Jiasha

Yesterday I got another chance to go into HotO (Heart of the Ocean). I've been in a couple times but have always died...more than once actually! Of course, this time was no exception but I was prepared for that and had taken a Big Angel's Sigh before entering the instance.
I think it's interesting that now that I have level 58 after my name, I am more easily accepted into parties. What I feel embarrassed to reveal is that I'm so inexperienced at all things "high-level". But seeing as how it was a group setting, and my competence level might cause the group to fail, I let them know that I wasn't sure about the bosses. Lucky for me, an old guildie was in the group and he was very understanding and made sure I was informed.
You see, there's a lot of tricks to HotO that you wouldn't know unless you had experience. And each person in the group has a job to do at each boss.
For instance, when fighting the Bloodthirsty Claw, you're supposed to stay behind him cuz he has a forward-facing AOE. And keep moving away from the jellyfish cuz they drain mana. And mages have to purg the adds. And who knows what else I missed!
The second boss, Teeth of the Reef, does some weird debuff that takes away your HP by a certain percentage, so everyone switches their gear to lower their HP. Strange but true. And once again, mages must purg the adds.
The third boss, Jiasha, I don't really know why and I was too timid to ask, but all the melee folks stand in a big clump of seaweed and fight there. And the healers and mages stand in a certain spot to the side and cast from there. Intense damage gets done and the healer has a huge job to do, but somehow this fight seems easier than the first two.
This time, my group decided to go past Jiasha, which I've never done, and head to Geba. Of course we wiped in a most awesome way! But it was tremendous fun.

For amazing videos of loads of RoM including boss fights and tips, visit the Realm Guardians channel on Youtube. Fantastic stuff!

Many Screenshots

I take tons of screenshots. Every time something cool happens or I see something interesting, I take a screenshot. Most times I plan on posting the screenshots here and blogging about them but then something new comes up and I move on and forget about them.
So this morning I decided to upload all my old screenshots to my page on WeGame for everyone's viewing pleasure.

I use WeGame to capture videos of RoM. It works okay, although I find that it causes quite a bit of lag for me. So most of my videos are actually fail.  Ha!
You can also use WeGame to take screenshots, but I just take them using the regular PrtScrn button and RoM saves them in my screenshots folder. I always have to modify them though, since they're usually huge files and also in bmp format, not JPEG. I don't use any fancy program, usually just Paint, although sometimes I use Serif Photoplus SE if I want to do layers.
So anyway, now that I've cleaned up my screenshots folder, it's time to go play and fill it up again with new stuff!

Standard Aggregator

Tonight I used a Standard Aggregator for the first time. I have something like 30 of the silly things. I think I got them as part of a package deal or prize or something. I didn't pay for them, that's for sure!
But seeing as how I just got some nice Jiasha's Leg Guards and I also had some Demon Lady Leggings kicking around from the Halloween events, I decided to mash them together.
I was nervous doing it cuz it was my first time and I didn't want to mess up and ruin a 2 million gold pair of pants. I was also worried that maybe once I pressed the aggregator to use it, I wouldn't be able to cancel. But they had a cancel button, a confirm button, and a really simple preview screen as well.
I forgot to take a screenshot of it, so I can't post a pic here. Whoops.
Anyway, it put all of the stats from the Jiasha's Leg Guards, including the dura and runes, onto the appearance of the Demon Lady Leggings. So now my character screen says that I'm wearing the Jiasha's, but it looks like I'm wearing a cute little purple mini-skirt. :)
I've got a ton of costumes stuffed in storage chests in my house. I keep getting them from events and such and I hang on to them cuz they're bound. But I guess with 30 aggregators, I could make myself a costume for every occasion!

I'm All Gangsta!

So check out my new hat, chapeau, cap, head gear, bandana, gang colors! I'm bad, I'm bad, I'm really really bad. Who's bad?
Okay, but the coolest part is the stats. I'm actually starting to get gear that looks like stuff a level 58 would wear. Costs me a fortune, but what the hell. I'm gonna go kick some butt this weekend...it's 2x TP! Woot!

Creepy Crawlies

Okay, after dissing the developers for making too many huge-bottomed creatures, I figured it was time to give them some props.

I don't know if there's a certain artist who is in charge of drawing the insects in the game, but whoever is doing it has made some fantastic creatures!

Even from the very beginning of the game I noticed the amazing details on the beetles and dragonflies. The beetles have shiny carapaces and multiple hidden wings and segmented joints. They turn their little heads and flutter their wings under their shell.
The dragonflies have articulating legs and veined wings. They bend their skinny abdomens under themselves just like real dragonflies do. The shading of their colors is just beautiful.
Perhaps it's just that I am nature lover and no one else would notice these things but I am truly impressed with the "bug artist" of RoM!
The picture to the side is a beetle that is found in the new area of Southern Janost Forest. He has a grinning skull on his shell. Too cool!