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A GUIDE TO EIKTHYR

Goodmorrow Vikings, let’s chat about Eikthyr, the first of Valheim’s many bosses. Eikthyr is the Meadow Forsaken, Valheim’s term for bosses, an abnormally large stag with an affinity for lightning. He does three very animated attacks. 

The first is a melee attack that only happens when in close range of him. For this attack he will bow his head and try to ram you with his antlers. Block with a tower shield or dodge away from this. There will be times where he will charge you with this attack, so be wary.

For the last two attacks the animations can be similar and both deal 15 damage with his lightning affinity. One is an AoE attack that creates a large bubble around Eikthyr. The other is a lightning bolt shot from the Deer’s antlers. In both Eikthyr will charge up on his hind legs and slam his hooves back into the ground for the attack. The difference is that for the long range lightning attack he will first run away beforehand. 

The best way to beat Eikthyr is to simply kite him around while shooting him from afar with arrows. Cutting down a trees in the area so that Eikthyr has to run around them to get to you is a great way to help with this. Prepare two bows and lots of arrows for the fight. You can also build a tower structure to break the AI, however I don’t think that’s needed because he’s a generally basic encounter. 

PREP

That is the Eikthyr fight at its base so let’s now talk about how to prepare for the fight. Eikthyr’s summoning circle can be found by interacting with the vegvisir at the sacrificial circle where we are dropped in. Hugin the crow will make sure you interact with it by appearing above it. The vegvisir will show you the closest spawning location for the forsaken, remember that for later bosses. 

To summon him at this place you’ll need two deer trophies dropped from hunted deer. This can probably be the trickiest part of preparations since deer will run away if you get too close and your stamina at low levels isn’t high enough to chase them. To kill them you’ll need to make a crude bow with 10 wood and 8 leather. Wood can be found easily by chopping down trees and the leather is acquired by killing boars. Boar are much easier to kill than deer, use the axe you made to cut down trees to farm them.

GEAR & FOOD

Eikthyr is best fought with a bow, however he can be fought with any of the weapons that you have at your disposal. If you do fight him with a bow, consider setting up a workbench nearby with a roof so you can mend your bow or make two so that you aren’t left without a weapon. For melee enjoyers I recommend you prepare a tower shield so that you can block his attacks. It will slow you how but the added protection can be worth it. 

For gear, rags will work just fine for the fight. Make yourself pants with hide dropped from boars. Personally, I prefer this method because deerskin Leather armor doesn’t offer you much more protection versus the rags and the costs can be pricey. Since you upgrade from meadow gear quickly after you’ve unlocked resources in the black forest it’s better to save the materials for gear that will last longer and be more protection. 

Food can vary. The best in slot food will be Cooked Deer Meat, Cooked Boar meat, and honey. 

Honey can be dropped from beehives and farmed using a bee to build your own at your base. They are found in abandoned houses throughout the meadows. The best way to get them is to shoot them down with an arrow, however if you find one before you’ve made a bow you can simply put down a workbench and break the structure that’s holding it up. Honey is a resource that is useful throughout the game, so start a farm early and prosper! If you aren’t able to find a beehive you can substitute honey with raspberries. 

The final thing that you’ll need before the fight is the rested buff. This is the most OP buff in the game that increases as you progress through the game. Get into the habit of making sure you have the rested bonus so you always have that +50% health and stamina regen along with the +50% xp gain. During fights this can be a life or death difference. 

FOR ON SCREEN:

Here is a complete list of the things you’ll want to have prepared before the fight: 

Weapon (depending on how you want to fight the boss, I’d recommend making sure you have a tower shield if you want to go for a melee weapon.)

Gear (I generally don’t make more than the base rags from leather scraps to save deer hide for later crafting but it depends on how you feel) 

Food 

Cooked Deer Meat (Gives you 35 health, 12 stamina) 

Cooked Boar Meat (30 health, 10 stamina)

And honey (8 health, 35 stamina) 

If you weren’t able to locate a beehive then raspberries would be the next best thing with 7 health and 20 stamina. 

Rested buff (this is important! You only need a few minutes of a rested buff so make sure you get it)

With all your preparations done you’re ready to take on Eikthyr and get the sweet rewards of victory. Make sure you hang his head as a sacrifice to odin and craft up your new antler pickaxe before you head into the black forest to continue your journey to valhalla. 

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Giving this things a try if any #guildwars2 players want a friend to do things with🥺

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GAME REVIEW: LOST EMBER

SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF LOST EMBER!

