What exactly did I miss?

I was sick at home the day the world was supposed to end. Well, it didn't and in case you some how missed it SE finally released the video with hints on how to beat AV. What did we learn? Well, pretty much nothing. Two very basic hints can be surmised from the video.

1) There is something about nuking AV with the element of the day.

2) There is something about using two hours when AV two hours.

So far, thats pretty much it. What little test has been done appears to have been done by people that had little to no idea what their plan was going to be, maybe assuming that since the video was released it made AV somehow less difficult. Their first attempt included neither of the basic hints listed above, and just mainly included fighting as normal, eating Meteor and dying. They made other attempts, but I am not really inclined to pass judgment yet until I see some of the big time LS's give it a try. I know that LB is going to give it an extended try soon. In general, I consider most of the people in LB to be intelligent and dedicated (perhaps maybe a little too dedicated, at least back in the day) players, so any attempt that they make will likely be well thought out and made with the intent to find the exact triggers to lock AV. My general impression is that LB really doesn't have the intention of hiding the information if they do discover anything new, but even if they did half the server is going to be there watching them do it, so it's not really going to matter either way. :)

So, yeah, I missed talking about that when it was released, but it ended up not really meaning anything anyway, because nothing new has happened. I don't know what these videos were supposed to show besides what I have noted above. There is rampant speculation, but this speculation usually just sucks. I think that there are probably three clues we are supposed to be getting because there are three separate sections of the video, but I can't really tell what they did differently from the second and third video. Oh well, I will let my betters give it a try. I know they will have much better input that most of the ideas I have seen so far.

In addition to the AV video there was also the announcement of the mission story lines. More good news for us, and I don't mean because of the info in this update post. If they follow the pattern so far then we have like 4 more update posts if the update is the first Tuesday of March. Those are really huge if's there, though. One of those will almost definitely be an equipment update, because there has to be some new equipment end-gamish equipment released or I think some people's head my explode because apparently content=equipment. There will also probably be a job adjustment announcement, with WAR, MNK, RDM and others supposed to get adjustments. Honestly, to me, all of the adjustments so far sound pretty lame. WAR gets Counter? Thats called MNK. MNK gets more and better kick attacks? My fists do fine as is. RDM getting to melee more? This one has the most potential, but it also has the most potential to be totally and completely lame. SE seems to forget, that they made it so that we are very gear dependent, and that staves are a big if not huge part of that. I am definitely leaning toward the "completely lame" side on that one. Anyway, even with those and the idea that we will get at least four more info updates, there are two that aren't accounted for as of yet. Yes, kids, its time for more rampant speculation. Here we go!

Lets start with in game voids that currently exist. The one that is most glaring to me is Fort Karugo-Narugo, it unlike the other truly new areas in the expansion, does have an area with no mobs (well Campaign mobs attack the area but if you are not in Campaign they will ignore you). In this area there are a plethora of smaller rooms in the Fort area proper, and within these rooms there are numerous inactive telepads. These have got to be for something. Considering the relative ease there is to reach this area from the Campaign teleport point, I am going to concluded that these have to be used for some kind of event. I know, way to go out on a limb there Ring, but hey, what do you want from me? There really aren't any areas in the .dats that these could connect to, but what is to say they won't include new maps in the update. Just because they have never done it before doesn't mean it will never happen (yeah, I don't even believe that either, but man, they have to be for something, right? RIGHT? *sobs*). Area 2 with potential are the three Assault like areas: Everbloom Hollow, Ghoyu's Reverie, and Ruhotz Silvermines. Until I just checked right now, I thought that these three corresponded with the three starter zone fronts, but Ruhotz Silvermines is actually in the Derfland Front region. Then again Fort Karugo-Narugo is part of the Sarutabaruta Front so who knows. Anyway, another adventure way out on the limb is that these areas that like and a generally formated like Assault maps will be used for, get ready for this, an event like Assault. I will buy a bridge in Brooklyn or beach front property in Arizona before I believe that they are only going to be used for the oh so difficult Campaign Ops that they have currently tossed in there. As for beach front property in Arizona, one can only hope that one day we will all be able to swim in a cool Arizona bay.

Now, in the eight minutes I have left before I make a mad dash for the front door of my building and flee my place of work, I want to answer the question you are going to ask before you can even ask it. Yes, I do know about the beastman strongholds, and yes, I did intentionally exclude them. Why do you ask? Well, simply because I think they are going to be open zones, there may be some event insides, but they are not a void that needs to be filled. They are not Ou'Hpat Obelisk or Lower Promyvion here people, they are zones we know and love, and they will be about the same, except with the Campaign twist. There may be events inside of them, but the structure isn't going to change.

Thats it, hopefully someone will figure out AV this weekend. And even more hopefully it will be LB, then I change bug Banderdragon for hours on end about how to beat it. :)