Oh, so that level sync thing

Actually, there's a crapton of topics of events that have occurred throughout the recent weeks. I might as well get down and dirty with them.

Absolute Bullshit and Pandemonium Whatthefuck

As we know by now, SE is planning on changing these monsters (and JoL, which many might scoff at but it is probably related to AV) to make them to be easier/shorter fights. Of course, until the update comes out and we see what is changed to make it an easier battle, kinda no point in talking about what they could do to make it so, especially since I, myself, have not fought any of the two.

On a side note: I've done JoL 5 times total in my entire FFXI career (believe it or not) and I haven't seen AV at all during those 5 times (believe that or not).

So, what we know about the AV we have now in the game, SE claims that it would take 16 some hours to beat it, 10 at the mnimum. Now, a lot of people have gone crazy about this and rightfully so. Me, on the other hand, didn't think too much about it. To me, AV was designed to be something that wasn't meant to be killed easily at all. Like, lets look at the items it can drop:

First, you have Ninurta's Sash, which aside from MNK's Black Belt, would be the best belt in the game. Imagine if AV was to be placed at a difficulty level that is significantly easier. No one is going to want to camp KA, no one would want to do Wyrm KS99, and pretty much, there goes two things that went obsolete there. Granted those options are still there for those that are not in any End Game LSes. Ninurta's Sash would become the benchmark item and dare I say it, it might be easier to obtain than a Swift Belt if AV was made too easy.

And then you have the Mar's Ring, which is the best melee ring in the game for the most part. Compare these two items to some of the stuff that is in the other ZNMs and HNMs and so on and you'd pretty much be saying that AV just has some really overpowered items.

Then you got Futsuno Mitama which, if I knew what activated the latent, could be better than Hagun.

And then there's that +8 Magic Accuracy ranged weapon.

For the most part, this NM has some nice things and to let these items loose would be pretty bad I would say. Like, what if some of the things in Salvage and some of the things in Dynamis Northlands just dropped to you just like that and everyone ended up getting those things? It would make quite a bit of items before it useless, you wouldn't even want to consider trying to get any older equipment. Now granted, yes, there are items out there right now that are pretty useless due to us knowing better or just signficantly better equipment out there.

Personally, if they make AV an easier fight, I would hope that it either has a horrible drop rate or something that makes the fight really difficult but wouldn't force the players to spend all day and night to kill. I want some of those items, that's a definite. I just don't want those items just handed to me on a silver platter because the fight was made easier.

And now we have PW. I totally respect everyone in BtL who gave it a shot and pretty much with their own drive and ambition, took the fight for as long as they could. Without their patience, we might just end up still with no changes on AV or PW. The press just jumped on this thing pretty bad. While I don't think the press forced any sort of pressure on SE, I'm sure SE was more concerned of the fact that the players themselves have made a strong reasoning as to why these two NMs needed to be changed.

It was kinda funny because even among my RL friends, we were joking about this whole PW business because heck, it's all over the news. It's also like a game of telephone where some information just doesn't get through. Personally, I welcome the changes that are going to happen, though I doubt that a finalized plan on how to kill these two things won't come about for awhile.

I will say this though: Vrtra has been ninja'd and I think most consider it as unkillable now. Granted he doesn't drop anything awesome but still...

So, how about that Talisman?

I like collecting stuff. I have all of the FF releases starting from PSone up to now (including GBA and DS), I still have that pendant from Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, and I have an 8-bit figurine of Simon Belmont, colored to his Simon's Quest colors (red/black/white).

Now SE has started a new thing where they sell in-game merchandise. The first item they have for sale is a Tidal Talisman. If one purchases one, one can pick up an in-game item which is kinda nifty. This wouldn't be the first time they've done it since they did release an harpsicord with the Piano Collections.

While I welcome this idea, I do have some problems with it.

1. wtf is a Tidal Talisman? It isn't in the game at all (yet). You couldn't even say it's an FFXI item or an item that represents FFXI. Like, if I bought one and wore it, people who lets say... never heard of this item before but plays FFXI... and they look at me, they're not gonna go "Oh, you play FFXI?! :D :D :D" Like, if you're going to make a collectable item, at least the first one, make it some sort of FFXI trademark item, not something you made up on the spot.

2. The in-game item is very nice... but it's on a 40 hour recast timer.

40 hours? ;_;

Sure, it's a bonus item that comes with the necklace and not the other way around but for what it does, why do we have to wait almost 2 days to reuse it? 24 hours would be nice and considering how long it takes to reach these areas (20 minutes at the very most), maybe even less than 24 hours.

3. I don't live in Europe and I don't live in Alaska or Hawaii but from what I understand:

- Europe doesn't get this deal.
- Alaska/Hawaii have to pay 20 dollars for S&H, the other 48 states + Canada pay around 8.

I mean, that's like half of what you're paying already.

But on another note: Full Resin Shadowlord for 230 USD. I doubt I'll get it but it does look very nice.

Oh and apparently, if you have this on, you teleport people and thus making their lives easier... you'll be "the best from now."

Campaign still not gonna be fixed

Yes, the whole /BRD singing stuff will be fixed... but that just means some of the jobs that actually DO have a hard time getting XP by themselves in Campaign will just simply not have Campaign as an option, thus eliminating whatever interest is left for the person that wants to get some of the things in Campaign but are unable to because they have to spend so much more effort to even equal up to what a melee or any other job that has an easy time in campaign.

Though I could have sworn they said something about fixing that aspect but I didn't see it in the notes. This doesn't really affect me all that much because I have SAM/WAR/PLD to do my campaigning work. However, those that are low level or those that just have a hard time getting those points in for campaign... basically screwed until they get to a higher level or level another job. Yeah, you can potentially build around campaign and I'll be looking for information about that for those jobs that have a hard time doing campaign... but I kinda hope for something that can benefit magic users and make their lives easier.

Oh, so that level sync thing

So yeah, I had a dream once. After doing a bunch of Salvage, I was thinking "Hey, if they ever make another expansion with missions like CoP that are level capped, what they should do is enforce a stat cap but let us keep our equipment and stuff on so it's not a pain in the ass."

Lo' and behold, that dream came true for the most part. Yeah, there's some bad things I can see from it (skill levels being hurt a bit, relentless invites for CoP missions) but there's a bunch of good things from it as well so... Hurrah for SE for making this decision.

And no, no Aegis/Excal PLD is going to party with you.

So how about that Mogknight?

Well, I came back after Vegas and started up fishing again. I'm currently fishing up Shall Shells, both for profit and to skill up on. Oddly enough, there are some good things you can fish up and simply NPC... which I'm sure all the RMT are on that. Unfortunately, they're still all over the place so what can one really do about it? I did have this funny idea where your HP decrease as you keep fishing and you would have to stop and heal yourself. This would also make fishing a bad idea at low levels because your HP would drain pretty fast. Like, this wouldn't kill you but if you were reduced down to 1 HP, you would automatically give up your line.

But, silly idea aside, fishing is probably all I'm gonna be doing for awhile before/after events. I do have a lot of merits and even items to get for BLM but I want a flow of gil going so this is gonna be devoted to that time.

Nothing really changed for my SAM or BLM. SAM is something I don't expect to get anything for the job any time soon. With the exception of Ace's Helm, Hachiryu Haidate, and maybe Askar Body, nothing else I want NM or event wise. BLM, on the other hand, I still have quite a bit of things I want but it will take time and really, I have all the time the world.

To be honest, I want a change of pace and fishing is doing that for me. I love my linkshell and all and as an officer, I make sure things are running smoothly. However, there are just times where I kinda want to just spend time with Lissy or whoever else and just kill random stuff, be it some pop NM or small man sea farming or whatever it may be. I still need those Mufflers or even A Hands so... lets not even start with the fact that I'm lacking stuff like RR Pumps, Uggy Pendant and a multitude of AF1+1s. Like, we have Limbus every Tuesday and optionally every Friday (though Tuesdays are optional, we tend to fill up and usually it ends up being a required limbus due to it being Proto or something). I kinda want to take a Limbus day off and solo an area as best as I can, even though I don't have Gaiters.

