Tradeskill missions! What a great concept, group up with your friends and craft together towards a common goal. There are combines required from all the different tradeskill classes, which means that although you don’t need every type of crafter with you, it will go a lot faster if you do. A full group with a mixture of crafting classes can get through the mission in under an hour, whereas attempts to solo it with a single tradeskill class reportedly takes about 4 hours.

Getting a group of crafters together isn’t quite as hard as people once thought, as the tradeskill epic showed us, but before you can go on a mission, you have to have introduced yourself to the the Far Seas Traders via a series of quests on the Moors of Ykesha.

To that end, here is a quick and simple step-by-step guide to getting faction fast in order to take part in the missions. If you are looking for more detailed information, I can recommend Denmother’s reference over at EQ2 Traders Corner for a thorough look at the expansion and changes. Meanwhile, here’s the quick version for those of you who just want to get going.

Travel to the Moors of Ykesha

You’ll need to take a carpet to Sinking Sands and travel to the D.I.R.T.Y. Excavation Site. To get to the landing point, you can climb the wall at -1389,-227,-665 or take the elevator at -1420,-228,-770.

Wait for the Skystrider airship which will take you to the overland zone Moors of Ykesha. There is also a spire, so if you know a friendly sorceror, you can skip the airship and go directly to the zone, although it seems a shame to miss the view.

Once you’ve arrived there, pop by the druid ring at 1760,450,980 and harvest the bush so that you can take advantage of druid portals in the future.

A Cannon to Sail By

Now you should ensure that you can travel back and forth between the Dropship Landing Zone and the rest of the Moors by gaining cannon access. You will need either adventure level 72 or tradeskill level 50 in order to do this quest. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

The Shadow Odyssey is here! The Game Update 50 patch notes are live and the servers should be available for play shortly. Raring to go but don’t want to see the spoilers? Here’s the information you need to get started without giving away any endings. I’ll race you to the Moors!

Travel to the new zones

Head to Sinking Sands to the D.I.R.T.Y. Excavation Site where there is now an airship which will take you to the overland zone Moors of Ykesha.

Moors of Ykesha is an overland zone packed solid with quests aimed at 70+ so if you are on your own and want to dive straight in, this is the place to be.

While you are there, be sure to make future travel easier by harvesting the bush at the druid ring.

Heroics

Groups of adventurers will no doubt be rushing to take a look at the new dungeons spread out all over Norrath. These dungeons offer heroic missions as well as raid instances. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

The excitement surrounding the second World of Warcraft expansion has reached critical mass. To save you spending your weekend searching for the news, here’s a collection of some better-than-the-rest links and comics from the past two days.

Broken Toys analyzes the pre-launch cock-ups:
When World Of Warcraft Fails, It Fails HARD

Did I miss anything? Because when an MMO failure is so large even Prokofy Neva notices from deep within the SL bunker, you know it’s kinda a big deal.

Wow-Insider posts details of a serious power leveler:
Nymh of EU Drek’thar first to level 80

Nymh’s Armory displays her (him?) as an SL/SL Warlock, which I’ve been told is an exceptionally good grinding spec, especially when coupled with a healer. Judging by her buffs in the full screenshot, it looks like she just may have had a pocket healer on the journey to 80.

Massive Gamer interview J. Allen Brack:
Wrath of the Lich King: Exclusive Launch Interview

Only hours removed from the largest scale MMOG expansion launch in history, Wrath of the Lich King Production Director J. Allen Brack spoke to Massive Gamer about the latest addition to the World of Warcraft family, how it’s been received, their preparation for it and the issues they’ve run into along the way.

PvPOnline considers the nightmare of losing computer access:
Sentencing

MTV Multiplayer step in to help out the n00bs:
13 ‘Lich King’ Tips For ‘World of Warcraft’ Newcomers

You’re not that far behind. The game has been adjusted to allow new players to level faster. Quests now give more experience points, and the experience points needed to go from level to level has been reduced. To boot, characters can now obtain mounts at level 30 instead of level 40, making questing easier and faster.

Word of Warcraft start updating their documentation:
WoW -> Info -> Basics -> Public Transportation

Fly the skies of Azeroth! World of Warcraft features an advanced flying transportation network. Players can unlock flying routes, then buy tickets to ride flying mounts over long distances to reduce walking time. Players can travel on four types of air mounts and in Goblin Zeppelins (more on that later).

Ctrl+Alt+Del shows the expansion from a different perspective:
End Guy Blues

Now stop reading and get playing!

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

This just will not do.

I know, you are new to the Kingdom and it’s just a campground but that doesn’t mean you can’t fix the place up a bit.

First things first, there is no way you can possibly get a decent night’s rest sleeping on the ground. Even the lowliest Accordion Thief has a tent for shelter. The better your dwelling, the more HP and MP you regain when you rest there and the more protection you will have if you decide to take part in player vs. player combat.

Newbiesport tent

Go to the Market in Seaside Town and buy a tent for 40 meat.

Stake it down and there you have it, a comfy spot to sleep from day one. Even the lowliest newbie can afford a tent.

Barskin tent

If you are level two, though, you shouldn’t need to buy a tent as you can make your own.

1. Head over to the Spooky Forest in the woods and start adventuring. Your goal is to kill bars until you receive a bar skin.
2. As you are fighting, you should run into the famous Vampire Hunger G. He’ll give you some wooden stakes (assuming you don’t already have some)
3. Combine the bar skin and the wooden stakes with the help of some meat paste and you’ll make a barskin tent. Hurrah!

