They may be on strike

But we can still enjoy their commercials.  These Fox Sports NBA commercials are probably my favorite of all time.  They aired close to 10 years ago, but are still pretty funny. It's been a slow week gaming wise, so I'm going to punt and show some videos :)





Coppertone





Artificial Butter





Fresh like a can of Picante

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A Humble Merchant

I mentioned yesterday that I started to play X3: Terran Conflict.  For those that may not have heard of it before, it can be thought of as Elite on steroids or a single player Eve Online.  It's a massive universe sandbox which you can do pretty much whatever you want.

There are a number of ways to start the game, I chose Humble Merchant.  This gave me about 10k worth of credits, a freighter and a small scout.  One of the interesting aspects of X3 is that you can own and control a large number of ships.  This happens in several ways:  direct control, remote control and AI control.

Right now my Scout ship is sitting in the Argon Prime system allowing me to see commodity prices and inventory amounts.  Once I find myself someone selling satellites, I can deploy one of those in the system instead of using a ship.

In typical space trader fashion, I am buying low and selling high between Herron's Nebula.  There are probably 100+ more systems in the game controlled by a variety of races.  My current goal is to earn enough money to be able to afford an AI trading module.  This will allow my to designate a ship as a Sector Trader, and have it do what I'm doing on its own.

I finished up my trading yesterday with 120k credits.  Just to give you an idea on pricing, my ship probably costs ~250k.  An Argon Titan, which is one of the capital ships (yes, you can own them too), costs around 70 million credits. That doesn't include outfitting it with equipment.  You can also buy space stations.  I have a long way to go for that.  Plus, I'd also like to get myself a fighting ship so I can have some fun on that side of the game.

Interested?  As of this writing, Amazon has it for $6.77.

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Good and Bad

It seems I have hit a little drought in stuff to blog about.  It is bound to happen sometimes, that's when a true blogger is able to dig deep and come up with some kind of fluff to fill the day.  The strange part is, I am pretty busy playing games which should mean I have something to write.

Good.  A good chunk of my time has been spent playing two new games.  I like them quite a bit and would love to tell you about them.

Bad.  Both games are in beta and covered by a NDA.  One of which is, of course, Wrath of Heroes.  Sadly, it is in between beta phases at the moment.  The other, as it happens, is another BioWare game: Star Wars: The Old Republic.  That's all I can really say about that.

Being a gamer and blogger can be a bit tough at times like these.  I really want to talk about the games, but if I do I can't play them.  So here I sit in blogging limbo unable to talk about what I'm playing.  I suppose it is a good problem to have in the scheme of things.

I do have something interesting to post involving Warhammer Online soon.  Right now BioWare seems to have a monopoly on my gaming time.  Bootae got me to install X3: Terran Conflict yesterday which is a huge game, so we'll see if I can get into it with my limited time.  I do love X games, but they can eat up more time than a MMO.

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Use those Renown Abilities

Warhammer Online's 1.4.4 patch brought the ram into focus for keep sieges.  Knock out the ram and defenders can get a big boost to help push back their would-be conquerors.  One of the best ways to take out a ram is to use siege weapons.  To go with that, renown abilities received some import changes, continue on for more details.

If you are anything like me, renown abilities were removed from my hot-bars long ago.  With the changes in 1.4.4, they have made a return.  All of them have been changed so that they are actually useful.  Gone are long cooldowns and now most of them stack (to a certain extent).  Lets take a peak at some of them.

Bolster War Engine.  Siege Targetted buff. Increases damage done by that siege engine by 2% for 10 seconds.

Now has a 100ft range and 30 second cooldown.  It also stacks 5 times (I think).  That means you can increase your siege damage by 10%, which could mean an extra 1k damage per shot.  That will help take down a ram quicker.

Reinforce War Engine. You heal the ram for 750 health over the next 5 seconds.

This also has a 30 second cooldown now and is an instant cast.  It will also stack with other players ram heals. It will help keep your ram alive longer, so be sure to break it out when it is ready.

