First tanking experience + PLD equip

Wow... now last night was an interesting night. First time out to an event as PLD, and actually, the first time ever as PLD/NIN. Tanked 3 mobs, two Gotoh and one Dea. I think overall it went okay, with the second Gotoh being better(hate-wise) than the first as I was still figuring out what tools I had to hold hate and how to use them the first time around. I did screw up once on the 2nd Gotoh by trying to recast Utsusemi by using Shield Bash, then casting it right next to Gotoh while low HP. Guess that trick doesn't work when he uses Firespit that goes right past shadows xD Also made some silly mistakes, mainly about my gear macros, plus I'm still not used to using Atonement and how I should spike hate just before WSing with it. This is probably my first 75 job where I'm actually using my TP regularly to WS. On BLU, half the time I'd use TP to boost damage or duration for a spell, and DNC I rarely WS in the first place.

Still need more experience with this before I'd be able to say with confidence that I'd tank anything... plus these were only kited fights, so there are a lot of other situations I need experience with.

Funny part about leveling PLD...

So, the funny part about leveling PLD is that it plays completely differently in exp compared to playing it for events. From 1-75, I was PLD/WAR with the simple job of keeping the mob's attention so that it doesn't go after DDs or mages. I was constantly using Provoke, Berserk, and Warcry and it was easy to hold hate... to the point where I was watching Conan O'Brian on Hulu for about half my exp parties. My gear macros weren't complicated, mainly consisting of switching from a max MP set to my HP set once I use up some initial MP, and my Cover macro that puts on the Gallant Coronet specifically for cover. Level Sync also meant that I never had a chance to put on some of the higher level toys I had, like the Ethereal Earring.

Then... I hit PLD75 and everything suddenly changed. Subjob choices are now NIN and RDM. I also suddenly got access to a ton of other gear that I had sitting around including Homam, and my now usable for the first time Askar head & body. It wasn't just about keeping hate anymore, but keeping hate and also staying alive x.x The mostly enmity+haste gear macros I had were no longer sufficient with the new equipment and I had to consider other aspects. Switching into DD gear for WS suddenly became unnecessary with Atonement since it's damage is based only on enmity. The hate tools that I was used to suddenly disappeared and was replaced with other tools, meaning entirely different macros needed to be made...

It was almost as though I had leveled into a weird new job xD

Paladin Equipment - Looking for advise/suggestions

The bad part about having just finished PLD on Sunday, and coming out to a fight as PLD/NIN for the first time with minimal preparation is that my equipment was a complete mess last night ^^; I had put together some quick gear macros to emphasize haste, thinking this would be a straight-up fight where Utsusemi recast would be critical to avoid taking damage and losing hate. I still had my WS macros where I was swapping in Suppanomimi, but didn't have a macro to swap out for it... not that gear swapping was necessary for Atonement anyway.

During ZNMs yesterday, I talked to quite a few people about advise for this new job... Fuuji, Rooks, Wu all had interesting ideas that I wanted to try out. Some things that I picked up:

- Kited fight -- Probably a better idea to stack on more +enmity compared to haste. I noticed during the fights last night that the timers weren't the problem, it was more making sure I could pull hate away from the DDs

- More HP = able to stay alive. Stacking on HP gear at the expense of *some* enmity is worth it. Dying = 100% enmity loss xD

- I need to start putting together a Magic Defense Bonus set

After ZNMs yesterday, I went to do a little gear shopping and started modifying my macros for different situations. I picked up some AN items, the Iron Ram Hose and Iron Ram Greeves for use as a max enmity & MDB gear set, then I started to figure out what situations I needed to prepare macros for. So far, I've come up with the following:

* Maximum Enmity -- For kited fights, and possibly as PLD/RDM

 

- Macuahuitl+1 - +4

- Koenig Shield - +3

- Iron Ram Sallet - +5

- Gallant Surcoat - +2

- Homam manopolas - +3

- Iron Ram Hose - +4

- Iron Ram greaves - +3

- Harmonia's torque - +3

- Hercules' ring - +3

- Mermaid's ring - +3

- Warwolf Belt - +3

Total of +36 enmity

The only change I'd do for PLD/RDM compared would be to put up my AF feet equip for the +shield skill.

