O Captain! My Captain!

Captain rank, woo!  More on that in a bit.

At ease, soldier

So now that I've mastered GEO, I figured I would start working on WHM.  You know, get some of the slow job points out of the way.  Then Braego and I got to discussing Vagary clears and how we may be able to clear some zones, but there are mechanics in other zones that we need specific jobs for (like SCH SCs, for instance).  Since SCH only needs 550 JPs to reduce the strategem recasts, I figured I could probably get that done quickly enough to be able to fill that role.  So, I'm now working on SCH.

I spent a lot of time (and gil) getting all of the SCH JSE reforged and upgraded to 119.  I ended up running out of the necessary Rem's Tales that I needed to fully reforge all my gear, so I did a few high-tier mission battlefields to get the ones that I was missing.  Not sure that I'll use all of the pieces, but at least they're all done.  I've been trying to work on my equip sets and macros, but I'm really having a hard time figuring out how to make it all work.  I feel like I should be at a really good starting point, with all of the crossover gear that I have from BLM/RDM/GEO.

Braego wanted an iLVL cure potency staff for WHM, so we went out to kill the UNM Arke in Sauromogue Champaign a few times.  We went COR + MNK and had a pretty good time.  The kills were pretty quick and low-risk.  He was definitely putting out better numbers damage-wise with his new ambuscade gear.  Eventually he got the NQ staff and between the two of us, had enough Arke Wings to upgrade it to +1.  That will definitely help us out as we attempt to tackle higher level content.

Wack and I did a few Omen runs.  I'm trying to collect RDM cards so that I can +3 the body, he was after NIN cards to make his legs +2.  The first run we actually timed out in the first room.  We killed the last mob with seconds to spare but couldn't make it to the next floor in time.  The 2nd run went much better and we had 1 Transcended Pixie left to kill when we ran out of time.  Wack got the cards he needed but discovered he didn't have enough beads (he spent them all on Eschalixir +2's to augment his new +1 Souveran pieces).  So, we killed Met a few times for beads.  We got the beads he needed to upgrade his armor AND got the real drop he was after: Amar Cluster.  I decided to upgrade my RDM gloves to +2 for an extra 2% enhancing magic duration. We also did a few Tenzen runs in an attempt to get a Ginsen for him, but unfortunately, that drop still eludes him.


Braego and I did a few more Ambuscades.  Turns out with his new ambuscade armor that we were able to duo the V2 scorpion NM on Difficult.  Now he's starting to collect +1 Mummu pieces.  I was able to get the last two metals that I needed to upgrade my Jhakri robe to +2.  I think I'll work on the Meghanada Gloves +2 next for the extra WSD.

Random uber skillchain damage

There were 3 Ilrusi Atoll assaults standing between me and Captain rank, so I figured I would make an attempt to get them done.  According to the assault solo guide, these ones are very difficult to do solo (Apkallu Seizure, Lost and Found, Desperately Seeking Cephalopods).  While the were difficult, being on COR really helped me get them done.  Having access to Tactician's and Bolter's rolls meant that I could quickly move around the map and that I had TP to WS whenever I encountered a mob.  I ended up going 1/1 on all 3 and was rewarded with Captain rank!  I can now use the Runic Portal and get into Alzadaal Undersea Ruins for free (no longer need to carry around Imperial Mythril pieces to pay the guards) and get an extra Assault Permit.  I immediately turned my werebuster into Naja Salaheem to officially start my mythic quest.  There is still a long road ahead, but I'm officially on my way!

Still a long ways to go...

I was curious to see what was needed to get to the 3 beast kings and was pretty happy to see that I already had 2 of the 3 keys to get to Gulool Ja Ja.  I headed off to Mamook to get the last key (which I got on the first kill) and try to find the NM.  Unfortunately, it was pretty late and I'm not at all familiar with Mamook, so I wasn't able to actually find him and logged off.

I hope to have some progress to report next time.

Master GEO

After checking the gobbie box on all of my mules (got a ~4m item to sell), I did a quick Yorcia WKR to get the last KI I needed to buy another Animikki Bullet.  I think I'll get a few extra to keep on mules just in case I accidentally shoot it again.