I wouldn't want to do it all the time... just once in every great while. I'm happy with the way things are so I wouldn't mind if I never get the chance to do this stuff. Plus, it would kinda help me clear my mind of any ill-thoughts I would have about anyone.

On that note: even though you're doing a bunch of end game stuff, remember that there's a lot to this game that can be seen as a escape to an escape. Sure, you play FFXI to escape from real life... but then you gotta escape from the in-game drama as well... what better way to do it with some fishing, crafting, or some chocobo digging? :3

Well, I tried!

A New Month, A New Struggle

Well, things are rolled around nicely around here for my linkshell DownRightFierce and my own FFXI life. Unfortunately, due to a few problems involving my computer, I now have a dead motherboard and it was a fairly old mobo (about 3-4 years) and due to how we have transitioned to new technology really fast, I would have to buy a new processor and a new video card (it's AGP, not that new fancy PCI-E stuffs nowadays). This is gonna run me quite a bit of money so... yeah, being able to play FFXI on a reliable PC system is not a current option right now.

In the DownRightFierce side of things (and yeah, I have no screenshots of any of this on me), we managed to get quite a few things. We've been tackling a crap ton of HNMs and for the most part, none of them really dropped anything until recent. We managed to get ourselves a Seveneyes from Khimmycat (which went to Bobbyray) and Gaiters (which went to Zarion). We got two Algols from Cerberus (Fidelis and Iskara) and well, a bunch of Cerb Claws and Hides that went towards a bunch of things (Valk Breastplate and a few Hades Hands). I'm actually still sitting on a few of them that I intend on selling so if you're on Carbuncle and you want a Cerb Hide and I haven't sold it yet, bug me about it~ Claws maybe, we're thinking about what to do with them.

I haven't had the time to relaly sit down and play on my own leaisure, given the circumstances of my computer and losing all of my macros. I aim to hit all the elemental obis while getting my Uggy Pendant. I also need vicious mufflers... So many things I have to do on my BLM! So little time! ; ;

I should really look into how I can get those vicious muffler pop items... maybe that'll encourage me to work on it.

Ah well, FFXI on my laptop isn't so bad except for the inconsistant freezing that just seems to happen every other minute. :3 I'll get my computer up and running again... JUst need some spare money.

My BLM vs My SAM: The Epic Battle for Supremacy

Sitting here, soloing on my BLM (currently at 72, yay), I was thinking about how I would apply my BLM to my end game LS (DownRightFierce). As we all as well know: BLMs are uber that it kinda dominates a lot of circles in end game...

But... Well, lets have a look:

Sky: I'd most likely be SAM without a single doubt.
Dynamis: I'd most likely be SAM without a doubt.
Sea: Might be BLM but might be SAM the majority of the time (heck, even end up being SAM for JoL might be better off for me at this point, unless they need someone in adds)
ZNMs: Based on what the mob is... but lower tiers will most likely be SAM.
Einherjar: I'd most likely be SAM without a doubt.
Variety of HNMs: I'd most likely be BLM.

Honestly, I'm just kinda sitting here going "wtf am I gonna use my BLM for?" It's fine though, I really just leveled this to do small-man things with Lissy and whoever else, also the fact that I enjoyed every moment on BLM... minus the "trying to find a place to level and trying to nuke something I can take" ordeal.

Will I take BLM as serious as my SAM? Honestly, I can afford to. The only thing that I would be doing that would be gimping myself (if you even want to call it gimping, I don't even know at this point) would be not being able to merit INT because I have STR merits. Other than that, Elemental and Enfeeb can go 8/8 and I have enough equipment space to hold all the gear. Really, if I truly felt like it, I can have a really powerful BLM to go with my really powerful SAM... which, oddly enough, I can have a really powerful MNK too all at the same time without gimping a single one of them.

I think I have decided my final 3 jobs that will be my best/main jobs: SAM/BLM/MNK.

This is, of course, not to say I won't level other jobs though, but...

WAR: I have leveled to 75 but SAM has kinda replaced it. Haven't had much application for it anywhere over SAM really.

THF: I have no interest in. I think it is a great job that can do a ton of damage and can farm stuff and survive on its own really well... But, I don't think it suits me too much. That and THF tends to have a bunch of exclusive equipment to the job.

WHM: Most likely not going to happen because I have an aggressive playstyle and this could hurt me while playing WHM.

RDM: I could very well level this job too but after seeing a ton of RDMs emoing about the RDM AF2 Hat... I'll pass!

PLD: It is still in hiatus until the time calls forth where my PLD is needed again. For right now though, it will rest until then.

DRK: A job I once have considered leveling but I eventually chose not to. Mainly because I would find nothing to do with this and it feels like I'd be doing nothing with it except pull it out and slash a few things.

BST: No.

BRD: Doesn't exist.

RNG: I has no munnies, though I will get it to 37 someday.

NIN: I has no munnies but I did consider it at some point... but I already got one tanking job, don't need another.

DRG: 37 someday, but not 75.

SMN: No.

BLU: Eh.

COR: Maybe someday.

PUP: Honestly, maybe I will level this to 75... just to wear Usukane on it.

DNC: 37 at the most, I don't see me soloing anything with it at 75.

SCH: Maybe... maybe not.

Oh, and Maat's Cap is something I'm probably never gonna consider... probably for a good reason that I wish to keep to myself. >:

Black Cloak infused with Love~

So after hitting level 68, Lissy decided to congratulate Moggie by giving him her very own Black Cloak that she has been using since forever! Truly, I am touched and just having this thing on me makes me feel like my power level is over 9000! @_@;

After freaking out and falling in love with Lissy's Black Cloak, I decided to head out to Sea and nuke some fishies.... then realized that I still havent' figured out the trick to it and I'm still getting really low XP per hour. Maybe I need to level /RDM and use that!

Anyways, I know a few posts ago I did a bit of a thing with /BRD and all that stuff. I decided to screw doing that and actually do Campaign battles. As I'm pretty sure the trend is following on other servers where it's mainly beastmen controlled. Now, I heard some weird ass crap from players as to how to "resolve" this issue on the player side. Kinda ranks along the thing I heard about Besieged and donating Imp. Bronze Pieces to the NPC that gives the Turban (yes, this is false, yes, you are retarded for believing in it).

I'd like to start off the theme of today's post as.... Cautionary Tales of Campaign.

@_@;

Honestly, Campaign isn't really a bad thing. Sure, it causes your Xbox/PS2 to crash from time to time but when you... ya know... actually get on a decent PC, it isn't so bad. You see a lot of crazy stuff in Campaign though. I mean, yes you can kinda just glance at it and be like "eh, that's a bug, whatever" at some of the things ya know? But, here's something that just totally shocked the crap outta me. Given the fact that I'm writing this at 3 in the morning, I might be wonky but... don't you guys find this to be sorta strange?

o_o;

There's just something about that turret... Something... wrong...

So anyways, ignoring that there's a huge pecker from that bird turret, went on to tackle down the baddies.

I got into the habit of casting Stoneskin constantly. I think Lissy said something along the lines of "I'm gonna kill you if you don't put Stoneskin up" or something.... I dunno, I don't like dying in either case so... Stoneskin up! I can't believe how many times this thing saved me from damage. At the beginning I had really low Enhancing and MND so really, it was almost pointless to put stoneskin up. Now I have to teach myself to do it constantly.

FOX...... DIE!!!!!!!!!! ..... THINK AGAIN.

That gimped SAM made us lose the battle. :( Not even Ares Galka Dancer PLD Man can save us.

Meet defeat by GOLDEN EAGLE.

This... doesn't look like a Belfry at all.

So, a got myself about.... 6k total exp from doing a ton of Campaign today... Hmm...

Getting BLM to 75 will be one long trip. @_@;

... There was nothing cautionary about this post at all!

My Weapon Skill Accuracy...

