Sunday, November 10, 2024
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Attending (6): Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Eowyn, Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
Topic: What types of military forces do we see in the Silmarillion, Hobbit, LotR?
[November 5, 2024
[11:43 AM]Eönwë Valar: YouTube - MALINDA - Edge of Night (Pippin's Song) from Lord of the Rings
[11:45 AM]Eönwë Valar: Just for fun, take a guess at which song it is before clicking (don't tell us which song it is), then tell us if you were right: YouTube - Taylor Davis - The Lord of The Rings Song That Should've Been in Your Wedding
[12:01 PM]Eönwë Valar: Quick info for WoW players; If you have the Dagran Thaurissan quest, you won't see the Black Temple Timewalking quest.
[12:02 PM]Eönwë Valar: You're not eligible for the latter with the former, so if you're hoping for an upgrade like me, I'd prioritize that one.
[12:41 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heh, Just reminded my Lightforged Draenei's Racial is "Forge of Light" which is exactly what it says, and would be perfect if I felt like working through yet another blacksmith. November 9, 2024
[11:44 PM]Eönwë Valar: Well, I managed to beat a T10 delve (623 ilvl recommended minimum) with a 613 ilvl. Quite a fight, but now I've unlocked T11, I've got some more room for gearing up before I think I can handle that. November 10, 2024
[3:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Grats At 616 myself, should give 9 to 11 a poke at some point.
[3:31 PM]Eönwë Valar: Yeah, might've been a little higher in ilvl had my Hero reward from the BT raid quest not been something I already have.
[3:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hah.
[3:33 PM]Eönwë Valar: It does bother me that the highest tiers for Delves don't seem to have a reliable way to reach the recommended ilvl (the Delver's Bounty item being the only way to get Gilded Crests without going elsewhere, and those not being a reliable source because I have yet to see a reliable way to get them).
[3:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Interesting point. If you just want to do Delves rather than dungeons and raids that should be viable, but it won't allow you to rise up reasonably that way.
[3:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aye. It's supposed to be its own content path, so it shouldn't require going to another content path to get to the top.
[3:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Could argue that with enough practice, the recommended ilevel isn't that necessary, but it's there for a reason.
[3:40 PM]Eönwë Valar: There's some truth to that, within a certain margin, but obviously a 400 ilvl isn't going to succeed in content that requires 623+. I'm surprised I managed to squeak out a win with 613. I would've expected needing at least 619-ish to stand a chance.
[3:43 PM]Eönwë Valar: And 619 is what I would say is the max you can guarantee from Delves: Vault gear for doing T8 minimum, then running a bunch of T8+ to get the 2 runed crests per run.
[3:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, and there's the key, isn't it? Once you've upgraded all your gear/slots with runed crests, you can combine them into gilded!
[3:45 PM]Eönwë Valar: I suppose if it let's us choose to buy the gilded crests once we've got all the gear we need, that could count as "guaranteed", but that does have you waiting a pretty long time to start getting those last gear upgrades relying on that. (edited)
[@Ar-Pharazon-V
[Ah, and there's the key, isn't it? Once you've upgraded all your gear/slots with runed crests, you can combine them into gilded!
[3:51 PM]Eönwë Valar: I suppose that depends on how long the season is. If there's a reasonable time to be able to reach the highest Delve gear through Delves and and attempt/beat the highest Delve content, fine, but if there isn't...
[3:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: True.
[3:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: If one has their gear 3/6 Hero from delves, that's another 45 runs to get an upgrade. I don't think I could stand 45 runs in one day, and even spreading it over the week that's a minimum 7 runs per day.
[3:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: Doable? Depends on your schedule, but it sounds like a recipe for burnout to me, heh.
[3:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I know, I'm sometimes struggling to get one in every day
[3:56 PM]Eönwë Valar: Checking the vendor next to the vault, I see Carved and Runed crests being sold, but not Gilded. Don't know if that'll change when I stop needing runed, but I hope so.
