2008-03-27 - The way of the shortblade

Log entry for 20-04-08

Today I finally got a few hours on-line, was really good to be back :) There were few available on the FL to disturb me (though some say I am disturbed enough). So I got on with the task in hand and killed a few argonauts, spent just over an hour doing this, used up one scratcher two and a little on an en-blade five and managed to walk away with nearly 10ped profit, a very pleasant change :).

Spent some time hanging around various TPs to make myself an easy target for the current vendetta, no one took advantage of this.

Thinking about it I did not see another Guardian Tiger all weekend, I know I was not on-line much but that is unusual, I had best track them down.

Had an interesting idea posted by Phoenix which showed up a fairly large flaw in the Rules of Canley, namely that there was no way a target could defend themselves. Decided to sleep on that one as it was rather late by then but had a few ideas.

 

Log entry for 21-04-08

Again I find Canley is taking up a lot of my time, even though I am not playing as much I am enjoying myself immensely.

Had another crack at the argos at Twin Peaks and managed a return of about 55%, better than normal but not really good enough, I shall have to try elsewhere for a while I think :).

 

Log entry for 26-04-08

It has been an odd few days! I have had plenty of luck, although most of it was bad. Quite heavy losses were incurred, a single global reduced them by about half. I'm not complaining just making note of it, it would be nice if things picked up soon though.

The Canley trial seems to have progressed quite well despite there being some problems with the forum, well done Phunksta on getting that back together. That people continued with Canley even though they could not post their kills seems to me to be a positive thing. Certainly I get the impression that people are enjoying it. Anna even said her heart stopped at one point! If it is generating that kind of excitement in game then I think it is worth pursuing. Certainly I have learnt quite a bit from this trial which I can apply in future but I will post those thoughts in the thread when this current vendetta ends and see what people think.

The "spin off" vendettas where a very pleasant surprise for me although I probably should have predicted them I failed to do so. Again it indicates an enthusiasm for the event.

All things considered, I am very happy with the way things have worked out. It could have fallen flat on it's face.

I have a few ideas to help it run a little smoother in future, once these are implemented then I would guess the real test will be if it has enough staying power to continue to generate the degree of enthusiasm it has so far managed to entice.

I was intending to stay up late enough tonight be on line when it concluded but the real world has got the better of me today and I am going to have to go and pass out. Hopefully I will be up relatively early tomorrow to write some kind of conclusion.

 

Log entry for 30-04-08

After taking a few days off I got back on line, I was PM'd immediately (normally either good or bad news when that happens). Turns out a friend (Sarah) had recently struck 132PED of oil (almost a HoF by last nights standards), she was busy mining it but her extractor was running out. So I got coords and picked up a new TT extractor jumped to New Oxford and tp'd to the location, a 6 tp journey. I arrived just as her extractor failed so traded and then while she continued the excavation I had a little look around, geography was quite interesting but not a mob in sight.

Once all the oil was up she could only just walk so we decided to tp to Bilton Towers and accomplished this in a few jumps, at one point I managed to materialise under an allophyl, the allophyl was not too happy about that and I had to cut it down to size with my trusty en-blade 8, surprisingly I got almost a ped of loot out of it.

After that I had to log for about an hour, when I came back I decided to have a go at the argos, I had missed them. So I just set off using a pair of en-blade 5 mentor editions I managed to use them all and cut into the 8 in just under an hour, the hunt returned about 75%, although not good it is better than normal! I think I may try this instead of the scratchers for a while and see what happens.

 

Log entry for 07-05-08

Decided to try west of Troy, on running out I was attacked by a Foul Scout who's health bar was at about the quarter mark. Now I could have killed it then and there but that would guarantee no loot so I gave it the run around. I ran around in large circles avoiding the mobs with the Foul chasing me for a good 10 or 15 minutes until it had fully recovered it's health, then I killed it and guess what! No Loot :).

Today's most stunning event was without doubt my most successful TP blunder. I managed to TP into the middle of a herd of spiders, I was doing quite well against them up until the point that they spotted me :). I was trying to TP out again when 3 of them ran to the attack, I didn't even get the map on the screen :).

On another note, I am guessing Zack has left EU, I have not seen him on-line for several weeks now so it looks like I shall be looking for a new disciple.

