The Majesty level with the goblins?  I ended up just making two warrior guilds and upgrading my blacksmith to as high as the level would let me.  Rangers and Wizards were too squishy for that level it seemed, though the wizard tower was a good way to see into the unexplored areas because of the spell.  Though the Warriors had no problem exploring, but they did prefer attack flags.  The reason I had two warrior guilds is because with only 4 warriors, they would all come back to defend the castle or their home, where as with 8, some would still be available to take out the goblin huts and towns.

As for the RPG, I have no clue.  I haven't found any rpgs that have struck my fancy just yet.

I'm definitely interested in this, how do you guys think the replay-ability will be?

Peggle HD and Plants vs. Zombies HD are both on sale today.  $.99 for Peggle and $2.99 for PvZ

I just want Target Forwarding    Playing a healer I'd love to be able to target the mob and heal the player through it, or vice versa.  I do believe that they will at least be having a Target of Target UI element coming in 1.2 - and I did try using Focus Target, but that doesn't work very well - sometimes it doesn't even display my focused target 

I don't know if it is any good, but New World Colony is free today.

Reiner Knizia's Tigris & Euphrates is on sale for $.99 today.

Medici, too.

Samurai has never gone on sale, and it's the only other one I really want.

Looks like Ra as well

Reiner Knizia's Tigris & Euphrates is on sale for $.99 today.

I had this pre-ordered and should be getting it delivered today, so feel free to add me as a friend if you want scores to compare

After seeing the post below mine, I realized I should have specified I got it on the 360 and my gamertag is Cragmyre

I'm partial to Syberia and Syberia II - though they are a bit pricey on Steam.  Though it sounds like it is the original and a sequel, they are actually one big game that got broken into two pieces.  I just loved the story and really enjoyed playing through it.

I'm probably one of the only ones that enjoyed Threshold, but I loved the characters and would have liked to have seen that show continue on.

Neuroshima Hex is on sale for $2.99 today and Neuroshima Hex Puzzle is on sale for $.99.

Journeyman  - though Awake might have a similar vibe.

The people that created Ascension for the iOS have come out with their next game Food Fight iOS

I'd be interested - I sent you PM

BANG! for the iPad is on sale today for .99

Oops I almost bought some other (looks crappy) game called Bang! that comes first on the list when you search for "bang!" in the app store.

Sorry guys, I should have used the complete title - thought the link would help, but I didn't realize there were other bangs out there. :\

BANG! for the iPad is on sale today for .99

Not sure what constitutes a day for EA, but Monopoly is on sale today for .99

It's those same quirks that keep me from being able to play EQ.  I'm so spoiled with targetting stuff - if I heal the creature I'm fighting, I want it to actually heal the creature's target, not tell me that I can't cast that.

For any that is interested, I see on the AppShopper app that Majesty is on sale for .99 today.

If you're looking for a good timewaster, Planet Minesweeper is free today.  It's basic Minesweeper, but on a spherical grid.  Pretty entertaining.

I still want a Jigsaw puzzle program   but I grabbed Planet Minesweeper too.  How did you hear about it?  AppShopper doesn't have it listed as a price drop/new listing.

Anyone know of a really good Jigsaw Puzzle app?

The way I'm "trying" to budget myself is to enter an iTunes card once a month.  So, this doesn't leave me a lot left at this time.  I'm torn between Forbidden Island and Neuroshima Hex - and all the other suggestions here 

So, despite iPad3 coming out soon, I got an iPad2 for Christmas.  So far I got myself Small Worlds, Ascension, Shadow Era, and Zombie Dice.  This game Journey of Fortune: Dragon's Fire looks interesting.  Anyone try it?  Also, what other board/card games are must buys?  I'm thinking of Neuroshima Hex and Necronomicon Redux.