When I was done with that I saw a CP PT shout for a GEO.  It was still pretty early, so I joined.  I figured even if it was a crappy party, I only needed ~65 JPs to get to master.  Since people are allowed to use JPs to upgrade/augment REMA and Dynamis [D] weapons/accessories, we got a REMA Master COR.  Pretty sure we had RUN, COR, SCH, BLM, SMN, GEO.  The BLM actually pulled most of the night, which was pretty nice as I got to sit tight and just let my bubbles do their thing.  The SCH would stun-ga, the BLM would sleepga and breakga, and I would just bind/grav/etc to tag mobs.  I don't know what the SMN was doing because most of the time the mob was dead after the SC. Occassionally the BLM would get a MB in.  In any case, it was very fun and productive.  The PT lasted a little over an hour and I walked out with 185 JPs.  Enough to get master and 110 to spare.  Feels good, man.

After, Braego and I hit up AMAN Trove a few times.  First time, I got opened 5 boxes (a mix of noises and thuds) and then decided I shouldn't press my luck.  I got a couple of +1 alluvion skirmish stone pouches, a couple of sellable drops (Pil's Tuille, Macuil Plating).  He went and had similar luck.  He got 4 or 5 boxes of noises/thuds, then exited.  He got a alluvion skrimish stone +1 pouch, a fern pouch, and the Naga Hakama to use on his MNK.  We tried again, but both ended up getting the mimic.  He was ~5 boxes in before he got the mimic.  I had checked 7 boxes before I got mine.  Maybe I need to change my strategy?  I mean, I'm really only interested in the Omen/Reisenjima drops.  As far as I know, they only come from loud thuds.  My strategy has been to open until I get a loud thud and then exit.  Most of the drops that come from the regular thud or noise tend to be from high-tier battlefields or escha zones.  I've already collected most of the gear from those zones that I'm interested in.  But it is still really hard to walk away from 7+ spoils.  I've got a few more vouchers that I can get on Truece, and still have 2 or 3 orbs that I can use on Trutaru.  Hopefully I won't have to make any decisions about if I should leave or not because I'll actually see a loud thud!

This month, the login campaign has Empy boss drops for 1000 login points.  I should be able to buy the last of the Apedemak Horns that I need for Daurdabla.  I haven't started on the colorless souls/iron plates yet, but that should go pretty quick.  I regret not participating more in last month's VW campaign.  I could really use the heavy metal plates; I'll need 1500 of them and 60 riftcinders to become a 4-song BRD.  I will have a few login points left over, maybe I'll look into collecting items for another empy (Almace or Ukon?).

Until next time!

End of Summer Update

SE introduced A.M.A.N. Trove with the August version update.  Braego and I checked it out and managed to get a few high-tier battlefield drops, a couple Reisenjima pieces, and an Omen body (Udug Jacket).  I think we're both looking forward to doing it again when the Monthly RoE objectives reset.

I picked up the Malformed Gun KI to officially start on Fomalhaut.  I was torn between making Death Penalty or Yagrush as my first mythic.  Since I was already (nearly) capped on beads, I decided to do the Aeonic gun so that I didn't have to worry about upgrading Death Penalty to 119.  I also am almost done collecting Apedemak horns for Daurdabla.  So, I'll work toward a 75 Yagrush, 99 Daurdabla, and a 119 Fomalhaut.

I'm just 3 assaults away from Captain rank.  Looking forward to getting started on Assaults again and the slow collection of titles/kills/Alexandrite that are needed to complete the Yagrush.  I think I have 2 boss kills already, but I've never set foot in Einherjar, so I've got a long road ahead of me there.  I'm above 130k Nyzul Isle tokens, so that part is almost done.  Unfortunately, I've never done zeni NMs and I've only got ~100 of the 30k alex that I need.  I'll focus more on collecting alex once I get to the point where the NPC will hold onto them for me.  

I got in a few nice CP PTs and am currently just 63 JP from master GEO.  Looking forward to finishing that off so that I can start working on WHM. Or BRD.  Part of me doesn't want to do anything on either job until I have the awesome gear, but the other part of me doesn't want to wait, either!  Either piece will make my job so much easier (and desireable by PTs).  I just don't want to have to wait to complete either, as they will both take a very long time.

In other news, Wack is back! I spent some time doing Ambuscade with him and Braego.  It was fun!  Unfortunately, his work schedule doesn't overlap very well with Braego or my schedules.  We should be able to get together at least once/week, during the afternoon on the weekend.  

I'll leave you with my summer lockstyle.  Until next time!

Well, I'm back. Again.

Currently working on Yagrush and Fomalhaut.  When I'm not doing assaults or trying to figure out how to kill NMs, I'm trying to master GEO.