* Maximum Haste /w enmity - Mainly for PLD/NIN

The main changes compared to the above set would be:

- Homam legs - +3% Haste & Fast Cast

- Homam Feet - +3% Haste

- Macroing Swift Belt (4% Haste) for Utsusemi casting

This setup also gives the highest HP maximum at the moment, just over 1400 HP. Wu suggested macroing in the Walmart Turban for Utsusemi casting, but as a healer, I know how annoying it is when trying to target a tank for healing. I'm making a point to only swap non-visible gear during a fight (Except for Cover... but if I'm covering someone, chances are that means I'm not the one needing healing!)

* Fighting - PLD/DNC, and for having fun!

Ok, this gear set is mainly for having fun in, as well as PLD/DNC. I really doubt this would be used for much serious tanking at all. It's mostly haste equipment thrown on, ignoring all +enmity to go for as much TP gain as possible.

This was very effective last night on PLD/DNC during campaign. I thought BLU & DNC were good at campaign. BLU can generally solo a single mob, and sleep up to two mobs. DNC can easily solo a single mob, but any more than that I'd have to probably use Trance at some point. On PLD/DNC holding 3 mobs at once wasn't a problem. Between Waltzes and MP cures, as well as Aspir Samba, Ethereal Earring and Parade Gorget to regain MP. Since I just spent over 100k AN in buying things, I figure I should rebuild back up to 500k AN again, and re-earn my latest medal in preparation for the July update... Last night, Zu managed to convince me to go back to the past to campaign for the first time since the beginning of the year >.>

Start of a new PLD

So... that's what I'm currently working with. I still need to experiment with PLD/RDM and see how that works. I also need to pick up some merits, and I already have some new gear that I'm considering getting. I don't really have a MDB gear set yet, and I'm not sure what to get for that. Iron Ram gear is definitely a start.

Merit wise, I want to unlock Chivalry and Fealty (6 merits total) to start... then see what happens. I still have HP merits to do, and some skillups (Sword is uncapped now due to PLD's higher rating compared to BLU, and Shield is still a few levels behind).

Gear wise, I was agonizing over giving up my DNC tanking Mirke Wardecors for the Nuevo Coselete. While I like the look of the Neuvo, I didn't really want to give up this rare +enmity piece for DNC. A few weeks ago, Vanh pointed out that the Iron Ram body piece would probably be a decent PLD piece, given the pattern for the other pieces that have been released so far. That just gives me more incentive to go do a little more campaign to get the new medal in order to buy that piece :)

Other equipment I was considering are:

- Ritter Gorget -- Def: 8, HP+25, Evasion+5, Enmity+3

Einherjar piece... I was actually considering this for DNC as well because of the evasion & enmity (Can DNC use this?) but I decided back then that I didn't do enough DNC tanking to justify getting it. Now with PLD and DNC as possible tanking roles, I'll be picking this up as soon as I am able

- Loquacious Earring - MP+30, Enhances "Fast Cast" effect

Limbus piece, another 75 Ancient Beastcoins... A long time ago many people told me I should get on many jobs, first being BLU. I never really thought it was that necessary, but PLD/NIN might benefit from it as a swap piece to speed up Utsusemi. I'd also be able to use it on all my other jobs, even SCH due to the extra MP and being able to cast that much faster for those long casting nukes.

I think that's basically everything I have control over... any other piece of gear (like Valor equip) is subject to random chance and isn't something I can say that I'll go out to get intentionally. If you know of anything from the AH, or is obtainable under controlled conditions that you think my PLD could use, please let me know :)

PLD75! And other random news update

Whee... job #4 done! This brings my lineup to: BLU, DNC, SCH, PLD

Or... Hybrid, Hybrid, Hybrid(kinda) and... tank. Kinda weird for me to level a specialized job!

