Time for quickie... UPDATE!!!

Here's what I've been up to:

Another Fallen Champion... Defeated... Wow...

Also, look what I saw as well at Via Fluvial:

Dream Antelope! 'Nuff said, dog!

That's it, folks! Will give you more posts about leveling Karjalanien (Saija) and maybe some experiences with Viki's quest to get his Castis stance! Woohoo! :P Keep posted! :D

Leveling up Calyce (part 1)

Wow... Been some time since I last posted. Just posting just to let you reader that I'm still doing everything I can to enjoy Granado Espada, even if the Nintendo Wii and Second Life is totally distracting me!

Anyhoo, here's what I've been up to: leveling Calyce to 100. That's right. Calyce. The lady who can use a crossbow. I've been leveling her up after I got her to level 72. What I did first is that I leveled her up within the Old Port of Coimbra. It also had another purpose, since I was collecting Unknown Green Gems to get myself a Catalyst Powder. It didn't improve my chances in getting a better rumin. So much for 1500 pieces of Unknown Green Gems...

Getting back on track, I then proceeded to level her up in Forgtten Territory of Joaquin. That places gives me memories of my life of leveling up many characters and Calyce is now part of it. Coupled with Expert EXP Boosters, this really lessened my workload in getting the EXP. Of course, I attempted to play for 24 hours straight but I needed to fall asleep. Of course, here's what I finally got to see during my stay in the Joaquin FT.

Fallen Champion spotted!

You saw it, alright! The Fallen Champion appeared in the area where the highest level spawns of this FT existed. Surely, I took the chance of fighting it with my puppet army (thanks to my Catherine, of course!).

The battle wages on...


...and to the victor goes the spoils!

But the spoils of defeating this so-called champ were worthless (to me), so I just opened the chests up and left it to rot and fade away. I did hit level 89 at that time and I needed to move on to bigger places. The Skullic Dungeon was the obvious choice but it got crowded lately and I am not able to level up in peace as expected. Oh well, I better try the Ancient Territory in Skullic Dungeon this time, I've got passes that I got for free from different events.

Now, a bonus trivia on my Calyce! I named her after a North American blogger who goes by the alias of Scarlette. Yep. Aside from these characters I created after my blogging friends, she's now included in my family as a dedication as a fellow GE blogger. Presea, you will be part of my family soon!

What I have been up to lately...

Ever since Vicente Rio is available, many of us flocked to add him up in our barracks. What drove many of us to level him up is the event IAH set up. Getting a costume for free? That's a sweet deal (for me)! They adopted this event from what kGE did as well.

Before we can get to that, let me go ahead and give my thoughts of what I thought of Vicente Rio. On first impression, I was truly amazed that IMC developed yet another unique character. What got me surprised is the voice they gave him: a laidback Mexican musician. I was expecting a handsome voice to go along with the looks but I had expected wrong. At this rate, I had to think of a name that would fit him.

As what Rio can do? Well, looks like lutes aren't just his thing. He can also use Lightning stances as well. Of course, everyone who's been with me for more than a year should be familiar with the Lightning stances. For his lute stances, there's Minstrel and Serenade.

Minstrel is an offensive-type stance that has 3 offensive AOEs and 1 sleep status AOE. I was able to try this out (saved it for last!) and I'm really amazed on how this works. Now, two of the three offensive AOEs can target up to 8 enemies and the Crazy Rhapsody skill has a 33% chance of stunning the opponent. It may not be potent but it give you a chance to stop the enemy to get the higher ground. The other one is Rhythm and Blues which causes Enervation at 75%. From what I can recall, that status affects ATK Speed and Movement Speed. It also causes HP regeneration to stop as well. Silent Cradlesong targets 8 enemies but it only induces sleep status, making it harmless. This was very useful, especially with my experiences with Sandman skill from the Illusionist stance. That last skill only targets 3 enemies but the damage is higher and gives out a new status ailment: Requiem. This reduces evasion and block rate to 0, reduces ATK and attack speed to minimum, reduces all resistances by 75. This totally lets your enemies tastes the full power you've got with your weapons!

As for the Serenade stance, I'll look into it once I get the stance book. Serenade happens to be a Veteran Stance, so it'll have to wait. I gotta try it out first before I can make statements about it! :D

On the day I got Rio, I leveled him up to 3x on the first day. When I got impatient at Al Quelt Moreza, that's when I prompted to go to the Rion Dungeon Hollow. Seeing the EXP reel in so fast shocked me. But Rio got shocked as well, because he was constantly killed and I had to feed him with Resurrection Potions every now and then. I maxed out his Lightning stances because the lutes were available at level 60. By the time I got a lute, it was really exciting. At times, I would hit the Silent Cradlesong skill and it bought some time to get even with the mobs. After Rin Dungeon Hollow, I decided to invest on a FT pass and ventured in the Prison de Joaquin FT. I'm not sure if that was worth my G Points but I was able to cope in that place. Of course, I had to multi task by checking my mail, surf the web and do the laundry. I can't believe I was going through power leveling again ever since I leveled up my Catherine to Veteran.

