It's Been A Wonderful Journey

With a sad heart, I write this post. I have decided to bid farewell to Vana d'iel. I have enjoyed my time there. I spent 4 years building my character, killing mobs, chasing bosses. What I will truly miss are the connections I made. I will miss my friends. Those who had helped me out along the way are truly precious. I even met my husband on the game. FFXI has played a very special role in my life. I will never forget my time and my adventures. I don't want to say I may be back (I've done it before). I am just going to say goodbye. 

To all my former adventurers, goodbye and I will miss you.    

A Love Story Born from FFXI

As my followers know, I was a big adventurer in Vana'diel for 2 to 3 years. During my years of dedicated time, I have developed some friendships. I really didn't try to develop any enemies. I did have one, but that was over something stupid. I put no energy in it. The group of people I hung around were fun and were down to help.

I believe a year & a half into my adventures, this player showed up in my linkshell. He seemed ok. Hung out with him on events. He even was in my Dynamis shell. I remember him helping me get a RDM testimony from the temple in Kazaam from some pots. I even helped him and his friend in a Tunnel fighting some cats for a NIN item. What is his name? Lordkaosu.

What made LK stand out to me, brightly, was one day when I just logged onto game, said hello to linkshell, he immediately sent me a tell asking me if I broke up with a fellow LS member. This was like the first time, well second time, that someone assumed I dated someone on the game. I had a rule about dating people on the game. Wasn't going to happen. But I understood where LK was coming from. The other LS member had "I <3 TK" in his Bazaar comment when you checked him. He had changed it to "I <3 Kitty".

This is when I really started to talk to LK. He piqued my interest. We talked on AIM a lot. We graduated to some Skyping. Then graduated to talking on the phone. When were were getting to know each other, he was going thru a hard time. I wasn't thinking of him in any way other than a best friend. I felt close to him. We decided on a camping trip together but instead we came up with a different plan. He came to Las Vegas and stayed with me and my dad. Then we went to New Mexico and we stayed with his parents then at a hotel. 

That trip turned our friendship into more. I didn't expect this at all. It was not planned. He is the 1st guy I've ever met on a video game. Soon after he moved to NY with me. And now we are engaged and planning our wedding in 9 months. This must be an act of fate or something. I never thought I'd find the "one" in Vana'diel, but I owe the game my allegiance for having me meet my future husband.

 FFXI in my world is the best game ever. To bad I can't play it regularly as I used to. On to my new adventure; planning my wedding.

Re-Post: Rage of the Red Mages

Had to Re-Post this: My favorite Post on RDM
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You may or may not believe this, but I play FFXI a lot.

I know. You're shocked.

The Thing is I don't think you quite understand how much I play this game. I don't think you, a perfectly reasonable, normal person, can fathom just how much time I spend playing.

A rational brain probably can't even perceive it.

I have leveled so many characters, a countless legion of warriors and mages spread across all of the races.

Okay, maybe not countless. There have been like 16 or 17 of them.

Still, that's a lot of freaking characters.

Some of them started out as crafting mules that I leveled up enough to farm their own materials.

Some of them started out as a flicker of thought in a moment of boredom.

One started out just so I could see what my main would have looked like as a chick.

Answer: hot.

I'm not sure I should be proud of that.

I am proud, but I'm not sure I should be.

Anyway, one of the side effects of this process is that I have spent an exorbitant (spelled that correctly on the second try) amount of time playing most of the jobs available in FFXI.

Most of you know my main job is Dragoon. All of my characters eventually end up spending some part of their career as a Dragoon.

But not their entire career.

No, to add some spice to the mix, I like to mix up my job classes now and again, just to see how the other half lives.

Or the other 95%.

I've dabbled in the magery (totally made that one up) from time to time and I must admit I have spent a hell of a lot of time playing as a Red Mage.

This has everything to do with their versatility and absolutely nothing to do with their awesome freaking pimp hat.

Absolutely nothing.

Nothing at all.

During my time playing Red Mage and leveling several characters as Red Mages, I can come to an interesting conclusion: I am not an expert at being a Red Mage.

Honestly, the job is so freaking complex. It takes a massive attention to timing and detail, and requires a lot of focus.

I love Dragoon, but that's like hit attack, hit jump, go make a sandwich. You come back, thing is dead.

