|
|
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006
| |
11:10 pm - In-Game Experiences and Next-Gen Thoughts
|
Hey all,
Been a while since my last update. I've been working nearly full-time now at 2 different positions, so my time on the game has been significantly limited. I thought I'd make an update, since I've had more time to play recently and things are becoming more settled.
Thoughts On PLD Changes:
The changes which they added to PLD have helped our job out, but not to the extent that I believe Square-Enix intended. The addition of Auto-Refresh helped out our abiltiy to reduce downtime, and the addition of Shield Mastery made us a much more viable option as far as participating in skillchains is concerned.
I got the chance to experience the updated shield procuration rates, and I noticed a significant increase in block rate. They also stated that the increased the amount of damage that is absorbed on a block, but I wasn't able to discern to terrible an amount(~5 damage, perhaps).
In conclusion--Square-Enix still has a LONG way to go if they ever hope to "equal" PLD and NIN, as they have stated they wish to do. The damage negation of Utsusemi will always overpower the abilties of a PLD to take minimal damage. Furthermore, they will never be equal if a PLD can get one-shotted by a spell while a NIN eats and keeps going; more tweaking is needed.
Thoughts on the Expansion:
Everything that this game needed and more.
The addition of Assault is one of the most brilliant ideas Square-Enix could've ever come up with. I really enjoy the way they allow you to choose whether or not you want a level cap on your Assault, rather than forcing you to BE level-capped like Chains of Promathia missions did.
Besieged is an excellent addition. It took a while to iron out the kinks(and a certain LS, as much as they dislike me for whatever reason, took some unneccesary flames over), but the addition has been worthwhile for sure. There's just something innately fun about having 600+ people flocking to each other's aid, all working to fight back enemies and achieve a common goal(save the city!); that is what Final Fantasy XI should have always been about.
Thoughts on the Jobs(abridged version):
BLU--Fun, but overpowered as can be. Expect a nerf very soon, I'm sure.
COR--Excellent support and a pretty good DD, from what I've seen. Works best with a BRD in party as well.
PUP--Meh; seemed like a novelty job, although a lot of people claim it has its uses.
Events In-game!
King Behemoth:
Congratulations to Angron on what probably is the rarest item in the game. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of such a rarity as he; I chose him to take my position in the LS as primary PLD when I was unable to attend as many events as I used to. I have never regretted it.
I'd also like to thank a particular LS for their facetious remarks in Search Comments, particularly considering that they were absolutely unnecessary and unprovoked. Perhaps more reason FFXI should be rated "Mature" so as to keep the "Immature" out of it; however, I suppose that's impossible.
Proto-Omega
This was an instense fight. It went down to the wire, and I believe we had about 2 minutes left to complete the battle when he fell to the ground. He is not a particularly hard creature, but he has some strange patterns that require specific tactics to defeat him.
He is also the epitome of why I absolutely HATE CoP as a PLD. When Proto-Omega was standing on two legs, he would hit me for 500-600 damage. This is with Defender, Food, 2x Koenig, an Earth Staff, Jelly Ring, and other miscellaneous high-DEF gear. NIN? Blink, blink, blink--nothing happens to him, but yet I can die in 2-3 hits? Fuck CoP; Square-Enix should've thought about that.
Nevertheless, we came out with a win. Congratulations to Sarumann and Sherwin on their shiny new(albeit strange) Homam hats.
That's it for now--I'll update with more pictures and comments on recent events quite soon.
V.
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, April 25th, 2006
| |
2:00 pm - Revival via Chain
|
If you comment...
1. I'll respond with something random I like about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll name something we should do together.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me (or just me).
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll leave you a quote that is somehow appropriate to you.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal so you can do the same for other people
|
|
(13 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005
| |
12:58 pm - Adventures and Dreams Fufilled
|
Hello all,
It's been ages since my last update. I've been so terribly busy IRL and in-game, the thought of updating my LiveJournal took a spot on the backburner and I almost forgot about it. Nevertheless, I'm back and should update regularly.
In the past couple of weeks, I've had the pleasure of a wonderful CoP static. They really couldn't perform their jobs any better, and it's been a blast working with them. They stuck it out through all of the Hell that CoP has to offer(particularly 6-4) and the result:
Big props to everyone who sacrificed their EXP, their gil, and their time to finally make it all the way to Al'Taieu. It was a long and difficult road, but we proved ourselves through and through. On another note, anybody who says PLD cannot tank CoP6-4 is a bald-faced liar. We defeated CoP 6-4 with myself as PLD and NO Black Mage. You don't need X and Y to win; you just need skill. Play your job to the best of your abilities and you will come out with the W.
In the HNM scene, our Linkshell managed to claim King Behemoth a few days ago. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but by the time I arrived he was at 50%. Unfortunately, at that time he decided it was time to go into Berserk mode. We regrouped and reclaimed as soon as Berserk wore and hate was erased; however, OrzINC(or some spinoff of them) decided they'd jack it and anger everybody in the zone. I was furious to have an HNM stolen from us, as were the other NA LS' present who said it was rightfully ours. True; it went Berserk, but we regrouped quickly and reclaimed before anybody else. That's perfectly fair and we were denied.
Fought Kirin last night. Talk about a fiasco. Our first pop took about the standard 75 minutes to defeat; however, we got shafted on drops YET again. 5+ Kirin pops and not once has he graced us with an Osode or Shining Cloth; none. After our original pop failed to give us sufficient drops, we decided we'd pop him a second time. This is where it gets proverbially ridiculous in terms of how the battle inevitably ended up going.
