See you all tomorrow...

...at the TriNoMa mall in Quezon City. There will be an informal EB there beginning at 11 in the morning.

While originally advertised as a Caravaggio server meet-up, I was advised that Pinoy players from all servers are now welcome - so let's all meet up and have a little fun!

Look for the girl with the Granado Espada buttons on her shirt, glasses, and a digital camera - that will likely be me - come on over and say "Hi". ^^

Waiting out the usual maintenance...

...and hoping there will be no more surprises like last week's unexpected changes to Summoner Catherine and to the Construction stance users Diego / Yeganeh and Jack the Engineer.

Now that the main team on Cervantes has relocated to the City of Auch, allow me to share some thoughts on that place with you.

- I'm beginning to think I like Auch more than any of the other towns. I mean, the streets are clean and wide, and the buildings really feel like one is in a city. Must be my inner city rat talking.

[I was born and raised in heavily populated urban areas, and have only recently moved out to the suburbs.]

The background music is nice and rousing. Also, Auch is where the Republican leader Simon Ayende is headquartered, so I'm actually in my preferred political party's host city.

- I obtained the Auch Infantry character card, and I wish someone told me how easy that fight was. Basically, you talk to a soldier who's standing guard near the city's exit. He'll sort of challenge you to a fight. When you say yes, he warps you to the mission room. Then you just pound on him and his fellow soldiers until one of them cries "uncle", and you're good. Fun for families of 4x level.

- The adjacent map, where the Golden Well is located, was, last night, apparently THE place for very high level monsters to hang out. Saw a Sabel Tiger and a Thoracotomy while I was looking around for a Hengestone in there. With a little judicious running around them, my team was not killed.

- Speaking of my team, we're within striking distance of the next set of weaponry AND armor, and it's a good thing I got some good stuff lined up for them for some time now. I got back that staff I lent out to a faction buddy; another faction buddy gave me some really nice gear for my fighter; and I'd picked up a good piece of leather armor for my scout in my travels.

- Another reason for me to love missions: we get an absurd range of weapons from doing them, and since I don't use more than half of them anyway, I chip them. So now, I have an absurd range of Enhancement Chips waiting to be used on my next team's weapons. Win-win all around.

- Speaking of missions: last night a team of Æphemerals [NineMoons, Gotte, Thoraine, Kraft, and Intrepido] did a bunch of Spotlight 1's, one really exciting Trinity 2 - a deluge of Escudo Pecher! Too bad no one was doing the quest at that time! - and a startlingly "dry", according to the others, Highway 2. "Dry" because there were very few spawned monsters. My faction buddies were actually wondering where the bosses were....

- Speaking of Æphemerals: everybody join a faction! Seriously! Because at the very least they can answer your questions about the game; and at the very most they can even make stuff for you and / or give you Vis and / or give you items that they picked up and don't need but you might want. [Thanks, guys.]

- Also, we're recruiting! Please PM NineMoons [I'm filling in as recruiter while faction leader Harbin isn't in] on Cervantes server. No requirements except the ability to understand the English language and a sense of humor.

Can't wait for 1600 my time.....

***

A Notice from the Self-Plugging Department:

If you're in the Philippines and you're a fan, player, and / or curious about Granado Espada, and particularly if you're just starting out in the game, please buy the July print edition of Game! Magazine! I wrote the feature article on starting out in the game there!

Granado Espada roundup: after the Raid Party, action against bots, Granado Espada PH contests

And here's yet another news roundup for all of you Granado Espada fans, players and addicts!

Here's what's probably the most important bit of news: Some action has finally been taken against the sudden rash of botters springing up in the New World. Hope IAH keeps up the good work. Also, let's work together across the servers to stamp out the evils of botting and RMT once and for all!

This mini-site contains pictures and coverage from the Raid Party at Zouk! See the cosplayers, Kim Hakkyu, and the fans and winners of the competitions and tournaments!

See if you can spot the mention of the NineMoons family at this list of sites with coverage of the Raid Party and its associate events! ^^

RCM Hrin interviews cara, Nuub, RavaNa, and Voyage after their PvP tourney win - and much fun is had by all.

pCM Veya announces Granado Espada PH news, including: informal EBs and freeplay events.

More importantly, pCM Veya includes these contest teasers in preparation for the relaunch of GranadoEspada.com.ph!







I can just hear the Philippine Granado Espada community getting ready for these contests!

NineMoons talks about: CHICKSILOG.

All right, those of you who play Granado Espada in the Philippines, you most likely already know what the post is about. Please don't spoil the fun for our international readers! ^^

Now, what in all blazes is "chicksilog", you might ask?

A friend of mine supplied the etymology of the word as such:

chick: a wench + silog: a modifier in Filipino, used to specify any dish with eggs

Only, in the term "chicksilog", please replace eggs with balls. As in, yeah, guy bits.

Hence the common definition of "chicksilog": a guy who uses a female avatar in online games. The term can also be extended to refer to those guys who use female avatars on message boards, blogs, forums, and in online chat.

I believe one of the English-language equivalents is the acronym GIRL: "Guy In Real Life".

And this all ties in to Granado Espada when it comes to all those people with Catherines, Adelinas, Bernellis, Emilias, and the ever-beloved female Elementalist.

Ten'll get you five, at least half of those players are male.

Some might say it has something to do with aesthetics. Some might say that it's cooler to watch female characters kill monsters that are bigger than they are. Some might bring up the derogatory notion that guys who play female avatars lack the social skills to get close to real-life girls. Some might even say that female avatars can be exploited, in the sense of a female avatar asking for free items and money will get more than her male counterpart.

My friend pointed out the part where "chicksilog" has no female-oriented equivalent; i.e., in Filipino, there is no concise way to say "girl who plays with male avatars".

[Guilty as charged.

My CBT team had two guys on it.


And here's the team I created on the Carracci server:


Q.E.D.]

Maybe in other countries the GIRL concept might have connotations of creepiness and picking people up, but for me, the whole concept of "chicksilog" just cracks me up. Sure, there are some who abuse it, but by and large it's just one more reason to have fun in an online game.