I grabbed Lost Ember after it was recommended by a friend and devoured the game in a mere 3 hours. A lower time slot than sites like HowLongToBeat clock the game in as. If that doesn’t tell you what I think of the game, then let's elaborate a bit more.

Lost Ember is a third person narrative game that follows two companions as they discover the history of a fallen world. The game is linear. Meaning that exploration outside of the main storyline is very limited which is a bit of a shame for those looking to really explore the wilderness. However, despite this the world still seems full as you bounce from one memory to another. It embraces many viewpoints through the eyes of a wolf with the ability to inhabit other animals and a Yanren spirit who hopes to find his way to the City of Light. With these two, we discover the story of Kalani and follow her through her memories of the Yanren Society before its fall. With beautiful graphics and a soundtrack that fits the tone, it was overall a very positive experience for me.

As someone with limited time, I found this game to be just the right fit for my days off. I personally didn’t invest time into finding all of the different relics and inhabiting all of the animals. Simply enjoying the story was enough for me to feel that the game was a positive experience. If you are someone who likes to spend hours completing a game to 100% or exploring every nook and cranny; this game may come off as short with not enough to do. Those that want something with more challenge in the form of puzzles, combat, or anything else will also find this game lacking. Since these are things that the game does not have.

Overall, I would recommend this to someone who needs something simple that doesn’t take up a lot of your time IF you do not mind a bittersweet story that will likely make you tear up by the end.

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GAME REVIEW: SAY NO! MORE

SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF SAY NO! MORE

Since I am new to gaming I haven’t experienced a lot of the games that others have. Due to this I have friends who would always recommend things for me to play and I would ultimately say sure, I’ll add it to the list. Until my list eventually began to become rather overwhelming. By overwhelming I mean I currently have over 100 games that are either in my steam library or have been recommended by others. When I started streaming a friend of mine brought up Say No! More to me as a joke. He said that I should learn to Say No! More and eventually redeemed it as a channel point reward on my stream. Overall I was looking forward to the playthrough though, even if the title was lesser known with under 1k reviews on steam and it being rather out there in terms of content. The reviews still average out as Very Positive plus I was looking forward to a short playthrough of something rather comical.

Would I recommend this game to people though?

Well, to be honest, with Say No! More it really depends. This game was purely for jokes and the humor, graphics, and style of the game are all rather niche. While I enjoyed the playthrough on stream, a personal friend of mine picked it up soon after and didn’t enjoy the game at all. The game may not be as entertaining to some and personally I’d never play alone. Meaning I’d recommend this for someone to play through with their friends or on stream with others if they don’t mind the dumb humor. The game overall has a very silly story with not much in terms of control or gameplay, it's simply something that you go through for the laughs and probably won’t play through again.

Overall, I wouldn’t pick it up for its normal price of 15$ USD on steam. Picking the game up on sale and spending a few hours enjoying it with friends is worth a shot though. You may enjoy it for the 2-3 hours you play it, or you may dislike it and return it pretty quickly.

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FFXIV Update

CURRENT JOBS

Recently (by recently I mean within the last year) I have taken up my journey in the online game FFXIV once again. My relationship with the game was always quite touch and go. I'd played it several times in the past but it never really stuck for longer than a few months.

The first time I picked up the game was back when the free trial was capped at level 35 or something similar and I BELIEVE there was a max of a couple of weeks, don't quote me on that. Let's be honest though, only allowing 35 levels for a trial doesn't exactly put your best foot forward as a game so I never really had interest to pick it back up once I put it down. Even if my friends HOUNDED me saying I'd love it, saying I was such a big story fan so I had to play, etc. etc. etc.

I had to make a fully new account because you can't repeat the free trail when I eventually caved and tried the game for a second time for Endwalker release. I didn't make it to endwalker, i made it through Heavensward but again ended up dropping the game because (to be frank) my attention was still invested in Guild Wars 2 (my first mmo) so I simply didn't want to pay the sub fee while juggling two mmorpgs.

Eventually in the summer of 2023 I did pick up the game again. I decided I wouldn't rush it. I would take my time and get through everything that I wanted to no matter the sub fee. The new expansion Dawntrail is releasing in the summer of 2024 so I obviously had a loose goal to get story done by then but that's highly unliked. Especially because I'm recording MSQ and jobs and doing content so it's taking me quite a while to get through the expansions. I mean, I'm not even done with post arr and its now officially 2024.