We lost some of our melee/mage power because of the time we popped him. Because of that, we lost some of the hit power. Skillchains were being missed, Kirin would *never* stop to cast a spell half the time so his HP was barely moving. In the end, the battle ended up taking over 6 HOURS to finally bring down the big Man of K. Not only that, but:
-Kirin RAN OUT of MP
-Kirin used Astral Flow TWICE(Never seen a mob 2-hour ability recharge itself)
However, the following things made it all worth it in the end:
75PLD/37WAR; straight-tanked that fool. It was an unorthodox setup, but straight-tanking Kirin can definitely be done by PLD/WAR and NIN/WAR. In many ways, I think it might be plausible throughout the entire battle, but party setups would have to be redesigned. I think PLD/NIN/RDM/WHM/BRD/SMN would be the ideal group.
Additionally,
I went from a 30,000 buffer to just a hairbreadth about 12,000 tanking this thing for the Linkshell for over 6 hours. I can't even begin to count the number of times the other people died, Reraised, ate R1s and got up and kept struggling for 6 hours well into the early morning(read: 4am EST). Perhaps God or some other divine being was quite pleased with my sacrifices, as Fortune smiled and as Kirin fell, he left me with a gift(the only gift he dropped):
Thank you to everyone in TCO for sticking it out in what was easily the most ridiculously drawn-out I've ever seen. I'm forever grateful to all of you for allowing me to finally get the one piece I've wanted for so long.
That's all for now; I'll post some screenshots of Limbus in the next couple of days! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.
{Provoke}-----Update Journal
V.
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Friday, October 7th, 2005
| |
11:57 pm - Uh-Oh, a new face in town..
|
Found this creature in my back yard. TCO for teh win, naturally, and trio'd none-the-less. To whomever said we're incapable of progressing out of Sky, I bestow unto thee a hearty "Oops, somebody was wrong". Truly a stunning feat of coordination and teamwork, I can't wait to see our potential and skill continue to grow in the near future.
I've been incredibly busy as of late, unable to attend many of the LS events. I attended the most recent God run we did, but didn't take a single God. I wanted to take a back seat in the endeavors of the Linkshell for once. I've tanked the Gods a great many times; however, I didn't want to always be the one who is in the spotlight. For I would not be nearly as good as I am without the good people backing me up, especially my fellow PLD Brocent. It's always a pleasure to have him around, so I thought it prudent to give him the complete spotlight. It was a good chance to see him shine, for it was well-deserved. And shine he did, managing to tank 2 of the toughest Gods(Suzaku and Seiryu) without any deaths, not even the tanks during the 2-hours. Truly an amazing feat, to be sure. It's usually inevitable that someone always dies from Chainspell or Hundred Fists; not so with our LS.
In other news, I've been experimenting with various setups for PLD. I've recently tried a DD approach to Endgame EXP tanking, thanks to the kindness of Orian in lending me his Byrnie. It truly makes a difference in my efficiency in Decorative Weapon parties. I'm able to land consistent 500-600 Vorpal Blades on the creatures, which is reasonably impressive for a PLD on Very Toughs. The use of +Attack gear doesn't hinder my tanking ability, as VIT reaches a soft cap on these things. Not only that, the recent achievement of my Shield reaching Lv. 268(cap 276) has rendered endgame EXP creatures nearly laughable in terms of damage they deal.
I have the last of my Merit Points standing by the upgrade my Shield once it's capped, as well as all of my +Shield equipment. Once this is completed, this will put my Shield skill at a whopping 304. With the addition of Koenig Schaller(only used outside of EXP for Gods/HNM), it'll stand at 309. This will probably lead to an absolutely ludicrous procuration rate, which I can't wait to witness. The activation rate of my Shield is already getting nuts(I block at least 4 out of every 5 hits with my shield, this is excluding hits that are parried and/or miss).
I plan to save Merits for the upgrading of my Parrying, as well. This brings me to something that grieves me with regards to Paladin. As PLD, we stand at a C rating in Evasion. Likewise, our Parrying also stands at the same level, capping at merely 225. A fully merited Parrying rating would bring it to 231, but that's still very low compared to a NIN.
This vexes me. Shouldn't a Paladin(i.e. a Swordsman; a knight) theoretically have a much higher Parrying rate, being a knightly character? I can understand the fact that NIN has a high parrying rate, but shouldn't we as well?
That's it for now...'til next time
{Provoke}-----> Update Journal
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Monday, September 26th, 2005
| |
2:05 pm - Yay.
|
So, I finally got the chance to log on yesterday. Oh, woe is me, as it turned out to not be a grand experience. In the few hours that I was on, I managed to:
-Be booted from the server 3 times without warning; twice in an EXP party.
-Die three times due to Homo Tactics(tm).
-Have my ability to do my job insulted by a THF for a mistake that was on his part.
-Got called a "fucking jackass" by Shaher for being playfully jocular with him.
Does anybody else hate Shaher as much as I? He makes it a point to examine my character every day. Not a big deal, you say? How about when he checks you every day, every time he sees you? Well, he did it again yesterday. I decided to play around a bit and /checked him 2-3 times. He then proceeded to spam me with /checks and called me a "fucking jackass", amongst other things. I expressed to him I was only being playful, but of course he only insults further.
He once tried to leave a party without warning that I was in some time ago, because he didn't wish to wait on a replacement. When I confronted him about it, saying that it was rude to leave without any semblence of a warning, he chose to berate me with more curses and insults. Why are there people like that on the game that act so uncouth? Is it because they have anonymity? I'd love for one such as he to berate me in real life, for I doubt he'd have the courage to do so.
In regards to the comment by the Thief, I was stunned. For reference, we were EXPing in Lufaise Meadows on the various creatures there. The Thief goes to pull without recasting his Utsusemi, nor waiting for a heal from the WHM(the birds do AoE). Thus, he pulls a bird(which are extremely fast) and gets hit on the way back, dropping to red HP. I provoked it, naturally. However, is it not his fault for being ill-prepared on the pull?
