Back in the saddle again.

Well I'm back to killing big stuff, but in a new home under a different banner. Thanks to the kind folks of the Equilibrium linkshell over on bismarck for taking this leap of faith!

I have about another week left of this "trial period" that every newcomer to virtually every endgame shell in existence has to go through. I've forgotten what it feels like being the "new guy" and feeling as though your every move is under a microscope. But it's all good as they are a friendly bunch. Moreover it has felt good being able to fight and kill big stuff again. On top of that, it's been nice racking up those synthetic beauties called atmas. Hopefully this is the start of many good things.

Mutual last resort

So it's finally come down to it. It appears that virtually every decent endgame shell on Phoenix within my timezone is stuffed to the gills - unless you're a g-horn BRD or something similar. Though I've made a number of friends here on Phoenix, it appears my time here is at an end.

So, yeah.... Vagrant blue mage {Do you need it?}

Duties, tasks and deeds

No, not the mythic quest where the rat asks you to jump through all sorts of retarded hoops. Speaking of which, good luck to anyone trying to build a mythic now since the new AF3 pieces destroy most salvage gear. The falling price of wootz ingots speaks volumes but I digress.

Since the update has come, I've decided to put the DNC leveling on hold for the time being and focus on my 80+ jobs. Ultimately I'll probably end up with just BLU, SAM and DNC going all the way to 99. The other day it came to me that I do not have a single piece of magian cutlery in progress for my BLU. In light of recent changes to weather/day trials, it was time to stop being gimp and rectify that once and for all. So where to start? Of course a logical step to putting more muscle behind spell damage - a STR path shamshir +1. The part that's going to suck the worst is the flans, especially now since things like the astral candescence in Aht Urhgan will probably be lost forever since Abyssea fever has now firmly taken hold. Hell, it's a miracle if a server even has Fiat Lux these days. Maybe once that's done, I'll try and get my hands on some of that AF3 everyone's buzzing about.

The Typhoon is Benthic!

So SE gives us what is perhaps the next generation of our beloved Cannonball. Its name is Benthic Typhoon. However, SE throws us a curve ball here since it's said to have a 50% AGI mod in lieu of the usual stats we see.

So here is a potential AGI build for said spell. Our inventory's already stretched as it is! Most of this stuff isn't all that hard to get though again I go back to the inventory thing. Between food, meds, tools (if /NIN), and our usual gear. Um... yeah. It's like relic DRGs and Geirskogul (which is also AGI modded) yet I don't see too many DRGs with special gearsets for it.

Dancing for my life?

So apparently this game absolutely SUCKS without people to actually do stuff with (outside of the usual random WG shout groups). So yeah, I actually miss doing endgame stuff 5-6 nights a week. Some people do make honest mistakes not realizing their implications. Of course some mistakes carry much heavier prices than others. Oh well. Live and learn.


For now I'll just focus on plodding through DNC levels then decide what to do once it's at 80 (or whatever the new level cap is should I not get there in time). I may try Reso again (though they'll probably turn me down on account of no mythic or other crazy shit lol). I really don't want to move if I don't have to seeing as the only thing worse than not having people to do stuff with is going somewhere you know absolutely no one. Thus concludes my bored rant for today.

Why'd I even bother?

So about a week ago I decided to roam ye olde Vana'diel once again. This past update did indeed usher in a "brave new world". Apparently it is also one that can fell Absolute Virtue (for the time being). During my absence, Beyond and Volume combined to form Resonance. I left Beyond during the end of June as a result of burnout coupled with some outside factors and didn't know what I wanted out of the game anymore. Once again being an "outsider", I applied to the newly-formed linkshell. A couple days later, I spoke with one of the sacks (who was also a leader in Beyond) and we discussed a number of things, such as the current situation.

Crash test dummy: Eorzea rebooted

So phase 2 of the FFXIV beta has drawn to a close with the third phase to start later this month. In spite of its laundry list of issues (weapon bugs, poor interface and balancing issues), it is still a solid game. So far the only two classes I've explored all that much are lancer and gladiator while dabbling in a bit of pugilist and marauder here and there. I'll share a few points that I feel are worth mentioning after the past couple of weeks.

The good

1. Beautiful landscapes really bring the world to life (this sounds some song-and-dance SE would use).
2. The ability to customize stats and add abilities acquired from leveling different classes is a very nice touch. To an extent this reminds me of RO, where being able to divvy up stats as you saw fit was one of the game's strong points. Of course, if you messed up somewhere and wanted to change things, you had to re-start from level 1 but I digress.
3. The guildleve system, which provides a means of making money and gear via short quests.
4. Ease of transportation thanks to aetherite crystals.
5. A separate physical level for which you can get exp by doing things other than killing monsters (such as mining or crafting).

