5+1 Gaming Week 1 Recap

Ramble #19: 5+1 Gaming Week 1 Recap

This week was really a week of setup for my 5+1 gaming plan. I didn’t get too far in any of the games I’ve been playing but I think I got things all set up for moving into the leveling and adventuring process.

For the MMOs, I got into SWL and LOTRO without any issues. The patching I did last weekend worked well and I jumped in and created characters. For SWTOR, though, things were a bit more difficult. I thought I had things patched up but for whatever reason, be it the new Onslaught expansion or just a basic patch, it took me most of the week to get things working in the game.

In non-MMOs, I made good progress. Moons of Madness is real easy to set up and certainly lived up to it’s horror vibe. This is gonna be a game I have to play during the daytime for fear of being…well, too afraid. The Witcher on the other hand doesn’t fill me with fear but looks like it could get a bit frustrating as I try to learn the combat system. From the looks of things I’ve got a lot to learn.

Finally, I didn’t get into Civilization VI this week. With work and other busy-ness, I didn’t get around to starting up a game. I look forward to getting this one going this upcoming week but I’ll need to plan out the parameters of my first game there.

Starting Areas

As I mentioned I am just getting things rolling in the MMOs I’m focused on this week but I did get into the initial areas of the games and even a bit past the tutorials during the little time I had to play this week.

• LOTRO
  In Middle Earth, I probably made the most progress in this game this week as the installation and character creation is straight forward. I’ve also recently played and have a couple characters on the Legendary servers I will most likely get into during this 5+1 thing. For now though, I created a new Human Warden on the Landroval server. This is the server my Alea Iacta Est players on and I figured that I’d work towards joining their fellowship.
  As thing went I got through the tutorial easily since there’s not much to the thing and in reality, most of the learning for a Warden takes place as you gain new gambits. Unfortunately, I did not have much time this week to play but I did get a couple of quick sessions in and advanced through a few of the missions in Archet though I’m still trying to convince Captain Brackenbuck that the Blackwolds are going to attack the town.
• SWL
  In Secret World Legends I decided to go with a Dragon faction character this time around since I’ve already played through a bunch, at least up to the Scorched Desert, with my Illuminati character and I’ve advanced to the Blue Mountains with my Templar. I also decided to start out by focusing on the Sword and Chaos Magic. These two sounded cool and were available though I might change to Elemental Magic if I’m not enjoying Chaos too much…we’ll see. I was able to get through the tutorial and onto the streets of Seoul but I’n still a few missions from taking my journey to Kingsmouth. Soon though.
• SWTOR
  This game gave me the most trouble getting started but I finally got things rolling. That pink screen was really weird but after I updated my video drivers, things seemed to work out.
  For my initial character here, I rolled a Jedi Guardian since I heard they are fairly straightforward to play and I’ve been watching a lot of the movies lately and wanted to play one of the good guys. Eventually I want to play an Imperial Agent and a Sith Sorcerer but Jedi is it for now.
  With all the troubles getting the game moving, I haven’t progressed too far but I have seen some combat. I even got through the first of my class missions. Getting used to being a melee character could be challenging but for now things work pretty well, I just hack things with my lightsaber and search the bodies. I’m feeling I will make some good progress this week now that playing the game isn’t so much of an issue.

Playing a Role

As opposed to the MMOs I started up, getting into the RPGs on my list was a piece of cake since I didn’t have to worry about defining my character looks, clothing, or anything.

• The Witcher 3
  This is gonna be a challenging game. I purposely decided to play on Death March level because I wanted to get the full impact of the gameplay. From what I’ve read, the first 10 levels or so are gonna be the most difficult until I get some skills under my belt, but I also know I’m not the best at these type of action combat games. While I’ve enjoyed titles like Dark Souls, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Nioh, I’m not very good at them. They’re a lot of fun and with The Witcher in my 5+1 rotation, I’m determined to make some good progress.
  Ok, well I made it past the tutorial and into the first fight, and got killed. And Killed Again…and killed again.
  I’m getting better!
  The first fight I didn’t kill anything but after a few tries, I’m now taking out all but one of the beasts. I’m sure I’ll get through this challenge soon because I’m learning. And with these types of games, I know I need to play them on consecutive days to get better at them. Right now, that’s my goal…play this a few back-to-back days and I know I’ll get passed these early levels.
• Moons of Madness
  This game is going to be a challenge but not in the same way as The Witcher…this one is gonna be scary. I’m really gonna have to focus to ensure that I put time into this game because even in the first 10 minutes, it was frightening.
  Ok, I know I’m kinda a wimp when it comes to horror but I really hate jumping in fear when I’m sitting at my computer. I really should keep an eye on my heart rate since I want to play games to relax but this type of game provokes the opposite in me…I’m sure my pulse it elevated and I know I’m sitting on the edge of my seat.
  Perhaps I’ll get used to it an calm down a bit…who knows?

It’s a Wrap

So other than not playing Civ VI this week, I think I was able to stay focused on the 5+1 games I’ve got in my rotation. I did have a temptation to jump into a game of League of Legends and as I watched videos from BlizzCon, I wanted to get into WoW, but I held strong.
I think it was a good week of getting things started and I look forward to this coming week as things start to flesh out more as I gain levels and explore further into the worlds.

Ramble #19 | 5+1 Gaming Week 1 Recap