He says to me "Fine, don't Provoke it off of me when I drop to red". How am I to know that he was going to drop into red? Had he recasted Utsusemi and been patient enough to wait for a Cure, he mightn't have had that problem? Bear in mind this was an early chain, so the danger of losing it was not great.
Apparently, I don't know anything about my job. I reacted to his immediate danger and used Provoke, but I guess that's not good enough. I guess I'm just a horrible PLD. For all the Missions I've tanked for people, for all the Gods I've survived without dying...for even lasting 50% of Kirin's HP before getting killed. I suppose I don't know a damn thing about what it means to be a tank. For 75 levels, I suppose I didn't ever get it correct.
Even the 2 non-LS mages in our party said "He's doing fine". Still, it vexes me that someone would have the audacity to try and insult my abilities for a mistake THEY made.
You know; I never ran into the assholes until I got to the endgame. What in God's name is it that turns people into such pricks at that point? Is it greed? Is it the fact that they have reached the pinnacle in a video game; thus, they believe they are "holier than thou"? If it is, they need to take a step back and realize what they're doing.
People like that make me want to quit the game. It's been crossing my mind as of late and the events on Sunday evening only reinforced that feeling.
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, September 25th, 2005
| |
2:05 am - Fresh Air.
|
'Tis been some time since my last update. I've been ridiculously busy as of late, with all kinds of RL obligations taking time away from my FFXI gametime. Be it social, political, or academia, something finds it's way to stop me from being with my FFXI compatriots.
In the little time I've managed to sneak online, I've helped the Linkshell with a few things. Namely, Bomb Queen Rings and Optical Hats. The Bomb Queen runs were largely uneventful. Virtually no deaths and a smooth fight. She missed our Ninja at least 75% of the time, which allowed our limited supply of mages to take a breather.
We were limited in our tanks for Hakutaku, but we managed to form up anyway. People say PLD can't tank Hakutaku. Well, as of this last run my total number of tanked Hakutaku fights stands at roughly 24-25, with more to come. I truly do not understand where they get that idea, as he really doesn't hit that hard. The only significant attack he had was Death Ray, which I believe goes through Utsusemi also. Where then does the incapability of PLD to tank it lie?
During this fight, I decided to take the final two battles to test out Shield Vs. Earth Staff. I've spent a lot of time trying to cap my Shield, although I still have a bit to go. As it stands, it's at 265 without any +Shield gear. Thus, I decided to try it against Hakutaku. The results were surprsing. I'm unable to use FRAPS due to being a PS2 player, but the results were something similar to this:
Earth Staff:
Regular Hits- 90-130; criticals for 200
Death Ray- 200-380
Shield:
Regualar Hits- 30(!)-65; criticals for ~75
Death Ray- 200-360(roughly the same, I believe this is a magical attack)
Shield blockage activated very often, but not as often as I believe it would when capped. Even at a base of 265, I consider it very viable. I believe that I will tank our next God fights with my Shield, but first I'd like to get an EXP party to possibly increase it further this week. I've been obscenely busy this week, but things should be lackadaisical for the forthcomnig.
As for the Linkshell, being a leader is a pretty tough endeavor. As I've not been able to be on, I've felt relieved somewhat. However, we've recently appointed officers to assist with various aspects of our Linkshell activities. I approve of the choices made and believe they will make a difference in making our leadership more efficient.
I've recieved positive response for my appointment to second-in-command, so that's made me feel better about the pursuance of it. However, the occurance of extensive IRL has been a good excuse to take a break from FFXI, as it had been getting stale. Now, I look forward to logging back on again and seeing what is in store for me.
In other news, I'm a massive fan of Shakespeare. Thus, whilst browsing a local thrift store did I find a copy of the 1996 edition of Romeo and Juliet. I'd never seen it, for I'd always been a purist of the original play and older films. The idea of thrusting Shakespeare into the modern era was something I didn't think would work, so I never really watched it.
I'm delighted to say that the movie is well worth watching. The modern setting actually assists in enhancing the story, whilst keeping the flavor of the Bard's play via the original language. Luhrman(the director) takes some liberties with it, but for the most part it remains unaltered except for standard film editing. The soundtrack is excellent, as well.
There are a lot of discrepencies/changes in the film, such as:
Swords/Rapiers wielded by those in the play have been changed to guns(aptly titled "Swords").
Mercutio is given no reference as being kin to the Prince(Chief of Police in this film); however, he is in the play.
Paris(the young bachelor whom Juliet is to be forced to marry) is killed in the original play by Romeo's hand. Paris draws his sword in an attempt to stop Romeo as he enters Juliet's tomb. A kinsman to Prince as well, it leads to the following line by the Prince at the conclusion of the play:
"And I for winking at your discourse have lost a brace of kinsman"-referring to Paris' death.
The Chief of Police(Prince) in this modern version mentions this line. However, Paris is never killed in this version.
There are others, but I won't ramble about it. As far as performances go, they were good across the board from each. DiCaprio isn't that great as Romeo, as he's far too wooden an actor. Danes makes a great Juliet, as she almost looks the age(in the original play, Juliet is 14).
John Leguizamo steals the show as Tybalt, as does Harold Perinnau as Mercutio. They give the best performances of the film. All in all, an effective modernization. An older film, but if you're interested in Shakespeare, this is an intriguing take. There is also a modern version of Richard III, which I felt was not as well done as this.
That's it for this update. I'll update soon with some screenshots of my various exploits throughout my FFXI career, including those fellow players whom are now long gone. 'Til next time,
{Provoke}----Update Journal
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Friday, September 16th, 2005
| |
12:43 am - Step Up: Are you ready?
|
So, I assume it goes without saying now. We lost a co-leader the other day and the ramifications for the Linkshell are now unclear. I will not go into details of why he left, but he did what was best for he and his family. There was nothing negative at all with his departure, but the blow it dealt for the Linkshell will take some time to recover from.
