Monday, 3 November 2014

How to Use a Compatibility Chart like a Pro


First off, I'm sorry for such a shitty quality pic. But I'm in a hurry and honestly, I don't care. The message is more important. According to Cee, when Cee and Dragonspawn fused in Gen 1, she had a shitty fusion and came off with 5 slots. Needless to say she wasn't too happy with it. As a nice person, I naturally felt bad. To be honest, I have no clue how to do a good fusion. I have been going around asking people to fuse me only to be met with remarks like, "Oh no! You. Me. No go!" 


That left me wondering a bit sometimes if I had been a victim of racism. Yeah, I know Smurf isn't really someone you want to have a fusion with. Who wants to inherit blue skin and walk around with a white hat all the time? I understand that perfectly. Over time talking to LJs such as Wrath and a few others about fusion, I realise it could be something else. Something worse. It was the month I was born. I heard that in the glorious past of the ancient HOTL3 days, if you are born in the wrong month (say water month), you would not be even able to find a fuser. So there is some kind of caste system going on huh? As I found out, it was really related to LUCK more than anything. As a newbie, I was drilled intensively by Thor to Help <this> and Help <that>. So this time, I managed to do a Help Compatibility by myself. This is what I've gotten from the ancient scrolls.


 There are attractions and repulsions between the zodiac signs. If
your zodiac sign is compatibile with the current constellation, you
would have better luck. If the person you fuse with is of a zodiac
sign compatible with yours, both of you will have a better FUSION
result. 

To determine compatibility, arrange the 12 zodiac signs on the face
of a clock, ie Aries at 12, Taurus at 1, Gemini at 2, and so on,
forming a circle. Look for your zodiac sign and from there, draw
lines to form a perfect square and a perfect triangle to other zodiac
signs. Those signs which form a triangle with yours are
compatible with you and those which form a square are incompatible.
A chart is available on the website for this.

The explanation is all good except that the chart is NOT available on the website for this. It was a broken link. So I figured out and drew lines across the chart myself and understood. Let's look at it again.

The blue lines forms a perfect triangle for the sign in example, Aries and represents the signs that are compatible with it. Not coincidentally, Aries, Leo and Saggi are all fire signs. However, the ancient decree says every sign on the square is incompatible.  So that makes Capri, Libra, Cancer and Aries (a sign from each element) incompatible with Aries. Since Aries is eliminated, only Leo and Saggi is the optimal fusion choice for Aries. That explains why Cee didn't get her 6 slots. Fortunately, Cee has a powerful ancient artifact that the legendary Tasselhof Burfoot once had in his possession - a time control device. However the curse on the reversal was that she had to start all over again, wasting all her leveling time. I felt sorry for Cee. I will make up to her with some deep fried chicken wings when I finally make it good and have some money in the bank for a change.


Ok. With this chart, you poor noobs like me in future knows exactly what to do to avoid unnecessary misery from fusion. Say thank you to Cee when you see her in the game.

Not Defensive about Playing Defensive: Secrets of the Noob

I grouped with Cookiemon late last night at Canterbury. The experience was pathetic. Don't get me wrong. Cookiemon was terrific as a group mate. I have grouped with several players so far. Everyone has distinct traits in their style of player. Of course, their styles were probably reflecting their personality as well. Some like it fast, some like it slow. Some were more aggressive than the others and some prefer to play it safe. One told me my character was basically screwed, the others were less succinct in their verdict of my play. Cookiemon was chatty and kept the grouping experience fresh even in into the wee hours. She was a teacher who never stopped showing me the ropes, from pet handling to skills management to general forward character planning. In short she was the complete groupie package.


What made our grouping pathetic was nothing to do with Cookiemon but how mismatched our skills were to work effectively as a team. For a start neither of us could tank. We fumbled for a good 30 minutes before we found a system that worked for us to yield us a 80 xp a fight. Needless to say, I felt embarrassed as a Gen 4 character not to be able to fight alone without my pet. There is probably next to none as poor as a player as me in terms of leveling effectively. Soon enough, Cookiemon's teaching instinct took over and asked me to list out all my skills like how the CSM did our stand-by-beds in the army. Fearing she might have a whip from the lady practicing sadomachochism in Hotel81 hidden in her backpack, I obediently complied and laid out all my cards.


"Tsk tsk tsk," I could almost her tongue cluck in reality. "Y u no take any Big 4 skills?"


Cookiemon was referring to the meta builds (Coming from GuildWars 1&2, I'm still used to that term) which involved building your character around one of the Fire/Poison/Earth/Lightning schools. These were the meta in HOTL3. Just a little bit of history for any one who plays GuildWars2. I play a very defensive Mesmer in GW2. My build was such that I could take on even 4 players in a PvP arena and survive. Take on 2, I'll kill them both anytime, always. I frustrated players so much that I had been called names and received verbal abuse regularly. As a proper Gamer, these were compliments not insults. The highest compliment you can ever receive as a Gamer is that you are accused of cheating but you didn't. I was close but they refused. Instead they put it down as the build I chose aka "The build is playing for me, not me as a player."


