It’s the Freakin’ Weekend! So What are You Playing?

The weekend is finally upon us. Awesome. How will you be spending it?

Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’m mainly invested in Elder Scrolls Online. I’ve been casually exploring Deshaan, taking on side-quests, and I’m becoming overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crafting materials I’ve collected over the last 30 hours. I think I need to create a bank character just to use their inventory space as extra storage.

I was going to wait until I finished the core story before jumping in to the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood expansions, but fellow blogger and ESO player Drakulus suggested otherwise. Since everything scales to your level now, he argues that it makes more sense to do them sooner rather than later, so your new skill trees that open up level as you make your way through the campaign. I can’t disagree with that logic, so perhaps I’ll make that my goal this weekend.

I’d like to eliminate the aforementioned inventory clutter problem by working on crafting, particularly woodworking for staves, enchanting, provisioning, alchemy, and clothier for light armor, so that may be in the cards as well.

I’ve also found myself back in Neverwinter on PS4, which has been fun. I was big in to the free-to-play MMO when it launched on Xbox, but since none of my paid features cross over between consoles, it’s been a struggle starting over.

I did pick up the Heirloom Weapon Pack add-on, which is only $20. It’s an account-wide treasure chest that comes with a bevy of helpful leveling gear for each of the playable classes, with rewards going all the way up to level 60. It also comes with an account-wide Rogue companion (summonable minions that fight alongside you), a Greater Bag of Holding (which is *not* account-wide), and unlocks one additional character slot.

As someone who likes to play around with each of the different classes, this turned out to be worth every bit of its asking price on Xbox. I honestly don’t mind handing over a little cash to free-to-play games if I’m enjoying them, and Neverwinter has always been something I’ve had a lot of fun with (despite its late-game inconveniences). That’s how the developers and publishers continue to fund additional content, after all. Content that remains free for the entire player-base.

Right now I’m splitting my time between a Half-Orc Great Weapon Fighter and a Tiefling Control Wizard. Great Weapon Fighters are putting out solid damage numbers right now and I’ve never gotten to play one beyond the leveling stage. Control Wizard is the class I mained on Xbox One, which focuses on dishing out punishment while up close and personal with the melee classes. Rather than firing off Magic Missiles, you’re in the thick of it blasting the area with debilitation spells and providing helpful buffs to the rest of the group. It’s a lot of fun.

I’m pretty confident that I’ll be spending most of my free time this weekend working through Elder Scrolls content, but I’ll hop on Neverwinter for a bit to get some more leveling done. I created a new Oathbound Paladin last night and wouldn’t mind trying my hand at tanking.

Outside of gaming, or rather outside of playing games, I decided to cancel my Nintendo Switch pre-order. Their silence leading up to release (which is two weeks from today) is concerning, and I have enough piled up in my backlog to keep me occupied until the fall when more games release that I have an interest in.

Don’t get me wrong, I love The Legend of Zelda and that’s definitely a strong enough entry point to warrant the purchase. Hell, it was the main reason I pre-ordered the Switch to begin with. But right now there are at least 10 games on my shelf that I’d like to get to sooner rather than later: Xenoblade Chronicles X, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright & Conquest, Dishonored 2, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, Dark Souls III, Grand Kingdom, Gravity Rush Remastered, Bloodborne, and Gears of War 4.

On top of those, I’d still like to pick up Nioh, Yakuza 0, and Tales of Berseria. I’m also working through Elder Scrolls Online in anticipation of its Morrowind expansion, casually strolling back through Neverwinter, and would love to revisit Final Fantasy XIV and finally make my way through its Heavensward content.

Persona 5, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Ni no Kuni 2, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and NieR: Automata are also on my radar for the remainder of the year. There’s just so much else to play that making room for the Switch seems impossible. At least right now.

I believe in the Switch’s potential and I know I’ll get one later in the year when Mario Odyssey and Fire Emblem Warriors comes out. I’ve just fallen off the hype train and no longer feel it’s a necessary purchase on day one. Being paralyzed by choice isn’t the worst thing in the world.

What about you folks? What are you getting in to this weekend? Is Nintendo’s silence on the Switch two weeks prior to launch a cause for concern?