Just a little more to go...

It's been a week already and I've gotten my Rio hit level 88 already. Just one more day and I can sit back and relax (and maybe try the Serenade Stance!). Oh, I'm looking forward to getting my prize at the end of the month as well!

P.S.
Before I forget, I named him "Felipe" because I had a colleague with an English variant of that name because I recalled him doing a Mexican accent during work. Inspired from his antics, this how I got the name Felipe.

Rainbows and sunshines: Community

Sure, I may be disappointed that I didn't hit level 92 for the main team for this day off. But there was something that made it worthwhile: Being with my friends in Granado Espada.

The first instance:
When NineMoons (fellow faction member!) went online, I asked if she needed assistance in leveling up. At first, she told me DeSanggria would be helping her out. I told her that I will join them once I hit level 90. Keeping that promise, I prepared to come in only as Catherine. I got an update that Fiksdotter is online and he's went online via Reclusion's PC. Looks like he's spending his vacation over at their place now, as what Reclusion did before that. Anyhoo, I arrived bringing some equips to NineMoons and I asked if I could squad up with Breviary and Fiksdotter. Since they didn't need me, I just stayed and gave my gifts to NineMoons. However, that wasn't all of the stuff I wanted to give to her. So, I decided to check my vault on what I can do not just to help NineMoons but to help my vault from exploding! Well, I gave a bunch of armors and a few weapons to help our lady blogger get a great start in Carracci.

Friends helping out a fellow player/blogger

When I arrived, it has come to my attention that Fiksdotter tends to alternate between Fiksdotter himself and the Reclusion Brothers. When Fiksdotter saw me (as himself), he sent the squad invite and I accepted it without any second thought. Knowing I was sharing EXP, I had to do my part and kill some monsters to help speed the process. While we were helping out NineMoons, she did a little update. When DeSanggria put up her "Queen of Vespanola" statement, that's when I was surprised that she was with us! :P It was really nice to get along with friends that I've met in real life. NineMoons had to go since she other matters to attend to. Well, it was worth my time! :D

I really need a makeover!

This ain't over yet! Remember I was ranting that I didn't get to AFK properly at Topolo Durga? Well, something better happened when my powerleveling kit expired! :P

The second instance:
There were three members online (not including me and others) that were hanging out at the Tetra Ruins Forgotten Territory. I asked if I can join. Yes I could, just bring characters appropriate for that level. After taking time on who to bring, I came as Clint (Jack the Engineer), Verena (Female Auch Infantry) and Cristobal (Ramiro). When I arrived to join, they were a really friendly bunch. It was kind of boring at first, since we just leveling at a small spot. However, I decided to "expand our coverage" building cannons outside of the range of the wards these guys set up. Things heated up when I was rebuilding some cannons in one end of the spot and then a family complained that I was stealing kills from him. Well, to solve that problem, I decided to build a fortress in the opposite end. When I destroyed all my structures to set up a fortress, this is when a window popped up saying I am reported as a bot!

Can you spot my cannons? Can ya? Can ya?

The nerve! I was able to prove my innocence and that family who accused just plain played dirty. Since I had my faction mates with me, they decided to overpower this family because of the response I received. After a few minutes, that family just left the scene. Wow! That was one way to start the morning. A Deputy Faction Leader then chatted with us and NineMoons was online again! We had a great discussion about many things in GE. Looks like I enjoyed this session at the FT along with the other three faction mates with me. We were able to wrap up since the servers had to go through maintenance and will be shut down.

These two experiences really made my day because I was around a community that supports each other and knows how to have a good time. Thanks guys, it really put a smile on my face even though I didn't reach level 92 this time.

My "Thank You" shout outs:

NineMoons: Supreme Lady Blogger
DeSanggria: Queen of Vespanola
Reclusion: Legendary Movie Director
Fiksdotter: Undisputed Movie Writer
The Takhisis Faction
IAH Games for the Premium Buff testing! Freebies were great but the buff was way better!
IAH Games for the extension of the GVC Boost Promo! Yes. That means extra G Points and E. Boosters for me!

That's all for now for this week! Hope to experience progress both in GE and in work! :D

ALL YOUR SPOT ARE BELONG TO US!!!

At Your Own Risk: AFK

Well, this isn't of my day off experience! Since I need level up to 100/Veteran before the next Colony Wars, I ended up going to the Joaquin Prison Forgotten Territory with my powerleveling kit still enabled. Of course, I stayed at Zone 4 since it was the highest level it can accommodate me. With the Premium Buff still enable for everyone, it was kind of laggy since there are people who took advantage of it. As much as I wanted to get my butt off the chair, I had to stay behind because of doing AFK (Away From Keyboard) I will get killed and therefore, no EXP.

