Syp’s Gaming Goals for February 2019

January 2019 in review

• The theme of this month was “Finally clicking with Elder Scrolls Online,” and I am so glad that happened. After a few aborted starts over the past year or so, I am now deep into the ESO groove with a great month of questing, partying, and leveling under my belt. I got my Warden to level 16, went through most of Morrowind’s content, enjoyed a few grouping experiences, and started to figure out the ins and outs of the game. Oh, and I got me a house.
• My adventures on Lord of the Rings Online’s progression server continued as I took my level 50 Minstrel through the frozen north of Forochel. She’s just about done with the content in this quarter!
• Our Dungeons and Dragons Online group leveled to 9 and tackled various quests including White Plume Mountain and House P missions.
• I petered out in FFXIV after a few weeks of intense play, and I let my subscription lapse.
• My Quest for Glory IV playthrough went well, although I did not get near to finishing it as I had hoped by the end of the month.
• I finally finished up Pillars of Eternity, which took me most of 2018 to do! I also spent more time trying out other titles, such as CrossCode, Return to Obra Dinn, and The Unavowed.

February 2019’s goals

• As I’ve already stated on this blog, I’ve got a plan to wrap up the relatively small remainder of Shadows of Angmar content in LOTRO before the March unlock. Nothing too exciting there, but it should be satisfying to have it all done.
• Once I wrap things up in Morrowind, I’ll be doubling back to start on the base game content in Elder Scrolls Online. The other expansions can wait — at least for now!
• I expect that we’ll be exploring more level 10 instances in DDO, and I am planning on putting in at least a week of regular play in Warframe with MOP’s Bree to see if we can actually get into this popular scifi title.
• Aside from MMOs, I really want to wrap up Quest for Glory IV soon in order to start the next retro series. I also have more Try-It Tuesday titles lined up for experimentation, so if I get at least two of those in this month, I’ll be happy. Any suggestions?

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Syp’s Gaming Goals for January 2019

December 2018 in review

• Generally it was full steam ahead with Lord of the Rings Online’s progression server (in which I nearly hit the level cap and got all but two zones done) while enjoying my annual month stay in Final Fantasy XIV.
• A good chunk of that LOTRO time was spent in Halloween and Christmas activities to get cosmetics and housing decor.
• I ramped up my playtime in Pillars of Eternity with the goal of finishing the base game by December 31st. Put in at least a half-hour a day in this with sometimes more.
• Retro gaming came back as I started a Quest for Glory IV playthrough. I also went through The Return of the Obin Dinn, although I’ll talk about that more next week.
• Our DDO group got together to do some House K and Delara’s Tomb quests, ultimately netting me the Voice of the Master and level 8.

January 2019’s goals

• After looking over what I played in 2018, I came to the conclusion that while I had a generally agreeable and enjoyable year, I didn’t do much to push into new territory or try different games. In fact, I kept going back to the well of the familiar over and over again.
• My big push for 2019 will be to broaden my gaming scope. Different MMOs. New games. Dig through my backlog. Be more purposeful in my gaming time. I don’t know how that’s all going to shake out, but just thinking about this kind of frees me up in a way that I didn’t realize I was shackled.
• For January, I’m going to be giving Elder Scrolls Online and Warframe both solid, multi-day sessions. I’m actually quite excited about both.
• For LOTRO, I’ll aim for the very reasonable goal of hitting level 50 and finishing Angmar and Forochel, if not Eregion too. I have to start thinking about what I’ll be doing when they release new content on the live servers, because that’ll split my attention.
• One retro game a month is my goal, so by the end of January, I want to have finished Quest for Glory IV and move on to my next project.
• I’m going to take a one-month break from time-intensive single-player RPGs to dip into several quicker titles. I have a bunch lined up, including Unavowed, The Long Dark, Subnautica, and even (sigh) Fortnite.

What Syp played in 2018

One of the side benefits of posting my gaming goals every month is that it serves as an auxiliary memory so that I can easily go back and see what I played over the course of the year. I made a quick compilation of this in the form of a bullet-point list, putting main games in bold (ones that I played the most that month) and the rest in regular font.

Here’s what I played in 2018 (except for some other mobile games):

• January: World of Warcraft, DDO, LOTRO, What Remains of Edith Finch, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Tacoma, Champions Online, Global Adventures, KOTOR 2
• February: World of Warcraft, FFXIV, FFIX, LOTRO, DDO, Closers, KOTOR 2, Rimworld
• March: World of Warcraft, RIFT, DDO, Project Gorgon, Shroud of the Avatar
• April: World of Warcraft, RIFT, DDO, Secret World Legends, LOTRO, Project Gorgon, Star Trek Online
• May: World of Warcraft, Star Trek Online, Secret World Legends, DDO, LOTRO, Dauntless, Pillars of Eternity
• June: World of Warcraft, LOTRO, Star Trek Online, Secret World Legends, DDO, Fallout 4, The Sims 4, Pillars of Eternity
• July: World of Warcraft, DDO, Star Trek Online, Fallout 4, The Sims 4, Pillars of Eternity, Telltale Games’ Batman, Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture
• August: World of Warcraft, LOTRO, DDO
• September: World of Warcraft, LOTRO, Pillars of Eternity, Neverwinter, Guild Wars 2
• October: World of Warcraft, LOTRO, SWTOR, DDO, Guild Wars 2, Grim Fandango
• November: LOTRO, SWTOR, DDO, Fallout 76, Grim Fandango, WildStar
• December: LOTRO, FFXIV, Pillars of Eternity, DDO

