Tales of Aloriah, IX

And so it ends. Gorogorosama mounted his new-born Sleipnir steed and charged bravely into the Molten Ashland, only to find that the Mother Dragon had already been slain. And who was standing there, sword dripping with ancient blood? None other than my nemisis, Aernoud!

It is very frustrating, but very fitting, to have him slay the beast before me. And while I defeated Aernoud in our first hostile encounters, he was always a couple steps ahead of me. For example, when Boom-Shaka cast far sight to survey the area around where I planned to settle in the Molten Ashland, it seemed that Aernoud was already controlling the neighborhood diamond mine!

And then there was the time early in the game when I asked Ookyaas about joining forces…

It’s also a great feature that everyone gets to see how the final battle turned out. That gives me an idea of what I need to prepare for next time.

Anyway, while it is sad that the game is over, I had a lot of fun and am fairly pleased with my progress. In the end I was ranked at 62, and I think 25th when looking at Civilization Size, which I think is a better indication of how close I was to victory. I had 4 of the 5 Mother Dragon Item Set, had gotten pretty good at skinnging dragons for diamonds, and Rathlin was a virtual Berserker Factory. I also had all the CP and Settlers I needed to enter the final Climate Zone. So close! I also learned a lot about the game and should do even better next time. Mother Dragon and Aernoud, you have been warned!

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the Tales of Aloriah. Happy 2011!

Cheers,
Oliver

Tales of Aloriah, Seven

Oh noes!

When I logged in and saw that this week, reading “Would you like to continue playering even after the Mother Dragon has been killed? As of today the game ‘starts over’…” I thought someone had already beaten me to slay the great worm, but thankfully it was just a survey about tweaking the end game. So the journey continues!

I finally settled my village in Misty Marshes as promised.

Lucky me, I seem to be pretty close to my old friend Aernoud. And I’ve already been set upon by two Emerald Dragon attacks. Fortunatealy I prevailed. I like to think the Blue Dragon head helped, but maybe it was my 1,500 berserkers and Gorogorosama’s righteous Warcry. Either way, I claimed a Magic Dragon Glyph, so I’m all set to strike into the Molten Ashlands, right after I get 8 more CP. Of course, I only have 7 more levels of Argyll’s Council Hall to upgrade, so I’ll have to pull of some sort of voodoo magic before pressing on.

Speaking of voodoo magic. Gorram. There was an auction in Moyle last night for another Bonzai Tree, which would have given me that CP I need, plus an extra controllable mine. I had it locked up with 18,000 Gold, and a little after 1am, as the clock ticked down the final seconds, I went up to 19,000 Gold just in case of snipers. But gorram:

On the plus side, Soft-foot has been doing a great job sailing around, plundering cities, claiming mines, and siezing lookout towers. I even got the Silver Great Visionary Achievement. Only 6 more lookout towers til Gold! Hopefully this next week will be just as productive.

Cheers,
Oliver

Tales of Aloriah, 110

I’ve been putting off writing today’s Tales of Aloriah, because I was hoping to report that I’d founded my fourth village in Misty Marshes. Unfortunately, the only problem with brining 1,000 Bear Riders along is that they don’t ride very quickly. I’ve already got my spot picked out though, thanks to Boom-Shaka’s “Farsight”. As with Moyle, it’s near a lookout tower, which will save me having to build watchtowers myself. The wildlife don’t look too friendly though. Ideally I’d find something with a Gold Mine nearby, but I don’t know if I have the patience to trudge through the marshes with my Bear Riders.

On my way out of Dry Steppes I passed by Aernoud again. Three Sleipnir Horses, holy smokes. I was happy to let him take on the Dragons himself. I also did the calculations and it seems like I could have taken him if need be, but our paths never crossed. Lucky for him.

Meanwhile, my third hero, Soft-Foot, has been sailing around the Tropical Islands. I figure this is a good place to find players to raid. My ideal targets have a score around 1,000, meaning they’ve made it to the Tropical Islands and have some gold but aren’t really a threat. I had planned on just plundering my way around the entire world and then using a Scroll of Recall, but I didn’t get very far before my inventory got full. Also, I bought a nice Scroll of Town portal, and I figure that’ll be a cheaper solution to get her back when needed.

Oh! And I won my first auction. Bought myself a an Ornamental Dagger. I won’t say how much I ended up paying for it… I had to hit the sack a few hours before the auction ended and didn’t want to be sniped… Anyway, I found that my biggest problem when trying to get everything together for a 4th village was the build time, so hopefully this will help speed up my construction times. Wood Sacrifice 24/7 baby.