In this aspect, HOTL3 is similar to GW2 in the sense it is very heavily build-focused. Everything is almost centered around our builds in HOTL3. In short, our builds is our sword. We live and die by it. The key difference between both games are:- We can change our builds anytime in GW2, but we can't do so in HOTL3 without suffering penalties. I am referring to wasted Es in skills that you don't find effective after a trial-and-error process. Those Es could be put in better use elsewhere, obviously. Therefore, in HOTL3, whether we suck or not relies solely on our decision making. There is no cheap loser excuses to point the finger on (except perhaps on SPEC RACES :P. You lame Irda sucker!) if the other player is better than yourself. 


Coming back to my HOTL3 build. Thus far, I have received countless of useful feedback. Generally, I have been told I'm going to have a very BAD time if I choose the Wind school as my first set of skills. To make it worse, specialising in Transport in the first Gen. Even my first mentor Thor the IMP told me straight off to, "get fire." Following him, I left a trail of confused LJs about why I continue to suck in the game, hitting dark green damages all the time with my Legendary Wind Blast. When I rebirthed this week, I could almost hear the players go, "What? You are still carrying on this shit?! Make a new one already! That's taking too long to learn your lesson!"


So why am I still insisting on playing so defensively? Don't I know there is a clear difference between games and I shouldn't assume what works for GW2 will work on HOTL3? Yes of course I understand that concept. I am a HOTL3 noob but I'm not a gaming noob. I have the same amount of gaming experience like most of the HOTL3 supremos. That is the best reason I can offer for anyone who has been wondering why I "don't seem that noob" as a noob. My previous experience has allowed me to grasp the HOTL3 concepts a bit quicker. Another key reason was that I received a lot of help and mentoring from many players, due to my shameless, relentless bugging. I even have mentors in different time zone! Asher and Osiris (not sure if they are the same player) taught me a great deal when they were on during their time zone. Back to the point about my choice on defensive skills, I believe there is room for defensive builds in HOTL3. I have yet to see a clear reason that there isn't. Struggling to level even at Gen 4 isn't sufficient enough for me - yet. I am still positive that I can find a good defensive build that works well for me in HOTL3.


If I may humbly share my gaming experience, there are key aspects of playing defensive. I call it the Defensive Mantra. Patience, persistence and perseverance. I believe these are self explanatory.  Obviously, going defensive is going to be SLOW. It takes double the time to kill what others need, so a lot of patience is going to be involved and it takes persistence and perseverance to keep the patience from wearing thin.


So much to the horror to you guys, I'm going to announce that in this Gen, I will still not take any skills from the "Big 4" schools. I hope this draws some cackles among you. Please don't get pissed off that I am not taking advice. Just laugh at me and make me the joke at my expense. However, stay with me. One day I will walk into 9Hells as the lowest Gen player to go into battle with a battle cry, "我要一个打十个!" (I want to take on 10!) Just watch and laugh at me. When it isn't funny anymore, give me a clap.

Sunday, 2 November 2014

Where to Get Pets

Pets are very important throughout my HOTL3 experience so far. I would go as far as saying, I wouldn't have made it so far without them. So every newbie should know that pets is a very good way to help in tanking and putting in some damage themselves. A higher gen player may scorn the usage of pets but for a 300 HP Gen 1 Smurf when I first started, a pet was indispensable


This post will be updated again when I have more information. These will not be easy to find because I only found them by chance. At the moment, I am looking for a level 30 pet because as you can see, the gap between wolf (level 25) and super flying cloud (level 35) is a good 10 levels. I found that I struggle a bit as a low gen player because of the gap. 


Regrettably, I didn't put in enough effort to compile the interesting traits of pets. Such as a Horse can do a cyclone kick, a  Green Dragon can do a bard-like Dragon song and the Super Flying Cloud sometimes wander off by itself to another room etc. Perhaps I will do that in future. So this may be work-in-progress for now.


If anyone has any information about pets I couldn't find, please let me know where and I'll go have a look. In the mean time, these are what I have for you.