The term originates from Philippine Ragnarok Online, in the forums; and then it became a widespread slang term following this song:



The band, Kamikazee, is famous for their pop-culture-drenched sensibilities, hard-rocking music, and most importantly, their bizarre humor.

[I heard these guys mangle Britney Spears's song Lucky once - believe me when I say that was pants.]

Here's a quick translation of the song, by me and my friend the Lucido Family:

CHICKSILOG
Kamikazee

Waiting all night, hoping she'll log on to play
The girl who called herself "Maldita" [1]
At the usual spot in Prontera [2]
Next to the weapons and magic items shops

And once you even gave your life for me
While we were fighting the bad guys
We beat them and you asked me out
It was my only chance to see you

Refrain
Two o'clock on a Sunday (at Gotesco) [3]
I even put on a good shirt (and some cologne)
I was excited (looked all over for you)
And my world crashed when I saw you

Chorus
Chicksilog! I fell into your trap
You deceived me, you cheated me, now I know your secret! 2x

What's the point in leveling up when all your fantasies are gone
All my strength is gone, like bubbles popping
No wonder you were so good at swordfighting
"Maldita" was a guy in real life!

Refrain
Chorus

Chicksilog! 4x

Now I know your secret!

Liner notes:

[1] "Maldita" usually means "a naughty girl".

[2] Prontera is the capital of Rune-Midgard in Ragnarok Online. One of the busiest towns.

[3] Gotesco is the name of a group of shopping malls in the Philippines.

***

Happy leveling and watch out for chicksilog! :D

From the bottom of my heart...THANK YOU.

That this blog has made it to both the 5k AND 10k hits milestones within a month is all because of you.

It really does bear repeating:

Thank You.

NineMoons Family's blasting off again...!!!!

And I don't mean that in the Team Rocket "fail" sense, I mean it's more of we're taking off!

In tandem with this post about the recent PvP tourney, the new boss of Hinge Inquirer Publication's blogs, Joel, asked me to do a write-up on the tourney for the online version of Game! Magazine.

That article was posted just today, and you can read it here.

Also on the front page of the Game! online edition is a marquee-type animation showcasing the features of the month.

Watch it carefully and you'll see the NineMoons Family on Cervantes helping to banner my column there, Letters From Granado Espada.

...I had to check the graphic again myself. Yes, that IS the Cervantes main team of Aurana / Tuon / Chimal, when they were about 2x-3x. [You can tell by the hats and the outfits.]

Quick hiatus

Just a little note to tell you all not to worry if you don't hear from me in-game for the next couple of days.

I've got some work to do on my thesis, and as it's due in the next week or so, I've got to take time off to polish it prior to submission.

[Yes, I'm in a hurry to get out of university - can you tell? I'm going to need a job soon, someone hire me! ^^]

So, yeah, in a rare instance of real-life intrusion, NineMoons must take a break from Granado Espada.

I might be able to come back in for an hour or so each day for administrative concerns and to look after the faction - but I'm definitely not leveling, *sob sob*.

Wish me luck, all ^^

Catherine, Diego and Jack have been modified, be alerted!

New rules have been put in place for Catherine the Summoner, Diego AKA Yeganeh, and for Jack the Engineer as of today's maintenance:

Jack can now only construct up to a maximum of 3 Cannon Turrets. Max out the skill and he can build two turrets; add the relevant Ring and he can build three.

Catherine the Summoner can now only summon the following - 2x Walter / 2x Helena / 2x Sasha / 2x Lloyd / 1x Victor - if she maxes out the relevant summoning skills. If she wears the relevant rings, then she can summon one more of each, resulting in 3x Walter / 3x Helena / 3x Sasha / 3x Lloyd / 2x Victor.

Take note however than it's not possible to max out all of the summon skills.

As for Diego's Rotating Blade skill - Diego can now only build up to a maximum of 3 rotating blades on his constructions. Max out the skill and he can build two blades; add the relevant Ring and he can build three.

Stay tuned for further updates.

***

Updated 22 June with Cath information from shengziekillz.

Updated 24 June with Diego information from Leoz of Dominion Faction.

An ad for Trooper Hats!

Like the hats?

If you want Trooper Hats, I'm sorry, you can't actually hunt for them that easily. As I understand it, they can most easily be found in the Treasure Chests that appear at the end of successful Squad Missions.

That would be anything along the likes of Spotlight, Trinity, Highway, Interchange, et cetera.

[Are those the only mission names?]

So if you accidentally come across items with the word "Mission" in their names, put together a Squad or go with your Faction to pick up all sorts of marvelous items and, yeah, even these rare hats!

[And even rarer ones, such as the Blacksmith Hat!]

Family status at this time: just achieved 4x and just prior to becoming Deputy Faction Leader.

Granado Espada + chatting: the guide

Okay, so by now many of us might have had cause to be both amused and frustrated with the chat interface of Granado Espada. Amused because we can easily communicate with at least two other groups of people at the same time [the faction, if a member of one; and the squad, also if a member of one] as families in the immediate vicinity; frustrated because one has to remember to turn it on or off according to the needs of the situation.

[And how many times have I died because of the chat function? I'm not telling you.... ^^]

Well, never fear, because here I come with a quick refresher course on the chat interface!

Rule Number One: You CAN turn the chat on and off.
And you even have a choice of methods in which to do it: either press Alt+C, or press the Enter key.

Rule Number Two: Be efficient, stay in one chat window.
There are four windows in the chat interface: that for Group, Faction, Squad, and System. Group shows chat received from the immediate vicinity, Faction from your faction, Squad from your squad. It's easy to tell them apart because the Group chats are in white, the Faction in green, and the Squad in blue.

I'm being fairly specific in my recommendations here, but let me say, it does get a little less frustrating when you stay in the Group window instead of toggling between the others.

How do you then talk to each of the groupings?

Easy, just remember the prefix characters!

There are no prefix characters if you simply want to talk to players in your immediate area. Simply hit Enter, then type in your message, and hit Enter twice more - once to send the message, the second time to close the chat interface.

If you want to talk to your Faction, hit Enter, type in the @ sign, then your message, and hit Enter twice.

