#feel free to ask me about GW2 I love the game and community a lot

[blackbackedjackal]

Oh my gosh, I didn't know you played GW2! Do you have a sideblog for that, or is it appropriate to ask about here? I'd love to hear about your Olma ;w;

You can ask here! I've been playing on and off for about 8 years now? It's one of my favorite games I just kinda have to be in the mood to play it. I'm pretty much all rp and fashion wars.

Nyra Blackmist is my Olmakhan Charr. I really liked A Bug in the System and the general vibe and aesthetic of Sandswept so I made Nyra's story for that plot and use her to command the metas there from time to time ;o;

Nyra was an Ash Legion soldier and scholar at the Priory. One day while going through the restricted archives, she stumbles upon with an old book on necromancy. Obsessed with the text (as it pertained to the Mordrem threat at the time), she tracks down the author, Herah Katoh (my partners Norn Harbinger). Herah was taken by the Inquest after she has a fight with her mentor with Eir Stegalkin, and the inquest preformed the same sort of necrotic Mordeum experiments on the secondborn Sylvari to her, turning her into a lich and seeking revenge in the Inquest. She teams up with Joko and basically queue Living World season 4 :0

Nyra works under Herah until a Bug in the System, where she meets Sierra Forgeflame, one of the Charr that escaped the Flame Legion and elder Olmakhan leader. Nyra's mother was accused if being a traitor to the Ash Legion for working for the Flame Legion after her warband was captured (the honorless gladuim path), but Sierra explained to Nyra that her mother allowed herself to be captured so that the rest of her warband could escape to Sandswept.

Faced with the realization the Olmalkhan are her mother's (and subsequently part of her) warband she joins the Commander of Tyria and the Olmakhan to fight against Joko and Herah.

[olivia-lovecraft]

Top 5 moments that define you as an rper and writer

Warning: This response got out of hand fast. I am not goingback through it before posting it, so this is a raw, unedited mess of emotionsand memories. You have been warned.

1.My mom told me that when I was about three orfour years old, she found me sitting in the living room with a stack ofnewspapers and a pen. I was too young to have a pen, because of my penchant todraw on myself and walls, so she endeavored to diplomatically trade me a crayonfor the pen. She asked me what I was drawing, as part of the opening negotiationsand I was immediately offended. “I’m not drawing! I’m writing!” By that pointin my life I was just tracing the letters in the headlines of the paper, but I insistedthere was a distinction between drawing and writing.

While this wasn’t really a big dealat the time, because I don’t actually remember the argument, the story is reallyheartwarming. It is something I think about when I feel the worst about mywriting. It may be silly to some, but it just feels right. Writing feels right,like it is something I am meant to do, even if I am not the best at it.

2. I started roleplaying in middle school, 6thgrade, I think. I didn’t have the internet at my house and I didn’t even know peopleroleplayed online. I started out roleplaying with tabletop games. We startedout with super basic stats and used dice sparingly. We played during our lunch periodand I fell in love with my character. Her name was Xayrien (Zair-ian). She wasan elven cleric. Much of her character sheet was filled out by a friend and heput in a bunch of min-max considerations I never utilized.

It was all very chaotic and turnedinto something that was part tabletop Dungeons and Dragons, and part liveaction roleplay. My character kept a journal a part of her persona, and I spentmany study halls writing down the adventures our party embarked on. When we allgraduated, I some of my friends copies of that journal and we all had a goodlaugh about how dorky we were / are.

3. I started playing World of Warcraft just beforeBurning Crusade was released. I didn’t have my first max character for nearly ayear into the expansion, but I quickly became a dedicated raider. From therelease of Zul’Aman until the beginning of Cataclysm, I even ran a raidingguild.

However, I wanted to try somethingelse. After a few trips on level 1 human alts to see what the fuss was aboutMoon Guard’s Goldshire (as immortalized in various Youtube videos our raid teamwatched) I decided to actually try rping in game. I rolled a Draenei priest,named Xayrien, and reached out to help with a Hallow’s End event. I was supershy about rping with people and I made a lot of mistakes. However, I loved itand decided to try rp on a different game.

