Nothing New For This Week~

I've spent a week not playing Allods since the chances are that this is the last CB and it will be wiped. Then there's probably another week or two before OB starts. In the meantime, I was playing Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (for DS), while watching some anime. It's a pretty fun game; kind of Bejeweled + RPG-ish elements.

The only other thing to do is maybe try Aika Online, which is launching its first CB the same day that this CB for Allods ends. Though I'm pretty pessimistic about it, it's something to do. (Of course, I might just watch some more anime.) Here some info about it.

The game just screams pedophile. At Level 10, you get a little girl as a pet. The girl is your "daughter" and you have to be "intimate" with her in order [for her] to be obedient.

The pet pretty much screams jailbait, with equally misleading phrases in the voice acting.

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Well, I've decided to add more to this post instead of writing a new one dedicated purely to the new Ipad. If you don't know about it: it is the new "revolutionary" piece of hardware. (btw, it's not.)

This was first brought to my attention by Mahouto spewing how amazing it is, so I did some research and found that it was such a piece of junk that I now have to blog about it.

tl; dr : It is literally a bigger Itouch, which makes it less portable and pretty much useless. Compared to the Netbook fad, this Ipad is utterly useless.

So, Problem One:
Starting with the biggest one - multitasking. With any Netbook, you can multitask. The OS lets you browse the Web, watch a movie, listen to music, and all at the same time. It's kind of like a normal computer. Ipad, on the other hand, does not. Without this key feature of a normal computer, it already severely lacks in functionality.

Problem Two:
The cost vs hard drive space. Ipad uses solid state drive (as with USB keys, mini/microSD cards), which limits the hard drive capacity...whereas Netbooks use normal hard drives (the kind with the spinning disk) (Aaro Note~ : This is also know as HDD.), which can store much, much more information at a lower cost. Not only that, but the IPad does not come with any SD card expansion. This means that you would not be able to increase the hard drive space other than buying the "better" models - btw, between the 16GB and 32GB drives, the difference is a cool $100. The cost of 16GB of solid state does not cost that much; at most, it's $50 for high class (quality/speed) type.

Problem Three:
The 3G. It is stated that you can buy a better model with 3G capabilities so that you can always be connected to the Internet, wherever you go. The problem is that you're paying an extra $130 for the 3G capabilities. The $ amounts keep racking up; at what point is it not worth it? Nowadays (at least, in Toronto) you can easily make Netbooks able to use the 3G networks for Internet. It would cost nowhere close to the $130 price tag Apple is toting. Actually, it's pretty much free; with a 2-year contract, it's free and even at a 1-year contract, you're paying $50 for Rogers (Canadian 3G carrier).

Problem Four:
Apple Apps. Well, this is more a personal problem for me (and other freeware users). You're stuck using Apple applications (i.e. pay for them). Not only that but they also force you to use their file formats and you wouldn't be able to use your own programs on it that they might not have. Not to mention that if you watch anime (or download any videos from the Internet), the file formats are all different. To find converters for all of them, and then convert them, and then upload... Well, you might as well just have watched it all by then. This would completely waste that nice screen, since getting stuff to watch on it would be a huge hassle.

Problem Five:
Adobe Flash. Due to problems between Apple and Adobe, there is no Flash on Ipad. (Since Safari does not have it initially.) This means that there will be no Youtube or any other xyz Flash program/web page you may use.


I mean, pretty much the only thing going for it is the large touch screen and the 10-hour battery. With the weight and size of the Ipad, you might as well carry around a Netbook. They are superior in pretty much every way (like price and functionality). Let us see now what Apple REALLY does best: marketing. How will they now turn something utterly useless into the next Must Have? Bleh. Am I the only one that hates Apple products more than Microsoft ones?

O ya. Rho told me to add this. Cheers! (Something much older that happened to have the same name. XD)

~Pearz

Advanced Wars?!?!

Realizing just how useless a general Lndi was, Pearz decided to just lock him away and try to trade him off for some money. After all, useless general or not, people still wanted some organs.

Realizing the peril he faced, Lndi quickly seduced the guard by pretending to be a female. Convincing the guard to give him a harmless spoon, he slowly tunneled his way out of prison.

Finally free, he decided to take revenge on Pearz for the imprisonment. This time, to avoid getting murdered by the bombers, he found a field perfect to fight in. It was an area devoid of any aerial combat.