If you want to talk to your Squad, hit Enter, type in the # sign, then your message, and hit Enter twice.

And what happens if you want to "whisper", or PM, someone? Also easy! Just remember to type "[open quotes] + the name of the person you want to PM, then your message!

Example of a PM:

"NineMoons How much for your item?

Nothing to it!

Rule Number Three: Be polite, remember your Netiquette.
I guess this is just something we all need to live by, whether in Granado Espada or in any other online means of interaction. Netiquette, short for "Net etiquette", is all about being polite even when the conversation does not take place in a face-to-face manner.

For example, speak in the allowed languages - in Granado Espada this is English, of course. The exceptions to the rule are the Factions and the Squads - if, for example, you're Malaysian and you find yourself in an all-Malaysian Squad or Faction, then by all means talk in your own native languages!

However, many Factions boast international memberships, and so for intelligibility's sake, please speak in English as much as possible.

Another example: IT IS IMPOLITE TO CHAT LIKE THIS, or in all caps. The general reason offered is that all caps looks like shouting, and makes you seem like you are yelling at other people, which is often quite impolite.

The exception to this rule is, if you "shout" when it's appropriate to shout, and in Granado Espada, that appropriate situation nearly always is needing rescue from mobs. In other words: HELP ME THERE'S A THORACOTOMY HERE - when there really is one and you're nowhere near Level 100 - is proper use of all caps.

Or, in a mission along with a squad: HELP ME PHOBITAN CHIEFTAIN X4 ASSIST PLEASE!

Some people might think that spellings such as "nao" for "now", "pls/plx/plz" for "please", and others of its ilk are impolite, but they're an accepted part of Net-speak these days, so if it helps, go ahead and use some abbreviated spellings.

However, tlkng xclusivly lyk ds 2 evry1 u mit is impolite and can be off-putting for the people you're talking to, so don't use too much "txt tlk", please.

In closing, remember that there are a few ways to get around the chat interface, and remember you're playing with the world, so be polite!

***

Okay, after that guide come a few announcements and reasons to squee:

NineMoons on the Granado Espada Official Website!
This was for my earlier entry on the Philippines side of the PvP Tournament.

I was recently named Deputy Faction Leader of the Æphemeral Faction.

So, people, tell me about your experiences on the new PK-enabled server, Vivaldi, yeah?

Granado Espada PvP tourney finals: the tale of the day

And, hot on the heels of the pictures that I uploaded late last night, comes the tale of the day itself, which I now weave for you.

June 16 was the opening day of the 6th Philippine Toys and Collectibles Convention [see their blog here; includes a sponsored, live Webcast]. Held this year at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall, it promised to be a venue for fun, finds, Transformers [the people who were releasing the movie were among the sponsors], and of course Granado Espada!

The gate was to open at 10 in the morning, and when I got there around that time, there were long lines for both the tickets and for actual entrance into the venue.

Whenever I go to cons, my usual habit is to do a fairly complete walkabout of the area - because I like finding out about where to eat, where the big booths are, where the stage is, where the cosplayers' holding area will be [whenever applicable] - before zeroing in on the booths that I feel are important.

I finally found the Granado Espada booth being set up near the exit doors of the venue. Sporting about 15 computers, several large posters, a lighted sign, and an area where various merchandise could be obtained, it was a compact set-up that was already drawing some interest at that hour of the morning.



Part of the interest, I'm sure, was because of the guys and girls wearing jackets with the words "Granado Espada TEAM PHILIPPINES" embroidered on the back. These were the fourteen other members of the team that would represent in the finals of the PvP Tournament, playing remotely with the other contestants at the Zouk Raid Party in Singapore.


Granado Espada Team Philippines being introduced on stage during the GE segment.

The segment, hosted by Anne / DeSanggria, also included a brief AV presentation, as well as a triva segement where Granado Espada caps were given away to audience members who could answer a few easy trivia questions.

The fourteen members were: Street, Arcleaumont, Hush, Amelia™, Grandee, micamania, oGTo, DeathAngel, TressPassing, wattz, snapshot, Crixca, Stormgeist, and Crowe.

While the e-Games and IP-Interactive people got set up for their booth, I was able to chat for a bit with Anne, the elementalist cosplayer, known in-game as DeSanggria; as well as with the Mena family, whom I got to meet for the first time at the con.


DeSanggria and NineMoons.


Mena and NineMoons.

At about 2pm the action got started, with the country qualifiers. These matches were fought on a private IAH server, and as per the rules, the players were allowed only the use of the following characters: male fighter, male scout, female wizard, female musketeer, female elementalist, and Emilia the Sage [misnamed onscreen as "Amelia, the Wise Man"]. All characters were at level 100, with Veteran status attained. All stances were maxed out, including the Veteran stances. All characters were provided with a choice of high-level weapons and armor.

Each player was provided with a budget of 20,000 Vis, replenished after each round, with which to purchase the allowed consumables: Healing Potions, Health-fillers, Soul-fillers, Rifle Bullets, Pistol Bullets, Magical Orbs, and Elemental Orbs.

The objective being to find the other Philippine representative to join Ino and Overseer, and Maztermel and Iami, these country finals were divided into three rounds.

The first round was played as a knockout stage, and the teams of Street and Arcleaumont, Crowe and Stormgeist, oGTo and DeathAngel, and TressPassing and wattz, emerged triumphant.

The second round was then fought using the best of three format; and advancing to the country finals were Street and Arcleaumont, and Crowe and Stormgeist.

The country finals were then held between these two teams and after another three fierce rounds of action, Street and Arcleaumont emerged as the other Philippines team to go into the Singapore semifinal round.

During the brief lull that followed as coordinations were made between the Philippines and Singapore, a wave of shock rippled among both the audience and the other Team Philippines members when it was announced that Ino and Overseer had been knocked out of the running in Singapore, making Street and Arcleaumont the country's only representatives.

The second shock was provided after we were also informed that the Singapore teams as well were no longer in competition, having lost their earlier matches.

When the time came for the lone Philippine team to fight it out, the excitement around the booth rose to a fever pitch. Onscreen, we watched as GM Thokas provided the final instructions to all teams.

