Maybe it’s from an Imperial detachment? (Feng actually rides a Palomino)

Bought the top hat pack today! The good Baron is loving his new hat! Will post a pic tomorrow since Khajiit is about to go to work... on what is normally his day off

Today's Crate-o-Rama:

Gold Coast XP Scroll

Trapping Poison- gems again

Lethal Poison- gems

Star-Brow Diadem- none of current characters will wear it, especially not Trey- doesn't like headgear AND it's too much like a tribute to Azura, at whom he is STILL annoyed....

Turns out I was right about the crates not changing based on the current season. At least the preview for the next reward says Flame Atronach crate.


Anyways, it's a little annoying that the purple cp150 Provisioning recipes are so rare they cost as much as a high-end motif. Granted, since there's only six of them, it's not as horribly expensive as buying a full motif, but it's more that the droprate is so low they're virtually nonexistent from writs. I've only ever gotten one to drop from writs since the Master Writs were introduced. Ugh. That said, I wonder what makes the Lusty Argonian Maid Mazte recipe much cheaper compared to the other 5.

Really? Seems strange that it wouldn’t be based on the current season. Oh well, guess it’ll be some free gems for Khajiit’s crew!

A couple of mine are getting close to the level 30 crate. Since I haven't had a lot of FA crates, I may level them up a bit and find out. There isn't one at level 40, or Laurie would know the answer already.

I'd suspect that "award a crate" is the same call in their code wherever it's used, and keeping two lists of content, card images, etc. active is more trouble than it's worth. So you may still "Fire Atronach" because they forgot to update the text, but it won't happen that way. The latest give-away shows the new stuff is in place.

Crate the Last-

Serpent Scale Body Marking- of zero use to any current character

Dragonbone Chain Face Marking- see above

Crown Repair Kit- useless- simpler to pay merchants for repairs

Crown Tri-Restoration Potion- eh... acceptable.

Had Lucius clear out Vvardenfell skyshards, delves and Public Dungeons to make it to level 26. It was brutal, but he did well considering he was wearing level 16 gear the entire time and isn't buffed by Champion Points. I made sure to outfit him with Training gear this time so he doesn't fall behind collecting Skyshards in vanilla zones again.

He's now settled in Greenshade, though Cliffshade is still somewhat sparsely decorated. Not too concerned with leveling him anymore now that I got the final storage box, so I guess things will slow down for a while.

While adventuring in Craglorn, Trey reached lvl 50 (and shortly thereafter Champion 10). Now to figure out the point distribution.... decisions, decisions.

Congrats!!

I'd noticed Trey hovering at 48 forever, and wonder what the hold-up was. When Unna did so recently, she was in Coldharbour taking on Molag Bal, so XP was coming in thick and fast. Perhaps faster than she'd have liked.

Now you 're there, expect to be surprised at the rate the CP come in, I was. And still am. She just passed 140, so the magic 160 is in sight! I gave up trying to keep her equipment current. It's like trying to buy a teenager clothes that will fit next week.

So how's a bitch start the Summerset intro quest without the Crown Store item?

I think you have to get the Crown Store item (it's free) and use it. It's in the store now.

Turns out you can just walk into the Vulkhel Guard Mages Guild hall and get the quest if you don't want to do it that way lol I always prefer to do it the non-automatic way.

I dunno why, but these intro quests always rub me the wrong way. Maybe it's that they're supposed to fill you in on what happened as well as tease future content. Sort of like the base game's main quests that make you ask stupid questions. :v

There is light at the end of the tunnel, sort of. Unna is in her CP150's, closing in on the CP160 milestone.

However, Laurie is struggling to grind up her crafting to catch up. The main issue is that Unna's now finding ruby mats that she can't use - and the relatively large stocks of void mats are mocking her, too. Unna's own crafting levels don't get her the mats Laurie needs either, as they're a tier or two lower. So she has to forage herself, and is climbing up in levels by doing so. At this rate, she'll come close to catching her play level up to her craft levels, and getting uniform mats.

