Cirque du Soleil in June

RCM Hrin has recently blogged about the upcoming release of v.3.4.14, otherwise known as the circus patch. Ok, there's no official name for the patch just yet, so I just made that up XD.

The new patch looks promising, with new maps and a new RNPC to recruit. The cat pet will also be released in this patch, though I do hope it doesn't consume much pet food as Pigling does (still haven't got the pig though...my luck's not really rubbing off).


One thing that got me salivating in Hrin's post was the update on the Premium Treasure Boxes! Every single item is worth something (especially those Constellation signs), so there's probably no better time to get that from the Item Shop (well, I'd be floored if they brought back the Phoenix wings though...I'd love to have that D:).

The patch is set to be rolled out in 18 June. I am somewhat excited about all this, in the sense that I'm assuming that this is going to be a more challenging map than Zeia. Speculations are already up and about, saying that the patch might herald the release of the Master Promotion Scrolls.


Gosh, the requirements just keep getting a lot more steep in every patch update.


Hrin is opening the doors to suggestions for the patch name for v.3.4.14, so if you happen to think up of something that would fit the circus-like theme, then do make those suggestions count!


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In other news, a new GE server in Vietnam is currently up in the works. Based from what I understood in Hrin's post, Vietnam will have their own GE, although I think they're working closely with IAH. I'm not sure if I interpreted it as a new server, or whether Vietnam will play a distributor role for the SEA version of GE. Kindly correct me if ever I missed anything. :x


Nevertheless, I hope the GE community continues to grow, regardless of the server we all play in. ^^


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Some stuff I picked up in the forums about jGE: They're getting seiyuus (or voice actors) for RNPC VOs!


For those who've watched a few anime shows and played a few videogames know how seiyuus can make or break the overall persona of a character. I, for one, have been a huge fan of the Japanese VOs for GE characters and I absolutely find their voices extremely suited for the role.


This blog particularly talks about the specific RNPCs that need some really kick-ass VOs. I've come across some familiar seiyuu names and needless to say, I would absolutely love to hear their voices in those characters!


And yes, jGE is getting their own RNPC by the name of Miyufu. They say she's a martial artist type, though she looks more like a samurai to me based on her costume.


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Straight from the horse's mouth: Uncle Meepoktah tweets about plans for an upcoming GE tournament...Team Arena style!


Unfortunately, I suck at this, so I hope everyone else joins! Hehehe. This is going to be so much fun. I hope I can get to watch in the sidelines. XD


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RANT: Does anyone read these days? I mean...seriously. There's another facepalm thread in the forums complaining about the re-scheduled maintenance. Yeah, yeah, another round of self-pwnt posts on why it wasn't properly announced. Kinda weird because I saw the web announcement early this week.


Get this: they say that not everyone checks the website and forums for updates like this. I nearly ROFLed.


Man, oh man...God save the world from pea-brained whiners. <_<

Getting pwnt D:

First off, we haz new ABS loot! Yay!

My girls are loving it! :3 But I'd reaaaaallly want to get the Clivia Sprite costume for the Musketeer, Pigling and those 1-year wings! But I just burned 100ABS but got another Gold School Costume for Scout and a Star Knuckle. Looks like my luck is still in the works.

Anyway, I tried to have a crack at the new features of the latest patch. I joined the Joaquin Barrier Siege one afternoon, and I have to say that this one's a tougher nut to crack compared to the one generated by mission stones.

Gang laep tiemz!

I squadded up with a few AS peepz and other high tier players for this mission, but dang, the mobs pack quite a punch! I burned a few SCs, but we totally lost the mission. The mobs were just too many and there weren't that much of us in the squad to clear all obstructions. Still, the experience was quite something.

And that night, I PMed a few friends if they wanted to join the 8PM Team Arena just for kicks. I even broaded for good measure just to fill up the slot.

Together with fellow CC Blacksword, Falkenhausen, Pai Man Llavore and some new found friends. My DFL, Trianna, joined in some time before the mission started.

