Madness Is Over

I’m so tired, I haven’t slept normally for three days. And why? Just because cra decided that we were participating in the Dungeon Race. Of course, she did it in the last second and we had no time to prepare. She even convinced Ki and Kanni to take part in this madness.

I am not sure we have a chance to win. We couldn’t do much in 2 days especially when the world had changed so much. I think that monsters also feel a bit uncomfortable as they behave differently from what we used to. Nonetheless we managed to win 8 times against Kimbo, 21 times against Gourlo the Fearsome, and 17 or so times against Great Coralator, not bad if consider we had almost no souls in reserve.

As I said the world had changed, and I don’t mean that the communication with Frigost was reestablished. Changes go much further, and in fact Frigost became available after this change, and I suppose it was needed for the island to be accessible. Some changes are good, Soft Oak dungeon, for example, doesn’t have maze and transformation rooms anymore. But some changes are not so plausible, switching of the Kimbo’s behavioural patterns is one of them.

Kimbo used to summon his disciple in the beginning of the fight, and in its turn disciple was casting a glyph web every time we hit Kimbo. Nowadays it doesn’t work like this. Kimbo can skip one turn and summon his apprentice the next turn, or it can do it 30-40 minutes later. We failed to find out what caused the delay. Kimbo’s disciple is no better than its master. Several times it didn’t cast the web. To tell the truth once it saved us as we were unprepared and could all die on glyphs, but in all other cases it just prolongs already tedious fight.

Another ruined pattern is Kimbo’s habit to push and hit enemies when they surround it. Now he uses teleportation and then runs away. Therefore it’s not possible to lock it as we used to do. The battle field changed also and not in favour of locking strategy. By trials and errors we found more or less acceptable strategy. We wait when Kimbo runs away, assume formation to avoid death from glyph,  immobilise Kimbo (cra and two sadis can keep it from moving forever)  and then just kill it. Important part of this strategy is constant control over the disciple, probably, enis are the best for this task. Of course, if there is no one to control the summon it is still possible to win with the similar strategy, but it’s absolutely necessary to watch for disciple’s actions and change formation accordingly.

I guess other monsters also have changed, yet I had no time to check. Now, when the event is finished, we can start to rediscover the World of Twelve.

Half Full or Half Empty?

 

We overslept. Just a few minutes late but it was enough to miss the chance to buy any paddock. However, cra is surprisingly calm and already makes plans to make money. And this is the half empty part of today’s adventure.

What about the bright side? I bought a house! Three chests, three flours, close to the butcher’s workshop, nice and calm place, what else a humble feca like me can wish for? I’m happy.

With this purchase all of us have houses. We even managed to buy three luxurious houses in Bonta with five chests each and workbenches and cra’s house was moved to a more convenient location near Bonta zaap.

So, all in all I think that the glass is more than half full. I also hope that some paddocks will go for sale some time later. Or maybe Gods will take pity and give us a solution where each guild can have as many paddocks as possible. In fact, something like this could drastically improve the situation and boost breeding.

 

Are You Ready for the Race?

Communication with Frigost is finally fully reestablished! Access to the island will be opened to everyone. And it will happen today, which, of course, is very unexpected as almost everyone was sure that repairs would take much more time.

Anyway, waiting for the new lands ends today. And with the new lands new paddocks and new houses will be available. However, there are only 18 new paddocks and almost all of them are of decent size, so we expect a race for paddocks. Our guild will participate as well. We have room for three more enclosures and cra is desperate to get them. I wish her best of luck.

And now I have to go and make last preparations. I’m going to participate in another race – race for houses. Hopefully I’ll be able to buy one not so far from zaap, I really dislike walking through the snow and there are no zaapis in Frigost town.

First Reports from Frigost

First rumours about the frozen island, Frigost, appeared a couple of years ago, but for a long time no somewhat reliable information was available. And several days ago it happened, the communication with Frigost was established (or reestablished according to the inhabitants of the island). Unfortunately at the moment only the luckiest and the most special people can take a trip to this faraway land. However, cra was among these people and she brought back not only stories but also some pictures.

Boat arrives to the city which has almost everything Bonta and Brakmar have but zaapis. Cra was so upset with the lack of transport, she couldn’t stop to complain about her hurt legs, she even called the citizens barbarians. Well, I guess, she got a point (of course, if all her stories were true). She talked to mayor and he suggested to pay visits to the most respectable people of the town, she couldn’t reject an opportunity to get to know more about the new land and wended her way across the town. It took her quite some time to find everyone in the mayors list, even he was kind enough to point there locations on the map, not to mention cra is not accustomed to walking through snow. But all’s well that ends well, she managed to find everyone.

