Valar Guild

June 4, 2023 Sunday Meeting

5:00 P.M. Eastern Time
Discord:
Valar Guild/meeting_place

Back to News
Transcript work by Varda.
[times are Central Time from Varda's Discord. Add one hour for Eastern, which is Valar time and LotRO /servertime.]

Attending (and typed): (10)

    Discord: 
A
rien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan (Before), Eonwe (Before and After), Fangorn/Treebeard, Ossë, Pallando, Sandalf, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:

Gaming:
    World of Warcraft, more World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online, Stormgate (alpha version)
Tolkien:
    Topic: Staff breaking.
After-meeting:
    (non) Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

 
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Before-meeting

Eonwë Valar — 06/02/2023 2:07 AM
Woohoo, got Tyrael's Charger, so now I only have to care about the treasure goblin on a whim if I want to try for that last of Wirt's Legs.


June 3, 2023

Eonwë Valar — Yesterday at 8:35 AM
Ok, not happy with the auto-teleport-out at the end of the missions in LotRO when I can't find the emmisary and the chest to claim my reward. They need to either remove that or make sure the emmisart always appears near where you are when you complete the quest.

Elladan — Yesterday at 1:20 PM
I haven’t even been lurking. Life got a hold of me there. Aiya! How are you all?

Eonwë Valar — Yesterday at 11:18 PM
Heya. All going as one would expect.


Varda — Today at 3:11 PM
Aiya Elladan : )
[3:12 PM]
The mission teleport does two things: sense of urgency while forcing us to remember where we are, and in case a person is hopelessly lost and wandering the maze.

Varda — Today at 4:00 PM
Aiya!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:00 PM
Aiya!

Varda — Today at 4:01 PM
Hey Phar
[4:02 PM]
Arien and I are slaughtering trolls and orcs in LotRO. : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:03 PM
Yay!
Fladrif's actually been in WoW this week! Something about a few free days, I think.

Varda — Today at 4:04 PM
Nice : )
The Sun and Stars vs trolls and orcs. They are not faring well.
[4:05 PM]

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Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:05 PM]

Membership:

[4:05 PM]
Phar and I have spoken.
[4:05 PM]
Arien's doing slaughterage

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:06 PM
Hallo! Aiya Akk!
Aiya All!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:06 PM
From what I can tell, though he's only been online a few minutes while I was there, Fladrif's actually gotten about 20 levels in the past few days.
Aiya!

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:07 PM
Just got another reference of an actual printed version for Chapter 6! Progress.

Varda — Today at 4:08 PM
Aiya Sandalf : )
Now that's leveling!
Grats on the reference

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:09 PM
Aiya Varda! Just got back from a visit to see my grandkids in Lincoln. the eastern Great Plains are still stuck in a two-year-old severe drought, but it gets wetter as you head west. Denver is getting rain AGAIN. I have standing puddles in my vegetable beds. I hope the rain moves east a bit to relieve the drought further east.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:09 PM
At least you don't have to water them yourself!

Varda — Today at 4:10 PM
We have lots of rain here. Tried to pull it off of you!

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:10 PM
VEry true! All I need to do is get some bug powder to keep the bugs from eating my tasty beet sprouts.

Varda — Today at 4:11 PM
That or a hammer and rock? : )

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:11 PM
Lincoln usually gets 28 inches of rain per year. Denver usually gets 15 inches of rain per year. This year, to date, Lincoln has had 1 inch of rain, and in May alone, Denver got 6 inches! Almost half of its yearly rainfall in one month. At least the Platte is getting some water in it, as water does indeed flow downhill...unless you live in South Dakota.

Varda — Today at 4:11 PM
It goes uphill there?

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:12 PM
aiya all :)

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:12 PM
There is a stream in the Black Hills that APPEARS to flow uphill, but it is only an optical illusion from the viewing position. It is not flowing uphill...but the South Dakotans say that it is...probably helps the tourist traffic.
Aia rien!

Varda — Today at 4:12 PM
Aiya Sunshine : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:12 PM
Aiya Arien!

Varda — Today at 4:13 PM
If it films that way, it makes great videos to send home. : )

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:13 PM
I will try to get one for you someday.

Varda — Today at 4:13 PM
That would be cool. But we can probably find it online. Too nifty not to be there.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:14 PM
I managed to lose my bank card and of course thed subscription of wow expired so i couldnt renew yet  have to wait until i get a new one   hence my distracting the star lady and making her late  :) so my appologies for that

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:16 PM
https://twoegg.blogspot.com/2013/02/water-flows-uphill-at-bellamy-bridge.html
    Water Flows Uphill at Bellamy Bridge?
    This is the strangest sight I've seen in awhile. While shooting video of the flood waters that have inundated the Bellamy Bridge Heritage ...

