vanity-items
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Breakfast Topic: Do you enjoy using vanity items?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. People have been complaining about the lack of character customization in WoW for a long time now. I agree that the character creation screen in WoW does seem a bit limited when the customization options in other games can generate thousands of permutations, but for now, I'm content with the way things are. Why? Because a lot of the time, my character doesn't even look like himself. I have some 30 vanity items that transform the appearance of my main character or the world around him, and I put them to good use. Whether it's clucking my way through city streets as an Arakkoa (via my Time-Lost Figurine), or popping my Iron Boot Flask and making everyone in the Auction House dance with me (via my Piccolo of the Flaming Fire, I love being able to change the way I look when I get sick of the same old character model. I've learned that dropping my Tol Barad Searchlight in a capital city almost always generates a party out of thin air as passersby use their Mylune's Call, throw down their Haunted War Drums, set out their Romantic Picnic Baskets, and decorate with their Guild Battle Standards. But while I use them to escape the tedium of limited character customization, vanity items for some players serve loftier purposes. Back in Wrath, a guildie of mine would always use a Gordok Ogre Suit when he thought the next attempt would be the one in which we'd finally down the progression boss we had been working on all night. Whenever we saw that ogre, we knew things were getting serious and that a boss kill was imminent. So how do you use vanity items? Which is your item of choice when transforming the appearance of your character?
Global Agenda gifting AP to booster account holders
Hi-Rez Studios is throwing a bone to Global Agenda veterans who raised concerns about the limitations on the title's Agenda Points. Agenda Points are Global Agenda's item shop currency and were introduced with the Free Agent patch as a way for players to spend real-life money on optional character items. Agenda Points will now be distributed for free to active Booster supporters on a daily basis (to the tune of five AP per day plus an additional five for each level 50 character on an account). Theoretically players could walk away with 1,350 AP per month if they have eight max-level toons. In other Global Agenda news, Hi-Rez's month-long player appreciation promotion is in full swing, and each successive week brings a 50% AP discount on all store items for one of the game's classes. Head to the official GA website to learn more, and don't forget to download the game!
Patch 4.2: Video of Mylune's Call and new vanity pet animations
Our friends over at Wowhead logged on to the patch 4.2 PTR and have shot some pretty awesome video of Cataclysm's newest gold sink, Mylune's Call. It's a vanity item with a pretty cool on-use animation that creates a patch of lush vegetation and summons woodland critters. To grab it for your own, simply complete the second stage of the new Hyjal dailies and then buy it from a vendor. For 2,800 gold. (Ouch.) The video above also includes animations for three of the new vanity pets available in 4.2: Nuts' the Squirrel, Brilliant Kaliri, and Celestial Dragon. All are special rewards for non-combat pet collectors, available only by collecting 100, 125, and 150 pets respectively. It's really cool to see Blizzard including not just new pets, but new pets with stupid-cool animations. I especially like the Celestial Dragon, a sparkle pony-esque pet that darts around wildly, leaving trails of light in its wake. Awesome. The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
Choose My Adventure: Dirty fightin' and treasure huntin'
My pirate life continued this past week in Pirates of the Burning Sea, and thanks to your feedback, I took on some new swashbuckling skills. Based on the poll results, Dirty Fighting came out as the winning choice, and I happily retrained at my port. I also popped over to Treasure Aisle, the in-game cash shop. I had some Station Cash burning a hole in my pirate chest, and since I had so much fun on my last treasure hunt, I decided to purchase a new map case and try my luck once more at finding the giant red X. In this week's Choose My Adventure, I'll tell you how my respec went and whether I found any treasure. In addition, I'll give you a sneak peek at some new bling for my pirate ship!
SOE awarding triple Station Cash, offering special Memorial Day weekend items and events
Sony Online Entertainment is looking to move a bunch of its pre-paid Station Cash cards. As a result, all such cards (available at retailers including Wal-Mart and Best Buy) may be redeemed for triple the normal Station Cash points. The promotion is valid from May 27th through May 30th, and SOE is also making a few special items available in select games to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. EverQuest features a number of paintings for sale, EverQuest II is giving away free time-limited flying mounts, and Free Realms is selling discounted Memorial day clothing packs for 400 Station Cash. Star Wars Galaxies is throwing a "bonus everything" weekend featuring double XP, double GCW, and double a-bunch-of-other-stuff, the details of which you can find on the official SOE forums.
CCP bringing vanity item store, new currency to EVE
If you've ever dreamed of a stripper pole for your captain's quarters or a monocle for your captain, CCP's latest dev blog aims to make your wildest wishes come true. And no, we're not kidding. CCP Zulu breaks the news about the forthcoming EVE Online vanity item store, which will sell a wide variety of incidentals ranging from clothing to accessories to custom ship paint jobs. Of particular interest is the creation of a new EVE currency, Aurum, which Zulu says is acquired when you break up PLEX. "Each PLEX gives you a bunch of Aurum that you can spend in the virtual goods store. If you don't want to spend Aurum on these vanity items, you can always wait for someone else to do so and then buy it off them for ISK. [...] Items bought in the virtual goods store will be transferable between characters, just like PLEX is today," he explains. Zulu also points out that the item shop is for vanity gear only, and you'll want to head to the official EVE Online website for all the details.