[3:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hang on, I'll check...
[3:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: had to finish Emeriss with an alt first
[3:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yeah, ok, I don't see them right now, guess I hadn't unlocked them yet either.
[4:01 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ok, wowhead tells me Vaskarn does sell them, I'm guessing when you've made it that far.
[4:01 PM]Varda: Aiya
[4:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:02 PM]Varda: : )
[4:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya :}
[4:03 PM]Arien Valar: aiya
[1
[4:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya
[4:04 PM]Varda: All the busy folk. : )
[4:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: So maybe another 6-7 weeks till I finish getting all my hero gear, heh.
[4:04 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:04 PM]Varda: Membership:
[4:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: Then upgrade it all to 619.
[4:04 PM]Varda: Good luck with all the WoW gear. : )
[4:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, at least it keeps you off the streets
[4:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: Thanks :}
[4:05 PM]Eönwë Valar: But the streets need me! :}
[4:05 PM]Eönwë Valar: I am vengeance, i am the night. I. Am. BATMAN! :}
[4:05 PM]Varda: hehehe
[4:06 PM]Varda: Spiderman swings past
[Eönwë Valar I am vengeance, i am the night. I. Am. BATMAN! :}
[4:08 PM]Eönwë Valar: Ok, this is the best version I'm finding on short notice, so here: YouTube - “I AM VENGEANCE. I AM THE NIGHT. I AM BATMAN!”
[4:08 PM]Eönwë Valar: Anyway, on with the meeting :}
[4:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: He only sounds a little bit whiny in that one
[4:09 PM]Eönwë Valar: Scarecrow toxin affecting his head if I remember the episode correctly.
[4:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: You're not my dad!!
[4:10 PM]Varda: He's fighting mind control, doing it well.
[4:10 PM]Varda: Take that, Sauron!
[4:11 PM]Varda: Membership stuff:
[4:11 PM]Varda: Elwing is at my house currently gaming in Lord of the Rings Online
[4:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: Yay :}
[4:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya to Elwing :}
[4:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:12 PM]Varda: She came over for my birthday. We are stuffed with spice cake and cream cheese icing, and projects are ongoing of all sorts. : )
[4:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: To my greatsomethinggrandmother.
[4:12 PM]Varda: hehe
[4:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: Happy Birthday!
[4:12 PM]Varda: I'll pass that along!
[4:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Happy birthday!
[4:13 PM]Varda: She laughed and said hello great great something or other. : )
[4:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
[4:14 PM]Varda: For those too polite to ask, I've caught up to Fangorn at 71. : )
[4:14 PM]Varda: Any other membership stuff going?
[4:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: What's the level cap now?
[4:14 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Valar Guild meeting time! Come on in!
[4:14 PM]Varda: In main LotRO, it's still 150.
[4:15 PM]Varda: In human terms, a team of scientists say 120 to 130.
[4:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, still plenty to go!
[4:15 PM]Varda: So 60 is about middle-aged.
[4:15 PM]Varda: Any other membership news? I kind of took over there, pardon.
[4:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Too bad it's a hardcore server.
[4:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Give me a quest! - YouTube - Warcraft II knight/paladin quotes
[4:20 PM]Varda: hehe Phar
[4:20 PM]Varda: The Paladinis speak. : )
[4:21 PM]Varda: On to
[4:21 PM]Varda: Gaming!
[4:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: I use some of those as phone ringtones for certain things, heh.
[4:21 PM]Varda: O fun!
[4:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Interesting idea. I'm still looking for a good one for what's app messages.
[4:22 PM]Varda: Paladin, sir, would you care to wield this large and spectacular gavel just out of the Forges of Aule?
[4:22 PM]Varda: A Gaming hammer!
[4:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sure.
[4:24 PM]Varda: slides the hammer three acres across the table to Eonwe's seat
[4:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: image of Kirby with flaming hammer
[4:24 PM]Varda: Nice hammer Kirby has!