Pearz was quick to take up the terrain, moving to control the sea separating them. Lndi was well prepared, stopping not one but two minor pushes set forth by Pearz. Realizing that small scale skirmishes were not the key to winning the fight, the battle stood to a standstill.

With a couple days to prepare, Pearz was ready to siege Lndi once again. A full scale bombardment from the battleships obliterated Lndi's army. Cornered by a massive fleet of battleships, Lndi scrambled to position rockets but it was too late. The battleships flattened the land that Lndi's army stood upon. Quickly realizing his loss, he was quick to run away to try again another day.

It was another glorious victory for Pearz.

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btw, no more fanfiction about Advanced Wars (probably). lulz I had too many in between to post about them. Suffice to say, I have yet to lose. I'm changing the rules to: beat me once to get 7mil. There is no more best two out of three. That should make it easier for people. D:

On an absolute side note:



We show up on Google search. Weeee~~~

~Pearz

Initial Allods Review

So, it's been a couple of days since I started playing Allods. Currently, I am a lv17 Elf Mage. Time for a review!


Pros:
CUSTOMIZATION!11!!1!!
There is extreme uniqueness in the builds. A combination of extremely particular stat balancing, combined with a talent tree and a ruby tree, leaves room for tons of different builds, even amongst the same classes. This is something that I value greatly in games, so it's a huge plus for me.

Death.
There's no EXP loss on death. You get sent to Purgatory, where you wait a bit. The time you wait is dependent on how long ago your last death was. So, if you don't die often, it is only around a 30sec wait. Much better than losing EXP.


Cons:
The Grind.
Relatively, the grind is slow. The game has a "fatigue" system. The simple way to put it is: every day, you get a certain amount of fatigue. While you still have fatigue, you get double exp. When it runs out, you're stuck levelling slower. It gives you a soft cap of when to stop grinding each day, and so makes levelling considerably slower than average.

The Mobs.
The game revolves around less mobs, but more EXP per mob. This makes it difficult when there are a lot of players in the area, as there are not enough mobs to go around. It seems to occur much in lower-level areas, and doesn't seem to be a problem at my level now.


Unknown:
PVP.
Open PK (a.k.a. between two factions) supposedly occurs level 20+. Obviously, I am not lv20+ yet, so I don't know. From the random duels I have, it does require skill to go well. It's not just purely build + items = who wins. Skill matters.

Ships.
Apparently, there are ship vs ship fights. You buy your ship and then you can fight with it. It costs obscene amounts of money to get, and I don't have anywhere close to enough. It sounds promising.


Overall:
The pros and cons, number-wise, seem about even, but that just doesn't do this game justice. The game relies much more heavily on your skill. Quick decision in the fights is what makes or breaks your fights, which is something I value highly in games. Combine this with the high customization and it looks like my cup of tea.

~Pearz

The Slaughtering of Lndi

Even as the sounds of the horns blared, the battle had begun.

Lndi was unprepared for the opponent he had encountered. Unsuspecting, he sent units to capture the area; little did he know a battalion lay in wait for his weak infantry. Quick to bring in reinforcements to stave off what was slaughtering his infantry, he pushed back the other general's forces back to the choke point - or so he thought.

As quickly as the units had backed away, the real fight arrived. The units merely were an advanced reconnaissance unit, withdrawing back to give way to the main force.

With one swift strike, Lndi's lines crumbled. Units in disarray were running wild. All units, in full retreat, dashed back to headquarters. With Pearz' army right outside Lndi's doorstep, there came a fatal error. Pearz, with an overwhelming large force, attacked amidst the rain. Buzzing with sheer overconfidence, she attacked even without view of the units.

However, attacking blindly, the units were not found, leading to a devastating counter blow. The strike force was left in ruins, retreating with very few remaining.

In the outskirts of town, Pearz set up camp. It was the calm between the battle. For days, the battle stopped; both sides needed time to reinforce. With most of the map already controlled by Pearz' army, Lndi was holed up in his base, sucking his thumb, cowering in the corner, awaiting the impending doom.

Then the day of reckoning came. The sky was blackened. As the bombs showered from the sky like rain, all that was left was a land laid to ruin. With a sole helicopter, Lndi tried in vain. As missiles shot from the ground, so were shot the last remains of Lndi's army.

Nothing was left but a field of corpses. The battle was over. Like an ant being killed by a magnifying glass, there was never a battle at all...just a useless struggle.

~Pearz

Why Do I Still Blog About MT? +Saga

Soez~ Recently, there has been PVP dramaz in the PVP Alliance thread. It's pretty funny stuff, but does, in the Pearz Book of Drama, it really live up to its predecessors?

