Last night I set about getting rid of some of the junk I had collected recently, including a stack of Beehive Chips, a Scroll of Gravity and the Rolanberry pies. By the end of the night I had sold one set of Test Answers from Windy’s AH and had Jeuno’s returned. I guess I need to go back to Windy for that item. The Beehive Chips also sold.
After no encouragement on the T-T front, I switched to BLM again and flagged up. Not too long later, Azilia requested my presence in Qufim Island. We waited at the entrance to the Qufim tunnel for the others and I gave synthing and desynthing a shot. I was able to make and remake the three capes I had on hand a few times and eventually lost out when the Lightning Crystal broke and took the last cape with it. I did get a .1 skillup though :/
We started off with only 5 members and no WHM. We had a RDM and another BLM besides me, so we agreed RDM should main-heal and the BLM’s (both with Cure II) could back up. We met at the tower and got to business around 10:15.
There’s not much to say other than this was a good crew getting lousy XP. Even WITH my EB, I was pulling in less than 100 on most kills. We tried snips, pugs, a gob, and some giants. It really was hit-or-miss and this was with a very level-tight group!
We also added a sixth, Hemdall, a Taru SMN. He would later DC only to return a little later.
We had two close calls wherein links tried to wipe us but we pulled through unscathed, and then Arot was later one-shotted by a Pug’s Screwdriver attack and died. He died again not long later when he managed to pull a pug link. That time he had a reraise effect up.
I’m beginning to think the time to jump to Kazham is closer to 23 rather than 25-26. I mentioned it but no one else seemed to want to leave the island. I really remember a lot more IT mobs the last time I leveled here. Maybe Square adjusted the difficulty a bit?
It was just after midnight when we agreed to disband, and then I DCed. By the time I got back on, Azilia was already off and only Arot was still in the zone. He was warping out by the time I found him, so…
I still need like 2k XP from 4,350 to ding 25 and make the switch back to WHM for the long haul to 50.
Aerinravage's GamerCard
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Moving Along
Last night I logged in after two fruitless hours working on the Honda with Dad and Kevin. I think I got on at about 10 and stayed in for 90 minutes. Unlike previous nights, I had fares. I made 12k in this session, and went ahead and bought the Druid’s Rope for its SIR -10% effect.
Holla’s creeping back up now that there are only 2 up. Almost 10k now. Windy was a bust – Holla hasn’t sold there in almost a year. Maybe I’ll hang on to it for more favorable market conditions. I also had to wait on the Test Answers in Windy because I still had 7 items up at auction.
. . .
This morning, I sought out Honey and Beehive Chips to complete the stacks I’ve been sitting on for ages. Since the Giant Bees are right next to Lily Tower it makes sense to try farming these before going in. Also, it turns out all those Bone Chips I’ve been snapping off the Wendigos stack for around 2k. Not bad considering the drop rate.
So, for the foreseeable future I’ll farm in the morning and tend to my auctions. I’ll think about crafting. It sucks that the capes just don’t sell and it’s not like the material’s all that cheap. Not too bad if I buy raw thread from the Guild and then synth the grass cloth, but still… If T-T stays active maybe I’ll just toss the capes when I’m done synthing. I don’t know – maybe I’ll try desynthing them for a partial return on the thread then resynth as needed until I ding level 8.
Cool note – I decided to check a group of players running bazaars near the Guide Stone. One had Rolanberry Pie +1’s up for 1,150 each. And they auction for 8k! Yippee! If I can find Nessthemage he’s getting his payback. The rest I’m selling. I’ve got to remember to check that bazaar again tomorrow. Maybe I can stock up and feed them out slowly for big gains.
After logging out, Mom took the kids and I dropped the car off at Robert’s. Let’s hope the damage from the repair work isn’t a critical! ^^
Holla’s creeping back up now that there are only 2 up. Almost 10k now. Windy was a bust – Holla hasn’t sold there in almost a year. Maybe I’ll hang on to it for more favorable market conditions. I also had to wait on the Test Answers in Windy because I still had 7 items up at auction.
. . .
This morning, I sought out Honey and Beehive Chips to complete the stacks I’ve been sitting on for ages. Since the Giant Bees are right next to Lily Tower it makes sense to try farming these before going in. Also, it turns out all those Bone Chips I’ve been snapping off the Wendigos stack for around 2k. Not bad considering the drop rate.
So, for the foreseeable future I’ll farm in the morning and tend to my auctions. I’ll think about crafting. It sucks that the capes just don’t sell and it’s not like the material’s all that cheap. Not too bad if I buy raw thread from the Guild and then synth the grass cloth, but still… If T-T stays active maybe I’ll just toss the capes when I’m done synthing. I don’t know – maybe I’ll try desynthing them for a partial return on the thread then resynth as needed until I ding level 8.
Cool note – I decided to check a group of players running bazaars near the Guide Stone. One had Rolanberry Pie +1’s up for 1,150 each. And they auction for 8k! Yippee! If I can find Nessthemage he’s getting his payback. The rest I’m selling. I’ve got to remember to check that bazaar again tomorrow. Maybe I can stock up and feed them out slowly for big gains.
After logging out, Mom took the kids and I dropped the car off at Robert’s. Let’s hope the damage from the repair work isn’t a critical! ^^
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Morning on the Farm
Last night was the big August update which I had forgotten about (despite Squeenix’s many notices) so when I finally logged in at about 10pm, I watched the update proceed for a bit. Then I flipped over to IFC to watch some of their Golden Gate Bridge suicide documentary… Sad stuff, especially Gene at the end…
. . .
Tuesday morning I turned the monitor back on expecting to find an incomplete update, but lo and behold, it finished. The time estimate was about 3:40, so that’s pretty good for Juno not having a DC in that time. The FFXI login screen now has a slot for Wings under the other three expansions, and a 20th Anniversary FF logo and 5th Anniversary FFXI logo (a choco!). I was able to log right in with no problems.
As before, no fares. And my Holla scroll failed to sell, and is now only fetching 7k on Jeuno. I set about instead to verify Aerin for FFXIAH. This would normally mean buying some specified item for a bizarro price to ensure you are following their instructions. Mine was a single Water crystal for 1,323 gil. The email hopefully reminded me I could buy from myself if I wanted.
After some thought I realized I was screwed. There were 5 crystals up for about 400 each. If I tried to buy one then sell it to myself for 1,323 I’d certainly get one of the other ~400 gil ones. Or if I just bought an existing one for the verify amount, I’d be verified in one purchase but out about 900 gil. So-o-o, I bought all 5, for 2.2k, then sold myself the one, then resold the 5 for 400 each, plus the 54-buck tax. I think all told I’ll be out 500 gil in order to verify myself. Oh well… It gives me some neat options on FFXIAH.
I headed out to Horutoto to farm again (oh yeah, no takers yet on the Test Answers, out of 7!). By this time Matt and Bran were up and I introduced them to the wonders of loot farming. They seemed to enjoy watching Aerin lay waste to the Wendigos while I did dishes and cleaned up from breakfast. They’d helpfully update me on criticals I took or low HP. Maybe I can talk them into doing some farming for me :)
On the last bones I planned to break, I got the drop and tele’d out to Mea. I had to log out there to get the kids off in time, so tonight I’ll head into Windy, put Holla and the test papers up, and flag 3-3.
P.S. On the way out of the neighborhood, the Honda’s crank pulley fell off…
. . .
Tuesday morning I turned the monitor back on expecting to find an incomplete update, but lo and behold, it finished. The time estimate was about 3:40, so that’s pretty good for Juno not having a DC in that time. The FFXI login screen now has a slot for Wings under the other three expansions, and a 20th Anniversary FF logo and 5th Anniversary FFXI logo (a choco!). I was able to log right in with no problems.