I have never played DoTA all my life, so I don't have a clue how the Team Arena works. So here's how everything looked like in the middle of the battle.

Blue team gets pwnt for what seems like forever.

I finally learned some valuable lessons after this failed mission.

1. Kill some mobs, get coins. You and your teammates can farm coins and compile all these together to buy some useful buffs and debuffs for your team and against the enemies.
2. You can never run all the way to the opponent's base, not unless you're on a suicide mission.
3. Sure, they say that everyone's basically on the same AR & DR. But darnit, ELNs and Marlin Javelins hurt. A lot.

To cap off that night's session, here's a rather quotable quote from my musk:

Conversations when you're dead suddenly become meaningful. Teh lulz.

Day 1 of Requiem

So, how was your 24 hours of no GE?

For me it was a bit of hell. All I could think of was finding a good name for Vicente Rio who I plan to recruit to my family once the servers went up. XD

First of all, I want to congratulate IAH for a good job in getting the servers up at the appointed time, even earlier than what was scheduled. I've been hearing stuff that the maintenance might get extended, but thankfully things pushed through with minimal glitches.

And so, the very first thing I did when I got my G-Points was to play ABS (with which I got more crap items lulz) AND finally recruit Vicente Rio to my family.


It was just a bit disappointing that he starts off at lvl 1 upon creation. T_T

I named him Lelldorin, after one of my favorite fantasy novels, The Belgariad.

Lelldorin, Baron of Wildantor and later husband of Ariana. Lelldorin is called "the Archer" in the Mrin Codex - Taken from Wikipedia

Unfortunately, there was no bard character in the series, so I resorted to naming him after the Asturian archer. I think the name suits him anyway. ^_^

Vicente looking happy to be a DeSanggria

And so, here I am in Bahia, pleveling my Lelldorin in the hopes that I get him to Veteran status before the contest ends so I can get his costume. It was later that I realized that I should've gone for the Tactical Assistance skill book (which requires 25 MPs to boot), before recruiting this RNPC to my family.

I r teh phailz. LOL.

P.S.: Let me just say that there's an overcrowding here in Outside Bahia. Obviously, everyone's in a rush to get this dude to Vet. So if you don't happen to own a Vicente Rio, now's the best time to grind at high level maps...there's nary a soul there. XD

[The Requiem Updates Part 3] The winds of change

With only a few days left until The Requiem patch, let me just give you added information on some of the things that are bound to change come this game update. And believe me, it's going to knock your socks off.

Let me give you a run down of the more important system changes.

1. Colony buffs will be deactivated during Colony Wars and Super Fights. This gives all participating players/factions an "almost equal playing field" during these events. By "almost equal", I mean that the only thing that will decide one's success in PK/PvP during CW and Super Fights will be one's equipment and skill.

2. Use of the colony warp which helped factions to warp between colonies will be disabled. So it's either you run, or stack up on your warp slots to defend/attack colonies.

3. Market deposit has been changed to give tax to faction who acquire colonies.
25% of market tax will go to the reigning Chancellor
75% of market tax will go to Colony holders

I believe this is great news indeed as we will see a change in the scale of power in the world map. Factions who have remained silent for so long will have more reasons to form alliances and/or go head-on in the weekly Colony Wars.

Here are some additional game features to be introduced in v.2.6.3:

New Items: Belt & Earrings

• Belts and earrings are accessories that have immunity rate and penetration options. Immunity - Prevent/ignores penetration, DEF and RES; Penetration - Ignores enemy's DEF, RES, Block and Evasion)

• Recipes for these accessories are found in Chaos Requiem. Idge and Karjalainen will be able to craft these trinkets.

New Recipes: Necklaces

• Some of the additional necklace recipes are as follows:

Physical ATK
Shooting ATK
Fire ATK
Ice ATK
Lightning ATK
Mental ATK

New Function: Group Chatting

• For the price of one microphone, you can create a group of up to 50 people where you can communicate with one another via group chat.