Breaking it down in order of capabilities:

- BLU(hybrid) - DD, healer, sleeper, enfeebler, tank-capable

- DNC(hybrid) - Healer, low-man tank, support/enfeebler

- SCH(hybrid) - Nuker, Healer, support, sleeper

- PLD - Tank

Going back to my original reasons for leveling PLD, looks like they are still valid! Pretty AF! Oh, and tonight I'm supposed to try out tanking at my first real event (not counting Vanh's WSNM last night). Time to see how different/difficult it is... it's definitely a change from my usual supporting role.

btw: Big thanks to Vanh, Zurar & Karou for helping me unlock Atonement last night. We really went on a little late ^^; Still, that's the fastest I've ever unlocked ANY weapon/WS ^^; Too bad we didn't figure out the math to do both my and Zu's points's in a shorter time... we could have cut down the number of skillchains we needed to do by at least 10 mobs!

I think I'm pretty much geared up as well as I can at the moment with what I have for some tanking. PLD armor looks very heavy, pointy and scary... I'll post a pic up once I take a screenshot or two xD The only thing I can possibly change in the short-term is to redo the ACP fight in order to pick up the fancy white & blue armor that I had wanted... However, doing so would mean that I have to give up my little Dancer tanking piece that I customized, so I'm really on the fence about that ; ; Any suggestions on alternative PLD body pieces?

New RMT!

SE has stepped up their RMT activities with the announcement of the pre-order of the next FFXI add-on. Again, they are offering the option of "pre-ordering" the add-on for $9.99 starting July 5th, but does not include a release date... Pre-ordering software that is delivered online just makes no sense to me unless there is some sort of incentive for doing so like either a discount, or some sort of limited edition toy. I mean, there is no advantage to giving SE your money early... it's not like there is shipping time involved. Once it is released, you can just download and enjoy it at once. Ordering it now would just mean that SE gets to collect interest on your money with no guarantee that they will deliver it in a timely manner.

Well, it's definitely RMT in this case... we all know what these "expansions" involve... hours of unnecessary grinding with stupid random drop conditions with a forgettable storyline that we'll all go buy anyway in order to get the equipment. It's like watching a B-movie or Transformers 2... we know it sucks, but we'll play anyway!

Stats for the new expansion pieces are out... and again, it's the augments that are the most interesting. Tasya pointed me to this one specifically:

- CHR+4, "Waltz" ability delay -2

Now if that -2 means... -2 seconds, that really improves Dancer... Some people say that it doesn't beat the +5% Waltz Potency from Etoile's Tiara (which I'm still missing ; ; ) but I think I'd prefer this over the 5% since it would let you spam Waltzes that much faster. When I'm on DNC, I'm usually either spamming Divine Waltz to get the HP of a party up, or spamming specifically Curing Waltz III to heal someone. I rarely use IV specifically due to the long recast time, and I hesitate to use Healing Waltz for fear of needing to cure someone right afterward. It would bring Curing Waltz III's timer down from 10 seconds to 8 seconds, meaning an overall increase by 20% for HP cured over time.

Of course, if it means just 2%, then it's completely useless... 20% would actually be more useful though... typical SE and their attitude of "it's fun for you to find out" -.-;

For other augments, I'm not sure... possibly the +chr & fast cast option for Utsusemi.

Other news

So... I saw this funny bit of news... Apparently the Chinese government has declared that gold farming is now illegal xD Does this mean that SE's new expansion is illegal in China?

Maybe this explains the sudden discounts people have been seeing with the /tell spam. RMT trying to get rid of their goods before they as squashed by the government? I mean... I'm pretty sure they operate publicly.

