In the XOne

Shadows of Light Logo

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:31:00 -1300

Beneath is the logo I've designed for the [SL] Shadows of Light, EvE alliance. The alliance created by [OS] Origin Systems, [DSCOR] Dark Star Corp, and [K-KDR] Knights of Kador formed in March of 2009 as a band separated from the ATLAS, Revolution, and Ordo Magna alliances, respectively.

The design holds multiple meanings including the Greek qoute underneath the dark Phoenix.

Please feel free to leave comments!

Thanks,

Under the Minority

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:51:00 -1300

Last night, after a few weeks away, I decided to take a hop into the fray of Warhammer Online to get Xochitl some blood on her blades. My, how a couple of weeks can make a dramatic change! I log in to find that Order (Monolith Server) has capped the Dwarf/Greenskin pairing fort and pushing at 97 VP's on Praag. This may not seem like a big deal if you're not from the Monolith server, so let me give you some insight! The Order faction of Monolith has done nothing but whine for the past 3 months about how much of an underdog they are and how demoralizing the Destruction "zerg" is to their troops. When I say whine I really mean nerd rage to the point to where a majority of them were threatening to quit playing. So, believe you me when I say I was completely floored after a quick chat with my fellow Casualties of War guild-mates enlightening me of how Order opened the Inevitable City the night prior.

Wait…ORDER opened IC??? Am I still on the Monolith server??? Has hell frozen over??? There is no possible way that the same Order of Monolith that continuously complained about how outnumbered they are, the super uberness of ALL Destruction classes, and how they will never be able to take over a fort was the first Faction on the Monolith server to open a city!!!

Yes! Yes they were, and kudos to them for doing so!

So how did the self-proclaimed under-developed and outnumbered faction find their way inside the gates of my Capital?

Orders Organization

First, Order has always had a set of hardcore and organized endgame guilds; although, they were hard pressed to take forts in the past they never had much trouble defending against them. Many of the times a Destruction fort offensive would lead to server crashes and fortress timers dumping pre-maturely.

Mythic Fixes Forts

Second, Mythic 's attempt at fixing fort crashes led them to creating a cap for the number of players in fort zones and the level at which you can be to stay in the fort zones. The Defensive cap is less than the Offensive cap. Due to caps, forts are similar to a scenario meaning the "zerg" is irrelevant.

Destruction Is the Minority

Third, As we (Destruction) have always stated during the whining phase, or quarter (3 months) as I like to call it, Order had as many if not more players than Destruction. It was apparent if you looked at the huge spread of Order across all Tiers v.s. Destructions concentration in Tiers 3 and 4. Within the last two weeks Orders numbers have grown so exponentially that they are now the "zerg" of the server. I'll let you guess if the whining has stopped!!!

Re-Organized Leadership

Fourth, The two main RvR leaders of the Destruction faction have quit the game. Their abandonment has left the forces of Destruction quarreling over direction and unity. Fortunately for us we have a core group of Alliances that are stepping up to take the reins and create the new order of Destruction.

An Eye for a Spy?

Last, There have been multiple outings of Order spy's infiltrating Destruction through dual boxing, the act of running multiple clients simultaneously or some other means. This can be seen as nothing more than desperate players looking for their cut of infamy, but yesterday I personally witnessed two different Destruction players come clean about either playing both sides or outright passing information to Order through an external medium.

Like the US Republican party, Destruction of Monolith has recently found itself falling from grace overnight! The fall was a hard one and it may take some time to recoup. We will not be demoralized or whine. We'll grab our blades, wipe the blood from our faces and go to WAR for what is ours!!!!!!

WAAAAGGHHH!!!!

Money Management Tip #5

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:14:00 -1300

That's right, the financial tips keep rolling in like those high interest credit card bills to your mailbox every month. Luckily for you, if you own a home, there's always the option of combining multiple bills for one low-rate loan!

A quick and efficient way of paying off high interest debt, improving your credit long-term, and only having to make a single payment is in the consolidation of all your bills with a home equity loan or home equity line of credit. Home equity loans and lines of credit use the equity you've already established in your home as collateral allowing the interest to be near abyssmal. These loans are usually based on the Wall Stree Journal Prime Index, of which currently resides at only 3.25%.

The kicker...you can use the interest you've paid on the loan as a tax deduction!!!

Check with your local financial institution for details.