Pet shop at The Bazaar

Pet shop at Migaard

Pet shop at Dragon City


Fusion Dates for 2 Nov - 8 Nov 2014

Had a real hectic week. So I didn't really have time to verify this properly before posting up. So use this at your own risk. :)

Possible Solinari Fusion Dates
YearDaySignLunSolNuiTime
233525Taurus-S-Sunday, November 2, 2014, 5:31:00 PM
233526Taurus-S-Sunday, November 2, 2014, 5:43:00 PM
233522VirgoGNS-Monday, November 3, 2014, 3:19:00 AM
233523VirgoGNS-Monday, November 3, 2014, 3:31:00 AM
233516AquariusCXS-Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 6:07:00 AM
233612GeminiGNS-Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 3:43:00 AM
233613GeminiGNS-Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 3:55:00 AM
233614GeminiCNS-Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 4:07:00 AM
233610LibraGXS-Thursday, November 6, 2014, 1:43:00 AM
23363PiscesCNS-Friday, November 7, 2014, 4:19:00 AM
23364PiscesCNS-Friday, November 7, 2014, 4:31:00 AM
233728GeminiGXS-Saturday, November 8, 2014, 2:07:00 AM
23371CancerGXS-Saturday, November 8, 2014, 2:19:00 AM

Possible Nuitari Fusion Dates
YearDaySignLunSolNuiTime
23359GeminiGX-SSunday, November 2, 2014, 7:55:00 PM
233510GeminiGX-SSunday, November 2, 2014, 8:07:00 PM
233511GeminiGX-SSunday, November 2, 2014, 8:19:00 PM
23357Libra--SMonday, November 3, 2014, 5:55:00 AM
233528AquariusS-STuesday, November 4, 2014, 8:31:00 AM
23351PiscesS-STuesday, November 4, 2014, 8:43:00 AM
233625GeminiCX-SWednesday, November 5, 2014, 6:19:00 AM
233626GeminiCX-SWednesday, November 5, 2014, 6:31:00 AM
233619ScorpioGN-SThursday, November 6, 2014, 9:07:00 AM
233615PiscesCX-SFriday, November 7, 2014, 6:43:00 AM
233616PiscesCX-SFriday, November 7, 2014, 6:55:00 AM
233617PiscesGX-SFriday, November 7, 2014, 7:07:00 AM
233713CancerCN-SSaturday, November 8, 2014, 4:43:00 AM

Possible Lunitari Fusion Dates?
YearDaySignLunSolNuiTime
233516LeoSCNCNSunday, November 2, 2014, 8:31:00 PM
233517LeoSCNCNSunday, November 2, 2014, 8:43:00 PM
233518LeoSCNCNSunday, November 2, 2014, 8:55:00 PM
233518VirgoSCXCNMonday, November 3, 2014, 2:31:00 AM
233522ScorpioSCNCXMonday, November 3, 2014, 2:31:00 PM
23366TaurusSCNCNTuesday, November 4, 2014, 8:55:00 PM
23366GeminiSCXCNWednesday, November 5, 2014, 2:31:00 AM
23367GeminiSCXCNWednesday, November 5, 2014, 2:43:00 AM
23368GeminiSCXCNWednesday, November 5, 2014, 2:55:00 AM
233612VirgoSCXCXWednesday, November 5, 2014, 8:31:00 PM
233624AquariusSCXCNFriday, November 7, 2014, 2:55:00 AM
233726AriesSCNCNFriday, November 7, 2014, 2:31:00 PM
233727AriesSCNCNFriday, November 7, 2014, 2:43:00 PM
233728AriesSCNCNFriday, November 7, 2014, 2:55:00 PM
23374LeoSCNCXSaturday, November 8, 2014, 8:31:00 AM
23375LeoSCNCXSaturday, November 8, 2014, 8:43:00 AM
233715CapricornSCNCNSunday, November 9, 2014, 2:43:00 PM
233716CapricornSCNCNSunday, November 9, 2014, 2:55:00 PM
233718AquariusSCXCNSunday, November 9, 2014, 8:55:00 PM
233820AriesSCNCXMonday, November 10, 2014, 8:31:00 AM
233821AriesSCNCXMonday, November 10, 2014, 8:43:00 AM
233822AriesSCNCXMonday, November 10, 2014, 8:55:00 AM
233822TaurusSCXCXMonday, November 10, 2014, 2:31:00 PM
233823TaurusSCXCXMonday, November 10, 2014, 2:43:00 PM
23384ScorpioSCNCNTuesday, November 11, 2014, 8:31:00 PM
233812AquariusSCXCXWednesday, November 12, 2014, 2:55:00 PM

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

HOTL3 Logic

Wraiths and Beholders have hands to fight with in the MUD school.

A pass door spell grants etherealisation good enough to pass through cold, hard doors but not walls.

A pineapple tart is more filling than an eggtart

A vampire feeds on corpses but a formless wraith feeds on food.

Imagine a griffon holding a polearm.

The only men in the realm who have sex are always tied up, blindfolded and freaking old.

A guard can hit me with a dagger while I'm flying

A wraith has no flesh but it suffers from stun, blindness and poison.

If a griffon has "2 arms" (flap wings gene) and "4 legs", why doesn't a draconian have "4 arms" and  "2 legs"

An elf has infravision but not a vampire.