As before, no fares. And my Holla scroll failed to sell, and is now only fetching 7k on Jeuno. I set about instead to verify Aerin for FFXIAH. This would normally mean buying some specified item for a bizarro price to ensure you are following their instructions. Mine was a single Water crystal for 1,323 gil. The email hopefully reminded me I could buy from myself if I wanted.
After some thought I realized I was screwed. There were 5 crystals up for about 400 each. If I tried to buy one then sell it to myself for 1,323 I’d certainly get one of the other ~400 gil ones. Or if I just bought an existing one for the verify amount, I’d be verified in one purchase but out about 900 gil. So-o-o, I bought all 5, for 2.2k, then sold myself the one, then resold the 5 for 400 each, plus the 54-buck tax. I think all told I’ll be out 500 gil in order to verify myself. Oh well… It gives me some neat options on FFXIAH.
I headed out to Horutoto to farm again (oh yeah, no takers yet on the Test Answers, out of 7!). By this time Matt and Bran were up and I introduced them to the wonders of loot farming. They seemed to enjoy watching Aerin lay waste to the Wendigos while I did dishes and cleaned up from breakfast. They’d helpfully update me on criticals I took or low HP. Maybe I can talk them into doing some farming for me :)
On the last bones I planned to break, I got the drop and tele’d out to Mea. I had to log out there to get the kids off in time, so tonight I’ll head into Windy, put Holla and the test papers up, and flag 3-3.
P.S. On the way out of the neighborhood, the Honda’s crank pulley fell off…
Monday, August 27, 2007
Three (Mage) Door’s Down
This weekend saw some action but not a lot. Here’s the basic wrapup:
Saturday at around noon I logged in and got the completed statue from Mulaujeant that I need to return to Rauteinot in Kazham. I also went ahead and tried to flag the Holla scroll quest but didn’t have the fame. As it turns out, one of Sandy’s “quick fame” quests is an easy one involving delivering fish to one of two brothers in Port San d’Oria. I happened to have 7 Moat Carps taking up space in my MH, so I picked them up and set off to find the fishing brothers.
Fortunately, 7 was all I needed to go from 3 to 4 in Sandy fame. I didn’t want to have to buy a stack or two of Moat Carps since they were over 2k per. That settled, I went back to the Cathedral to see Eperdur and flag the quest. I think I was back getting my scroll in less than 20 minutes. In Sandy, the price history is over 30k, while Jeuno sells them for less than 10k. I’m gonna give Sandy’s AH a shot first in the hopes a desperate San d’Orian WHM hasn’t heard of FFXIAH.com.
I also made it back to Kazham to finish THAT particular quest and logged after trying out the scroll.
. . .
Late Saturday I logged back in, probably around 1am. Once again I tried the shout for Windy 3-2 assistance. After the second shout I got a reply from Ibbit, a RDM looking for the Test Answers drop to get Aspir. We waited a bit for a BLM to bite but decided to try in Windurst. As luck would have it there was one, Gurf (sp). He needed Windy 3-2 as well so we all eventually made our way to Lily Tower and down into the Inner Horutoto Ruins. After an uneventful walk we made it to the dreaded Three Mage door and opened it.
After rushing through, I had to get the others over to one of the “dead ends” and show them the false wall. Once through, Ibbit began beating down Wendigos. I helped for a bit then Gurf and I set off to find the Gate of Light to complete our missions. Once the cutscene ended, Gurf took off. I stuck around to help Ibbit get his drop. WHMs do make excellent undead killers, even if their other offensive skills suck.
We got the drop after about 15 minutes of bone crushing, and I wanted to make sure he got it. He lotted and I passed, and I even tried to set treasure distribution to Quartermaster so I could pass to him if the lot screwed up. Well, I guess I need to read up on that mode because it gave me the Test Answers and him a little scare. I was so freaked out I forgot they’re not Ex and so once I calmed down I just traded them.
Mission accomplished, we split up, and he was kind enough to refuse my offer of the scroll of Gravity that had also dropped. Cool, easy 2k for me! By now it was very late so I went to bed.
. . .
Sunday was a pretty calm day. Once again, as on Saturday and Friday, almost no tele-shouts. *grrr* I set of to Windy again to look for a Rolanberry so I could trade it in at Heaven’s Tower and get a Portal Charm allowing me to solo the Three Mage door. I happened to find one berry on Windy’s AH after Jeuno’s had turned up empty. I bought it, traded it it and made plans to start farming Test Answers in the morning slot. They’re going for 15-20k now and if I can get 10+ per I’ll be thrilled.
I decided to try seeking on BLM again after no joy last night. I actually switched jobs upon arriving in Windy so by the time I had done the work to get the Portal Charm it had been about 20 minutes. I warped back to Jeuno and was preparing to switch back to WHM when Jazzanova invited me to Yuhtunga as BLM. I jumped at the chance.
After a short wait for the remaining two members we got to work grinding Mandies. We had a pretty solid crew but there were two problems: Aujir the DRG dinged 26 early on and nerfed XP for the rest of us, and Omni, our WHM, seemed reluctant to use anything other than Cure. I wound up throwing out a lot of Cure II’s during melee…
Jazza politely asked Aujir if he minded leaving. He seemed to take it hard, dropping out curtly. So, we waited a bit to find a rep who turned out to be Hiketun, a NIN I had seen seeking before I joined. She wasted no time lol-ing me on being a “melee-mage” ^^ Nobody seemed to mind though and I got my licks in.
I asked Omni in private chat if he had Curaga, which he did. Later, when we were getting slept regularly, I party-chatted a suggestion to wake him ASAP and then he could wake the rest of us using Curaga. He seemed shocked, asking if I knew how much hate that brings, to which I replied yes, because I do it all the time. Of course, the VERY NEXT PULL, he tries it and we have to zone. That particular mandy wasn’t going down. I joked that he was never going to let me live it down.
This of course after both of us got killed by a Smithy we had agreed to try out. We got a raise from ??? when she changed jobs at the Nomad Moogle’s hut. Oh well.
Then it happened – Ape called asking me to drop the boys off to her so she could head off to dinner with Charlene to celebrate Char’s birthday. I begged for 10-15 minutes from the group and it turned out I needed *40*. Ape needed me to meet her at Arby’s instead of JoAnn’s, so that’s what it took. I expected to be dead and party-less upon my return but wonder of wonders, they not only kept me but also kept fighting. I got like 1.5k XP sitting on my fuzzy butt! Much thanks to Hiketun for suggesting I wait outside with them rather than in Kazham!
As soon as I came back, I started spamming Cure II’s because more than one member was in the yellow. Omni was still on the Cure-only kick. After the pull I threw myself at their mercy and begged forgiveness for the tardy return. They shrugged it off. But I bet someone logged it in their journal… And not only the wait, I DCed as well. But we stuck it out for about an hour more all told before disbanding.
After the group split up, I once again apologized to Jazza and said I try really hard to be professional, and was therefore mortified to do that to the group. Again, he shrugged it off. I hope I can find some way to repay the group’s patience!
About Onmi…I may not be the best WHM in the game, far from it. But I learned long ago that standing back-line just doesn’t work. Sleep AoEs still reach and every time the mob decides to go for White meat the time it’s walking from and to the fighters is time the DDs aren’t hitting and regaining hate.
Yes, I know that Curaga, and especially Divine Seal + Curaga or Benediction are the WHM’s super-effective Provokes, but come on, please grow a set and join the party. Done right, with a macro warning the group it’s coming, should be more than enough in most cases to get the rest of the crew to either pull hate or backup heal the WHM until the mob is refocused.