After a brief look at the city (disappointed as she found no paddocks inside the walls) cra went to explore the suburbs. To her surpise she found there distant relatives of our gobbals, she was so impressed she made the pictures of them. Then she decided to fight them and attacked the big group, and it was a grave mistake. Our gobbals are no match for their relatives from the frozen country. I assume that the life is do hard there that fluffy creatures had to develop some impressive skills in order to survive. According to cra they can heal, accelerate and increase their damage potential, and all of this on top of the pretty strong attacks. For the next attempt cra chose a smaller group and won, but during the investigation of the bodies she found out that they spread the disease. Natives are afraid of it and refuse to talk if notice any symptoms, the only exclusion is a doctor, but it’s his duty to help sick. Cra managed to survived the disease, but she was touched by the doctor’s kindness and offered him her help in looking for cure.

But, of course, no matter how determined is she to help others there is one thing that interests her more — paddocks!  And she found them not far from the city. Eighteen new paddocks (it seems dragoturkeys didn’t survive the cold and paddocks stay unused) can accommodate from 8 to 19 mounts. I can’t say that these new paddocks will provide every breeder with a breeding space, but it is definitely better than nothing. Sure thing, cra is upset but I don’t share her feelings.

Cra is going to take another trip to the island soon. I heard they have strange creatures there called penguins.  Cra promised to check this rumour and bring their pictures if they really exist.

Tracking Breeding Process

With several hundreds of actively bred dragoturkeys creating some kind of tracking system is inevitable.

There are several possible solutions of this problem:

1. Tracking every single bird and all its matings and chickens;

2. Tracking the number of birds of given breed (and/or capacity);

3. Tracking breeds and their condition.

The first approach requires a lot of paperwork but gives more information than any other. However, for those who are not interested in researching breeding mechanisms this information is redundant and the effort needed to maintain the system is enormous, not to mention that it includes tedious and monotonous everyday routine of writing down all the changes. Also pregnant dragoturkeys whose delivery time is close should not be left in the shed as it’s impossible to find out about chicken’s parents once it’s born.  Still, for someone seeking for a reliable data tracking systems of this type are, probably, the only choice.

The second type is useful for so-called mass-breeders. Usually they don’t need detailed statistics, but it’s much easier to work with a huge flock if you know how many birds of each type are in the flock. The huge plus of this tracking system is low maintenance cost due to the simplicity.

The third type of solution is aimed for the breeders who work on purifying the lines and breeding specific capacities. The shortcoming of this system is lack of information about the output of matings, therefore it’s not possible based on these data to calculate probabilities for passing a colour or a capacity, but, of course, not many breeders need this.  Tracking system organised this way is simple enough to require minimum effort to maintain and at the same time it’s complex and accurate enough to give an adequate picture of the given flock.

After a long time of doubts, trials and mistakes, experimenting with formats, types of data, and so on we chose the third type of tracking system (while still hoping to create a first type system for statistical research). So far it works pretty well (our flock numbers about 700 mounts).

The full preview of the Dragoturkeys template.

Excel format

Open Document format

Of course, this system is not perfect and we constantly work on improving it, but at the moment it’s the easiest to use tracking tool at our disposal.

Notes on Gelano Maging

Probably, one of the most wanted items in the World of Twelve is AP/MP Gelano. Of course, it is possible to create much more powerful items, but it’s very-very time and money consuming thus discouraging for many. And Gelano is relatively cheap and easy to aquire. However, one needs some patience and knowledge to make it.

Patience is a virtue when it comes to any maging, but when we are talking about creating very powerful items with the characteristics unnatural for them patience is more than just a virtue, it is one of the most important and prerequisite qualities for the success. Maging is more or less like gambling, not the casual gambling where you rely only on luck, but its professional version  where knowledge of mathematics and psychology is the key to the win. One loss doesn’t mean a forfeit, in many situations it’s the first step to the victory, but one should be patient to get there.

Knowledge is the second ingredient needed for successful maging. Probably, one day I will write an introduction to maging, but today I will limit myself to the things needed to create AP/MP Gelano (or in fact any Gelano with the unnatural characteristics).

First of all, it will be wise to get ready for the maging session beforehand. All runes should be made or bought prior to it with the exclusion of the most expensive and the least used runes (in this case Ga Pa) as usually they can be bought when they are needed. Also it is better to schedule a maging attempt for the most calm time to reduce interference and disturbance by others.

Ok, what runes are needed? At least 60 Ga Pme (better 100 to be on a safe side), 1 Ga Pa, and about 100 small power runes (Vi, Cha, Ine, Age, etc.).

After all runes are collected it is time to proceed to maging itself. The described method includes three steps and for now is considered as the best of all. It also assumes that a regular Gelano with the intact AP will be used, blank Gelano or Gelano without AP but with some unnatural characteristics can’t be used.

