RL Aggro

Haven’t had too much time to jump into any MMOs the last week or so, besides some Lineage 2 here and some World of Warcraft there. I’m still facing the dilemma in WoW where I can’t pick a damn character to stick with even having pretty much one of every class, most above level 30. Lineage 2 is fine and I usually have fun when I find a time to play. I hammer out a quick “kama” and try to find a spot to grind in, but I usually have time constraints and find myself having to log off by the time I get out to a grind spot and start to get in a flow.

My “real life distractions” have just been normal blips like car problems (needing an oil change and new tires badly), school (9 A.M. class doesn’t agree with late night gaming sessions, my usual habit), and monetary issues (needing to work more). Oh, the life of a college student struggling with student bills and keeping a roof over my head and food on the table. But, wait, this has nothing to do with gaming or massively multiplayer online roleplaying!?

Hey, look – I got a haircut.

Playing Lineage 2 in Windows 7 (Gameguard Fix)

If you’ve tried to play Lineage 2 on Windows 7 you’ve probably been bummed out to find that you get that pesky “GameGuard” error that has been plaguing pretty much every game in Windows 7 that uses GameGuard. What purpose GameGuard serves I have never bear witness to, it’s only given me problems, and this definitely is not the first time.

There is a solution that works for both Aion (not sure if you even need it anymore, they may have patched Aion) and Lineage 2, and probably any game in Windows 7 that needs GameGuard. I guess I should give a little disclaimer and say that you should “do this at your own risk” because you are technically messing with files in the game directory, which is usually against the TOS/EULA, but in reality you’re not doing any harm and without this fix you wouldn’t be giving them $15/mo and playing their games. Since they don’t want to fix it themselves (yet), this is the only option for playing Lineage 2 on Windows 7.

I’ll try to make this simple. You’re basically replacing the “gameguard.des” file (one small, measly file) so that the game will launch correctly, with the trick being that you need to replace it after Lineage 2 has gone through it’s auto-update routine in the patcher. Full details after the jump.

Update on Lineage 2

So it’s been like 2 weeks and still no impressions post about Lineage 2 yet! Well don’t worry, that’s a great sign…I’ve been too addicted and busy playing the damn game.

I’ve caught a minor re-roll bug, but I’m not reallycalling it that because I’m enjoying trying out a few classes before I invest and commit to getting one level 40+. I’m on my 5th character, and he’s got the staying power for me. In all I have a 29 Scavenger, 36 Palus Knight, 32 Warrior, 32 Wizard, and 28 Trooper. The Kamael Trooper is my favorite yet, and I’m really feeling like he’ll be the one to make it pass into C-grade (level 40+).

I don’t consider it re-rolling, because for me, re-rolling is usually a sign that I’m getting bored and/or exhausted by the grind that the higher levels get. This is not the case, however, because I haven’t lost one grain of interest in Lineage 2 yet. I’ve actually grown to love it even more now and I’ve made a nice little fortune leveling up all 5 characters.

So, a zomg impressions post is coming up, but I’ve postponed it to a 1-40 first impressions post, so I can sink my teeth in to a little more of the content before preaching.

Lineage 2 is really cramping my writing time!

I’m obviously really enjoying Lineage 2, hence the lack of substantial content on my blog the last 3 days. Sorry!
A nice “first 30 levels” write- up will come once I hit 30. I’m almost 26 at the moment. Will be talking about my experience with the first 30 levels, some of the amazingly friendly, international, people I’ve met, the clan that has taken me in, and dissect some aspects of the game.

In the meantime check out some sexy screenshots of my new dark elf, RemoveNozzle:

Just purchased my D-Grade armora at lvl 20

Friendly person I met helping me out with buffs, chit-chat, and pro-tips

Anime-style-run is GO!

Bogochubb dings 22

Had a pretty quality Lineage 2 session tonight. Knocked out the first class transfer quest on my Dwarf, officially making him a Scavenger, made a nice friend who helped me out a ton, both financially and with tips on leveling, and of course, dinged 22.

Damn you, temptation!

Despite an economy in shambles, I can’t resist adding a game to my collection.

And the game I had the most fun with tonight was…

…Lineage 2?
Has the world flipped upside down? I logged into every MMO under-the-sun (that I have installed), including Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft, Vanguard, City of Heroes, and FFXI – but the game that hooks me in for a few hours is Lineage 2?

They’ve really streamlined the “newbie experience” and I was actually enjoying grinding, but also doing the pretty-well implemented quests that give you gigantic chunks of exp. now apparently. This game has the hardcore and oldschool/grind appeal that I found so refreshing in FFXI, but it feels more user-friendly in it’s design.

I’m only on a trial account of course, but I had fun tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow.

(Ol’ Bogochubb!)