Boom, exp.

Also, boom, sandwich.

When I'm playing Red Mage, I just feel like there's too much shit to do. You're always watching this timer and watching that guy's mp.

Don't get me wrong. I kick freaking ass as a Red Mage. I don't do this shit half-assed. When I'm in the pimp suit, I'm always bringing my A game.

But I still don't conisder myself an expert. Even after so much experience.

Funny story: Do you know who is an expert at being a Red Mage?

EVERY OTHER FREAKING PLAYER IN THE GAME!

Never play Red Mage before? Have a barely passing knowledge of the job mechanics? Have you accidentally visited a Red Mage forum? Did you own a Brady Guide?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are APPARENTLY an freaking expert at being a Red Mage.

I know this because every time I play Red Mage, EVERY FREAKING TIME, I am surrounded by people who want to explain to me how I should play my job.

Oh, you need a refresh now? Thanks for telling me. I have no way of figuring that shit out. They should really put a little bar underneath your hp that could go up when you have refresh on.

I will speak to the devs about that.

You know, after I HOP IN MY TIME MACHINE.

When exactly did the logic train derail and kill everyone on board here? When did it become normal practice to explain to other players how to play their job?

You don't see people giving Paladins helpful F&%@ing hints.

Hey, Dark Knight. You should try missing less.

You don't do that. You join a party and you assume everyone knows how to do their freaking job. You assume the tank is going to keep hate. You assume the healer is going to keep you up. You assume the melees are going to lay down damage.

Oh, wait. There's a Red Mage in your party. You better tell that bastard what to do.

What the hell is that?

Red Mages are an integral part to many party dynamics and provide an important resource to any group.

They are not the retarded kid next door that needs to be reminded to wipe his ass before he gets on the little yellow bus.

We got this. We are well in control of the situation.

If you don't have refresh for three or four seconds, maybe we're busy doing something. Maybe we're doing something else and you can wait.

Hold your breath, too. That helps.

Either you'll calm down or you will pass the F&%@ out and won't be able to type any more.

I was in a party earlier and this one guy, a WAR/NIN, just wouldn't shut the F&%@ up. The whole time we were in a party together, all he did was bitch.

HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE MP AND/OR REQUIRE REFRESH.

All he did was tell me how to do my own job better. He questioned my timing, my refresh cycle order, everything.

He even questioned my equipment.

WAR>> Why are you wearing that earring?
[GM]Dave>> It's the best earring for my level.
WAR>> No, it's not.
[GM]Dave>> Yes.
[GM]Dave>> Yes, it is.
WAR>> You don't know shit.
WAR>> I'd never wear that earring.
[GM]Dave>> What level is you Red Mage?
WAR>> 23.

This is a level 65-67 party, mind you.

[GM]Dave>> You need to shut up now.
[GM]Dave>> Forever.
WAR>> What a noob.
[GM]Dave>> Psssttt. Hey, leader. We should totally boot the WAR.
WAR>> You moron.
WAR>> You said that in party chat.
[GM]Dave>> I know.
[GM]Dave>> If I whispered, you wouldn't see it.
WAR>> Man, you're a joke.
WAR>> You're the worst Red Mage I've ever seen.
[GM]Dave>> Wait a second...
[GM]Dave>> How about now?
WAR>> A sword?! You equipped a sword now?!
WAR>> What the hell are you going to use a sword for?
[GM]Dave>> Well, if you don't shut up...
[GM]Dave>> I'm going to F&%@ing cut you.

He quieted down after that.

At least, I assume he did. It was hard to tell after I fed him to Jormy, booted him off the server, and then permabanned his account.

I like to imagine that he then took his own life.

I have no way of verifying that, but it makes me smile.

posted by [GM]Dave @ 8:25 PM

Did I Say I Was Back?

Life has derailed my comeback. My mother has come back to town for 3 weeks. When she leaves, I leave for vacation. I won't be back until June.

Just funny how things come up to make you stray from the path. See you again. I'll be nice and tanned when you do.

A Little Change to This Blog

I have made a slight change to the side panel of my blog. This blog will forever be my FFXI blog & will return to the game the latter half of April. However, I do play a lot of games on my iPhone, PS3 and Xbox. These games are quick easy games. Not like FFXI that takes at least 3 hours to play at one sitting.