The bad

1. The concept of equipment decaying with use. Now I realize just what it is they're going for with this here, but still it gets irritating. I shudder at the thought of repairing rare endgame cutlery with super-pricey crafting materials (think imperial wootz used for salvage bodies). I can see this getting very expensive very quickly.
2. Anima, or rather how super slow it recovers itself. Though this could just be from the beta. I know it's to prevent people from zipping around the world so quickly, but you're screwed if it gets too low. It could get problematic for those having to move from one end of the world to another. I can see it now; "Fifty DKP minus for not having enough anima to warp to the dungeon entrance!"

It was somewhat difficult to come up with these without crossing into "it's just beta" territory. Unlike with FFXI however, my anticipation for this is nowhere near "frothing" status. When FFXI was first announced in 2000, I was extremely excited. I hung onto every piece of info I could. As a result though, it fueled very high, if not unrealistic expectations of the game once it finally came here. That also led in part to my not giving it a fair shake in the beginning. Being more mature than I was at 21/22, I look at XIV for what it is -- a brand new game that happens to have the name "Final Fantasy". Yes, it has the familiar elements of its predecessors, but in a fresh new world. This is, for the most part, what keeps me coming back over the years.

Will XIV rise to the same level of grandeur as XI? We shall see in the coming years. I do hope that SE has learned from the many things that worked and didn't work with XI. So far with some of the things in place and those that are planned, it looks that way. Though my cynical side tells me "it's SE - they'll find some way to ruin it."

Crash test dummy: FFXIV

So early last week, I had the (somewhat dubious) honor of being chosen as an FFXIV beta tester. Oddly enough, I did not think I would get in since my PC was about 4 years old at the time I signed up. How is it so far? I've only been able to get in maybe a couple hours of solid gameplay. So far each test day has gone like this:

1. Servers open up.
2. Try to log in. Timeout city.
3. SE says, "We know the servers are getting hammered."
4. Get booted off, try to log back in, timeouts persist.
*a couple hours later*
5. SE: "Down for the day. Servers are too screwed up."
*a couple days pass*
6. SE: "OK I think we got this. Did some internal tests, yadda yadda... Gonna try again probably tomorrow."
*another test day arrives*
7. SE: "Yeah we got this. Here's a patch."
8. Repeat step 1.

"How long before SE pulls the plug?" has become a running gag of sorts.

At this rate, we're probably not getting this game at the end of September, let alone this year. Are they really that desperate to get a head-start on Blizzard and Cataclysm? Yeah I know the core game is there, but plenty of games have been pushed back due to network issues.

Descent

So last month's update brought us a cornucopia of new spells and abilities as well as a host of new weapons and armor to go along with our new-found power. However, one thing stands out in my mind: was this done too late? I just can't help but feel that this is "a day late and a dollar short" so to speak. I don't like the direction this game's headed. When does one say enough is enough?

Back in Hazhalm

So last week, after a nearly 7 month hiatus, it was decided that we would venture back into Einherjar no matter what. This past Monday and Thursday we made good on that. To ease us back into things, we started with a tier 1 room. As with some of our past sorties I was pulling on BLU. Monday's encounter had us pitted against ghosts with Morbol Emperor as the boss. Things were going OK until I got a little too close and pulled the boss prematurely. We were pretty good on time but having the big pink bastard in tow threw a monkey wrench into things. It just felt good to be doing it again after so long. Last night's run found us greeted by dark elementals with a buffalo boss. There I was, {Blue Mage} {Fisherman} once again except this time I had a pretty good rhythm down. In spite being screwed up by sleeps and what not from the elementals, we managed to win rather handily.

No events all next week because of the (very hefty) update Monday.

Also, medal of Altana today. I'm hoping they don't put out something that shits all over nocturnus head/body, otherwise I will be sad. At least it should be somewhat easier to get zones now.

Here we go again

Looks like it's time to dust off the old Magus Bazubands once again.

Looks like we're getting Plenilune Embrace (AoE heal spell), Animated Wail (AoE Haste), and a new water-based breath spell to name a few. There could very well be more in the second phase.

Here's a video showcasing the new effects so far. Here's hoping Animated Wail isn't a dumbed down version of refueling. You know the recast is going to be balls either way. Plenilune embrace seems to have potential, but I'm not sure about the whole moon phase thing. The healing effect is most powerful during a full moon. That ability is part of the reason I like moonfang campaign battles so much. Those things are practically immortal, meaning shitloads of EXP/AN. One of the few times I enjoy campaign. Speaking of which, I need to re-cap my BLU buffer.