Came to a decision not to calculate my losses any more, just reaching the decision has cheered me up no end. I have to admit I was becoming a bit depressed. Lets see if I manage to stay that way when I am next not getting any loot worth having.

 

Log entry for 08-05-08

Had arranged via this forum to meet with Mora at Atlas Haven and pay for my share of the beacon. Things change and I was late, When I did get on I waited around at Atlas and in time met Mora and paid the cash. We discussed FAPs for the mission, I usually use an 18 but Mora said he would loan me a 50 for the duration.

After, I had to log and got back a couple of hours later, I checked the auction and found a FAP 50 was not too expensive although it's stats did not seem much better than the 18 just a bit quicker. I bought one to try and play with before the mission, if I don't like it I can always sell it again.

I also decided to bite the bullet and purchased a Kesmek Vass, it's a lot of PED for a weapon that is limited but I needed to know. After I gave it a quick try, with a critical I can now do over 100 points in a hit and I managed this more than once. Felt very happy but still got rubbish loot :). Looking forward to having a decent hunt with this, hopefully tomorrow.

 

Log entry for 20-05-08

I finished the Vass a couple of days ago, I would like another but do not currently have the cash and am loathed to deposit again so soon, it couldn't have lasted more than a couple of weeks! So I started emptying out the store and auctioning stuff, not sure but with luck there will be enough stuff there to get me another, wait and see time!

The latest VU once again made this unplayable, they always do. My guess is that MA have a lag setting so that they can test the VU before release as if the server were heavily loaded but that they always forget to change that when they cross over the software as invariably given a day or two it will work OK.

The lag did provide me with some entertainment however, I decided to try some Feffs, these are a mob I can usually take with no armour although I need to FAP a bit (sometimes a lot) to deal with the tougher ones. I raced out enblade 8 in hand and charged at a Guard, it being the nearest one, I was almost within striking distance when it ran to the TP and was zapped by a tower, there was no apparent reason for this, there was no one at the TP, I suspect due to lag it's where it thought I was.

Undaunted I continued, further from the TP things seemed to settle down so I had a go at another Guard, I have to admit they are tougher to take down now and with the lag almost impossible to loot. I tried four or five before giving up, I managed to time the last one, nearly six minutes between me killing it and it reporting the loot (there was little of that). I decided to quit until MA remember to reset the $lag variable. This was not as easy as it seemed. I was in a fairly clear area but there were a lot of Feffs between myself and the TP so I decided I would T!

The clock started ticking, and when it finished nothing happened! Hmmmm, I waited, I waited some more, A Feff and an Faucervix turned up and attacked me, still I waited, the Feff and the Fau killed me and another countdown began, when it finished nothing happened again. The Feff and the Fau got fed up standing over my corpse and wandered off. My dead self waited and in time was transported to exactly the same location as I had left and I was still dead. I waited some more and my patience was rewarded this time I was transported to the revival terminal, "hooray" I hear you say but although I was revived I was still dead, I ended up being revived in the dead state three more times before I could walk away. So that's exactly what I did, walk away, slowly as if I was on a beacon mission!

On a more positive note, I got my name back, can't remember how long it's been since it was taken away but it's nice to be Cee again.

If $name = "Chela Cee Bias" then
$loot_factor = 0;
$mine_factor = 0;
$craft_factor = 0;
$max_hair = 0;
$lag_factor = $max_lag_factor;
call(get_naff_all);
end

 

Log entry for 01-06-08

Good news, I did manage to scrape together enough get a second Vass.
Bad news, I have almost use that one as well.
Good news, I maxed the Vass and am ready to move up to a Bicak Blix.
Bad news, The Blix is a looted weapon and none have sold on auction for ages.
Good news, I found a Blix in a shop at Emerald lakes.
Bad news, it was drained to about one third of max and had 300% + mark-up.

Looks like I will have to wait a while and keep my eyes open for a reasonably priced blade, what to do until then? I am not sure yet, maybe I get another Vass and carry on maybe I chip passed the Blix and onto the Kesmek Bett, three or four levels is a long way to chip at least for me but it may be the only feasible option! How many Blixs will I need to get there myself? I do not know the answer to that, would need to try at least one to get an estimate.