I've created a "Free Gifts!!" category for all the games I own that I can get free shit from, and plan on doing that this weekend. Last night I tried getting AudioSurf candy-cane achievement, just can't figure out which mode has red and white.

this site can help http://steamcheeves.com

though it says to use Pointman Elite

And for those that care, it is Steamworks.

Are you doing your combination attack chains (you have a starter button that activates a wheel of sort of which you push other powers to match) at all? They help do a LOT more damage (as well as give you buffs and other things), and it makes a very large difference in combat when you're soloing. Some classes need them more than others to get along, but all will find it useful.

True, the Heroic Opportunities help a lot against tougher mobs.  They are started with the yellow icon, for a scout it will look like coins ( if I remember correctly ).  You get the ability at level 5.

Thanks again for the continuing info.

The race abilities don't necessarily apply to the class you chose, for example, had you made a human Mage, they wouldn't need STR nor AGI, but you could still choose those racial abilities

Are you sure about that? My Human Brigand only has the option to take Intelligent Designs (Intelligence ability increase) and Brute Force (Strength ability increase) despite him being a Brigand which favors Agility as the primary. Or maybe I missed something - where in the UI would I go to increase other abilities? From what I've read -well at least what's in the ZAM site's wiki- every race has only 2 abilities that can be increased. It doesn't seem to matter what class you take, you're stuck with those 2 abilities, useful or not. And since every class calls for good Stamina as the secondary favored attribute, races like Barbarian, Dwarves, Iskar, Ogres, Sarnaks and Trolls seem to be the primo ones. BTW I really wish the game dev's would have a left the ability matrix the way it initially was. 

Well, I didn't know which two were able to be boosted by humans, but those are racials, and they will always be available for any human to choose, not because you are a Brigand.  As for your need for Agility - you can usually find armor and weapons with Agility.  I pay to play, so I'm not sure what restrictions F2P'ers have to deal with, I know you can't upgrade your spells/combat arts all the way, but I'm pretty sure you can get Adepts for them, that would help with battles too.

Also, you'll start earning AAs from level 10, those can be put into your other trees to help you with abilities.  The first tree ( the tab after Character Development ) will let you focus on scout abilities, and your Brigand tree will help you improve some of your specialized abilities.  Unfortunately I don't have a Brigand, so can't help you much.

I hear what you 2 are saying, this game is a bit of an adjustment for me. What I don't understand is why include a 6 attribute matrix for characters if in fact you're only going to bother with 1 or 2 of those for any given character? I can see that the use of skills advances them up to a level cap, but I don't understand what the underlying mechanic for their effectiveness is? I.e my Brigand is capped in both slashing and piercing, but was it Agility or Strength that was utilized while those skills were used and advanced?  I have noted on the Advanced Training screen I can choose 2 personal traits to enhance 2 different base attributes, and I've been using the class and sublcass screens to increase my toons powers/special skills. But if I can enhance 2 distinct attributes then surely they come into play, hence some races should be better at a a class that utilizes those attributes?

I guess I'm just having a hard time wrapping my brain around the core mechanics of this game. With any RPG -skills based or attribute based- there's always fundamental base statistics that characters are built upon. I.e. in DDO (D&D) its a combo of attributes and skills with  feats enhancing both, in Shin Megami Tensei online it's almost purely skills with a skill tree that unlocks more advanced skills chains, in DAoC it's a combo of skills and attributes with toons specializing in specific skill paths, Champions Online is a combo of both too. And of course all of those, and just about every RPG under the sun, allows you to enhance those with gear. So is EQ II really just skills based with the attributes being purely fluff?

In the past all the attributes mattered.  Strength for damage, Agility for defense, Intelligence for magic, Wisdom for resistances.  But the powers that be felt they were too complicated for the average player so they simplified it.  Though they changed the way stats work on the different classes, not all items were changed, so sometimes you'll find a Brigand weapon that has STR on it, but that stat does nothing at all to help the Brigand.   The race abilities don't necessarily apply to the class you chose, for example, had you made a human Mage, they wouldn't need STR nor AGI, but you could still choose those racial abilities.  They give a lot of racials now, and you just have to pick and choose what works best for your class.