... leaves more to be desired. ;_;

Either this is a rant or a plea to figure out what's wrong with my gear. Well, as many of you should know (I hope), SAM weapon skills are mostly one-hitters, especially the YGK group. Unlike many other WS that other classes use a lot, such as Rampage, Guillotine, Dancing Edge and so on, I get struck with the whole "missed" messages when I do my WS. But it doesn't just happen a few times, this happens like.... all the time. I'm sitting thinking "Okay, I have almost the same gear as all of these other SAMs, I have my Sea Gorgets, I have 8/8 GKT merits... what gives?"

Really, I'm pretty sure it is just the fact that with one hit considered, I'll get that bolded message a lot more than say a WAR doing Rampage, mainly because you'll notice your misses in your TP return and no one is gonna point out your WS damage sucked unless you missed a signficant amount of damage. Pretty much, not sure if it is me but missing Tachi: Koki on Proto-Omega 4 times in a row (which btw, we believe that it made Omega's Heart dropped) is a bit of a.. weak chuckle at that point.

4 Kokis... :(

Anyways, it seems that a few people have taken notice of all the singers in Bastok [S]. With this, they decided to make a game of making my life a little bit harder by grabbing campaign mobs and throwing them at us. Not that I can't just relocate myself but it is right next to the Campaign NPC. I guess I have no reason to complain, I am, after all, getting XP by just hitting a few macros over and over again... Kinda like an actual XP party... Ironic!

I haven't fought a single monster as a BLM67 and it will probably remain that way for awhile. Consider it a bit shameful but at this point I just want to get my BLM to 75 to do things with Lissy as soon as I can. It also doesn't help that the beta for Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix just came out (Yes, that's the whole freakin name of the game) and I plan to play it during the off periods of me playing FFXI and blogging. In any case, my goal is to hit 75 before July.... and I have about 5 days left... things don't look swell for the Taru.

Yes, there is a huge lack of screenshots as of late and it mainly has to do with the fact that I'm too busy doing a lot of things at once that I don't have time to think about hitting the screenshot button. It sucks but I realize that maybe talking about what I have accomplished in game isn't really that much of a... thing people might be interested in unless it had a lot of spice. And really, the past few weeks were great, they were nice but they're not anything I could write a story about without repeating a legacy that has already been told. I hope that I have more stories to talk about soon, lately it has been fairly dry... though I sorta guess I have one now?

Nah not really.

On a side note: Chinchilla got Homam Body.

She was having a seizure on vent.

Grats Chin. :3

Well, at the very least, I have a KS99 on Thursday and hopefully something good comes out of it. I kinda need a little bit of extra gil in my pockets considering that I still haven't really caught up on my BLM spells or equipment. See, this whole Campaign thing is making me too lazy! ;_;

Oh btw. Xbox Gamertag: MogKnight Prime. If you want to do some rounds of Street Fighter, hit me up~

Welcome to the Second Half

I knew that eventually BLM soloing is gonna hit a wall where I'm going to stop getting massive and fast streams of XP and it will continue to be a total grind. Unfortunately, I think I really spoiled the crap out of myself with the whole Gobbie Pet thing. Regardless, I also think the way that I'm forced to solo right now is helping me be able to play BLM the "correct" way. Instead of one-shotting pets, I'm actually having to deal with mobs that I need to kite around and properly spacing myself. It makes BLM more entertaining to level (at least for me) but at the same time, it is really slow. The Enterpriser Camps are usually taken and killing stuff in Sea, while fun, is also a long process with what little MP and options I have. One of the options I'm lacking is /RDM, even though I do have it at the level I have gravity... but I lose Stoneskin/Blink unless I level it up more. I'm probably going to take a break from level BLM until I get RDM to 37. For the mean time though... remember that post I made? It works like a charm but EVERYONE is doing it! @_@;

It's kinda scary how there's a huge wall of BRDs and /BRDs just casting songs again and again...

ZNMs, ZNMs, and hell... more ZNMs! There are just so many of them to kill and so many reattempts required just to get whatever item you need. Granted that there are a few nice items in the earlier tiers but a lot of them are pretty.... "lol." Now, now... "Moggie, the fact that they added this is very nice and it's better than them not introducing it at all." Okay, well that's true, the fact that they added this into the update did make the update a pretty big one and there's always going to be "useless fodder." One thing I did notice with this update is that some of the higher end items (Hachiryu for example) are not EX. This is a good thing I think. RMT would be hard pressed to get these items as well so I don't see it being a bad thing.

Earning Zeni is not as hard or even as stupid as people make it. Just take a camera with you and take pictures of random mobs that you do (Sea/Sky/KSNM/Limbus/etc/etc). Aim to take it at low HP. For example, tossing up a few shots at Omega at low HP can net you around 80 Zeni a shot. If you can take 10 shots (without a problem), that's close to your first tier 1 pop and you can still submit more over 10 shots if you wait an in-game day. Tier 1 mobs are pretty easy to do with just a small gathering of people so it isn't really a hard thing to do, just need some planning around. Also, for whatever reason, FFXIclopedia has people listing "subtle" hints about the mob being a lot harder than it sounds. Some do things that will HURT bad but otherwise, you're fine as long as you play smart.

Oh and for the last time: Barfira (or Fire Resistance period) doesn't do jack crap for Mijin Gakure.

Mog to the Future!

After getting BLM to 75 and having that as a great option to do some stuff with (oh and not to mention being a perma BLM in the LS because Lissy is evil), I'm thinking about what other jobs I want to level to 75. Really, at this point I should probably try to go for Maat's Cap but first I want to get the jobs I would enjoy out of the way and just grind the other jobs to 66 later.

Here are some ideas and thoughts for what jobs I would want to level next:

Monk: The Punching (and soon to be Kicking) Fiend!

I figure that I have most of my MNK gear already due to SAM. Another thing is that I have a D. Body Abj sitting in my Mog House and really all I would need is the 900k or so to buy the cursed body. I kinda would place MNK in the same Category as WAR in terms of play style. You pretty much sit there, buff up when your JAs are up, WS when appropriate, use any other abilities whenever. Really, after playing SAM and BLM, I really do feel like playing another sit back job where the majority of the time you'd be sitting there not having to think so much about partitioning your TP so much. It also would be nice for Salvage and maybe even some farming. I'd give this a go... but then I gotta worry about the Belts... Also with the new update to MNK, I would really like to see how this job ends up.

Red Mage: Pimp.

Honestly, I always wanted to level RDM but I just can't be arsed to buy new equipment for it. The problem is that RDM equipment is neither Mage stuff (Seers) or typical melee stuff. I could just go until I hit AF like a gimp... it really doesn't matter though, everyone would want me for my curing, hasting, and refreshing. Debuffing would sorta be a problem for me due to the lack of MND as a Taru but maybe it'll all work out if I equip for it.

I honestly always admired Liseth (Well, I love her too but that's besides the point) and her ability to solo many things in this game. While I don't have access to Gaiters (for now), I do have W. Legs and I would like to do the same things she does and what many other RDMs do. My only real problem is that AF would be a pain in the ass for me and trying to keep up with all the buffing and debuffing that goes on. I can probably do it but I dunno how long I can keep it up...

Dark Knight: "Go Suck on a Moogle"

I took a heavy interest in DRK even prior to SAM. The only real reason why I never continued leveling it is that I went back to playing SAM one day and... Well anyways. I like hitting hard, I like big numbers and I like their abilities of being able to draw HP to deal damage and even having additional buffs to those moments. Plus, I can pick from a huge sword and a scythe and can even make a Zerg build of sorts since I have most of my Homam. I think its an option that I'd like to explore but it isn't really high on my priority list.

Blue Mage: You'll be like Quistis... just not hot.