The first step is the creation of the sink.

Sink is a temporarily added power that appears when the powerful characteristic is lost. Sinks significantly facilitate the maging as they absorb failures and create additional room for unnatural characteristics. So, this step is essential for decreasing the number of needed runes and increasing the overall chances for success. It’s important to keep in mind that sinks are only temporary and will disappear when the item is traded or put on sale. It’s also not known whether the sinks stay intact between the maging sessions, so for the best results it would be better to do all the maging in one go.

How to create a sink? It’s really very easy: Gelano should be maged with the runes of small power till AP is gone. When AP is no longer on the ring, the sink is created.

The second step is maging MP to the ring.

This step is very straightforward, no secrets, no tips and tricks, just add MP runes till MP lands on Gelano. It is better to use runes one at a time and don’t use mass-maging option.

The last step is maging AP back.

Probably, the most exciting moment of the whole maging session is this step. I always hold my breath and cross fingers when I see Drelas (I specialise in theory and she is a practician) performing this last act.

The chance that AP will land without loss of MP is about 1/2 or even higher if all the previous steps were followed, but there is also a chance that AP will replace MP or it will fail and we’ll be left with the blank Gelano. If AP replaced MP sink is gone and all the steps should be repeated anew. If MP stayed intact but AP didn’t land only third step should be repeated. In case both MP and AP were gone there is no other choice but to rely on luck and try to add MP then AP.

For all other unnatural characteristics the procedure is the same but instead of MP runes should be used runes of the highest power for the desired characteristic, i.e. for strength should be used Ra Fo, for critical hits bonus –  Cri, for range – Po, for prospecting – Pa Prospe.

Rabbits, Rabbits, and More Rabbits

We decided to spend one day in the forests of Amakna and hunt gobbals there. The weather was nice and company was great. It felt more like a picnic than a regular grind. 1257 gobbal legs and 2 archmonster souls, I’d say it’s not bad for a pleasant weekend picnic… Although cooking these legs took quite some time, additional ingredients always are a pain as we can’t buy as much as we need in one time. But it’s done and we are ready to move to the next stage.

Rabbits, rabbits, and more rabbits, and then even a little bit more rabbits. Actually, it’s far from how it sounds. Rabbits are, probably, the best creatures to fight for the hunter. They are easy to kill, their island abounds with calm corners, where anyone who has spells or weapons capable of affecting several monsters in one time can collect hundreds of meat in short time, not to mention carrots making a nice extra bonus.

Old rabbits (also known as Rabbit Grandpas), of course, are troublemakers. They won’t sit and wait till they are killed, and they have some rudimental shamanic abilities and can scare to death not so experienced warriors. But someone who has to deal with our old lady on a daily basis can’t be scared with rabbits even if they have beards and staves!

The only rabbits that should be avoided are undead rabbits. They can be killed, and they are weak to water (and highly resistant to all other elements), but they are completely useless for hunter as their bodies are made of bones and nothing else. They also do not carry any valuable possessions, so one shouldn’t hope for a reward for the wasted time. My main rule is “Leave bony creatures alone!” and if it’s not possible (they have hot temper and very aggressive) I deal with them as fast as possible.

It’s almost time for a trip to the rabbits island. I should hurry, boat won’t wait for me.

Our Numbers Have Grown: New Hunters

Xelor and panda finally made a decision and on their way to master a hunter profession. It wasn’t totally unexpected as hunter is the only profession that can be practiced almost without interfering with your normal activities. And both panda and xelor are overwhelmed with dragoturkeys. Still, some effort should be made in order to become a master hunter.

Yesterday we hunted tofus. With four hunters acquiring 500 bird meats didn’t take us long.  In some way it was relaxing, unlike our previous profession projects it was really easy. Moreover tofus hunt yielded 3 archmonsters souls and not the easiest to find. So, I may I say I’m happy with the results.

Next step will be gobbals hunting. We still can’t decide whether we should make a dozen of dungeon runs or just hunt puffy creatures in the wilderness. Both variants look very tempting. Cra wanted some royal gobbal wools and leathers, and we need cats to feed dragoones, so the dungeon can be a good option. On the other hand archmonsters avoid dungeons, and we still miss gobbal arches souls… Why should it always be so complicated?

Beware! Chameleon Mounts Scam

This is not breaking news. This scam is already known, however, when it just appeared there were only a few isolated instances. But today when I was checking sellrooms for the prices on chameleon mounts I saw 7 or 8 mounts named Chameleon (or Camo, which is short for Chameleon) but having no corresponding capacity, however, their price was the same or slightly lower than the price of real things.