So I was suggested to do reviews on some of the games that I play or have played. The change I made in this blog is the box that used to say "Status Updates" is now called "Gaming Updates".  For those who may be interested in the other games you can click on the link and be taken to the blog post for the game.

Take care.

See you in Vana'diel soon.

World Merge March 26th

So Siren will be receiving residents from Diabolos server. I'm not sure if I like that. I've heard Diabolos has a ton of assholes. But that's just hearsay. Hopefully we get some decent people.

I believe I shall return to Vana'diel after Tax season is complete. I do miss the game.

A White Mage and a Dark Knight had a date…

story by Demicus of Siren

A White Mage and a Dark Knight had a date…

WHM: I got a date with that Dark Knight tonight...

PLD: A DRK? One of those emo knights eh? This should be interesting.

WHM: He's not emo, he's just multifaceted.

PLD: Multifaceted, you mean multi-hit weapon skill.

WHM: What?

PLD: NVM.

WHM: Well anyways we're going to the Lion Springs Bar in South San D' Oria.

PLD: I danced there once.

WHM: You what?

PLD: It was for a quest, don't look at me that way.

WHM: ...

PLD: Well be careful, he's a Dark Knight, he's probably into all sorts of weird stuff, like cutting himself, and you. He'll probably try to bind you up or something.

WHM: DRK's don't get bind.

PLD: What if he's subbing rdm?

WHM: I doubt it'd land, but I'd just repose and tele the holla outta there. Maybe. Hmmm.

WHM: Well I'm gonna go on now, I'll see you later!

PLD: Atleast cast blink on yourself, sub nin or something!

WHM: BYE!

Later, in South San D' Oria...

WHM: So then no sooner did I repose the Eruca, our nin slapped it with his Katana, waking it up. He claims he didn't see the spell go off but I think he just wanted to try to solo it.

DRK: I see, so tell me, have you ever found it odd that WHMs use hammers as a weapon? That's gotta hurt more than my scythe. Ironic isn't it? You heal, yet your weapon has to inflict the most excruciating pain to your foes, breaking them from the inside.

WHM: That's quite an interesting way to put it. I hadn't thought about it like that, it's rare that I get to DD though, I always have cure you guys!

DRK: Yes, as a DRK, I must confess my appreciation of you, and your job, I would not have killed even a tenth of the mobs I've killed without your ever diligent support. Still I can sense you yearn for the spilling of blood.

WHM: Heheehe, don't be silly, I heal, I don't kill...

DRK: More hollow words have never been spoken m'lady, You see, I have an abyssite of Discernment, so I can tell what you're really thinking.

WHM: OMG, are you serious?

DRK: No, but, you should've seen the look on your face.

WHM: Well, ok ok, maybe just a little... I admit, whenever I sub nin, and I put that second hammer in my hands, I feel like bashing the tar out of stuff. Its odd, but I feel like I can take on anything. I mean within reason. I secretly went out and got Reverend mail one day with a group of friends, and never told anyone outside that party.

DRK: Hmmm. The plot thickens...

WHM: Oh stop /Blush.

They both sip their ales.

WHM: So, whats with so many DRK subbing nin these days? Don't you guys love /sam?

DRK: Funny you should ask. A friend of mine told me how good his Vorpal Blade was in comparison to Guillotine, and I scoffed. But hey, with all these Over Powered Crit + and STR+ Atmas out there, I figured, why not.

Once I saw it first hand, I was impressed, so I decided  to make a sword build. Sure enough I was easilly trumping my guillotine by 1000-1500 each time, so naturally... Also /nin has so much survivability, and with magian trials I made a... My dear, I'm boring you aren't I? Come, let us talk some about something a little less rougeish.

WHM: Don't be silly, I am totally curious about this, because well, I feel its time to dust off the ole Reverend mail. /grin.

DRK: Hmmm, you know miss WHM, you strike me as one who secretly has a WAR or something up your sleeve.

WHM: /Blush.

WHM: Yeah, I also noticed you subbed rdm tonight.

DRK: /Blush. Yeah I uh was soloing something earlier.

WHM: MmmmHmmm

I'm tired....