[STA]

Still, it does explain why my Human Brigand now at level 21 has better Strength than I would have expected. Its seeming like I should really go with a Troll, Ogre or Sarnak for the best evil Fury - too bad I think all of those are damn ugly.  

Another change that Sony made to EQ2 is the only attributes that mean anything are the ones that apply to your base class.  All of them take advantage of STAmina - but only Scouts use AGIlity, only Fighters use STRength, only Mages use INTelligence, and only Priests use WISdom

So your Brigand has no use for Strength, it doesn't help at all with damage, only Agility will help with damage on the Brigand.

I have a level 89 Shadow Knight, soon to reach cap, and he heals pretty well, especially with his AA's that has pretty much every damage spell he does heal as well.  I do group with a Fury, and she barely has to heal me, but it is great in case of emergency.  The trick to Shadow Knight is the more mobs the merrier

Cool, that sounds good. I've got a fair amount of experience playing 2ndary heal toons, and usually have found it possible to keep myself and 1 or 2 others healthy in the absence of a true Doc. I'm definitely purchasing either a Fury or SK, but I'm going to ponder it over the next day or so as to which I go with. I'd  be sold on the Fury if I could have it as the profession for an eveil Dwarf from the get to. Yeah, a puritanical dorf who's compromised his alignment due to unforgivable sins and heavy drinking is always a good toon for me.  

A Shadow Knight doesn't have any direct heals.  All the heals are damage heals, my favorite being a damage shield that heals as well, hence why the more mobs the better.

Your evil Dwarf, though, would have to either betray, or you'd have to make something evil to begin with and then buy a race change potion.

Thanks for the replies Destructor and Cragmyre. I'm thinking of going Dark Elf for my Fury, if only because I have fond memories of once upon a time playing an all Drow party campaign in AD&D. I've been noticing the Shadow Knights, which look way too cool, and my understanding is that they're the evil opposite of a Paladin. So I'm wondering if like a Paly they get some heal ability too?

As an update on my SOE SC bought through my Steam Wallet - SOE corrected the problem this morning. They replied back the next day and fixed it the following. Considering it was a weekend that's not too bad.

I have a level 89 Shadow Knight, soon to reach cap, and he heals pretty well, especially with his AA's that has pretty much every damage spell he does heal as well.  I do group with a Fury, and she barely has to heal me, but it is great in case of emergency.  The trick to Shadow Knight is the more mobs the merrier

You were right Cragmyre about the Butcher Block quest - once I completed the final war quest in Timorous Deep I got sent to a NPC on the Gorowyn docks who requested I go to Faydwer. Another question oh sage Cragmyre  I'm really interested in a Fury class, but want to play it with an evil race. Of all of the evil races, which is the best suited to a healer class like the Fury?

A heads up for anyone interested in resubbing to gold or enhancing a silver account with purchases. Tomorrow December 17th, and tomorrow only, all Station Cash purchases made from within the game will be tripled.

It just doesn't get any better; 1st I got silver for free without having really ever played the game, and now I'm going to get a new class and 3 race pack for a miniscule $5! Sony's certainly making it cheap and easy for me to enjoy this game.

Race doesn't matter as much as it used to.  Some of the racial abilities are nice, like the ability to teleport to a group member in zone, or the ability to float from high places.  As you level you will also be able to pick other racial abilities, but there are so many you can usually find something good.  And with racial potions, though they cost SC, you can even start as a goody and just change into a baddy.  There is also the ability to betray, but except for the neutral classes, you'd have to switch to the opposite class when the betrayal was done.

Also, you don't have to stick to the golden path.  For example, they send you to Butcherblock, but there is still a lot of fun to be had in Thundering Steppes or Nek Forest ( well, that place isn't always fun )

You can buy Gold memberships on the Marketplace now.