What does this mean? Well, it means it'll be some time before our LS is ready to take on Kirin or the more difficult HNMs again. We will be spending the majority of our time on pop NMs and the lesser Gods.
That's not a big deal to me. The less time we spend in Sky, the better. Sky, to speak truthfully, is quite retarded nowadays. Any group with half a brain can kill the Gods, which has lead to a stupendous amount of people up there at any given time. It used to be you'd see someone wearing Koenig Handschuchs, Koenig Schaller, or even Kirin's Osode and say "Wow. That's some incredible gear". Now all of that is about as common as Lizard Jerkin.
On a completely random note, I determined this musing whilst in Sky the other evening. I've concluded that going into Shrine of Ru'Auvitau and putting "Ulli/Statue camp" in your Search Comment is inherently stupid and pointless. That's like going to Sea Serpent Grotto, parking your ass in the room and putting "Charybdis" in your comment, expecting people to not come down there because the NM is "yours". I don't see any reason why Ullikummi should be different.
HNMs are overcamped, as well. The other day at Fafnir there was well over 145 people there. This was simply only for Fafnir. I don't want to think what it'd look like with a potential Nidhogg pop. My PS2 would probably explode from the overload. My ranting is irrelevant, but the point remains. End-game is in need of expansion, badly. People say "It's called Al'Taieu", as one rather arrogant sounding individual told me the other evening.
I've yet to see what Al'Taieu offers. I assume it'll be quite some time before they unlock the treasures it hides; perhaps in the October update. However, as it stands now, the end does not justify the means required to get there. One wish I have is to see potential items that can only be recieved from over-camped King HNMs(Behemoth, Nidhogg, Aspidochelone) made possible to drop from Sea HNMs. That would be an interesting incentive for those that aspire to gain access to Sea.
With the departure of a fellow Leader, I've been thrust into a position I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to take. It appears that I'm to be second-in-command of TCO, behind only Sarumann in authority. Am I ready for such a task? It is quite a load to bear, particularly considering the complexity and extensive load a Leader must take on.
Am I worthy of such a task? Do the members of TCO approve of me? Do they trust me to co-lead them? Am I able to lead them? Will I be able to turn TCO back to it's former glory? Will I be able to keep the members happy? I will have assistance, to be sure. However, I just feel as if the weight of the world has been thrust at me. Will I be able to endure?
The leaders that chose me seem to think I'm capable of doing it, as does the man who departed. What of the members? Will they accept me? I don't know the answers to this yet.
I suppose I should be more confident. However, I've not been thrust into this type of leadership in a long time, so the fact that I am wary is normal. I guess we shall see what time and Fate has in store for me. No matter what, I shall endeavor to do my best. 'Til next time...
{Provoke}----> Update Journal
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, September 13th, 2005
| |
2:27 pm - Haunted..
|
For the most part, this journal is used for my various discussions/entries about my adventures in the world of Vana'Diel. However, today I'm going to use it for a different purpose. The reason being I wish to vent on something that's tormented me in RL.
I had a very deep relationship with a girl I know. We dated for a long time, but we inevitably separated because I was "too nice", I believe. People say we're destined to get back together. It's a comment that makes me laugh, but it's hard to laugh when Fate sees fit to throw her back into my life whenever we grow distant. Maybe he gets a laugh out of it, but I can't say that I do.
We've remained very close friends nonetheless, but we've lost touch with each other. It's not really that big of a deal to me. It was quite some time ago, so my feelings have since disappeared into my subconscious. They still remain, though. However, that's what has begun to plague me.
I haven't seen her in quite some time. Things were going very well for me, as I was able to focus on lots of things that had previously bothered me when she was around. She was one to play mind games quite often, or use me for affection because she knew I still had it for her. She would use me to make herself feel better, then disappear or distance herself again.
The point is: Even though I haven't seen her in quite some time and the freedom I enjoy is extensive, as my feelings aren't marred by "What if's" or "Could it be's", or us getting into those conversations of how much we miss each other that never lead anywhere but making me horridly lonely.
Lately, my nights have been haunted by dreams of her. I haven't seen her in a long time, nor have I lamented on my feelings about her. However, these dreams started occuring out of the blue. I don't know why they started, but they don't stop. On and on they go, with no hope of stopping. Sometimes with 2 or 3 dreams in night. The past few nights my sleep has been relegated to 3-5 hours a night, simply due to the continuing onset of these dreams. They aren't nightmares, per se. Most of them constitute things we did together, or simply us hanging out. However, the sheer detail/realism of them is killing me.
I wish that I knew why they were occuring or how I could make them stop. They only serve to make me feel the empty void that I had previously when she was nearby after the fact. Could it be Fate trying to tell me to get back in touch with her? Could it be the last moments of rejection before I fully purge her from my system? I don't know..
'Til next time..
{Provoke}---> Update Journal
V.
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, September 11th, 2005
| |
1:47 am - The Tavnazian Two-Step(Down, that is).
|
Well,
As I sit here at my computer, occasionally stepping outside to do a bit of relaxing in the cool fall air, I've been able to do some extensive thinking. I realize that..I'm really not cut out to be a leader of a LS such as TCO. I can't really explain it, but I feel that I don't hold much merit. I don't feel that I actually do anything worthwhile for the Leadership Team, so why am I even on it? Let us examine more closely the related tasks of each Leadership Member:
Vaala: Recruiting/Points
Saru: Head Honcho/Leader of Leaders/Events
Little: Points/Events
Lisander: Points/Events
Myself: Unknown
So what am I? Moral support? I wish that I had a clearer definition of what my job constitutes, but I really don't. With all the events that have transpired in the past couple of weeks, I would venture my job could be considered Mediator. If that's true, then I'd wager I've failed miserably at it. I couldn't stop a mass entourage of people from leaving the LS. So what do I do? I mostly spend my time making random commentary on certain things. I'm supposed to lead a couple of God runs tomorrow, if they go down. I'm not sure, we seemed to pop a few tonight. Probably might do Genbu. But is that the extent of what I'm doing? I dunno, I just don't feel..useful. I don't feel as if I make a difference.
