I'm getting the same problem/situation. It looks like the splash shound (lol shound) is now softer so I had to turn up my volume. But still, it's now completely different.

You do still receive xp from taming the animal.

Mmmk thanks for pointing it out! So technically you can grind Taming XP by staying at wolf spawners and have a full inventory of bones in hand. And maybe a hotbar slot for a sword, but that's not very ...humane.

What AQW said. Save the world first, and then TNT it.

But personally, I have no interest in destroying builds with explosion.

Happy Canada Day, Tek!

Here's some interesting trivia I found a while back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkYlIA7mgw#ws

My home country's Independence Day was last month on June 12.

Ah! Derpface  I distinctly remember setting that to Commands Only (among other changes) when my lappy was lagging yesterday. Noooow it makes sense. (Lol at myself) The commands work out fine, which were all that I've been using, so I never thought anything was wrong until someone hollered at me.

Mystery solved. Thanks a bunch, edix!

So fred r u saying if u tame a dog u get exp for taming and if u let dogs kill a mob then u also get taming exp?

It seems that taming wolves and ocelots do not give Taming XP any more. Either way, my methods rely on getting Taming XP primarily from mob kills.

There are people who are respectable enough to take the items and then ask around "Who died?" intending to give them back. But then that doesn't always mean they give back items that might be useful to them.

If only evidence of the theft can be saved. But the "You Died" screen's view can't be adjusted, so one will have to be lucky and wait for the player to come into view. This "wait" will conflict with the interest of respawning to get back to the death site in time to retrieve the items, so it's still risky.

This might sound rather arrogant, but it seems that "Don't die Natsu!" is the best way to prevent the situation. Therefore,

• Always put on and maintain full diamond armor
• Be ready to insta-tp when health is low (a /t spawn or a safe /home area)
• Always save a hotbar slot for food to keep hunger bar full
• Always save a hotbar slot for an Instant Health or a regenerative item

What hurts more is death by PvP/combat mcMMO glitch, and so,

• Only PvP with people you trust to give them back in case of death

I had one other idea but I will hold my tongue, for now.
*back to reading Fairy Tail manga*

I enjoy the topic of architecture. Not to be confused with interior design, which I find good for end-of-the-day, stress-relief browsing. My favorites are (pardon the rough description, didn't know a proper term yet, but I ended up googling something) those unusually designed types. No wonder Orbit gave me the Oddest House in Town award. Airplanes and warehouses converted to livable houses, underground or treetop houses, and other odd things I StumbleUpon. I'm sure I read a few notable architects at some point, but now I forgot.

For example, really compact houses that make you ask how in the world people can live there. Multifunctional furniture and appliances, and rooms that actually fold out, like this tiny apartment.

And, this hobbit home in Switzerland.


And, this Free Spirit Sphere.


And finally, this upside down house (one of many worldwide). I tried to build one in my Noobtopia embassy, but I became a little inactive and the town staff re-purposed the plot.


Is there an umbrella term for this style of architecture? Expressionism maybe?

It's about time for this topic to get started.

Ahh, I'm wondering what nations in V6 would be like. It feels like the significance of a Nation sort of died down when /nc became disabled. Since then, the only way to get to know people from other nations is if one actually looked it up and did /nation or /nation list, paid attention to the towns in one's nation, and kept a pulse on who are in those towns. I have to admit, I tend to be quite partial when it comes to helping strangers; I only help out intentionally if they're out in the wild or are part of any town in my nation. If people ask for a town, I refer them to one of the nation's towns, if not my own. I miss the 4-character tags, the titles (ti.tles), and the random yellow-colored chat from Albatros (DF) trying to help someone from Nova. So from that background, I thought I'd bring it up, along with these questions.

1) Will we have /nc back?

2) Will we have some competitions among nations?

Bexn explains it here on this thread a few months ago:
http://www.noobscraft.com/server-issues/the-air-is-locked/

When clearing my Oakvale plot, ohlookawall encountered the same thing.

Looks like the previous owner wanted to secure their breathing room.

...and eluded the savage sentient toasters by letting loose his cherished collection of Nyan Cats as a distraction.

First, before starting, have this video/song playing in the background as you read on.

TOPIC PURPOSE
Moving on. I've decided to write this guide to share the success I have thus far with level grinding. I started only with one skill in mind (go Jakeys!), but ended up focusing on multiple skills. Also, it's been about two months since the V6 announcement, and maybe at least one more month until it comes out. I figured it's about time someone spilled.

I report about things I've done, which might or might not work for everyone. The goal is for people to get ideas and incorporate it with their own. Whenever a skill is highlighted, there's a tip or two around (this serves as the TL;DR disclaimer lol).