I'm enjoying myself though. Playing when I feel like it. Playing WHAT I feel like playing. Not feeling pressured to catch up or do x or x. I'm just, vibing. Which is nice and exactly what I needed after putting so much effort into playing Guild Wars 2 (as an example I've played the game since 2020 and have most of the endgame gear - that takes a LONG time to do - and have accomplished quite a bit in the game in terms of content, achievements, etc).

As of today, January 11th 2024 I have completed MOST of the ARR job / class stories. I still need to complete thaumaturge (something that I'm not really enjoying leveling because of the obvious class style hiccups) and arcanist. As well as the tanks, though I'm putting off tanks because I'm actually quite nervous about tanking. I've never done it before in any game.

I'm in patch 2.3 of Post ARR as well. I've completed the Crystal Tower arc too.

Mind you, I HAVE played through all this content before. However its much different because I'm not rushing through it this time and I'm doing things the way I want, when I want. It's enjoyable.

I plan on doing a BIG ffxiv arr review once I've wrapped up the rest of the content for arr (jobs and msq that is) but in the meantime here's a couple of my favorite things.

Favorite Class/Job to Play: BARD

Favorite Class/Job Story so far: ROGUE

Favorite Encounter/Dungeon: THE PORTA DECUMANA (Such Devastation!)

Favorite Story Arc: THE CRYSTAL TOWER

Anywho. There is my little FFXIV update. My to-do list before I post a review is:

finish post arr

finish job stories

do the manderville quests for arr (Hildebrand quests)

Coils of Bahamut Stuff

Have all the ARR dungeons unlocked

if you have any other ideas of stuff I should do before moving onto HW please let me know!

If you'd like to follow the Let's Play you can check out my let's play youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/@QuietlyPLAYS

If you'd like to check out my more structured and scripted content like FFXIV class/job story summaries you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@QuietlyCreating

And of course if you'd like to see anything else I may be up to you can check it out on my linktree: https://linktr.ee/QuietlyCreating

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GAME REVIEW: NI NO KUNI - WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH

SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch had been on my to play list for some time before I finally pulled the trigger and clicked play. I had originally picked it up due to being a very big fan of Studio Ghibli, though overall I was a bit hesitant going into the game because - Studio Ghibli being what it is- my expectations were naturally pretty high in terms of the story that I expected. With a bit over 2.5k steam reviews putting the game at “Very Positive”, I knew that there was a high chance I’d enjoy the game but wasn’t very sure if the story would leave the same overall impact that most of the Studio Ghibli movies I love had left on me throughout my childhood and adult life.

Diving into the game I ended up clocking around 65 total hours in the game between streaming the story and doing errands or bounties privately in my free time. Which is a pretty high timeframe compared to the average on How Long To Beat, which says that the story is about 44 hours with another 13 or so added on for side quests. Coming from a background of MMOs this doesn’t seem like much however, playing it bits at a time Live on stream did stretch my playthrough longer than I had expected.

Since this review is meant to be spoiler free, I can’t go into my full thoughts on the story here. However, I will say that the story was adorable with a few twists I didn’t quite see coming and characters that all have their own personalities and motivations. I can’t say that the overall story had the same impact as some of my favorite Ghibli movies, but it was enough to see the Ghibli influence in terms of a story that has some darker themes with a bittersweet ending that leaves you feeling fulfilled. Not to mention some of the absolutely beautiful cutscenes done in the Ghibli style art - I’m talking about you Hamelin. Following Oliver and Crew on their journey to save Ouer World was a very wonderful experience for me overall.

Those who enjoy a hero-overcomes-all story that doesn’t mind themes of depression, heartbreak, and loss would like this game. Though I will warn folks getting into it that the combat style does have a slow ramp up. It feels very awkward at the start until you get a boss or two in and the combat takes off with the ability to tame or capture different familiars. Kind of like pokemon, where specific familiar types boost well with certain handlers. From there the boss fights become more and more creative as the difficulty increases. Don’t worry though, the game features two modes. A normal mode and one meant for those simply looking to experience the story. As a side note, several of my friends and viewers commented that the overall style of the combat wasn’t quite something they were interested in when looking at games, though they enjoyed watching me play through it. So keep that in mind if you’re looking to pick it up.

Overall, would I recommend this game though?

Yes, I would for the story alone because of the journey it takes you through. With the beautiful world, gorgeous music, and dazzling boss fights added in its a truly loveable game. If you do decide to pick it up, please leave your thoughts and comments below.

[quietlycreative]

FFXIV: ARCHER STORY SUMMARY

“Trust in your eyes. They will never lead you astray.” 

Our Story as an archer begins when we speak to the receptionist Athelyna in the city of Gridania. Whether we are new or experienced Adventurers, it is her job to educate us on the teachings of the Guild to ensure that prospective members are ready for the tasks ahead. 