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:16 PM
and fun fact Sandalf  i had a character once in eve that was called Aiyarien

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:16 PM
Oh no! Is your acount safe?

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:17 PM
yeah its safe  i lost it either at home or at work but the account is locked now anyway and they will send a new card
the card is locked i mean

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:17 PM
Good news.

Varda — Today at 4:19 PM
I was not late, alt-tabbed. : )
Grats on catching it before anything bad happened.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:19 PM
good good

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:19 PM
Varda is never late. She arrives exactly ontime.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:20 PM
Precisely when she means to.

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:20 PM
Whenever that is.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:20 PM
:)

Varda — Today at 4:23 PM
heh

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Web:

[4:23 PM]
Nothing new except the News

Gaming:

[4:23 PM]
Eonwe hoped to be able to be here, but is away at the moment.
[4:24 PM]
@Bounder @Guild-friend Meeting time! : )
I should remember to ping!
[4:25 PM]
I'll let someone else hunt the river - not having the fast luck hoped for.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:25 PM
Sandalf linked it above Varda

Varda — Today at 4:25 PM
ahh, thanks both of you!

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:26 PM
My pleasure. I always enjoy geologic oddities....even if they are illusions.

Shelob — Today at 4:26 PM
Good evening!

Varda — Today at 4:26 PM
Neato : )

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:26 PM
Aiya Shelob!

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:26 PM
Aiya Shelob

Varda — Today at 4:27 PM
Aiya Shelob : )

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Gaming:

[4:27 PM]

World of Warcraft:
This week's bonus event: Battlegrounds.
The PvP Brawl: Arathi Blizzard is going through Tuesday, June 6th.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:27 PM
Aiya Shelob!

Shelob — Today at 4:27 PM
Can I interject real quick?

Varda — Today at 4:27 PM
Sure, go ahead. Membership or Gaming? : )

Shelob — Today at 4:28 PM
Personal.
So membership I suppose.

Varda — Today at 4:28 PM
Fire away. Just remember not private on the transcript! : )

Shelob — Today at 4:28 PM
That's okay! The world is allowed to know.
[4:29 PM]
Just wanted to let you know that while I'm currently in my parent's guest bedroom on my phone....

Treebeard — Today at 4:29 PM
Hello 

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:29 PM
Aiya!

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:29 PM
Aiya Treebeard!

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:30 PM
aiya Treebeard

Shelob — Today at 4:30 PM
I've almost reached a new milestone in my transition, as tomorrow I will have top (otherwise known as BA) surgery. I'm really excited too. Almost no nerves anymore.
[4:31 PM]
Aiya Fangorn!

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:31 PM
Good luck with it Shelob  i hope all goes well

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:31 PM
I second that. Good luck and sei gesund!

Varda — Today at 4:32 PM
Aiya Fangorn : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:32 PM
Congratulations! Odd, though, I thought that was mostly naturally handled through hormone supplements, didn't know surgery was needed.
Must've misread somewhere.

Shelob — Today at 4:32 PM
Surprisingly, hormone treatment will only get you so far.

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:32 PM
The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has a writeup on BA Surgery.
[4:33 PM]
Would anyone like the link?

Shelob — Today at 4:33 PM
Which is not bad mind you, mine are definitely visible. Just not what I identify myself with.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:33 PM
Fair enough, good luck then

Shelob — Today at 4:33 PM
But enough of that! Varda, I yield the floor back to you!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:34 PM
I admit, most of what I know of the transition comes from Real Life Comics, as the main character/author documented it in the comics in an interesting and realistic matter.

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:35 PM
As Corporal Schultz says, I know nothing.

Shelob — Today at 4:35 PM
Yet you are not Jon Snow.

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:35 PM
Is Jon Snow supposed to be a Targaryen?

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:36 PM
no for heaven sake lol
[4:36 PM]
winter is coming ^^

Shelob — Today at 4:37 PM
Not supposed to be. Is

Varda — Today at 4:37 PM
Anyway, we can all look up surgery if we wish

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:37 PM
He did turn out to be a Targaryen, though...

Varda — Today at 4:37 PM
Aunt Daenerys, I think it was?

Ossë — Today at 4:37 PM
Aiya all

Varda — Today at 4:37 PM
Osse! Aiya!

Shelob — Today at 4:37 PM
Yep.

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:37 PM
Aiya Osse!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:37 PM
Yep, child of her older brother.

Shelob — Today at 4:37 PM
Aiya!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:37 PM
Aiya!

Varda — Today at 4:37 PM
Osse, hope you're doing well. : )

Shelob — Today at 4:38 PM
Really sorry for completely detailing the meeting!

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:38 PM
Aiya :)  Now that is a  name i haven t seen in a long long time if i have seen it here before

Varda — Today at 4:38 PM
You gave your membership news, all good.

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:38 PM
I was reading a Dunk and Egg comic, and also saw onine that someone suggested that the above is true.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:38 PM
pleasure to meet you Osse

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:39 PM
(for those interested, https://reallifecomics.com/comic.php?comic=june-29-2020 is where the storyline starts, with the transition being a recurring topic for the following years)
    Real Life Comics ©1999-2023 Mae Dean | Comic for Monday, Jun 29, 2020
    A daily online comic about the normal lives of some abnormal people. Still pretty okay for over 23 years and counting. By Mae Dean.

Ossë — Today at 4:40 PM
Nice to meet you arien,  I'm a really old member of the guild, trying to come to the meetings when I can

Varda — Today at 4:40 PM
Osse joined around 1997 or 1998. : )
Glad you could make it! Not easy typing on your phone!

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:40 PM
I joined 2006 so a bit later

Ossë — Today at 4:41 PM
I type on my phone all day, I'm used to it

Varda — Today at 4:41 PM
Ah  cool

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:41 PM
I believe I am a "new" member, and it is always good to meet a Veteran from the old days.

Varda — Today at 4:42 PM
Still gaming anywhere?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:42 PM
I've been here for about 20 years? Not sure if/how often I've met you.

Ossë — Today at 4:43 PM
I do some, I'll be doing diablo iv
My memory only goes back a few days, so we may have met before?  Lol

Varda — Today at 4:46 PM
Feel free to bring up your Lord of the Rings Online character. Be glad to kin it.
Easiest way to get kinned is probably at a meeting!

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:46 PM
Aiya

Varda — Today at 4:46 PM
Aiya Pallando : )

Sandalf13 — Today at 4:46 PM
Aiya Pallando

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:46 PM
I'll be doing some Diablo IV myself once the actual release comes in a few days (don't have the pre-access) but we're probably still continentally separated
Aiya Pallando!

Ossë — Today at 4:47 PM
Aiya Pollando

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:47 PM
Aiya Pallando

Varda — Today at 4:47 PM
You can play from anywhere in LotRO. ; )

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:48 PM
Diablo used to be playable both on us or european server i think   But not with the same toons sadly

Varda — Today at 4:49 PM
Arien and I were just gaming together, different hemispheres.

Ok, going to finish the WoW report right quick
The Darkmoon Faire is going through Saturday, June 10th.

See what the Trading Post is offering for June, and what activities you can complete to get the tender and the parrot mount.
[4:50 PM]
https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23960048/the-trading-post-for-june-is-all-abuzz
    World of Warcraft
    The Trading Post for June is all Abuzz - WoW
    Buzz on over to the Trading Post for the month of June. There are plenty of perfectly pointed pieces to add to your collection.

[4:50 PM]
Check out Blues News.
https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23964380/blues-news-june-2-2023
    World of Warcraft
    Blues News: June 2, 2023 - WoW
    Stay up to date with World of Warcraft when you join us each week as we round up some of the latest top blue posts and discussions.

[4:50 PM]
Check out this week's hotfixes.
https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23948562/hotfixes-june-1-2023
    World of Warcraft
    Hotfixes: June 1, 2023 - WoW
    Here you will find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, and WoW Classic.

[4:51 PM]
Pallando has an Eve Online report.
Go ahead when ready. : )

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:54 PM
In Eve CCP has released more details for the upciming T2 Dreads, which will have slightly downscaled versions of the Titan Doomsday Lances, with new skills for it. The T2 Dreads will have less gun damage and less tank than the navy dreads, so will not compete with them for mainline use. Targets hit by the lance will be unable to tether or jump for 60 seconds, and on activation, the dread will emite an AOE energy neut, forcing people who want to deploy more than one to bring them in in multiple locations. I think it's fair to say reactions are "mixed" so far, but we'll see when we get more details on stats and they hit the test server and people actually try using them.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:55 PM
sounds like a sci-fi version of the good ole lasso ^^

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:56 PM
It does sound a bit like "crowd control".

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:56 PM
Additionally, we're finally getting customization for citadels, with paint jobs. Details likewise are still thin, but you'll be able to use corp Evermarks to apply temporary paintjobs to citadels. These are simple solid paint colors applied to various parts of the citadels. Cost and duration are still up in the air. CCP has promised there will be new ways to gain Evermarks coming with the expansion as well.
Reactions have likewise been mixed.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:57 PM
Nothing like a good dye job for player customization

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:58 PM
In shipcaster news, the Amarr have surged ahead of the Minmatar, and are looking to complete their research in the next few days. I expect construction to go very quickly.
[4:59 PM]
The Minmatar are not far behind though, and should be done by the end of the month, with the Gallente finishing just into July.
However, since the Caldari finished and we've seen what the shipcasters do and how they're really designed, enthusiasm has been generally.. low.
[5:00 PM]
To summarize the above: CCP keeps making things that sound great at first until you hear about how they're actually implemented and then just consistently whiffing the details.
[5:01 PM]
Hopefully we get a big surprise, but at this rate this expansion is looking very lackluster.

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:01 PM
I praise for being a very simple and very casual carebear ^^
[5:02 PM]
level 1 missionjs are enough for me hehe
but yes i have been playing Eve recently indeed

Varda — Today at 5:02 PM
Nice : )
[5:03 PM]
We have a sun in space!

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:03 PM
That's it for eve.

Varda — Today at 5:03 PM
Thank you, Pallando. : )
[5:04 PM]

Hearthstone:
Patch 26.4.
https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23957168/26-4-patch-notes
    26.4 Patch Notes
    Patch 26.4, launching May 31, includes Audiopocalypse, the new Festival of Legends Mini-Set, updates to Battlegrounds and Duels, and more!

[5:04 PM]

Diablo Immortal:
Check out the latest bug fixes.
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo-immortal/23826549/diablo-immortal-bug-fixes-and-patch-notes-for-all-platforms
    Diablo Immortal Bug Fixes and Patch Notes for All Platforms
    We will continually update this blog with all bug fixes and patches the team implements for Diablo Immortal on all platforms.

[5:04 PM]

Lord of the Rings Online:
[5:05 PM]
Update 36:Gondor Renewed came out this week.
https://www.lotro.com/update-notes/lotro-update-36-release-notes-en
    The Lord of the Rings Online
    Update 36 Release Notes
    Here are the release notes for Update 36: Gondor Renewed, released on Wednesday, May 31st, 2023.

[5:05 PM]
The Hobnangians short event is going through June 4, today.
Level 140 characters have been called by Arwen to clear a path made dangerous by the "Heirs of Castamir" so that Aragorn can safely inspect his holdings.
[5:06 PM]
Aragorn is allowing his new bride to send us ahead of him with Gimli and Legolas.
For players, this means level 140's have a whole new region in which to explore, quest, and deeding.
Landroval kin branch:
Dis
Elwing
Eonwe
Fangorn
Nar
Varda

Crickhollow kin branch:
Eonwe
Falco
Fangorn
Varda

Treebeard kin branch:
Varda
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:06 PM
Hang on, are we actually post War of the Ring now?

Varda — Today at 5:07 PM
Been for a while, yes. : )
Lots of baddies fighting over the scraps, hoping to be the new Dark Lord. But others want it too. Big mess!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:08 PM
The fun never stops

Varda — Today at 5:08 PM
That's true, actually. : )

StarCraft 2:
I know of Fangorn, Eowyn, and RealFloppa gaming together. Faramir also playing. Certainly others but I don't know about them. : )
[5:09 PM]
Any other gaming news to mention?
On to...

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Tolkien!

How does a wizard's staff break?
[5:10 PM]
It is a thing of power, not just a stick.
(Book, remember!)

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:10 PM
you snap it in two and say at the same time: your staff is broken

Varda — Today at 5:10 PM
heh

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:10 PM
It's still made of wood.

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:10 PM
It requires a wizard of greater power to break it...such as the reborn Gandalf was when he broke Saruman's staff

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:10 PM
Maybe a bit thick to break over your knee, tough.
*though

Varda — Today at 5:10 PM
What Sandalf said. : )
[5:11 PM]
Gandalf is the only one we see to have broken one in the books, unlike PJ's movies.

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:11 PM
aye

Varda — Today at 5:11 PM
The Witch-king could not pull off that stunt.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:11 PM
So basically the staff is an extension/accessory of a wizard's power, and it requires a wizard of greater power than said wizard/staff to get through its defenses?
Also, the Witch-king was a pretty powerful sorcerer.

Varda — Today at 5:12 PM
Even more than that, it appears. Seems to be an order from the bosses.
Sauron didn't go around breaking staves.

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:12 PM
There is a subtle difference between a mere Sorcerer and a true Wizard,  I believe.
Maybe not so subtle, at that.

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:12 PM
it is a stick Phari it is a stick  ...you don' t want to steal the only support for an old man  will you Phari:)

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:13 PM
hehe

Varda — Today at 5:13 PM
The Witch-king came from human stock. An Istar is a Maia.

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:13 PM
:)

Varda — Today at 5:13 PM
hehe Arien

The Two Towers, "The Voice of Saruman"

(This is Gandalf:)
"Saruman!" he cried, and his voice grew in power and authority.
"Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed.
I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death.
You have no colour now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council.
He raised his hand, and spoke slowly in a clear, cold voice.
Sandalf13 — Today at 5:14 PM
Go in your kitchen and mix up a few ingredients...if they turn out well, then you are indeed a Sorcerer! But a wizard, not that is a totally different game. Requires some higher level intervention to become a wizard, I think...at least a lot higher than my level.

Varda — Today at 5:15 PM
"Saruman, your staff is broken."
There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman's hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf's feet.
"Go," said Gandalf.
With a cry Saruman fell back and crawled away.
End quote.

[5:16 PM]
Essentially, Saruman was fired.

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:17 PM
ALthough I do not doubt that Gandalf's power over Saruman at that point was more than sufficient to break his staff, he no doubt probably already had the support of Elrond, Galadriel, and Radagast, among others.

Varda — Today at 5:17 PM
He had the Valar backing him.

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:17 PM
They could help too....he he.

Varda — Today at 5:17 PM
The Valar changed his status from Grey to White.
He was sent to do what he did to Saruman.
[5:18 PM]
(among other things)

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:18 PM
Yep, ultimately the Council answers to the Valar. So it's almost like direct interference.

Varda — Today at 5:18 PM
When a Maia messes up that was supposed to help, he may be in trouble.

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:18 PM
Despite Saruman's overall nastiness, I was always saddened by his demise, when he looked to the West, and a wind came from the West and dispersed his shadowy form.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:19 PM
Unforgiven.

Varda — Today at 5:19 PM
He was given multiple chances. He only showed a desire to change when he was beaten.
[5:20 PM]
Hey, there are consequences? Um, don't?
Sauron was also blown away like that.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:21 PM
I don't think Sauron would've looked for forgiveness anymore, even after being defeated.

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:21 PM
Seems to be a common fate for malcontents and evil-doers in Middle-earth. Hope I am buried on a quieet day, weather-wise,

Varda — Today at 5:21 PM
hehe
Manwe's winds blow whither they will. : )

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:22 PM
OOPS! Got to run to Costco before they close...dinnertime, and other foodstuffs are desperately needed at home. Will check back in later, for Ar's report. Namarie and sei gesund!

Varda — Today at 5:23 PM
Namarie Sandalf!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:23 PM
Enjoy the food gathering and consuming!

Varda — Today at 5:23 PM
We are past the hour by over 20 minutes.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:23 PM
Namarie

Sandalf13 — Today at 5:23 PM
Thank you all! Got to dash between the raindrops!

Varda — Today at 5:23 PM
the gavel hangs onto a hat as it blows off the top shelf
the hat acts as a parachute, while the gavel lands on the hammerpad
thwomp

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After-meeting!

[5:24 PM]
And now I go the kitchens of Taniquetil. : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:24 PM
Enjoy

Varda — Today at 5:24 PM
Cooking is rather fun. : )

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:24 PM
@Ar-Pharazon-V you sign up for the stormgate alpha yet?

Varda — Today at 5:24 PM
Will catch up later!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:25 PM
Not had too much experience with it, though baking always seems more fun (from a distance).
Stormgate? First I've heard of it
[5:26 PM]
Ah, one of the Blizzard spinoff studios.
I should look into it!

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:27 PM
yeah all the people who made sc2 good left after blizzard decided to not be good anymore and are makign this
watch the trailer

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:27 PM
well got to fly as well i fear  work at eight tomorrow

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:27 PM
Fly, you f- Arien!

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:27 PM
Namarie all

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:28 PM
Namarie

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:28 PM
hehe Phari

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:28 PM
Funny, all the gameplay trailers I can find are actually not gameplay trailers...