This is precisely why I melee as all three mages – by standing toe-to-toe, the DDs don’t ever stop hitting. Yes, the mob gets to me faster, but a proper party setup should minimize the risk.
I’d also like to remind Omni, or party leaders like Jazza, that WHM gets Regen at 21. Regen is loads more effective than Cure I in terms of HP recovered, and it’s cheap MP-wise as well. I’m actually surprised party leaders haven’t asked me more often if I have everything, or at least key spells. I think I’ve only been asked once or twice and that was early on in my WHM career.
I may or may not try talking to Omni but I’ll damn sure be wary if he turns up in future parties as WHM.
P.S. Almost forgot – Lucylulu chatted me up again – she seems to really think I should know her, or someone called Icekid. She said we partied a lot way back, but neither are in my log. Hmmm…
Saturday at around noon I logged in and got the completed statue from Mulaujeant that I need to return to Rauteinot in Kazham. I also went ahead and tried to flag the Holla scroll quest but didn’t have the fame. As it turns out, one of Sandy’s “quick fame” quests is an easy one involving delivering fish to one of two brothers in Port San d’Oria. I happened to have 7 Moat Carps taking up space in my MH, so I picked them up and set off to find the fishing brothers.
Fortunately, 7 was all I needed to go from 3 to 4 in Sandy fame. I didn’t want to have to buy a stack or two of Moat Carps since they were over 2k per. That settled, I went back to the Cathedral to see Eperdur and flag the quest. I think I was back getting my scroll in less than 20 minutes. In Sandy, the price history is over 30k, while Jeuno sells them for less than 10k. I’m gonna give Sandy’s AH a shot first in the hopes a desperate San d’Orian WHM hasn’t heard of FFXIAH.com.
I also made it back to Kazham to finish THAT particular quest and logged after trying out the scroll.
. . .
Late Saturday I logged back in, probably around 1am. Once again I tried the shout for Windy 3-2 assistance. After the second shout I got a reply from Ibbit, a RDM looking for the Test Answers drop to get Aspir. We waited a bit for a BLM to bite but decided to try in Windurst. As luck would have it there was one, Gurf (sp). He needed Windy 3-2 as well so we all eventually made our way to Lily Tower and down into the Inner Horutoto Ruins. After an uneventful walk we made it to the dreaded Three Mage door and opened it.
After rushing through, I had to get the others over to one of the “dead ends” and show them the false wall. Once through, Ibbit began beating down Wendigos. I helped for a bit then Gurf and I set off to find the Gate of Light to complete our missions. Once the cutscene ended, Gurf took off. I stuck around to help Ibbit get his drop. WHMs do make excellent undead killers, even if their other offensive skills suck.
We got the drop after about 15 minutes of bone crushing, and I wanted to make sure he got it. He lotted and I passed, and I even tried to set treasure distribution to Quartermaster so I could pass to him if the lot screwed up. Well, I guess I need to read up on that mode because it gave me the Test Answers and him a little scare. I was so freaked out I forgot they’re not Ex and so once I calmed down I just traded them.
Mission accomplished, we split up, and he was kind enough to refuse my offer of the scroll of Gravity that had also dropped. Cool, easy 2k for me! By now it was very late so I went to bed.
. . .
Sunday was a pretty calm day. Once again, as on Saturday and Friday, almost no tele-shouts. *grrr* I set of to Windy again to look for a Rolanberry so I could trade it in at Heaven’s Tower and get a Portal Charm allowing me to solo the Three Mage door. I happened to find one berry on Windy’s AH after Jeuno’s had turned up empty. I bought it, traded it it and made plans to start farming Test Answers in the morning slot. They’re going for 15-20k now and if I can get 10+ per I’ll be thrilled.
I decided to try seeking on BLM again after no joy last night. I actually switched jobs upon arriving in Windy so by the time I had done the work to get the Portal Charm it had been about 20 minutes. I warped back to Jeuno and was preparing to switch back to WHM when Jazzanova invited me to Yuhtunga as BLM. I jumped at the chance.
After a short wait for the remaining two members we got to work grinding Mandies. We had a pretty solid crew but there were two problems: Aujir the DRG dinged 26 early on and nerfed XP for the rest of us, and Omni, our WHM, seemed reluctant to use anything other than Cure. I wound up throwing out a lot of Cure II’s during melee…
Jazza politely asked Aujir if he minded leaving. He seemed to take it hard, dropping out curtly. So, we waited a bit to find a rep who turned out to be Hiketun, a NIN I had seen seeking before I joined. She wasted no time lol-ing me on being a “melee-mage” ^^ Nobody seemed to mind though and I got my licks in.
I asked Omni in private chat if he had Curaga, which he did. Later, when we were getting slept regularly, I party-chatted a suggestion to wake him ASAP and then he could wake the rest of us using Curaga. He seemed shocked, asking if I knew how much hate that brings, to which I replied yes, because I do it all the time. Of course, the VERY NEXT PULL, he tries it and we have to zone. That particular mandy wasn’t going down. I joked that he was never going to let me live it down.
This of course after both of us got killed by a Smithy we had agreed to try out. We got a raise from ??? when she changed jobs at the Nomad Moogle’s hut. Oh well.
Then it happened – Ape called asking me to drop the boys off to her so she could head off to dinner with Charlene to celebrate Char’s birthday. I begged for 10-15 minutes from the group and it turned out I needed *40*. Ape needed me to meet her at Arby’s instead of JoAnn’s, so that’s what it took. I expected to be dead and party-less upon my return but wonder of wonders, they not only kept me but also kept fighting. I got like 1.5k XP sitting on my fuzzy butt! Much thanks to Hiketun for suggesting I wait outside with them rather than in Kazham!
As soon as I came back, I started spamming Cure II’s because more than one member was in the yellow. Omni was still on the Cure-only kick. After the pull I threw myself at their mercy and begged forgiveness for the tardy return. They shrugged it off. But I bet someone logged it in their journal… And not only the wait, I DCed as well. But we stuck it out for about an hour more all told before disbanding.
After the group split up, I once again apologized to Jazza and said I try really hard to be professional, and was therefore mortified to do that to the group. Again, he shrugged it off. I hope I can find some way to repay the group’s patience!
About Onmi…I may not be the best WHM in the game, far from it. But I learned long ago that standing back-line just doesn’t work. Sleep AoEs still reach and every time the mob decides to go for White meat the time it’s walking from and to the fighters is time the DDs aren’t hitting and regaining hate.
Yes, I know that Curaga, and especially Divine Seal + Curaga or Benediction are the WHM’s super-effective Provokes, but come on, please grow a set and join the party. Done right, with a macro warning the group it’s coming, should be more than enough in most cases to get the rest of the crew to either pull hate or backup heal the WHM until the mob is refocused.
This is precisely why I melee as all three mages – by standing toe-to-toe, the DDs don’t ever stop hitting. Yes, the mob gets to me faster, but a proper party setup should minimize the risk.
I’d also like to remind Omni, or party leaders like Jazza, that WHM gets Regen at 21. Regen is loads more effective than Cure I in terms of HP recovered, and it’s cheap MP-wise as well. I’m actually surprised party leaders haven’t asked me more often if I have everything, or at least key spells. I think I’ve only been asked once or twice and that was early on in my WHM career.
I may or may not try talking to Omni but I’ll damn sure be wary if he turns up in future parties as WHM.
P.S. Almost forgot – Lucylulu chatted me up again – she seems to really think I should know her, or someone called Icekid. She said we partied a lot way back, but neither are in my log. Hmmm…
Friday, August 24, 2007
A Statue for Father
8/23 – 8/24/2007
After putting Ape to bed I decided to try shouting for Windy Mission 3-2 help again. I also went to my Clothcraft Guild to buy grass threads so I could work on leveling my seamstress skills.