I'm not entirely optimistic that this will remove RMT completely... They'll just shift to illegal operations, similar to how the "Do Not Call" list wasn't completely effective. You still had those idiots calling you with robo-callers with the "your car warranty is about to expire" calls -.-

Link to the article is available here: http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/ebusiness/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218101859

FFXI - A reflection (preview)

So I finished up my final cutscene for Apocalypse Nigh this morning and started to feel a little nostalgic... Finishing up the last mission in the main storyline(s) made me realize how much I've actually done over the last, slightly less than two years.

- Finished the storylines for Zilart, CoP, AU... ironically, I still haven't finished a single nation storyline yet

- Finished one set of "endgame" armor - Denali

- Partial sets for many other pieces of armor, including:

* 4/5 on Enkidu's Harness set

* 4/5 on Goliard Saio set

* 4/6 on Etoile(DNC) Attire set

* 4/6 on Mirage(BLU) Attire set

* 3/5 on Homam Corazza set

* 2/6 on Argute(SCH) Attire set... and strangely have two of the -1 pieces ready for use

- Taken 3 jobs to 75, with a 4th coming up in the next couple of days

- Poked many optional BCs/mobs with appropriate rewards (AN and the fights leading to it being the most recent example, others would include Divine Might, etc.)

- Completed all 50(+1) Assaults, Captain rank

- Participated in many more events than I thought I would... Limbus, Dynamis, Salvage, Nyzul, Einherjar

... with lots more to come. I've already decided that I'm going to pick up an entry ticket for the "Heroine's Combat" fight with my single Rank 5 Mog Marble... just need to remember do pick it up, and to figure out a strategy for this level 60 no-subjob battle. WotG storylines need to be completed... assuming SE actually decides to release anything (actually, I don't remember there being any WotG concent updates for at least 6 months)

Here's to more FFXI before the rapture!

(PS: Big THANK YOU to those who helped in the AN fight... Rooks, Dade, DO, Styles and Mendhall! I never thought that I'd be able to reach this point before xD)

Class-action vs. FFXI

Short post... busy week this week.

http://www.destructoid.com/square-enix-sued-for-deceiving-customers-137344.phtml

This is fun... someone is putting together a class-action lawsuit vs. SE for deceitful practices with billing for FFXI... I didn't know there was a penalty for late payments, or interest if you don't pay on time... is this true?

The very least, their practice for charging for a full calendar month even if you only reactivate for a few days is incredibly shady.

Still... this is a class-action lawsuit, so that means everyone is involved no matter what. If anything comes out of this, you'd have to opt-out to not be included. Also, includes all subscribers since 2005, so... even banned players are entitled to join in xD The courtwork paperwork is asking for a jury trial, so it should be at the very least, entertaining.

So... let's see... asking SE to cough over $5M... which is about 1 month worth of subscriptions. Assume a settlement for half that, lawyers take half, so... maybe $10 per customer... I wonder if SE could use this as an excuse to kill off FFXI... as in, if you take the settlement (which you do by default since it's a class-action), they automatically cancel your account?

Finishing up PLD, not on too much, lack of... events?

End-of-week update!

So, looks like the poll generally thinks I can completely DNC relic before the rapture... 4/6 now with last week's Etoile Casaque. Still missing the head and leg pieces, which... unfortunately, are the two best pieces that can't be replaced with other pieces. (I only macro in my current relic pieces occasionally since I generally have something better in those slots ; ; )

I think I've been spending too much time on Scholar... went to Limbus on Dancer on Wednesday and had a lot more fun. Plus, people strangely get attracted to my skirt on SCH, even when I'm wearing sweat pants underneath. -.-; I think I'll probably be coming DNC to events more even if it is a little less flexible, at least... until I complete PLD.

Paladin

PLD 70 now... going for the final push to 75 right now. Only bit of equipment I've changed so far is that I'm starting to use a Company Sword in exp for the higher damage. Once I hit 75, I'll probably get rid of it as well as my Hauby since PLD will only be coming out for events.