People have always been telling me that I should level a mage job (at least long before I started BLM). At the time, I drew a lot of interest in this when ToAU came out. However, I chose to not level it due to the fact that the job was still new, it has high potential but I wanted to see everything ironed out before I take it up and become disappointed. Even now, I don't see that many BLU, I still think it is a powerful job but not really a job that I can see myself enjoying all too much at the time. It was still MP reliant and I thought it would be like playing other types of MMOs where it would just be spell/ability spamming. Now, I still feel the same way... but now I feel like playing some Korean MMO. What way to do it other than play BLU? The job also gets stronger as updates occur with new mobs but I have yet to see anything really significant.

Puppetmaster: Oh... I know what you're gonna say...

Despite the ridicule it gets, out of all the pet based jobs in the game (DRG I wouldn't count in this category), PUP seems to be the most fun because it has the ability to be almost as potent as another party member, probably even more so, who knows. It is also very nice because you as the PUP really don't need to concentrate too much on your own gear to function correctly. Can you do the job naked? Probably, I dunno... it really looks like you can or even be close to naked.

That's really it for now. Who knows, I might even pick a job that's not not on this list. I still think FFXI can be enjoyed so much as you unlock more jobs into the higher levels. It gives you another perception of things and opens up more windows of opportunities, even if you play a job that is undesired by End Game LSes. The hard part is leveling up with the idiot people... But that's just something you'll learn to deal with in life.

I'm a PLD... really, I am!

I think my priorities are a bit messed up in FFXI. Right now, I am balancing between 5 jobs: PLD/WAR/BRD/SAM/BLM. Every week I use each job at least twice and I gotta keep my gear up for them and I'm never going to be satisfied with what I have. I figured though that the same feeling is going to happen even if I have only one job so... yeah, a desire that can never be full.

Anyways, I've been looking at my PLD gear and I realized that I really should do something about it. I'm doing fine with what I have but I know deep down I can do better. So, lets have a look at what I have. <.<

When I tank as /NIN, I have on...

Main: Enmity Paddle +1
Sub: Koenig
Ammo: Shell
Head: Assjammer/Haste Turban
Neck: Harmonia/Parade/Shield
Ear: Pigeon/Ethereal
Body: AF1+1
Hands: Homam
Rings: BQR/Herc
Back: High Breath
Belt: Swift/Warwolf
Legs: Homam/WLegs
Feet: AF1+1/Askar

Honestly, I'm not sure how to really improve on this... the only idea is...

Shield: Wivre
Neck: Ritters (Or whatever the Einherjar thing is called)
Ear: Hades +1 (This is gonna hurt my wallet)
Body: Valor Surcoat
Back: Cerberus Mantle
Belt: Trance

Though I have wonder if this is all really worth it in the end. Another thing is what about alternate and gear swaps? I lack a fire resist/magic damage down build and people have told me that some PLDs use an HP Swap Set so they can get more HP slack to heal themselves with. Pretty much, I'm just a bit clueless as to where I should go with this. With some higher end PLDs in DRF, I usually end up not being able to keep up with them and somehow I feel its just more than just more enmity that is giving them that much of an advantage... Maybe I'm doing something wrong or maybe that is really it: more enmity.

I've also been messing around with a PLD DD set just for S&Gs and if I really don't need to tank all the time but I need to come PLD anyways.

Another question I have... is the Hauteclare worth it? I gotta keep thinking ahead here. :3

I h8 Jailer of Temperance

No, it isn't because he doesn't pop for me... its because every time I want to do something else in Sea like farm Ghrah M Chips or help out with a mission, Lissy always says "Hey, lets try to pop Temp" and it ends up popping.

Yeah...

I hate that damn flying sex toy. :(

This week in DRF was pretty productive:

We got a Taru Molestor.



I found a Kirin behind a thingy.



I even fell asleep on an Aern!

For the most part, we're going pretty healthy and I can only see many more awesome adventures going on... as long as I keep remembering to hit the screenshot button.

As for myself, I've been working on BLM AF for the longest time. After constantly seeing people in the Pso'Xja camp (and ruining my AM one shotting fun), I decided to stop leveling for a bit to work on the BLM AF. Now, let me tell you people, before you go out and get your gloves, please realize the following:

1. Once you activate the quest, you can be on another job to open the chest (You know this one).
2. If you are on another job that is currently able to get AF from the coffer you are trying to get gauntlets from, that job's AF will take priority over your gauntlets. (You probably didn't know this one).

The reason why I point this out is because... I spent 2 extra hours refarming a key because I forgot my PLD AF was still active (due to AF1+1 and needing to repeat my gear) and instead of getting the BLM Old Gauntlets... I got my Gallant Coronet back! NIFTY! >:

Keep that in mind :3

At least Dark Spark was easy to solo.

Prior to all this though, I decided to get a party with Lissy since she wanted to level DRK and my BLM was close to her level. Because it was a chance to be with Lissy, I couldn't refuse! ;3 However... the exp was sorta ass for me, even though the party was doing a very good job. It mainly had to do to the fact that I was fairly low leveled (52 and I think highest was 54). Nothing an Anniversary Ring can't fix though! By the way, I used up all my charges, what about you guys? <.<;

Livin' Large.

Oh, we also did Dynamis yesterday. They made me pull...

I hate my job.

Actually, despite the fact that everyone is dead in that picture, we pulled a win with 300 some currency and quite a bit of Wootz! :3 Not a bad run at all I'd say~

And finally... Box for a Mog Head.

Until next time~

Mog's Variety Week

This week has been a pretty busy week for me. I honestly don't think I've put this much effort into the game before, even more so than CerbDRF.

btw: From this point forward...

CerbDRF: The Linkshell I ran back in Cerberus which kinda blew up.
DRF: The Linkshell currently being ran by Liseth and which I am a sack of.

I think I've done a lot of cup emptying and relearning a lot of things. This is good because old habits I've formed before are gone and I can develop better habits.

HOLY SHOCK: Reviving the Luster of PLD

While I really wouldn't consider myself a Main PLD any more (been shifting towards SAM), I still keep up with all the other PLDs in this new LS. I kind of have to, I'd be damn dead jealous if I didn't. I've been exclusively using /NIN, so there's a lot of consider in terms of how I can maintain CE. People have suggested using some NIN Debuffs, others have suggested having an HP swap build. There are also quite a lot of nice PLD Enmity Gear that came about during the past few updates, many of which have flew past under my radar.

Some stuffs that I'd want for my PLD right now:

-Some stuff to get some HP slack in
-Bahamut Mask
-Jelly Ring
-Wivre Shield
-Trance Belt
-Defending... Ring

-Hades Earring +1...

On a side note: I killed the King of Turtles :3

WHAT'S THIS?!: The Return of BRD... Sorta

I have started playing BRD again, mainly because I'm really not in an LS that kinda uses BRD in such a way that makes the job completely boring. Unfortunately, I sold a lot of my original BRD gear and as such, I'm kinda reduced to picking up scraps and trying to get enough to do enough. Recently, I did get AF1+1 BRD Hands and a Kirin's Osode back in UF. Not bad for a return to BRD really... though I could use a Wind Torque and get rid of my damn Bird Whistle.

ANOTHER VERSION: Mogknight as a Mage?!

Yeah... I finally broke into a Mage Job (and BRD doesn't count). Currently at level 44, I've been soloing and partying my way up slowly. I intend to get this to 75 soon. With the Anniversary Ring making its return, it might help a lot! :3

By the way: this job is really lax... which is cool, it lets me play The World Ends With You on my DS while I EXP!

SOUL ON FIRE: Return of DownRightFierce

Life has been pretty great in terms of our new Linkshell. Within a week we managed to tackle our first Tier 2 Sea God and got some nifty items along the way~ So far, every battle we've been in involves some level of epic-ness. Now, one would assume when something epic happens, something wrong must have occurred for it to be epic. Well, here's what was "wrong" with most of these battles: They're all mostly small-maned.

It isn't because our LS is small (it is for now at least with around 16 some members), but the fact that we do a lot of our farming "on the go." We do plan these out but a lot of members opt to head straight to Sea or Sky whenever they feel like and tackle on these NMs. Pretty nice thing really, allows us to challenge ourselves and have the odds against us.