Just kill me now...

Here we go, possibly our last encounter with Kirin before the big update. But something is amiss.... WHY WHY WHY are we kiting a Kirin (let alone three of 'em) in 2010!?!? The numbers were indeed available to TP burn the bitch. I know it was togi city last summer every time we zerged. Ironically enough, when I got my w.legs back in October, it was on a kited one. We did two that night and both put out. So we try that again on subsequent encounters and get worse results than d-body. So yeah, just kill me now.

Wait, why do I still have this Nuevo with fast cast and enmity+5 on me?

Eve of the revolution

Vana'diel shall be rocked to its very core! OK, well maybe not THAT dramatic, but this is some pretty big stuff coming down the pike. So in preparation, many of us have been hitting East Ronfaure (S) rather hard. Nothing is at 49 here yet, but NIN is close at 47. I figured I'd take that one to 49 first given that it's always been my least favorite. I'm sure there are many folks with BRD/RDM/WHM/BLM/SCH/PLD that plan to leave one or more of those parked at 75 after this update. I know I may fry for this, but my PLD is staying parked at 75. Nearly two years of having it at 75 and I still suck at it. I really don't use it that much outside of campaign and I just don't really care enough about it. If it's something where atonement isn't viable then a RDM is usually the better option if there's someone more comfortable playing the job that way. If it IS an atonement-friendly fight, a SAM could do it better. Even then, one could still defer to RDM. No I'm not exping RDM. Blow me.

As for which of the three remaining that will go past 75 first, definitely BLU. Of course I'll probably end up soloing most of the time. And the hang-up with SAM and DRG will be the fact every melee DD and their mother will be flagged up for the first few days/weeks. It will be interesting to see how congested exp camps get. But god help you if you don't do things during the "January sale rush" that is the first few days following an update. Which reminds me: I won't be able to go to walk of echoes on day 1! Oh noez! A few friends and I were doing Wings missions around early-April, but we stopped around "Crossroads of Time" for some reason. Shouldn't be too bad getting to that point with the level caps going up. That is, assuming the BC fights aren't capped at 75.

Cost-benefit analysis: Samurai

So it appears the last few months have found me bouncing back and forth between perfecting my DRG and my SAM. Actually this seems to happen with my other jobs too, even my largely-ignored PLD. However it is even more so prevalent between the two-handers. At one point, toward the end of last year, my SAM had been all but "retired" until roaring back to life around February. I'd seriously considered doing that to my DRG around October/November.

Yilbegan revisited

Last night, Beyond took two more shots at the void-walking Yilbegan. Our first encounters taught us two important things. The first big thing we learned was that PLD/NIN tanks were useless in this fight. Another thing was there wasn't enough incoming damage to keep up with his high regen. A faster Yilbegan kill is what we sought. But how do we get there? It was "back to the drawing board" so to speak.

Magi-what?

While several of my colleagues have been dutifully hacking away at magian weapons over the past month, there are a number of us (myself included) that have elected to boycott these pains in the ass altogether. Some of them are nice and give options to jobs that didn't have them previously (i.e. a multi-hit for BLU) but others are just WTF. Kill triple-digit mobs under weather conditions? Camp NM's with bullshit pop conditions and kill them x number of times? No thanks.

In other news, the past few days have found me plugging away at DNC sub, which as of this posting is 33. After hitting around level 20, the feeling of "why didn't I do this sooner?" began to set in. Certainly would've made my life on SAM a bit easier while leveling it up.

Yilbegan sucks

So last night Beyond took a crack at the new "big daddy" VNM, Yilbegan. The first time we popped, it despawned at 89% after the popper went too far away. The second time, we tracked it all the way to Xarcabard where a battle of epic proportions ensued. What did we get for our troubles? A gold ore and a couple dark crystals. So I've learned in the case of BLU, /THF and shoot cannonballs up its ass when it's casting.

Time to exp RNG now I guess. >_>

What a week

Well, for starters, Temenos was good to me this past Sunday. We did have a cobalt mithril sheet drop, but someone else won it. However, it did put out not one but two scarlet odoshi, meaning I'll have a pair of Myochin Haidate +1 this Sunday. :) But the fun doesn't stop there. Dhalmels, ponies, 3-headed dogs and fulminations, oh my!