According to a skillup guide I read I need to do capes until I hit 8. Since it turns out I can craft the grass cloths and capes for a bit less than the cape AH price I might be able to level to 8 essentially for free (not counting the opportunity cost of not selling stacks of Earth crystals).
I made a bunch of grass cloth and then paid the 30 gil for advanced synthesis support and got to the capes. I was able to hit 5.4 with 5 capes, from about 4.7. Not too bad… I returned to Jeuno, tried shouting for the 3-2 help again, gave away a tele, and then logged.
. . .
On Friday, I tried the morning log-in slot and pretty much gave up after only 1 tele-shout (that I missed). I decided to head to Yuhtunga again in the hopes of getting that Elshimo Marble. I knew going in I wouldn’t have much time, but I was curious how much aggro I’d get from the Smithys at 44 versus 42.
It turns out, about half of them ignore me. I was able to get to the safe lizzy camp without cloaking, passing at least 5 Smithys in the process. I buffed up, healed and then began pounding lizard skulls. I only killed two before seeing “You find a slab of Elshimo Marble on the Ivory Lizard”. I couldn’t believe it! No weather, I used a 300% WS, I wasn’t at Gemini, etc., and what luck! I verified I had inventory space to prevent loot loss.
I started to wander back to the zone but it turns out I don’t know the way. And I found the Smithy that didn’t care about my level. After pulling aggro, I engaged him but then another Smithy linked in. I slept them both and after realizing I wasn’t going to find my way back to the zone easily I went ahead and warped back to Jeuno then took the airship back to Kazham.
I didn’t have much time before having to take the boys to school so I rushed up to Rauteinot, traded him the marble and got his parcel. My next job is to deliver this to a man called Mulaujeant at Sandy’s blacksmith guild. I was able to zone into Sandy but had to log out and leave for school/work.
Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to get the scroll until tomorrow afternoon. If I understand it right, I have to give the parcel to Mulaujeant, wait for midnight JST, and return so he can give me a statue to give to Rauteinot (thus the title of this entry – see Asimov’s work). If I had an extra 5 minutes this morning, JP midnight would have passed while I was at work, but no~O~o…
Anyway, tomorrow afternoon I will have 5 of 6 teles. And being a bit bored I revisited the Teleport-Holla quest (the one I skipped via the AH). I must have been confusing Palborough Mines with Gusgen because I had been dreading this one. Thanks to my RSE questing efforts I’m familiar with Gusgen and comfortable in there. Creeped out a bit by the ghostly children and spectral flames, maybe.
So tomorrow I plan to grab Holla’s scroll and sell it and then see if I can flag Vahzl. I think I can access Fei’Yin with only the core game and Zilart installed. So maybe I’ll start that one soon to complete the set. But I’ve heard that area’s a bit dangerous and I’d need to farm a Fei’Yin Chest Key from mobs likely to tear me a new one. I may have to wait a bit. Besides, I don’t see too many shouts for that one. And also, I don’t have the telepoint crystal either.
Since buying my Red Cape + 1, I’ve not made much money. The Ram Leather is moving slowly and I’ve already broken even on that part of Gobbiebag II. But teles haven’t been as lively lately. Maybe tonight and tomorrow will see more partiers needing a lift. I really need to fill out my WHM scrolls because I want to party more, with effective gear, and because I don’t like gaps in my abilities.
Things to Buy:
Neck:
Mohbwa Scarf +1 (lv40, 65k, DEF+2, MP+6, INT+2, MND+2)
Waist:
Druid’s Rope (lv40, 20k, DEF+3, INT+1, MND+1, CHR+1, SIR down 10%)
Reverend Sash (lv41, 100k, DEF+3, INT+2, MND+2, CHR+2, MPR+1)
Merc Capt Belt (lv30, use cp, DEF+3, stats +1)
Qiqirn Sash +1 (lv40, 90k, DEF+5, MP+14, MPR+3)
Qiqirn Sash (lv40, ???)
Mohbwa Sash +1 (lv20, 50k, DEF+3, MP+12, MPR+2)
Head:
Electrum Hairpin (lv40, 16k, HP-10, MP+25)
Horn Hairpin +1 (lv30, 5k, HP-4, MP+13, earth+9)
Rings:
Electrum Ring (lv40, 4k, HP-20, MP+20)
After putting Ape to bed I decided to try shouting for Windy Mission 3-2 help again. I also went to my Clothcraft Guild to buy grass threads so I could work on leveling my seamstress skills.
According to a skillup guide I read I need to do capes until I hit 8. Since it turns out I can craft the grass cloths and capes for a bit less than the cape AH price I might be able to level to 8 essentially for free (not counting the opportunity cost of not selling stacks of Earth crystals).
I made a bunch of grass cloth and then paid the 30 gil for advanced synthesis support and got to the capes. I was able to hit 5.4 with 5 capes, from about 4.7. Not too bad… I returned to Jeuno, tried shouting for the 3-2 help again, gave away a tele, and then logged.
. . .
On Friday, I tried the morning log-in slot and pretty much gave up after only 1 tele-shout (that I missed). I decided to head to Yuhtunga again in the hopes of getting that Elshimo Marble. I knew going in I wouldn’t have much time, but I was curious how much aggro I’d get from the Smithys at 44 versus 42.
It turns out, about half of them ignore me. I was able to get to the safe lizzy camp without cloaking, passing at least 5 Smithys in the process. I buffed up, healed and then began pounding lizard skulls. I only killed two before seeing “You find a slab of Elshimo Marble on the Ivory Lizard”. I couldn’t believe it! No weather, I used a 300% WS, I wasn’t at Gemini, etc., and what luck! I verified I had inventory space to prevent loot loss.
I started to wander back to the zone but it turns out I don’t know the way. And I found the Smithy that didn’t care about my level. After pulling aggro, I engaged him but then another Smithy linked in. I slept them both and after realizing I wasn’t going to find my way back to the zone easily I went ahead and warped back to Jeuno then took the airship back to Kazham.
I didn’t have much time before having to take the boys to school so I rushed up to Rauteinot, traded him the marble and got his parcel. My next job is to deliver this to a man called Mulaujeant at Sandy’s blacksmith guild. I was able to zone into Sandy but had to log out and leave for school/work.
Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to get the scroll until tomorrow afternoon. If I understand it right, I have to give the parcel to Mulaujeant, wait for midnight JST, and return so he can give me a statue to give to Rauteinot (thus the title of this entry – see Asimov’s work). If I had an extra 5 minutes this morning, JP midnight would have passed while I was at work, but no~O~o…
Anyway, tomorrow afternoon I will have 5 of 6 teles. And being a bit bored I revisited the Teleport-Holla quest (the one I skipped via the AH). I must have been confusing Palborough Mines with Gusgen because I had been dreading this one. Thanks to my RSE questing efforts I’m familiar with Gusgen and comfortable in there. Creeped out a bit by the ghostly children and spectral flames, maybe.
So tomorrow I plan to grab Holla’s scroll and sell it and then see if I can flag Vahzl. I think I can access Fei’Yin with only the core game and Zilart installed. So maybe I’ll start that one soon to complete the set. But I’ve heard that area’s a bit dangerous and I’d need to farm a Fei’Yin Chest Key from mobs likely to tear me a new one. I may have to wait a bit. Besides, I don’t see too many shouts for that one. And also, I don’t have the telepoint crystal either.