We fought Kirin tonight. It was primarily on a whim, which I thought was a bad idea. Things were going well, then somebody in the main Alliance CFH. Naturally, Kirin went orange. That caused chaos and an eventual wipe. Granted, it was a mistake that nobody predicted could've occurred. Still, I didn't want to do Kirin. I thought it wasn't the best call. After the wipe, people were screaming at each other to get up and sacrifice themselves in an effort to keep Kirin spawned. It was fruitless, considering the amount of people required to be revived. We were at a point where it really couldn't be turned around, with both Seiryu and Genbu still alive. Byakko and Suzaku had been defeated, but the fact was there were too few sacrifices, not enough Raises.
Truthfully, I think believe that my time as a Leader of TCO is coming to it's end. I plan to announce my resignation from it within the next few days, pending some last thoughts about it. They say you're not quite able to completely fathom what it's like to run an Endgame/HNMLS until you've experienced it. From my experiences so far, I'd venture to say they're right.
In other news, this guy is a cheap bastard.
Throughout my experiences in gaming, I've noticed certain creatures/games have the ability to piss you off with the absurdity of their moves/difficulty. Thus, I coined a phrase that I enjoy labeling upon said objects. This is known as Homo Tactics. Truly, this guy has a plethora of them at his disposal.
Not only is his Stonega/Stoneskin instantaneous, but he also hits like M1 Abrams tank. I was taking 70-100 on his normal hits, plus an additional 40-50 from his permanent Enstone. He spams his instant-cast Stonega on a regular basis, also. It gets worse. He can also do a move known as Geotic Breath. An Earth-based attack, it damned near 1-shot me. For someone with 1250HP, +24 VIT and +30 Earth..that's not an easy feat.
To top off this ridiculous strength, he can use a move called Absolute Terror. This move doesn't do damage, but renders the target(i.e. the tank) completely unable to do ANYTHING for 2 minutes. I timed it. So, he basically sits there and wails on you while you're powerless to do anything. Naturally, you're rendered unable to Provoke or Cure yourself. So guess what? He takes off after the mages while you sit there immobolized with fear, I suppose.
He can also fly. When he does this, if you don't have the means to bring him to the ground..well, that's all she wrote. His damage in the air tripled against me when we ran out of mistmelts, going from 70-90 to well over 250. He'll also do Ochre Blast, which is a Fire-based attack that does MASSIVE damage to anyone on the battlefield.
They say you don't need specific setups to win CoP. If that's the case, why did two(well-prepared) groups go in and wipe twice? Why did our third group, which consisted of the "specific" group(PLD,RDM,BLM,BLM,WHM, BLM), carrying virtually NO medicines and NO food, make it seem like such a joke? They say you don't need X, Y, and Z jobs to win CoP. You don't I suppose, but it makes it easier.
However, I and many others don't want to level another job just to get access to Al'Taieu. That's unbelievably retarded and an illogical request on the part of Square-Enix to ask me to do. However, the sheer difficulty of these BCs makes it seem that's what they want. I would wager that's the reason you're hard-pressed to find ANYONE who has gotten past anything further than the Promyvions. The sheer difficulty and frustration of CoP is ultimately why it's such a failure. I don't expect things to be handed to me on a silver platter, but I don't expect to have to level 3-4 jobs to 50-60+ to enjoy said things.
That's enough of my frustated venting. It's been an evening quite filled with frustration, so I believe I'll conclude this entry at that. Until next time,
{Provoke}-----> Update Journal
V.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Friday, September 9th, 2005
| |
12:38 am - Musings: The Video and random commentary.
|
Things have been going alright recently in FFXI. There's been relatively little drama to write home about, which is a very good thing. The LS is desperately hurting for WHMs, which is a prime issue we're trying to address. We have a couple whom are interested, but will only come as a package deal with about 8 other people from their LS.
I do not have a problem with this. However, the issue at hand is family. We're a pretty tight-knit LS, even for one that partakes in end-game activities. I worry that an influx of such an large amount of players could disrupt the community too much. Perhaps I am wrong, but I fear that it would be wrong to introduce so many at once. Perhaps if the interested members were introduced gradually, it might be better. Or, perhaps we could do events with them. That way, we get to know them a bit before they join. I will update later on how this progresses.
In other news, a friend and I have been trying to chase after an NM known as Bloodsucker. For those of you who aren't aware of this creature, it's a Leech that spawns in Bostonieux Oubliette. It's name appears the same as the other leeches in the area(Bloodsucker), so Widescan is rendered useless. It's only differentiating feature is it's blue color. According to what little info we've been able to come across, it's an exact 72 hour spawn. We tried to recently at the 72 hour mark, but we saw nothing. We wonder if it's 72-96, or if it was just killed before we got down there for some reason. Or perhaps if it even exists at all, really. Still, this item would be nice to have for PLD or NIN:
In other news, I've had this interesting idea involving a video. Throughout my career in FFXI, I've been met with bias. I've been told to my face "Paladin can't tank Hakutaku" or "Paladin can't tank Charybdis" or "Paladin can't tank such-and-such CoP mission". Likewise, I've seen it said that "Ninja can't tank Seiryu" or "Ninja can't tank Faust". What's interesting about these remarks is they are completely untrue, but it's hard to make these people realize that. I've tanked all of the aforementioned that were said I couldn't, particularly Hakutaku. I've tanked him well over 20 times.