Here is a small trip down Memory Lane of the old skool MT dramaz: Mini Succubus Wings, Cursebringer, Crystal Sword, Suzaku Earrings, Attacker Cards, Roping Scarf, and PVP - Arkham Creed. (The thread was deleted from Rants and Raves, if you forgot.)

Some small time dramaz: ULTIMATE GUNNER GUIDE from Kaito, and Sally - Origin drama.

So, does some small drama over incense between Cata and Kenj really constitute as proez dramaz now? How far has MT Dramaz fallen? T_T The forums, from what I've noticed, have slowed down significantly. ...a lot less posts, maybe due to a lot less players? Or maybe players have become less vocal lately? Either way, it seems less fun without the more proez dramaz. D:

On a side note: I finally beat Sands of Destruction (for DS; it's something that I only ever mentioned in my own chatbox). It was a pretty fun game; worth playing, at least. Too bad it didn't live up to the hype of how amazing it was supposed to be - still, decent at the least.

Now, to continue the Saga after a long hiatus:

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As Rho trudged through Babel, she knew who to look for but not their current location. Sitting down for some much needed rest at the fountain, she noticed a redish-black [TL note:1] puff in the midst of the shrubs.

I think I found one.

Quickly lunging at it with her dagger, a man dressed in green and black leaped back. He quickly started floating as he stood in a readied position.

Tch, the Cloak of the Abyss. That's going to make it harder for me to catch him. Got to get him off his guard.

"Who are you? Are you with the Frobros?" Rho asked.

"I'm Force...and what the hell are the Frobros?" he responded.

"So what's with the hair? Around these areas, you will be mistaken. Not a particular good thing, if you ask me."

"I was just passing by. After all, I'm done cash-whoring this world, so I was leaving for Allods anyway."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Without answering, the man had already floated away.

Sigh, this town and all these freaks. Better get searching again. I want to be out of here as soon as I can.

After Rho mindlessly wandered around the town, haphazardly beating information out of the locals for hours, she had finally found it. Staring up from an underpass at a deserted bridge, she saw the puffs of the Frobros just barely in sight.

She stealthily snuck up to the bridge so that she could hear their conversation.

"So, we are in agreement? We will be changing the order of our morning Fro care. Wash, rinse lather, condition and then let it dry naturally," said the man with the red Fro.

The others nodded.

"Okay then, onto the next important topic. Should we consider changing our Fro colours to match the holidays and seasons?" asked the man with red Fro again.

Tch. Are there any sane ones in this town? I need to get out of here before I become like these freaks.

She lunged at the man with the red Fro. With ease, she held him down with her knife at his throat. The other men with Fros quickly backed up in fear.

"No mistaking it this time. You guys are the Frobros?" Rho asked sharply.

The three men with Fros assumed what could only be a battle pose after hearing the question.

"Yes, we are. Frobros... The Fros show our bro-ness," the one with the pink Fro responded.

Rho stared out with disbelief at the corny battle stance and slogan.

Do they really have what I want?

"Could you let our bro go?" the one in pink continued.

"Just didn't want to take the chance that you would try and escape. I'll let him go when I get what I want."

"So, what do you want?"

"Answers. I know you guys have ears everywhere. Where can I find Pearz?"

"She was chasing something through here a couple of hours ago. Last I saw, she was heading for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building."

Tch. That accursed place. I didn't want to have to go back there if I didn't need to.

Knocking the man with the red Fro unconscious, Rho dashed off towards the said building.

"A 'thank you' would have been nice!" the man with the pink Fro screamed out. There was no answer.

TL note [1] : We couldn't remember if Force's Fro was black or red, so we (as in, I) settled for both.

~Pearz

Au Revoir Cloud 9...And Extra

Aaro Note~ : DON'T USE MY COLOUR.

Pearz Edit: Luckily, I left the link to the original posting of my thread. As I suspected, the thread was hidden (swept under the rug =p) on the main forums. Only the link here will lead you back to the original post. More reason to not go back; censorship ftl.