On the bright side, Laurie did get her clothing up to tier 8, so Cat Man Dhou finally has a decent bed to sleep on. Wizwen doesn't, but apparently Wood Elves never do - it's just a hammock, or furs on the floor. As we don't have Breton or Dunmer on the team, those styles get used in the Inn rooms at Daggerfall, and Ebonheart. Spreads hasn't picked out a home yet, so nothing Argonian has been made. She has the Ebony Flask room to herself since Unna got Autumn's Gate, so there's no rush. Blossom has the Rosy Lion, and Taminwe the Mara's Kiss (although CMD stays there too, as Moonmirth is a long way from the nearest wayshrine and/or crafting).

And on that front, we have very few pieces of Nord style, so Unna's wondering where to farm for plans. It's unclear if there's any regional bias in the drops.

Since Unna is closing in on needing CP160 gear, just a warning: CP160 crafting requires about 10 times the mats that CP150 and below gear does. Like if it takes 15 ingots to make a CP150 item, the similar item at CP160 will require about 150 ingots. Roughly. That takes some adjusting/transition to build up the larger number of mats required for top level gear.

Supposedly, you're more likely to find Nord-styled plans in Nord areas, but only about half as much? I always ended up finding a lot of Dunmer stuff regardless of location, so I wonder if it's also based on your PC's race This is also mixed in with provisioning recipes and motifs so who knows how much of a difference it actually makes.

==

Anyways, now that the "hype" has settled down it really struck me that we're getting a new crafting line. I mean, I should probably wait until we get some details about how it works and how much like the other skills it is, but I feel like I need to mentally prepare myself to level the skill line on flipping everyone just so we can have access to the materials. Also I'm probably turning that planned character into the "official' jeweler outside the Crafting Monkey.

I gather that the results are "worth it", and once made, are going to be kept. Since the mats can be gathered anywhere these days, at least Unna will be able to find them in the early zones of each alliance. The real issue, I've read, is that improving the equipment will take materials to which she'll not have easy access. So she'll be waiting for gold for a long time.

I'm desperately hoping that "hide pants" will come as part of the Summerset changes, and she'll be able to wear some without the bear knowing. It's preventing her from getting 5+5 set benefits. And jewel crafting could also fix the same problem to some extent, if it makes 5+2+2 a decent alternative.

I’m hoping that “Hide Pants” will be one of the surprise base game improvements that come with Summerset, along with (I hope) increased furnishings capacity in player houses.

Elke is six skill points in to her bid to be the crew’s primary jeweler. Jerric is sitting on plenty of points, but even with his wild optimism can’t see himself engraving rings and setting gems. He and Pog will be her trait study buddies, though, and Pog will be the second to level the skill line in case there are new furnishing plans that need it. Fingers crossed that deconstructing plays a significant role. It’s much more fun to get loot drops than to race for resource nodes.

She’s going straight for the shards, picking up no quests and battling no bosses on the way. Jerric is questing in Vvardenfell in between Elke shard runs. The latest adventure took him to a volcanic glass mine. He walked through most of it in wide-eyed wonder. It really is a beautiful world.

Wow, I do NOT miss having to do horse training every day. I got a little break after Fjotreid FINALLY finish his mount training and now I got Lucius to worry about. Never mind that I got him researching stuff too

Anyways, got a Woodworking writ calling for Potent Nirncrux that gave less than 100 vouchers. That sold unusually quickly given how awful it was. (I sold it for like...27k gold?) Jo'zira got some really good ones recently, though. Another one asking for Nirnhoned, but giving like 120 vouchers or so in exchange and another gave about 70. Usually he gets garbage ones, and now he got 2 good ones in a row :U

...not like I have much to spend these on. Maybe I'll get those Morrowind plans given that they rarely drop and they're expensive as hell. Where do I get green ones, tho?

EDIT: Oh god, I forgot you gotta finish the Morrowind main quest to get those damn things. Fjotreid has some shopping to do. Also there's the outfit station but I wonder if I care enough about aesthetic to get it.

Both Unna and Laurie spent some time farming the deserted Montclair Manor in Shornhelm, as they're the two that have cleared the place. Got a lot of Breton plans, mostly duplicates. Nothing Nord at all, one or two Argonian, and one Dark Elf.