4.I consider my time on Rift my officialroleplaying origins. I loved the graphics and story, so I adapted a characterto the setting and ran with it. I met three of my dearest friends while roleplayingmy characters Saoirsetala (Searsha-tahla) and Sicaria (Olivia’s origincharacter). I have met them all in real life and love them dearly.

The biggest influence on my writingand roleplaying came from my interactions with a few guilds and the efforts Iput into creating community content. The storylines I ran often started smallbut would reach out to others who were looking for ways to break into thescene. It has always been important to me to include others where I could, fromtable top sessions to MMO rp.

5. Olivia and her Tumblr are the biggest and mostrecent defining factors for me. I started character Tumblrs when I was playingGW2, but I didn’t really connect with people until last October when I startedworking diligently on Olivia’s page and story. Through Tumblr, I have learnedso much more about different methods of roleplaying and have met so many greatinfluences through various forms of contact on the site. I have felt pushed towrite more consistently. I write every day, using more of my free time toexpress myself. Even if I don’t post to my character blogs, I am writing and itjust feels good.

I struggled with this ask for a fewdays, even panicking a little when I received a second version of the same questionwhile trying to figure out how to respond. I doubt that I have concisely summedup just how important writing is to me, and it feels a little hollow to leavethese points as they are, but I tend to get very nervous about discussingwriting with others. It is something I am very passionate about, while at the sametime feeling inadequate about sharing anything I write. I rarely like anythingI write and often times obsess and worry over a piece before I post it. Then, Iwatch the notes, not because I need them to validate me, but because I amafraid people will actually read what I write. It is a wholly irrational fear, because I know, logically, I am in no danger. Still, the flight response is strong.

In spite of all my irrational worries,though, I have met some really solid writers during my time here. They are thereason I no longer succumb to crushing despair when it comes to my writing. Oneperson, in fact, is the reason I am publicly participating in National NovelWriting Month, this year. Looking at you, @maluraunderchild ! I want to tag others, aswell, which I will do at the end, but Tumblr and the WoW roleplayers I haveconnected with here have been a huge help to getting me out of my shell moreoften.

Thank you for this ask (both versions) @news-nerd! I am suremy response is a rambling mess, but I am not going back to read through it becauseI won’t have the courage to post it.

I also want to thank the people I have met through mywriting and roleplaying journey, which is really a much bigger part of what influencesme as a writer. Although I didn’t meet @celestial-petal or @toomany-elves on Tumblr, I metthem through roleplay and they are truly my best friends. As mentioned above, Malurahas been a magnificent influence upon me and I owe her endless gratitude. @marquis-teren-kiden was one of the first roleplayers I interacted with here on Tumblr and I have anot so secret crush on the Mun’s writing. @karrista, @luminary-collection, @summerbloom-fae, and @adilynia aremore recent acquaintances, but they make up such a supportive group of writersI am in heaven interacting with each of them. @ranekvilmas has also been a wonderfullypatient and supporting writing partner, along with @darthea-the-demon and @allseeker-wra who havebeen writing with me on Olivia’s current misadventures in Kul Tiras.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for supportingand writing with me.

[almondtruffles]

So I recently (and finally) picked up this game, after many years of not feeling too great about MMOs. All I've ever played and enjoyed was GW2 and that was nearly a decade ago at this point! I have debilitating anxiety and that extends heavily into a virtual world; I do not enjoy talking to strangers online and therefore the community aspect of the entire world is lost on me, making an MMO feel very isolating. So far, though, my experience with ffxiv has been... different.

I wanted to jot down my experiences with this game so far, because they've made me really happy! It's only been a couple weeks since I started, but already i feel very good :>

* One full day into playing as Almond, I was randomly invited to join a FC while shopping in Gridania. I didn't know what a FC was and why I was invited, but I took the risk and said yes. Immediately they were super welcoming and understanding of my newbie-ness, and I even joined their Discord. Every day they say hi to me and I love it.