Since buying my Red Cape + 1, I’ve not made much money. The Ram Leather is moving slowly and I’ve already broken even on that part of Gobbiebag II. But teles haven’t been as lively lately. Maybe tonight and tomorrow will see more partiers needing a lift. I really need to fill out my WHM scrolls because I want to party more, with effective gear, and because I don’t like gaps in my abilities.
Things to Buy:
Neck:
Mohbwa Scarf +1 (lv40, 65k, DEF+2, MP+6, INT+2, MND+2)
Waist:
Druid’s Rope (lv40, 20k, DEF+3, INT+1, MND+1, CHR+1, SIR down 10%)
Reverend Sash (lv41, 100k, DEF+3, INT+2, MND+2, CHR+2, MPR+1)
Merc Capt Belt (lv30, use cp, DEF+3, stats +1)
Qiqirn Sash +1 (lv40, 90k, DEF+5, MP+14, MPR+3)
Qiqirn Sash (lv40, ???)
Mohbwa Sash +1 (lv20, 50k, DEF+3, MP+12, MPR+2)
Head:
Electrum Hairpin (lv40, 16k, HP-10, MP+25)
Horn Hairpin +1 (lv30, 5k, HP-4, MP+13, earth+9)
Rings:
Electrum Ring (lv40, 4k, HP-20, MP+20)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Desert Rally
I actually started today at 6am in Jeuno since Ape has to get up so much earlier than me. But it was pretty much a bust. Only one T-T. It was a full-party shot to Altepa that Frostmourne paid 7500 for (tried to pay more but I refused). I might try the early morn’ tomorrow. I’m thinking about leveling my clothcraft so maybe I can do that grind in the dead time and use evenings for more productive endeavors.
. . .
And to that end, I logged back in at around 8pm and soon had a direct party request from Daybreak. Pretty sure I’ve partied with her in the past – I’ll have to check the log. Anyway, she suggested Altepa and my first response was “oooooooooo”. I don’t know why but the anticans creep me out. I had a few minutes before departure and nearly 50k. I thought about getting the Qiqirm Sash +1 for MPR + 3 but it’s almost 100k. I went ahead and grabbed a Red Cape + 1 for its INT and MND boosts. I also retrieved Regen II and Flash from my MH.
I think we reached camp at about 9 and soon we were hip-deep in Desert Beetle carcasses. Or is that carapaces? Anyway, despite initial apprehension, the mobs died pretty easily and quickly. We had a great PLD tank called Enwen and I mostly stuck to Haste + Regen with the odd Cure III’s thrown in. I did some enfeebling too but kinda gave up after too many resists.
There’s not much to say other than our puller Gemmai (Taru RNG) did a great job avoiding links and everyone did a fine job. I meleed some but gave in to Enwen’s suggestion to stop. I was missing too much anyway but we did try three times to SC – bad timing scuttled that tho’. Someone called Tifin showed up early on but never did anything besides watch us. We had no member swaps. I think she’s friends with either Cordareo or Ayamami (sp).
We quit at 11 and I had dinged twice, allowing me to use my new Red Cape and Regen II. Over 10.5k XP total!
Things to remember for next time:
• If not meleeing, time cast/heal cycle to coincide with START of fight for enfeebs and buffs, not the middle.
• Consider /heal-only gear that jacks MPR up regardless of other stats (like Qiqirn Sashes). Use macro to swap gear and heal, or set fighting gear and attack. Fighting gear should boost MP or INT/MND.
• Work harder on coordinating MB’s with party, especially if not meleeing.
. . .
And to that end, I logged back in at around 8pm and soon had a direct party request from Daybreak. Pretty sure I’ve partied with her in the past – I’ll have to check the log. Anyway, she suggested Altepa and my first response was “oooooooooo”. I don’t know why but the anticans creep me out. I had a few minutes before departure and nearly 50k. I thought about getting the Qiqirm Sash +1 for MPR + 3 but it’s almost 100k. I went ahead and grabbed a Red Cape + 1 for its INT and MND boosts. I also retrieved Regen II and Flash from my MH.
I think we reached camp at about 9 and soon we were hip-deep in Desert Beetle carcasses. Or is that carapaces? Anyway, despite initial apprehension, the mobs died pretty easily and quickly. We had a great PLD tank called Enwen and I mostly stuck to Haste + Regen with the odd Cure III’s thrown in. I did some enfeebling too but kinda gave up after too many resists.
There’s not much to say other than our puller Gemmai (Taru RNG) did a great job avoiding links and everyone did a fine job. I meleed some but gave in to Enwen’s suggestion to stop. I was missing too much anyway but we did try three times to SC – bad timing scuttled that tho’. Someone called Tifin showed up early on but never did anything besides watch us. We had no member swaps. I think she’s friends with either Cordareo or Ayamami (sp).
We quit at 11 and I had dinged twice, allowing me to use my new Red Cape and Regen II. Over 10.5k XP total!
Things to remember for next time:
• If not meleeing, time cast/heal cycle to coincide with START of fight for enfeebs and buffs, not the middle.
• Consider /heal-only gear that jacks MPR up regardless of other stats (like Qiqirn Sashes). Use macro to swap gear and heal, or set fighting gear and attack. Fighting gear should boost MP or INT/MND.
• Work harder on coordinating MB’s with party, especially if not meleeing.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Chore Time!
Today was not going to be a long visit to Vana’diel because my sister is visiting and we were headed to Fernandina Beach to spend the day out there with our combined families.
However, before we left, I logged in at around 10am to grab the last piece of my RSE set – the Gaiters. I had the key from Saturday’s farming run in Gusgen (once again dropping from like the third Sadfly, instead of the dozen undead I tried first…). I did a couple of tele-taxi runs and then set off. I think I was in the mines for maybe 5 minutes before finding the chest and returning to Jeuno. And Aerin sure looks cute in her new duds! ^^
I also took a moment to set up my Windy MH for the first Mog Safe expansion quest by placing a Bronze Bed inside. It’s supposed to be in place for a set time prior to a Conquest Tally, and then after the tally the quest will activate. The tally happened to start shortly thereafter so I don’t know what will happen until tonight when we get back from the beach (if I get on at all).
…
OK, back! I jumped back in at around 11pm and did a lot of AH work. I put the last two pieces of Dhalmel Leather up for sale in Jeuno, and got rid of some other junk at the Windy AH. I originally thought the Gobbiebag quests were going to be money sinks but perhaps not - I bought a stack of Dhalmel leather, used one for the quest, and started selling off the rest 2 or 3 at a time. Already 9 have sold for way more than the stack price meaning this quest will cost a lot less than the “singles” price of 16k. Maybe 6k.
I went ahead and looked at both Gobbiebag II and the second Mog Safe, and both might come out as cheap or even profitable if I try leveraging stacks again.
I tell you, now that I’m a T-T, I have so much more gil on hand… I’m planning on making WHM spell-complete through at least 43 (on 42 now) and BLM complete through 25 (on 23). I’m only missing one or two BLM scrolls, but I need 4 WHM items (besides the Yhoat and Vahzl teles), and they’re not cheap either. Nor questable…
I also decided to repay Tauu for his help a couple weeks ago. I mean, I already paid him 2.5k for the tele, but that scroll has been very profitable and I haven’t done poorly fighting him and the others for fares. I walked up to him, gave him a /kneel, traded him 5k, and told him it was for his gracious help. He seemed a bit taken aback but took my money anyway. I then proceeded to pip him for a couple of Hollas before heading back to Mea to mess with Windy quests, and find out that the MH quest flagged!