Two that we did want - Redguard curtains, and a second copy of the Redguard dining chair (now Laurie can make it, instead of just Blossom).

We also got a lot of recipes, probably because Laurie's hit 50 in Provisioning. She still needs a few skyshards to use on Chef and Brewer levels, but she's maxed out Recipe Quality and Improvement getting there.

Started a new character today, a Dunmer warden by the name of Ysayle Sivan. I had originally intended to have her be a mage, but then she told me that she was a warrior and started hitting things with a sword. I'm sure she and Cirinwe will be the best of friends.

Ysayle Sivan

Noice!!

Welcome to Ysayle! Nice to see you playing!

She does have that non-comformist thing going already.

So will you be turning on level advisor and doing the opposite of anything it suggests?

And what's she wearing? It looks like one of your other characters made it, as it all matches!

Is this a big picture of you wanting to jump out the window after losing your bound items in the chest glitch?





HAZMICK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!













You know, the only time I've looked at their "advice," it was exactly opposite of what I would have picked; so I did nothing and decided to wait till I heard from someone with a little more knowledge about character building than either me or Zos.

Almost certainly.

I used the outfit station to give her the appearance of a full set of heavy Ebonheart Pact gear. All the gold Haa-Rei spent on motifs is finally paying off.

With Jerric's help, Unna has been able to raise her game.

Before

After

Well she's not sleeping on the floor, that's a plus .

This made Khajiit really sad, lol

I should point out that she has a perfectly good bed in the corner, but she may be part Khajiit, as she prefers to lie in front of the fire.

Well, I call it perfectly good, but it is Imperial style, the one Taminwe got from reaching level 18. The Nord plans are dropping like hen's teeth, except when it can give me a duplicate to be double-annoying.

I am making them all go find their furnishing plans themselves, instead of shopping/begging/stealing, so they go exploring and see the world. Otherwise, it would be the required quests only, 'cos they're a lazy bunch.

The feeling I'm going for is more of an exasperated resignation. I've mostly forgotten about it now. lol

Also, hey! It's Hazmick. And a new Bug. Wasn't Ebonheart kinda expensive?

Anyway, I was gonna take Lucius out for a Skyshard hunt in Wrothgar but i'm probably holding that off till tomorrow when the event's EXP bonus kicks in. With Summerset preordered at a 25% discount (at the same place I got Morrowind lol) I should consider saving some points for Jewelry-making. I hope the chapter comes with a reduced price for Skill resets for a while.

Uggh, Khajiit wonders if all our new characters will start off in Summerset now

My guess is yes.

Anyways, the Glenumbra Jester's Festival quest is as awful as ever, and Jo'zira got 3 boxes in a row, AMA

Yeah Khajiit was surprised when Feng got “Lord of Misrule” after only doing each of the zones quests. Thought there’d be more to it than that. Can you actually get anything worth while in the boxes?

I meant to say I got the new coffers (not boxes) they're offering this time--the furnishings. He got one to drop with each box lol

But anyways, there's leveled recipes that drop from boxes, one of them being THE most sought after for...Stamina builds? All I know is people are always seeking out the Camoran Throne recipe. There's also a new furnishing plan that drops.

That aside, you get the Jester title if you complete all the achievements. Weird that you get TWO titles, tbh.

hazmick, Ysalye looks fantastic and formidable! It was great to see that you were playing.

ghastley, lol! Glad she’s off the floor at least, and has a nice fire.

Pog got the things that Jerric wanted from the jester boxes. Jerric got three more cherry blossom rune boxes.

Oh so there is another title. Feng got on of those little coffers too but not really sure what we are going to do with it.

Well apparently we were lucky because the Dubious Camoran Throne recipe dropped for us. We also have the Jewels of Misrule one, and the plan for the canopy. Not sure I'd want the Jester's Coffer.

So is there any point in doing any more? And can anyone explain the pie - is that a one-use deal for the whole account, or once per day, or once per character? The fact that it's a collectible is the confusing part. It's supposed to remain collected after use anyway.