This round was to be fought in the round-robin format, and the team that won two matches would advance to the final round and fight to be declared the champion of the first Granado Espada PvP Tournament.

Our Philippine representative's families, consisting of two fighters, two wizards, an elementalist and a scout, fought bravely, but finally the other two teams proved to be too much, and Street and Arcleaumont lost both of their matches.

However, the matches they fought were featured at Zouk, and were watched by all over the big screens set up there!

First place went to cara and nuub; while second place went to RavaNa and Voyage.

The Philippines also won two special awards:

Most Valuable Player
Philippine Team - Mark Anthony Sta. Ana of NCR [Overseer]

Most Supporting Team
WildCard Team - Rommel Reyes [Maztermel] and Shun Chun Leam [Iami]


Team Philippines at the close of the tournament.

While a time of brief in-person socializing and camaraderie, here's hoping that this event, and future other tourneys, serve to knit the Philippine Granado Espada community closer together~!

Kudos to the organizers and, especially, to Team Philippines for the success of our Philippines-side event!

***

Edited 23 June: I also did a write-up on this tourney for the online edition of Game! Magazine, and that article was posted today.

Granado Espada PvP tourney finals: the pictures

Click here to view my pictures of the Granado Espada PvP Tournament Finals as held in the Philippines on 16 June 2007 at ToyCon!

Includes pictures of the 14 finalists [minus Ino and Overseer who were in Singapore at Zouk]; elementalist cosplayer Ann; fellow Granado Espada blogger the Mena Family; and me, NineMoons.

Full details of the event after I finish confirming the winners from both the Philippines and the other countries [Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam].

***

If anyone has any trouble viewing the Photobucket album, please let me know and I'll try to fix the problem forthwith.

*crosses her fingers and PRAYS that Photobucket cooperates this time....*

***

EDITED TO ADD: The standings from the final round of the PvP Tournament, according to information gleaned from the Yakisoba! guild blog:

1st place: cara + nuub

2nd place: RavaNa + Voyage

Congratulations to the winners!

NineMoons's picks: my influential blogs

And so I am finally joining Janette Toral's The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007 project.

I've already been nominated twice, and now it's time to pay the favor forward to other great blogs.

Because of the nature of this particular blog of mine, I thus present the gamer/Granado Espada blogs that I absolutely have to follow:

sGE Regional Community Manager Hrin's blog. Also known to everyone in the IAHGames release of Granado Espada as Mistress Hrin, our RCM blogs about life in the New World.

sGE Philippine Community Manager Veya's blog. Also the Assistant Product Manager for Granado Espada with IP-Interactive, she talks about the local community of Granado Espada gamers and posts announcements about the game and its events in this blog.

Yakisoba Faction blog. The blog of one of the most well-known Factions [or guilds] within the world of Granado Espada. Not to suck up, but since they're the really hardcore players, they tend to be first to reach the higher-level, endgame content of the game - and the information they bring back from their raids, wars, and general leveling really helps me along in my enthusiasm for the game.

Female-Gamer.com. I found this site while looking through previous entries to the influential blogs project, and I enjoy Trinity's writing style, as well as the wide-ranging - but always coming back to gaming - subject matter. Plus, I have this thing about making sure people know I'm female *and* a gamer, too....

Good luck to these blogs, and I hope this helps them some.... ^^

Secondary NineMoons family 01: online!

Welcome, from left to right: Korika [Emilia Guliano], the healer; Ichigiku [Adelina Esperanza], the fighter; and Shahnti [Grace Bernelli], the rifle-woman!



Having just completed the Three Skulls quest from Adelina Esperanza, I've assembled my backup NineMoons team on Cervantes server.

I didn't know how tragic Adelina's story REALLY was until I went and looked her up at the forums.

It's a strange team, I know, and hardly original [I've lost count of all the other similar teams I've already encountered], but it's something I've been promising myself I would do since Closed Beta.

Family status:
Levels - 36 / 32 / 24 [Adelina / Grace / Emilia]
Stances - Middle-Guard / Standing Shot / First Aid
Location - Tetra Hill

Where I got the names this time: I made "Shahnti" up. Honest.

As for "Korika" and "Ichigiku", they're the names of geisha, as detailed in Liza Dalby's excellent book Geisha. Liza herself carried the name Ichigiku during her time as the only Western woman to ever become a geisha; and one of the women she developed deep friendships with during that time was a former geisha who had taken the name Korika.

Off to level them some, and hopefully complete Adelina's backstory quest.

***

And what are y'all going to do during today's 24-hour maintenance?

I hope to see some of you here, and to hear your comments too! ^^

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

And here are Chimal, Tuon, and Aurana, all dressed up, all at Level 4x, and all ready to go!

Chimal is, at present, one stance level away from getting Invisible Stalker.

As I managed to find her a unique staff - the Familiar Staff - she'll switch over to it at Level 44.

Tuon is currently leveling Heaven or Hell. And it's a good thing that over the course of her travels she's picked up two rings that will help her with this stance: a Pistol Shot ring and a Slash Down ring.

And since I've also put together the Idge's Series of Armor, expect more screenies of Tuon after she hits Level 44.

And Aurana has almost mastered both First Aid and Fortitudo.

*dabs away a tear*

Oh, they grow up so fast....

[This, of course, means that I have to start spending my Vis on the following items: pistol bullets, magical orbs, and - for the first time in my Granado Espada career - resurrection potions.

Not to mention the gear I've got to pick up for the secondary teams....]

***

Speaking of secondary teams, I have two in mind for more fun on Cervantes server.

Secondary Team 1: Emilia / Bernelli / Adelina. Emilia will be my healer, Bernelli my ranged, and Adelina my tank.

I've been collecting rifles over my travels, so guess what Bernelli will be using.

And Adelina will likely get her double sabers stance, to be followed by saber and pistol.

[Thanks to fellow Æphemeral member Thoraine for the correction!]

Secondary Team 2: Elementalist / Scout / Catherine. My fire elementalist Ravashi makes a comeback and assumes the strange role of leader / primary damage dealer for this team, which by sheer necessity must start from Level 1.

