Christmas in Granado Espada

Wow...it's been a while, people. How are things with you?

I've been quite busy in the world of GE now that Bahia Island patch is here. On the minute the servers went up after the 3-day drought of no GE, my mates in †Legion† and I took the first trip on the Pinta for a visit to the island. Here are a few shots of our exploits:

The sun, the sand, the surf...the crabs! LOL

Flying without wings...thanks to the Diablo trainer. XD

I've also been on the hunt for the Christmas Trees in the cities as well as those of Snowmen for Red Socks. Armeo, my Elementalist was the first recipient of a Santa suit I received upon completing the Red Socks event. Now I'm gunning for the trees to get cute Christmas accessories. Too bad there's none for RNPCs.

I'm pretty much sure you've all been busy with so many things to do in GE. The patch is choc-full of stuff that needs to be explored. I won't be detailing out everything, but do permit me to note a few observations:

• A lot of skills have been changed, some have been nerfed (as far as I heard from the grapevine). Those with Wizards and Emilia the Sage characters have seen this now that the Photon Splash skill and Hole of Darkness require magical orbs. The damage wrought by Photon Splash has been somewhat decreased as well, although I'm not sure if I'm correct in this as I've only observed it when my ETS casts the skills. As for the Elementalist skills, they say Blizzard damage has decreased considerably as well. Hrin has specific details on some of the changes in the skills, right here.
  

• Noticed the icons on your characters in the UI? Bernelli's as well as the male Musketeer's icons have changed.
  

• Mob spawns have decreased as well. I've heard of reported decrease in mobs in Porto Bello and Topolo Durga among others.
  

• The chat interface is much more functional as you can add people to your buddy list simply by hovering your mouse on their names in the chat box.

• Channel 3 is gone! O.O Lo and behold, utter lagness! >.<

• Some stuff in the item mall cannot be traded anymore. Some of these include Veteran scrolls, Enhancement boosters and Enchantment powder.

• New costumes for female Fighter, Wizard and a couple of RNPCs too! And of course, teh swimsuits!
  

• Hrin's best friend now has a name...Leticia!

• Colonies are much more resistant to attacks. Can anybody verify this? As I observed in last Sunday's war, it took quite a while for some factions to whack the beacons on a full force rampage.
  

One of the more exciting things in this new patch is the Super Fight, which involves several battle arenas for specific family levels. I tried my luck in the Battle Coliseum, but alas, the mobs were too quick and had insane AR and DRs. The boss was a major pain too, not to mention the instant PvP mode once you enter the map. Augh! T_T

Run for your lives! >.<

The CW map reset was likewise implemented in this patch, and so last Sunday's war became a mad rush for factions to get their colonies.

And the best part of it all is that I'm down to my last 9 levels before hitting the much anticipated Veteran status. Ho ho ho!!! Must level grind like crazy. XD

With that said, I'd like to greet everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope I get to blog a bit more often though. XD See you all in Granado Espada! ^0^

a strange world

Cyradis

Dear Mama,

We have arrived safely in Granado Espada, and so far, the Queen's officials in this New World treat the Pioneers with high regard. So many families have already set foot in this continent; some have already embarked on various missions to cleanse the place from monsters. We are confident that we too can take part in these quests. In fact, we've

Battlefield

already accomplished a few, much to the delight of Alaena.

We had this one quest in which we had to kill a certain number of giant hornets. Naturally, only Verdandi can take them down as they were airborne. Alaena took care of the monsters attacking us, while I made it a point to use my skills in order to heal my sisters from the wounds of battle. Thankfully, we were able to vanquish these monsters and claim our reward, the Hornet Amber (I daresay it would be of good use to us when we find ourselves in a fix).

While on our way back to Cite de Reboldoeux, we encountered a massive creature called the Hill Giant. Naturally with Alaena in the group, she wanted to take down the fiend for herself. Of course, we couldn't just leave her alone, so the three of us followed it around,

Hillgiant

With other families

hitting it randomly with spells and swords. The monster proved to be a tough one as it

Defeat

took Alaena by surprise with one of its massive attacks. Thank goodness I was able to heal her in time before anything fatal happened.

Other families also joined in the battle against the giant. The fight lasted for quite a while...it was really difficult to conquer a huge monster with such a high defense. If it were not for the other pioneers, I'm afraid we'd have been in a difficult bind. Nevertheless, we were able to bring it to its knees, thus finally putting an end to the destruction it caused.