New Function: In-Game Notice Board

• By pressing CTRL + S, you can activate the server board.'

• Use one megaphone to change the color of the text as you write on the notice board.

New Game Functions

• There will be additional information at the character window which will show the Mental RES and Immune rate of your character

• Quests will be clusted in groups: [P] Pioneering Memorial Quests, [E] Elite Hunting mission, [K] Killcount for other normal hunt and correction quests.

New Premium Items: Costumes

• Some of the RNPCs such as Jose Cortasar and Karjalainen get a makeover with new costumes!

New Premium Items: 6th Barracks

• Unlock another barracks for your family and add more characters to increase your family level!

New Mini-game: Catch Spearfish

• I don't have an idea on how this works, but I'm thinking in the lines of the Catch Capybara mini-game in Bahia.

New NPC Face Textures

• Whoa! NPCs get a facelift? XD

Sources:
pCM Veya
Team IAH

[The Requiem Updates Part 2.5] Touring Chaos Requiem

Warning: Screenshot-heavy post ahead.

My thanks to pCM Veya and Team IAH for the privilege of touring Chaos Requiem in advance. This came in perfect timing for me as I do not have the audacity to venture into these dangerous lands given my family level.

Since the tour was done in the test servers, I was lucky enough to be provided with a test account with this lovely trio:

Elite Le Noirs...*le sigh*

Whie making my way in Auch, I was surprised to see Bai Hu standing near the staircase leading to Thueringen Lakeside. And boy, he was a sight for sore eyes. I can't wait to add him to my family!

The map was not yet included in the test server, so I was summoned to Chaos Requiem, with which I was introduced to the first dungeon level of the area: Cabeza de Bahia.

I first saw the this place in the promotional videos for v.2.6.3. Cabeza de Bahia is a place filled with stone crystals protruding from the ground. Here are some of the mobs I encountered along the way:


The second dungeon in the map is Corazon de Bahia, a dark, eerie vicinity. Outside that circle are a deluge of mobs waiting to pounce on you at any given chance.


Mobs found on this map are the following:


Last but not the least, Interna de Bahia is one zone filled with a hodgepodge of hard to light armored monsters that gave me one hell of a hard time.


More mobs found here are:


The tour was fun and exciting, albeit difficult to get around because of the high AR/DR of most mobs. Now that I've given you an idea on what monsters to expect, better stock up on equipments that have specific attributes to combat these critters.

Chaos Requiem will not yet be released on the July 3 patch, but hopefully this post will be of use to those who plan on visiting this forbidding place.

[The Requiem Updates Part 2]: The thing about raids

Welcome to part 2 of v.2.6.3: The Requiem updates! Part 1 is over here.

I hope this particular information would prove useful for some, especially those who are gung ho on boss raids.

Essentially, The Requiem patch will have new mini-bosses. Although they're not the usual big boss monsters that most people take the effort to monitor the spawn time, stock up on good equips and form formidable squad groups, these mini-bosses are not to be taken lightly.

These monsters are located in 3 high level maps, which are the following:

• Toubkal Mines - Prairie Merman Eater
• Bahama Swamps - Swamp Merman Eater
• Katovic Snowfield - Ice Field Merman Eater

A fish out of water

Said monsters appear randomly on these maps, and will disappear automatically if no one takes a whack at them within a certain period of time.

Make your own raid

In The Requiem patch, you won't have to share with just about half the server just to get a piece of Vergo, or Diablo, or Gerero, or Lava Leaf or any other raid boss there is because now, you can do your own raids.

And the fun part is that you only need 8 families, and this can also work even if the said players are not in a squad.

Step into the circle

As far as I've learned, this feature takes place in Los Toldos (LOL mystery powders are gonna be selling like hotcakes I suppose XD), and there will be this "ability" that will release a particular effect.