We couldn't have done it without Qantaga

Whenever Soulchilde shows up again, he is going to follow you.   

That is exactly what I said last game when I was the wolf

[Theohall]

That is great, two villagers are cleared.  I'm the last.  The fate of the entire game rests upon you two.  I vote Theohall

As for Frostfang Sea it is one of the starting areas, for the Goodies/Neutrals, surrounding New Halas.  It is like Gorowyn where you can level from 1 to 20 before heading to ButcherBlock.

I haven't noticed a globe on the Gorowyn dock; could I have been than unobservant? Probably.  If I go to New Halas after reaching lvl 20 will there actually be quests at my level?

The globe is not far from the griffon that sits out front on the dock.  It has a blue aura around it if I remember correctly

As for New Halas, there may be some stuff, definitely some crafting quests, but the Frostfang questline sends you to Butcherblock just like the Timorous Deep questline will.

Getting to any of the other islands is pretty easy now.  Just get to a dock and click on the globe, you can then travel to any other area that has a dock.  The other two ways to travel are to use the druid rings or wizard spires.  You'll find them soon enough

As for Frostfang Sea it is one of the starting areas, for the Goodies/Neutrals, surrounding New Halas.  It is like Gorowyn where you can level from 1 to 20 before heading to ButcherBlock.

I'm kind of getting bummed out on Timorous Deep. I'm close level 18 and close to finishing everything, but my recent 2 quests (might even be my last 2) in Mok Rent are proving to be too much. Im getting pwn'd badly in one by a gang and continually dieing in another with my foe having only a sliver of life left.    Up until this point I really haven't had any problems soloing any of the quests. Meanwhile I've struck out trying to get any other players to group with me - surprisingly aloof players considering its the Antonia Bayle RP server.    It all adds up to me being about ready to throw in the towel and sign on with the Freeport Emisary.

For those who've played this, or any such areas before - If I sign on with the Freeport Emissary will it prevent me from completing my Timorous Deep quests, or can I still come back to them after I've sailed to Freeport?

You should be fine.  For the most part Gorowyn and all its quests are neutral.  Any side can do them.  They may be gray to you, but you can still go back and do them.  Btw, Frostfang Sea is also neutral, in case you wanted to do those quests too.

Man in Black: All right. Where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right... and who is dead.
Vizzini: But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine from what I know of you: are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet or his enemy's? Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
Man in Black: You've made your decision then?
Vizzini: Not remotely. Because iocane comes from Australia, as everyone knows, and Australia is entirely peopled with criminals, and criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not trusted by me, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.
Man in Black: Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Vizzini: Wait till I get going! Now, where was I?
Man in Black: Australia.
Vizzini: Yes, Australia. And you must have suspected I would have known the powder's origin, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
Man in Black: You're just stalling now.
Vizzini: You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? You've beaten my giant, which means you're exceptionally strong, so you could've put the poison in your own goblet, trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Spaniard, which means you must have studied, and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal, so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
Man in Black: You're trying to trick me into giving away something. It won't work.
Vizzini: IT HAS WORKED! YOU'VE GIVEN EVERYTHING AWAY! I KNOW WHERE THE POISON IS!
Man in Black: Then make your choice.
Vizzini: I will, and I choose - What in the world can that be?
Man in Black: [Vizzini gestures up and away from the table. Roberts looks. Vizzini swaps the goblets]
Man in Black: What? Where? I don't see anything.
Vizzini: Well, I- I could have sworn I saw something. No matter. First, let's drink. Me from my glass, and you from yours.
Man in Black, Vizzini: [Vizzini and the Man in Black drink]
Man in Black: You guessed wrong.
Vizzini: You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line"! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...
Vizzini: [Vizzini stops suddenly, his smile frozen on his face and falls to the ground dead]
Buttercup: And to think, all that time it was your cup that was poisoned.
Man in Black: They were both poisoned. I spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocane powder.