Unusual Camping Experiences

(pictures still pending)

People can really surprise me sometimes. For the past two nights now, I have been camping an NM, Hoo Mjuu the Torrent in Giddeus, for a money drop. NM camping, to me, has always carried a certain distaste; much like the fluoride they leave on your teeth at a dentist's office, it is something that needs to be done, yet any sooner then six months or so is unwanted.

My biggest problem with camping is generally with the other campers. As we are all competing to catch the NM the moment is spawns, we drop the usually friendly and cooperative nature that years of xp partying have instilled in us and don a more aggressive, hostile demeanor in an attempt to beat all the others and get the drop. I have been cursed at, griefed, and told to just go home to my moogle and shut up for saying anything to those around me (and that's just the non-RMT).

Not so these last few nights, though. The first time came after beating a rude RMT to the pop, and watching him leave in frustration. A taru red mage (in AF no less, not starter gear) came strolling up during the interim between pops, and we began emoting and eventually struck up a conversation despite our language barriers. The red mage, Cataria, and I laughed, killed placeholders, and eventually he waved goodbye and warped out. He said he did not feel right competing for an NM against me.

I was stunned. To have someone just stand aside and let you step in when gil is involved is rare. We continued to talk even after he left, and once I killed Hoo Mjuu, I gave him the time of death and let him camp it, for it was nearing dawn at that point for me.

Today when I resumed my quest for the big monies, I came across a mithran thief already at the spot. Almost immediately I began receiving tells. Once again, we started talking, and the tedium of camping soon gave way to another sense of camaraderie. It came out that Xnera was camping the signa for her beastmaster, while I was also looking for yagudo beads to put towards my Norg fame. In my eyes, since she was going to be putting the staff to actual use and I merely wanted to sell it, I let her take the claim, and she passed on any beads that dropped along to me. She even offered to stay once she had killed Hoo to help me farm beads, though I needed to leave FFXI at that point.

It was refreshing to meet two people back to back at a camping spot that did not let greed overwhelm their sense of fun. It really lifted my spirits up after poor past camping experiences.