Then when the effect is visible, the 8 families must step on the round circle on the floor at the same time (about 3 seconds), otherwise the boss monster summon will fail.

Have your own boss raid!

It's a little bit vague, I know. I do have a few questions about it myself, because apparently not everyone will have that ability to summon monsters. One of the things I'd like to ask is how does one get the summoning ability? What boss monster will be summoned?

Perhaps we'll get a more detailed explanation to this through the course of the hype for The Requiem.

Stay tuned for more! Up next will be the new items and new game functions for v.2.6.3!

Credits: pCM Veya & Team IAH

[Updates Part 1] v.2.6.3: The Requiem

I r back! Hahaha! And with my comeback is one juicy tidbit regarding our favorite game, Granado Espada.

The wait is over, folks! The latest patch for Granado Espada, v.2.6.3, also known as The Requiem, is finally on its way! I won't be revealing the exact day of its release (I leave it to our esteemed Community Managers and IAH staff to unveil the actual date), but I do have some interesting tidbits about the new patch, as graciously supplied by pCM Veya.

Venturing to the Land of Mysteries

The Domain of the Giants

As RCM Hrin announced in her blog a few months before, v.2.6.3 features the new map of Chaos Requiem, located between the Bahamas and the jungles of Ustiur. Mysteries and secrets surround the expanse of this new territory, and with the promise of the unknown comes with new opportunities for exploration!

Ugly mutated monsters in Chaos Requiem

Chaos Requiem holds new dungeons, monsters and even more colossal raid bosses (I can only imagine the weapons these bosses drop!).

So how does one venture into Chaos Requiem?

Decisions, decisions...

I can say that with my current family level, I won't be able to step on this forbidding land (that's for sure!), as it is a level 120-130 map. Experts and Master level families are sure to have a roll here though.

So now we know why it's been reiterated time and again that players should aim for Expert level at the very least. From this patch onwards, the Veteran level will soon become a thing of the past.

Anyway, back to the question...how does one go into Chaos Requiem?

Not him again...

Defeat the Great Hill Giant, that's what. The question is, will it be the same GHG monster level as the one in the Faction Quest? And where is the exact location to challenge this hulking monster? That I have to find out...

In order to fully explore the mysteries in Chaos Requiem, one will have to complete the Bahamas Swamp Quests. NPCs such as Igorni, Sharon, Selva, Barons Kurt and Edward, as well as Viscount Montoro will be issuing new challenging quests.

As previously mentioned, The Requiem patch features new bosses, as well as a new raid area: Garim's Nest.

Inside the lair of Garim

So yeah, you guessed it right. The new raid boss' name is Garim. Little is known what kind of monster is this (or its stats for that matter), so stay tuned for updates (or until I found that out with a bit of research ^^).

Garim looking nasty

Watch out for part 2 of The Requiem updates! Up next: New Game Features in v.2.6.3!

credits: pCM Veya & Team IAH

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^

Holy Crap!: v.2.4 updates and why it kinda sucks having RNPCs in your main team

That was quite a mouthful for a blog topic, huh? XD

Surprisingly, I was able to go home from work at a much earlier time, although I'm actually working from home as I speak. While browsing a few blogs and finally getting to the sGE site, my senses got tickled wih news from the upcoming Bahia Island patch (v.2.4).

One such feature is the Super Fight, as shown here.

Comments: It's good to know that the non-Veterans can enjoy what it's like to fight against raid bosses. GE is fast becoming a game for high levels and I'm excited to try out this feature that enables mid-levels like me to be a bit more daring not just with PvE, but with PvP as well.

Another thing worth looking forward to is Tropical Island, as shown here.

Comments: This is where the sucky part comes in. If you have an RNPC team, you're gonna miss half your life. I guess only my Elementalist can look hot, but not Bernelli and Emilia *le sigh*. Which brings me to a point that I have to revive my Cervantes girls. Hehe. Wouldn't want them to miss the action as well.