So I am at the point where I need to take a break from the game. I will contimue to pay for the service. With my life being so crazy it's hard to get on. I don't want my dyna shell think I'm just ditching them. I'm not. I will miss them. To all my friends on game, I will see you soon. Some time in the new year.

Umm Maat & Life in Vanad'iel

So I walked in the house & my brother is doing Dynamis. They were talking about me and whether I'm still pursuing RDM Maat. My bro told them I gave up on it & trying it with my SMN. They suggested that I level PLD or WHM to 66 to fight Maat since it's very easy. I have 2 summons to get: Titan & Fenrir. I also have to get the Whispers for all non-COP avatars too. I have a long way to go still. I'm only 41. I need 25 more levels on order to attempt Maat. We'll see. I just wanted to put it straight, I am not giving up on RDM Maat. I am still going to try. So don't lose hope for me yet.

One More Lesson Learned

 I forgot to mention one more thing that I forgot to mention in my last post. I'm quite besides myself as to why I forgot to mention this. It was by far the most interesting thing that happened that weekend.

This takes place when I was leveling NPC with Nimotas and Vourant in Cape Terrigan. Both Nim and Vou had to go AFK, but Frizzlefry came to give Vourant a pearl for our dynamis LS. So I went to get Frizz to show him where we were. Well of course things didn't run smoothly. I got aggro'd by a crab. I normally can't take crabs by myself, but I tried. I hoped that one of my party members came back in time. If not I could call for help. So I took on the crab.

When he attacked I didn't have any buffs on. My reraise had worn off. I was able to put rr on and stoneskin while fighting. It was a slow fight, but I was taking him down. If it was the new sword I don't know. I was on a roll and I had a lot of mp to cure myself and refresh my buffs. I got this crab down to less than 10% when the worst thing happened!!!! Can you guess what it was? Well herr it is. Nimotas came back from being AFK and came and killed it with one swing. He did it so fast I couldn't scream "Do not help me." Darn it!

That was exciting for me. That crab read Tough for me!!!! I was not even /NIN!!!!!!!! I was kicking ass /WHM!!!! For those that said RDM/WHM, can't melee too much, after that fight, I'd give them the finger!!!  They say RDM/NIN is impossible to gage well RDM/WHM is kick ass!!! I'm so proud of myself!!!!

Re-Post: Got Hacked?

I am reposting this blogpost from Jacinda's FFXI blog. It may save someone's account.

Jacinda's post:

I just saw this on Starcade's blog and thought I'd pass it on. What initially looked like a fake attempt at phishing may very well be real.

Several people have been receiving the following email about a security breach on Square-Enix's side:

Dear valued FINAL FANTASY XI player:

Square Enix is committed to protecting your user information. We have just been alerted to a potential breach of Square Enix’s secure systems from an external source. This may have resulted in the disclosure of a limited number of PlayOnline IDs, passwords and user account data. Please be assured that your credit card data has not been compromised. We are taking this matter very seriously and are conducting a full investigation.

As a precaution we are notifying you of this potential breach and we are resetting your PlayOnline password.

Please contact our Support Center by web chat and obtain a new password that differs from your prior password. Please keep this new password safe and always be on the alert for any “phishing” emails that ask you to disclose personal or financial information.

Support Center
http://support.na.square-enix.com/jump/chat2/

Hours of Operation: Mon-Fri 9:00AM to 6:00PM
*This week only, the Support Center will handle calls for this issue on Saturday June 5, and Sunday June 6.
*Please note that due to a large number of calls, it may take a long time until your call is handled. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

This e-mail has been sent out for your information only. Please do not reply to this e-mail address.

Again, we apologize for this inconvenience and we thank you for your continued support. 

The people over at Bluegartr have been going back and forth with Customer Service, and it seems that several accounts have in fact been reset. I definitely suggest that you check your emails, and if you have this...call customer support before you log on.

Job Debates

Last night my bro asked me if there was a job that I secretly wanted to play but haven't touched. That's a good question. All the jobs that I am leveling to 75 are the ones I like, RDM and SMN. I should try to at least have a dd job. So far I have leveled DRG and THF to 15. DNC to 11 and NIN 17. However, THF and DNC are considered support jobs and not DD jobs. I find NIN and THF to be very similar.