* Lime and I ran into a player with armor that I liked, so I braved it and asked him what it was. He told me which dungeon it came from, and explained to me how to also get the Tantalus (!!!) armor, as well as taught me how to preview armor. He let us befriend him in case we had any other questions :3

* Lots of little interactions have warmed my heart. People giving me hugs out of nowhere, people following me and bowing to me, the little concerts that happen at the Aetheryte that bring everyone together! It's so nice to stop and dance with folks for a bit.

* Since it's the Starlight Celebration, we hung around Gridania to do the quests, and met a player who was willing to give out some free minions to new folks. We sat and talked with them for a bit by their fire and they gave me a little dumbo octopus <3

[blackbackedjackal]

please try to sell me gw2. i really want to like it and ive tried a couple times over the years to get into it, but every time my experience is like: walk for 5 irl minutes -> talk to someone -> kill 20 things -> random world events -> kill 50 things -> go back and talk to the person. rinse and repeat

and then i uninstall the game

Hard to sell it to ya when it's free to play ;0

As a new/returning player I honestly recommend going in with some friends. It's a game were you can absolutely solo PvE with the right build, but I always have more fun playing with my friends for the shenanigans. I also, 100%, recommend plopping an OC in the game. My first characters were both in-game and all their lore is based around GW2, but putting June in there has been hella fun to see how she would handle being in Tyria.

Your first 80 levels are basically to help get you accustom to the game mechanics and the story. Though the story is optional, I recommend playing it so you get more of a feel of Tyria and the history. The story also leads you through the game an the map rather than just taking random quests as you explore. It's really the only mode that gives you a bit of direction in the game.

If you happen to get stuck or have any questions about the game, it's pretty safe to ask the map chat and usually people will help you out, especially in early maps. GW2 is a game that doesn't really teach you how to play, you learn as you go. There's also plenty of YT vids on how to get started and tutorials if you get stuck or suggestions of things to try out as you level. They've also updated the game fairly recently where you now have access to the Raptor mount without needing to have Path of Fire or doing the expansion, which is a HUGE quality of life change while you explore the early maps.

Once your toon hits level 80, that's when you unlock your mastery tracks that will allow you to do more of the endgame content and continue through the living story. Fractals, Raids, Dungeons, Strikes, World Bosses, Meta Trains, Gold Farming, PvP, WvW, FASHION WARS!!, There's a ton to do once you're set up, and again, lots of resources available to help you out (TaCO, GW2 Efficiency, Crafting Guides).

The world is unique. It feels lived in and ever expanding. The lore for all the playable races in the game is really interesting and they do a lot to subvert expectations from typical fantasy stories. Some things are a hit or miss for a lot of folks but there's so much to love about the game even my least favorite parts are like just mid to me compared to the parts I genuinely enjoy. My favorite expansion is Path of Fire + Season 4. The desert maps are my favorites followed by Maguma (begrudgingly). Cantha had grown on me a lot after a million Leviathan Farms for gold lol. THE SEASONAL EVENTS AHHH like again there's just so much to touch on but yeah the long and short of it is it IS a time sink at minimum to get to the more favored content, but even as a old player I still love making new toons and taking them through the early game content again just for fun.

But yeah, free to play, no subscriptions, all expansions are a one time purchase. You've got 10 years worth of content to explore and try out. It's a relatively inexpensive MMO (the expacs can be up to 50% off during certain yearly sales). An overall very helpful community. Any paid content is mostly cosmetics and convenience items, but nothing that gives you an advantage over other players. Basically everyone is grinding towards a similar end-goal, so you can always get the same gear as people through grinding. Nothing is really out of reach and people are always willing to help others out with multiplayer content.

I've been consistently playing for 8-9 years now. It's one of those game where I'm IN it for like a few months then may take a few months off until a holiday event I love is coming up and then I play for a few months again. It's probably the only other game I've sunk as much time into as Pokemon or Skyrim over the years (I jokingly call it Skyrim Online since ya'll won't catch me playing ESO). But yeah just, it's a game I never expected to play for this long and this consistently and it always feels fun to pick back up. Genuinely I do hope you give it another try. I've honestly had the most fun I've had in years with the wave of new and returning players jumping back into the game c: