Recent Events

Perhaps I have been in Vana'diel too much, or maybe I was just more efficient, but it seems as if I have completed a lot more this month than I have in awhile. I would like to lean toward the latter for ego purposes.

On the CoP front, Imperium blew through both Sacrarium and Promyvion-Vahzl with ease. The only problems for the night stemmed from me looking at maps and autorunning into tauruses' (is that plural for taurus? They almost seem like moose, with the plural and singular meaning the same...). I find it humorous that the Sacrarium, a holy chapel, uses the same textures as Phomiuna Aqueducts. So much for a library of learning, I cannot stop thinking of it as a sewer now. The fight against the ghosts in a library full of fomors was fun and chaotic though.

Just a short week later, we climbed to find the heart of the emptyness, Promyvion-Vahzl. We faced down the three NM monsters we had beaten seperately, now joined together in one fight. I have always loved treking through the strange realms or Promyvion, but I believe several others were quite glad we were free of the final one.



Also, pink is the new awesome:



I got a random invite into a party looking to do Windurst 9-2 mission, the fight in Full Moon Fountain. I was quite excited and went into it expecting an epic conflict, but was surprised at how easy and smoothly the fight went. I have heard horror stories about the NPC getting himself aggrod and killed quickly, but we finished off both bosses with him at 100% health. Gogo galka PLD Ishkur!



In yet ANOTHER mission related win, I teamed up with Makina and Zephiris to complete the current end of the Wings of the Godess missions. It involved a dragon fight in La Vaule [S] that was quite tricky the first time, but easy the second time around. It was fitting that the moment the dragon began using its breath attacks on us, rain started pouring from the sky. The somber sky seemed to match the setting and destruction the demon squads had brought out that fight. We got a first peek at Atmos, and some more twists and surprises in the resulting cutscenes.




I had my first chance to attend a Dynamis run, with TeamSuicide, and was the only WHM in the alliance. I was not terribly impressed with the whole experience. It seemed very laggy, and a lot of time was spent standing around tossing a cure or two while everyone else got to do all the fighting. Seemed more like run-around-and-kill-everything event than a planned advance. Still, it was nice to see my first Dyna area, even if it was Bastok. Nothing really dropped our run either, though. I snapped a quick picture of the sole time I grabbed aggro for a moment, just a little before the Mega Boss came out.



I finally got my SCH to lvl 60, and wanted to complete the final AF for it (in this case, the hat). There is a sense of accomplishment for me, everytime I get a piece of AF. It is an affirmation of the class you are playing. It is something you need to earn, not just buy on the AH. The fight for the SCH flathat was ridiculously easy by final AF piece standards, so we went in a liiiiittle bit overpowered. I never even got a chance to screencap anything before the boss exploded. This series of CSes showed me beyond a doubt, that scholars are a strange bunch.



The final little bit is just a random moment captured in LSchat that made me laugh and was worthy of quoting, so here is something that is NOT about how much I accomplished this month.

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.

A Manifest Problem

I am not sure why, but I have never really mentioned here how much I love assault. While the ability to get a yigit set is reward enough on its own, I have always loved these quick little missions in place of camping an NM or something equally boring. Our little assault static (Kia, Maki, Thay, and I) have been making repeated trips to Leujaoam Sanctum for some worm battles, and I am getting nearer to owning my new magey saraweels each and every time.



I also managed to get a good party for the quest "A Manifest Problem", which I have been looking for help with for a few weeks now. A random shout in Whitegate found me with a DRK, and I invited Demesis along as RDM. We picked up a PLD randomly trying to solo it in Fort Karugo-Narugo, and had more than enough to pass it with ease.

We had to plow our way through many yagudo in the undertunnels of Ghoyu's Reverie.



We finally found the boss (or rather, he found us) and managed to spank him down in no time flat.



The situation in Windurst was much more grave, though. We had merely stopped the reinforcements, not the main force, and we entered to see the tarus and mithra clashing in the very streets of Windurst Waters. Even the young students of the Aurastery contributed to defending their homeland. Though Tzee Xicu was there, the yagudo relied too heavily on their reinforcments.



The victory came at a price though. There were political blunders to be addressed after the ambush, and many dead and wounded to be tended to.



There was a small consolation to be had for the mithran mercenaries after the skirmish. The surprise of seeing Lehko Habhoka, the first male mithra many of them had seen, was enough to cause them to forget the fierce battle and focus instead on him. It seems his milkshake brings all the cats to the yard. ^.~



He seemed to think I was merely a pawn in his mysterious game, and my suspicions are telling me he is not an entirely noble character. At least he has that sauve sense of evil surrounding him, though.