If learning capability (slots) refers to intelligence, a Goblin is as smart as an Elf. An Orc is smarter than an Elf. So are dead particles like a Banshee and Wraith

In terms of learning, 2 heads are not better than one. Just look at Ogre and Golem.

Sunday, 26 October 2014

Race Information

Yes, I know we can get almost all these information in-game and from the main website (hotl3.com). As a noob, I want to have everything I want to know in a chart instead of clicking here and there to check out a race one at a time. Otherwise, how can a noob be informed enough to select a race that fits what they want to create in their minds? There is nothing more painful than walking about in Canterbury with a painstakingly leveled 20+ character only to find out from another player there is a more suitable race for your ideal class type. Barring the Spec Races, I tried my best to put in everything else as accurate as I can. Please correct me if there are any mistakes or fill me in if you have the access to the information that I don't.



Race
Alignment
Genes
Limbs
Slots
Starting
TNL
Fighter
Rogue
Cleric
Mage
Abishai
Evil
Tail, Clear sight, Evil
Normal
20
891
L
L
PG
PG
Azurean
Good
Fly wing, Fly, Clear sight, Good
4 hands
19
1008
OK
PB
PG
OK
Balrog
Evil
Berserk, Bodycontrol, Evil
?
?
?
VG
L
L
PG
Banshee
NIL
Flying
Normal
22
811
L
OK
OK
PG
Beholder
Evil
Evil, Flashray, Infravision, Stoning, Disintegrate
Only head
20
717
L
L
PG
PG
Centaur
NIL
Archery
4 legs
20
901
OK
L
OK
OK
Changeling
NIL
Transform
Normal
20
772
L
OK
OK
OK
Cyclops
NIL
Stun
Normal
19
668
VG
PB
OK
OK
Draconian
Evil
Flap Wings, Evil
Normal
22
847
OK
OK
OK
OK
Dragon
?
Fly, Flap Wings, Tail
?
?
?
PG
OK
L
PG
Dryad
Good
Good, Female
Normal
22
787
PB
OK
OK
VG
Dwarf
NIL
Bodycontrol
Normal
19
826
PG
PB
OK
VB
Eldar
Good
Sneak, Hide, Infravision, Good
Normal
?
?
L
L
PG
VG
Elf
NIL
Infravision
Normal
21
814
L
OK
L
PG
Gargoyle
NIL
Stoneform
Normal
19
681
VG
VG
PB
PB
Giant
NIL
Berserk, Male
Normal
19
656
E
PB
OK
PB
Goblin
Evil
Evil
Normal
21
765
PG
OK
OK
OK
Golem
Neutral
Neutral
normal
2 heads
4 hands
4 legs  
19
599(normal)
690(2 heads)
749(4 legs)
799(4 hands)
E
VB
VB
VB
Griffon
Good
Good, Fly
4 legs
20
759
VG
PB
OK
OK
Gummybear
Good
Bounce, Gummy power, Good
Normal
22
707
PB
PG
OK
OK
Human
NIL
NIL
Normal
22
768
PG
PG
PG
PG
Irda
Good
Good, Infravision, Stun, Regenerate, Lifeforce
Normal
?
?
OK
OK
VG
VG
Kender
NIL
Hide, Sneak
Normal
22
727
PB
VG
L
OK
Medusa
Evil
Female, Stoning, Tail, Evil
Normal
21
769
L
OK
OK
OK
Merfolk
NIL
Waterbreath
No legs
22
777
OK
OK
OK
OK
Minotaur
NIL
Horns
Normal
19
695
PG
OK
L
L
Nymph  
NIL
Waterbreath,Female
No legs
22
700
VB
L
PG
VG
Ogre
NIL
NIL
2 headsl
19
781
PG
OK
L
OK
Orc
Evil
Evil
Normal
22
686
VG
OK
L
L
Panthatian
Evil
Tail, Evil
Normal
22
776
OK
L
L
PG
Pixie
NIL
Fly wings, Good
Normal
22
801
J
PG
L
VG
Shambler
?
Stun, Regenerate
?
?
?
OK
PG
PG
L
Siren  
NIL
Female, Charm, Water breathe
Normal
20
767
L
OK
PG
PG
Skeleton
Evil
Evil, Fear
Normal
20
786
PG
VB
L
VG
Smurf
Good
Good, Sneak,Hide, Smurfberry  
Normal
24
727
VB
PG
OK
PG
Titan
NIL
NIL
4 hands
18
843
VG
L
OK
L
Troll
Neutral
Regenerate, Neutral
Normal
20
734
PG
L
L
L
Valheru
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Vampire
Evil
Drain, Ichor, Fang, Evil
Normal
20
849
PG
OK
OK
OK
Wraith
Neutral
Fade, Infravision
No limbs
22
763
L
L
PG
PG