Just recently, a Ninja in our LS tanked Faust and never lost hate. A truly stunning feat, considering how difficult he can be for NIN. I'd always said NIN could tank him, because I'm a firm believer in it's the player who makes things possible. Anyway, let me stop beating around the bush and get to what I thought about.
I would like to make a video. This video would consist of nothing but footage of both of these jobs(NIN and PLD) tanking the creatures people say they can't. We would start with the minor things(PLD Vs. Hakutaku or NIN Vs. Ouryu) and move gradually onto the more difficult challenges(NIN Vs. Faust and PLD Vs. Charybdis). The video would climax with the ultimate tests of skill. I'm at odds as to which NMs would be the best to show for the grand finale, but here's the following ideas:
NIN Vs. Seiryu(One NIN only) and PLD Vs. Kirin(straight-tanked; no kiting). To those who automatically say "Oh, that's not possible", I say to you "Capped Shield and Parrying works wonders, as well as Aerial Armor rotation".
What of Stonega IV? Well, you can minimize the damage from that via +Earth gear and Barstonra/Earth Carol. If nothing else, even a PLD without Crimson Cuisses can run out of range of that spell, only to run back and continue tanking once you interrupt his casting.
The name of the video would simply be "Tank This". I'm still looking for the technology to bring this to fruition(I'm a PS2 player), as well as finding an suitable soundtrack for it. It would likely be a significantly sized video, or perhaps done in chunks. I would record each fight in it's entirety, which would make for big videos, particularly with the PLD Vs. Kirin finale.
Comments? Let me know what you think. I'm anxious to try to make this happen. I already have a couple of NIN friends interested, as well as a couple of PLDs. Anyway, that's all for now. I'll write some more ideas as I come up with them. 'Til next time..
{Provoke}----->Update Journal
V.
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, September 7th, 2005
| |
12:44 am - Drama: Gather 'round the good stuff.
|
I'm vehemently pissed off. Things have come to a boiling point with me in Final Fantasy XI over the past few weeks. Suffice it to say, I'm not pleased with a lot of thing, nor a lot of people. I've not been on the game the past few days because of this. However, I noticed my LiveJournal in passing. I think it's high-time I did some venting. I'm not holding back anything anymore. I've been passive all of my life. It's time to express my pent-up anger. Let's begin.
First off, let us start with a definition.
Game(n.):An activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime
I fear that has been lost in Final Fantasy XI, particularly at end-game. I swear to God, I've felt that I've been dealing with the Young & The Restless rather than an game I choose to play for my sheer enjoyment. The amount of drama that has come to pass in the past few weeks has been nothing short of astounding. To be blunt, ALL of it was undeniably stupid. This is a VIDEO GAME, for Christ's sake people! Your character is NOTHING. It is a copious mass of pixels and graphical nuances that will eventually vanish into obscurity. It is nothing more. The people behind them? The conflicts you've had? Do you really believe that 3-4 years down the road, you're going to look back on FFXI and say "Gee, I hated X. What a fucktard he was. He stole my (insert pixelated item Y here) from (insert pixelated monster Z here)". Unless there's something seriously wrong with you, I doubt it. Chances are, you'll reminisce about the good times you shared with people. I'm unfortunately inclined to say that, at least for me, that might not lie in end-game activities.
Recently, there was a mass exodus of members from the LS. Did they need to leave? I really don't know. A big part of me doesn't think so. They made some valid points, despite the fact that it could often cause a bit of drama. That's to be expected. Change is something that can cause a bit of strife. Now, everyone causes their rifts from time-to-time. I know I'm guilty of it. Nobody is a perfect human being, nor is it a perfect world. Cliche, to be sure, but it holds true. I tried to defend both sides to make it work out. Alas, I was unable to do anything alone. I wish to this very day that I could have done something. Nonetheless, you can't change the past. Indeed; what's done is done, even if you wish you could change it. Anyway, onwards to more pressing matters.
The leaving of specific members immediately spawned what I like to call "Bandwagon Jumping". People saw the floodgates open, so they immediately jumped aboard. That's perfectly fine. It was to be expected. Friends will follow friends. I did what I could to stop it. I defended them until the very end, but perhaps it was best for me to let them go. Well, that's perfectly fine. Except for the one young man who thought it quite prudent to be dishonest with me.
I saw this young man's application to another end-game LS with mine own eyes. Did I particularly care? No, not really. I expected it, actually. It was when this individual approached me about his pearl to my LS being broken. Upon discussion, it was revealed that his pearl was NOT broken..but he only feared it would be. I told him that I had seen said application, at which point he said he'd been rejected. He wished to go to a pop NM with my LS. That's cool with me, I thought. Well, he then proceeded to go onto my LS and say "If I'm accepted to LS X, I'll be leaving this LS". This, in essence, basically negates everything he told me. Indeed, he wasn't rejected. It was a ploy. He wanted to get his drop this pop NM and beat feet outta the LS. He used my good nature and compassionate side to get access to what he "wanted" at the time.
It's well known I'll turn a willing ear to anyone. I'll try and reason/work with anyone, regardless of the situation they may be in. I might not always be able to work miracles, but I can always listen. That's a gift in and of itself.
Well, sir. You didn't get that which you wished. Perhaps you will get the item in the future, but I'll be damned to Hell if you'll ever get assistance or a listening ear from me again. It takes *quite* a bit to render me unforgiving, but lying/manipulation is a quite hasty method of achieving it.
While we're on the subject of trust, let us turn to another sequence of events. In the process of all this turmoil beginning to unfold, I began to doubt myself. I began to doubt my actions, my thoughts, a lot of things. This is true of every human being. We always begin to doubt ourselves in times of tribulation. I might've said some things I shouldn't have..or didn't mean. 'Tis true, but they were musings of a man who was torn between his friends and his possible authoritative obligations. They are not indicative of the whole person inside. They shouldn't be used as a methods of judging what's within.