Here is the real chameleon mount:

Capacity “Chameleon” can be easily seen. And any real chameleon will have it exactly like this.

And these are regular mounts just named Chameleons. They will not change their colours to match the rider’s colours.

Market Research (Chameleon Mounts)

Some time ago chameleon mounts appeared in sellrooms and it became easier to observe the trends in this segment. Of course, my information is not complete, but at least we got some guidelines, and I’m intended to watch all prices fluctuations in order to get a better picture.

Level	Level 100	Level 100	Level 100	Level 1-5	Level 1-5	Level 1-5
Condition	Unneutered (full mating capacity)	Unneutered (less than 10 mating left)	Sterile/ Neutered	Unneutered (full mating capacity)	Unneutered (less than 10 mating left)	Sterile/ Neutered
Ginger†	n/a	n/a	~ 1 mk**	0.3 − 0.6 mk	0.2 − 0.7 mk	0.17 − 0.3 mk
Almond†	n/a	n/a	n/a	1 − 1.5 mk**	0.8 − 1 mk**	0.8 mk
Orchid†	n/a	n/a	n/a	1 − 1.5 mk**	1 − 1.5 mk**	1 − 1.5 mk
Indigo†	n/a	n/a	0.8 mk	0.6 − 0.8 mk	0.5 – 0.8 mk**	0.5 − 0.7 mk
Ebony†	2 mk	n/a	~ 1.5 mk**	n/a	n/a	0.7 − 0.8 mk
Crimson†	n/a	~ 2.5 mk	~ 2 mk	n/a	n/a	0.5 − 1 mk
Almond and Orchid†	n/a	n/a	n/a	1 − 1.5 mk	n/a	n/a
Almond and Crimson†	n/a	n/a	5 mk	n/a	n/a	n/a
Almond and Golden†	n/a	n/a	n/a	2 mk	n/a	n/a
Almond and Indigo†	6.5 mk (overpriced?)	6.6 mk (overpriced?)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Almond and Ebony†	5 mk	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Crimson and Ginger†	n/a	n/a	n/a	2 − 2.5  mk	n/a	n/a
Indigo and Crimson†	n/a	n/a	n/a	8 mk (overpriced!)	n/a	n/a
Ebony and Crimson†	n/a	n/a	5.5 mk	n/a	n/a	~ 5 mk
Golden and Ebony†	n/a	n/a	8 mk	n/a	n/a	~ 5 mk
Ivory†	n/a	n/a	2.5 mk **	1.75 mk	n/a	1 – 1.5 mk
Turquoise†	4 mk	n/a	4 mk	2.5 – 3 mk	n/a	2 – 3 mk
Indigo and Ivory†	n/a	n/a	n/a	4.5 mk**	n/a	n/a
Ivory and Orchid†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	6 mk
Emerald†	1.5 − 2 mk	1 − 1.5 mk	1 − 1.5 mk	0.7 – 1.5 mk	0.6 – 1.5 mk	0.5 − 1 mk
Plum†	n/a	n/a	1.5 − 2.5 mk	0.9 − 2 mk	0.9 − 1.5 mk	0.7 − 1.5 mk
Solid colour mounts, III and V generations†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.5 − 2 mk**
Striped mounts, IV and VI generations†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	1 − 6 mk** (depends on breed)
Striped mounts, VIII generation†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	3 – 10 mk** (depends on breed)
Striped mounts, X generation†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	6+ mk** (depends on breed)
Plum and Orchid†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	4 − 6.5 mk
Plum and Crimson†	n/a	n/a	15 mk	8 − 12 mk	n/a	9.5 mk
Plum and Ebony†	n/a	n/a	7  mk	n/a	n/a	n/a
Plum and Emerald†	8.5 mk	n/a	n/a	7 − 7.5 mk	n/a	6.5 − 7 mk
Plum and Ginger†	n/a	n/a	n/a	2.5 − 4.5  mk	n/a	2 – 2.5 mk
Plum and Indigo†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	10 − 12 mk
Plum and Ivory†	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	10 mk	6 mk
Emerald and Ginger†	8 − 8.5 mk	n/a	6 − 7** mk	~ 5.5 mk	6.5 mk	~ 5 mk
Almond and Emerald†	n/a	7.5 mk	4 − 5.5 mk	5.5 mk	n/a	4.5 − 6 mk**
Ebony and Emerald†	7 mk	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Emerald and Orchid†	10 mk	n/a	n/a	4.5 mk	n/a	n/a
Emerald and Ivory†	n/a	n/a	n/a	30 mk (pure)	n/a	n/a

^† — prices estimates are based on prices in sellrooms and private shops

* — only one seller and the one known for overpricing

** — estimated price

UPDATED: 15 April 2011