Monday, March 30, 2009

My various plans this coming trip to Negros Occidental

If you ever read a previous entry in my blog, you may notice that I was supposed to depart to my parents’ place in Negros Occidental last Saturday, March 28. But the truth is I was scheduled to go there this coming Wednesday, April 1, at around 8 A.M. Tomorrow, I’ll be packing my stuff and get them in check to make sure I would not miss something important during my stay there for at least 2 months. It was a bad thing for me, though, for I would wish to go to either the Ozine Fest ’09 in SM Megamall or E-Games Domination III at SM Mall of Asia, both scheduled this coming week, to get the latest installer for either Lineage 2 or Cabal Online. Unfortunately, that chance was already lost, and I had to wait for another year. *sigh*

But anyway, I have various plans for the online games that I’ve enjoyed. Whether I would have the chance to accomplish them or not would depend if the PCs in my parents’ place would be prepared for them. The plans are the ff.:

Lineage 2 – I’m still waiting for my prince to give me his promised gift for my Paladin. If all else fails, I would still continue on leveling up my alternate toons.

Cabal Online – I’ll continue to complete more quests and level up both my Force Shielder and Force Archer. Perhaps I would even join a guild and create a Force Blader as well.

Fiesta Online Been in hiatus for a few months already. Might come back and dust off both my Clever Fighter and Archer.

Rohan Online Will continue to level up and complete quests for my Human Knight, as well as to try out my Assassin. Might also create a half – elven Archer as well.

Aside from these, since I might have unlimited time in using the Internet, I’m also planning to watch the anime show entitled Special A. I just saw the Japanese comic version of it, and believe me, it’s really funny.

Speaking of anime, I’ll also watch Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood in Animax (thank God for cable TV), since it’ll be airing in the same time. I wish I would also watch Tears to Tiara (the anime version of the RPG game), but unfortunately, it’ll be aired early in the morning in my time zone.

Of course, I can’t just stay at home for my whole summer vacation. Just like any person, I would also like to swim if there is any chance to go to the beach or resort. I also need to be prepared for entrance exams if necessary, because up to now, I’m still deciding as to what school / university would be good for me to pursue my college education once I graduate from high school, since I’ll be in fourth year this coming June.

That’s all for now… :)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Rohan: My first encounter

I first heard of Rohan Online through a picture in my Dec. – Jan. issue of GAME! By the time I got my hands on the February issue, I was shocked to discover that this online game was featured as the cover story, so I skimmed through the pages until I discovered the basic walkthrough of the game. And so, finally, when I got this month’s issue, as what my friend Alcarcalimo had said to me beforehand, I received the DVD installer as one of the freebies (aside from the ZX Online CD installer, mind you). That was when I became excited to try it out.

 

I finally became intrepid enough to be one of the open beta testers of the game. But before I could enjoy what’s in the game, I had difficulty installing it. Not to mention read errors and incomplete installations by the time it stopped. I had to delete and reinstall several times before I finally succeeded in getting everything ready for patching. While I was waiting, I was somewhat confused on registering for the Rohan account, but thankfully, I managed to create one without going through the same process as the one I had before going to try out Perfect World. Believe me, patching and optimizing data may take a long time depending on one’s internet connection, not to mention having been warned about having one’s PC shut down once the patching was done, just before going through the optimization process.

 Once everything’s ready, I logged into the game using my registered account for Rohan. I chose to go to Silva server since Alcar was there, with his Elven priest (but he used his Dhan during the Closed Beta testing). During the character creation process, I decided to create a female Human knight, and named her Crestfallen, just like my FS in Cabal & Fighter in Fiesta. With my newly – created toon, I’m all set to start.

 My human first landed on the Tutorial Zone, in an area known as the Hall of Revelation. That was where I learned the ropes of the game, including how to attack, talk to NPCs, sell items, refine or upgrade equipment, etc. Yeah, it was really quite confusing at first, and even nervous, especially about forging and level / stat refining, but thanks to the quests given, I eventually got used to them. My most favorite so far was about the Monster Kill System or M. Kill for short, which gives bonus EXP every time I kill 20 mobs. Great, wasn’t it?




