an ffxiv mini-rant.

FFXIV is a double-edged sword for me. I love playing with other people and enjoying social aspects of the game, but, as a new-ish player, everything is just that -- new! I enjoy the excitement of a new boss or mission. However, there are always those in the party who have done said boss or mission multiple times previously, thereby granting them wisdom I simply do not yet possess.

For example, tonight I entered my first Titan battle. A friend I've made on the server offered to help as healer, so we got into the duty fairly quickly. However, I promptly fell off the edge after the second Titan jump. I had no idea one could fall! I felt, predictably, very foolish. Our second wipe was due to us not attacking the heart (I definitely was, so I am not sure if that was actually my fault). The third was because I didn't attack the gaol -- a stone encasement that randomly wraps around a player. It wrapped around our healer (the helpful friend I'd dragged into the fight, yeah). After that one, one of the other party members stepped in to offer some "critiques." At that point, I fully understood what to do, and we did not wipe again -- I just needed a couple of trial runs to make sure I understood it. Honestly, I am not sure how else I am supposed to learn, but I am expected to enter the battle as a new player with utter omniscience.

Many players I know read up on the battles or watch YouTube videos of how to do each fight. To me that seems a bit like cheating and definitely wasteful of my off-game time, plus doesn't it suck some of the fun and surprise out of it? It only took us ~20 mins to complete the Titan fight, even with three wipes. I just don't think it's a huge deal to let new players play through without making them feel silly. Perhaps this game would be a bit more lighthearted with a group of friends who were just messing around and having fun together. /shrug

At any rate, I do have a couple of new friends I've been playing with in-game and I am thankful for that. Hopefully, I will continue to build something of a community and, eventually, I will just reach a level where fun is the only option. Haha -- totally kidding, I know it only gets worse in end-game.

Odin & Thancred & Level 30.

•  I have a crush on Thancred. 
•  I walked into an Odin battle and promptly died. 
• I completed Haukke Manor & Toto Roc with some FC mates. 
• I hit Level 30.

Sprout Begone.

I had the opportunity to spend all of Veteran's Day on my couch playing FFXIV. I did rise for boba tea, fish tacos and a very moderate amount of apartment tidying. I am pleased to announce that I am now a Level 27 PUG and thoroughly ensconced in the MSQ (though I am blocked from continuation until I reach 28). I also discovered, through my FC, that I am actually paying for teleports -- that's not MP expenditure indicated on the tele screen, that's a price! I mean okay, so maybe I wasn't paying close attention and maybe I was wondering where all my quest money was going. But I have tele-ed SO MUCH. I felt like too much of a noob to mention it to my FC people -- all I can say is, it's highly fortuitous that I joined Maelstrom and obtained my company chocobo through copious FATE participation (I named him Torimond, he's amazing) because I am going to have to cut down on the teles.

The point of this post is not to draw attention to my obvious noobishness, but to rejoice in the fact that my noob sprout has been removed in-game. Huzzah! That means I have put at least 40 hours into Osiria at this point.

No more.

Wandering Around Gridania

Osiria: The Span of the Empire

It had been a month now since her return. A month since the wagon had brought her back to the nation she had left behind so abruptly several years before.

However, Osiria now found herself suffocated by the sweltering heat, as well as the constant stream of refugees and consumerism prevalent in Ul'dah.

"This city is hotter than Ifrit's asshole," she cursed.

Sand adhered itself to her sweat dampened fur faster than she could shake it off. However, she still believed her decision to re-commit herself to adventuring in Ul'dah had been the right one. Under the tutelage of Master Harmon, she had acquired the necessary skills to become a pugilist of moderate talent and means.

Osiria had relentlessly fought her way across the dunes, but now the cool ocean air called to her and she considered shucking Ul'dah for the rolling tide of Limsa Lominsa. She left a few necessities with Bash for safekeeping, donned her best knuckles and allowed herself to disappear into the aether.

All Saints' Wake.

