The Challenge so Far. A Parting Story for Dok Karaz.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been leveling a Zealot by doing the RvR-Only-Challenge. This means that you can only collect xp through scenarios, open RvR, grit, determination, and waiting around a lot. It has been quite the experience. I think I'm going to regale you with my experiences.

Tier 1 flew by. I gained a level every two or three scenarios at the start, then started mixing it up with some RvR lake action. By lake I literally mean only one lake: Empire/Chaos. I had still managed to max out my influence in the other two zones, but that was entirely from musical BOs. Actual oRvR kills came from Festenplatz zergs, and the winner was decided solely on which side was fielding more people at the time. Most of my time was spent camping warcamps, or being camped at my warcamp. As a healer, T1 was boring except for scenarios. Except Khaine's Embrace. That one can suck my nuts for all I care.

Tier 2 took place in all of the zones. Musical keeps was in abundant supply, but never constant. Whenever we owned most of the tier, Order would keep a death grip on Mandred's Hold and never give it up. A lot of my time was spent looking up at that keep. I did a lot more scenarios this time, but I enjoy all of the T2 ones. Especially as a healer, because they're rarer and you just feel extra useful and loved.

*sigh*Just another zone cap against no defense.

If you're wondering about what gear I've gotten out of all of this it is: the Obliterator set (the boots were given to me though), oRvR influence rewards, and jewelry from renown vendors (I've picked up no drops). Out of the 25 keeps I took part in taking (I only know this because of the title I just got), I'd received 5 gold bags. Oddly, none of them came from when I placed in the top three for contribution. I am a terrible roller.

If you keep turning in kill quests and are constantly queued for scenarios, you'll level at a pretty good clip. The problem is that you can't play during off hours. At all. If there's no one in a lake, and no scenarios are popping, your only option is to... make potions? This is my only gripe with the challenge. I can't do anything when it's not prime time. During prime time is great (hence the word prime) but sometimes I still want to play after hours.

All...By...My...SeEelf

So I'll use an alt to get my PvE questing fix (I love reading the quest text and the sometimes odd objectives). This didn't last very long. I just couldn't do it. AI mobs just weren't cutting it for me. I could feel myself getting sleepy every time I repeated an attack rotation. I'm also very tired of T1 right now (so many alts in so short a time.) PvPing for so long has spoiled me, with its constantly changing partners, enemies and situations. The ups and downs are just incomparable. It isn't that PvEing is boring, it just doesn't compare to pitting yourself against a live opponent. There's a lot of intangibles involved, but it mostly comes down to "am I having fun?" The answer is a resounding yes. I'm gonna miss being the big dog on campus but here's hoping for more tales in T3.

I'll finish with a true story about my undying passion for a keep.


Dok Karaz. O how I love You Dok Karaz. I made it a personal mission to attack or defend you every time there was a hint of action taking place. There was no real reason for this, other than after having defended it once, I didn't want to give it up until I had too. There were three times where I didn't start defending you until your door was already broken in, rallying murderous fighters along with me, forming a stalwart platoon of 7-10 people each time. We'd rush through the ranks of Order massed on the ramp so that we could stave them off from your Lord's room.

Sometimes they had already gotten past that, and they were trying to fight your Lord out on your ranged siege equipment pad. Well my platoon was having none of that and we whisked them off of your walls with steel, spittle, and more stalwartness. When they tried for a second go before we could rebuild your door, we pushed them back again. Best of all, when they tried to gain reinforcements from the dwarven ironclad, We chased them down and stalwartly killed them there too. Twas a great day to not be a dwarf.

This is only like, a fifth of the attackers. Swear to god. I beat them with just my bare hands

*Update* War'nPieces also has his writeup of the rvr challenge, while linking to yours truly. It may not be a race, but I have to say, my toon's farther than his toon. Well his twoons. I still win alright?