5 levels left to go, followed by a good buffer... at least 20k or higher, similar to my other jobs, though I might just push it up higher since PLDs have a higher death rate compared to DNC or SCH. I'd also need at least 6 merits to unlock Chivalry and Fealty to be basically effective for most things on PLD and work on pick up the final pieces of gear to use it...

Finding a party on PLD is still as easy as ever, typically getting invites without my flag up, or in the case last night, getting one right after I change jobs and before I even get a chance to change my equipment. Hopefully this will continue till the end. My skills aren't actually that far behind even with level sync... Shield skill is about 20-30 behind what it should be for my level, which should be recoverable. Divine Magic, Healing Magic and Enhancing Magic are also below cap too... surprising since Healing & Enhancing are still not capped even after all these months on SCH.

Not on much

I've had relatives in town for the last week for my graduation... annoying part is that they decided to stay for a while, which is not only exhausting, but also playing havoc with my work, personal and FFXI life... Hence, I haven't been getting onto FFXI until later at night when they go to sleep... At least I can still party on PLD even if I miss most people on AP xD This has also meant that I've been missing some of the smaller events that start earlier... though I did manage to sneak in two Dynamis-Tavnasia's over the last week ^^;

Should be able to get back to my regular schedule starting early next week.

Lack of events

So... I understand that there hasn't been a single Nyzul Isle run for the last couple of weeks? I gave warning that I wouldn't be able to make it... is there no more interest for this? If not, I'll stop asking! I'm happy now that I've completed one set... I'd like to pick up some Askar pieces and finish that Goliard set, but if I'm the only one still interested, no point in dragging others along :)

Looks like the other regularly scheduled events are going well... Dynamis is hitting up Tav, which is... I guess there's less running around, which is good, but it's also kinda boring since we're just camping the entrance to a corridor. Coming as SCH to this is fairly good since I'm a good backup healer/sleeper, and can contribute to nuking which not being at the front of the line for any one task. I like being flexible. Limbus is proceeding... first Limbus win last Saturday since... end of April >.> Finally got some nice pants for my PLD... (oh ya, and BLU) and we have another 2 Omegas coming up in quick succession in the next few weeks. ZNMs is proceeding steadily, though slightly messily for the last few weeks with some bloody fights. Coming up on both Tinnin and Tyger, then we're restarting the cycle again with Sarameya pops.

Finally, I went and did the necessary cutscene for the Apocalypse Nigh BCNM/quest... Talk about the end of FFXI! I didn't realize that the plot went on further... I thought this was just another optional/fun BC ^^; Anyway... I'm now ready for the final fight, which... from what I've read seems to be fairly easy if you have the right setup, similar to the final ACP battle. I used to see tons of shouts in Whitegate for people for this battle, but I haven't been afk in Whitegate for a while now due to other obligations... anyone want to do this? I know Ghiren needs it still, but I don't know who else has this fight unlocked. Anyone up for helping?

Fun random Ascy pics!

Time for some random fun Ascy pics! All taken over the last month! It's been a while since I've uploaded some random fun pictures...

Large train to zone!

So... somehow in this really weird Limbus, I was consistently outnuking the BLMs >.>

Ascy in IM gear...

Seems like many parties appreciate me on PLD xD

The... 30 second

fight that was Bahamut V2.

Dynamis-Tav Astral flow!

New Dancing outfit for Ascy!And finally... new shorts for BLU!! xD

Looking for PLD gear advice

PLD 67 now, almost 68... Getting parties on PLD is a little too easy... as in, I rarely even put up my invite flag... I thought SCH was good at getting parties, but on SCH I could easily watch an episode of anime before an invite. For PLD, just being on the job seems to be an invitation for an invite. Longest I've gone without an invite with flag up on PLD is about 5 minutes o.o; Longest without flag up is 15 minutes...