By the way: Trioing Despot PLD/NIN, RDM67, and BLM/RDM can have some hilarious results, especially involving another LS trying to get in your way while kiting. >:3 Too bad that couldn't stop the Mog.

Temperance on the other hand...

Actually...

If there was one thing that didn't go as planned: Failed HNM Limbus Run. :3 Hey, gotta have something imperfect to be perfect.

And finally: A CFH'd Charby

The drama for the Joytoy never ends.

As for random stuff that occurred:

- Epic Temperance Battle
- Almost snagged a Faust vs JP
- Diorite drop rate sucks
- Ix'DRG dropped a Vice... but Ix'DRK hates us.
- btw: Ix'DRK RR 8 times. So far the record is like... 19?
- Had a really smooth Faith run. Lissy was showing off her tanking skills.
- Took us about 12 Sharks to get an HQ right before we were going to do hope. Koki made NQ Organs drop like mad.

As for myself:

- Still wanting Usukane
- Running into a lot of random NMs lately
- Urge to level NIN rising
- Had a BCNM40 group get 2/3 on Peacock Charm
- PLD DD Build in the works. Need Askar Body. >.>;

And finally: Why not to play Galka in FFXI.

So that I don't have to go back to this again~

... Why do I hate Limbus?

!!!

To the uninitiated, Limbus is a little "battlefield" type of deal (really don't like that word to describe Limbus btw) where you can take up to 18 players to fend off enemies and reach the goal. Along the way, you'll encounter Ancient Beastcoins and various AF1+1 materials. Sea access (beat Promathia Mission 8-1) is required. Also, as far as I know, there is no level limit and there is a time limit of 72 hours before Limbus can be attempted again.

Limbus is one of those things where you can go through and just race to the goal but you'll end up with no coins or materials. Limbus is also one of those things where you can farm the crap out of coins and materials and never hit the goal. Of course then theres a way to strike a balance between the two.

Unfortunately, throughout my experiences doing Limbus, you either have one or the other. Back when I ran Limbus in the DynamisLordHNMLS days (on Cerberus), Limbus was new and trying to figure out things was fun. Fast forward to DRF days, most of our runs consist of just grabbing a bunch of coins. I eventually got all the AF1+1 I need and even a Brutal Earring. Though this is where it got repetitive, especially since Limbus was still 50k and coin prices were falling.

Then currently in UF, we bring a whole army to Limbus just to get chips.

... Nifty.

Its also pretty bad when it becomes a split run, then people who just suck will suck more because they're no longer covered by a huge army.

That's actually one huge complaint that I have with this LS. People that suck and keep on sucking in a sucky sucky suckiness like sucking way.

SUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK...

Going back to what I was saying. Eventually you'll hit a point where Limbus just becomes mechanical. Everything becomes prescripted and it just gets dry every time. Its not even a skill thing, its a boring bum rush. The only enjoyment I get out of it now is going in with a small group. Unfortunately, linkshells need Homam and Nashira. Smaller groups can't take down Omega or Ultima (unless they were really really good) and linkshells, being filled with sucky people, often restrict Limbus as being In-LS only. Well, crap. >:( If Moggie wants to do Limbus with Lissy, Moggie can't because UF will bite me in the ass for it!~

suuuuccckkk <.<;

Well, if anything, Limbus does have some nice items out of it and can be enjoyable... but with how linkshells run that stuff nowadays, its just garbage really. Personally, we (the players) have improved so much that Limbus is beatable with just a typical TP burn setup, even more so with the 2h update.

Moggie hates it still... but I'll still take my homams~ Thankfully, the only one I need left are the feet. Maybe I'll level THF someday that would warrant me wanting the body... but, that's way later from now.

On another note: The Feast of Swords event is currently taking place. Go smack some Samurai today... just not me! >:3

The "IIWLIWDSTM" Post #1

Or "If I Wasn't Lazy, I'd Would DAT Swap This Music" Post >.>;

Self explanatory.

Format: Name of Zone/Situation - Music to be Swapped in. Source material can be from anything. If I can find a YouTube video/site with said music, I'll post.

1. Aht Urhgan Whitegate/Al Zahbi (Idle) - ".hack - Water Capital Server Mac Anu"
Source: MP3
Reasoning: <.< Water Capital... Water Capital... Port Town... Port Town... :3

Note, this is from the original (crappy) .hack series, not GU (better). >:3

2. Battle Music (Any Boss Battle/BC) - "Golden Sun: The Lost Age - Final Battle (SSBM Remix)"
Source:



Reasoning: Favorite Track in Brawl, unfortunately its only used on a stage that no one plays on. Since you would hear battle music (if the volume was on of course) in FFXI all the time, why not replace it with something you like?

3. Chocobo Circuit (While Walking Around) - "Ridge Racer Type 4 - On Your Way"
Source: YouTube
Reasoning: While in the Chocobo Circuit, I'm prepping myself by either prepping up my Chocobo to race or I'm betting on birdies. <.< Reminds me of the Garage music in R4 so here it is.

4. Chocobo Circuit (While Racing) - "Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2 - Nip and Tuck Race"
Source:



Reasoning: Needs more epic techno music. Also, this song is split into various parts, as this is used for a portion in the game in which you race 10 individuals. As you pass each of them up, the next portion of the song plays. Until then, it loops continuously.

+ Needs more epic techno music.

5. Promathia (CoP's Final Mission BC) - "Capcom vs SNK 2 - This is true love makin'"
Source:



Reasoning: Because this is true love makin'.... ALLLLL THHHHHEEEE TTTIIIIIIMMMMEEEEE.

@_@;

Okay, so many I wouldn't do that swap.

Alt. 5! Mhaura to Selbina (Pirates) - "Legend of Zelda Wind Waker - Molgera Battle (SSBM Ver)"
Source:



Reasoning: Sure, it wasn't a battle on a ship in the original Wind Waker game... but it sure sounds like it would be one. <.< Oh, I also don't know if the Brawl version sounds different compared to the original from Wind Waker... so I just put up the Brawl version.

Well, that's 5... or 6. >.>; Two blog posts in the early morning. Right now I'm logged in Behemoth's Crib, gonna have him a nice Taru hug once I log in and he pops >:O (and by Nice Taru Hug, I mean a stab to the face).

Tootles~

Banhammar, Tighter Policies, and Server Malfunctions!

Lets start with this news post by SE

Regarding the Frequent Difficulties on Multiple Worlds

Since the start of April 2008, we have been experiencing technical difficulties in various worlds and areas of FINAL FANTASY XI. The technical difficulties include not being able to access specific areas or not being able to use the auction house or delivery service. Hardware has been replaced in response to the issues, but the cause still remains unknown.

Our technicians continue to work with the hardware vendor to find preventive measure for the accessibility issues. To implement part of this preventive measure, maintenance will be performed on Apr. 23, 2008 from 10:00 to 12:30 (PDT).

Further preventive measures are being planned in the near future.
We will inform you via an announcement when details of the measure are finalized.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.italic.gif
insert italic tags
At this point, we are not able to guarantee that the service will return to full functionality once the measures are implemented. We would like to apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused and ask for your cooperation and understanding at this time.

I don't think I've experienced any problems regarding this... or even anyone in my LSes. Maybe some sort of international problem for the EU and the JP? :X Whatever it is, lets just hope stuff doesn't blow up when they start implementing stuff in this maintenance. "X3

Edit: I am a retard. >: Apparently, this is affecting actual Server Worlds. >.>;

How about this next one...

Regarding Online Attacks against FINAL FANTASY XI

Recently, we became aware of an individual who attempted to compromise the integrity of the FINAL FANTASY XI service. The individual's efforts exploited the low-security passwords chosen by a small percentage of our customers. We would like to assure our users that our PlayOnline team quickly responded with countermeasures against the attacks from this individual. Additionally, our legal team worked together with U.S. government authorities to identify and locate the individual. As a result of our investigation, we have now completed an out of court confidential civil settlement which has serious financial consequences for this person. This is in line with our zero-tolerance policy against any attempts to compromise or hack FINAL FANTASY XI and the PlayOnline system. We will vigorously investigate and prosecute any such attempts.