Deflect Oil.  10% reduction in damage taken by Oil siege engines. You will also protect two other group mates within 30 feet. Only one effect of this type may be on a player at a time.

This ability is no longer channeled, so feel free to cast it.

Siege Wrecker.  You sabotage a siege ram, causing the ram to deal 98% of the original damage for the next 10 seconds.

This ability now has a 30 second cooldown and will stack with other similar buffs.  Also note that it has a 65ft range.  It will reduce the damage that the enemy ram is doing, giving you more time to take it down.

This has just been a sampling of the ability changes.  You might want to look through your ability list and see for yourself.  On their own, they may not change the course of the battle.  However, if you and all of your allies are using the abilities, they can become quite potent.

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The Jedi Gambit

Since the release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic has been announced, I can't help but start to get a little excited about the game.  We still have a long way to go until December 20th, but the end is now in sight.  One of the sites involving SWTOR which I especially enjoy is The Jedi Gambit.

The Jedi Gambit is run by Rackham.  If that name is familiar, you are correct.  He used to do some great comics for Warhammer Online.  Since then he has started to do the same for The Old Republic.  

The Jedi Gambit.  The title of the site is also the name of his full fledged comic strip.  This isn't just another web comic, it's pretty much a digital comic book.  He just completed the first issue, so now is a great time to check it out.  

I am very impressed and jealous at what Rackham has put together.  The art is top notch and the story is intriguing.  My version would be stick figures speaking in bullet points.  If you are hungry for Star Wars content, this site should be on your list to visit.  

Contest.  In a case of good timing, Rackham is also running a contest.  He will draw the winner a portrait of their SWTOR character.  All you have to do is tweet a special message.  His portraits are amazing, so I encourage you to enter.  I will be! 

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News from the Front: TREEmendous

I've decided to use the News from the Front for Wrath of Heroes, as well as Warhammer Online.  There are only so many post title variations of Update, Beta and News that I could make.  Not too much going on with WAR at the moment, so this one is mostly about Wrath.

New Hero.  From the WoH Facebook page we have news of a new hero for this weekends test.

Kaelin the Dryad shifts between summer and winter forms which alter her powers. Which role is she going to play in the fight?

 It's a tree!  That explains the groan worthy title of this post...

Beta Times. We are still on a limited beta schedule, with this one being more limited than usual.  Wonder what happened to Sunday?  We do get an extra long 11 hour test today though.

• Thursday, 09/29, 4pm – 6pm EDT (8pm – 10pm GMT)
• Friday, 09/30, 10am – 9pm EDT (2pm – 1am GMT)
• Saturday, 10/01, 1pm – 5pm EDT (5pm – 9pm GMT)

The Return of Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs ( former CEO of Mythic ) is back on the scene it seems.  He's started up a new company, City State Entertainment. 

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37562/ExMythic_CoFounder_Mark_Jacobs_Reveals_New_Casual_Studio.php

http://www.forbes.com/sites/traceyjohn/2011/09/30/former-mythic-ceo-mark-jacobs-starts-city-state-entertainment/

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Tier 7 Armor Sets - Round 4

Today's post is a continuation of a series about the upcoming Tier 7 appearance armor for Warhammer Online.  We still don't know exactly how these will be obtained.  Since we are in the 1.4.5 patch cycle, we might hear about it soon.  Continue on for a look at some of the new sets.

Witch Hunter

I am liking the new Witch hunter set.  Although, it looks like he is going to go rob a train out in the Old West.  Still, that is cool.

Zealot

Can't say that I am a fan of this one.  I think it's the multitude of feathers combined with the skirt.

Blackguard

This set is pretty decent.  I think if he was carrying a shield or pole-arm i'd appreciate it a bit more.

Tier 7 Armor Sets - Round 1 - Bright Wizard, Chosen, Engineer
Tier 7 Armor Sets - Round 2 - Disciple of Khain, Knight of the Blazing Sun, Slayer, Witch Elf
Tier 7 Armor Sets - Round 3 - Marauder, Squig Herder, Shadow Warrior
Tier 7 Armor Sets - Round 4 - With Hunter, Zealot, Blackguard

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