On The Eve Of GU53

Rumor has it that SOE is going to deploy EverQuest 2's Game Update 53 on September 22. Once that happens I can stop the holding pattern I've been in and start adventuring again. Yes, because GU 53 will introduce an achievement system, I have pretty much stopped adventuring on my own to avoid hitting 200 AA points. The problem with being so close to 200 points (I'm now up to 197) is that once a character hits 200 points, some achievements I would get credit for, like killing named mobs, stop being recorded. I really don't want to have to go back and kill things a second time just for the achievement. Not solo adventuring allows me to go out with guild groups with no fear of reaching 200 points.

So does that mean I have nothing to do in EQ2 this weekend? Of course not! My carpenter is now up to level 77 and I plan to get to 80 this weekend. And my armorsmith needs to start the tradeskill epic quest line. My sage has reached the Proof of the Pudding quest and if I can get the other two toons to that point, I'll be able to make all of the items for all three characters. I've got all the rares now except two ebon clusters.

Does this mean I won't do any adventuring this weekend? Not at all. The monthly Moonlight Enchantments live quest will be on the servers from 2am Pacific time Sunday to 2am Pacific time Monday. (That's the scheduled end of server maintenance Sunday to the end of scheduled server maintenance Monday for those of you who fly internet spaceships.) I'm thinking about running all eight of my crafting toons through the instances to get them some AA. Yes, guild tacticians are a wonderful thing.

Sounds like a full schedule. And I still need to run missions in Eve for some isk. I need to buy the Focus and Clarity skill books. According to EVEMon, I can shave 8 days off my training schedule if I improve my learning skills. Focus and Clarity are the last two I need to train up. If I run a couple more missions for local agents plus continue doing the newbie epic mission arc, I should have enough is to buy the books and have a comfortable reserve against unexpected losses.