It is here we get our first glimpse into the life and teachings of those in the Archers Guild. Archery taught in Gridania, Athelyna tells us, was born from two distinct styles of bowmanship. The first being from that of the longbow Elezen who ruled the lowlands and the second the Miqo’te who were skilled nomadic hunters that favored the shortbow. Though the two people were rivals, they gradually learned to live together and refine the teachings that are practiced in the archers Guild to this day.

The words of Athelyna not only give us an idea of the theme but also foreshadow the overall story that awaits us in the hall when we are instructed to head inside and talk to Luciane. The Guild’s Master. 

Our first meeting with Luciane has the Guildmaster giving us a further taste of what it is to be an archer. While the bow may not be as destructive as other weapons, it makes up for it by offering flexibility and many strategic applications. Since the archer’s role in battle is to exploit the enemy’s weakness, archers must be masters of placement and timing so that a single arrow may turn the tides of battle. This ability requires an archer to be able to SEE these things. 

“Any half-wit can bend the bow, but it is no simple undertaking to become a skilled archer,” Luciane tells us. 

In order to gauge our aptitude for archery, Luciane sends you out on a mission to slay some pests beyond the city limits and asks us to return when it is complete. Having been sent out to better ourselves as archers and being welcomed into the guild, we return to Luciane to continue our journey. It is now that our Guildmaster feels it is time to instruct us on our Sight. Something critical for all those who wish to master the bow.

“To See clearly is not merely to look. It is to observe with intent. Fail to do this, and no amount of talent with a bow will avail you,” She instructs us. 

It is now that our true training begins and the introduction of our two mentors within the guild takes place. After having been sent out on a handful of tasks including finding targets around Gridania and slaying some more beasties, we return to Luciane. The Guildmaster asked the opinions of other members of the Guild, a miqo’te named Leih and an Elezen named Silvairre. 

Just like in the story that Athelyna told us in the start of the journey, our Miqo’te and Elezen mentors do not get along. In fact, Silvairre doesn’t seem to get along with anyone as he automatically dismisses not just us but also Leih as being a taint on the Guild’s name. Silvairre, they explain, was once of the Gods’ Quiver, an elite group of archers in Gridania. While he is no longer part of the Quiver, he tends to be rather opinionated when it comes to archery. 

Luciane says that she knows some people are brash about their dislike of outsiders, as Silvairre is. However, she bids that we keep in mind that everyone may look at the same object and still see different things. There is no right or wrong to it, it is only a matter of that person's perspective. Luciane wishes to help teach us to look from another perspective as well. To do this she sends us to Leih and Silvairre for instructions. 

First we are sent to Leih, who sends us to destroy more targets like Luciane had done before. The difference this time being that we would be going outside the boundaries of Gridania to do so. While searching for these targets, Leih tells us that our task would be to keep an eye on our surroundings and to avoid unnecessary conflict. 

Having completed this, Leih sends us out to help with an issue in the East Shroud. Because of the lack of manpower within Gridania since the Calamity, the archer’s guild often is tasked to help out with things that the Gods’ Quiver and Wood Wailers cannot spare the people to handle. This time it is to cull the increasing numbers of tree slugs and vultures in the Honey Yard. To accomplish this task we would need to observe our foes and take them down while still keeping up our situational awareness that Leih taught us in her first task. 

Returning from our task in the Honey Yard, Leih speaks to us about the importance of the skills that she has taught us as they have to do with hunting. Something that her people were known for. Then sends us to Luciane after apologizing over falling into some sentimentalism over the thought. While we speak with Luciane, Silvairre appears and becomes angry over the fact that Leih had tasked us with the safety of the people of Gridania. Calling her irresponsible and an embarrassment to the guild before Luciane declares that Silvairre would be our next teacher. He makes sure to state that he would not be so easily impressed. 

This is not an understatement, as Silvairre starts off his lesson by saying he isn’t so convinced of our potential as the others are. It was impossible for outsiders to understand the art of archery that the Elezen had been crafting for hundreds of years. He claims that it is out of respect for Luciane that he agreed to teach us and sends up out to take down targets similar to that of Leih’s task. However, he assures us that this task would be much harder. We must observe our enemies, predict where they will be, and complete the task. 