[4:25 PM]Varda: Meanwhile, I'll go fission.
[4:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:25 PM]Arien Valar: lol fun ringtomes hehe ... i like especially the "Deo Gratias* , the exorcism sound, and At your service, my lord
[4:26 PM]Varda: :)
[4:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: Update 42.0: Legacy of Morgoth is live this week.
[4:26 PM]Varda: The new expansion area is huge and looks lovely! Would enjoy pitching a tent there.
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft:
[This week's Bonus Event: Burning Crusade Timewalking.
[This week's PvP Brawl: Gravity Lapse.
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: Firelands is now available in Cataclysm Classic.
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's hotfixes.
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hearthstone:
[Now live: The Great Dark Beyond.
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 4:
[Campfire Chat coming November 12th.
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo Immortal:
[The World of Warcraft crossover runs from November 13th through December 11th.
[4:30 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: That's it for me. Back to Varda.
[4:31 PM]Varda: Thank you, Eonwe. : )
[4:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: Ok, fine, here:
[4:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: image of cake with Kirby clapping
[4:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: For Varda's birthday :}
[4:32 PM]Varda: Starcraft 2: Eowyn, Fangorn, Faramir, Floppa
[4:33 PM]Varda: chows down on the wonderful cake from Eonwe, splitting it with all at the table, including you lurkers!
[4:33 PM]Varda: A bit more on LotRO:
[4:33 PM]Varda: LotRO codes through Nov 14:
[4:33 PM]Varda: Univ solvent thru Nov 14 code: HESTOODBEFORETHESTONE / Discount codes SLASH15 SLASH20 SLASH 30
[4:34 PM]Varda: The universal solvents are great for making the highest crafted essences even for level 150, outside of raiding.
[4:34 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings Online: Valarites that showed up in kin this past week:
Landroval branch
Crickhollow branch:
Treebeard branch:
Angmar branch:
Mordor branch:
[4:36 PM]Varda: On to
[4:36 PM]Varda: Tolkien:
[4:36 PM]Varda: What types of military forces do we see in the Silmarillion, Hobbit, LotR?
[4:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Armies.
[4:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Infantry, cavalry, archery, bit of siege weapon
[4:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Bit of aerial warfare
[4:38 PM]Varda: Teleri brought out their ships to carry the forces of the Valar to Middle-earth, although not willing to help the Noldor by actual fighting.
[4:38 PM]Varda: Eagle bombing with a Beorning. : )
[4:38 PM]Eönwë Valar: You know, we never got a ship-to-ship battle.
[4:39 PM]Varda: Ar-Pharazon took his ships to Valinor and never got to engage with other ships. Just a gigantic maelstrom of rending water.
[4:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: To be fair, gunpowder was a quite recent invention. There'd be no cannons on Numenorean or Umbar ships.
[4:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Boats were more of a transport thing.
[4:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Could have archers and ballistae, I suppose.
[4:39 PM]Varda: Saruman did apparent magic with some gunpowder, since no one on Middle-earth understood it.
[4:40 PM]Eönwë Valar: Archers, and Numenoreans were supposed to be pretty darn good with those bows of theirs made of hollow metal tubes.
[4:40 PM]Varda: True. We saw some big stuff going at and from Gondor.
[4:40 PM]Varda: Dartguns!?
[4:40 PM]Varda: I think that was more of a Wose thing. : )
[4:41 PM]Eönwë Valar: I don't remember the exact description, but the Numenoreans made bows of hollow metal.
[4:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Gauss guns?
[4:41 PM]Varda: High class bows!
[4:43 PM]Eönwë Valar: It's in UT, which of course I've buried behind a bunch of stuff in my latest round of cleaning.
[4:45 PM]Cenedra: Aiya, and happy birthday to Varda!