Coming up on the final push to 75 now. I have a feeling this is going to involve a lot of Imps... which is an interesting challenge due to their status effects. So far it hasn't been a problem, though a few times it did get messy due to me being both silenced and having amnesia xD

Now, the annoying part about PLD is that... unlike SCH, I can't quite get away with using nothing but AF and random pieces of gear that I had lying around... at least, not do that and be effective in events. So now I'm looking for some gear advise from people!

So far, this is what I have lined up for PLD75 (with key stats in parentheses):

- Head: Iron Ram Sallet (enmity +5), Gallant Coronet (enhances "cover")

- Body: Gallant Surcoat (vit+4, enmity +2) or Askar (str+5, Atk+12)

- Legs: Gallant Breeches (enmity+2), hoping for Homam Cosciales soon (haste +3%, fast cast)

- Feet: Gallant Leggings (shield skill +10)

- Hands: Homam Manopolas (enmity +3, haste +3%)

- Weapon: Macuahuitl +1 (enmity +4)

- Shield: Koenig Shield (vit+5, enmity+3)

- Ammo/Ranged: Bibiki Seashell (vit+4)

- Earrings: Suppanomimi (+5 Sword), Brutal Earring (Double Attack), Cassie Earring (vit+1, 50 HP, on loan from Vanh) and Ethereal Earring (3% damage to MP) when I get around to doing Apocalypse Nigh

- Rings: Hercules' Ring (enmity +3, latent regen/refresh), Rajas Ring (+str/dex)

- Neck: Parade Gorget (latent refresh), Harmonia's Torque (enmity+3)

- Waist: Swift belt (+haste), Warwolf Belt (enmity+3, vit+5)

- Back: Boxer's Mantle (shield +10)

What can I pick up to augment/replace things? Stuff that I can pick up from the AH, or various CP/IS/AN items preferred... If it's a rare/ex item, I'd rather it be something that I'd still use at 75 rather than something transitionary.

Suggestions?

Britain's Got Talent

So, I've been listening to the Scott Mills Daily, and was hearing a lot about this show Britain's Got Talent...

So... you HAVE to go watch this... it's awesome :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

And for those who want a funny British podcast, you can listen to BBC Radio One's Scott Mills at http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/mills

Another night, another disappointment, getting tired

Another long night with no Dancer drops in Dynamis... I've lost track of the last time any Dancer relic actually dropped in Dynamis. I don't know the people waiting for Hachiryu armor in ZNMs stand it... with the even lower drop rate there. I'm about ready to give up on Dynamis (and by extension, most of FFXI) with this stupid low random drop rate system.

22 people, 9 AF drops over 3 hours. That's 9 AF for 66 man-hours of work. At US minimum wage levels, that's 9 AF spread across ($7.25 x 66) = $478.50 of work, or $53.17 per AF piece. I'm fairly certain that most people going to Dynamis are worth more than minimum wage, so double/triple/quadruple that as you see fit.

Anyway, vote on the poll to the right. I'll see if I'm in the mood to do anything on FFXI tonight... might be my first chance to level PLD since last week, but with the game reaching retirement, I'm getting tired again and losing motivation to login.

On a different note... I figure more "off-topic" posts might be less depressing. Any suggestions on what I should talk about?

Interesting info for FFXIV

Here's some interesting info from the SE E3 Press Conference specifically for Final Fantasy XIV

Rather... picked out the ones that are probably most interesting to FFXI players.

You can find the liveblog of the conference at: http://e3.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/696020/Live-Blog-Square-Enix-E3-2009-Press-Conference.html

Keep in mind this is official from Square Enix, not rumors/speculation

- Characters look the same only "so FFXI players could choose a similar type of race in the new game. For example, in movies, you might have an actor that plays many different roles."

- "FFXI will continue to be supported. There is another year of content planned. There are no plans for the near future to stop development on FFXI."

- "The current plans are to have worldwide servers that are cross-platform and cross-region."

- "We envision users that will hopefully play XI one day and XIV another. They will be independent, but users are free to play both."