A WORD ABOUT RESPECT
It is tempting to take a break from grinding when you're one mcMMO level above someone whom you've just passed. You can then take and use your bragging rights, either verbally or silently. But please be reminded of good sportsmanship. I personally consider it courteous to stop one level behind the next guy (depending on who it is, I guess) and let it stay for a couple hours before continuing. Or leave a /mail. I admit being hypocritical about that though. But if I find out that all my hard work is beaten just by one level, it kinda stings, so "Golden Rule" applies here.

Also respect other people's secrets. If they don't want you around their fishing spot or mob farm, or aren't keen on talking about their strategy, then don't insist/persist.

CHOOSING A MAIN SKILL
At the time of the Token Program announcement, Taming was largely ignored, with DiggyDog standing tall at 269 and the runners-up at around 100. While plenty of good grinding systems exist for the other skills, I thought of choosing one main skill that would be under the radar, while everyone else went for Herby or Fishing. So Taming it is. I keep a mental note on where the Wolf (Jakey) Spawners are in a few towns, so acquiring dogs weren't a problem. At the time, Squids and Bats were off, so my underwater mob/disc farm worked brilliantly. I filled up most of the caves/mineshafts around it to supposedly increase spawning rate. With the couple of 3x/6x weekends, I was on my way. I became determined to get and keep Taming #1.

UNINTENTIONAL SECONDARY SKILLS
Unlike Fishing, training the Jakeys (named after Jake the Dog lol) gave me an opportunity to work on other skills simultaneously. Since dogs don't chase Creepers, I picked up a bow and destroyed Creepers from afar, allowing me to get Archery #1 at one time. Taming XP is maximized if the dogs didn't get your help (meleeing mobs), so I took the blows on my armor and let the boys finish the mobs. Because of the undisclosed amount of diamond blocks I got from a Veteran drop party, I was able to up my Repair quickly as well. By not hitting the mobs, I get hit by them more often, increasing my *Dodge* opportunities. So on the side, I leveled up Acrobatics too, albeit slowly. (Another Acro tip: /sethome at the top of a home-made Acro tower).

OTHER SKILLS
Okay, I guess saying "I got my diamonds for free" is not a helpful tip. That's when I bring up Mining and Excavation, and even Fishing, all of which at high levels can give you more diamonds. Double drop from ores, diamonds from dirt (tip: clay mining may be faster for Excav), and Fishing 600. These three skills seem to be very straightforward when it comes to tips. Oh. Never fish in an indoor pond. And find a rainy fishing spot.

MONEY FROM ENCHANTED ITEMS
Whether you're in a mob farm, mining ore, or fishing, your enchant XP is bound to go up. This can be used in selling enchanted items, and the profit can be used to buy much needed materials. Beacons (and iron blocks), mob spawners and eggs, and/or diamonds are key items for grinding. (Beacons for farming "herbalizing" and fighting mobs, spawners for Jakeys if you can find Wolf Eggs, and diamonds for repair and armor). So. Renewable enchant XP plus diamond blocks equals what? Ta da! Fred's enchanted tool shop! For sale right now are assorted high-end Picks and Shovels (minus E5). Rare chains that you get from the mob farm might also be a good investment. I prefer to sell them non-enchanted but with full durability, to give the buyer a chance to add enchants on their own.

This is where I reveal a Mining secret. Sure, sandstone and end stone are good. And netherrack too. Wield an E4 and it's like hot knife through butter. But no enchant XP. Thankfully, in the Nether there's quartz ore for XP. So if you're not lazy and feel like towering up to those ceiling ores, go for the quartz. They'll raise Mining skill fast too. Quartz veins also appear hidden underneath the netherrack btw. I used to think 33 was the best level to enchant, but as it turns out 30 is almost just as good. If you're at or above Repair 600, you'll be able remove/reset an inferior enchant via Salvaging (something that didn't occur to me until recently).

IGNORED/LIMITED SKILLS
"That's one less skill to worry about." When deciding which between my two lowest combat skills I should drop, I chose Swords. It's been stuck at 49 since the announcement. By kicking one skill off my list, (which has both good and bad effects), I can focus on my main/secondary skills better.

There are two skills in which I decided to stop grinding right below a certain person's level (I consider as an upper limit). This way, once I reach that person's level, I can stop grinding that skill and focus on others.

CONCLUSION
A respected scientist once said...
(Nah, I'm not ending this post that way)
Bottom line though, no matter how many tips you get, it's hard work that gets you to the top. And again, these tips/methods are not for everyone. One may be used to the 2x2 Jungle Treefeller method for Woodcutting. I, however, prefer the lowly Burch Birch tree, with Haste II and Speed II beacons, and a plain Diamond Axe. So find your own way, stick at it, and improve. Always improve. All the best to you.

--ummfred

EDIT: Oooh! And coincidentally this is my 250th post lol