Quick Snip

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:34:00 -1300

It seems a lot is going on in the world of Warhammer Blogging. I'm not one of the few fortunate enough to be on Mythics radar, and I'm fine with that. Those that are have received personal mailings from Mythic in a marketing move to spur the excitiment around the upcoming two new class releases (Dwarf Slayer [mdps] and the Orc Choppa [mdps]). The classes are mirrors and were supposed to be released when the game went live. They were cut from initial launch along with the Empire Knight of the Blazing Sun and Dark Elf Blackguard because they were not ready. A glance at some of the larger and more niche War Blogs such as Rainbow MMO and A Wall of Text will lead you to the light.

Speaking of blogging...I've been at it now for just a little over 3 months. Two websites, two blog engines, multiple theme changes, and greater insight into web development has netted me a handful of subscribers; literally a handful. I still feel the backbone of In the Xone are the Witch Elf write ups, headlined at the top of the homepage and the weekly finance tips. The economy is in the gutter and I feel it my obligation to share my professional knowledge with my fellow gamers. Maybe I don't write enough, maybe my content is mush, either way I thank those of you that stop by for a quick glance of the weekly finance tips or to get your monthly dose of Witch Elf knowledge.

I have greater plans in mind! Plans that involve the entire MMO community and abroad. I will always have the knack for analyzing, developing theories and writing. I just don't know if In the Xone is the place for that right now. I've noticed there are quite a few blogs that have jumped on the idea of obtaining multiple writers to keep their content fresh and reach the masses. The more bodies writing for a blog, the more frequent the content. The more frequent the content, the longer your subscriber base stays around. The longer your subscriber base stays, the greater your reach to a new audience. Unless you're blogging for nothing more than to keep a private online diary, it requires networking and marketing to get Get Noticed! Maybe my calling lies therein.

-Xo

Witch Elf Epic Weapons

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:45:00 -1300

For those of you that do not know, the Witch Elf has a choice from six epic weapons from which she can choose. You can only have up to three of the six at a time, because they are offered in pairings of two as quest rewards.

What makes them "epic"?

Although the items are "blue", they are considered by most as "epic" because they are rewarded from completing quest lines that are marked as "epic" quests. For the range of levels they are offered (37-40); the attributes are actually subpar compared to most other daggers that can be found. The boon of the daggers is that they each have an invisible proc attached to them.

Note: You are no longer able to stack the invisible procs by zoning, changing weapons, or stacking multiple proc effects without the appropriate weapon equipped. It also seems that Kiss of Doom no longer effects the invisible proc rate.

Following is a list of the six "epic" Witch Elf weapons and the quest lines to find them. All of the quest lines begin at Realm Rank 37:

Nightfall - 300 Damage Dealing proc (estimates are around a 5% proc chance, the damage is unmitigated)

Quest Line - Ebon Flame [Dragonwake, Chapter 18]

Spite - 80 Str leech proc (steals from opponent and gives to you for 5 seconds)

Quest Line - Ebon Flame [Dragonwake, Chapter 18]

Frenzy - 300 Damage Dealing proc (estimates are around a 5% proc chance, the damage is unmitigated)

Quest Line - Annihilation [Reikland, Chapter 21]

Brutality -50 Toughness leech proc (steals from opponent and gives to you for 5 seconds)

Quest Line - Annihilation [Reikland, Chapter 21]

Merciless - 150 Dmg DoT (procs an 8 second DoT)

Quest Line - Time to Waaagh! [Khadrin Valley, Chapter 22]

Seeping Blade - 80 Str leech proc (steals from opponent and gives to you for 5 seconds)

Quest Line - Time to Waaagh! [Khadrin Valley, Chapter 22]

All of the Epic Quest Lines are marked as "party quests" but can be soloed. Although, this list only shows the Witch Elf epic weapons, the epic weapons for every destruction class spawn from the same set of Epic Quest lines. The only stipulation to begin the quest lines is to be Realm Rank 37 or higher.

DO NOT CANCEL YOUR EPIC QUESTS!!! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RECIEVE THEM AGAIN!!!

Money Management Tip #4

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 07:39:00 -1300

If you are reading this, then you have access to the internet. Why not make convenience of your finances by Banking and Paying your bills online!

Checking account balances, reviewing account activity, viewing statements and transferring money can all be done from your computer; saving you time and money. Many financial institutions will also allow you to setup one-time or recurring bill payments by cutting and sending the checks off for you. It's a nice and simple way to make sure your bills are paid on time with little to no hassle.

Find out if your financial institution offers free online banking and bill pay; if so, take advantage of both services.

Runes of Magic

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:32:00 -1300

Big Willie has made a comeback!!!