Alright folks, we’re getting pretty close to the Mother Dragon now. Next week will probably be pretty intereting. I’m taking a trip to Kiev this weekend, but hopefully that won’t distract me from subduing the Misty Marshes and grabbing some glyphs.

Cheers,
Oliver

Tales of Aloriah, the fifth

This week has been all over the board in Aloriah. Last week I founded my village in the Dry Steppes. Boom-Shaka spent the first part of the week exploring the nearby area. I quickly grabbed all the obelisks that I could see and had to venture into the fog of war, so decided to check back in a few hours. WARNING: The fog of war is dangerous!

What would be very helpful is if each Army had some sort of behaviour setting, such as “If you see three armies of black dragons, run the heck away!” I really didn’t want the obelisk that badly. This behaviour setting could work both ways as well. With Boom-Shaka dead, and my only Hero Sanctuary (to raise him) back in Athenry, the exploration fell to Gorogorosama. This time I was exploring a Ruins when I accidentally crossed paths with player Pdimi and killed him. I have a lot of respect for that player, roaming around Dry Steppes with half the recommended troops. But, in the land of Aloriah, there is but one law: try to kill anything you bump into. Pdimi and I are at peace now though.

Boom-Shaka’s demise actually worked out quite well. I found out that in order to plant a village in the Misty Marshes, it’s recommended that you have a Blue Dragon Head, which you gain by cutting it off the Sapphire Dragon’s body. The same Sapphire Dragon I saw swimming off the coast of Moyle two weeks back! This time I had enough Berserkers to slay the beast, so Boom-Shaka took to the sea. After a day of relaxing near Moyle I spotted the dragon. It took a couple tense hours to chase him down, but last night I finally got what I came for.

Now there are two issues I have to deal with. First, I need enough CP to found my next village. The manual says I need 35, but my City Hall panel says I need 15. Which is it? Also, when hunting for the Sapphire Dragon I grabbed a lighthouse occupied by Aernoud. He was quick to dispatch my 5-berseker scouting party, but also sent me a nice message: “Please leave my towers alone.” Having attacked me twice in the first week, Aernoud seems like a bully and I’m tempted to tell him to bugger off. But apparently he’s a moderator on the forum and is still a touch stronger than I. Thoughts?

Tales of Aloriah, episode IV

The adventure continues in Aloriah. When last we spoke I was preparing to forge into Dry Steppes and claim my third village. Crossing the Green Fields took a while, but was rather uneventful. Then this happened:

I was just minding my own business, ambling through the fog of war towards what seemed like a decent spot for a new village, and bam, walk smack into a Dragon Gate with hundreds of black beasts pouring out. Honestly my first thought was to run the hell away. However, by the time I checked my account one of the dragon armies was already on me and, to my surprise, I was victorious! Thanks to everyone who suggested I bring 1k-2k Berserkers. I needed them. After the victory I looted a bunch of Diamonds and a Gate Anti-Seal, so I figured I might as well use it, plunged straight into the heart of darkness and closed the gate.

After this I managed to settle my third village. I had to seal another gate that popped up, but by this point I was brilliant at it.

This wasn’t the only excitement though. If you recall, last week I pulled the mystical “Dragon Helm” from the seas around Moyle. Well, apparently there’s a Dragon Helm spawning point nearby, and now I have four of them.

My question now is what am I supposed to do with all these Dragon Helms? I tried equipping Gorogorosama with two of them, but that didn’t fit right. I’ve still only got two heroes, and though I’m preparing to hire a third, that’s still one extra helmet, plus any more that drift ashore. Is it possible to sell or trade these things?

My next step is to settle in the Misty Marshes. However, I need 9 more Civiliation points, so I may not get there by next week. It is a nice feature of the game though, to always know what your next goal is. According to the guide, only 30% of players will be able to settle a village in the Marshes. Currently I’m ranked 59, so I should be able to find a nice spot. Even if I have to take it from someone.

Cheers,
Oliver

Tales of Aloriah, chapter 3

It’s been a solid week for my Aloriah empire. It started by spotting a Saphire Dragon off the coast of Moyle. His 2,500 damage may or may not have influenced my decision to leave him alone. The next day something else was floating in the water, and this I had to investigate. Since Gorogorosama and my latest hero, Boom-Shaka, were off exploring, I created a new army, “Hat Fetcher”, and braved the sea. I was successful and added a Dragon Helm to my collection. I like to imagine my carrier pigeon wearing this giant, bad-ass helmet as he flew to Athenry.

And now that I’ve just made myself a big target for all the Thieves out there wanting to get their hands on my Banzai Tree (hmm, that was almost sexy), you should be warned that I also have a Hidden Chest, which gives you 5% less chance to steal an item. So I guess you only have a 95% chance. Do you feel lucky?