[4:46 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya Eowyn :} Heyowyn? :}
[4:46 PM]Cenedra: lol
[4:46 PM]Cenedra: Heya
[4:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:47 PM]Cenedra: I will be reading what I missed for a bit. Didn't mean to interrupt the discussion.
[4:51 PM]Varda: Aiya Eowyn!
[4:52 PM]Varda: Thank you : )
[1
[4:55 PM]Eönwë Valar: We saw Marchwardens = border guards, if we want to include those.
[4:55 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Eowyn Happy birthday , Varda
[4:56 PM]Varda: Also Shirrifs if we are adding in the police/home guard. Actually meant military
[4:57 PM]Eönwë Valar: What about Rangers?
[4:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not sure if that's strictly military. Certainly when they went to war, but before that... something of a hunter/bouncer combination?
[4:58 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[rang·er
[/'rānjər/
[noun: ranger; plural noun: rangers
[1. a keeper of a park, forest, or area of countryside. "park rangers"
[2. a member of a body of armed men.
[a mounted soldier.
[US: a commando or highly trained infantryman.
[3. a person or thing that wanders or ranges over a particular area or domain.
["rangers of the mountains"
[4:58 PM]Varda: Rangers can be considered guerrilla fighters
[4:59 PM]Varda: They did things like guard the Shire from creatures that would have frozen Barliman's blood to see.
[5:00 PM]Eönwë Valar: So it could be taken as something simple and low, such as what the people of Bree intend in calling Aragorn and the others as "Rangers", or it could be an elite group of trained soldiers, which seems to be the true case (and possibly the case of the Rangers of Ithilien, given it's led by the son of the current steward of Gondor).
[5:02 PM]Varda: Seems like trained guerrilas.
[5:02 PM]Arien Valar: remember Theodens words about the Grey Company?
[@Varda
[Seems like trained guerrilas.
[5:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: Not sure that disagrees with my above description.
[5:03 PM]Varda: It's agreement. : )
[5:03 PM]Arien Valar: "Even 30 such as you shall be considered a force that cannort defeated* or some such
[5:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: Army Rangers, Navy Seals, Green Berets, etc.
[5:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Commandos.
[5:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: Special Ops.
[5:04 PM]Varda: Special Forces, aye.
[5:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aye.
[5:04 PM]Varda: We have sneaked up on the hour.
[5:05 PM]Varda: gavel jumps out at the hammerpad
[5:05 PM]Varda: boo! Thonk
[5:05 PM]Varda: After-meeting!
[5:05 PM]Varda: Feel free to keep chatting on the topic or whatever. Free chat time!
[5:05 PM]Eönwë Valar: licks finger and pinches candlewick I can move unseen when I want to, but to disappear completely...
[5:06 PM]Arien Valar: (( can be 2 dwarves sneaking into an orc camp to kill an orc leader while two others draw the main forces away considered special ops as well scratches head )
[5:06 PM]Eönwë Valar: YouTube - Aragorn of Bree LOTR 1.04
[HD 1080p]
[5:07 PM]Eönwë Valar: Depends. Were they an elite military unit or standard infantry?
[5:09 PM]Arien Valar: guess standard infantry ^^
[5:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I know in WoW our characters are referred to as adventurers, champions, sometimes commanders. In Diablo 4 you're the Wanderer, I think.
[5:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: What are your LotRO characters referred to as in-game?
[5:10 PM]Eönwë Valar: Generally Adventurers exist outside the military structure. More like Bounty Hunters.
[5:10 PM]Arien Valar: heros , champions
[5:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Champions could be military.
[5:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: Ronin, Hochfrei (Free Knights). Knights Errant.
[5:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Mercenaries?
[5:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: (The above not an answer to Phar's question, an extention of what Adventurers are akin to.)
[5:12 PM]Varda: Champion is a class, rather than what we are all called.
[5:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: Mercenaries, depends. Sometimes mercenaries can be folded into the military structure, and sometimes our characters are, so that could work.