Osiria: Return to Eorzea.

Osiria rubbed the grit and sand from her weary eyes. "How much longer?" she wondered to herself, cursing the blinding desert sun. Leave it to the Ul'dahns to ferry people about in sweltering caravans. "As if some of us aren't covered in fur," Osiria mentally added.

Had it really been three years since she last set her eyes on the iron gates of Ul'dah? The same rhetorical question kept bubbling up into her consciousness, along with a compilation of emotions, primarily composed of nervousness.

Osiria had deserted both her adventurer status as an archer in Gridania and, eventually, forsaken Gridania herself. She inwardly rolled her eyes at the idea of "finding oneself", but unfortunately there was no other way to describe the leave of absence she had taken.

Due to said absence and the subsequent rearrangement of her priorities, Osiria's rank in the Archer's Guild was gone, her friends spread between the three nations only gods knew where, and yet her drive to serve Eorzea remained as great as always. She had returned as soon as she'd heard of Eorzea's plight, how could she not? However, this time Osiria staked her claim in the city of Ul'dah, land of the silver tongued merchants, whose gates she strove to meet that on very day.

Things were different now, Osiria knew. The roads were more dangerous, the people more corrupt and the adventurers more plentiful. In her own mind, Osiria owed a great debt to Ul'dah, for it was there she discovered much about her own inner strength, the special spark that had led her back to Eorzea. She also knew the Pugilist's Guild would be her first stop inside the city.

Osiria nodded silently, as if to agree with her own conviction.

"Woah there!" the driver called. "We've arrived in Ul'dah! Get your gear, and get out! I've got another run to make today."

Osiria required very little additional prompting and, armed with nothing but the clothes on her back, she jumped out of the caravan and into the bleak desert heat. The white sand seemed to cook her the soles of her feet straight through her thin boots as though they were leather skillets.

"First things first," she noted. "A stop at the Adventurer's Guild."

Osiria: Battle Blood.

Hippocerfs surrounded Osiria and the other adventurers. Great claws stirred up the desert dust as they encroached, circling her like prey, jaws snapping hungrily. She felt her blood surge with the thrill of battle as her breath quickened to meet each hasty step. Others around her cast spells of protection, and soon Osiria too was engulfed in the blue aura of safety. Although she was not raised a mage as those who fought beside her, with a quick bow she revealed her appreciation.

Once the battlewarden indicated their enemy, Osiria let her arrows fly. One after another, she barraged the great monsters with her ranged attack; then chased obediently after the battlewarden to discern their next target. Hippocerfs always attacked in packs of ten to twenty and they spent the better part of an afternoon following their slobber filled tracks.

The ragged band returned to Camp Horizon, all Hippocerfs defeated, as the great sun sank below the dunes. Covered in sweat, dirt and blood, Osiria slumped against a market stall. She cringed when yet another wave of sand whipped through her hair.

Osiria realized her chapped lips longed for the rejuvenating groves of Gridania. She missed the smell of lingering sawdust leftover from workdays at the Carpenter’s Guild and the moist scent of incense wafting across the ponds from the elusive Conjurer’s Guild. Most of all she missed Miounne’s stories and her own sense of belonging in that strange forest town.

And so, she set about commencing her return.

Waiting...

Since SE announced that after the Japan earthquake servers would be suspended, I have been waiting for them to come back online. I worry about my Figaro mates located in Japan. I miss talking to everyone online.

Last night, they announced service will be suspended until at least March 22nd.

So, until then... I will be waiting. Best wishes Japan.

FFXIV 1.16 Patch

FFXIV on Twitter:
abby_cake: Playing FFXIV right now is reminiscent of Big Land in Super Mario. I dislike the gigantic squirrels.
sramdi: @abby_cake You just scored a major +1 for the Big Land reference. xD

And I stand by my statement. What the hell is up with these gigantic marmots? It's like I am playing in 800x600. Take it back SE, or at least let us ride them...