Canley event three was a bit disappointing with not a single legitimate kill, still I have heard people had fun so that is all that really matters and the aftermath vendettas were entertaining. We did come across a problem with secret assassins not being able to post, I suggested e-mail as a way around this but received no mails. I have since spoken to Phunksta about it and he has kindly made a sub-forum that will allow this to work so I am currently planning a Ring of Assassins event, I hope enough people enter to make it worthwhile, will just have to wait and see.

After a rather long dry spell I managed a couple of globals this week, certainly helped with recovering some of the money spent on the latest Vass, my rough estimate is a loss of about fifty percent, for me that is not too bad, obviously I would like a better return but I doubt MA are listening.

Not sure if the forum Beacon Mission was between my last post and now or if I have already mentioned it! I meet Kets this week for the first time in game and seem to have caught some kind of memory disorder. If I have already mentioned it I apologise but I enjoyed it immensely, running around FAPing away, almost bought it myself at one point as I was too busy keeping an eye on everyone else, fortunately no one died although there were a couple of fairly close calls, I am greatly relieved that I didn't let the the team down on that score. Am definitely interested in doing another one.

As I said, I meet Kets for the first time in game this week, he has been very quiet since, wonder if we should be worried? While chatting with him I found I had the BeeGees "staying alive" going around and around in my head, it was not until toward the end I figured out why! How come he managed to make an avatar that looks so much John Travolta? And of course, why?

 

Log entry for 03-06-08

The quest for a Blix begins. Having done my research it seems that Mulmun drop the occasional blix and that they can be found West of the Akmuul TP, this happens to be a contaminated zone and a PVP area, damn! I set off anyway avoiding the flying robots after only about three minutes a green dot appears on my scope and starts heading straight for me, OK so I don't have a lot of lootable items on me but it would be a great inconvenience to be killed and looted. I dash behind a rock and manage to tp back to the TP (chicken) just as I hear the first shoots, was a remarkably accurate journey especially considering the situation. So for now at least that option is not available.

Karl tells me he has seen an unlimited blix on auction so I go to check it out. OK it's +25K and it looks like one sold earlier today for a mere +24K, probably the same one and a trader is looking at a healthy profit. I start to consider the +25K, +35K buy out. Can't believe I am actually considering depositing this amount of money. I'm even beginning to justify it to myself, I can sell it again once I have maxed it but what happens then? Would I take the money out or would it just dwindle away? I need help, anyone know of an EU detox program?

Rational thought returns, I am not gonna spend that much money, I shall just have to wait and see what turns up on auction and maybe try the odd Mulmun should I get the opportunity.

Still tempted though.

All this time I was chatting with Kets, still got "Staying Alive" going around and around in my head which is rather disturbing, only the lyrics seem to be changing, morphing, slowly into a new song of the same tune. Should I post that? Maybe not, at least, not yet :) .

 

Log entry for 04-06-08

I think I have reached a decision, basically I will have to carry on the only way I can, if there is no blix available then my best bet is probably to continue using a vass until one is. After all I have maxed it so can now use it at it's most efficient.

I finished my second vass today and am now only carrying a selection of en-blades, just in case. I have put more loot on auction and if it all sells I suspect my return from this vass is going to be about 80%, much better than usual, at least for me, if that continues it is another good reason to stick with the vass, who knows, in a few blades time I may actually make some money. Hopefully I will get away without depositing again, only time will tell.

Yesterday as I was finishing off the blade I had a completely rubbish time hunting allo and esto in the Limnadian District, I moved to Twin Peaks and had several good loots from argonauts, no globals but loots that made the kills financially viable, it has been a long time since that has happened, I hope it is the beginning of a trend. Once the blade was finished I used an en-blade 8 to get home, very quick but not efficient, not at my current level anyway.

Una visited the Lair shortly before I logged, he wanted a look round as he is looking for a place himself, I think he liked what I have done with the place.