In addition, we have recently implemented new policies and procedures concerning the restoration of PlayOnline accounts and FINAL FANTASY XI character data for players whose accounts have been compromised by unknown third parties. Please refer to the news announcement regarding the new policy for details. These compromised accounts bear no relation to the attack discussed above.

Again, we would like to thank you for using our PlayOnline services. We will continue to take the appropriate measures against any sort of attacks to insure the quality of our services.

Please refer to the following link for the details on the compromised account restoration policy.

Taj? @_@;

Next order of business...

Accounts Banned (Apr. 23)

We would like to report the termination today of multiple accounts held by players involved in the usage of third-party tools or cheats, or engaged in RMT (Real Money Trading) activities.

Based on the results of our investigation, around 6,860 PlayOnline accounts were terminated while around 990 accounts were temporarily suspended.
Additionally, we have increased the number of mass bannings against certain PlayOnline violations in order to prevent illegal acts.

The termination of these accounts has led to the removal of approximately 4.1 billion gil from circulation.

Nothing really interesting to point out really... uh... Good job SE! :3

I also found this to be pretty funny...

- I've seen characters using their abilities with impossible timing on Notorious Monsters the moment they appear. Isn't this a violation of the user agreement? Or are they violators of the user agreement who have somehow avoided getting banned?

The Special Task Force individually investigates the areas and characters mentioned in each report submitted by FINAL FANTASY XI users, but in most cases, the characters mentioned above are fighting Notorious Monsters through completely normal behavior.
We will continue to investigate each report we receive and ban players who are found in violation of the user agreement. If you discover any players violating the user agreement or using illegal methods to play the game, please be sure to report them to the Special Task Force.

Allow me to reiterate that for you...

- OMGWTF THAT MOB SPAWNED CLAIMED! BAN THAT MOFO, BAN THAT MOFO NAU!!!

Get a better computer. --SE

p.s. No, we're not gonna recode FFXI to make it work better with video cards. Invest in overclocking and liquid hydrogen.

And then finally... Something they probably should have done awhile back >.>;

PlayOnline, at its discretion, may provide two kinds of assistance for customers whose accounts have been accessed by third parties: “account recovery” and “game data recovery.” Both of these may be provided based on the results of our own internal investigation. “Account recovery” removes the disciplinary measures history for the period that the account was being accessed, as well as fixing the password changes and other data that was altered during the period of unauthorized access. “Game data recovery” restores an account's game data to the state it was in before it was altered through unauthorized access. Game data recovery, however, can only be requested once per customer. (Multiple accounts can be dealt with on a single recovery request).

To sum up that image: You can choose to fix your account so that your characters would be the same as they were at a certain point in the past (basically, whenever they backup saved data) but you can only do this once. Otherwise, you can choose to have your account recovered, which all it does is remove any bad records, fixing your password and anything else that might have been altered... but you might end up coming back, looking like garbage. :3

Nifty.

You know, we always try to say to each other "Be careful when surfing the interwebs~" Honestly though, sometimes these things just slip through the cracks of some unlucky individual and poof, there goes all their stuff. Not just in FFXI but also in other stuff like bank accounts and what not. >.>; Identify theft and all. Sure, there are ways to avoid this stuff from happening but sometimes it happens. Just have to cope with it and try to recover as much as you can. Most importantly: don't let that ruin your fun in game or in life.

>.> Oh and always keep an eye on your bank account... Because damn... @_@; Past experiences.

Sitting at Sky... thinking, "Why?"

I mean, it becomes a never ending rant but whatever, I'm stuck in Sky and I'll rant about Sky. >.>;

After doing Sky for god knows how long, I'm surprised that it still has its exciting moments, at least to me. Its boring otherwise. There's really nothing up here other than Groundskeepers, Aura Statues, and Aura Pots, not to mention all the Gods and NMs. Everything else just gets in the way or impedes your progress. Thankfully, at least on Cerberus and Carbuncle, the whole RMT problem doesn't exist any more and Pop Items aren't so much of a pain to farm now. Which is good because now entry level LSes can start building up their members without having to spend years to properly equip themselves.

After doing Sky roughly twice a week for nearly 2 years, I'm surprised I didn't cry out in horrible horrible disgust. It could be the fact that when I started doing Sky as my own linkshell (DownRightFierce in Cerberus), Sky was mainly a zone that people avoided due to RMT. At the time, SE started to introduce the Special Task Force and while some people mocked it, it looked like they did their job in eradicating the RMT in most places, especially in Sky for my servers. I also went through the entire development of Sky. At that time, I would have never expected things such as Ulli's pop conditions to be changed. It was probably one of the most annoying things up in Sky when you have a mob with a 4-12? hour lottery spawn condition. Of course now it is still a pain in the ass to get Ulli due to the Diorite's drop rate being so low but now at least instead of being controlled by things that people could exploit, it is now simply luck based.

When I compare Sky and Sea together, I prefer doing Sea because its different. However, the drops in Sky are just so much better overall than what you get in Sea. It also doesn't help that Sea also has some really bad drop rates in itself. I've only seen one Justice Torque drop in my entire FFXI career and I think I've done about a good 20+ or so. Sadly enough... I want one! >.>;

But going back to Sky. Ever since I joined Unforgiven in Carbuncle, my time in Sky has been MUCH more limited than back in DRF. We really only do Sky so much that I often forget that we do Sky as a linkshell. Every time I go up there now, its more and more of a drag because the way that we do Sky in Unforgiven is too uniformed for me. Its like, we kinda do things in a way that makes it boring for me because its "too" organized at times. Luckily for me today, Liseth was there to keep me company. What makes this different from before is that Liseth was there in Sky with me, just not communicating through tells.

Contrary to Popular Belief: Moggie does not sleep laying down.

Sky, to me, just became one of those things where you just go up with a small group of people, small-man as much as you can and then bring out a linkshell to handle the tougher mobs... but even then, 18 is the most you'll ever need and that's even bringing more than enough at times. Of course this can't be said to linkshells that are just starting off with NQ gear and without all the skills acquired throughout the many months of playing in end game.

People have asked me if Sky is really "End Game." It is but often times, I see so many people discouraged from doing Sky after their first few days and that kinda stops them from doing other end game stuff because they think Sky is "the" end game thing. It is one of the first few things that you will encounter as you do end game but it is far from being the only thing and far different from the rest of the stuff that you will do as you do end game.

Otherwise, there were a lot of drama that involved Byakko's Haidate and Kirin's Osode. Thankfully, that isn't too much of a problem now as it was before. But to those that got screwed out of Haidate or Osode from their LS in these current times, remember that you guys have it so much easier now, just stick with it and you'll get it eventually. Then once you do... then you go find another linkshell. :P

Airships: What happened?

With all the outpost warps, Whitegate teleports and all this other nifty stuff that exists in the game, the Airships have been kinda lost their usefulness. There are a lot of good reasons why.

As we all remember in Final Fantasy XI, getting the Airship Pass and riding it was an experience. There were two ways of getting the Airship Pass, either complete the Magicite Rank 4 mission or pay 500,000 gil. Most of us opted for completing the Rank 4 mission, which can either take us a long time to do (from the start of creating a character) or can be fairly fast (if you know a few people in game already). For me, it was a slow process because I played the game in a rather slow manner. You know, enjoying the game like a fine wine, something that I think a lot of people often don't do when they play games nowadays. But, anyways, riding the Airship for the first time was amazing, especially since I got to ride it with some (then) close friends of mine. The music reminds of Phantasy Star Online... oddly enough.

As time went on, Airships became that thing that got people places. You'd have airships full of people trying to get to where they want to go. Eventually, we've hit a point where Outposts became dominant, City areas have nothing to offer, Jeuno became less useful, Aht Urhgan offered more, and City areas introduced a teleport to Aht Urhgan.

