Moo.

Long ago I posted about my new favorite mob, the Fiery Grims of the Flaming Deeps. Well, they have been superseded. Meet my new favorite mob – the Dun Ox.

Why am I so fond of this big guy? For one reason only: The highly amusing animation that occurs when Linett stuns him with a Light of the Rising Dawn. Usually the mob will just kind of stand there, with shoulders slumped if they’re a bipedal type, or in a crouch if they’re of the four-footed variety. Not this one. The Dun Ox performs a rolling-side-to-side maneuver that makes him look a bit, well, drunk, and cracks me up every time.

I tried to get pictures of the Dun Drunk Ox but this is the best I could do. Someone needs to shoot a video of it. Maybe I’ll figure out how…

Linett, Chicken-Friend

If only the game granted titles for the brave players who set out to escort little chickens on their travels across Middle-earth, Linett would now have the title of Chicken-Friend, or something of the sort. Last weekend (my, it takes me forever to write things up during the school year…) she was adventuring out in Enedwaith (more on that momentarily) when kin chat (did I mention Linett joined a kin? At Falathlorn Day a couple of weeks ago, she became a member of the Tinnu uin Galadhrim after visiting Tuiliel’s house with them and then having them over to Linett’s place as well) revealed that our young Jenikki was currently engaged in the series of Chicken play quests at Sandson’s Farm. Upon learning this, it was decided that our feathered friend could do with a skilled escort to see her safely to her next destination. So it was that Jeorl, Tuiliel, and Linett converged upon Evendim, where we found the brave little bird making her way toward Tinnudir.

Not only is Jenikki a quick little chick, she swims amazingly well no matter how waterlogged her feathers may be!

Ding!

I’m very lazy sometimes about leveling Linett. Though she’s my main character, she’s been ambling along through level 64 for quite a while now, while I’ve been rotating through the alts and otherwise amusing myself by putting off her final “ding”. Maybe it’s Peter Pan syndrome and I just don’t want her to grow up? Anyway, Volume 3 Book 1 threw so many Orcs and Angmarim and such in her path (not forgetting the huge chunks of XP for quest completion after recruiting each Ranger…) that she finally made it to 65 tonight, just as she finished slaying the last two Angmarim between her and Halbarad in Tham Umdur.

See the quest rings? Halbarad’s literally right around the corner waiting for her to turn the quest in. Neat timing, if you ask me, that she managed to level with the last two mobs in the cave!

Silver Lining Screenshots

Something’s slow tonight, whether it’s the servers or my own Internet connection, so as Linett made her way through the tunnels of Laenan for the first task of Volume 3, dispatching the Orc raiders there went kind of haltingly with long pauses sometimes in between attacks. Frustrating – until I realized that Linett and her foes were poised there – I mean – POSED there, just waiting for the photographer to get the shots she wanted. I couldn’t continue the fight while waiting for the lag to pass, but there was a silver lining to the time spent waiting. Time enough to rotate the camera view around to see something other than Linett’s new cloak, and get in position to fire off one of her flashier skills just in time to get a screenshot of it. Here are some results…

Elrond’s IMAX; and Linett, Inspired

As I mentioned in the last post, I was delighted with the part of the Volume 3 prologue, in Elrond’s Library, when he briefs you on all the Rangers you need to find. Because seriously, when did the Last Homely House invest in holographic technology?