Category Archives: commentary

Fall Hiatus: Coming Soon to a Roadhouse Near You

20 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by in commentary

≈ 21 Comments

Dear Friends and Regular Readers of the Blog–

So.

By the fact that I’ve posted once update, this week, over the entire month of September, you already knew something was up.

And that something is: I’m not really playing SWTOR at the moment.

There are a variety of reasons, including guild implosions, friends who’ve stopped playing, and RL not giving me much time to do anything let alone play SWTOR and blog and podcast about it.

Thus, it’s time for me to take a break. I just gave a heads up to listeners who joined us live for recording this week’s podcast (which will be up on the site in a few days) that this is my last one for a while. So that makes it official.

I’ve had an amazing time being part of such a vibrant and engaged fan community. I appreciate all the access and information the SWTOR community managers have given little ‘ol me. But most of all I’ve enjoyed debating the finer points of this game with all of you. It’s meant a lot.

This domain is paid up for some time, so if I pick the game back up, you may see some new posts here. So we won’t say this is goodbye, just so long for now.

xo your roadhouse proprietress, Anexxia

P.S. I’ll still be up to no good on twitter, so be sure to follow @anexxia there.

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What’s Keeping me Busy in SWTOR…or Why This Blog Doesn’t Get Updated as Much as I’d Like

24 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in administrivia, commentary, community

≈ 2 Comments

My buddy Steve brought it to my attention that I just haven’t been updating the blog as frequently as I used to. And lest that perception be expressing itself to folks as a lack of interest in the game, I thought it would be a good time to catch folks up on what’s been keeping me busy SWTOR-wise, both in and out of game.

Many Alts, Handle it!

First and foremost, getting all of my alts transferred to their new servers then stalking tracking down their guilds and getting into the groove of the new server (including looking around for some new guilds for some of my alts) has taken more time than I would have expected. For those of you keeping track at home, here’s what my alt life looks like, in terms of guilds:

  • Canderous Ordo (PVE)
    • No Sleep Till Kessel a.k.a. #NSTK (Republic)
    • Nonstop Disco Jetpack (Imperial NSTK guild)
    • Ewok Dance Studio (alt guild for wee baby Republic toons w/@psynister, @fynralyl, and @the_wrenz)
  • Ebon Hawk (RP)
    • Republic Mercy Corps (Republic)
    • unguilded Imperial side and level 47 marauder needs a new home, PST!
  • The Bastion (PVP)

If you are in need of a guild on any of the above servers, follow the links and check ’em out. You’ll see that I haven’t dealt with my fourth and final server yet. Not sure if my level 17 sorcerer is going to be moved along or not at this point. It’s a little overwhelming already dealing with the above three active servers to be frank.

Same Story, Different Station

You are hopefully aware by now that this is not the only place to hear me ramble on about Star Wars: the Old Republic, yes? In addition to this blog, I also share through a number of other social channels:

But Wait, There’s More!

Then there’s a fun little SWTOR podcast you may have heard about — TOR Reporter. We record every Thursday night at 7:30 Pacific, with a live audience in our chat room. Prepping for the podcast is probably a prime contributor to my not blogging as often. Plus, I don’t want to steal the thunder from the podcast by preemptively publishing thoughts I’m planning to share there.

I hope to get the balance right on this in the future, and do a little more cross-pollination of topics from the podcast fleshed out in a little more detail here as well so that those of you who prefer your SWTOR news in text don’t miss out. I have to admit that recording the podcast is one of the highlights in my week each week– getting to chat about a game I love with other folks who feel the same way. It gives me a warm happy feeling, much like this blog…

So what’s been keeping you busy in and out of game as of late?

Inquisitor’s Roadhouse Mid-Year SWTOR Assessment

04 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in commentary

≈ 17 Comments

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I meant to do a 6-month check-in on what I’m doing in game, but the time got away from me. But since we’re all friends here. we’ll just pretend this is the 6 months since launch mark, ok?

Since the game’s pre-launch, I have:

  • Gotten my inquisitor to 50
  • Gotten my Marauder to 47
  • Attended one Eternity Vault raid
  • Done a small handful of leveling Flashpoints and no hardmode Flashpoints
  • Unlocked Legacies on 3 separate servers
  • Joined 4 guilds
  • Made my own alt guild
  • Crafted so many cute outfits that I have over 10 million credits on my original server

If you’d asked me 6 months ago what I expected my mid-year check-in accomplishments list to look like, I can assure you that the above list is nowhere close. Which just goes to show you how unpredictable gaming life can be.

Why I Have Such a Lack of End Game Activity

Given that I got to 50 within 3 weeks or so, and got into my first raid a week or so after hitting 50, I certainly expected to be regaling you with tales of my raiding successes, theorycrafting away at the best in slot inquisitor gear and tactics. But unfortunately for me, my launch guild did not end up being a good fit for me, in large part due to a bully with a bad attitude who ended up promoted to raid leader. Unlike some people who seem to play MMOs only with the end goal of getting the best gear and talking down to others, I like to raid in order to be part of a collaborative achievement. I enjoy the teamwork aspect of it. And I feel strongly life is too short to play w/people who are the reason the DBAD rule exists.

I should note here that in keeping with the similar experiences of this kind in WoW, after driving off many of the people I loved playing with, mister bad attitude stopped playing. But it was too late for me at that point.

So, with my primary guild not providing the collegial environment I was looking for, I started trying out a number of other servers. Unfortunately, starting over as a reroll on 3 servers puts you significantly behind the leveling pack. I was lucky enough to get a few lowbie Flashpoints in as part of my reroll experiences so that was nice as I am a firm believer that you don’t really get to know your guildies until you are grouped with them.

After lurking about, I set my sights on an active Imperial guild that also had a sister Republic guild on the same RP server. I got to watch my SO who is a much faster leveler than I am, tear through content, including a first time hard mode clear of EV by the guild, which was a 1-shot up to SOA. Unfortunately, as I rounded the mid-40’s bend there, the guild decided to refocus its efforts on the Republic side, and is now hosting 16-man raids there versus the weekly 8-mans and HM Flashpoint nights both sides. And thus my Marauder has languished at 47. It didn’t help that the story line had a sudden but inevitable betrayal right around this same time.

And this is why I am now focusing in on my level 36 Sage (not to be confused with my two other sages), in the guild No Sleep ’til Kessel on Juyo. I’ve wanted to see the Republic storyline through to the end, and think this is the character that will finally make that happen. And once I hit max level, I’ll see if I am able to get squeezed in to one of the raid groups. Even if I don’t, the guild feels like it is active enough I should be able to find HM partners. I truly want to get some time playing at max level and enjoying the fruits of my leveling, versus just always being on the alt leveling circuit. I love my alts mind you, but I also truly miss playing with other people. And I have to note here: this is not a flaw in the game. This is an artifact of the guild and server choices I’ve made. I’ve had the same issues crop up in WoW as well, but they were less painful only because on more than 1 occasion I poneyed up the cash for a server transfer.

I am looking forward to the prospect of moving my Inquisitor off my dead server as soon as she is eligible to transfer and I find a fun, mature, active Imperial guild for her to play in.

So, how about you? Six months in, what does your bucket list look like?