Last T-T thing – it’s really obvious now that there’s some price competition – a lot more people are asking for 1k teles and a few more freebie seekers tried their luck. Also, Oteciont asked me directly for a freebie which I gave. He and a friend called Dagonn were headed somewhere – probably farming or power-duoing. Honestly, I don’t care, the money from taxi runs is flowing in pretty quickly now and it takes so little time 1k versus 2k really doesn’t matter. I’m sure it matters to the regulars but hey, no one said I was regular!
Monday night’s plan is to finish the Making Headlines (gil) and Making the Grade (Scroll of Aspir!) quests and maybe the Windy Wildcat quest. I also tried to finish the “Lost Chocobo” quest but when I talked to the Mithran-with-a-G-name pointed out by choco NPC’s, all I got was a new quest. *grrr*
Maybe tonight I’ll have my boosted MH and I can try the second one, but it needs Fame 5 which I may or may not have from these few quests. Anyway…
However, before we left, I logged in at around 10am to grab the last piece of my RSE set – the Gaiters. I had the key from Saturday’s farming run in Gusgen (once again dropping from like the third Sadfly, instead of the dozen undead I tried first…). I did a couple of tele-taxi runs and then set off. I think I was in the mines for maybe 5 minutes before finding the chest and returning to Jeuno. And Aerin sure looks cute in her new duds! ^^
I also took a moment to set up my Windy MH for the first Mog Safe expansion quest by placing a Bronze Bed inside. It’s supposed to be in place for a set time prior to a Conquest Tally, and then after the tally the quest will activate. The tally happened to start shortly thereafter so I don’t know what will happen until tonight when we get back from the beach (if I get on at all).
…
OK, back! I jumped back in at around 11pm and did a lot of AH work. I put the last two pieces of Dhalmel Leather up for sale in Jeuno, and got rid of some other junk at the Windy AH. I originally thought the Gobbiebag quests were going to be money sinks but perhaps not - I bought a stack of Dhalmel leather, used one for the quest, and started selling off the rest 2 or 3 at a time. Already 9 have sold for way more than the stack price meaning this quest will cost a lot less than the “singles” price of 16k. Maybe 6k.
I went ahead and looked at both Gobbiebag II and the second Mog Safe, and both might come out as cheap or even profitable if I try leveraging stacks again.
I tell you, now that I’m a T-T, I have so much more gil on hand… I’m planning on making WHM spell-complete through at least 43 (on 42 now) and BLM complete through 25 (on 23). I’m only missing one or two BLM scrolls, but I need 4 WHM items (besides the Yhoat and Vahzl teles), and they’re not cheap either. Nor questable…
I also decided to repay Tauu for his help a couple weeks ago. I mean, I already paid him 2.5k for the tele, but that scroll has been very profitable and I haven’t done poorly fighting him and the others for fares. I walked up to him, gave him a /kneel, traded him 5k, and told him it was for his gracious help. He seemed a bit taken aback but took my money anyway. I then proceeded to pip him for a couple of Hollas before heading back to Mea to mess with Windy quests, and find out that the MH quest flagged!
Last T-T thing – it’s really obvious now that there’s some price competition – a lot more people are asking for 1k teles and a few more freebie seekers tried their luck. Also, Oteciont asked me directly for a freebie which I gave. He and a friend called Dagonn were headed somewhere – probably farming or power-duoing. Honestly, I don’t care, the money from taxi runs is flowing in pretty quickly now and it takes so little time 1k versus 2k really doesn’t matter. I’m sure it matters to the regulars but hey, no one said I was regular!
Monday night’s plan is to finish the Making Headlines (gil) and Making the Grade (Scroll of Aspir!) quests and maybe the Windy Wildcat quest. I also tried to finish the “Lost Chocobo” quest but when I talked to the Mithran-with-a-G-name pointed out by choco NPC’s, all I got was a new quest. *grrr*
Maybe tonight I’ll have my boosted MH and I can try the second one, but it needs Fame 5 which I may or may not have from these few quests. Anyway…
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Savagely Entertaining
Tonight at 19:38 marked the start of another Mithran week for RSE, this time in Shakrami. I already had a Shak key, so I figured the time needed to find the chest and return the Magical Pattern to Guttrix wouldn’t be too bad and would leave me with enough time to pop another one. Timing was important because lately Ape and I have been butting heads over my nights and weekends in Vana’Diel…
I didn’t log in until about 8:30 because of some home improvement errands at Lowe’s. Also, I took a slow start because Ape wanted me to do some handyman work in Bran’s room to prepare for my sister’s arrival Saturday. The “Surf’s Up” theme is really coming together. But enough of “The Real World”…
I actually had another errand to run besides RSE, and that was to pick up the last item I needed for Gobbiebag I, a square of linen cloth. I had already picked up the peridot, steel ingot and dhalmel leather but was 500 gil short for the linen before I logged out last night. Upon logging in, I found some of my AH items had sold, and I picked up a few quick tele-taxi fares as well. After paying Bluffnix his blood money, I now have 35 item slots! My next goal will be to expand my MH this weekend.
As an aside, Vana’diel is a rough place income-wise for mages until 36, and then the magic of tele-taxiing kicks in. Since dinging 36 three weeks ago, I’ve made more money ferrying shleps back and to. With my Jeuno MH entrance at Lower Jeuno set as my HP, a complete run with MP recharge can be done in less than 2 minutes. I can really do two runs on my current MP max, so it’s really fast money. I have Dem, Holla, Mea and Altep (great moneymaker!) and the Yhoat quest is active. I won’t likely be able to quest Vahzl because I never quested Holla (thanks AH!) and can’t flag the Vahzl quest. And Vahzl runs for 100k easy…
Right now, I’m concentrating on filling my wallet for better level 20 gear for my BLM and doing helpful quests like the inventory expanders. Spell-wise, I’m pretty complete on WHM and BLM and I don’t really care about RDM now – maybe once I unlock NIN…
Back to the Goblin Tailor and his damned Magical Patterns. It’s maybe 10 by the time I can get into Shakrami in earnest, and thanks to the FFXI-Atlas maps helpfully organized on FFXIclopedia, it doesn’t take too long to find the chest in the lower level “Wight Room”. Somewhere along the way I get blood-aggroed by two Wights and manage to run far enough away from their camp that when I finally die, I can Reraise safely and continue my farming. I decided to try for another key and happened to get one quickly off a Labyrinth Scorpion I was farming for a Stinger.
I quickly Warp back to Jeuno and get my RSE reward – Savage Loincloth. I already had the Savage Gauntlets from a Gusgen Mines run and I’m focusing on MP+ gear. However, Savage + Cotton Doublet = Tard. I actually got laughed at by Nyehicco and more than my usual share of checks… LOL indeed!
I tele back to Mea and run into Shak, and while in the Wight Room on my way through a full sweep of the Maze, my Invisible falls and I get drilled by an Earth Elemental instantly. Two Wights join in, even though I don’t think I got blood aggroed. Most of the Wights had been ignoring me but whatever. I was dead in just a few hits. I waited for them to move away to trigger Reraise, but they had both run back the moment I levitated. BAM – dead again. I HPed and retraced my steps, making sure to keep my Cloak up at all times.
I eventually made it the entire way through, checking every chest location on the maps. In the room with the final few, I notice two likely-Japanese players standing near where a chest would have been. Don’t tell me…they moved it… I warp out and tele back and go ALL THE WAY from the beginning, AGAIN, until finding the chest once more in the Wight Room. I rush back to Guttrix and grab Savage #3, the Loincloth. At least now my upper body matches and the Light Soleas on my feet don’t clash.