I'm thinking of getting a male scout this time.

And then of course there's the Catherine that I plan to put together - honestly, who in Granado Espada doesn't dream of this doll? I'll make the Catherine of Strength and throw all my other melee weapons at her.

That's a lot of names to think up, too....

Trial Colony Wars: Who got what?

And, apparently, the strategy of the day was fairly simple:

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.


The World Map of Granado Espada, with the Colony owners's names, moments after the Trial Colony War session's end.

To no one's surprise, Yakisoba Faction not only captured the most Colonies during this trial Colony Wars session, but also seemed to have made a point of capturing the colonies located on the high-leveled maps. See above: Ustiur Zona Uno, Scorching Plateau, and El Tierra Blanco.

During this time, Cervantes server also tried the heck out of the "Declaration of War" mechanic, re-implemented with today's patch [as was the fix with the Ustiur maps]. Many factions attempted to declare war on each other, in some cases to try wresting a Colony away, and in others simply for sheer fun.

Congratulations to all the factions who won themselves Colonies during this trial session!

[Of course, this being a trial run will mean all the Colonies will revert to being free-for-all after the 24-hour maintenance, and we all get to watch once more as the factions battle it out again next session.....]

Æphemerals try out a faction raid!

Logged back into the game tonight after running some errands, and the first thing I find out in faction chat is that they are making plans to do a faction raid. Target: the Treasure Golem, the dreaded boss of the Tetra Dungeon.

And it was a motley crew indeed that showed up in the Tetra Antiquities Room, where that boss can be summoned by means of a Key item: faction members Soruco, Rydralle, Dalmacus, and Fleva got there first, then NineMoons [me, of course], and last but not the least, Thoraine.

[Before you ask: yes, I was the goat - or the lowest-leveled member - of the squad that we formed. T_T

I'm leveling as hard as I can, thank you. Hoping to reach 4x in the next three days....]

Here's me and Rydralle playing around a little with the poses before we started the raid. Sorry the UI's on - I wouldn't be able to identify the families otherwise.



Dalmacus summoned the Treasure Golem, and we defeated it after getting nearly everybody killed, except for Fleva. While no one was able to capture the screenshot of the first Golem going down, here are the screenies where we celebrated our victory.


Here's the unruly crowd, with the UI on so you can pick out all of our names.


And here's the orderly shot, in which we all lined up and did the point-to-the-front pose that means victory in a mission.

It's off-center because I'm near the end of the line.

I spent a lot of time dead during the three raids we attempted, but I managed to get these pictures of the next two victories anyway:


That thing went down in the very next second.


And that AoE never materialized - that third Golem was killed before it could complete the spell.

[Incidentally, yes, I HATE Atomic Power Stomp - the Golem's AoE attack - with a passion.]

Somebody said "Chimera" for next time - but I have the bad feeling we need to have the WHOLE faction - all 50+ of us - in for that one.

If only, at least, so I won't be the goat of that particular raid. :P

Granado Espada roundup: Open Beta, Trial Colony War

...Wow, they are really moving fast, aren't they?

Extended Maintenance announcement, including date of transition to Open Beta phase.
There will be an extended maintenance on Thursday-Friday, June 14-15, lasting approximately 24 hours.

Open Beta to begin on Saturday, 16 June, to coincide with the launch party in Singapore and the ToyCon 6 event in the Philippines.

Trial Colony War: an anti-lag tip.
With the Trial Colony War slated for tomorrow evening, 2000-2200 GMT+8 [8-10pm if you're in Singapore and the Philippines], maps with colony managers may lag for other gamers - so they suggest turning down the graphics options.

I'd still prefer anti-lag items and armor, like those in the world broadcasts the week before the last maintenance. With pluses too!

Game! articles: four aces

The four servers of Granado Espada.

The fourth in my series of articles for the online version of Philippine online gaming magazine Game! talks about the four servers of Granado Espada, and zeroes in on the men who gave their names to the servers: Miguel Cervantes y Saavedra, Annibale Carracci, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and Johann Pachelbel.

This particular article also serves as an adjunct to the major feature on Granado Espada that I wrote for Game!'s July print edition. As the print article consists mainly of a beginner's introduction to this New World of gaming, this online article provides a little more atmosphere in keeping with the game's Age of Exploration theme.

Do leave your comments at the article and here, and please pick up a copy of the Game! July issue when it hits newsstands.

Enjoy.

Edited on June 21 to add the information on Antonio Vivaldi, who gives his name to the fifth server [added June 17].

New quest: HENGESTONES

Most of the information in this post - specifically the locations of the Hengestones - were taken from this thread on the forums.

Original poster ahb0i is still asking for help compiling the list of Hengestone locations, though, so please help him out if you can.

***

I think by now people have noticed that extra NPC soldier standing in the Office of Pioneering Support in Cite de Reboldoeux; her label is "Hengestone Soldier / Officer". When you talk to her, she talks about the discovery of numerous mysterious stones throughout Granado Espada, which have been dubbed Hengestones.

The objective of the quest she gives is to catalogue the Hengestones. There are 50 of them scattered throughout the world, all taking the form of stone pillars. They're usually tucked in a corner of the map, standing against some wall or another; and the cursor turns into the dialogue box when you mouse over them.

If you don't have the quest, the stone pillars will simply have a caption that says "Mysterious power is being given off by the stone pillar" or something similar.

If you do, though, you'll get a dialogue box that says you've found X number of Hengestones, and that you should report them to the Hengestone Soldier / Officer.

For every 10 Hengestones found, your family is eligible to claim rewards. Apparently the rewards get better and and better the more of them you find - I'll update when ahb0i does, or when I find the next ten.

No one is quite sure yet of the requirements to activate the quest, as the posters in the thread give different levels for when they started the quest. Personally, the NineMoons family on Cervantes was 37-37-36 when it began the Hengestones quest, with family reputation 375 [this seems to be a factor in activation].

Here are the locations of 34 Hengestones, arranged in order of difficulty of the map on which they are found. All coordinates correspond to those on the Zone Maps [press Alt + Z to view it and the coordinates].