[5:12 PM]Varda: Adventurers
[5:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: But I think Ronin and Knights Errant are supposed to be the more heroic (and intended) callback for most of what's called "Adventurers" in games. Of course, not everyone who would venture out as such would necessarily have the title to lay claim to "Samurai" or "Knight" as their title.
[5:16 PM]Varda: Oh, before I forget, in LotRO the regular elves have been given an Avatar update. Might want to go to the Barber for tweaking your new look.
[5:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: Even in the Old West, you have cases of some of those guys settling down and becoming Sheriffs, entering the "structure" and defending their towns from the kinds of men they used to run with.
[5:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Outlaws.
[5:18 PM]Varda: True. Texas was famous for criminals that ran there to escape the US law, and settled in as regular citizens with backbones.
[5:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ahh, Texas. The Australia of the US.
[5:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Keep this up and I'm going to be looking for a quote from "Quigly Down Under" heh.
[5:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: Good movie if you like Westerns, btw.
[5:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Galaxy Quest, Harry Potter to name a few of his movies, if that sells you)
[5:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm familiar with both, but transcript readers might find that handy
[5:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But that sounds like a good cast!
[5:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Tom Selleck did better as a protagonist in a Western than I expected going in. (It's actually set in Australia, which is why I made the comment in the first place.) (edited)
[5:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: OK, you get the clip: Quigly (a cowboy) trading barbs with a British officer stationed in Australia (no specific date given that I recall, but presumably Australia was still a colony at the time.) --- YouTube - Quigley Down Under (Clip)
[5:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: Fixed the clip.
[5:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: Second clip is good too, so here it is again: YouTube - QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER (1990) | Finest Marksman In The World | MGM
[5:34 PM]Varda: I really like Quiqley Down Under. : )
[5:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hey look, Free With Ads on Youtube. Just found your movie for the night if you don't already have one picked out, heh. YouTube - YouTube Movies - Quigley Down Under
[5:36 PM]Varda: The bucket-carrier is a good trick-rider
[5:36 PM]Arien Valar: Namarie
[5:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: namarie
[5:37 PM]Eönwë Valar: Take care :}
[5:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The uploader has not made this video available in your country
[5:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah well
[5:38 PM]Eönwë Valar: Youtube hasn't made it available on youtube, eh? :}
[5:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
[5:39 PM]Eönwë Valar: Anyway, I'm sure you can find it for free on one of the many Roku apps if you have a roku.
[5:39 PM]Varda: Namarie Arien
[5:41 PM]Eönwë Valar: Ok, I must be off now. Take care all, good night, sleep well, enjoy the story :}
[5:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie
[5:43 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya! Just got in from a final cleanup from our snow...11 inches tghrough yesterday, but as usual for Denver, melting pretty quick...today got up to 40 grad F, and very dry.
[5:44 PM]Sandalf13: image
[5:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[5:45 PM]Sandalf13: Sorry I missed Arien and Eonwe...
[5:45 PM]Sandalf13: Remember: A Sandalf is never late, but arrives exactly when he needs to
[5:47 PM]Sandalf13: The view this morning. They are very good at clearing the main roads around here...they get a lot of practice.
[5:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hah, I imagine they do.
[5:48 PM]Sandalf13: Is everyone already gone, Ar?
[5:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Varda's still here somewhere, semi-away I guess.
[5:49 PM]Sandalf13: Semi-away is better than all away, heh?
[5:53 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I suppose
[5:54 PM]Sandalf13: Will you be taking off for a bit before your evening report?
[5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yep, got a few more things to do.
[5:54 PM]Sandalf13: I understand...will see you later for your report....maybe a couple of hours?
[5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not sure. At least one more game to play, and maybe some other stuff.
[5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Should be a couple of hours maximum.
[5:54 PM]Sandalf13: I shall just check in and see if I can catch you live...
[5:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Sure
[6:27 PM]Varda: I am back and forth. We are doing some installing of stuff.