As much as there were a lot of strange creatures in the battle field, we found a lot of interesting people in Reboldoeux

Pioneers in reboldoeux

as well. The city itself is well on its way to becoming the next Vespanola with its fabulous architecture, quaint streets and avenues, modern facilities and excellent governance. Verdandi did not want to pass up the chance to explore, and she wanted to look up the latest fashion in Granado Espada. Thankfully, the money you gave us as well as our regular allowance from the Office of Pioneering Support was more than enough for Verdandi's whims, and so we sought a renowned couturier by the name of Andre Janzur.

Janzur

This Janzur fellow seemed like a very famous person in the city. People actually flocked to his shop to browse for his latest creations. We were told that he made fantastic clothes and that his creations do not come cheap. Just imagine the glint in Verdandi's eyes when she heard that and you'll understand what I meant.

Anyway, we finally met this Monsieur Janzur, and he was...well...a trifle odd. I don't know how to describe him, but he particularly irked Alaena (she said his build was too queer and his mannerisms effeminate for him to be considered a man). But Verdandi took to him like a long lost sheep! In spite of Verdandi's praises on this strange man, he was a shrewd merchant and did not give us any discounts at all (I think this absolutely displeased Verdandi).

Thoughts

Mission accomplished

We explored this city a bit more. We bought supplies, enhanced our armors and weapons and took on a few more quests. Alaena likes to plan for our strategies in fulfilling our missions, and we took quite a lot of time planning our moves before we headed out.

In fairness to Alaena, she may seem to be too spirited sometimes, but her interest in battle and her strategic plans helped us a lot in the success of our missions. Alaena is a formidable leader and I'm glad we have someone who actually rationalizes over battles, unlike Verdandi who just wants to get things over and done with.

Ever since our arrival in Granado Espada, things have been very busy for us. With so many quests and tiring missions,

Pensive alaena

I sometimes find it strange why we don't tire easily. I guess being in a new environment forces us to be on our toes and to always be on our guard. We miss you all terribly. Verdandi and I sometimes talk about our life back home and the people we left behind. Alaena wouldn't have it, though. She says that it is our duty to see to the Crown's wishes and she wouldn't want to see us vulnerable with our thoughts of home. Yet, I know that she too misses our home. I sometimes find her deep in thought, and I know that she thinks of you and Papa as well. I guess Alaena means well for all of us; she is our elder sister after all.

Anyway, we are currently handling a mission

Al quelt dungeons

deep in the Al Quelt Moreza dungeons. The place is strewn with abominable monsters, but we've managed so far. We've recruited one person to our team, a little boy by the name of Ramiro,

Ramiro

yet Alaena does not want him to join perilous quests (she told me she doesn't want to be encumbered by a small one to worry about all the time).

Ramiro does not say anything, but I know he's rather disappointed not to join us. I agree with Alaena though. It's not that we don't want him around...we just don't want to put his life in danger with so many dangerous monsters stalking the dungeons. We do have our best interests for the boy.

We've been going to and fro the dungeons to retrieve items as part of the quest. At times,

To the rescue

we strengthen ourselves even more by killing more monsters. Other pioneering families are doing this as well, although sometimes it was pretty difficult to catch monsters and kill them as there were so many of us ambushing them in so many places.

While doing one of these "strength training" tests (as Alaena puts it), I almost got myself in serious trouble because of my carelessness. Thankfully, someone stood guard to cover me while I regained my composure. A tall, dashing musketeer saved me from being mobbed by these monsters, and I stood there immobilized for quite a while, not just because of my injuries, but also with the fact that this altruistic young man watched over

Scout master

Master warlock

Master fighter

me. I do not know his name or where he came from, but I am eternally grateful for his help. I do hope I can see him again in much more amicable circumstances.

I believe we've finally attained a level of strength that would enable us to don new armors. Verdandi bought a dress

New costumes

which matches her elemental abilities, while Alaena took on the Hack and Slash stance and put on two swords. I on the other hand, fortified my healing skills and donned a sturdy armor for defense. Thanks to the Stance Masters, I can say that we've stocked up and were more than capable to face the dangers awaiting us next.

We are finally ready for our next mission—the fight to rid the Al Quelt dungeons of the evil brought about by the priest, Dilos Latemn. I can sense a certain kind of mystery enveloping this person. Most of the people we've talked to are quite firm in saying that the priest brought upon evil in what was once upon a holy and venerated place. I for one do not believe such accusations, and this mission is just about the right moment for me to get to the bottom of things.

Meanwhile, please send Papa our love. Please do not worry about us for we all watch over each other. We can't wait to go home to be back with everyone.

Your daughter,
Cyradis