Queen's Gate I2, at the top right most corner of minimap
Stone Pit C2, near Jack's house [1-4]
Ferructio Junction H9, hiding in the small ledge [4-7]
Al Quelt Moreza H7, near the fountain [7-10]
Al Quelt Moreza Nartex b/w D8 and C8, behind one of the pillars [10-12]
Cathari Falls F9, SW bottom of cliff [17-19]
King's Garden F6, walk down slope and turn left [19-22]
Tetra Hill H9, Cave room where you can go to the other super high lvl area [22-24]
Tetra Ruins F9, in a very small corner at the side of the ruined building [24-26]
Coimbra Nimrod Bridge I3, in the nook at the side of the left stairs, possibly time oriented
Jezebel Glen H6, near colony orb [34-36]
Porto Bello G6, next to waypoint [36-38]
Porto Bello Deck J6, 2nd last square room [38-41]
Porto Bello Deserted Quay E1, next to gateway to Desolate Cliff [46-48]
Thueringenwald G4, Inside stone circle [48-50]
Porto Bello Desolate Cliff H5, about 15m away from the nearest cliffs [48-53]
El Lago de Tres Hermanas I7, NW edge under hill [50-53]
Theuringen Lakeside D6, across the river of the golden well
Dr. Torsche's Mansion: Savage Garden G3, On the side of the mansion [53-55]
El Tejado Verde F8 [55-60]
Pradera de Ceniza E3 [60-62]
Rion Prairie H3 [62-65]
Bonavista River F5, positioned in one narrow corner [65-67]
The Crater of Joaquin H7, top of the middle crater [65-70]
Lava Plateau of Joaquin F2, Right next to waypoint [70-72]
Prison de Joaquin, The Mohrgus E5, in the middle of a circle marking [72-74]
El Canon de Diabolica G2, next to cliffs [78-85]
El Ruina Memoria E9 [???]
Vegas Javier F2 [???]
Ustiur, Zona Uno G6/G7, within the trees [??-86]
Ustiur Zona Dos E11 [level 86 above]
Lago Celeste E3 [???]
Rio Albi I7 [87-90]
Skull Dungeon Level 3 C6 [94~97]

That's 34 of 50 Hengestones mapped so far by ahb0i and the contributors to the guide, as seen in the thread.

Now, for the rewards. If you're able to find your first 10 Hengestones, you can choose your reward from among the following:

Megaphone x 50
Toolset Box x 50 [for people with Construction RNPCs and/or a Summoner / Marionette Catherine]
Enchantment Chip Lv. 68 x 3
EXP Card Lv. 30 x 9
Warp Scroll x 20
Elemental Orb x 50
Golden Coupon x 2

The rewards lists for obtaining 20-50 Hengestones were contributed by forum member Locke.

20 Hengestones:

Cinquedea x 1
EXP Card lv.40 x 9
Hellfire Bracelet x 1
Unicorn Rod x 1
.34 Cal. Brown Bess x 1
Enchantment Chip lv.72 x 3
Knight Sword x 1

30 Hengestones:

Violent Shooting Star +1 ring x 1
Staff of Night x 1
Bellem's Box x10
Jambiya x 1
EXP Card lv.60 x 9
Enchantment Chip lv.76 x 3
Studded Leather Armor x1

40 Hengestones:

Raging Hell +1 ring x 1
Mystic Amber x 10
Platinum Coupon x 2
Rod of Darkness x 1
Persqabz x 1
Enchantment Chip lv.80 x 3
Naranja e Presto x 1

All 50 Hengestones:

R.I.P. +1 ring x 1
Mystic Amber x 10
Bellem's Box x 10
Diamond Coupon x 1
Albaes x 1
Enchantment Chip lv.84 x 3
Bracelet of Neptune x 1

Good luck to everyone starting the quest - and don't forget to contribute the locations of any new Hengestones to ahb0i for his guide!!!

Now here is something I have never done before...

...Have a wizard who carries a Staff instead of a Rod.

I'm now leveling Chimal's Illusionist stance to go with that, because of the almighty and powerful skill of...Invisible Stalker!!!

[Invisible Stalker, essentially, allows your entire family to become invisible. They can still attack, but their family DEF stat goes down, and they cannot use skills.

Also, they're vulnerable to Scouts with the Detection skill.]

The rest of the family is good. Aurana is well on her way to mastering both First Aid and Fortitudo, while Tuon is still happily Hack and Slash-ing away at her enemies with her Ice Swords.

At level 40 I'll switch Tuon over to Heaven or Hell, for the sheer joy and firepower of pistol+sword.

Also, what the heck - why am I already Family Level 4??? (My current team is 37-37-36.) Wow, two more levels and it's time to be Baroned....

***

In other family news - I've obtained Grace Bernelli and Emilia Guliano for my family, and once I obtain Adelina Esperanza, I shall take time off from my regular power trio to level the new ones.

When I complete that team I'll post pictures for you.

Now I have to start saving up for their gear...hmm.....

***

A quick visit to the heads of the political parties results in these quick photos.

First, the Reception Room in Cite de Reboldoeux, where Princess Gabriella of the Royalists has her office.



Then, Villa de Libertad in the City of Auch, where Simon Ayende oversees the Republicans.



Incidentally, when you go to the Barracks from Ayende's office, it calls itself "Pegadilla".

However, the location that is actually named Pegadilla is in the Port of Coimbra, and it cannot be accessed!

Storyline theory: Ayende first made his headquarters in Coimbra, but after an assassination attempt or two by the Royalists, moved to Auch.

Hmm. Sounds like a good setup for a fanfic there.

An informal interview with Philippines Community Manager Veya

(Part Two in a series of posts for today, documenting 6 June in the Philippine Granado Espada Community.

Also known as something to read while the long maintenance goes on - hey, a girl can dream, yeah?)

During a brief lull in the action of Pioneers' Reconnaissance (details here), I was able to put together a quick little chat with the new Philippines Community Manager, Veya.


Me and pCM Veya.