I am liking NIN but not as far as wanting to use it as a tank. I do not have /WAR nor do I intend to level it. I currently /DNC with my NIN. I like the combination. So if I take NIN past 37, I will stick with the combo. The only part of NIN that I don't like is buying all the tools to cast your spells. I'm just so used to having my mp based spells.

I don't think I'll level DRG because of thr /WAR requirement. Also, I can't control my wyvern in the extent I can can control my avatar. Meaning, I can't send it to attack and bring back a mob. THF, well Sneak Attack Trick Attack just confounds me. Pulling is ok with me tho. I do pretty well at pulling. DNC I will take to 37 if NIN goes to 75. But that's all speculation at this point.

I have not unlocked SCH, PUP, BST, or COR. I have no interest what so ever. SCH may be very interesting to others but I'm way too magey. I have SMN and RDM. 2 is enough. BST is just so...beastly, lol. To be honest, the automations for PUP scare me. So PUP is OUT. COR, besides resetting timers, I don't find them useful.

All other jobs I have unlocked because I was seeking fame. I am not interested in BRD, BLU, RNG or PLD. I am not a tank girl, so PLD is out. BRD too magey. As I said before 2 is enough. RNG hits hard but
not so much interesting. BLU, bah, just a tweeked RDM with no benefits for the party. They get to battle more.

I was interested in DRK for a minute as well as BLM for subs for dynamis but eh, not a necessity. I amcso not emo or goth so DRK really don't strike me as a viable job for me. (Just in case you missed the undertones, that was a joke.) Seriously, DRK no longer interests me. BLM was just so boring since I've done the nuking on RDM. As for now I'm pretty content with jobs I am choosing to level. My interest in the game has weened. My time has been limited tho.

Do I think I can take more than the 2 jobs to 75? Very possibly, but like any high level player, I am running out of storage. As you get higher, your gear starts to become rare/ex so you can't sell it. Nor can you send it to a mule for storage. I am not buying a storage token either. You know how many tokens I have to use in life to access stuff? Bah, an annoying piece of plastic. And when the battery dies you have to purchase a whole new one. GTFOH!!! Not me. The added security I believe is more for computer users.

Anyway, nice having this one sided conversation with you. We should do it again. Until my next post, besos.

Avatar Levels & Job Abilities

As I am leveling my SMN, I refer back to the Wiki. However, the avatar job ability & level section was a bit confusing and hard to look at. I just wanted a list by each summon without having to go to each summons page. So I drafted this up the other night. I hope this can help someone else.

Playing FFXI on an iPad??

An interesting article. Maybe one day to carry around your iPad playing FFXI or FFXIV. But that would be too much right? That would just prove how much of an addict that you are. 

Check out the article.

Reminiscing

I think it's nearly 3 years that I have been playing this game. I'm not really sure; time passes really fast. So I have to ask myself, do I still enjoy the game? Even though I haven't been on consistently for I believe 6 months, I do. It's just that my life turned upside down with work. I miss the game, the chatter, the friends I've made. Since I been gone for so long I no longer get my fuzzy greetings I used to get. People I hung around surpassed me and are onto bigger and more end game stuff. Some people left and I didn't have a chance to say good bye.

As I was testing out mule, TL, 2 days ago, I was reminded of all the fun I had running around E Ronf, Latheine and the Dunes as a newbie to the game. I remembered all the missions I did. It was fun. Like a kid
who just got a brand new toy. Remember avoiding Battering Rams in Latheine. The Bogeys in Qufim. That was some heart pounding fun.

Now....my heart pounding comes from dealing with that old man. And it is not fun. It's rather frustrating. He irritates me soo much. My natural instincts is to avoid people or things that irritate me, but that old man will go down eventually. I'm not pressuring myself. The more pressure, the least likely I'm gonna win the fight. I need to be calm and relaxed. However, when I zone to he burning circle, my heart starts to race and my tummy gets all irritated. So much for pressure, right?

Now what frustrates me in the game is the drama of strong personalities. I try to be nice to everyone. No use of me being bitchy and difficult. It's unfortunately a small world on the server. Everyone knows who you are by seven degrees. Yeah, I forgot the saying, sue me. Anyway, but being bitchy and over dramatic. I really
don't want to hear about a person before I meet them. I like to form my own opinion. However, you have a tendency to like whomever your friends like a then you form a clique.