From rohan pics

Even the skills were quite good in effects. I eventually got curious on how each skill would look like, so I decided to learn first the first 4 skills, which were all about status ailments, and then I decided to try my first attack skill. According to the walkthrough in GAME!, not all skills would be needed. It would actually depend on what would be the build for the character. Since I wanted the usual VIT – STR build for my knight, I would concentrate on skills that would compliment the over – all capacity of the build.

So far, I’m having a great time in Rohan. I have to very cautious though, especially when it comes to blood – thirsty PKers who would do nothing but to ruin the player’s experience through PK, especially to poor newbies. By the way, if you want to know where my toon is right now, she’s currently in Einhoren, from the Human region of Del Lagos.

More Rohan adventures to come soon… Ta – ta for now! ^^

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Recognition day & summer vacation: Mission accomplished!

Yesterday, in the afternoon, we honor students from first to third year were the stars during my school’s recognition day. It was my first time to experience such occasion in the afternoon, although somewhat uncommon in some schools. For the entrance, we had our animation based on the Bible scripture found on 1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 10. For the opening remarks, after the opening prayer and the singing of the Anthem, our school president gave us a wise and inspiring message about how to use our talents for the service of others, meaning we have to share our knowledge to others if necessary.

The guest speaker was an alumnus of our school, who was currently in De La Salle University and was now in service together with the La Salle brothers. His speech was indeed amazing, telling us how he became satisfied with helping others, although he was really intelligent.

Just before the awarding ceremony, there was first recognition of those who won in various competitions outside the school, including those in the varsity as well as the pep squad. And then, there went the outstanding club members, the best in deportment, and finally, those who received the subject proficiency awards.

And so, after all these, the moment we’ve all been waiting for had finally arrived, and that was to receive medals as fruits of our labor. As I marched in front of the stage and receive my medal for being an honor student, I knew all my hard work had finally paid off, and that I survived the whole school year with flying colors. As gratitude for the sacrifice made by our parents to pursue our education, we made a special tribute to them, which included both singing and dancing.

Now that school was finally over, that would mean one thing: SUMMER VACATION!!! Wohooo!!!! I can’t wait to see my parents again in Negros Occidental!


More to talk next time folks!! ^^

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

skyhunter18, finally a Silver Ranger

Ahhh… finally, my beloved elven archer in L2, skyhunter18, was finally promoted to Silver Ranger and also became an academy graduate as well. All my hard work in completing the three quests for job change was finally paid off. I never knew that completion would happen so fast, but anyway, let me tell you what I progressed to get there:

From the last time I stopped in the second part, the Testimony of Life, I was tasked by Isael Silvershadow of the Hunter’s Village to go back to Thalia, who was located east of Iris Lake, south of Elven Vilage, after finding all 6 parts of the Talin’s Spear by killing Leto Lizardman Shamans and Overlords in the Plains of the Lizardmen. But before I continued with second quest, after I talked to Isael about accomplishing the search for the parts, I first resumed with the third part of job change, the Test of the Sagittarius. From the last time I stopped there, Magister Gauen had asked my archer to go to Sagittarius Hamil in Floran Village to find out where the Serpent Demon Kadesh was hiding after I finally found all the parts of the Crescent Moon Bow, the weapon that must be used to kill the creature. After I used the Scroll of Escape exchanged from Dimensional Diamonds to reach Floran Vilage, she went straight to Hamil. He told my archer that Kadesh was regaining dark energy through the Leto Lizardmen, meaning she had to go back to the Plains of the Lizardmen (again) to confront the dark power so that Kadesh will be summoned. And so there she went, killing first the Leto Lizardman Shamans and Overlords for their blood, because that would help to summon Kadesh. But by the time I hunted for 15 vials, the duration of her newbie buffs was over, so I had to SOE back to Oren to rebuff. But then, my Internet time was almost up, so I had no choice but to log off and resume again some other time.

Last night, I decided to continue first the second part, so I teleported first to Gludio, then to Elven Village. After being rebuffed by the Newbie Guide, she ran straight near Iris Lake to talk to Thalia. Thalia asked my archer to do something unimaginable: to kill the unicorn with Talin’s Spear for its tears. Of course, it’s inevitable to consider that life will be restored by sacrifice, but then one has no choice but to do so if necessary.

So my archer ran straight to the spot where the quest monster, the unicorn of Eva, was found. Once I’ve finally located the unicorn, I equipped her with the spear immediately.