Lately, I've been logging into Cloud 9 less and less. Most recently, it has just been for Nation Wars and party matches (for my sub). Here is the final summary of my thoughts for C9:

1) The Cost
Normal everyday items I've found are fairly priced. The problem comes when upgrading. Assuming you trade off the rest of the contents of the bigger EXP package for Lucky Tags (so you can have the Perfect Protection Tag since buying them in-game is nearly impossible)
Average cost of upgrading:
+2 to +3 (~75%) = 1 Lucky Tag = $6.50
+3 to +4 (~30%) = 2 Lucky Tags + 2 Perfect Protection Tags = $46
+4 to +5 (~15%) = 3 Lucky Tags + 3 Perfect Protection Tags = $69 [= $121.50, basically, for a +5 weapon]
+5 to +6 (~10%) = 3 Lucky Tags + 3 Perfect Protection Tags = $115 (seriously, just for one upgrade...)

That's just to upgrade one item. If you're upgrading your entire armor set, that ends up being a lot of money. The problem is that this system rewards the cash shop spenders too much. Attaining such high +es is pretty much impossible for players that don't spend a lot (or anything) and the gap between a hugely +ed gear and average gear is way too much to ignore. The damage is nearly doubled, as well as doubling the defense.

2) Player Base
The number of players in C9 is pretty low. When you go through Kanto a few times, you realize it is literally the same couple of people every time. Half of the time, you can't even find a player levelling outside on the field. With such a small player base, the game is much less fun compared to when team fights could occur anywhere while levelling. Currently, the only team fights that occur are outside towns; it's almost never just two groups trying to level and then running into each other.

3) The GMs
They are nearly non-existent in the game. It's wouldn't be hard to convince me that the game has no GMs. That first GM action was what I saw today, when they immediately deleted 3 of Taer's posts. Pretty funny. XD

4) The Content
Within two months, I feel I've already explored all the content. Not only that, but I've nearly hit the level cap and all that is left is to farm (Fame, money, etc). The problem lies in the fact that I know I can't beat Onatha in Fame. It's impossible to top her Fame without stooping to the same level. For that reason, I've stopped hunting (which I did enjoy, but it just feels meaningless if Fame is meaningless). I could overtake Onatha in Fame using questionable methods, but I wouldn't feel like I won a victory. There's pretty much nothing to do but the Nation Wars...


End Note: It was a short and fun run while it lasted, but it just doesn't seem to satisfy my needs in an MMO. If you want to still find me (since pretty much no one figured it out), my signature links to my personal blog. Cheers~

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The first half was filtered for the C9 forums' censorship "rules". Some more things that I wanted to add would have gotten the thread deleted for sure.

1) Retarded Forum Mods Are Coming
Starblaze and 11da/Lyconis/phionixstyle are our two mods for the forums. Just look at how ridiculous they make themselves out to be. I think they do a great job showing how retarded they are and I don't need to comment any further.

2) The 1:1 Inquiry System
...takes ages. I guess you get used to GMs as being more present, as in Megaten and DOMO, so it's shocking gwhen GMs in C9 don't even log in. Seriously, this is a big issue. The censorship is hilarious, too. Speaking earlier about the 3 deleted threads by Taer:
Thread 1 that got deleted and you can see only my last post. D: (The backup of the threads stored here, in case it gets deleted.)
Thread 2 is here. It was just hidden and not deleted, so I can still link to it. It is saved here, in case it is deleted also.
Thread 3 was actually deleted but really had nothing.

Just...wow at the response. Taer does have a logical argument about his banning, but meh. The GMs like to play God, disappearing and doing whatever they want. They could instead actually log-in and ban the botters, but that would be too much hassle, no?

It's too bad I didn't backup the thread dedicated to getting Taer banned; it was EPIC!! It was a compilation of all of Taer's awsomez quotes flaming people. God, I couldn't stop laughing when I read it. I mean: sure, Taer flamed the crap out of people, but that hardly warrants perma-bans for flaming.

Either way, here's the link to my post on the C9 forums. (This is mainly for my own reference.) C9 is pretty much done for me; now to see if all the hype about Allods lives up.

Unrelated: Keep up the comment spam on my last post! XD I'm going to make another MT-related post about it tomorrow during class.

~Pearz

Escaping Death

(Aaro Note~ : The delicious pun of the title is an Original Pearz Idea.)

I was going to finish a very old post about PVP in general, but it bored me and also seemed out of date. So, instead, I'll post more recent stuff~

Today, as some may have saw me, I PVPed for a bit on MT. I noticed that the entire Chaos team liked to rush Point 1 and sit there the entire match. (It's pretty funny, but it works. Good news is that, when I was playing, I didn't need a team; me alone was enough. XD)

More importantly, I noticed a huge rise in death-based melees. My question: Is the MT community really that unadaptive to change? To let one class EVER totally dominate in PVP shows a lack of ability to think outside the box.