You might wonder what I'm rambling about. I said some of these things in a private essay on a private forum. Suffice it to say, someone hacked the forum section by accessing it via MY account. I will not say who did it, but I will say that I know who it was. You're not as slick as you might think, nor are your methods flawless. We talk of trust, but I cannot begin to describe how much hurt that brought upon me. To be used so blatantly...but I forgive it. I forgive a lot of things, I suppose.
Regardless of this, word got out of my musings. As such, I've been treated with animosity by those I had always defended. They took one instance of my insecurity and used it to judge me. They might deny this, but I'm quite good at sensing a bit of dislike or..toleration, as it were. Oh, how I wish it were not so..but what can I do?
I still call them my friends and always will, which I would hope they would do the same for me. We are only humans and certainly not flawless.
I find myself wondering. Is end-game the right direction for me? I certainly love the excitement that it brings me. I love my job of choice, which end-game gives me the chance to play to it's fullest potential possible.
As much as I love Paladin, the weight of the end-game drama is almost strong enough to kill the passion I have for my job. I have thought of running away from it all, perhaps relinquishing leadership status of the LS I'm in. Maybe if I abandoned end-game altogether, instead opting to pursue another community-based LS without the end-game drama. Perhaps a "helping the less fortunate" take on things is the order of the day.
Some might say "Perhaps your end-game LS is not for you. Join another one?". Well, that's a novel idea but there lies the problem. I cannot leave my friends that I've made over the past few months and grown to this level with. It would be unbecoming of me to do such a thing. It's borders on the unthinkable for me, to be truthful. Not only that, but Paladin is the only job I will *ever* take to 75. I will never play another job that high, because I do not love another job so. Indeed, I would go so far as to say I loathe most other jobs.
Unfortunately, Paladin is a job rife with those who chose it not for compassion or love of the job, but for invites and their own personal gains. As such, there are tons of them around and my chances of getting into another HNMLS as PLD only are slim indeed. I've been blessed with compliments thoroughout my career of how good I am at my job, but these LS' don't look at that. They just look at whether they "need" you or not. I think therein lies the fatal flaw of so many HNMLS'.
That's basically it for my entry today. I realize it's been a proverbial Ice Age since the last time I updated, but I'll try to keep it more regular from here on out. Perhaps I will update with a more light-hearted take on things soon. I truly hope so, because the melancholy tone of things as of late have gotten me quite down. 'Til next time,
{Provoke}----> Update Journal
V.
|
|
(5 comments | comment on this)
|
| Saturday, July 9th, 2005
| |
3:56 am - Squids, Birds, Turtles: Things of nature that can kick your ass.
|
Hello all,
Things have been going grand in the world of Valascaziel as of late. I've been really busy with the Linkshell assisting with {sky} activities. We did 3x Suzaku, 2x Genbu on Tuesday evening and came away with quite an exciting experience. The most exciting part of the evening was the incredible drop that we got on our final Suzaku fight:
Square of Shining Cloth
Square of Damascene Cloth
A pair of Suzaku's Suneate
Zenith Slacks Abjuration
A big congrats to our WHM Randfal, who had the Cloth synthed into his own Noble's Tunic. He's one of the best WHMs I know, so it was fitting that he got the drop. He was killed twice earlier in the evening due to some unfortunate events, so I think the cloth was reward for his selflessness.
On Thursday afternoon, I logged in to find the majority of the Linkshell in Valley of Sorrows looking to snag themselves an Aspidochelone. Despite my innate disinterest in going out there, I decided that there wouldn't be any harm in doing so. I didn't want to go because with things like Aspi, the claim usually goes to 1 of 3 LS'on this server. If it doesn't, it usually gets stolen. Nevertheless, I went in the miniscule hope that we might get claim and I might get a chance at Koenig boots. Well, Aspidochelone didn't pop unfortunately. However, Adamantoise did and Overture(surprise?) got the claim and killed in roughly 90 seconds. Oh well, onward!
I had an itch to go after Charybdis one more time. I had camped him previously before, only to have a JP party come in and snag him seconds before he popped. Exactly how they knew his ToD so well AFTER a maintenence, I don't think I'll ever know. So, I put in a /tell to my good friend Orian and we set off for the Sea Serpent Grotto.
Despite my innate bad luck that I often bitch about, this day was to play out a bit differently. Orian and I killed the first placeholders and he took off to get a RDM friend down there to help out. Well, once she got there we proceeded to kill a couple of Sahagin. We were fighting a Sahagin that was near death when I saw the Devil Mantas begin to repop. Preparing for another round of placeholder killing, I put my cursor on it and hit my Flash macro only to catch myself quick enough(God knows how) when I saw it say:
"Valascaziel starts casting Flash on the Charybdis."
I don't know if the Sahagin interrupted me or if I moved enough to stop it. However, I managed to stop my Flash from going off. Frantically I called for help on the LS, only to have minimal responses. However, people came back from AFK to see what was going on and rushed to my aid. I even had people outside the LS come out to assist me. In the end, we took down Charybdis with about 16 people. I couldn't have been more happier.
People told me that sword was worth it, but I didn't believe them until now. That sword is absolutely incredible. I'd say the {Double Attack} rate on it activates about 80% of the time. With a Haste spell, the thing is a sheer TP machine. A big thanks to everyone who came out to assist me! I only hope that I can repay you all in time.
Other than that exciting event, we also managed to snag Simurgh from the gil-sellers and win one for the good guys! Apparently, fortune continued to smile on us that day because Simurgh dropped both the Ingot and the Strider Boots! Congratulations to Yellowshirt on his brand new footwear! Now, let's see how much faster it can make a Galka run.