[6:28 PM]Varda: Eowyn and Elwing are in LotRO Landroval so I slip over there too. : )
[7:48 PM]Sandalf13: Installing?
[7:56 PM]Varda: Putting a TV on the wall on a mount and rigging Wi Fi to it. It's in now.
[7:56 PM]Sandalf13: THAT is a project. How big is the TV?
[7:57 PM]Sandalf13: I bought myself a 55 inch big screen last summer at Amazon Prime Days, and it rests on a buffet table. My sister said I should mount it on the wall like you are...but it is only a 55 inch. TVs are much bigger now, I can see.
[7:58 PM]Varda: 45"
[7:58 PM]Sandalf13: I may have a quick trip to Houston in the middle of this month...things are fluid right now.
[7:58 PM]Varda: Always in motion the future
[7:59 PM]Sandalf13: If I do go, I will fly in and rent a car this time...it is a bit of a further drive from Denver to Houstaon than it is from Lincoln...and Lincoln was far enough for me!
[8:00 PM]Sandalf13: I remember my first drive to Houston three (wow...is it three already?) summers ago....it was such an enjoyable trip, and your company made it so much better.
[8:04 PM]Varda: Thank you. We enjoyed your visiting. : )
[8:06 PM]Sandalf13: Got my last batch of tomatoes out of the fridge this evening and sliced them up for the dehydrator. Nothing like delicious tomato chips on a wintry evening....I put a dash of salt on them before I start the dehydrator, so they have a delightful salty flavor...just like potato chips, but no oil is involved.
[8:07 PM]Sandalf13: I am going to Lincoln on Tue-Wed-Thu, returning midday on Thursday. Got to get the car worked on, my geology license renewed, see some friends and grandchildren, and so on. A quick trip.
[8:11 PM]Varda: We mounted our TV on the wall because it's in the kitchen.
[8:11 PM]Varda: Gets it out of the way.
[8:11 PM]Varda: The tomato chips sound great!
[8:11 PM]Sandalf13: Ah. So I assume it is not your primary TV for sitting down and watching...something to do in the kitchen, heh?
[8:11 PM]Varda: Nice busy trip with good visits too. : )
[8:12 PM]Varda: heh, it's so it's not so hard to follow what is going on in the other room. Don't have to turn it up high enough to disturb others.
[8:12 PM]Sandalf13: I hope the weather remains good. The storm we had moved east acdross the Plains, and just about reached Lincoln, as far as I know.
[8:12 PM]Varda: Always in motion the weather.
[8:12 PM]Sandalf13: Right now the weather looks great for Tuesday...
[8:13 PM]Sandalf13: Indeed.
[8:13 PM]Varda: You know the saying, If you don't like the weather right now, wait a minute.
[8:14 PM]Varda: May be raining on one side of the street and dry on the other.
[8:15 PM]Sandalf13: The ski areas are open already. This year, I decided to buy a full year Epic pass. Last year, I bought a lift ticket for 4 days for $485!!! While going up the lift one morning, I was talking to another Vet who told me to look into buying a season pass for Vets. I did so. The SEASON pass cost me $512 and is good from now through the end of the season, with a couple of blackout days like Xmas day, New Years, and so on. Who would go skiing then anyway? Any I now have a lift ticket I can use most any day I have free for a quick ski trip!
[8:15 PM]Varda: Next we get you to practice in-game movement using either arrow keys or W A S D
[8:15 PM]Varda: Hey, that's great on the skiing! Grats. : )
[8:17 PM]Sandalf13: I hope so. Since I bought a lift ticket, I bought my very own skis....first time since 1985, when my wife passed away....we bought our skis together, and I used those through the early 90s when they finally gave out. I have not replaced them until now. The total cost for skis and boots was around $900, but now I have a complete outfit and do not have to rent anything or buy any day to day lift tickets. I think it is a great deal, and the skis should last me for several years, at least.