Lots of stuff

So last month's Vana'fest brought us many interesting revelations. The first being that after several years at 75, we'll be making a climb to 99. So to safeguard against our current gear falling into obsolescence, SE had the foresight to add a series of quests called the "Trial of the Magians", which allow us to upgrade our hard-earned gear. Moreover, it looks like we're getting Walk of Echoes in June. Time to catch up on those damn Wings missions. Maybe getting help won't be so terrible now that we know the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. But since the older stuff isn't being scaled to accommodate for the higher levels, I'm half-tempted to just wait until the level cap goes to 80 in June and bang out as many as I can solo.

So it seems I've got my work cut out for me in the next three months in terms of catching up on campaign and missions as well as leveling subjobs to 49. I'd already be hacking away at this were it not for being sidelined by PC issues late last month. But I should be back up and running Monday, or even Tuesday since I'd have to re-install and endure that 4+ hour patch-a-thon.

When applying to endgame linkshells...

When someone applies to an endgame linkshell, you would hope that they have the presence of mind to put their best foot forward and paint themselves in the best light possible with what they have available to them. This is often their would-be colleagues' first glimpse at them. Now imagine yourself in this situation. While you may not, for example, be a pimped out BLM with a novio or AF2 head and other premium BLM gear, you can still show what you have to prove that you can intelligently equip said job. Another thing is merits. Be specific! How you merit the job provides insight into your understanding of the job. Here's how NOT to answer this part.

Important Merit Status: SAM

OK, that speaks fucking volumes. Yeaaaahhhh. For all we know, you could have some stupid shit like 5/5 Zanshin and Warding Circle recast. This would prove that you have absolutely no understanding of said job and how your merits enhance its performance. Absolute waste of a DD slot that could have been used by someone more competent that ended up going as something else.

Now let's look at how this SHOULD be answered.

Important Merit Status: SAM: 5/5 Store TP, 5/5 Third Eye, 5/5 Overwhelm

This is more like it. They may not be finished meriting the job, but this explains EXACTLY what's there and also demonstrates an understanding of the job itself.

This is something that's always bothered me. People that apply to Beyond (or really any LS) and just half-ass it by being really vague and having a poor attitude just drive me (and others) nuts. You either want to be a part of our team or you don't. If you do, please make an effort to show that you do. If you don't, then stop wasting our goddamn time!

I feel pretty, oh so pretty....

So it seems Omega has had a penchant for leaving us doubles of its body parts the past three fights. Back in November, we got double feet before we went back to Temenos. So after our business with Ultima was concluded, we were back in Apollyon where we faced Omega again last week and it too yielded double feet. Fast-forward to this evening. Pattern of doubles continues. But....



Then moments later, this happened.



So yeah, I'm now the proud owner of a pair of Homam Manopolas making me 3/5 on this stuff. Many thanks to my friends in Beyond.

But the night wasn't over yet. After taking a short break, it was off to Mt. Zhayolm to beat up on some three-headed dogs. So the big doggies we beat put out rather nicely. Among the obligatory hides/meat, we saw an oracle body, a Sarameya hide, and the coveted Hachiryu haidate. So yes, a great night it was. Now let's hope our encounters with Kirin are as bountiful.

Here we go again.

It is our pleasure to announce that the next edition of VanaFest, Japan's premier Final Fantasy XI fan event, will be held on Sunday, February 28th 2010 in Tokyo!

Attendees can expect this year's event to be a veritable goldmine of mind-blowing news. Development and operation team members will engage in a talk session and divulge juicy pieces of information such as new content scheduled for upcoming version updates, planned job improvements, and other exciting milestones for the year 2010. The evolution of Final Fantasy XI is far from over, folks!

But save your awestruck faces for the special announcement...and be sure to hang on to your seats when it comes!

Even those unable to attend need not be disheartened! All the latest news and developments announced at the festival will be delivered to you hot off the press, so stay tuned!

There it is, SE's official blurb. I see they skipped a year.

Here we go again....

"How do you kill AV for real?" x 900000000

"More cutesy items like bells and chocobo hats {Can I have it?}"

"More avatars! More avatars!"

OK, so we know the last one is coming down the pike, so it's a matter of "what?", or rather "who?" I don't even have SMN opened, let alone leveled so I could care less, much like the AV thing.

No new zones/mobs, so most likely no more new BLU spells for a while. Well, that is, unless you count "Walk of Echoes" but no one is certain how that will be implemented outside of cutscenes. I think that's the place where you see Cait Sith and Atomos, but I've barely touched anything "Wings" related outside of Campaign.

We shall see what the future holds on the final day of February!