 

Log entry for 12-06-08

It has been a quiet week on Calypso, not much time to do anything really. I did manage to get myself a 3rd Vass and have been on a couple of hunts, one in a team with Kayan (a friend from some time ago) another alone in the PVP zone near Akmul, I was after Mulmuns in the hope of getting a Blix, needless to say this did not happen. I found the Mulmun to be a good opponent but had lag issues in the area, my knife did not work as quickly as usual so I had to stick with the lower level Mulmun, I'm sure I could do better with less lag. I was very aware of other players the whole time and fortunately did not see another while I was in the zone. Loot was distinctly lacking!

 

Log entry for 22-06-08

Well it seems the current situation is not exactly good. I have worn the latest Vass down to about 30% with almost nothing to show for it, it seems their has been a general downturn with respect to loot and as someone who tends not to do particularly well in the first place I have suffered. Obviously I know I should just stop hunting for a while until things pick up but for some reason I have to give it a try every time I log.

I did manage one small global with this blade whilst out hunting with Didums a few days ago, it took me by surprise. http://www.eu-chronicle.com/showthread.php?t=6015

Some bad news from the Soc. as well, founded on 26-06-07 the leader and second in command, Tiger Master Lee and The Playboy Girl, respectively have decided to quit the game. I happened to be logged in when Tiger was on yesterday and we spoke quite probably for the last time while he was putting everything on auction, skills as well. Rather sad really. I have not been through the Soc. leader election process before and am not sure how long it takes, so far everyone including myself has voted for Karl so hopefully a new order will soon be established and we can start recruiting (we are a bit short of members). On the off chance that anyone is interested in joining, please PM me here or in game.

I'm hoping things are going to pick up soon, certainly has been very quiet recently, not many global posts here which means either loot is significantly down or people are playing less or both.

Oh, well best sharpen those blades have something to eat and then see what happens.

 

Log entry for 23-06-08

Well we have a new Soc. leader, Mr. Karl Pilkington who apparently has a head like a f****** orange :). His first act was to promote me to Colonel, he said he needed a good right hand man so I can't figure why he chose me other than because I was the only one!

It so happened it was Catherine's Birthday so I spent a lot of time with her (Catherine is the only other regular Tiger). We spent most of the day sweating and when Karl came on line we had a short ceremony to promote her to Sergeant and give her, her Tiger shirt, the ceremony went very wrong, a cock up from beginning to end but it was a laugh. Then we all went and sweated some more. I hadn't sweated for ages and managed to collect over a K, it was fun to do but I wouldn't want to do it too often.

I stayed on line till rather late, I was bidding on a shortblades skill implant, I have decided to try to chip through the Blix gap. I did manage to get the chip and am now on the way to getting passed that gap.

Also had a rather interesting chat with Kets, I was very tired and cannot remember too much about it but cat crap was in there somewhere, I know he was asking about the changes going on in the Tigers, maybe he was after a scoop :).

 

Log entry for 24-06-08

Well I have managed to chip through the Blix gap as far as shortblades (hit) is concerned, still a way to go before shortblades (dmg) catches up though! Guess I am about ready for a Kesmek Bett, will finish the Vass first though, it's currently at 20% so not too far to go!

I went argoing again had the feeling something good was going to happen, I did get a lot of skill messages but unfortunately nothing good did happen, so often the way :).

I suspect I need to find another mob to go for, if anyone has any suggestions I would like to hear from you. I can now take argos up to Guardian/Gatherer without the need of armour, still can't get a hunter though even with the armour. Something I have noticed recently is Gatherers seem to now be doing more damage than Guardians, I swear it used to be the other way around.

Some good news though, I got my boots back :). That probably deserves some explanation! I got a pair of boots a long time ago before the latest graphics change and they looked OK but after the change they looked very cool, Longu skin clothes do look good! Anyway, a Longu Paris Jacket came up for sale in the auctions and I knew Tiger wanted one so I bought it, it's the one you can see me wearing in my avatar picture. When Tiger came back on line I sold it to him, not without several hours of taunting him about looking real cool first though, I sold it to him after he went atrox hunting in his underwear while we all watched :). After that I sold him the boots as well and got my self a second rate jacket and boots.

As he decided to leave the game he put all his stuff on auction, unfortunately I did not get the jacket back, someone went for the buyout, wish it had been me, but I did win the boots :). Now I need to look out for another jacket, just so I can look cool again :) some decent trousers wouldn't go amiss either.

 

Log entry for 25-06-08

Seem to be writing a lot of these lately, guess that's because there is a lot going on :).

