New Plot: The Faeries' Ruin

[Fjorab_Teke]

I'd gotten all the achievements pretty close after their release. Now i'm just helping the long arduous slog through beating down Oblivion. It makes me wonder how many people are still actively trying to do that, since it's going MUCH slower than it seemed to be last time. I know there are people avoiding it to retain their good battle records.

I'll go in and make sure i have something in my BD set that does the left-hand symbol of damage but not the right-hand symbol. If not, i just go back to Status before any damage is dealt. Sometimes if my Ghostkerbomb is the one item that does it (fire or earth), i'll hit with berserk and leave. If it's my SOSs (dark), then i'll generally stay and fight until he bludgeons Soaraxian out. I haven't seen it list physical yet. I'm hoping that leaving after a damage round doesn't nullify attacks though. It's a bit discouraging when the only way i have to full-heal is buying up healing potion type stuff, which gets expensive after a while. I haven't saved up (or gotten lucky) enough for a good in-fight healer.

[Kantark]

Oblivion has been defeated (not by me, I hasten to add :-P Tyrap, the pet I was using to get the achievements, caused a mighty 12HP damage to Oblivion, but was taking over 1000HP in reply)

New plot chapter is up In which Xandra is quite insistent that Hanso does what Neopets,we are told, cannot do. I love Xandra's pose in the last frame.

[Alicorn]

Oooo interesting twist. Though I did sorta see something like this happening. I also love Xandra's pose in the last frame. And Hanso's face looks a bit weird in the last panel.

[Tom]

To me, the plot has become ridiculously drawn out. How it took 11 days to publish an update with... no new steps is beyond me. And pretty boring.

[Kantark]

Yep, they seem to be doing on average about one comic a week, not always with a plot step attached. Personally this suits me fine - this is a busy time of year so I really shouldn't be spending hours and hours doing plot steps. And if it means they're spending more time on the story and artwork (which has been pretty spiffy all round) then it's definitely working :-)

But if everything happens quickly then there will always be people who were away for a weekend, or week, or whatever, and have missed chunks of plot. TNT just can't please everyone all the time. I am glad they didn't release any short-lived plot steps while I was away for 5 days a couple of weeks back, I was worried I'd come back and find I'd missed stuff.

[Tom]

To be fair, I give them kudos for the plot and art - the quality of both has been notches above recent plots - though you'd expect them to have sorted these weeks before they're published. But if I were as into Neopets as I was in my heyday, I'd just be frustrated to be honest - waiting 11 days for nothing to happen... I suppose now I'm not, I can feebly attempt a plot step or two once in a while.

[EofS]

I don't find it particularly surprising for them to not have the whole thing wrapped up before starting. Working to get yourself far enough ahead to be able to do that is very demanding. But also, as I think they said in an editorial recently, this way they can react to player's reactions to it as they go.

[Gumdrops]

I'm beyond sick of this plot and just want it to end. I was initially so happy to have a Faerieland focused plot, but it's just been drug out to the point where I want it to be done and over with.

[Fjorab_Teke]

Yeah, there have been parts that drag on and on (mostly the sheer downtime), and there were other parts where if you didn't get on during a notoriously busy stretch of a few days AND completed it, you could well have been left behind. I do wish they'd left us a little something to do for this part, unless they have and nobody's discovered it yet.

[Kantark]

New chapter, check it: http://www.neopets.com/faerieland/tfr/c ... chapter=17 Won't say too much about the content yet. Read the comic before you read New Features.

Possibly the laggiest comic instalment ever, it took me literally half an hour to read (move mouse to next frame, wait >30sec for frame to be highlighted & text to appear, repeat). Is this my computer having a brain-fart, or are others having this problem too?

[TCStarwind]

No, I had that problem, too. And I also thought it was my computer. But, man, they drew Jazan all derpy looking.

[Madge]

I'm just annoyed that

Spoiler: open/close

Brynn and Hanso end up together because they're so in love, or something. I mean, honestly, who didn't see that coming (okay, I didn't see that coming until I realised Brynn was a girl - and imagine my mindfuck if I still was thinking she was a boy - but still).

It was just, blech. By far the most formulaic part of the plot. Sure, Hanso was cute, but Brynn was way too skinny and didn't seem nearly badass enough to be a soldier half the time.

Also, kind of sad they left Xandra as stone. She was awesome, I wish they could have found a way to redeem her somehow, but I guess that would have been too after school special so it was probably for the best.

I do think it's interesting that Faerieland is on the ground now - I wonder if it will ever float back to the top?

Anyway, we still have time to get all the achievements. Mine are done except for some caps on the final opponents, and I don't think I can work on them now can I?

[Cranberry]

Possibly the laggiest comic instalment ever, it took me literally half an hour to read (move mouse to next frame, wait >30sec for frame to be highlighted & text to appear, repeat). Is this my computer having a brain-fart, or are others having this problem too?

Mine was doing the same thing, and it's a one-year-old gaming computer that usually loads everything super-fast, so I was worried something was wrong! Glad to hear it's TNT. Old Faerieland used to lag my computer in the same way (sometimes Firefox would even freeze up for a few seconds). What are they doing to make these pages so laggy, anyway?

Last chapter was predictable, but I'm okay with that. I'm glad the thing's over. I want to be able to play the Faerie Bubbles World Challenge again. I can't wait for the prize shop and trophies. And I really like the new Faerieland map.

[Kamil]

I have to say that the new Faerieland maps rock like a whole room full of rocking things. I'm especially fond of the new Healing Springs and Rainbow Pool. The areas with running water are just gorgeous. I almost hope they leave it wrecked now, or keep all of the greenery, when they -ahem- are high again. =D

Also? *snerk*

I'm glad it's over, and I'm equally glad they gave us sufficient time to finish the more time intensive tasks. Now open the prize shop, dammit! =D I have all of the caps and achievements bar one; I never managed containment well enough to get jack of all trades. Even so, and damn, but missing that one area niggles at the part of me that hates to leave anything unfinished. Even so, I'm quite pleased with the plot itself, and with the amount of effort and time I was able to put in.

Hopefully I'll be equally pleased with my prize choices. ^^

[Kantark]

I have to say that the new Faerieland maps rock like a whole room full of rocking things. I'm especially fond of the new Healing Springs and Rainbow Pool. The areas with running water are just gorgeous. I almost hope they leave it wrecked now, or keep all of the greenery, when they -ahem- are high again. =D

Also? *snerk*

Priceless!

I wish I had that much fun at work :-P

And...it would make sense for the maps to revert to their previous fluffy state when Faerieland is refloated. Maybe that will happen after the Epilogue, though it seems a lot of effort to go to to remake the maps just for a week or two. I think I'd prefer them this way, or at least some sort of hybrid.