NineMoons: Your full name and current position?
Veya: My name is Bea Navarrete, and I'm the Philippines Community Manager for Granado Espada. I'm also the Assistant Product Manager for Granado Espada for IP-Interactive.
I answer both to Hrin (and therefore to IAH) as a country community manager, and to IP-Interactive as assistant product manager.

NineMoons: Any plans for the community?
Veya: As I've only been pCM for about 1 1/2 weeks, my first priority is really to interact with the local players and get a feel for the Philippine community, not so much in terms of major events but more of actual conversation through the forums, my blog, and in-game chatting.
When I talk to players, I've been telling them to let me know if they plan to hold gatherings and EBs (eye-balls - or real-life meet-ups) so that IP-Interactive can contribute to their events.
I've been focusing on the Pioneers' Reconnaissance tournament at present, as it was the most immediate thing that was happening in the community at the time that I took my post.

NineMoons: Do you have anything to say about the current problem of keyloggers and real-money trading (RMT) in GE?
Veya: As Community Managers, one of our tasks is to relay our communities' concerns back to IAH through Hrin every week.
Regarding the RMT and the keyloggers, I might suggest to IAH that it come up with an official statement regarding its stand on these activities. And we can ask the community to come up with evidence should it be needed, such as screenshots and website addresses, to help IAH formulate that statement.
That statement would be needed, as this is an issue that affects all the countries in which IAH is releasing GE.

NineMoons: So what is going to be done about GE's business model? I know that there was going to be a statement recently, and then it got postponed.
Veya: Yes, about that, there are still no details from IAH regarding the business model, no official statement. And here in the Philippines, IP-Interactive cannot also make any statements until IAH does so.
So we all just have to wait right now.

NineMoons: I remember that the first time Pioneers' Reconnaissance was announced, players from both Cervantes and Carracci servers could participate - and then after it got postponed to June 6, the rules were revised to say that only Filipinos on Cervantes were eligible to play. What happened there? Why the change?
Veya: The change was partly because we felt we needed to live up to the spirit of Cervantes being the first PK-enabled server. I know that it was unfair to Carracci, and I even apologized to the Pinoys in Carracci on the forums.

The thing is, Pioneers' Reconnaissance is only the first of such tournaments, and there will be a lot of other tourneys and events coming in the future, so it's not necessary for anyone to feel left out.

There were also problems with staging a tournament involving all four servers: how would the bracketing work, for one? How can the Carracci players, say, match up with the Cervantes players? We could not really find a way to do that at this point in time.

We even asked IAH about having the players in the Philippines fight the PvP matches using pre-made accounts, but they told us that format was reserved for the finals, which are to be held in Singapore.

NineMoons: Have you made any estimates as to which servers the Filipino players are on?
Veya: Right now I'd say that the majority of Pinoys playing GE can be found on Cervantes and Carracci, not so much on Caravaggio or Pachelbel.

NineMoons: Lessons learned from Pioneers' Reconnaissance?
Veya: We need to better inform the Philippine community about events like this, so that more players and families can participate.

We have yet to come up with a solution for holding inter-server PvP matches, so we also have to work on that.

And perhaps it might be better in the short run if the next events were more of EB-types, instead of competitions like this.

NineMoons: Thank you for answering these few quick questions, especially as you're busy right now ^^

***

To reach pCM Veya, contact her via the following:
- PM the Esthesia family (on all servers)
- visit her blog: Lady Veya's Musings
- email her at veya@granadoespada.com.ph
- contact her on the forums (her name there is Veya)
- YM her at bea_sakura18@yahoo.com or at bea.celestia@hotmail.com [make sure you say you're a GE player when you PM her!]

Pioneers' Reconnaissance: NineMoons's report

(Part One in a series of posts for today, documenting 6 June in the Philippine Granado Espada Community.

Also known as something to read while the long maintenance goes on - hey, a girl can dream, yeah?

WARNING to dial-up users: picture-heavy post, and you'll see why.)

June 6 marked an important day for Granado Espada in the Philippines: it was the date of the very first PvP tournament held by and for the local fans and community of players.

Led by Product Manager Ivee Feria, and Assistant Product Manager / Philippine Community Manager Bea Navarrete, the staff of IP-Interactive - Granado Espada's local licensee - put together an event called Pioneers' Reconnaissance, with the cooperation of several internet cafes spread across the country.

Because the objective of the event was to pick the Philippine representatives to the major Granado Espada PvP tournament scheduled during the Singapore commercial launch on 16 June, excitement was running high in the community in the days leading up to the event.

Your intrepid blogger now brings back this report of the event from two of the tournament's venues, both located in the National Capital Region of the Philippines.

I wish there was some way by which I could have covered the other regional venues, but that's what living in an archipelago of over 7,100 islands will do to you. ^^ The other venues included cafes in Baguio, Cabanatuan, Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro.

First, a recap of the rules of the game: each team would consist of two players, and each match would be fought by two teams - the matches were six-on-six in terms of characters. Only families based on Cervantes server could join the tournament, and they could be of levels 30 to 72 only. Players could bring a limited amount of potions (30 Healing Potions, 10 Healing Liquors only), and an unlimited amount of orbs, ammunition, and resurrective potions. A list was provided at granadoespada.com.ph, detailing which characters and RNPCs were eligible for use in the matches.

Now, on to the two venues that I was able to go to.

I Hooked Cafe, Katipunan Ave., QC
First my partner and I went to this brand-spanking new internet shop located in one of the busy university districts, which had just opened, and was already promoting Granado Espada during its soft opening.

From about noon onwards, the shop began a free play period for the game, in which people who walked in and registered at the IP-Interactive table would be allowed to play Granado Espada, free of charge, until around 7 in the evening.

Students from several major schools and universities came to try out the game, and my partner and I did what we could to help them through their first steps into the New World of Granado Espada.

IP-Interactive not only brought posters and a prize draw to keep the gamers interested, they also brought a box full of game installers! And that was pretty much the first time I saw them here in my country - we'd pretty much had to download the closed beta and the current clients on our own.


My partner holding up our copies of the installer.


A boxful of OBT installers for the National Capital Region!