The Tattered Notebook: The value of vanity
I always knew Gnomes were evil, but a Gnomish pirate?! This was too much. As much as I wanted that new horse of a different color mount from Bristlebane Day, I could barely stand the thought of having to go toe-to-toe with the cabbage-scented Captain Gnoggin. In a lopsided battle, I emerged victorious, and as I did my turn-in for the new Bristlebane Day quest, I was reminded that EverQuest II offers an enormous variety of unique house items and appearance clothing. Cosmetic items might not offer any real advantage in progression, but they speak to the depth of content in the game and the quality of life that players enjoy. Being able to create an amazing home or make yourself stand out with a unique look is a real luxury for players. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look back at the evolution of vanity items in game and take a look at a few easy ways that players of all levels can add a little bling to their lives.
Blues explain nature of archaeology cooldowns
Several players and Community Manager Lylirra shared some discussion today on the official World of Warcraft forums about the cooldowns of novelty items crafted through the archaeology profession. In the thread, the original poster suggested that the cooldowns of certain novelty items were too long in comparison to others and that Blizzard should consider fixing the discrepancies. The poster used Pendant of the Scarab Storm and Bones of Transformation as an example, noting that both items have a vanity effect that lasts 20 seconds but a cooldown difference of 90 minutes. Lylirra responded, explaining that the cooldowns, though seemingly random, were chosen with specific issues in mind. She explains that with the Pendant of the Scarab Storm specifically, developers were concerned that the item's effect might strain certain players' computers. Archaeology Items' Cooldowns The current cooldown was chosen deliberately, but I can see why you might think otherwise (100 minutes is kind of strange for a cooldown time). Anyway, summoning a harem of scarabs can be pretty taxing on some systems, so there were some initial concerns about putting the pendant on a short cooldown. Based on the feedback we've received, though, we're looking into reducing it. We agree that the effect is pretty cool and would be nice to use it more frequently. source Personally, a little lore logic behind the items might be nice as well. How is it that my character can summon a god every 3 minutes, but it takes 10 minutes to round up some sassy dwarven ladies?
Global Agenda version 1.37 hits live servers
Gentlemen, start your patchers (and ladies too, for that matter), as Hi-Rez Studios is about to drop the hammer on version 1.37 of Global Agenda. As of today, the sci-fi MMOFPS is rolling out its latest patch, bringing with it an achievement system, the ability to fast-switch between weapon, armor, and skill tree profiles, new vanity items, and auction house tweaks. The auction house overhaul is fairly major, with a new "stock market" buy/sell model allowing players to see all items of a particular type and price on a single line. Buyers will see the lowest five prices for an item, and can purchase items by providing the bid price they're willing to pay. The revamped auction house will then reconcile the transaction with the listing seller(s) on a first-come first-serve basis. The auction house UI has also been redone, and 1.37 also brings a new preview function for displaying items on your avatar prior to purchase. Be sure and read up on all the incoming changes via the patch notes on the official website.
Age of Conan goes F2P in Korea, Morrison talks NA conversion
Funcom's Age of Conan has adopted a free-to-play business model for its entrance into the Korean market, according to a report by MMO Culture. While this isn't exactly news (since basically every game in Korea is F2P), it was interesting to note executive producer and game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison's response. Morrison quickly doused speculation of any conversion with regard to the North American version of the game, but he did leave the door open to the possibility, citing EverQuest II's vanity items as an example. "That isn't a 'yes, it will happen' or a 'no, it will never happen,' it's a 'we will always keep our options open and be open minded to business models that will most benefit the project,'" Morrison says in a post on the North American Age of Conan forums. He goes on to illustrate the differences between the Korean market (where free-to-play dominates) and the U.S., while pointing out that Funcom was one of the first companies to adopt a hybrid business model with Anarchy Online.
Breakfast Topic: Vanity Items
I know it's a silly RPer thing, but I try to pay some attention to how my characters look in game. For example, I still haven't gotten the Shave and a Haircut achievement on my Death Knight because I think he looks pretty cool and very much like he should as a character and I'm having a hard time changing it, even for an achievement. Another thing I do as a result of this is do varied and esoteric quests to get gear that MIGHT look good on me conceivably. Some day. Possibly. My Hunter has a full set of black leather armor in case she ever has to, I don't know, join an RP night stealth strike force, I suppose, and a torch in case she needs to lead an angry mob or something. It's a little obsession.
Ghostcrawler on dual specs and loot tied to achievements
So sayeth the Ghostcrawler and so we shall listen. He spoke today regarding a few issues that are of prime importance to many players. However instead of long rants or detailed analysis on the issues of raiding difficulty, dual specs, and achievements he presented them in bullet points.First dual specs, a topic hot on everyone's mind. He provided some new insight into how things will work. In particular he said that "It will be trivial to do in town. You will also be able to do it out of towns, but not as trivially." This is new information and should make everyone tingle with gleeful anticipation at how trivial it might be to switch specs while in Dalaran.He also makes mention of things we already knew. They are aiming to allow people to swap glyphs and action bars with the dual spec feature, and that it should be along ideally in the next major content patch.That patch cannot come soon enough.In addition to the dual spec information, Ghostcrawler went into some points on raid difficulty. While there isn't any really new in terms of how difficult the raiding environment is (or isn't) and what may lie in store for the future (a harder Ulduar raid zone), there is some new news about loot tied to achievements.