Osiria: An Adventurer's Calling

Osiria had woken up that morning to the unpleasant grit of sand in her teeth. She spat and stretched, then hoofed it to the nearest stream. Her bag contained lavender soap and a mix of coral and mint, intended to clean the desert from her mouth.

The stream was about 300 yalms to the North, and upon arrival she realized she was not the only one with the idea for a morning dip. Several lady Lalafells had already ventured down from Camp Horizon; they were in their underthings splashing playfully in the shallow water. One sat on a rock, dangling her toes just above the waterline and mending several pairs of socks.

Osiria set her armor to one side and slowly lowered herself into the cool stream. It felt delicious against her skin, as though she hadn’t been truly energized for days. Once her head was submerged, she blew happy bubbles toward the rising sun.

It was strange to be around adventurers again after so many days on her own. Almost as strange as it was to be clean.

Her clothes were stiff and sun dried, but she donned them all the same and started back to camp.

The Battlewarden’s cry rang out across the flat landscape, echoing off plateaus: “Join up and explore the surrounding land! Fight the monsters threatening Ul’dah’s safety!”

Before she could give credible consideration to the suggestion, Osiria realized her feet were carrying her toward battle…

Osiria: The Final Frontier

Osiria stood solemnly by the wavering campfire. Her tail flicked aggressively, albeit unintentionally, if anyone passed too closely. The smells were all different here; the feline part of her felt uncomfortable about this realization.

Most camps were crowded, or so she remembered. It had been a long time since her last visit to Thanalan, and the number of adventurers at Horizon seemed diminished. A simple surveillance of the area confirmed her suspicions.

Upon her arrival to the brilliantly colored kaleidoscope of a desert, Osiria was met with a crushing feeling of abandonment. Her once thriving community had splintered into different tribes and she found herself, once again, alone. It was a familiar feeling, but one which she did not savor. It would appear other adventurers were experiencing the same predicament. Her heart felt the sadness of the Twelve. 

Osiria had been traveling for days, and each new step sent a fresh wave of pain through her weary limbs. The trek from Gridania to Western Thanalan had been a grueling endeavor. Her white chainmail sported dust from the desert wind and her red halfgloves were badly damaged.

"I should have bought the vambraces in Limsa," she confided to no one, vainly longing for the protection they would afford her calloused hands in battle. 

Resignedly, Osiria made the decision to spend the night at Horizon's Edge before joining up with a scouting group in the morning. Another adventurer's fire had been left smoldering; but a few carefully controlled kicks sent the wood ablaze once more. The flame offered her both succor and heat to cook the latest catch.

She liked to occasionally trade in her shortbow for the more commonplace wooden rod. Although she was not a fishmonger by any stretch of the imagination, she had managed to catch dinner, and that was good enough for now. The cookpan sizzled, full of Brass Loach caught near Camp Drybone. It would keep her satisfactorily satiated.

"Now, about those arrows..." she mumbled, relieving her back of the bulging quiver.

*This is my first story about Osiria, I thought I would give it a try. ^^

I Miss You, Osiria.

I am exceedingly lonely in FFXIV right now. My linkshell has essentially deserted me, not by any fault of my own (at least I think not...). For some reason Figaro is not the friendliest of servers. Or perhaps FFXIV is not the friendliest of games. I am not sure. At any rate, the people who I spent most of my time playing with have either moved on to "upgraded" linkshells or have fallen out one by one. About three of my aquaintances are a part of another linkshell now which requires them to be on at certain times (etc. etc, typical stuff), but they want me to be r30 Archer before I can even apply and with my job I just don't think I would have enough time to devote to the game. Plus, it irritates me when MMOs become "jobs."

I wish I had just one friend who I could run around with. But at this time, it seems like my only options are to switch servers, or rush to Arc 30.

FFXIV Fisher Gear

What's gear got to do... got to do with it.