After my log of yesterday where I talked about a Paris Longu jacket I had failed to reclaim from auction what should happen when I log in but there be a Paris Longu jacket in the auctions, I did not wait but took the opportunity and purchased it immediately. It seems someone may be reading my blogs and granting my requests, thank you whoever you are and please keep reading :) Here is a short wants list:-

1) A cheap Bicak Blix with plenty of life left in it.
2) A cheap Kesmek Bett with plenty of life left in it.
3) A cheap pair of Longu trousers (not trousers for a Longu but made of Longu) with plenty of life left in them.
4) A cheap, stunningly attractive and compliant woman, with plenty of life left in her but not so much life that it kills me!

As you may have noticed, I am cheap :).

I look forward to finding all these items on auction tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Cee.

 

Log entry for 26-06-08

And there's more!

From my wish list of yesterday I was granted one, namely a cheapish Kesmek Bett but like most granted wishes it came with a sting in it's tail, more on that later.

Having acquired a Bett I decided the time had come to use the existing Vass, loot was not as bad as of late the argos even gave me one item (bet you can guess what)! None of that is important however, I was wearing my Rascal with 1As attached and was half way through finishing off a young when I was attacked by a Scout and a Hunter, I figured I had no hope of defeating the hunter but may be able to loot the young first, this I did and while I was doing that the Scout decided to attack someone else (don't know why they do that). Anyway I was left facing an argo hunter and figured I may as well have a go and after stopping my attack a couple of times to heal I managed to fell it with the Vass, no loot of course but that's no the point, it was the first hunter I had managed solo, probably more by luck than anything else but now I know I can do it. :)

Back to the sting, it seems I have not yet enough skill to handle a Bett efficiently, I have enough shortblades (hit) but shortblades (dam) is too low by just over two levels. I am not sure how the skill levels got so far apart and need to know how I can try to increase the dam score without increasing hit. I shall spend some time looking into it on the various sites but will probably end up posting here to see if anyone knows. Needles to say I am a bit fed up with this, it's my own stupid fault I know. Not sure if I should sell the Bett again, only slightly used or keep it until I am ready for it. Guess the best bet is to hang on to it until there are none on auction then try to sell it for at least what I paid for it at over 1K PED it's quite an investment.

Oh well, at least I killed a hunter :).

 

Log entry for 27-06-08

And yet more (don't worry, I'll calm down once I go back to work but that's just over a week away).

After yesterday's entry I received a very helpful PM from Una which I will quote here (hope he doesn't mind):-


Quote:
Originally Posted by UnaAlconbury
Hey Chela!
I read your blog entry, and was in a helpful mood :D

Quote:
Back to the sting, it seems I have not yet enough skill to handle a Bett efficiently, I have enough shortblades (hit) but shortblades (dam) is too low by just over two levels. I am not sure how the skill levels got so far apart and need to know how I can try to increase the dam score without increasing hit. I shall spend some time looking into it on the various sites but will probably end up posting here to see if anyone knows.
Maybe you already knew this, but on Entropedia you can find info about all the professions and how much different skills contributes to them. (All this great work and research are done by some people over at Entropiaforum)

Here is info about Knifefighter (Hit):
http://www.entropedia.info/Info.aspx...Activity&id=36

Knifefighter (Dmg):
http://www.entropedia.info/Info.aspx...Activity&id=73

From comparing the contributing skills of the two professions, you can see that Anatomy should be a good skill to focus on to get up the (Dmg) profession more than the (Hit). It has 20% contribution to the (Dmg) and no effect on the (Hit).

You do get Anatomy skill gains from hunting, but in your case we need to find another activity :-) I know that one get good Anatomy gains from using FAPs, so maybe that would be a solution (chipping Anatomy is also an option of course, if you feel you want to do this).

That you have a higher level on the (Hit) in comparison to your (Dmg) is pretty common as far as I know, and I have also encountered that problem. I solve it by cross-skilling Laser Rifle and Laser Pistol (as they share the same (Dmg) profession; Ranged Laser (Dmg)). I don't know about a similar method with melee weapons, haven't looked closer into it, but I guess you can do it in a similar way.