That's right! Good ole Willshadoe, my main avatar from FFXI has reincarnated in the form of a bad arse priest with long locks and a mean-mug. Now, first thing to understand is that I'm still subscribed to Warhammer Online and love the game; I'm just taking some time off with something fresh.

After firing up my computer a couple of nights ago, my X-Fire completed an update and had a list of newly compatible games. I took a lilttle jog through the list of games and landed on one that had elements very similar to one of my all time favorites, Final Fantasy XI.

The game is called Runes of Magic and it's a "free to play" MMO published by Frogster Interactive.

What makes RoM different?

Here's a short list of what originally drew me to the game in likeness of FFXI:

Dual Class System - For you Altoholics. There are six classes total. You choose your primary at character creation. Once you hit lvl 10 (easily done in a couple hours of gameplay) you can choose one of the other five classes as your secondary. Once you've picked up your secondary you can switch it with your primary by speaking with your housekeeper, which segways to point 2...
Player Housing - Yes! Done just as FFXI except you can set permission to allow other players access to your house. Furniture, decorations, house expansion, game bonuses...it's all there, plus a hawty housekeeper to boot. What else can I say but, Shit so Cash Bro!

Attack Chains - a multitude of spell and attack combinations based on the actions of you and your party members creating greater devastation than could be done alone. One of the cooler grouping aspects of FFXI.
PvP and PvE - Guild Housing in specified zones, guild wars and plenty of instanced and non-instanced dungeons to crawl.

The game has great localization and the questing is driven by the story line, unlike that of your typical "grind fest" free to plays. Of course, as with almost every other "Free to Play", the game has a RL money shop where you can purchase "diamonds" to be used for just about anyting, ranging from a multitude of ingame customizations to item modifications and storage expansion.
Runes of Magic is currenlty in an Open Beta and again...it's FREE to PLAY!

If you decide to give it a go, come visit big Willie (Willshadoe) on the Osha server.

Get your ROLL on!

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:28:00 -1300

Time to update the newcomers streaming from BlogWarhammer.net. There has been quite an influx of new bloggers and I'm excited to present a few of them below:

Blood, Faith and Fire - It seems my counter-part has arrived! A blog dedicated to the Witch Hunter class and other random thoughts.
Sneaks Speaks - A Warhammer blog from an avid long time gamer and web developer. Looks as if he's currently following the leveling of his Bright Wizard.
Healer at Heart - A healers perspective on WAR
Nerf Em All - Looks like Jeg has purchased a new rig and decided to chronicle his WAR adventures from the start.
Shadow WAR - Switching sides, from Destruction to Order, ShadowWar has found his class and wants to tell you about his adventures.
Girl IRL - A winner of the Wizards and Wenches Blog Contest II, Jennifer is making a statement...Destruction style.
The Kitchen Philosopher - Theorycrafting from an endgame Engineer.
LOLHammer - Rambling of a WarriorPriest.
WAR of Alts - All the way from Europe, WAR of Alts is a new blog focusing on many aspects of WAR.

Congratulations to all the new bloggers that have joined the initiative!!!

Money Management Tip #3

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:30:00 -1300

Money Management Tip #3:

See this picture -- it's of Nested Eggs!!! Do you have any? Social Security is no more than a dog's leg from vanquishing so it's vital that you...

Take advantage of your employer's 401(k) program

Do I have to say it any plainer than that? A very simple way to place some pre-taxed income directly into an investment account. Maximize your 401(k) by contributing as much as your employer will match. The rewards will be well reaped in the future!

WAR The Age of Blogging

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (xochine) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:46:00 -1300

2009 kicked off WAR The Age of Blogging. A Blogging initiative to help build community and start the development of new bloggers from across mulitple spectums with a focus on Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning.

Blogging is like having your very own online public diary. You can say anything you want, ramble, vent, rave, review...it's all up to you!!!

About In theXOne:

I started blogging in November of 2008 following the inspiration of my fellow guildmates at Casualties of WAR, a multi-gaming guild started by bloggers.

Using Wordpress.Com, I started with no more than the will to begin expressing my opinions about the local happenings of the Thorgrim server and giving people an insight on Witch Elves, a class that is still considered highly overpowered, because people that do not play them do not understand the mechanics behind them. 3 months later, I've expanded my scope, re-invigorated my interest in website design, and met a lot of new people along the way.

The greatest asset about WAR The Age of Blogging initiative is the extent of the community resources available to you no matter if you're new to blogging or if you've been around the block for awhile.

So, if you have an opinion that you want to be heard about Warhammer Online or anyother topic, feel free to join the community at Blog Warhammer and join the initiative to spread the word.

-Xo