Now, most of you would jump to the conclusion that anti-death takes lv92 Thoth, and that is insane. Yes, it is true that anti-death would do the trick, but there are also much easier (and practical) ways to change. When knowing your opponent is one solo type, you can easily adapt to fight only that one type and thus destroy them.

Here is what I would do:
Eyepatch: 3% attack --> change to --> AC Mask: 8% death resist, -8% expel resist
Seraphim Pants: 3% attack --> change to --> AC Pants: 12% death resist, -8% death resist (there's another pair of pants that gives 13% on J-Wiki, but I don't see it in our shops)
Blood Drain Earring --> change to --> any one of those 5 Int earrings <.<, then Komokuten (10 int)
High Pixie SS: 2 int --> change to --- > Phantom: 5% death resist

From these changes in my Int, I'll gain 15. I could swap in 6 Thantom tarots (18% death resist) without losing a single bit on my pulse (just a 7% cast time).

I could easily drop down one full tier on my pulse (10 more int) and get 11 Phantoms for 33%.

Add that up: 33 + 8 + 12 + 5= 58% death resist, all for the price of 4CLR, 6% attack affinity and 32% cast time.

Assuming even a 60% pulse, with 58% death resist = 17% normal damage. (1.5k swipes go to 252 assuming your pulse is even that weak, plus the reduction from visor + backpack.)

Pretty nice trade-off, considering that every other player is using this now. I could go even MORE extreme and:

Blaze: 10% humans --> change to --> Petals of Innocence? (I forgot exact name): 10% death
Suit: 10% general + 7% attack affinity --> change to --> AC Armor: 12% death
finish with full Phantoms --> 2 more = 6%

This would give me another 28% death, which would half the damage AGAIN in exchange for a much more serious 10% general, 17% affinity damage and 4 Int.

Adding in the backpack and visor that also reduce damage means they would be lucky to clear 100 damage if you stack up on death defense.

86% death resist + 55% pulse = 6% normal damage
2k damage = 120 damage (plus the reduction of backpack and visor)

Seriously speaking, the second trade-off might be a bit extreme, but that first trade-off is definitely worth it when everyone is using death. Question comes down to: Why is no one adapting to the new PVP environment? Is it really that hard to counter a build? If you managed to get anti-death too, with even the first build, you would be totally immune to death (pun intended), since that's what everyone is in PVP.


BTW: Since no one wants to play, I'll bump up reward for my Advanced Wars challenge to 5mil if you beat me.

~Pearz

Rain: Application

To join Rain in C9, you have to pass this application.
You may leave your application as a comment or a private message.

Good luck~

1] IGN:

2] Class/Sub:

3] Rain is a PK/PVP guild. What will you bring to this guild that will benefit it in that respect?

4] Assuming the enemy team contains all six classes, list the order in which they should be taken down.

5] As you know, mounts are an integral part of PK/PVPing in C9. List some situations in which you want to be mounted, and situations where being mounted puts you at a disadvantage.

6] In as many words as you see fit, describe your biggest fault as a PK/PVPer.


~*+ Rho

Fame?

Since I like to win... XD Here's my bid to cheat for more votes~ Vote for me here.

That is all.

~Pearz

Daybreaker~!

Soez~ Even though I'm gone from MT, my dream has lived on in Rain. Midnight just today made the very first Daybreaker on the server (and also the first Cadabolg, but meh ^_^). Gratz, Midnight.









~Pearz

Happy New Year?

So 2010 is upon us. Another year goes by and we all get a little OLDER. *cries* God, I'm old.

From what I saw on the forums, Jolt is now gone from MT. From the looks of it, MT is a sinking boat. Just saw a video from Finella showing one of their new comps. It basically takes your cooldown and cast time to zero...meaning you can spam HP pots, aoe melee/magic reflects or whatever else as much as you want to, because now you CAN.

That truly is the beacon of brokenness.

On a side Cloud 9 note: Nothing new. PK, PK, PK, grind, PK, PK....roughly in that proportion (which is why I'm still not at the cap). (._.)

I finally got my laptop back with a NON-BROKEN S key. :O The bad news is that, 'cause I was lazy, I didn't back up my hard drive. They basically replaced everything for me. The mainboard, the case, the keyboard, and the HDD. They won't send me my old hard drive back, so there poofs all my stuff. T_T

Can't get my beta version of Windows 7 back. Bleh. Time to try and find a cracked version...

~Pearz