Braego has been back since the spring 'free two weeks' campaign.  Sligs has been back for the past month or so.  Unfortunately, my playtime doesn't really overlap with either of them.  Braego logs off before I can log on and I end up going to bed before Sligs logs in.

There's always the weekend, I guess!

I've capped xp/merits on all jobs.  I also leveled Trutaru up to 99 on RDM and SMN.  I'm thinking I might take Vellaide to 99 soon, too (just as soon as I convince myself that it is worth it to go through LB60).

Free Trial Shenanigans

Back in the Game
I took advantage of SE's free trial for returning adventurers and spent some time trying to get back into the swing of things.  I was hoping to be able to access Adoulin areas, but SE support was never able to get me the seekers trial content IDs that I needed.  :(

I was really lacking in the gear department, so I decided that the best course of action was to make some money.  Potestas bomblets were still selling for ~1.5 mil, so I geared up DNC and headed to Upper Deklfut's Tower.  After ~4 hours I got the bomblet.

Since I didn't have any friends playing I went back up for another.  This time, it was a bit more elusive.  I was able to completely cap merits while farming.  It was about 20 hours this time before I got the bomblet.  I also nabbed a couple of automaton attachments that sold relatively quickly and for a nice chunk of gil.  I was tired of killing gigas so I changed it up a bit and headed out to U.Range to try my luck at a dark spirit pact.

The version update provided warps between homepoints, which is super convenient and makes it so much easier to get stuff done, or to just get started doing the things that need to be done.  I spent a bit of time running around re-registering home point crystals for ease of access and also started collecting proto-waypoints for those harder-to-reach locales.  One of the locations took me back to Deklfut's Tower, so I killed a couple gigas and got another bomblet to help the ol' bank account.

Along with a couple of extra drops (d.cloth from gold box in Abyssea-Konschtat, a couple of malboro fibers when using up some of Ia's seals) I was able to make a little over 6 million gil in ~1 week.  Also, with the addition of the Copper AMAN vouchers and rewards for one-time Records of Eminence objectives, I've been able to make quite a bit of gil by selling plutons.  I've sold ~20 plutons at 200-250k gil each, so an additional 4-5 million gil.  Not a lot by most standards nowadays, but enough for me to start re-gearing some of my jobs and make me feel less gimp.

Records of Eminence
After seeing the Eminent weapons, the first one I picked up was the dagger since I do all of my soloing and farming on DNC.  As it turned out DNC couldn't equip the dagger (WTF SE?!), so I picked up the H2H and G.Axe.  I tried out the H2H in Abyssea-Grauberg on pots using the brand new (to me) Gnarled Horn atma.  I was able to knock out multiple 500+ damage trials and completed the 1k damage trial in very short order.

Next I tried out the G.Axe.  This thing is just incredible.  Against most EP mobs, the minimum damage is 500+, so I'm completing a RoE trial every 200 swings of my axe (or less, given the damage on multi-hit WS).  It is nice that Easy Prey finally feels like easy prey!

I summoned Kupipi, Excenmille, and Nanaa Mihgo and laid waste to the Mamool Ja Staging Point.  I can completely clear the area in time for repops.  Defeating multiple enemies, dealing 500+ damage, wind crystals, and the occasional experience points timed objective make this place a gold mine for farming sparks and gaining XP.

Trust
Trust NPCs have got to be the biggest boost to this game since Abyssea Atmas were introduced.  I unlocked all of the Trust NPCs as soon as I could.  Now, I can solo on jobs other than DNC, WHM, or RDM and not have to worry about down time.  The NPCs know their roles and are very powerful.  I almost prefer to have a party of NPCs and my fellow over other players!  Now, with Shantotto and Ajido-Marujido there is so much damage potential that it feels like the entire world is open for exploration and soloing!

New Shinies
The potential rewards for the current login campaign include upgrade items for Empyrean +2 armor.  Since I don't think I could quickly farm mobs for my own items, I've been turning my login points into +2 armor.  By the time this login campaign is completed, I will have upgraded WHM head, legs, BLM body, hat, hands, legs, BRD head, legs, and SCH body to +2!  I also spent some time farming gold boxes in Abyssea-Konschtat and finally got a Wivre Hairpin augmented with refresh.  The only pieces that I need to complete my idle refresh gear are the serpentes cuffs/boots.

I also upgraded some AF armor: WHM and DNC bodies, BRD feet.  Some of these pieces are very nice macro pieces, so I'll need a lot of sparks to upgrade them all.