I've been in a lot of cliques during my time in the game. At one point it was Titen, Kirinkage and myself. Then it was Inchigo, Zeeone, Fawnaa and myself. Then Olibear and Oliphant joined us. Then it was just Inchigo and me. Then it was Ghostdawg and me. Then it was Kainbelmont, Frizzlefry and me. Then just Kain and me. But my most consistent clique member is my bro Kirinkage.

I try to do my job in the game well. I haven't really heard any bad feedback except for the person I blacklisted and that was not because I was not doing my job. He wasn't doing his. So I think I'm doing a
pretty good job at my role except for Maat and that's just a whole different ball game.

I do get bored with my job. That's when I'm forced to into a role where I'm just doing one thing over and over again. Boring. I chose RDM because of the versatility. It can fight, enfeeble, cure, and enhance. But I get around the hard times by thinking I'm helping out friends.

I absolutely hate soloing. I can only do about an hour of it.  I'd rather duo or party. If I wanted to solo, I'd go play another game, right? Anyway, so much has happened and I'm not bored at all in this game. I just wish I had the same amount of time in the game as I used to. I will work out a way.

Kirinkage Set New Record on PLD

Kirinkage decided to challenge Maat to a fair duel today on PLD. He went in and whopped his ass. Used a Joyeuse, Reprisal and straight up beating that ass. He set  a new record.

Source of Irritation

Some things that bother the crap out of me in the game:

#1 - If we in a party (no matter where and what event) and we wipe, when you get raise, sit down and heal like the rest of the party! Don't stand and expect me to waste all my MP to cure your ass!!!!!!! If that's how you're gonna play, I'm gonna leave your ass in the red!!!!!

#2 - If we in a tight spot where we need invisible and sneak, don't be cheap!! Bring your Own!! Making the mage constantly drop ours to put on yours, leads to death for us. Be considerate and bring your own.

#3 - Be prepared for events. Know what you need and what is to be done when you show up. Don't just depend on others. That's how you slow us down. We all have time constraints. Don't make all of us suffer for your incompetence. Be a boy or girl scout and be prepared!!!


That's all for now.

Posted with altBlogger.

Some Xbox Gamer News

- As of April 15th, Microsoft will be canceling the Xbox Live Service for the original Xbox console.

- Microsoft will discontinue sales of the 120GB hardive Xbox 360 in North America and Europe.

Posted with altBlogger.

Another Hiatus Due to Death

I am taking another hiatus. I will be gone for a week or so. My cousin has passed from cancer. Funeral is this week. I also have a house full of family.

It's nice to have see my family but not under these conditions. Take care and I'll see you next week some time.

Posted with altBlogger.

Aaah Just To Talk To Folks

So in missing Vana'diel I decided to update FFXI on my father's computer. I know I wouldn't be doing too much playing since I am not good with the keyboard mouse combination. I just wanted to get on & say hello to everyone.

The update took 2 hours....

So when I got on finally, I realized that I was still on the BLM job. I changed back to RDM. Not like I was going to be able to do any test farming. So I got to chat with everyone in my LS and in my friends list. I missed everyone. It's funny that I've never met these people in real life, but they are cool enough to make me want to get on game. I really don't have anyone on the game that I can't stand.

Being away from the game makes me feel like I am so way behind everyone. Everyone's doing Sky and other end game events & I can't join in. Irritates me, but what can I do? That man won't die for me and I can't get people together to do COP 2-5 thru 4-1. I also need to do fight in Quicksand Caves for Sky access. So I can't say it makes me feel behind, but that I am behind.

So I change my job and decided to clean up my mog safe, inventory, etc. I had a quest item on me so I went to get this quest done. I put some items on AH.

I sold some stuff to some NPCs. I also bought 3 Bonanza Marbles. I am going to get 7 more. I just didn't have any room for them on me. I get back to my mog house and found out my Locker lease has expired. I usually give like 5 to 6 months (Real Time) worth of Bronze coins to my moogle.

Once again, Windy has not gotten Qufim or Valkrum Dunes OP. This is really irritating. I hate having to go to Whitegate to get to Jeuno & Tele-holla to get to Dunes to get to Selbina & change jobs and gear. I need to start partying out in Qufim & Dunes with my DRG, SMN, or what have you. It's not like I'm going to make any difference anyhow.

Until next time.