From Lineage 2 pics
I was filled with pity upon seeing the magnificent creature, but still, what must be done must be followed. And so, I had no choice but to let my archer pierce it until it’s dead and its tears were collected in the grail. Oh, that poor creature…

Once she returned to Thalia, the female elf told her more about the sacrifice that must be done to save the Mother Tree, which was why it’s necessary to kill the unicorn. Afterwards, I SOE’d back to Elven Village to talk to Hierarch Asterios. The Hierarch gave her the Chamomile Charm for finally accomplishing the task. And finally, she went back to Master Cardien in the Warrior Guild in Dion. The Master then spoke that the Testimony was finally finished, and my elf was finally given the Mark of Life as the ultimate reward.

Satisfied with the completion of the second part, I must continue with the last part, the Test of the Sagittarius, so I went back to Oren, then to the Plains of the Lizardmen to kill more Leto Lizardmen until the monster she was supposed to kill appears. But what I didn’t realize was that after she just killed a Leto Lizardman Archer, the 15 vials of lizardman blood suddenly vanished, and then poof, the creature finally appeared. That creature was none other than the Serpent Demon Kadesh, which looked exactly like a Trives in the Seal of Shilen in Aden Territory. It was really unexpected of me to see that the quest monster finally appeared after collecting just 15 quest items. It was because, according to the quest guide in EllieBelly’s website, at least 100 vials of lizardman blood must be collected before Kadesh would appear. But anyway, now that I’ve seen that abomination, my archer dispatched it right away with the Crescent Moon Bow equipped, without using any skills. It was because something bad will happen if I did, though I’m not sure about it.



From Lineage 2 pics


Now that the serpent was finally dead, with the Talisman of Kadesh in her possession, she must return to Sagittarius Hamil in Floran to report about the creature’s death. As recognition, he gave her the last item necessary for her promotion: the Mark of Sagittarius.

Now that my archer finally had 3 marks necessary for her job change, I went to the Warrior Guild in Giran and let her meet Grand Master Hannavalt. And finally, the moment I’ve been waiting for had finally arrived: her promotion to Silver Ranger.



From Lineage 2 pics


Since my archer also became an academy graduate, she was also given an Academy Circlet as reward for her promotion. I also let her equip the Elven Bow of Nobility bought by my Soul Breaker and stored in the cargo box, as well as some Iron Arrows, because of course, bows are considered futile without arrows. The armor she’s currently wearing right now was the Rind Leather Armor set, though I decided to wear it while completing these quests for extra protection.

Ok, enough chit – chat for now… Gotta get my prince’s gift now for my Paladin… weheee… ^_^

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Of departure, recognition, victory and current progress

Last Thursday, we honor candidates (Yeah, I’m one of them, believe me) had thrown some sort of despedida for two of my classmates, Kate and Ellesse, for they will spend their summer vacation in America. Most of us had become teary – eyed because, of course, it’s really sad that sometimes we need to go on separate ways during such vacations. I hope that would help them remember even though they’re going to be far apart.

Speaking of summer vacations, I’ll be going to my parents’ place in Negros Occidental this coming March 28, 8 days after the high school recognition day. Yep, I’ll probably be one of those lucky and deserving honor students who will receive medals as fruits of hard labor during the event, and it’ll be considered a victory for me.

But before that, my school had already achieved such, for the cheering squad was declared champion during the National High School Finals of the National Cheering Competition a while ago. Can you imagine, 13 other schools competing for the same title, including the former defending champion, School of St. Anthony? The reward was indeed worth months of practicing for the pep squad and doing the best of supporters to cheer for their beloved school. It’s also a good thing that despite the tough competition, camaraderie and sportsmanship were practiced, which was a must in every battle that we have to face.

About my current experience in Lineage 2, I’m currently accomplishing the last two parts of the job change quest so that my elven archer will graduate from the HO academy and become a Silver Ranger: Testimony of Life and Test of the Sagittarius. I’ve finished the first part known as Trial of the Seeker. Believe me, completing them was indeed difficult, considering that I have limited Internet time. I wish I could freight my paladin’s 3 million adena for the shortcut quest, but I’m afraid that my beloved tanker will become poor, so I refused. I hope it’s worth the hard work, anyway.