In unrelated news: Laurie has now got the sixth trait undergoing research in enough items for a set of medium. So in a few days, she can have a better suit. Unna will have to wait, because one of those is pants. Laurie has a piece to research for her, too, but can't start it until tomorrow.

The pie is good for as many uses as you need during the time of the festival. After the festival is over, it will no longer give the xp boost. It’s like the raven whistle you get for the Witch’s Festival or Breda’s mug you get for the New Life Festival.

But if the same character can simply use it again, what's the point of the two-hour timer? Except that a two-hour timer is a standard food thing, I suppose.

Anyhow, forgot to mention the Princess recipe, since you can't avoid getting that. It looks like I might keep doing it for the Jester's coins to complete the set, and get another achievement logged. The rest of them for the Jester title seem trivial, too, and you never know when I might want those trees.

The pie. It is account wide. Using it gives you 2 hours of +100% XP - but only when the Festival is active each year. If you use it when the Festival is not active then you simply eat a tasty piece of pie. It is quite similar to the New Life Festival mug and the Witches Fest cauldron - gives the XP boost only when the relevant festival is active.

That’s actually a good question, Khajiit is guessing the timer just brings it in line with other food stuffs.

Don't forget the cake! That's an exp-booster too! (When's the Anniversary event again??)

At the very least, you can get an extra 2 hours of bonus EXP when the event ends as far as the timer is concerned.

It's supposed to be the first week of April. Maybe Zenimax forgot this year?

Considering they pushed back the Jester's Festival AND it's shorter than last year, I wound't be surprised if they, uh, surprise us with it either this week or the next.

Which reminds me...IT'S ALMOST THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

C R A F T I N G H E L L

'Course that's assuming they're giving away a bunch of motifs this year, too. We're supposed to get a new one from the boxes, so that's probably unlikely.

Anyways, I've been forcing Lucius to run through the DLC Public Dungeons and tbh? It's going surprisingly well. He can't kill the regular bosses, but he can easily solo the Group Challenges for the Skill Point. At least, he's done it so far.

I know it's not quite over yet, but I'm done with the Jesters' Festival. It has been quite a productive weekend, taking full advantage of the pie.

Laurie has made it to Champion, so we now have two ruby harvesters. She still can't quite make anything with it, but that takes inspiration, not experience, so the grind continues at its steady pace. She has six traits researched in a lot of things, and again, the pie doesn't help. She got to Master in provisioning by spamming recipes, but needs to do more real work for the others, where she's mired in the 40's.

Unna finished Cadwell's Silver, still wearing low-level gear (without pants), and is eagerly awaiting Laurie's advancement. She's feeding her deconstruction pieces, when she gets them.

The rest of the crew worked the festival, collecting recipes, mementoes, titles etc. We have a couple of Ladies of Misrule, all the provisioning recipes, the confetti coffer, we can make a pavilion once we have a home with grounds large enough to contain it. Remarkably, we only have one banner!

Congrats to Laurie and Unna!

Abiene made it into the Champion ranks, much to her relief. Now she can quit watching numbers and just be Abiene.

Jerric picked up a second coffer (the furnishing) from a guy in zone chat who was desperate to be rid of the thing. He may have only gotten two or three of the flags, which he uses, and of course a whole bunch of the cherry rune boxes but only one of the new one. This year the crew only did a few of the quest runs, so that it didn’t become a chore.

Everyone hitting the milestones. :v Lucius reached 36 thanks to the event and the Clockwork City. New tier of materials for writs!

I made sure to get one last try at the Festival earlier today and somehow got everything I was missing. (The new memento and some recipes, with the furnishing plan acquired yesterday--better than spending thousands of gold on the tents from a while back)

But that aside

I AM READY

THEY'RE ALL READY

I've actually calculated exactly how many materials I'll need for the coming weeks (five max tier, two minimum tier, one each in the second and fourth tier), and I'm currently in the process of getting everything sorted out. I don't want a repeat of last year where I had a mental breakdown. With everything organized, the next 13 days of crafting writs should go smoothly. Dunno how I'm gonna scrounge up 2k units of Rubedite and Ruby Ash, though