Well, as it turns out, with fisher it has A LOT to do with it! I've been bitching about how hard it's been leveling my fisher up from 11. Well I hit 13 today and I have to attribute it mostly to my gear. I made the upgrade to a Willow Rod (totally worth 45k) and crow flies. I also got a new jerkin, culottes, crakows and a field belt.

I've been succeeding at every one of my guild leves and actually caught some River Crabs in Grade 3 waters (which I shouldn't be able to do). I lost a lure, but it was fun!

A Behest Pet Peeve.

Allow me for a moment to complain about Behest. During Christmas Break I did not have any issues in getting a Behest party at the r20 camps, it was nice, I got a whole level in a couple of nights. However, recently attempting to get in a Behest party at the r20 camps is horrible! I will tele to Horizon about 10-15 minutes before Behest is set to begin and settle in to wait. About 2 minutes before the top of the hour, 10 people will randomly log in in the exact spot where the Battlewarden pops. Then, despite my early arrival, and quick F8 targeting, I have missed the last 5 Behests I have tried for.

So, I think it would be beneficial if we could at least have a larger party option, multiple parties or more monsters to fight. It reminds me of the large group fights in FFXI, but way too hard to access.

End my Behest complaint.

FFXIV Heavensturn and the Usagi Kabuto.

I am having FFXI flashbacks. And also, it looks suspiciously like a bunny?

Camp Horizon Behest

Chaos!

Leveling DoH

I realized I haven't been writing here as much as I was, but I think that's because I have been spending all my free time Playing! I decided that over Christmas break I wanted to get Culinarian to 20, Fisher to 15 and Weaver / Carpenter to 10. Then I started leveling Lancer and that got me all off track... but the ongoing goal is to be able to repair my own clothes / weapons on Archer.

Anyway, here are some screenshots I've taken over the past few days.

Got some new fishing gear: culottes, shoes and an ash fishing rod. Willow seems near impossible to find on my server. People can make it, but the mats are not easy to get a hold of.  I figured r7 was better than r1 though.

 

 

The above screenshot is of a place called Aleport near Limsa. I took my twinkleboxes here to trade for dream materials and discovered a very cute little seaport town, reminiscent of Selbina or somewhere in XI. Above two of the doors there were symbols for both the fishing and culinarian guilds. I decided to take some time and fished for a bit of malm kelp while I was there. The fishing was decent.

I really hope SE takes the time to develop some of the smaller areas, Aleport, Hyrstmill and the Golden Market Bazaar have all been interesting places to explore. I will post more pictures as Osiria explores more of Eorzea.

FFXIV Starlight Celebration: Dream Outfit

The white cotton tights are the Perfect pants for this outfit (since SE never includes "leg" in their giveaways...)

FFXIV Fishing

I enjoy fishing in FFXIV, but I found it a bit faster to level before the newest updates. I took fisher to 7 in basically no time, but grinding it from 8-11 was a tedious process. Basically I do guildleves whenever I can because they provide the easiest sp. The ones at Bentbranch were easy, really good sp and quick. Fishing grade 2 waters at Emerald Moss has been a different story. Despite switching bait, areas and sweet spots I occasionally fail the levequests.

Last night, I attempted the Gridanian Fighting Fish leve and fished with Moth Pupa, Chocobo Fly and Midge Baskets. I failed the leve, catching only one fighting fish. Afterward, I was very successful in the grade 2 waters with Midge Baskets and am considering heading to La Noesca to farm Puks and obtain a few more for experimentation. They appeared to catch mostly crayfish and salmon.

Regarding some of the generated responses while fishing: I really dislike the new mechanical response “Something big hits your line!” It’s extremely misleading and makes me think I am about to fish up something uncommon or rare, but nope, it’s another crayfish. I do like the “You sense *such and such type of fish* below you” because it assists me in finding sweet spots for certain types of fish. Also, now, instead of giving you 1-5 chances to “farm” there, the game force closes your rod and lets you know “The fish are agitated, you put your rod up and observe” when it’s time to move on.