Gotta continue the quests now… More chit – chat soon… ^^

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Alcar’s new favorite + Glimpse with the fallen angel + Legacy amidst death

Last night, when I logged in to Xfire, it was unexpected of me to see that Alcarcalimo was online, playing Rohan: Blood Feud. I decided to chat with him, since it was been months since my last talk with him. While I’m searching for the exact spot where the weathered rock was placed in the Wastelands using the quest guide for my current quest, Fallen Angel – Request of Dusk, in the IGN L2 Vault website, we had a talk about his newest favorite online game. Alcar told me that his character was a Dhan, a race composed of humans skilled in assassination, since daggers were considered the race’s main weapon. He then asked me if I’ll be going to try the game, and I said yes, though I was pissed off with the Revenge System, one feature in which a character can teleport to the killer’s location, when he or she is killed, and exact retribution. In fact, I’ve heard of Rohan before in the February issue of GAME! , and I’m currently waiting for my copy of the March issue so that I’ll receive the free Rohan DVD installer included there. If I would create a character there, I would be either a human or half – elf, since humans are considered as knights there and half – elves are excellent archers.

Now that I knew the exact location of the weathered rock (thanks to the quest guide), I logged in to L2 and continued my elven archer’s quest. I was halted because of my difficulty in searching the rock and that my internet time’s already up. Good thing by the time I continued the quest, I was able to find the rock with ease. By the time my archer looked upon its white surface and sang the song of prophecy, she was finally face – to – face with the celestial being.

In Eva’s name, she remarked, she has magnificent wings. She must be the fallen angel!


From Lineage 2 pics

By the time my elven archer cured her wounds with the medicine, the angel spoke words of gratitude and explained the reason why she was there in the Wastelands using her mind. Yes, her lips did not move, but at least the crystal that was given to my archer was able to record the words she said. By the time the angel vanished from my archer’s sight, she sent the recorded message right away to Grand Master Tobias. In the end, she received the adena & EXP / SP reward for completing the quest.

But before all that, there was a shocking news that saddened the fans of Francis Magalona, the master rapper of the Philippines. I heard from my grandmother that he passed away due to leukemia. The last time I saw him in TV, he wore a cap to conceal his head, which was bald due to his chemotherapy sessions. Even I became crestfallen by the news. Believe me, I may not be a fan of rap songs, but what amused me was that his rap songs were all about nationalism, about being proud to be a Filipino. Even in his death, the legacy still lives on, and it must be continued.

Now I’m thinking, if I would have the chance, I would buy one of the T – shirts from his famous clothing line, 3 Stars and a Sun. I can’t wait to have one! ^^

That’s enough talking for now… More interesting stuff to come in soon! :D

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Of Cruma Tower, singing voices, and academy recruitment

As of now, I'm currently having exams right now in school, so I'm not going to play L2 until my exams are over. But still, to update my blog, here are some of the new interesting stuff I've found in L2:

I'm currently using my elven archer right now, for I'm going to promote her to Silver Ranger and graduate from the HO academy. You see, there are only a few rangers existing in the clan, and she would be of great help. Here's the screenshot I've taken in Cruma Tower while she's in the Temple Missionary quest. Believe me, the platform where Gatekeeper Mozella stood reminds me much of the Matrix due to the writings:


From Lineage 2 pics


The next was during the time I used my Paladin for a while to write a mail for my prince about my plans. She was in Fantasy Isle during that time, and the parade caught my eye. Too bad it was almost over, but then I heard one of the background soundtracks entitled Dream by Inon Zur, which was sung by Leyla Mira together with her companions on the stage. Believe me, that was my first time I saw that moment, and it was nice:


From Lineage 2 pics


And finally, while my future SR was accomplishing Shadow Fox II, I requested one of my clanmates, xKiarax, to recruit my Dark Wizard, darkraven13, into the academy, still remembering what rhea19 had told me to include my DE and graduated to raise clan reputation. By the time I logged on my nuker, I PM'ed her, and finally, by the time we met in MRT, she was finally included in the list:


From Lineage 2 pics

These are all I've got, for now. But don't worry, I'll put more interesting as I progress. About my elf's promotion to SR, I really can't wait. Whoopdedoo!

That's all for now! ^^