Mugido
During my farming, I made sure to have Mugido out and he as reaped the benefits.  He was capped at 75 when I reactivated, so I made sure to do his limit break(s) and have taken him all the way to 91 so far.  His normal melee attacks are closing in on 200 damage (on EP mobs) and his weaponskills can break 1500.  He's come a long way from when we first started adventuring together!

More to Come
I'm not sure when the free trial will be over as it was originally supposed to end on Dec. 23rd, but I'm hoping to keep playing indefinitely.  There is still a lot more that I'd like to accomplish.  I'm just 300 pet kills away from buying (geodes/titanites) the rest of my Pet -dmg axes.  I'd like to get back into doing dynamis regularly.  I've got a lot more sparks to earn to upgrade AF armor.  I would like to take THF and NIN to 99.  If I ever get the Seekers of Adoulin expansion, I'd like to also take GEO and RUN to cap.  Almost all that I want to do, I can easily accomplish solo thanks to the Trust NPCs.  We'll see what happens!

Until next time!

Massive Cravings

I did okay for almost a year and a half...

In the spring of 2012 I decided to stop playing.  I didn't want to go so far as to drop all of my RA/EX stuff and delete my characters, but I did cancel my service.  To discourage myself from wanting to come back, I sold just about everything that I could and distributed almost all of my gil and semi-valuable items to my friends.

When my wife and I first started playing the game, a stranger gave 100k gil to her 'to help a newbie out' (gogo mithra?). I decided that I wanted to do something similar.

I also remember the good ol' days of running around various zones and PLing random people.

I set out in Windy and the Sarutabarutas looking for a noob. I wandered through both zones without finding a single person. Next, I hit up the dunes, thinking of the old days where I'd spend my time just PLing random groups there for funsies. I was able to find a level 30 WAR without a subjob, so I offered to help them get their subjob items and gave them 200k when they got their last item. I didn't feel like going to babysit an alliance in Gusgen, so I kept looking in the dunes. Eventually I found a trio that seemed grateful for my assistance. I spent an hour doing the healing and gave them each 150k with instructions to "pay it forward". Made me feel good. Makes me wish I would have spent more time helping other people instead of waiting in my mog house for friends/LS mates to log on.

I played the game for more than 7 years and spent ~$2500 on it. I was logged in on my main for more than 717 days (quite a bit of overnight/AFK time in there). I felt that it was time to move on.

I never felt that I was rich. I always had reasonable gear for my jobs, usually the best NQ stuff from the AH. By the time that I cleaned out my mules, and sold most of my stuff for 1/2 price in Port Jeuno, I was able to give away almost 30 mil gil!

But now, I just can't seem to shake the urge to return to the game.  I tried to get excited about FFXIV: ARR but it just didn't work.  For some reason, the two new jobs really seemed to pique my interest.  I spent probably 20 hours over the weekend watching videos of people playing FFXI as GEO.  One dude had a 12-hour stream of him doing a marathon of GEO from 46-99.  I watched almost half of that stream (before technical issues on his website stopped me), even when he was leeching in a FC PT (not even keying) and was just spamming GEO spells in an attempt to skill up.

I know that I don't have many friends who still play the game and I know that I'm very far behind when it comes to new content and gear, but I still want to play again.  I'd like to think that I'd take a much more casual approach this time and not get so stressed about things going wrong.

I've got a beta invite to Elder Scrolls Online which I hope to play with for a bit.  Maybe that will satisfy my MMO cravings.

I hope it does, anyways.  Time will tell!

Some Magian Progress

Braego came up for the weekend, so I didn't get much accomplished in-game.  I spent most of my time AFK in the Temple of Uggalepih, hoping to walk by my PC and find some rainy weather so I could make some progress on my pet -PDT axe trials.

By the end of the weekend, I was able to get both axes up to the 4th or 5th trial.  Now I'm at the point where my pet has to have the killing blow on mobs during earth day/weather.  It'll be pet kills until I have to start turning in geodes (currently at 6/110 geodes, 0/30 titanites).  I'm debating just doing one axe all the way, then working on the other. There is a lot of work left to be done, but I just need to stay focused an keep working away at it; the reward will be worth it!

BST is a fun job.  The jug pets seem to be quite powerful and sturdy (at least against EP and Too Weak mobs) but I haven't had a chance to use BST for anything serious yet.  Maybe this week?