Obviously, with the job transition and move, this was a really crazy year for me and as a result, I stopped pushing myself to play outside of my “comfort” games as much. Also, I had a lot less time for a good stretch there until my routine was established once again.

In terms of main games, I experienced very little variety. World of Warcraft carried me through a good chunk of the year up until Battle for Azeroth and a little beyond. That stretch of WoW came to an end in October as I packed things in and looked elsewhere for MMO entertainment.

RIFT Prime and LOTRO’s progression servers both drew me back to those games hard, but LOTRO endured more thanks to the fact that I was already enjoying a renaissance of sorts in that game and deeply appreciating Updates 22 and 23. And while I had a bit of a go at SWTOR for a bit there, I’m ending the year on a strong FFXIV streak instead with a brand-new character and revitalized interest.

Obviously, I dipped lightly into some other MMOs — you can see that I was testing the waters of old favorites. The only completely-new-to-me MMOs that I encountered this year were Closers, Fallout 76, and MapleStory 2. That meant that I really failed at my resolution to branch out and try other MMOs more often.

I had a couple of long runs with single-player games, most notably Grim Fandango and Pillars of Eternity. I also plowed through a few smaller adventure titles.

One nice trend this year is that I spent more time doing activities WITH other players in-game. From DDO to SWTOR to GW2 to FFXIV, I was probably more socially active than I have been in quite some time.

So that’s my year in gaming. Generally, it was a fun and satisfying year, if not particularly adventurous. We’ll see what 2019 holds!

Syp’s gaming goals for December 2018

November 2018 in review

• Easily, the entire month was dominated by my excitement for and subsequent adventures on Lord of the Rings Online’s new progression server, Anor. While I dinked around with a few classes, I ended up sticking with my initial choice of Hobbit Minstrel and had a great time leveling, questing, and even grouping.
• I officially ended my current run in World of Warcraft, as Battle for Azeroth and Patch 8.1 feel like they have nothing exciting to offer me. I even stored all my auction house inventory!
• Star Wars: The Old Republic got a couple of play sessions, but no where near as many as I had anticipated putting in. I’m on the fence whether or not to continue right now.
• I couldn’t wait for Fallout 76, but when it came I was less-than-enthused due to my LOTRO fever and the half-and-half nature of the game design. I did get in a few short adventuring sessions, but it wasn’t the ride I had anticipated.
• Two Dungeons and Dragons Online grouping nights kept my social needs met, and we had fun wrapping up Waterworks.
• I wrapped up a full playthrough of the classic adventure game Grim Fandango.
• I also got in one last WildStar run before it shut down.

December 2018’s goals

• I think it’s entirely reasonable to expect that my LOTRO Minstrel will be at level 50 by the end of the month, although I doubt I’ll be through all of the content by then. If I’ve only got one or two zones left by the 31st, that’ll be a good run.
• I haven’t quite given up on Fallout 76, so I’m sure I’ll poke my head in there now and then.
• I feel like I’ve narrowed my MMO gaming stable down to, uh, one game and that makes me a bit nervous. I’m going to try or return to a few more titles this month to see if any have potential stickiness — FFXIV, Path of Exile, and Star Citizen are all possibilities.
• I want to finish Pillars of Eternity this month and start in on another single-player RPG. There. I’ve put that out there to keep myself accountable.
• In addition to group time, I may get back to my Artificer on DDO and see if I can’t wrap up Mists of Ravenloft.
• And that’s pretty much it. There aren’t any big releases I want, and I’m sure that the holiday schedule will be crazy enough as it is.

Syp’s gaming goals for November

October 2018 in review

• Generally, this was a pretty good month of gaming as my new schedule started to solidify and I settled into life here in western NY.
• While I got my gear up to around 340 in World of Warcraft, I started to feel listless and bored with Battle for Azeroth. Thus, I decided to spin down a bit in that game.
• Lord of the Rings Online got an increased amount of attention from me as I logged in nearly every day. I finally pushed through Northern Mirkwood and got through most of Dale with my Lore-master.
• Our Dungeons and Dragons Online group had a few fun play sessions together — mostly doing Halloween stuff — and I had fun hanging with Guild Wars 2 peeps as we ran spider races and beat down the Mad King.
• Almost out of the blue, I got back into Star Wars: The Old Republic. I made a new Sniper and started working her up through the class story, getting to around level 35.
• Other gaming: Rimworld, Grim Fandango (for retro gaming), Clash Royale, and Bloons 6.