That's all for now, everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates, but I hope to continue to write more as I get accustomed to this journal.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, July 2nd, 2005
| |
3:15 am - Leadership, Dynamis and Yagudo that think they are Gods.
|
Sorry for the lack of updates guys, been a bit busy taking care of some RL neccessities. Anyway, I logged in this Friday not expecting much. Friday is usually a pretty slow day I've noticed, especially on our LS. Anyway, I was talking with the LS leader Sarumann when he starts spamming me with:
"Tzee is up! Tzee is up! Tzee is up!"
I wasn't sure what he was talking about, until I realized it was the Yagudo king. As has become an unfortunate problem in our LS, we were drastically short on mage support. Thus, that puts me in serious danger if I was to be the tank. Luckily, Filthywill logged on and we had support from another NIN who was on someone's Friend List. So, we rounded up about 10 people and took off for Castle Oztroja.
I was doing quick /seas to make sure we had no competition that had been alerted to him being up, so we were lucky in that regard. However, as we're arriving at Castle Oztroja two members of another HNMLS manage to spot him. I don't really understand how these random people from other HNMLS just sorta "show up" when we manage to find these creatures. It happened with Za'Dha Adamantking of the Quadav, as well. Nobody there, then all of a sudden some random guy from another HNMLS just...appears. I guess their Spidey-Sense tingles, or something of that nature.
Anyway, we scrambled our parties together as best we could and engaged with our 10 people before the other HNMLS could get their proverbial army in the area and claim. It was a relatively easy fight with 2x NIN tanks and BRD support. We lacked healers, but we made up for it in sheer DD. I was relegated to backup healer being a PLD, but I didn't mind. The key for us was to survive Astral Flow, which we managed to do w/ minimal deaths(3) and 1 tank still alive. After surviving Shiva's onslaught, it was basically over. We won, but no Signa for us ; ;. Congrats to Codex on his new Daylight Dagger.
In other news, I've been working hard on trying to get our LS together for a LS-Only Dynamis run. We currently sit at around 36 members who are willing to go in, which is more than enough for a farming run or even a clear, I'd wager. I have been working on rules and I have experience being a main tank/raid leader in Dynamis, mainly thanks to Agrath and her tutoring during my time in Dynacore.
If anybody from HNMLS' on Seraph read my journal and have some pointers to give to a new group preparing to go into Dynamis, please share. Any help or strategies would be greatly appreciated.
That's all for now. The image system on here doesn't seem to be working correctly, so I will upload pictures when I find some other means. Take care, all.
V.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Monday, June 27th, 2005
| |
1:28 am - Entry#2: {Death}{Do you need it?} /tell {Tonberry}
|
I'm a Paladin. It is my job to ensure the safety of my fellow players as long as I am able to do so before the enemy is defeated or I am. Thus, I am pretty used to taking quite a few deaths. "Taking one for the team" is basically the motto we PLDs live by. However, it's pretty interesting when you "take one for the team" a total of FOURTEEN times in one evening event...and have a blast doing so.
My Linkshell normally does LS events on Sunday afternoons. Be it Gods, a random HNM, Hakutaku, AF, you name it we usually plan it at some point. Today's event consisted of going to Pso-Xja to fight an NM known as Golden-Tongued Culberry for an item called the Uggalipeh Pendant. For those that have not seen the pendant, it is quite a luxurious piece of equipment for a mage. The neck-piece grants the wearer a Magic Attack Bonus proportional to their Tonberry hate when their MP is at 50%. If you're one of those people with high Tonberry hate, you can imagine the kind of boost this can give to your attack.
Going into this fight, I didn't know much about this NM. I knew it was Tonberry, but I didn't really didn't know what he was capable of. I was informed that was immune to Stun and could only be stunned by a Weapon Skill that is able to additionally Stun. I also learned that he can cast Death, which is surprising considering I had thought only Dynamis mobs were able to utilize that spell. Thus, it was decided that he would be kited.
I hate kiting. I do it because I am asked to and also because it also efficient to do so sometimes. However, there is just something in me that despises it. I feel like a coward. I would much rather go down staring my enemy in the face, but sometimes you just can't do it. Well, I wasn't exactly staring him in the face but I did go down.
I died a total of 14 times fighting this creature throughout the evening, all from the spell Death. Nobody else in the alliance came close to that many deaths. I think the closest was my back-up tank, who died 6 times I think. I loved every minute of it though. I would get a Raise III and continue to kite him while weakened. Perhaps that is a bit crazy considering he can cast Death at anytime, as well as the high-level -Aga spells. However, I'd rather die than anybody else.
Which brings me to a question? Why does Paladin not get the ability Resist Death? It would make sense, being a Holy Knight. It just vexes me that a mob can cast Death and it's completely unable to be resisted by anyone. It drives me crazy. What vexes me even further is you know that if Square-Enix was to introduce Death for player use, it would NEVER land on anything other than {Too weak}.
Well, that was my experience with my LS today. I will hopefully edit this to include some pictures of my 14 deaths sometime soon. In other news, a big congrats goes out to BtL/Galleon for their defeat of Vrtra for the first time ever on Seraph! Great job guys!
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
1:22 am - My First Entry.
|
Hello everyone!
I've been an avid follower of many FFXI players' experiences on my server by reading their LiveJournals that I've stumbled across. Call me a bit of a conformist, but I decided I would start up my own journal to write in about my experiences in-game. First off, a little about me.
My name is Valascaziel. I am currently a Lv. 75 PLD on the Seraph server. My Linkshell is known as TheChosenOne, or TCO for short. Contrary to popular belief, it is not an HNMLS so much as it is an end-game LS. We do HNMs on occasion, but it is not our primary goal. We mostly stick to activities within Ru'Aun Gardens as we find those to be a bit less....frustrating. They are a great group of people and I enjoy every minute that I spend with them.
Well, now that you know who I am and what I do on Seraph, I hope to hear from some of my fellow players as I continue to write in this journal.
V.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
valascaziel_tco's journal