Other quick news, I am done with Valkurm and Korroloka again. Finally up to 21 ninja and getting crab hunting parties in Qufim Island. It is a relief to finally start feeling like a ninja, and less like a thief with dodge tools. I finished up all my current ninja scroll quests, and just need to level now until I can use them all. I also met and befriended a cute little mandy who can take some serious pain as well. Vana'Diel, the only place you can see a flower and a gnat fight, while one shotting everyone around them.

The Savage

Our LS (both of them really) has been abuzz over the past week about dragons. Ouryu, to be precise. The last three days have brought both Sage's and Imperial through Riverne Site #B01.

I cannot even keep track of how many people have gotten sacrarium access anymore, but I could easily estimate it around twenty or so. It starts off with a reflective moment along the Misreaux Coast cliffs, with Prishe consoling a young Ulmia.


Things quickly descended past words once we reached Monarch Linn, however. Bahamut seems to have little respect for Tenzen's mission to delve into the mysteries of The Emptiness.


Very quickly, we were sucked into a fight with one of Bahumut's friends. A kind, gentle wyrm anmed Ouryu. His interests include casually flying around, casting stoneskin on himself, and killing taru mages with massive AoEs. Somewhere in there, he finds time to chomp on armor wearing paladins.



Just when it seemed all hope was lost, and we were nearing defeat, the fight was over, and the dragons retreated. We were all a little worse for the wear, though it looks like Tenzen was the one who got the most winded.


Next up, Sacrarium! Though, not for awhile.

In ninja news, I am currently sitting at lvl 20, after having duo'd goblins in the dunes last night with Makina's bard. I am still loving it, and relearning when to cast, and when to hold for those long-ass ninjutsu spells. I have even managed to save a bit of gil in the way of shihei as well, by being picky about which AH to buy from. It is fun though, to play a proper melee character after having been a mage for so long.

Uggalepih Pendant Run (w/ Legion)

Legion is up and running lately, bringing members from both Sage's Wanderers and Imperial together every Tuesday. Our farming has paid off this past week, in the form of a few fights again the Uggalepih Pendant NM, Golden-Tongued Culberry.

This was a fun fight. Once our RDM (Thayos) popped the tonberry, Galluspit (PLD) voked it and off he ran. And ran. The entire fight involved bouncing hate between our elvaan and galkan paladins. I found it humorous to see such noble pillars of sacrifice and defense running away from the beast, but it worked well in this case. We ran into very few snags, mostly accidental Death spells getting through uninterrupted, causing a quick hate bounce to the other paladin.

We went through three pop items, and got one drop (from the first one, oddly enough). So Verrick has himself a shiny new bauble to hang off his pimp chain. We managed to get two really good screenshots from this run as well. The first was lining up for our success shot:


the second was an accident immediatly afterwards, in which a tonberry popped in front of us, and we watched Atul and Zarovich's diremites beat down the poor ugly bastard. We just passed the popcorn and watched the show.


In personal news, Hell has frozen over. I decided to start leveling ninja so I could have a greater breadth of melee jobs to choose from. Though I am still hesitant about the gil sinks inherent to being a ninja, I can remember why I stuck with it four years ago. I enjoyed it then, as I enjoy it now, and just might take it up to a point I can use it in events. Spent the evening leveling in Buburimu Peninsula with Zadine as a WHM, and three other pick up players. Currently sitting at 18NIN.

Ascending to Sky

Today, I have finally set foot upon the fabled floating island of Tu'Lia. My linkshell has really come forward and taken me through the dangers of the tonberrys in the Temple of Uggalepih and the Den of Rancor. They walked me through and kept me safe as I collected each headstone fragment, and returned the fragments to the Quicksand Caves, even as we were attacked by anticans. They stood beside as Kam’lanaut tried to wipe us mere mortals off from Vana'diel. Finally, they rallied their friends amoung fellow adventurers and managed to put a cerulean crystal in my hands, effectively opening the Hall of the Gods' shimmering circle to transport myself up to sky.

I went exploring my first time up in the clouds. I love the scenic views from Ru'Aun Gardens, and angelic music. I visited both the Shrine of Ru'Avitau and Ve'Lugannon Palace on my journey, and saw many scary and some new things never seen on the surface of Vana'diel. My two favorite parts so far are the waterfalls that drop off the edge and fall to nothingness below, and the transparent floors that leave hexagonal impressions as you walk across them.

Quick hits: Attained Windurst Rank 7 after the yagudo BCNM in Giddeus and subsequent climb up Castle Oztroja, got Verrick a much prized enfeebling earring from an ENM, fought and killed all six prime elementals to get attuned to fenrir battle, defeated fenrir, finally bought my own noble's tunic, spent my first merits on Shellra V, and killed Alexander one more time for Zephiris' win.