November goals

• I’m truly excited about two major launches this month. The first is LOTRO’s new progression server, which I’ll be diving into enthusiastically. Probably with a Hobbit. Most likely a Minstrel. I’m actually in a really good place in my interest level for the game right now and am looking forward to experiencing it all over again.
• The second is the release of Fallout 76 in the middle of the month. No specific plans with this other than to enjoy the ride and have fun exploring. I really hope this will scratch that post-apocalyptic MMO itch I’ve had for a while.
• I keep mulling over FFXIV and Elder Scrolls Online, but I know I’ll be more than busy this month — and I don’t want to spend more money than I have to with the holidays coming up.
• I’d be really happy with myself if I finished the core Imperial Agent story in SWTOR and started in on the expansions by the end of the month. It’s amazing how fast you can go when you’re not stopping to do every piddly sidequest and datacron.
• I’m going to continue to work (half-heartedly) toward Dark Iron Dwarves in WoW, and I’m sure I’ll hook up with DDO and GW2 groups from time to time.
• I also really need to get Stardew Valley on my iPad.

Syp’s Gaming Goals for October

September 2018 in review

• I was very right to keep my expectations light for this past month, because moving and getting used to a new job sucked up so much of my time that it often left very little for my usual gaming fun.
• That said, I did get my Death Knight in World of Warcraft to level 120 and started her on her gearing journey. She still has a good chunk of two zones left to do, but that felt like a good accomplishment for the limited time I had. However, this meant that I had to all but abandon my Hunter and sorely neglect my Horde Warlock.
• Our DDO group didn’t manage to meet for this month, alas.
• I did get in a couple of sessions with Pillars of Eternity and was tempted into Neverwinter and Guild Wars 2. I also had some fun with Rimworld on my lunch breaks.
• Lord of the Rings Online got some more attention from me, which I felt was a good thing. I’m still stuck in the dark eves of Northern Mirkwood, but hopefully I’ll re-emerge any day now.

October 2018’s goals

• I’ll talk more about this tomorrow, but suffice to say that Guild Wars 2 might be getting some serious play time from me this month. I tested the water last week and found the temperature good, and so I started up a new Mesmer and found a guild. No huge goal here other than having fun and map completion!
• In World of Warcraft, I want to get my Warlock to 120, finish at least one of the two zones left for my DK, and get my DK geared up well into the 300s. A long-term goal is unlocking Dark Iron Dwarves, but that’s a ways to go.
• I’d like to make some good progress through the last update of LOTRO as the new one emerges on the scene. I thought about making a new character alt, but this probably isn’t the best time for that.
• Otherwise, I’ll give DDO a couple of sessions, keep pecking away at Pillars, and prepare myself for Fallout 76 in November!

Syp’s gaming goals for September 2018

August 2018 in review

• This month was easily divided into two era — pre-BFA and post-BFA — and the first half of the month was spent treading water until the expansion released. With moving and other career-changing activities, I had very little time for extra pursuits and didn’t feel as experimental.
• I did get a few strong Lord of the Rings Online sessions in as I explored around the Northern Mirkwood region and found myself delighted by the lands of Dale (especially when I got to actually, you know, see it!).
• My Dungeons and Dragons Online group met a few times and kept me entertained as we protected kobolds and pushed the difficulty levels in dungeons as high as we could go. My Druid got to level 6 and I found a bit of a groove as a healer.
• Once World of Warcraft pushed out Battle for Azeroth, I was playing that pretty much exclusively for the remainder of the month. For a change from how I approached Legion, I leveled up all three of my characters simultaneously, rotating through them at the pace of one per night. I certainly wasn’t the player who had a level 120 in the first day!
• Mobile gaming was sparse, but I enjoyed some Bloons 6 and Clash Royale.

September 2018’s goals

• I’m going very light on my goals this month as our family goes through this major transition. I am anticipating some internet outage and a few days of not even having a computer or desk. Hopefully not too long!
• That said, World of Warcraft is definitely going to get most of my time, and that’s just how it is. I’m having fun, there’s a TON of story that I’ve yet to do, and it’s absolute comfort gaming for me. My goal? By the end of the month I want all three of my characters at 120. Should be easy peasy.
• Lord of the Rings Online is a good contender for side activities, and I should do a session or two of Star Trek Online as well. I’m also encouraged to see movement on Fallen Earth’s front, and that might make for a fun blog series.
• Our Dungeons and Dragons Online group is changing nights to Fridays, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I have been thinking about taking my Artificer out for a spin now and then too.
• Special project for the month is to buckle down and really learn how Elite: Dangerous plays. I’d like to get out of the tutorial and try the MMO proper!
• It’s been on my mind that I want to finish Pillars of Eternity too, so I’m going to jot that down.