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:30 PM
gameplay reveal is on the 11th
they've done some previews before but that's the big one
then alpha starts in july

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:31 PM
Alright, if I remember to I'll check in a week then
[5:32 PM]
Thanks for pointing it out! I've lost track of what spinoff studios are around and which ones are actually close-ish to publishing a game.
[5:33 PM]
Although for now Blizzard is still keeping me busy

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:41 PM
If you follow gaming news you won't miss it
the gameplay will be shown at the pc gaming show :p

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:41 PM
Ehh, my gaming news mostly consists of mmochampion, which is basically Blizzard news.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:41 PM
ah
well I'm sure I'll be shilling for it next week

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:41 PM
I've not been interested in new franchises in years.
Ah, enjoy

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:42 PM
meanwhile I'm not interested in most current franchises.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:42 PM
hehe

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:42 PM
more accurately I'm not interested in any AAA devs
[5:43 PM]
except for id, I guess.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:44 PM
I already have a large laundry list of games I already own or want to finish to the end at least once more, without adding new studios and series to my list. Though I will add to the series already on there such as Diablo

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:44 PM
Listen let's not look at my steam games list
[5:44 PM]
k?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:44 PM
haha

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:45 PM
I'm sure I'll get around to finishing  checks notes Zeno Clash any day now. That only released... 14 years ago.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:45 PM
I've got about... 25 in the list, and that includes sequels and expansions dumped in the same line of text...
2 of them are currently finished

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:46 PM
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/98425690877104128/1115049080180187236/image.png
[5:47 PM]
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/98425690877104128/1115049139626070046/image.png

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:47 PM
hehe

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:47 PM
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/98425690877104128/1115049208974680135/image.png
[5:48 PM]
We're not even getting to "not gonna finish", "no idea", and "not interested" categories
also this is just steam!
there's still gog, and all the independent games....

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:49 PM
Games to play:
Creeper world series (done)
TA + expansion (done)
TA:K + expansion
Populous: The Beginning + expansion
Impossible Creatures + expansion
BfME 1 2 wotr expansions
Lost Vikings/arcade collection
Tasty Planet 1, 2, blue, forever
Warcraft series 1 2 3 (reforged) + expansions
Rayman 1,2,3,O,L
Papa games
Starcraft 1 (remastered/cartooned), 2, + expansions
Hearthstone adventures and puzzle lab
Warwind 1 2
Diablo I+II with all classes once
Diablo Immortal
Diablo III non-season all classes, paragon to full points
Diablo IV
C&C collection
Guild Wars 1 and expansions
Dungeon Siege 1, 2, 3
Warzone 2100
LED wars
Age of Empires 1, 2, 3
Broken Sword series
Elder Scrolls
Guild Wars 2
Touhou

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:49 PM
don't bother with TA:K. That was a misfire.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:49 PM
This is basically my "if I lived for 300 years" list.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:49 PM
instead, toss on Zero-K.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:50 PM
Pretty much all the games in this list I've already tried or even, in some occasions, finished, though not to the completeness of my liking.
TA: Kingdoms is actually one of my favorite RTS games.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:50 PM
really?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:50 PM
Yarp.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:50 PM
you and the other 12 people who liked it need to be studied

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:50 PM
hehe

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:50 PM
it wasn't bad
it just wasn't... great

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:51 PM
shrug I liked the story, the versatility of the factions, the cheesy tactics, and the gameplay just felt so much  more convenient than TA.
better unit creation, better patrolling, passive regeneration...

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:52 PM
well, it was made after
[5:52 PM]
so lots of lessons learned and better tech than TA

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:52 PM
I'm well - trust me, well - aware that it's a niche taste, but for me it's always hit just the right spots.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:52 PM
hey if you like it then you like it

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:52 PM
Indeed

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:53 PM
I really liked Alpha Protocol
which makes me a definitive weirdo
and Battleborn

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:53 PM
We all have our preferences

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:54 PM
if you liked TA though
Zero-K
[5:55 PM]
It has a what I think is the best sort of Grand Strategy meta-campaign I've ever seen

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:55 PM
Hmm, will have to check it out!

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:56 PM
the idea is this: you start with a small selection of units. there's a sort of web with different nodes and paths. each node unlocks a new unit which you can then use in the other missions
but there's no order
or, a limited one
so you can start and go get tanks, or better bots, or whatever
then you get to a map that's got some water on it and you're like "man I wish Ihad a navy" so you can leave that mission, then go down and unlock some ships
[5:57 PM]
and then go back to that mission now with a navy

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:57 PM
Reminds me of Starcraft II optional campaign paths to unlock units, or the commander challenges in RA3...

