One Shots: Crystal death
Reader Vexia is going to kick off our meeting of the Dungeoneers Anonymous Club here at Massively (motto: "Aw, just wipe it") by meeting a recent screenshot challenge to send in a picture from a dungeon.
"Here is the Crystal Tower in Final Fantasy XIV, which cuts a fine figure over Silvertear Lake," she wrote in. "It's stunning to behold both within and without, and it contains bosses reminiscent of those in Final Fantasy III, the first Final Fantasy game to feature the Crystal Tower dungeon. The Keeper of the Lake can be seen in the right corner of this shot, a monument that contains the bones of the Guardian of Silvertear Falls (the Midgardsormr) and the wreckage of the massive Garlean Empire airship (Agrius). The Midgardsormr sacrificed itself to bring down the airship in a valiant act of altruism that no doubt saved the lives of many innocent Eorzeans! It's one of my favorite bits of the game's lore."
Did you get all of that? I feel as though there's going to be a test. I might need to cheat off of your sheets. Insert one quarter to continue this column, by the way.
After spending over a year in Guild Wars 2, I can think only that this world has the best plastic surgeons in the business. Every character I encounter is simply pristine, China dolls both men and women alike, with nary a scratch to betray their dangerous professions.
Reader Becca is all for flaunting what she's got: "After my cousin found out I played the game, she asked what my character looked like. Naturally I had to get a good pose. 'Heeeeyyyy!'"
Heeeeyyyy indeed. Welcome to Music Town, may I service you?
It's always a treat when someone with the nickname (I hope) "The Lurker" sends in pictures because I always had a suspicion that we were not alone in the dark of the night. I figured something -- someone -- was out there, deep in the shadows, reading the comments section at Massively but not posting.
Anyway, Mr. The Lurker has sent in this stunning picture from EverQuest II. "Here's my Deathknight out in the snow, surveying the lands of Frostfell in case the Great Overlord of Freeport should wish to expand his territory. Notes to self: Plate armour conducts cold. And what is that amongst the Northern lights? Flying wingless reindeer? With a sled? This is a weird place."
This may be our first submission from RF Online, so break out the bubbly while reader Holden gives us the backstory.
"This is my Accretian Phantom," he wrote. "Rest in peace, my lil' murder bot. I thought this picture (and all other pictographic evidence of this character's existence) was lost long ago in an OS reinstall; I found it a couple of weeks back when I was cleaning up an archive folder on my secondary hard drive.
"Looking back over these screenshots the last couple of weeks since I found them has really been heart wrenching. RF Online was my first MMO, and there has been no other game since where I have developed as deep an emotional connection to a character as this one here."
And now for the part of the column that you couldn't wait to read: our weekly screenshot challenge! This week's challenge is to take a picture of something you hate. Maybe it's a game you hate, a character you hate, a monster you hate, or a dungeon you hate. Access that loathing, take a picture, and send it in along with an explanation why this gets your goat!
Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!
