eluded us that night and Finde was determined in finding and killing it the next day before leaving on an important errand.

Central Gondor Epilogue: Gaining reputation for the three factions in Central Gondor isn't so bad when you are killing everything in sight. Surprisingly once you obtain Kindred, you actually get some reputation with Pelargir. Then you unlock an epilogue quest that gives you a satisfying ending to the questlines. When you do all three epilogues, you get a Level 100 First Age Item (not bound). And yes you get the pets too, pending the required tokens. Tome of the Auroch's Calf is really the only one worth getting.

Eastern Gondor: There is a tiny section of Upper Lebannin and Lossarnach in Eastern Gondor that matches the feel of Central Gondor. Here are some highlights:

Tumladen is a dreadful place to run around in. The lady there is very crude in finding out more about who you are and what is going on.
The Lone Lady comes out in force. Don't mess with her.
The entire 5 Sisters storyline comes to an end.
Quest chains give you an Imbued Legacy Replacement Scroll.
Dagor is an idiot, that is all.
The running around in Imloth Melui is actually worth it. Lots of flowers.
Vanyalos is a mad, crazy lady.
Harlond has some of the best combat music.

I was about to head into South Ithilien when a Ranger pointed out that I might want to change out of my white outfit. So now I'll be riding around in a green one more in the style of a ranger.

Other: I had 1200 Stars of Merit I never exchanged. The 4 Anfalas Star-lit Crystals helped prepare my Legendary Item for imbuement. That in turn allowed me to use 400 ixp runes rotting in the bank. 100 Gift-giver's Brands allowed me to get 2 more Tapestries for my house (3 to go). I exchanged 500 Host of the West Crafting marks. I obtained and used 2 Sturdy Steel keys (nothing special in boxes). Now this is very important for somehow I managed to get a hold of a 6-hour Continual Experience (10% Bonus). It doesn't feel as important as the normal 100% but it is still neat.

Floor is Lava Podcast: I don't know what everyone is up to in Mordor but there was a blurp in the recent podcast about the kinship. Check it out here at the 29 minute marker.

Moria Monday: Forges, 16th Hall, Dâr Narbugud, Forgotten Treasury. I managed to complete the last 2 Trolls for Forges and get the last item for 16th Hall. I completed the two slayer deeds for the raid. Hatric joined up for Forgotten Treasury for the slayer deed. For some reason I was feeling rather puny at that time and decided to bail out. I think the group might have went into Grand Stair to end the night.

Computer Woes: So I've been messing around with the settings of Lord of the Rings Online for a week or two. I still seem to crash at random intervals with all sorts of return codes. I've tried changing compatibility, upgrading DirectX & C++, setting a maximum of 60 frames per second, and playing in windowed mode. There doesn't seem to be any specific thing that I can tell causing all the trouble. I don't even have data to conclude if lowering the graphics and playing only in DirectX9 would work. My new solid state hard drive just came in today so I might spend some time setting it up this weekend. Maybe that will help. The weirdest glitch so far is when the water texture failed to load and only the lighting shined through.

That is what I call holy water.

2017-11-28