New Linkshells and Experiences

Most of this last week was spent on my SCH. I managed to bring it up to 43, making it my second highest job, edging out BLM and SMN recently. While I really love Accession and Sublimation, I have been trapped in too many level sync parties to take full advantage of them, making me feel like I am not learning crucial skills to use later on. Most my magic has remained at cap, though I noticed Dark Magic was uncapped at 43. Sadly, I spend 90% of my SCH time in a party as main healer, so not as much chance to bring it up as I would like.

I managed to blow through almost all the remaining Lance Corporal assaults with Ishkur and friends, finishing up Demolition Duty (easy one in Ilrusi Atoll with an automaton tearing down walls while you protect it) and Shanarha Grass Conservation (painful one in Leujaom Sanctum pitting you against 20+ bunnies that all link). After spamming just a few lower tier ones, I managed to rank up to Corporal today, easily finding the Warhorse Hoofprint in Wajom Woodlands (take THAT Caedarva Mire >.<). That leaves only the Mamool Ja assault left for the Lance Corporal rank before I have a completion of those tiers.

My OTHER assault static, LegendarioSalvages, has started basic forays into Salvage recently, which I am happy about. Our first run was jumpy, though not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We had no pt deaths, only deaths from people scouting without sneak/invis on. Enyo's leggings dropped, but our run was cut short by a flan on floor two. We wiped hard, and had to HomePoint because I died before I could get another reraise up. At least the melee types died in a circle, holding each other's hands:



Our second run through Bhaflau Remnants went smoother, though we actually did not get any drops. We lasted the full time limit though, and climbed to about floor five I believe. At least this run, we got almost fully geared, instead of barely unlocking anything and trying to finish the run naked. We faced down a strange NM, a gate that shoots bees at you. I wonder if Jhonen Vasquez had any influence on this mob's design:



In sad news, Imperial is in the process of repearling. It was first changed to EternalEclipse (I had nothing to do with this name, it was decided while I was working), and later changed more sensibly to Imperium, a vast improvement. The subtle name change helps to solidify that the core LS is staying the same, even if our leader has left Vanadiel.

A final picture, taken in Jugner Forest [S] with Light Ixion/Auroral Alicorn will bring this entry to a close. Its horn was broken, and it was losing life. I cured it a few times, but then the war drums of campaigning orcs scared it away.

Minor update: Fishing and NMing (fished NMs, that is)

This is in no way complete, as too much has gone on since my last post to fit all into one entry. This merely covers one day.

Today was very different from my usual experiences in FFXI. I spent the morning in Kuftal Tunnel fishing in direct competition for devil mantas, and more accurately, their angel skins. It started out rather boring, but began to pick up as I got the hang of it. Zephiris and I were duoing, and when one of us pulled up a pugil or crab, she would solo it while I continued fishing.

As hours went by, Verrick joined us as well, though he was more interested in light xp and skilling up on his THF than fishing up any mobs. A few times all three of us were essentially soloing because we had the misfortune of all pulling up monsters at the same time. Things were always in hand though, even when we decided to pop the Phantom Worm at a nearby ???. We only got two claims on the Devil Manta, and no angelskin drops, but it planted a seed in my head of wanting to finally start lvling fishing.

I was in a level sync party during the day, and managed to bring my SCH up to 40. Accession seriously rocks, and I was happy to finally have a chance to Protectra and Shellra without having to rely on my /whm's capped versions. Our puller was infamous among Imperial for his random comments (and unforunate delusion of adequacy), and he did not disappoint this time. This screencap speaks volumes:



I met a nice samurai there who was also a fisherman, so after the pt disbanded we rode the ferry back and forth. I only raised my fishing skill up to 2.2, but I learned about lures on the ocean. I managed to come out of there with seven stacks of bastore sardines and two stacks of quus, along with assorted noble lady, yellow globe, and cone calamari singles.

The true fun began on our second to last trip on the ferry. Melana had opened the door, but stopped short before setting foot on the deck. It seems even on her dancer, she was afraid of the Sea Horror currently on deck. And who wouldn't be? This NM has caused more full zone wipes and xp loss than any other monster I have ever seen. We looked at it for a moment, decided we had strength in numbers and bravely stepped onto the deck with our weapons drawn.

The fight was tough, Melana dropped dangerously into the red during it's Hundred Fists (or is that tentacles?) when I was low as well, and I was forced to disengage and rest to keep the two of us alive. In the end, this sea monk's six arms were not enough, and a final blow from a darksteel maul brought us some closure and relief after having fallen so many times before it.