The whole time I’m rerunning Shak I’m looking at my clock thinking…less than an hour before the Galka’s turn…45 minutes…30… I grabbed the pattern at 2:10am leaving me less than 10 minutes to get to Jeuno and talk to Guttrix again, but I make it. Fast-forward to Friday morning. I’m looking at the RSE schedule and I can’t figure out why my math seems off. I apparently had another hour or so before deadline. Then it hits me full-force: A week in Vana’diel has EIGHT days, and so the math goes like this: 192 hours per week / 25 = 7.68 Earth hours per Vana week. Using a 7-day Vana week got me 6.72 hours and a lot of extra stress. Ape was still pissed when I came to bed at 2:25…
Courtesy of the Vana’diel Clock FF extension, I see that Mithras are back in Gusgen on Sunday morning. I’ll try to farm one more key before then and grab the Savage Gaiters ASAP on Sunday afternoon, assuming I’m not all tied up with Cathy’s visit.
I didn’t log in until about 8:30 because of some home improvement errands at Lowe’s. Also, I took a slow start because Ape wanted me to do some handyman work in Bran’s room to prepare for my sister’s arrival Saturday. The “Surf’s Up” theme is really coming together. But enough of “The Real World”…
I actually had another errand to run besides RSE, and that was to pick up the last item I needed for Gobbiebag I, a square of linen cloth. I had already picked up the peridot, steel ingot and dhalmel leather but was 500 gil short for the linen before I logged out last night. Upon logging in, I found some of my AH items had sold, and I picked up a few quick tele-taxi fares as well. After paying Bluffnix his blood money, I now have 35 item slots! My next goal will be to expand my MH this weekend.
As an aside, Vana’diel is a rough place income-wise for mages until 36, and then the magic of tele-taxiing kicks in. Since dinging 36 three weeks ago, I’ve made more money ferrying shleps back and to. With my Jeuno MH entrance at Lower Jeuno set as my HP, a complete run with MP recharge can be done in less than 2 minutes. I can really do two runs on my current MP max, so it’s really fast money. I have Dem, Holla, Mea and Altep (great moneymaker!) and the Yhoat quest is active. I won’t likely be able to quest Vahzl because I never quested Holla (thanks AH!) and can’t flag the Vahzl quest. And Vahzl runs for 100k easy…
Right now, I’m concentrating on filling my wallet for better level 20 gear for my BLM and doing helpful quests like the inventory expanders. Spell-wise, I’m pretty complete on WHM and BLM and I don’t really care about RDM now – maybe once I unlock NIN…
Back to the Goblin Tailor and his damned Magical Patterns. It’s maybe 10 by the time I can get into Shakrami in earnest, and thanks to the FFXI-Atlas maps helpfully organized on FFXIclopedia, it doesn’t take too long to find the chest in the lower level “Wight Room”. Somewhere along the way I get blood-aggroed by two Wights and manage to run far enough away from their camp that when I finally die, I can Reraise safely and continue my farming. I decided to try for another key and happened to get one quickly off a Labyrinth Scorpion I was farming for a Stinger.
I quickly Warp back to Jeuno and get my RSE reward – Savage Loincloth. I already had the Savage Gauntlets from a Gusgen Mines run and I’m focusing on MP+ gear. However, Savage + Cotton Doublet = Tard. I actually got laughed at by Nyehicco and more than my usual share of checks… LOL indeed!
I tele back to Mea and run into Shak, and while in the Wight Room on my way through a full sweep of the Maze, my Invisible falls and I get drilled by an Earth Elemental instantly. Two Wights join in, even though I don’t think I got blood aggroed. Most of the Wights had been ignoring me but whatever. I was dead in just a few hits. I waited for them to move away to trigger Reraise, but they had both run back the moment I levitated. BAM – dead again. I HPed and retraced my steps, making sure to keep my Cloak up at all times.
I eventually made it the entire way through, checking every chest location on the maps. In the room with the final few, I notice two likely-Japanese players standing near where a chest would have been. Don’t tell me…they moved it… I warp out and tele back and go ALL THE WAY from the beginning, AGAIN, until finding the chest once more in the Wight Room. I rush back to Guttrix and grab Savage #3, the Loincloth. At least now my upper body matches and the Light Soleas on my feet don’t clash.
The whole time I’m rerunning Shak I’m looking at my clock thinking…less than an hour before the Galka’s turn…45 minutes…30… I grabbed the pattern at 2:10am leaving me less than 10 minutes to get to Jeuno and talk to Guttrix again, but I make it. Fast-forward to Friday morning. I’m looking at the RSE schedule and I can’t figure out why my math seems off. I apparently had another hour or so before deadline. Then it hits me full-force: A week in Vana’diel has EIGHT days, and so the math goes like this: 192 hours per week / 25 = 7.68 Earth hours per Vana week. Using a 7-day Vana week got me 6.72 hours and a lot of extra stress. Ape was still pissed when I came to bed at 2:25…
Courtesy of the Vana’diel Clock FF extension, I see that Mithras are back in Gusgen on Sunday morning. I’ll try to farm one more key before then and grab the Savage Gaiters ASAP on Sunday afternoon, assuming I’m not all tied up with Cathy’s visit.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Tele-Taxi for Hire
I wasn’t planning on making a full entry for today but I did want to commit to paper some of my thoughts on running a Tele-Taxi business. And I did wind up working with Fhox and Magruder (from RDB LS) on the Shooting Fish BCNM. But more on that later!
Since hitting WHM36 and finding a Holla scroll on the AH for around 30k, I’ve been trying to make a name for myself as a fair and professional T-T. It didn’t take long to start pulling in fares (mostly 1-2k) and I was able to quest the Mea and Dem scrolls in a few days meaning I could teleport people to the three major cities and a number of popular zones. And of course, the money started flowing.
However, there’s a crowd lined up in the taxi stand, as it were. Tauu, Greyhound, xFatalityx, Kese, and others rush to be the first with “/pcmd add”. I tend to keep the command up ready for a name when I’m tooling around Jeuno or messing with the AH.
Some taxi operators /shout all over the place, usually prompting Tauu and others to “append” their names to the original message. Also, it seems there’s a bit of price flooring going on – I’ve noticed a lot less competition for the 1k fares (or the free rides) lately. Tauu even commented to one passenger to try bumping their offer. I don’t care – 1k for a minute’s work and maybe a better reputation :)
Although, I have had my share of great fares, too. I’ve pulled in a number of 3-5k runs, and I usually try to discount the trip if it’s over 3k regardless of tele. Some riders are amused and most, grateful. I did have one, Anukanasomune, who refused a discount off a 10k run! I told her the next one would be free. I’ll have to remember, too!
I’ve also had riders go with me more than once a night – perhaps farming for chest keys or NM’s and needing to start over after hitting one-way routes?
One thing I’ve learned is, in general, if I don’t get a response to the invite, or it “cannot be processed”, to just give up on that one. I had been trying to hit the customers with but now I think it comes off as desperate. However, I have started following up the invite request with a quick /sea to check if they were reeled in already (party blue) or a leader (party yellow). In that case I can’t invite them and resort to a /tell. And I did have a party of 5 once, Neve Campbell not included.
I recently added Altep to my route and those fares tend to be more generous than others, although I’m trying to stick to my 3k cap. Unless I’m in a rush to buy something… I might give Yhoat another go this week, since all I need is one lousy Elshimo Marble drop from an Ivory Lizard. But they hang with the Goblin Smithys and both mobs link. Since the lizzies and Smithies almost always go two-by-two it’s an easy way to die. I’m hoping as WHM42 or 43 with my new Savage gear I’m collecting I’ll stand a better chance.