Pallando-Valar — Today at 5:57 PM
yeah but way more open
also you can paly the entire thing co-op

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:57 PM
Or, in fact, the Populous: The Beginning optional paths for spell unlocks, but that's a very limited feature.
[5:58 PM]
Not mandatory, right?
[5:59 PM]
Btw, that C&C Collection in the list there? That's 17 games.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 6:00 PM
yeah, but are you really going to play Renegade?
And Generals?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:01 PM
I intend to! I've already played a bit of Renegade in the past as part of a 5-pack purchase.
I don't know much about Generals but it's at least worth a go.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 6:02 PM
I played a ton of Rengade at some LAN parties back int he day.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:02 PM
Well obviously when I say I want to play games to completion it's generally the single-player campaigns.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 6:03 PM
the amount of time we played it was not correlated with the quality of the game, it was instead correlated with the fact that we had a cracked copy and it'd run on a LAN with itself still :p

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:03 PM
haha

Pallando-Valar — Today at 6:03 PM
(which several other options refused to do because they saw a copy of themselves)
[6:04 PM]
the quality of the copy protection was heavily correlated with the quality of the game

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:26 PM
I may need to remove Diablo Immortal from the list though I suppose it's always possible we can play it in the Netherlands some day.
speaking of, I should probably add Arclight Rumble.
[6:28 PM]
Anyway, back later, think I'll go watch part of a movie.

Sandalf13 — Today at 7:23 PM
The chicken was good, and the kimchi was better...now I am back and it is still drizzling outside.
[7:25 PM]
Anyone home?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:51 PM
Aiya
Ended up watching the entire movie after all  Time for personal gaming report!

Sandalf13 — Today at 8:51 PM
Still here, Ar...but will soon be drifting off to bed. My body is MST., but my clock is still on CST...it is late!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:52 PM
It's late here as well :)

Sandalf13 — Today at 8:52 PM
What was the movie this week?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:52 PM
But you can always read the transcript
28 Weeks Later.

Sandalf13 — Today at 8:52 PM
Of course...if I miss your report "live," I always read it later!
But not 28 Weeks Later.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:52 PM
hehe
[8:53 PM]

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Gaming report!
[8:53 PM]
For (non)flashgaming, here's
https://www.kongregate.com/games/fizzd/a-dance-of-fire-and-ice
    Kongregate
    A Dance of Fire and Ice
    The second hardest one-button rhythm game you will ever play.
    Updates:
    5/12/18 After a lot of bug fixing, finally updated to WebGL! After four years. Wow th...

[8:54 PM]
Not to be confused with the similarly named book series A Song of Ice and Fire or the Warcraft 3 level A Symphony of Frost and Flame
[8:59 PM]
A rhythm game, one-button only, though you can use the mouse button or pretty much any key in that function, whatever works best.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:59 PM
Make your way across a level, pressing a button at the beat to move from square to square. The corners will take practice
[9:00 PM]
Eventually memory and good rhythm will see you to the end of each level, but it gets pretty difficult!

Sandalf13 — Today at 9:03 PM
If you say it is difficult, that translates to impossible for me.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 9:03 PM
Depends how your rhythm is

Sandalf13 — Today at 9:03 PM
I have good rythym (after all, I play the piano), but my feet no longer always move in time to the music!!! he he

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 9:05 PM
Worth a try then!

Blizzard gaming:
[9:06 PM]
Diablo 4:
Not quite there yet  Pre-access has started, and talk has started about starting a clan with WoW friends, but I myself won't be able to play until the 6th since I only bought the standard edition.
And I'm not too sad about that, because there's been talks about bugs encountered, so hopefully by then it's a bit better
[9:07 PM]
Hearthstone:
Level 82 on the reward track. Getting closer to 100!
New quest event is coming up in a few days, Epic Duels of Rock. We'll see what's involved then!
[9:09 PM]
New mini-set for this expansion is out as well, at 2k gold for the normal version and 10k for the gold cards. I'm currently at 6.5k gold, and thinking I'll save for the gold version. At this rate I'll end up a few mini-sets behind over time, though, but if that starts to get annoying I'll go back to buying the normal versions.
[9:11 PM]
Before the new brawl started, I got a few more of my quest wins through duels. The secret hunter didn't survive, but I got my last win with a Rattlegore armor-based deck, which is about keeping armor up and surviving for as long as it takes to put a lot of bombs in the enemy deck.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 9:12 PM
Very luck-based though... I lost my first match because they kept not drawing the bombs, despite ultimately the bombs outnumbering his remaining normal cards about 3 or 4 to 1.
[9:13 PM]
New brawl this week is Return of Mechazod! Each match is a co-op match between you and another player, playing a druid and mage with set decks, trying to bring down the boss minion, Mechazod, together.
[9:14 PM]
Requires a good deal of luck with the boss's abilities and the luck of the draw, of course, but as long as you both know what to do it really helps.
[9:15 PM]
Besides helping each other with heals and cross-player combos, the key burst damage lies, for druid, with building a deck and giving them attack buffs, and for the mage with gathering spell damage minions and damage spells for large combinations, ideally with a Millhouse Manastorm play from druid to make your spells free for one turn.
So if you like a challenge, go for it!
[9:16 PM]
WoW:
[9:17 PM]
Raiding continues! Our first 2 heroic kills in the new raid, Kazzara and the Amalgamation, have happened. I also got my third tier piece.
[9:18 PM]
Weekly is battlegrounds, quite handy for the trading post points as well as for honor, which I got to level 110.
The treasure goblin event is still going, and while I'm still missing Wirt's remaining leg, I did get 36-slot bags on the paladin and the rogue. Mage is next!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 9:20 PM
Trading post is open for June. 1 new pet and 2 new mounts to get, which is annoying... I like both mounts, and the bee pet is identical to another bee pet I've already got, so I think I'll let the bee go, freeze the wasp mount, and get the firey horse mount, which will suit my mage perfectly.
[9:20 PM]
I'm sure the bee will return in the future.
[9:22 PM]
Finally, more alting!
[9:23 PM]
The fire mage continued questing in Ardenweald, completing the main quest chapter at Glitterfall Heights against the Drust, and is currently busy transporting a wildseed to Hibernal Hollow, with a Drust ambush along the way.
She also made it to level 61: Strangely, not in Ardenweald, but by killing a Treasure Goblin in Stormwind. She really was right at the edge of levelling
[9:25 PM]
My tauren hunter Caliboes also continued in Mulgore, completing the starting experience, and doing a bunch of loose quests around Bloodhoof Village. With his melee playstyle it can get pretty dangerous, and he can't take on more than 3 enemies at once, if that, but he's getting there. Level 8 now!
[9:26 PM]
Next week hopefully to level 10, at which point I'll complete his look
And then the next horde character... the witch cackle
[9:27 PM]
And that's my report for the week!
Namarie