[8:19 PM]Sandalf13: I think you know that I still own my one week time share condo up at Swan Mountain, right near Keystone and A-Basin. I have two rooms...with enough beds for 8 people. You are welcome anytime...there a lot of Texans on the slopes at Keystone in January!!!
[8:20 PM]Sandalf13: If you ever decided to come up, we could ski during the day and play the LoTRO and other games at night by a warm, toasty fire.
[8:20 PM]Sandalf13: With hot chocolate, of course....and graham crackers...and ice cream...and popcorn....boy oh boy...my head is spinning!
[8:22 PM]Sandalf13: If I wanted to go up for a day of skiing right now, without my own equipment, it would cost me about $120 for the ski rental, and $130 for the lift ticket...so you can see the economy of doing what I did....at least I hope I did the right thing.
[8:22 PM]Sandalf13: That would be for only one day, of course....
[8:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Nothing like learning to WASD when Varda's'in the room telling you how to
[8:22 PM]Sandalf13: You betcha, Ar!!!!
[8:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: K, you can continue your conversation, but I will start throwing my report in in the meantime
[8:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Perrrsonal gaming report:
[8:23 PM]Sandalf13: Go right ahead!!!
[8:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming... I don't often link idle/incremental games because they tend to be long grinds with paid features, but this one is actually rather fun - at least to start with - with an original premise!
[8:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Babel Tower has you building the fabled tower, trying to reach the sky!
[8:26 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It all starts with bricks, as you mine for stone, carve them into bricks and start building the tower with the first floor.
[8:26 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Then you need a crane to move up, so on the other side of the screen you're introduced to lumber, making planks and building that, and then alternating between the crane and the stone floors.
[8:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But also sell some stuff so you can upgrade! Buy upgrades to do stuff faster, to have more people on the job, and get more and more money
[8:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Which you then use to continue building!
[8:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: With every floor, a new mechanic is introduced to make things easier and have you upgrade more stuff.
[8:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And if things are too slow for you, you can reset after having a minimum of 2 floors, to trade in your progress for golden bricks, which give permanent boosts to all processes!
[8:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So good luck building, and see if you can reach past the moon
[8:30 PM]Sandalf13: Appropriate...we just read about the Tower of Babel....
[8:32 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, good timing then
[8:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[8:34 PM]Sandalf13: My guys are busy cutting stones. I keep quarrying them, and they keep cutting and mounting them....such a deal.
[8:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: You can click on stuff or keep the button pressed to speed things up mightily for the particular part you're clicking on. Or just sit back and watch
[8:35 PM]Sandalf13: Watching is fun too...they are pretty hard workers.
[8:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: New expansion's out, with new reward track! Am up to level 31 so far. Among the rewards so far are 2 legendary cards, The Exodar and Xor'toth, the Breaker of Stars; and a new Dark Beyond card back for the expansion. Also some specific golden cards from the new set.
[8:37 PM]Sandalf13: These guys look like Kenny from South Park.
[8:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: :)
[8:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The color scheme seems more like Stan, actually... now I can't unsee...
[8:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, quest event in Hearthstone is almost done, I expect to see a new one right after for the new expansion, since that's the way things seem to be going.
[8:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Also, I got death knight class to 50. Ten more levels to go!
[8:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Brawl this week is The Great Dark Beyond Recipe, where you can choose a class and get a specific deck built around the new cards and mechanics. Some interestingly themed decks in there, though some seem more powerful than others
[9:00 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: No new collection level, but getting there slowly.
[9:00 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Completed the Hallow's End reward track, with all possible stars from the track for the Headless Horseman, and the legendary core as reward at the end.
[9:01 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Also getting more rewards for logging in from the anniversary track, including the Kogold (a golden skin for the kobold miner) and the matching Gold Kobold portrait.
[9:03 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There's also another recurring event going on, the Blingtron event, which rewards you for buying things from the grid with stuff to buy things from the grid with. Unless you spend real money, not really worth going into deeply, but if you happen to be buying some stuff anyway you might get a few rewards out of it. Nothing wrong with stuff you get for free with stuff you'd have gotten anyway!