While we accomplish the task he sets for us, Silvairre still refuses to be impressed by our deeds and gives us his second task. In the North Shroud the Ixali scouts have been sighted near a river. An aggression that is part of a very old conflict. Amongst them is a leader by the name of Nezul Cattlan, the Violator. He tasks us with slipping through the defenses of the Ixali party to slay Nezul. Upon engaging in battle with Nezul and his party of Ixali, we are helped by a man named Miraudont the Madder. Someone who has zero relevance to the rest of the archer story but we’re glad he helped anyways. 

We are able to take down Nezul, the Violator. Upon returning to the Guild Silvairre expresses his surprise about us completing the task. While declaring our task was only completed by mere luck it is important to notice that Silvairre rubs his mouth. A movement, Luciane later tells us, is Silvairre's way of covering his lies when we discuss his task with her and Leih. 

Leih, though mad about the audacity Silvairre had for sending us on a task so dangerous, agrees that Silvairre does see our potential and would not have sent us on such a fool's errand had he not. 

With both mentors present, we return to Luciane later to find that she has a task for us. A petition had arrived from Buscarron with news of poachers in the South Shroud. Just like the case before, there is a good reason why the Wood Wailers and Gods’ Quiver cannot be called in for this task. Luciane asks that we go with Leih and Silvairre head to the Druthers to speak with Buscarron about the matter. 

Despite the bickering amongst Silvairre and Leih, the three of you head down to the North Shroud to investigate the matter. Upon arrival, Buscarron informs us of poachers that have been plaguing the area. Something Silvairre says is regrettable, but normal. The Tavern owner says that perhaps if they were normal poachers it would be different but these were Pawah Mujuuk’s gang. A notorious group that has always remained one step ahead of the authorities. Buscarron would have called upon the Gods Quiver or Wailers if it weren’t for an agreement he had with the bandits in the area that kept them from causing trouble for the Druthers. This was why he needed some archers to have a look around without raising too much attention. 

Silvairre decides it is best to split up and search for any signs of poachers. On our search we find common traps and a mead bottle that leads us to Buscarron’s old look out where the famous ale-man used to brew his stock when he was still a sentry. When searching the lookout the three of you do have a run in with the bandits of Pawah Mujuuk’s crew. During the skirmish, Pawah makes a run for it and Leih follows. Staying with Silvairre, we tend to the rest of the litter. When the job is done we hurry to find Leih, Silvairre intervening in the battle between the two before it goes worse Leih. Pawah flees into the forest upon our arrival so together we return to report to both Buscarron and Luciane. 

Our return to the archery’s guild does not prove to be without trouble though. Soon after Luciane approaches us with worries about our two mentors. She bids wer go and have a chat with them to see for ourself. Both mentors sit on the fence of leaving the guild. Silvairre we learn has set his mind to leave the guild and search for Pawah himself. He is not pleased that the Gods’ Quiver and Wood Wailers are doing nothing against the infamous poacher, especially given his history with her. When Silvairre was young and still a Gods’ Quiver, he had captured Pawah Mujuuk. However, when he was naive and fell for her pleading. Releasing her, Silvairre allowed her to escape and lost his place in the Gods’ Quiver because of it. He was set to right this wrong.

Meanwhile, Leih hesitates about her past. She remembers her past and questions her place in the archer’s guild. The skirmish she lost against Pawah seems to have shaken her considerably as she asks Quietly if perhaps it was a sign. That she didn’t belong in the Guild, that she was merely an outsider. She asks us to meet her outside the city in the shroud to say goodbye. However, when we turn up to the spot that she said we are surrounded by Pawah and her gang. 

Despite Leih saying that she had only just asked us to come to say goodbye, Pawah asks for an arrow to be put in us. Pawah only backs down as a favor to Leih, though she says that the next time she would gut us both. Lost and confused, Leih says she needs our help with something. We meet her again at another place in the shroud. This time Leih asks for a fight against us and after the battle says she realizes where she had gone wrong in her thinking. 

It was now our time to go after Silvairre, who had gone in search of Pawah. Together with Leih we find him in the South Shroud where they fight together to protect Silvairre. After they are safe Silvairre, while saying he didn’t want our help, eventually agrees to allow us to help him in setting a trap for Pawah. He had obtained a bandit whistle from the group he had fought and planned to use that to lay his trap. 

Asking for our help, we become the bait for the poacher as we relocate to a nearby area where the bandits are known to frequent. When Pawah appears there is a large battle in which Leih and Silvairre finally group up with us to take down the Poacher. With Pawah finally handled, Luciane admits that she has nothing else to teach us. That we would have to seek out other teachers and continually work on becoming an even better archer. Which will eventually lead us to the famous retired archer in the south shroud graced with the moogle’s favor. 

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