- "There will not be any XI character transfers to XIV."

- "We will NOT be using PlayOnline, but friend lists will transfer over."

- It takes place entirely underwater and those flying drones in the cinematic trailer were actually Mutalisks from StarCraft.

My takeaways:

- Two separate games, just like Lineage I & II. No relation, no character transfer

- Current plans are to stop FFXI content development. We'll get the end of WotG (maybe, but I'm betting it'll be rushed and unsatisfying), and the next two "mini-expansions" (definitely for more $ into SE's pockets). After that, FFXI is on life support with at most a bit of token content every year. (Increasing drop rates for MMM weapons by 0.1% in the next update)

- I'm surprised that they would not be using PlayOnline... I mean, after they put so much effort into it, plus the new security token thing

- They're being lazy with character designs... story and background they can make up easily

- More cross-regional servers, so the whole NA/JP conflict, lag times, etc. are still going to be present.

- There is more hype about StarCraft II

It's FFXI being launched all over again. Cross-regional stuff, multi-countries... I guess the game is getting a graphics revamp, and new/tweaked storyline? I'm disappointed that they decided to re-use character races completely from XI... I mean, code reuse is good and stuff, but when it comes to content, I'd rather have something new. Seems like they were too lazy to at least throw in some new races... how about the FFXII bunnies?

Taking a step back and looking at it... so far all it has going for it is just that it's a Final Fantasy title... No gameplay info, nothing on plot, and they are even admitting that they're re-using old material. I mean, Final Fantasy in general keeps reusing certain themes that fans enjoy (moogles, chocobos, etc.), but in this case, they are taking their old races... and... putting them back in with minimal changes?

Compared to the dozen of MMOs out there, this seems like a really weak offering at this time. Considering that they've announced this for just being 1 year out... with this little detail... almost seems like this project is being rushed out?

Final Fantasy XI-2 / XIV

So, breaking news for people who don't have gaming sites in their RSS feeds during this week of E3. SE has announced Final Fantasy XIV for release in 2010 for the PS3 and PC.

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/

Yes... FF XIII hasn't even been released yet, but that's also consistent with what they did with FFX and FFXI back in the day.

I'm basically calling it FFXI-2 at this point. If you look through the video trailer, you'll see many familiar themes and characters... and I don't mean FF staples like Chocobos and Moogles, but rather, Galka, Mithra, Elvaan, Tarutaru, as well as certain designs that I associate with FFXI specifically such as the scenery of (sky), the airship designs and the design of the mobs being similar to those that you'd find in the Promys.

Now, the big questions are: What does this mean for FFXI? Will people move to XIV? Will I start up XIV?

My guesses:

- Possibility #1: Keep FFXI running side by side as long as it generates more money than it keeps to maintain

- Possibility #2: Open a migration path for FFXI players to move over to XIV in some manner... character migration + some special items/achievements to incite people to make the move

#1 makes the most sense from a business and development point of view... You don't need to spend extra effort coding to support a migration of characters, and you get to keep the revenue stream from your old game going for as long as possible until people finally quit. You can also cut down on the amount of $ you spend supporting FFXI, first by stopping all development to it (will we ever see the end of WotG? I'm starting to wonder), then as FFXIV comes closer to release, shift support human resources over to handle support for the new game and put XI on life support.

#2 actually has some merits for marketing purposes... first off, you'd be able to get a jump start if you succeed in convincing the FFXI players to make the jump over to the new game. That would be a good initial... what, 500k users that would be a good start for a new MMO? Plus it has the advantage of being able to shut down FFXI sooner (assuming that they succeed in attracting people to the new game) and cutting down on support costs for an older game with aging/failing hardware.

Normally I'd dismiss option #2 as simple wishful thinking on the part of existing players... except that the video shows what looks like a FFXI environment and characters, making it possible that they would try a link between the two... If it looked like a brand new world/story (like most other Final Fantasy games), I'd definitely assume that it would be option #1 and evaluate it just like any other brand new MMO.