[9:03 PM]Sandalf13:
[9:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Continued with my second alliance leader in the dungeon, Jaina, getting her through levels 8 to 19. When you outlevel the dungeon you get to skip up to 3 levels each time while still getting the reward, just so you don't waste too much time on fights you just stomp on anyway.
[9:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the following horde week, though, no luck while working on level 22 with leader Cairne. But that's ok, it'll happen eventually.
[9:06 PM]Sandalf13: Good things come to them that wait.
[9:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the heroic sigil campaign, defeated Chef Audrey with the last 2 families, and the Son of Arugal with all families as well. Both are pretty tough, with specific minis recommended, though for the Son of Arugal I actually managed to get through with minimal adjustments and just trying a bunch of times
[9:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, and good things come to those who grind experience as well!
[9:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm at 122 sigils now, and from what I hear, the rest of the Lordaeron zone should be pretty simple by comparison. So I'll just keep going!
[9:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: As for quality upgrades, got no new talents, though I did upgrade my beast leader Hogger to rare quality. Two talents to look out for now!
[9:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And with the Hallow's End track out of the way, I can finally save up a bit more gold again
[9:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[9:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still raiding, though no new gear upgrades. But we're definitely cleaning out most of the place on heroic nicely.
[9:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Weekly quest is Burning Crusade timewalking, with new rewards to be bought for the badges from those. I got myself the Area 52 tabard, the Karazhan Syphoner pet, and the Amani Hunting Bear mount.
[9:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The other timewalking events are apparently getting new rewards as well, so that should be fun collecting. I just hope I have enough badges
[9:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For the Hallow's End event, it's over now, but before it ended I flew around Pandaria, Northrend, and parts of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor to get to 400 treats.
[9:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Which I used to buy 4 new cosmetics: The Patched Harvester's Claw and Patched Harvest Golem's Post, which fit the set that dropped from the Horseman boss, as well as the Prowler's Faded Headgear and Prowler's Faded Shoulder Cape appearances.
[9:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the 20th anniversary event, I've continued doing the various activities for the currency. In doing so, I got to honor level 133 through Korrak's Revenge, the rare Sureki Skyrazor mount from Queen Ansurek in LFR mode, and the achievement for collecting 100 tokens, unlocking more repeatable sources for them. That should help buy some stuff later on!
[9:18 PM]Sandalf13: Now that is something I have never heard of!!~! Imagine...selling treats to buy cosmetics....Inconceivable.
[9:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: :)
[9:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and another mount got! After several expansions I finally got the mount from the rare mob Houndlord Ren, back in the mogu invasions in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. That completes my mounts from invasions there, and now I shall move on to the invasions in Uldum: Each of the 3 invasions comes with a different mount dropped from a rare mob. So that's 3 chances every 2 weeks
[9:20 PM]Sandalf13: YouTube - The Princess Bride (2/12) Movie CLIP - Inconceivable! (1987) HD
[9:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And finally, more delves! Bunch more bountiful delves at tier 8, getting almost all the different idols at rank 4, completing the stories for the Tak-Rethan Abyss, Sinkhole and Nightfall Sanctum delves (leaving just the Underkeep) and even getting several unique appearances from the rewards, including the Torchbearer's Haversack and the Rulk'Nerub Raptorial Spine.
[9:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Got a few more levels on Brann as well, up to level 44. I hear the experience requirement goes up greatly at 45, so that's probably a bit of a wall. But at least he's getting there!
[9:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Next week, more anniversary and more delves
[9:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for the week!
[9:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie
[9:38 PM]Varda: Thanks, Phar
[9:44 PM]Varda: We have new missions in LotRO, and the missions lately have been called Delvings. Verry suspicious. : )
Thus ends this week's meeting. Come back and see us next week!