Changing gears, Fhox organized the shell’s first NM run, something he’s been trying to do since returning from vacation a few weeks ago. He had originally wanted to do 5-1 and 5-2, but Puma (I think) couldn’t stay and I wasn’t able to join with my low rank. So Fhox switched it up and he, Magruder and I (as WHM) gave Shooting Fish, a pug trio up on Mount Horlais, a go. It’s a 20-capped fight, requiring a Cloudy Orb (20 seals) to enter. Note to self – Activating a level cap also breaks enchantments if they’re over the cap, like Reraise and High Mana Wand’s Recover MP + 4…
After buying or switching to the best 20 gear I could (Black Robe + Mithran Loincloth = Exposed) we headed up the mountain. About 45 minutes later we got to the burning circle and geared / buffed up. Within 30 seconds of Fhox’s Carby Pull-and-link, we were flat on our asses. The pugs’ ranged Water attacks were drilling me for close to 100hp per, and prolly similar for Fhox and Magruder. Next time, we’ll go with more than 3 in the party…
In any case, it was exciting and a great time socializing. I’d never met Maguder before (I think he’s a recent member) and I haven’t partied with Fhox since he and Dex (or was it Xeanort?) helped me get Rank 3.
Since hitting WHM36 and finding a Holla scroll on the AH for around 30k, I’ve been trying to make a name for myself as a fair and professional T-T. It didn’t take long to start pulling in fares (mostly 1-2k) and I was able to quest the Mea and Dem scrolls in a few days meaning I could teleport people to the three major cities and a number of popular zones. And of course, the money started flowing.
However, there’s a crowd lined up in the taxi stand, as it were. Tauu, Greyhound, xFatalityx, Kese, and others rush to be the first with “/pcmd add
Some taxi operators /shout all over the place, usually prompting Tauu and others to “append” their names to the original message. Also, it seems there’s a bit of price flooring going on – I’ve noticed a lot less competition for the 1k fares (or the free rides) lately. Tauu even commented to one passenger to try bumping their offer. I don’t care – 1k for a minute’s work and maybe a better reputation :)
Although, I have had my share of great fares, too. I’ve pulled in a number of 3-5k runs, and I usually try to discount the trip if it’s over 3k regardless of tele. Some riders are amused and most, grateful. I did have one, Anukanasomune, who refused a discount off a 10k run! I told her the next one would be free. I’ll have to remember, too!
I’ve also had riders go with me more than once a night – perhaps farming for chest keys or NM’s and needing to start over after hitting one-way routes?
One thing I’ve learned is, in general, if I don’t get a response to the invite, or it “cannot be processed”, to just give up on that one. I had been trying to hit the customers with
I recently added Altep to my route and those fares tend to be more generous than others, although I’m trying to stick to my 3k cap. Unless I’m in a rush to buy something… I might give Yhoat another go this week, since all I need is one lousy Elshimo Marble drop from an Ivory Lizard. But they hang with the Goblin Smithys and both mobs link. Since the lizzies and Smithies almost always go two-by-two it’s an easy way to die. I’m hoping as WHM42 or 43 with my new Savage gear I’m collecting I’ll stand a better chance.
Changing gears, Fhox organized the shell’s first NM run, something he’s been trying to do since returning from vacation a few weeks ago. He had originally wanted to do 5-1 and 5-2, but Puma (I think) couldn’t stay and I wasn’t able to join with my low rank. So Fhox switched it up and he, Magruder and I (as WHM) gave Shooting Fish, a pug trio up on Mount Horlais, a go. It’s a 20-capped fight, requiring a Cloudy Orb (20 seals) to enter. Note to self – Activating a level cap also breaks enchantments if they’re over the cap, like Reraise and High Mana Wand’s Recover MP + 4…
After buying or switching to the best 20 gear I could (Black Robe + Mithran Loincloth = Exposed) we headed up the mountain. About 45 minutes later we got to the burning circle and geared / buffed up. Within 30 seconds of Fhox’s Carby Pull-and-link, we were flat on our asses. The pugs’ ranged Water attacks were drilling me for close to 100hp per, and prolly similar for Fhox and Magruder. Next time, we’ll go with more than 3 in the party…
In any case, it was exciting and a great time socializing. I’d never met Maguder before (I think he’s a recent member) and I haven’t partied with Fhox since he and Dex (or was it Xeanort?) helped me get Rank 3.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Who am I and Why am I Here?
Hello! My name is AerinRavage and I'm a Mithran White Mage in the world of Vana'diel.
This is my attempt at a Final Fantasy Online adventuring blog. There are a few out there, some more current than others. I really enjoyed reading about other people's time in Vana'diel but never thought I'd write my own.
After more searching, I came up empty on hits for people on my server, Siren. I'm definitely not the ambassador-of-choice, being a mid-level player with only 9 months of playtime, but, whaddya gonna do?
I actually started writing up my experiences in Word to see if a) I could, and b) I had enough material. Turns out (for a middie like me), I do. So now I will subject t3h interwebs with my journal.
I've been keeping a party journal for months, going most of the way back through my party history. It's not deep, but it lists when, with whom and what main jobs were in the party. Where needed I threw in notes about the leader or other players. I've even led a few myself and made sure to watch out for certain players.
To summarize, I'm Mithran, a citizen of Windurst, hold rank 3, am a member of the RedDragonBrigade, am a level 5 seamstress and hold these jobs:
WHM44
BLM24
RDM32
Lately, due to a change in work schedules IRL, I've been logging on in the early morning before work for about an hour daily, and try to get on at night for 2 before bed. I don't get to party much on this schedule until the weekends, where midnight to 4am stretches are not uncommon. I have something like 600+ hours in all told.
I play on the PS3 using the "PS2 Data" addon, and use keyboard + controller. I may wind up adding a laptop to that mix depending on how the new expansion rolls out - I need the second (CoP) and third expansions (ToAU) to go along with the new Wings of the Goddess but haven't been able to find the PS2 versions.
I make no promises on whether or not this will be as meaningful to you as it is to me. But hopefully along the way, someone somewhere will learn a new tidbit about the game or the world it offers like I have.
<Take Care> <See you again!>
Aerin
This is my attempt at a Final Fantasy Online adventuring blog. There are a few out there, some more current than others. I really enjoyed reading about other people's time in Vana'diel but never thought I'd write my own.
After more searching, I came up empty on hits for people on my server, Siren. I'm definitely not the ambassador-of-choice, being a mid-level player with only 9 months of playtime, but, whaddya gonna do?
I actually started writing up my experiences in Word to see if a) I could, and b) I had enough material. Turns out (for a middie like me), I do. So now I will subject t3h interwebs with my journal.
I've been keeping a party journal for months, going most of the way back through my party history. It's not deep, but it lists when, with whom and what main jobs were in the party. Where needed I threw in notes about the leader or other players. I've even led a few myself and made sure to watch out for certain players.
To summarize, I'm Mithran, a citizen of Windurst, hold rank 3, am a member of the RedDragonBrigade, am a level 5 seamstress and hold these jobs:
WHM44
BLM24
RDM32
Lately, due to a change in work schedules IRL, I've been logging on in the early morning before work for about an hour daily, and try to get on at night for 2 before bed. I don't get to party much on this schedule until the weekends, where midnight to 4am stretches are not uncommon. I have something like 600+ hours in all told.
I play on the PS3 using the "PS2 Data" addon, and use keyboard + controller. I may wind up adding a laptop to that mix depending on how the new expansion rolls out - I need the second (CoP) and third expansions (ToAU) to go along with the new Wings of the Goddess but haven't been able to find the PS2 versions.
I make no promises on whether or not this will be as meaningful to you as it is to me. But hopefully along the way, someone somewhere will learn a new tidbit about the game or the world it offers like I have.
<Take Care> <See you again!>
Aerin
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