RCM Hrin has likewise put up a poll regarding the much-awaited RNPCs Karjalainen, Jameson brothers Edward and Gavin, Kurt Lyndon, Viki, Angie and Feng Ling.

Oh Gavin, my Gavin! *swoons*

Comments: Where are the freaking girl gamers of GE? I can't believe this low turnout of votes for Gavin Jameson. Well, for one this he's hot. Secondly, he's hot. And third, he's soooooo hot!!!! Hahaha. I just might erect a small shrine for this handsome dude. Too bad quests to get this hunk of an RNPC's going to be exclusive to Vets once again. *le sigh*.


And on a side note, GE Philippines is going to be at the Hero TV event happening on December 1 & 2 at the SMX Convention Center near the SM Mall of Asia. I'll be there dressed as Idge once again, so if there's anyone of you guys here in PH who wants a meet-up, lets! ^_^

DeSanggria's footnotes:

- I'd like to welcome the Yatsushiro family into the Vespanolan Times CW correspondent team! Yatsushiro will be reporting for Pachelbel! Yay! So we need one more brave soul for Vivaldi and our group is set! ^0^

- Just today, I got my first experience of being deleveled...and in the Forgotten Territories no less. Yep, not a pretty picture at all, and it's not even worth celebrating about. XD Now I've even got more reasons to get my @$$ to Veteran status. Mwehehe.

- Oh yeah, I'm in a new faction called †Legion†, under the leadership of Spardo. The group's a bit small right now, but despite that, all members are online almost every time I log in. It's been a great experience talking to these people and I'd like to thank Spardo for letting me in despite the faction's level requirements for members ^^. Hi and hello as well to my new faction mates!

Sneak peak on V2.4 (c/o RCM Hrin)

This particular post from RCM Hrin has got me salivating.

New RNPCs in V2.4!!! OMG!!! And with more interesting background stories to boot!

This calls for some serious fanfic writing! I just wonder when I'm going to be able to get those RNPCs once the patch becomes available. Hell, I don't even own an Irawan card!

I LIIIIIIIVEEE!!! + big news!

Panfilo's glad to be back in GE.

Finally! After last night's server fiasco, I was finally able to log in to the GE world. It's still a painful chore for me to level the girls, so I took them all for a nice stroll around Reboldoeux and Coimbra.

In doing so I encountered new sights in those areas. In Reboldoeux for one, a costume exchange chest was located near master couturier Andre Janzur. By putting in some costumes (the ones bought from Janzur and not the armors), one will get a random item. A factionmate tried exchanging one this morning and he got an Auch Return Scroll. Cool!

Oh and for those who are wondering, items in the Market Manager are steadily going back to their exorbitant prices. You might want to purchase some stuff now, and unless you're fully loaded with Vis, getting armors and weapons will be a major pain in the family coffers.

Moving over to Coimbra, we noticed the add-ons as described by RCM Hrin.

Hrin's new bestfriend, the Item Mall NPC stands near the notice board, already selling goodies for those who have their G-Points (lucky people ).

No G-Points for the DeSanggria family just yet.

And while on the way to a rendezvous with Gracielo (hehe), we spotted Jonathon, the new Coimbra Pioneering Officer. Cyradis went on to engage him in a friendly conversation and to check out the quest issued by this NPC. To her surprise, Jonathon replied tartly, "We do not need your help."

Jonathon, the Coimbra Trooper Pioneering Officer

Ouch. Darned ingrate.

The girls likewise saw the ballot boxes for the upcoming Party Elections! It's just across Captain Ricardo. Neat stuff really.

Cast your votes here!

Oh, and RCM Hrin has posted some nifty info about Barons in her blog. Go check it out! Just don't baron me...yet.

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For those of you who've been curious for the nth time...

IP-Interactive will have the GE PH Commercial Launch Party on Sept. 15 (Saturday) at One Esplanade, near SM Mall of Asia!!!