Cottage

For the truly discerning adventurer, this comfortable little cottage is the best option for anyone under level 9. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Get the most out of harvesting by equipping yourself with the proper tools. You do not have to wield the tools to get the benefit. You do have to buff yourself up with the tool by right-clicking on it in your inventory. As the buff lasts for 10 days, this is only an intermittent issue. If you are not canceling the buffs, simply remember to click on the items each weekend to ensure that you constantly have the benefits of your tools in effect.

Harvesting tools can be made by woodworkers and tinkers.

Tools made by woodworkers require a minimum level to use but this can be either adventure or artisan level. There are separate tools for each harvesting skill:

• Pick: Mining
• Shovel: Gathering
• Saw: Foresting
• Fishing Pole: Fishing
• Trap: Trapping

Tinkered tools require a minimum artisan level to use. They have combined skills and thus there are only three different tools:

• Pickaxe: Mining
• Shears: Gathering and Foresting
• Watersafe Net: Fishing and Trapping

The following is a table of all of the tool types with the requirements and benefits of each: [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Kingdom of Loathing is a free, web-based, multi-player, role-playing game based on stick figures and bad puns. You get 40 turns a day which you can increase with food and drink up to a maximum of 200. The game caters for all sorts of gameplay styles with a multitude of zones, optional PvP and a multi-player dungeon, Hobopolis. Not convinced?

Take a look at your choice of classes:

• Seal Clubber
• Turtle Tamer
• Pastamancer
• Sauceror
• Disco Bandit
• Accordion Thief

Obviously, I was immediately intrigued at the idea of playing a Pastamancer but to be honest, what sold me on the game was the Altar of Literacy. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

The launch date for The Shadow Odyssey is Tuesday, November 18th — not long now! It’s time to start getting prepared so that when those servers come up, I can hit the ground running. Here’s my list of things to do over the next two weeks:

Complete the D.I.R.T.Y. Collection

The purple shinies at the D.I.R.T.Y. site are now all in place for the Excavation Trinkets Collection. Although it has been confirmed that the shinies will remain in place for gathering after the live event has finished, it is unlikely that there will be any way to get the helmet in order to see them.

I’d like to complete this collection on all my characters as the reward is a house item which includes a port to the D.I.R.T.Y. site - which just happens to be the location of the airship to the Moors of Ykesha. Useful! [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Spooky! This weekend the virtual worlds are full of haunted houses and special events, all focused around one of my favorite holidays: the Day of the Dead or All Hallows’ Eve. I’ve been out of town and fallen behind but luckily there are lots of people out there making sure the information gets out. Here’s a round up of some great bloggers talking about their experiences online that I’ve collected just for you…

Tipa tells us all about the Loping Plains Haunted House in EQ2:

West Karana » EQ2: The Loping Plains Haunted House. Scared yet?

Loping Plains hasn’t seen THIS much action since the Freethinkers threw that Christmas party and the Pumpkin-Headed Horseman barfed seeds and pulp all over Mayong Mistmoore. Everyone was talking about that for months.

Stargrace fills us in on the Everquest seasonal events:

MmoQuests.com » EverQuest Halloween Events

The costumes are a LOT of fun. You can become pretty much any scary creature at all that’s available in EQ, not to mention the fact that there are accessories! Want to wield a broom? A bucket filled to the brim with treats? Then that’s no problem at all. Looking for free treats and goodies to stock pile? There’s a vendor for that too, and what’s more is that they’re all free, no charge. The costumes do have limited charges, and are no rent which means they’ll poof if you log out for too long (they also dissolve on zoning) but the food (although no trade) will stick around later (I filled up my bags, I couldn’t help it, the stats were so nice!).

Ysharros gives some first impressions of WAR’s open RvR special, the Witching Night: [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Provisioner’s Mastery is a three volume set of recipe books for provisioners looking to expand their wares beyond the standard fare. The Grandmaster series of quests but be done in order but, whereas other crafters receive an advanced book of their choice, provisioners receive the slim volumes of fun recipes for all the family. You must collect the volumes in order and they are only available to provisioners. The required level for the quest is given with each volume. All of these recipes are fluff: they have no nutritional value whatsoever and can not take the place of standard provisions. However, they can add fun and excitement to your meals as a part of a balanced diet.
[More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

In addition to writs, each tradeskill faction has a set of quests given by the local grandmaster, which will reward you in faction, tradeskill experience, advanced recipe books and in some instances, additional fluff items such as clothing or furniture.

There are grandmasters in all the major tradeskill faction areas:

Name: Grandmaster Kawayzer
Residence: West Freeport
Location: 25,-12,8

Name: Grandmaster Jayak Lat’wasr
Residence: Gorowyn
Location: 2777,123,1183

Name: Grandmaster Feldmanus
Residence: Kelethin
Location: 462,91,363

Name: Grandmaster Zyrythius
Residence: Neriak
Location: -199,-4,246

Name: Grandmaster Kimbialis
Residence: North Qeynos
Location: 335,-20,-101

If you have the appropriate tradeskill level and speak to your local Grandmaster, he will press you to enter into his service and help out. Rewards vary by quest but in every case you will get the choice of a single advanced recipe book for your tradeskill in the appropriate tier. Provisioners, who do not have advanced recipe books, are given special recipe books for the initial quests but not for Senior Crafter Service (see details below).

[More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.