I did my best alleviate the boredom by talking to friends in GE. One of them would be Device where we discussed many things. Also, Southernsky was there but only for a few replies. When I saw NineMoons going online, I asked if she needed some help in leveling up. She kindly appreciated my offer but I had to level up first 90 before I can be available. When did reach level 90, I came to her spot as Catherine. Looks like she's accompanied by Breviary and Fiksdotter. Okay, let's skip this part first because my main focus for this post is a rant: AFK!

As the night came closer, I really need to AFK because I do want to sleep. Around 8-9PM Southernsky advised me (after some talking here and there) that I should AFK at Topolo Durga. I tried to out and the mobs seem weak, even if they're at level 98 and above. I left my main team and slept the night away...

Waking up at 2AM, I checked to see how they were doing. They were dead and they didn't get much EXP. With my powerleveling kit still in effect, I tried doing another AFK session. After hours later, I only gained 5% EXP. I did attempt to AFK but it involved my Feng Ling 4x, Lorch 5x and Emelia 6x at the Porto Bello Forgotten Territory some time ago. I AFK'ed them and I saw no problem in them surviving, even for just a nap (more like more than a nap!). Looks like AFK'ing in high levels is very dangerous now.

Well, looks like I need some help reaching level 100/Veteran before the month ends. I'll try my luck to be able to get some more support from my friends and faction mates. Well, wait for the next post because there are some rainbows and sunshines that occurred during this day off...

The Prison de Joaquin Forgotten Territory: Laboratory Block

Compensations, anyone?

When I found out about this announcement, I was really giddy in not only getting a free Forgotten Territory Pass but also an Ancient Territory Pass as well! At my current situation, I think I should use this on my main team so I can push them to higher levels. Oh no... Thinking about the Forgotten Territory pass reminded me of another reason to use it and now I'm torn between either:

Leveling up my main team

OR

Hangout at the Torsche Mansion FT and gather Strange Items for Viki (and maybe for Cheyenne's weapon collection).

Well, I better make up my mind after this week's work. I gotta do better at work! :P

And now, for a pic!

So many families getting the freebies!

The Forgotten Territory Experience

I was really tempted to use my Forgotten Territory pass since it promises good EXP. The good EXP actually comes from the heavy spawn rate the occurs in these dungeons. My original plan was to just level up Jack and Diego but looks like I decided to use my Combat Manual - Expert item along as well. I activated the both of them at December 21, 2007, 9:43 PM, GMT +8.

I started off as Celso (Gracielo), Freyja (Brunie) and Joanne (Emilia). I was really surprised on how much monsters was in these dungeons and the rate they keep coming back. I went on for a semi-24-hour marathon to level up my other characters to 48. Celso and Freyja were able to reach the goal. After that, I switched Celso and Freyja for Iqbal (Najib Sharif) and Alana (Catherine). Alana's dolls had no problem in wiping out the the room clean without the danger of dying! It got really late, so I had to get some sleep.

I logged in again right after waking up the next morning. This time, I leveled up Jacki (Adelina) and Lauryn (Grace). It was kind of tricky to grind in these dungeons because sometimes to you can't keep up with the spawn rate! My advice is that you bring a character who is capable of hitting more than one target and/or has skills that targets a good number of mobs. After that, I decided to grind Clint (Jack) and Cletus (Diego). Oh boy, it was tricky using their skills but a faction mate taught me how to utilize them for 1-spot grinding. Since the Forgotten Territory Dungeons have high mob spawns, there would be no problem in staying one spot while the structures did their job without ever having to relocate. I am thankful to have them at least reach level 16 (and above) in their skills. Now, I know what it's like to build a "fortress" with cannons and rotating blades to attack the monsters while using fences to lure them to their demise! I couldn't get them to level 48 since I was pretty worried about the supply of Soul Potions and Toolset Boxes. I ended up leveling them up to 36. My last attempt to "powerlevel" was Alphonse (Panfilo) and Syeri (Idge). I thought I couldn't make it by 9:43 PM to reach level 48 but looks like I did the (almost) impossible! I decided to hang a little longer in the Forgotten Territory Dungeon until I was booted out! Well, thanks for the fun time at FT! :D

Hmmm... It seems I'm breaking some promises here. Well, I gotta admit I got hooked into the game ever since Bahia Island's implemented. I'll list down here on what I should write next:

• Bahia Island experiences
• New characters (yes, I expanded my barracks), their names of origin and family photos
  
• Finished Claude and Najib Sharif's quests
• Reaching Level 64 (main team)
• Christmas Event
• A Granado Espada UI Skin I'm making
  
• Round up of 2007

Well, I hope I can keep my word. Oh yeah, I got a job as a call center agent as well! It means that my time playing in Granado Espada is severely affected but I need to work if I want them premium goods! That's life, guys. A guy needs to be able to stand in his own two feet soon. Thanks for reading and I'll get back on these topics (and I promise pictures!)