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:39 PM
Sleep well Phar.

Varda — Today at 9:40 PM
Aiya Eonwe : )

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:41 PM
Ok, looks like I have a chance to get another legendary tracery on my LI, so to be clear on this before I do anything crazy: If I use the tracery reclamation scroll, do I lose all the progress on my traceries thus far and so end up wasting all those runes, or does it keep the same level, i.e. one I got up to 485, the socket itself would still be 485 rather than dropping to 460 or some such?
Heya.

Varda — Today at 9:41 PM
Also, good night/good morning to Phar.
ah, your question.
[9:42 PM]
The socket keeps the 485
Change your tracery as you will.
You can, for instance, put a teal over a purple, letting the purple disintegrate.
[9:43 PM]
No need to take it out.

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:43 PM
True.
But would the reclamation scroll result in the same? I suppose I should just overwrite one if I go this route as it's not a big loss to do so, just curious. (edited)

Varda — Today at 9:44 PM
The scroll removes all  of the traceries on the whole LI.
I usually don't want to do that.

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:44 PM
So the runes used to upgrade the slot/tracery would be wasted at that point?

Varda — Today at 9:44 PM
Nope
[9:45 PM]
The socket upgrades, not the tracery.
The socket levels stay the same after the scroll.

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:46 PM
OK good.

Varda — Today at 9:46 PM
But if it's a puny tracery, why bother letting it take up inventory space after the replacement?

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:47 PM
Reclaim it for ancient script if I'm desperate for ancient script? ;}

Varda — Today at 9:47 PM
Check your Reward Track for more Enhancement runes, etc
Mine has been overloaded with Ancient Script so long that I'm not sure.
Mouse over would tell.

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:48 PM
Varda, Varda, Varda. WIth as long as you've been playing LotRO you should know the reward track isn't for upgrading your legendary, it's for getting goose houses :}

Varda — Today at 9:48 PM
It's for both! hangs onto goose house

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:48 PM
:}

Varda — Today at 9:48 PM
It's at the kin house, actually. : )

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:48 PM
:}

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:48 PM
:}
[9:51 PM]
I've got 4 blue pieces of 478 jewelry from these embers I've been getting. Upgrading jewelry first because it tends to be last otherwise, heh.
[9:52 PM]
And I'm going to have to find where and on what to spend these coins these Dwarves have been giving me.
[9:53 PM]
Getting close to the cap on these Gundabad coins...
[9:54 PM]
Heh, found the guy for those. That was easy :}

Eonwë Valar — Today at 9:56 PM
Ok, bought pets, no longer near the cap, heh.

Varda — Today at 9:58 PM
Grats : )

Eonwë Valar — Today at 10:02 PM
Thanks :} TIme to go Tracery shopping, heh.

Eonwë Valar — Today at 10:13 PM
Hmm, suppose I'll upgrade my Champion Rune's heraldry to legendary.

Varda — Today at 10:13 PM
Watch for the numbers too, like 14 is better than 13


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