The installer DVD and the nifty keyboard diagram insert.



What interested me most about the installer, as you can see in the pictures, was the fact that they were playing up the added story angle of the political parties now contending for Granado Espada. A nice picture of Simon Ayende and Princess Gabriella forms the backdrop to the important question: "Who Will You Support?"

Ivee soon came in to the venue to both introduce the game to the crowd of mostly new players, and to talk about the tournament itself. The ultimate enticement was, of course, the part where the Philippine representatives would get to compete in the finals during the Singapore commercial launch.

That's me in black, with four new players of Granado Espada ^^ Notice the pin badge?

Phoenix Internet Cafe, Makati City
We next went to the second National Capital Region venue, about an hour's commute away, and found the event being supervised by pCM Veya (as she spells it on the forums and on her blog).

(I'll be putting up the informal interview I did with her shortly; please watch out for it.)

Here, we actually got to watch as the tournament unfolded before our eyes. Six players - Crowe, Stormgeist, Ino, Overseer, ford, and DarkSide - got their families ready to rumble with each other, and with the other families who were also preparing at the other venues.

A quick overview of the National Capital Region players and their families:

Team 1:
Overseer - Claude (Claude Baudez), Kachiko (female Wizard), Tsunade (female Scout)
Ino - Escrima (male Fighter), Katrien (female Scout), Magisch (male Wizard)

Team 2:
Crowe - Russet (Gracielo), Brunhilde (Adelina Esperanza), Shayla (Emilia Guliano)
Stormgeist - Kallista (Grace Bernelli), Serra (Grace Bernelli), Daenerys (female Scout)

Team 3:
ford - Rain (male Fighter), Seth (male Fighter), Roshelle (female Scout)
DarkSide - monami (male Scout), therule (male Elementalist), jariel (male Fighter)

The elimination round used the round-robin format, and in three quick matches ford and DarkSide were knocked out of the running, notching two losses out of two matches played. Crowe and Stormgeist carried a 1-1 win-loss card into the next round, as Overseer and Ino swept their matches for a 2-0 slate.

Overseer and Ino in the middle, receiving their prizes for being the first qualifier from the National Capital Region. They are flanked by IP-Interactive staff - and that's pCM Veya on the right.

Stormgeist and Crowe (the girl!) receiving their qualifier prizes. (They won the caps during the prize draw.)

The two qualifying teams from the National Capital Region.

With the two NCR teams decided, we waited on the regional results, and the winners of the elimination round were the following:

Mindanao: Hush and Amelia(TM); Grandee and micamania
Northern Luzon: oGTo and DeathAngel
Central Luzon: TressPassing and wattz
Southern Luzon: snapshot and Crixca
Visayas: Street and Arcleaumont

As we waited for the regional eliminations' results, Ivee and Veya informed the contestants that the first placer in the tournament would go to Singapore and be counted as the country's representative at the commercial launch PvP tournament. The players who placed from second to eighth would, however, still be part of the Philippine team in the same event, and would also compete in the tourney, except that they would be playing their opponents from here.

Also, it was announced that all eight winners would be the proud winners of limited-edition Granado Espada jackets, each with the legend "Team Philippines" or "Philippine Team" emblazoned on it.

The quarterfinal round saw all families from all venues in action against each other.

There was some surprise when Crowe and Stormgeist, both of the GoD faction, learned that they would be duking it out with Grandee and micamania, as the latter was also a member of GoD. Grandee and micamania won that match.

At the close of this round, the following teams stood triumphant: Overseer and Ino, Street and Arcleaumont, Hush and Amelia(TM), and Grandee and micamania.

These teams then fought it out among themselves during the semifinal round; and a repeat of the earlier surprise was staged when Grandee and micamania found themselves squaring off against Overseer and Ino. This time, it was Grandee who shared a faction with Overseer and Ino, all three being members of CARNAGE. Some good-natured ribbing was had by all during this match.

Finally, two teams remained for the national finals: Street and Arcleaumont, and Overseer and Ino.

This time, the match format was declared as best of 5 - the first team to take three wins would earn the right to go to Singapore to attend the commercial launch and personally join the PvP tournament there.

Overseer and Ino never gave Street and Arcleaumont a chance; they swept their opponents in three matches - and were declared the champion of the inaugural Granado Espada tournament in the Philippines.

(The secret weapon? A Levitation Wizard apiece, raining a hail of Photon Splash upon their opponents.)

Overseer and Ino, soon after winning the national championship!

And that's my report from Pioneers' Reconnaissance.

Philippines, let's support our team for the Singapore tournament - show these guys some love and wish them lots of luck! PM them, friend them, shout their names all over the servers!

Team Philippines is: Overseer, Ino, Street, Arcleaumont, Hush, Amelia(TM), Grandee, micamania, Stormgeist, Crowe, oGTo, DeathAngel, TressPassing, wattz, snapshot, and Crixca.

***

Other pictures of the event can be found at this Photobucket album - click here!

Fun with the Æphemeral Faction

So I have a faction, and lately we've all been spending a lot of time leveling, helping each other out, chatting, and going on missions of the Spotlight variety.

So I thought I'd just share a couple of screenshots I've taken that involve the faction in one way or another.

During the terrible lag of the past few days, our faction leader, Harbin, decided to have some fun with server broadcasts, and at the same time do a little recruiting.

The ads are running across the top of the screenshots, so have a laugh at them. ^^


The Gracielo ad.


The Lisa Lynway ad.

And, finally, a pic of several members of the guild, who were assembling for a Spotlight mission:


If you look closely, the squad consists of faction leader Harbin, and members Fleva, Granzchestra, and Dalmacus. NineMoons is acting as the photographer for this shot.

[I'm not in the squad because I'm still not at the right level to join the Spotlight missions. Besides, Spotlight missions only take squads of four at a time, and as you can see, I'm the fifth family in the picture.]

To join, please PM faction leader Harbin, or faction vice-leader Castalia.

And, of course, check out the faction blog: Realms of the Æphemeral.

It's PARTY TIME!!!

I will do my best to keep the blog up to your standards~!

Many thanks again for your support, comments, and friendship!!!!