Now the next question... what does it mean for players? Would people move to XIV? I can't answer that... but I can answer it from my own personal perspective...

I like shiny new things. I like new toys and tend to pick things up pretty quickly. I like the cutting edge, which probably also explains why I've leveled both DNC & SCH instead of the older jobs. Unfortunately, that also means that I'm attracted to shiny new games, so... when FFXIV comes out, I'll definitely be looking to evaluate it.

However, if SE choses option #1, then that would put FFXIV back on the same playing field as any other MMO on the market... While I'm generally a fan of Final Fantasy games, I haven't been too impressed by SE's handling of FFXI players as customers... lack of communication, respect for people's time, and issues with 3rd party tools. On the other hand, there are also lots of other MMOs coming out in the near future, that is... around the Fall'09/Spring'10 timeframe.

Personally, I'm more excited about the new Star Wars MMO "The Old Republic".

On the other hand, if they go by the 2nd route, then... that will most likely mean that I would at... the very least check out XIV ~.~

Of tanking and other fun things

So, I don't remember why and when I got bitten by the tanking bug... but I suspect that my recent research into enmity for experimenting with DNC tanking contributed a little to it. Once I got past the initial boring stages, PLD actually became quite a bit of fun. Since 30, I've been enjoying the job quite a bit, Sentinel, Flash being the two main fun skill. Now I'm at 61 with Reprisal and just waiting for my final new ability Rampart at the next level.

What I've noticed so far on PLD:

- It plays very differently from my other jobs. Instead of being a reaction-type job (SCH & DNC with Cures/-na spells, BLU with Stun), it's more of an... anticipation job where you anticipate what the mob, and other party members will do and budget the hate tools you have in order to keep the mob's attention.

- Gearing up for PLD is quite different. In BLU & DNC, I'd focus on accuracy items, then haste and strive for a decent balance of those two and Dex/Str. For PLD, I'm looking for +enmity, then defense/vit, then haste and finally accuracy.

- For keeping hate (at least in exp parties), doing more damage is better to maintain hate compared to stacking on more defense. During our LS parties, I experimented a little with using Defender vs. Berserk... I found that I lost hate more with Defender up, and it didn't really reduce damage taken. On the other hand, Berserk let me put out more damage (especially with Vorpal Blade which can nearly hit 400 at 100% TP) makes it a lot easier to hold hate.

- Heavy armor looks nice! Ok... I admit it, I leveled PLD cos the AF looked cool xD Iron Musketeer armor also looked good, though I never really got to wear it effectively due to all the level sync parties.

Other fun PLD things... I think partying with Dexie & Zu also gave me a lot of training/practice on holding hate. The one non-LS Lesser Colibri party I had ended up with me holding hate against a DRK using Souleater + a THF SATAing him, and a RNG doing his best to get killed. I had to Cover the RNG a couple of times, but overall it seems that I'm doing okay... got two friends requests out from that party :o

So... I'm really looking forward to getting PLD up to 75 and coming to events as a new role. I've enjoyed doing that as a nuking SCH, various roles as a DNC, and a tank would be an interesting change. I still need to figure out how to gear up as well as I can without breaking the bank or spending days camping random NMs.

Other fun things

Other fun things include... some minor accomplishments this week:

- Finished PLD AF (well, of course!)

- Finally finished one set of "endgame" gear... Got my Denali Jacket from a random pickup Nyzul group Saturday afternoon just before Dynamis! Now I have something to run around town in xD

- Got Karou a set of Askar pants... at long last... though we desperately need some Askar head drops for everyone now x.x

Somewhat failures...

- Dynamis drop rates are low as always... annoying event... at least I had some fun by changing things up a little and being main assist...

- Limbus failure... not sure what went wrong here... can't quite figure it out. Really need Utty to be leading this. It should have been an easy zone with 6 people. Guess I pushed too hard?