Hope this helps :-)


Una


I had been going through some old posts here myself and found a link to this tool :-

http://jdegre.net/pe/unlocker.php

By specifying the skill I was interested in, what skills and attributes I had that effected it and the level I wished to reach it told me the cheapest way to chip to this level of skill, very useful. It came up with much the same solution as Una did in that I would need 2498 Melee Damage assessment (11.69 PED chip) and 3474 Anatomy (10.47 PED chip). It went on to tell me the current prices of these chips at auction.

Armed with this information I headed to the auction, to find that there were a lot of anatomy chips available but only one MDA of any size worth considering (and still only about half of what was required). I started bidding, there was a bit of a battle for both and I ended up paying a little more for the anatomy chip than recommended and more than a little more for the MDA chip but it still came in at a not to high a price.

Off I went to the pentagram to insert my new skills and then update the stats in the above website and recalculated. It told me the cheapest way was to get more MDA, no surprise there. The site gives the option of un-selecting a skill so I un-selected MDA and on recalculating it told me the next best option was 3847 Anatomy (12.84 PED) chip, back to the auction and this time won a chip of slightly more than that value with no hassle. Back to the pentagram and another insertion.

Bingo I am now at the required level and gained a shit load in other skills as well :).

I picked up the Bett and equipped it and no warning message about not being able to use it so off I went to Twin Peaks for a quick Argoing session. the Argos were not cooperative (again) and that blade eats PED, after about 30 minutes I had used 50 PED worth and had about 12 PED of loot so decided to leave it for the time being, hopefully EU will be a little more generous in the near future.

On a completely different note, I discovered I had the ability to update Soc info so with the bosses permission I re-wrote some of that, he is going to double check it at the first opportunity.

Well that's me for another day, more tomorrow if you can stand it :)?

 

Log entry for 29-06-08

Unfortunately I missed the Beacon run for Nutter due to family reasons but only by about 45 minutes, bit annoying that!

Once I was on-line I roamed central Eudoria for nearly three hours, running from TP to TP and slaying everything in my path looking for an area that might give some decent loot. I didn't find one :).

The Kesmek Bett is down to just over 50% and has not got close to paying for it's self, I am gaining a fair few skills though :). Really need to get some decent loots soon. The story seems a familiar one, very few are doing well at the moment. I know I should wait to see if things pick up but I just keep slicing away in the hope that the next mob will bring the mother load.

Lets see what tomorrow brings.

 

Log entry for 30-06-08

A slight upturn in fortune, still not going to get me back in the black but an improvement. I decided to try the place I first noticed a loot decline some months ago, the Sphere near Miniopolis and the Umbranoids there.
My first TP jaunt from Mini was in the wrong direction, don't ask me why, I know where the sphere is, guess I just had a senior moment, anyway I materialised in the web of a spider, I was dead before the screen cleared :).

After reviving and healing back at Mini I jumped off in the correct direction this time and set to on the Umbranoids, may just be me but I think the graphics have improved there and I found I was no longer forced to stare at their crotches whilst locked in combat, some of them are rather cute, wish I could get one as a pet :)! Anyway the loot return was not bad by current standards, I would guess about 70%.

There is also a rather nice feature, I think their whips are automated as sometimes they continue to crack and flail around after the Umbranoid is dead, quite entertaining.

 

Log entry for 04-07-08

the last couple of days have seen a definite improvement, the argos have been paying off :).

Had some issues yesterday with an avatar who shall remain nameless, he had one of those long range guns (I do not know what they are), he would shoot at argos I was part way through and they would run off to him at which point he would kill and loot them, this happened several times and was very frustrating especially when he globaled on 3 of them. I was not happy but there was nothing I could do so I stopped hunting and spent some time checking the auction. I had managed to accumulate some loot.

Had better luck today, still no globals for me but had a couple of 40 odd PED hits and three in the 30s which helped a lot. I have now exhausted my first Bett and should get about 700 PED for the loot in auction so a return of a little under 70% is not too bad for my first time with the weapon especially considering how little loot has been distributed recently.

My two weeks holiday is almost up and I shall be returning to the grind on the 7th. It has been the most exhausting holiday I have ever had as many things have gone wrong, being able to spend some time on Calypso by way of an escape has definitely helped :).