Gorogorosama and Boom-Shaka have been wandering around the world earning me a few achievements. Let’s take a look:

So there’s Animal Slayer, which means I’ve won a few battles against the easiest monsters around. Collector of commons means I’ve found a lot of vendor trash lying around, and since I’m a “Good Player”, Evil Enchantments means I’ve accidentally stepped in a bunch of curses. It’s nice to be rewarded for incompetence. I am proud of Great Visionary, as it means I’ve controlled several lookout-towers at the same time.

Despite all these brilliant feats, I’m only ranked at 89. Must keep climbing that ladder. At this stage in the game though, I’m more interested in Civilization Size. Is there anyway to see your ranking according to that?

Anyway, as was suggested in the comments, I should have 1-2k Berserkers before heading to Dry Steppes. I’ve got enough resources and finally enough max population, so if I keep my barracks working non-stop over the weekend I shold be ready to seize the spirit of adventure. For Asgard!

Cheers
Oliver

Tales of Aloriah, part 2

Well, I listened:

Gorogorosama set sail across the sea to the Tropical Islands. I saw a site for a city just next to a lighthouse, a lighthouse currently controlled by Aernoud, and thought that seemed good a place as any, but wanted to control the lighthouse (to get a wider view of the area) before calling it home.

I checked in before heading to bed, and luckily so. I was almost to the lighthouse, but coming fast behind me was Aernoud’s fleet, with 3 times as many Berserkers! After our last encounter, I don’t know where he found all those troops so fast, but I sure wasn’t going to leave my hero just relaxing on the beach with a nice item in his pocket while Aernoud came for revenge. So, I cued up 8 hours of commands, just sailing around the ocean, hoping the enemy wouldn’t be able to catch me

Luckily in the morning everything was fine and Aernoud had gone further south. I’ve now founded my city, have a decent amount of Gold income, and am ready for the next step… though I’m not entirely sure what that will be. I guess amass 1,000 troops to head into the Dry Steppes.

A few notes about the game. One thing I don’t like is that it seems you can see how many troops everybody has, even in their cities, without any problems. I feel this takes a bit away from the strategy, if you always know who you’ll be fighting against. I haven’t raided anybody yet (I have a hard time playing the “bad guy”), but maybe I should start soon and see how that plays out.

Also, the wandering animals is a nice feature. There are bears or sharks or crabs that wander around the different climate zones. I had really hoped that the Animal Circle would allow you to train these. For example, in the Green Fields there are bears roaming around, and you can train Bear Riders. But in the Tropical Islands where you fight crabs and sharks, you still train Bear Riders. I don’t know why, but I really want to command an army of giant crabs.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who offered advise on my last post. I think I’ll be keeping Tales of Aloriah every Friday, so that Lord of Ultima can stay on Tuesday. I definitely appreciate any suggestions you have on how to kill that Mother Dragon!

Cheers,
Oliver

Tales of Aloriah, pt1

Well, it has begun. After the poll I started a game of Aloriah on the new Valhalla server.

I think it’s been a pretty good start. I was quick to upgrade my mines as high as they would go, then did the same for my most of my other structures. I commission a mighty hero, Gorogorosama, and sent him out into the world.

I have a nice little spot on the edge of the mainland. Feel free to visit sometime, but be warned: Aernoud has tried twice now to stir up some trouble; it did not go well for him.

A few days into the game and my village was aching for some silver. None of my buildings could be upgraded any further without it. My research was cranked to the max and I could see it coming, but there was one problem. Based on current estimations, I wouldn’t discover Silver until one hour after I was supposed to leave for what was to be a nice night in Ukraine. I thought it would be a shame for the silver to piling up in my village, unused because I would’t be able to issue commands.

But then, the fog of war parted, a there in the distance Gorogorosama saw a tall obelisk promising to grant the knowledge of the gods. Quickly he rode across the country side, with his legion of berserkers by his side, to study the monument. Sure enough, this accelerated my research and I was able to issue enough build commands to last the night.

Now, one week into the game, Gorogorosama is prepared to escort a settler to my new village. The only question is where? For those that don’t know, Aloriah is different from most OSG’s in that the end game is known right from the start and it’s merely up to the players to reach it. Eventually I’ll have to make my way inward to the center of the world to slay the Mother Dragon. So the question is, do I move inward now to the Dry Steppes, which will take me closer to my goal, by is further away and more dangerous. Or, do I sail outward to the Tropical Islands and lay a solid foundation to support my future journey inward? Let me know what you think.

Cheers,
Oliver