In Which Nothing Important is Written

I haven't posted anything on here in a good long while, and so it stands to reason that the first thing I post would be something unrelated to the real world.  It's not like there's anything to talk about, after all.  We're certainly not days from having a baby or moving in a week.  I haven't just started a new business venture with my company that is taking off.  Of course not.  The most important development in my life is Champions Online.


For those of you who don't know what Champions Online is (no, of course I know YOU know what it is, I just don't want to make HIM/HER over there feel bad, so I address everyone), it is an online roleplaying game in the vein of World of Warcraft.  There are hundreds of players online at any given time, and you all populate the same world.  This time, instead of being an elf or gnome, you take on the role of superhero.  You patrol the streets of Millennium City, keeping the citizens safe from harm.  Your protection comes in the form of beating the stuffing out of bad guys.  Unlike most MMORPGs (Massively Multi-player Online Role-playing Games), Champions Online is free to play via the recent Free for All update to the game.  It operates on a "freemium" model.  Anyone can play the game without having to buy anything.  If you choose to subscribe at the price of $15/month, you get access to extra content for free.  If you don't pay monthly, you can purchase this content a la carte.

Tin Woodsman and Crimson Shadow

I played originally almost a year ago, before the change to free happened.  When Virginia and I found out it was going free, we decided to give it another try.  I play the two characters Tin Woodsman and Crimson Shadow, a Blades archetype and Inventor archetype respectively.  Virginia plays Yong Kia (Korean Dragon), who is a Behemoth archetype.

Champions is a game you really have to get used to, especially if you're transferring from WoW.  You don't get nearly as many abilities, and so you have to learn how to use the ones you do have to the greatest effect.  You have to learn which stats are most important for the way you play, and equip appropriate items for those stats.  I found myself dying a lot because I wasn't using my abilities efficiently.  Healing is pretty non-existent in this game, so managing your health is extremely important.  Regeneration of health is covered by the Recovery stat, and it affects how quickly you will regenerate health outside of combat.

So far, Virginia and I have both found it to be entertaining, and a good alternative to the expense of World of Warcraft.  We've joined up with a Super Group (IE guild), and we're looking forward to playing more.  This is definitely a game that is much more fun with people to play with, so a Super Group may turn out to be a must.  When playing by myself, I found I was overwhelmed by enemies quickly and dying, and just not having a lot of fun.  When Virginia and her dad were playing with me, it was much more enjoyable, even when the bad guys surrounded us out of nowhere.

Now that I have gotten the important stuff out of the way, I guess it's back to the normal, nothing-going-on life I lead.  If I decide to write anything else nobody wants to read, you'll find it right here.