But what happened to the airships? They still run their usual business but with how fast we can go around the world, Airships just take too long now. It is a shame too, there is one whole zone in the game that is dedicated to Airships. There are 3 whole zones that offer nothing but NPCs and Airships and those Airships are just not getting used any more. Airships are no longer required to get around, which is a pity because Airships were a big deal.

Can we fix the airships? We probably could if we have an incentive to use them. Here are some things I'd like to see:

1. Faster Airships
Waiting 12 minutes for an airship is stupid. Make the ride go faster and increase the circulation of airships.

2. NMs in Airships
Personally, I'd like to see some monsters up in the Airships and maybe some NMs. Wouldn't even have to be something great, just something to kill time with.

3. Airship from Jeuno to Whitegate
Yeah, most would probably prefer a teleport NPC to there... but heck, an Airship going there wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a teleport NPC.

4. Quests/Minigames that involve the Airship
The Discerning Quest for Airship is pretty all right, a bit of extra gil and such. However, you can finish this pretty fast and it also ends up leaving you with nothing to do until you land.

Well, that's my Airship rant of sorts. There will always be one memory that sticks in my head whenever I'm on an airship: Running off to the rim and getting stuck in the propeller~

Moggie and Lissy~ + Wiki Userpage

Before I get into today's blog post (which is something that is long overdue), I just wanted to point out that I customized my userpage on FFXIclopedia. Only real thing of interest it has there right now are my Assault completions. Kinda gonna work on putting the rest of the stuff in later (quests, equipment, more check lists, etc).

You can find it at http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/User:MogKnight

Anyways!

Even with our busy schedules, me and Liseth have started our plan to duo DNC and SCH to 75 (at least, that IS the plan). Currently, we're at level 26 and have been leveling whenever we have the free time.

DNC and SCH are fairly unique jobs, at least compared to the rest of the other jobs. DNC has a long longevity in being able to survive, mainly because it can support itself solely on its TP, a value that constantly increases as the battle progresses. SCH is also unique as it can be highly comparable to both WHM and BLM (but I'll let Liseth talk about that :P).

Some points of interest though for those that wish to level DNC or SCH and have a buddy or significant other that they can level with:

1. As long as you can get a good flow of TP that bowls over your HP consumption, you can solo anything. Which means it makes it easier/faster to duo and have your SCH concentrate more on nuking.

2. Consider your SCH's MP as a secondary form of healing. You, for the most part, will be doing all the healing. Have that SCH focus more on nuking.

3. When you first setup your solo session, start off by fighting some weak mobs if possible and your SCH focusing on healing you until you get enough TP to keep yourself alive.

4. Steps are very VERY VERY useful, use them.

5. Animated Flourish is helpful as your SCH might end up taking hate more often than not. Also note that once you Step, you can Animate immediately after.

6. You'll be subbing NIN by the time you hit 20. Honestly, Utsusemi isn't going to save you, so don't cast it during a fight. However, cast it before you go out to pull to save yourself some HP.

7. Don't bother with Aspir Samba. Trust me.

8. Don't bother Weapon Skilling. Trust me on that too.

Moggie also did a Salvage with Liseth. Hopefully this keeps going. As much as I'd want to get Usukane Feet (and everything else), just the fact that I get to do them with Liseth is enough. :3 Besides, how else can I get to see Lissy naked? X3

Damn teh cold :( Damn teh flu

Due to how I'm getting every single textbook sickness in my body, I have not been able to really post on my blog or even play FFXI to the point where I can pull off anything interesting to talk about.

So, here's a quickie. >:

- Claimed Khimmy the other day, tanked for awhile but had a doc's appointment, was a national hero.
- Started duoing my DNC with Liseth's SCH. Muchos fun, want to do this more.
- Found a nice static to do missions and assaults with. Nice group of people, I think I'll fit in nicely.
- Hoping to get LS to do more EINHERJARS, mainly for something different.
- LS recently taking a break from doing Dynamis. I could careless about Dynamis (>: I want my Surcoat)>
- Started working on a ghetto Damage Reduction Set for SAM, will probably sell it off once I become unsatisfied with it.
- Liseth is hot.
- A bunch of Chocobo racing and raising stuff, I can now do C3 races.

Other than that... hopefully this damn cold goes away, sore throat is killing me. ; ;

March 10th 2008 Update: RETALIATION!!!!!

Basically a copy and paste from a forum post I did this morning. Hopefully, it will turn out nice. <.<

Traditionally, I go through each update thing, post a quick opinion about it and point out funny things. >:3 READY? GO!

New areas have been added to past Vana'diel.

Yay.

NPC spectators have been added to Chocobo Circuit.
These new NPCs can be observed purchasing chocobet tickets and rooting for their favorites.

... lol

"Brygid the Stylist Returns" quest is now available for dancers and scholars.

More JSE... can't go wrong.

Characters below level 20 are no longer able to mine for items in the following areas:
Newton Movalpolos/Mount Zhayolm/Halvung/Gusgen Mines/Ifrit's Cauldron

This made me laugh for a good 20 minutes.

New Notorious Monsters have been added to the Wings of the Goddess areas.

HNM quality? Heck, anything would be good at this point.

A maximum limit has been placed on the total amount of bonus attack speed that can be gained from a combination of spells, abilities, and items.

Uh oh.

The chance to resist damage from skill chains has been adjusted.

Oooh, nice~

When receiving weapon-enhancing spell effects from other party members, the additional damage caused will depend on the caster’s enhancing magic skill. Magic accuracy for these spells has also been adjusted.

Well, at least this is not that stupid... no wait, its still pretty stupid.

The process for calculating “Absorb” spell resists has been adjusted.>

"Absorb" spells that previously did not take effect when resisted will now take effect in the case of partial resists below a certain percentage. However, partially resisted spells will have their durations reduced.
“Absorb” spells will still fail to take effect in the case of a complete resist.

The following spells have been introduced:
Recall-Jugner (WHM Lv.53)
Recall-Pashh (WHM Lv.53)
Recall-Meriph (WHM Lv.53)
Retrace (BLM Lv.55)
Absorb-ACC (DRK Lv.61)
Klimaform (SCH Lv.46)
Monomi: Ichi (NIN Lv.25) *Uses the ninja tool, "sanjaku-tenugui."

Wait wait wait.... did they say... "Absorb-ACC" O_O;
And yay, Sneak Spell is actually <37.
I can't really say I like the location of the teleports though...
Retrace sounds like going back to the past...
Eh, that's why we have DATs. Someone will figure it out before the servers go up.

The new warrior job ability “Retaliation” has been introduced:
Retaliation
Allows you to counterattack but reduces movement speed.

Oh shit... RETALIATION... !!!!!!!!!!!!!

The new thief job ability “Collaborator” has been introduced:
Collaborator
Steals 25% of the target party member's enmity and redirects it to the thief.
*This ability shares a recast time with “Accomplice,” a thief ability introduced in the previous version update.

A 50% and a 25% version? @_@?

The new samurai job ability “Sekkanoki” has been introduced:
Sekkanoki
Limits TP cost of next weapon skill to 100.

Hmm... this I actually like. Would actually make things easier to self Skillchain I'd imagine. Also allows for good conservation of TP when using Meditate at the same time.

... Also allows for less enmity gain because I do too much fucking damage. >.>

The new summoner job ability “Elemental Siphon” has been introduced:
Elemental Siphon
Drains MP from your summoned spirit.
*Only effective on spirits summoned by the summoner.

Uh... spirits... huh...

The following changes have been made to the corsair job:
- The recast for the job ability “Quick Draw” has been changed to a “charge” system.
Each use of the “Quick Draw” ability consumes one charge, with charges being regained over time.
When using the “/recast” text command, it is necessary to nominate a specific shot, such as “/recast Fire Shot”. This command will display the amount of time remaining until a new charge will be generated, as well as the current number of charges available.

Uhm... I hope Quick Draw recharges every minute? <.<;

- New “Phantom Rolls” have been introduced:
Dancer’s Roll (COR Lv.61)
Scholar’s Roll (COR Lv.64)

Yums.

The following changes have been made to the dancer job:
- The recast time for all Waltzes will now be reduced to 6 seconds while under the effect of the job ability “Trance.”
- The effect of attributes on Waltzes will now be calculated differently depending on whether dancer is set as the main job or as the support job.
- An accuracy bonus will now be applied to “Steps” when dancer is set as the main job.
- The durations of the job abilities “Haste Samba,” “Aspir Samba II,” and “Drain Samba III” have been increased.

All of these are good... except for the subjob thing... @_@

eee... I'll let someone else figure out the scholar stuff... Though it does look pretty interesting...

The fee structure for obtaining and altering mannequins has been reduced as follows:
-Price for your second mannequin and onwards: from 250,000 gil to 100,000 gil.
-Cost to change your mannequin to that of another race: from 10,000 gil to 2,000 gil.
-Cost to change your mannequin's pose: from 1,000 gil to 200 gil.

OH GOD @_@ MUCH NEEDED CHANGE~

Magic effect explanations have been added to item help information for magic scrolls.

nifty~

The following data can now be backed up on PlayOnline's servers.
-"Config" settings inside the main menu (excluding platform-specific settings such as "key assign", and language-specific items).
-[Current tell target] history for "chat" inside the active command window.
-Macro and book data.
-Map marker data.
-Item display sorting data for the "bid" option in the auction menu.

[Storage Location]
It is now possible to store configuration data on PlayOnline's servers, in addition to your game machine's own hard disk drive. Up to four slots are available on your hard disk for this purpose, while one slot is available on the server. One slot stores one character's worth of configuration data. Selecting a used slot will overwrite existing data.

[Saving Configuration]
Bring up the configuration file save screen by pressing the following buttons/keys at the character selection screen, and choose the slot in which you wish to save.

"PlayStation 2": L1 button + L3 button
Xbox 360: LB + left stick button
Keyboard: [Shift] + [Alt] + [Ctrl] + [B]

[Loading Configuration]
Bring up the configuration file load screen by pressing the following buttons/keys at the character selection screen, and choose the slot from which you wish to load.

"PlayStation 2": R1 button + R3 button
Xbox 360: RB + right stick button
Keyboard: [Shift] + [Alt] + [Ctrl] + [R]

[Deleting Configuration]
Bring up the configuration file deletion screen by pressing the following buttons/keys at the character selection screen. Confirm deletion to restore default settings for the currently selected character.

"PlayStation 2": R1 button + L2 button + R3 button + L3 button
Xbox 360: R2 + L2 + right stick button + left stick button
Keyboard: [Shift] + [Alt] + [Ctrl] + [D]

What this basically means, those with windower macros don't have to worry about SE looking into your macros as saving is purely optional.

The maximum number of screenshots that can be stored has been increased from 99 to 200.

lol...

A new text color has been introduced for the name of monsters currently engaged with alliance members.

A new text color has been introduced for the name of monsters that anyone can attack.

Nifty.

The following new emote commands have been added:
/dance1
/dance2
/dance3
/dance4

Finally~

Well, I skipped a lot of things (usually things I have nothing to really say about or wish to point out). Not a bad update at all really. I would like to see how the Counterattack rate is like for that new WAR ability and if shadows count first for it or not. What I really want to see first though is the max limit to the amount of attack speed you can have. For all we know, it could make the whole Rune Chopper thing useless now... but I hope it isn't that bad.

One thing I will note is that quite a bit of jobs got a bit of a buff this time around. WAR/SMN... maybe/DRK (though you could argue a nerf here)/THF (I guess?)/COR (maybe)/SAM/Any job that uses /NIN/BST even. Reason I say this is because I don't think

Actually wait a second...

A wyvern’s attributes will now increase in correspondence to the amount of experience gained from the moment the wyvern is summoned.
*This increase will not be affected by experience gained from Campaign, Besieged, or items.
**A wyvern’s attributes will be reset to their original values when the wyvern is KO’d, dismissed, or changes areas.

Even DRG got buffed a bit.

The whole SCH thing is a beast of an update in itself. Will it allow it to float better? Time can only tell really. From what I gather...

They added more charges for Stratagems.
They reduced the time for recharge.
Looks like they have an ability that saps your HP for MP (which I think is awesome... now if only it can go the other way around for PLD... >:3 Taru PLD Top Tier).

Now this is interesting: Addendum abilities that allow you to cast even more White and Black magic. :o~~~

Oh and Emperor Band... uhm... Basically double times your Empress Band, I'd go with it I guess... I guess...

Hmm... La Vaule, Beadeaux, Castle Oztroja in the past zones... Sexy.

Again, all around, good update, kinda want to see how everything turns out. I just hope we don't have to wait another 5 months for an update.

And as always, the update can be found on the POL website (which I believe will be going down at 11AM PST but will come up later.

Update Notes

Chocobo Racing: Using that Gil for Something

One of the benefits to raising a chocobo is being able to take it to the racetracks and race it for gil and chocobucks! Too bad no one cares about this! :D

Fortunately for you, assuming you're staying with the program, this means potential pocket change for you everyday. It also serves as a good time killer between events.

There are two types of Chocobo Races: Mission based races and Circuit races.

Mission races are all instanced solo races that you do for a little bit of gil and getting yourself a nifty title. I believe that there is no real reason to do this other than to beat the Novice challenges (which opens up Free Runs) and to get a nifty title. However, you will need to do them to at least open up Free Runs, as that will be your primary source of Chocobucks. Otherwise, the point of the missions is to win... much like any other racing venue <.<; Mission races are free in Novice level but as you progress farther in, it requires Chocobucks to take part in the races.

What are Chocobucks? Think of them as tokens or tickets that you gain from beating Free Run races, winning Chocobo Hot and Cold sessions, and various other chocobo related stuff. They allow you to buy feed, stat enhancements, and colored dye for your chocobo. It even allows you to increase the stats of a retired chocobo... ain't taht nifty? :3

This leads to Circuit Races. You need chocobucks for Circuit races as well. Circuit races are your PvP races, except no one does them so don't expect to be racing against any real people any time soon unless you bug a friend. You can only do these races once every 24 earth hours and they often have some requirements you need to fulfill. Entering these races can be a total pain in the ass, as it requires you to wait for the appropriate NPC to allow people to sign up and waiting 30 more minutes for the actual race to start. For all intents and purposes, it is better that you set it, go through your day, and come back a few hours later to reclaim any rewards.

The high stakes races though... 100k gil for first place... @_@;

Hopefully this blog post will entice you into giving this thing a try. <.< If you're... that bored that is.

Chocobo Crazy~

Considering that I find myself not doing much of anything during the night time, I have opted to try out raising my chocobo for actual racing. This a very long process that can take several months before a high-grade chocobo is created. Of course, legends have to start from somewhere <.< (like yours truly).

First off, what can raising your own chocobo do for you? An immediate answer would be "next to nothing." And that's true for the most part, you really won't get too much of anything until waaay later, and by the time that rolls around, you'd probably lose interest. If you do stick around however and have fairly low expectations, you'll probably have a fun time picking this up every half hour, everyday.

So, where do you begin? You need a chocobo egg. You can get it from four different sources:

1. ISNMs
2. Mating a male and a female chocobo
3. A quest involving Brutus from Upper Jeuno
4. Buying it from the Mithra NPC next to the Ru'lude AH, assuming her business is high.

What is interesting is that there are 5 chocobo eggs. Honestly, no one knows what is the real difference between them. After you get one, you then go to whichever nation's Chocobo NPC (in the chocobo stables) and give them your egg. I obviously recommend doing this at your home nation but you can do it at any of the three nations.

Now you got an egg to raise... it doesn't do anything. It won't do anything for about 4 real life days. However, there is something you can do to prepare it for when it cracks open into life. Once you get your egg, examine your egg about 100-200 some times. When it hatches, the affection level will be maxed out, thus allowing you to easily modify its stats.

What do you do after that? <.< Well... that's for a later post.