Morning in Vana'diel: Internet has problems; SE to blame.

So the "Walk of Shame" saved us a Salvage run last night. Both Clubber and I were the fuck ups of the century and didn't get our soap for Limbus (we both checked the NPC before we could get the soap and weren't paying attention when it denied it) and we didn't get our Salvage tags, and while running back to pick them up the server message came up and said that POL was going down. So, while we both did completely ruin our Limbus run, we did manage to save some points by delaying the Salvage run enough to prevent us from going in.

So being a fuck-up can be helpful sometimes... but we won't talk about Limbus though. >.<

I don't know if it was even entirely SE's fault the POL servers were having connection issues. I have been having intermittent internet issues all day and I know other people have been too. This is what you call connecting two completely unrelated things. :)

In another one of my "I just don't get it" moments, I was looking at the thread about the POL connection issue on BG and noticed that some people would declared their hatred of SE and their crappy game for having connection issues to the game that SE makes that they are being denied. Maybe it is a higher form of irony that I don't just get, but I thinking that is the kind of cynicism that goes so far that it comes back around again. If you hate everything about SE, and SE has problems letting you connect, and you hate them for that, then... like... shouldn't you like them? Confusing to me, that's for sure.

So basically yesterday was a complete waste for me. I fucked up and couldn't do Limbus, then I fucked up and saved us from doing a Salvage that we would have missed anyway. I hope that I can actually play FFXI tonight instead of just running around to places and not doing anything of importance.

Also wanted to mention something about my Q & A post. You guys suck. I didn't get one good question. Not one. I suppose that if you read this blog you pretty much know a lot about me anyway, but I thought someone would at least be interested in something different.

I wanted to mention that Izman got a Pachipachio recently and has been letting me borrow it to do some eyeball testing on it. My conclusion is pretty much the same as it is with any other GKT: it's awesome for lower level, low defense mobs, but can't compete with Hagun on anything that matters. I used it in Salvage once and it was an absolute wrecking ball on lower level mobs, but it just couldn't compete with Hagun on boss damage. Once I get my parser working again, I am going to do some comparisons in Salvage and Einherjar to get more of an idea of what I am looking at.

How about that... a real post... first in a long while. :)

So the "Walk of Shame" saved us a Salvage run last night. Both Clubber and I were the fuck ups of the century and didn't get our soap for Limbus (we both checked the NPC before we could get the soap and weren't paying attention when it denied it) and we didn't get our Salvage tags, and while running back to pick them up the server message came up and said that POL was going down. So, while we both did completely ruin our Limbus run, we did manage to save some points by delaying the Salvage run enough to prevent us from going in.<br /><br />So being a fuck-up can be helpful sometimes... but we won't talk about Limbus though. >.< <br /><br />I don't know if it was even entirely SE's fault the POL servers were having connection issues. I have been having intermittent internet issues all day and I know other people have been too. This is what you call connecting two completely unrelated things. :)<br /><br />In another one of my "I just don't get it" moments, I was looking at the thread about the POL connection issue on BG and noticed that some people would declared their hatred of SE and their crappy game for having connection issues to the game that SE makes that they are being denied. Maybe it is a higher form of irony that I don't just get, but I thinking that is the kind of cynicism that goes so far that it comes back around again. If you hate everything about SE, and SE has problems letting you connect, and you hate them for that, then... like... shouldn't you like them? Confusing to me, that's for sure.<br /><br />So basically yesterday was a complete waste for me. I fucked up and couldn't do Limbus, then I fucked up and saved us from doing a Salvage that we would have missed anyway. I hope that I can actually play FFXI tonight instead of just running around to places and not doing anything of importance.<br /><br />Also wanted to mention something about my Q & A post. You guys suck. I didn't get one good question. Not one. I suppose that if you read this blog you pretty much know a lot about me anyway, but I thought someone would at least be interested in something different.<br /><br />I wanted to mention that Izman got a Pachipachio recently and has been letting me borrow it to do some eyeball testing on it. My conclusion is pretty much the same as it is with any other GKT: it's awesome for lower level, low defense mobs, but can't compete with Hagun on anything that matters. I used it in Salvage once and it was an absolute wrecking ball on lower level mobs, but it just couldn't compete with Hagun on boss damage. Once I get my parser working again, I am going to do some comparisons in Salvage and Einherjar to get more of an idea of what I am looking at.<br /><br />How about that... a real post... first in a long while. :)

Morning in Vana'diel: Defending Your Avatar

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! The day of reckoning approaches and in the end have we spent our time well? I think so.

With the coming of the FFXIV beta I have done a little bit of reminiscing about the time I have played FFXI, time I have enjoyed. I have also thought about those that didn't enjoy their time playing FFXI apparently, and I don't really get it.

I never really understood the way some people complain after quitting FFXI, or how they will never play FFXIV because "SE sux". I guess it's just the bitter gamer that is projecting their anger onto the game company instead of themselves.

Whether you like it or not, FFXI is a well run and successful game. A few people complaining about AV does not really effect the experience of 99% of the player base even those that want to fight AV.

Another one of those projections is the complaints about customer service. Outside of the few people that really did have to deal with the problems with SE and getting their account stolen, most of these complaints are from people that don't have the experience to make such claims and are just parroting what other people say.

SE's game development for FFXI is actually very good, especially considering the limitations of the game itself, but remember this game started development about 10 years ago and things are much different now than they were then. I think the problem right now is one of internal resources and nothing more.

SE doesn't "hate" their player base. They have learned from their mistakes and there are many examples of this. There are still some other mistakes they haven't or don't want to rectify (AV) but in the end the game experience in FFXI is excellent and enjoyable. It is far more social and it was built to be this way. Grumpy gamer kids may not really appreciate this aspect of the game, but in the end, we are all probably much better off without them.

And of course, if you just want to dismiss everything I just said, go ahead and call me an SE fan boy.

<a href="http://goateeandglasses.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/defending.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://goateeandglasses.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/defending.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 287px; height: 344px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! The day of reckoning approaches and in the end have we spent our time well? I think so.</span><br /><br />With the coming of the FFXIV beta I have done a little bit of reminiscing about the time I have played FFXI, time I have enjoyed. I have also thought about those that didn't enjoy their time playing FFXI apparently, and I don't really get it. <br /><br />I never really understood the way some people complain after quitting FFXI, or how they will never play FFXIV because "SE sux". I guess it's just the bitter gamer that is projecting their anger onto the game company instead of themselves.<br /><br />Whether you like it or not, FFXI is a well run and successful game. A few people complaining about AV does not really effect the experience of 99% of the player base even those that want to fight AV.<br /><br />Another one of those projections is the complaints about customer service. Outside of the few people that really did have to deal with the problems with SE and getting their account stolen, most of these complaints are from people that don't have the experience to make such claims and are just parroting what other people say.<br /><br />SE's game development for FFXI is actually very good, especially considering the limitations of the game itself, but remember this game started development about 10 years ago and things are much different now than they were then. I think the problem right now is one of internal resources and nothing more.<br /><br />SE doesn't "hate" their player base. They have learned from their mistakes and there are many examples of this. There are still some other mistakes they haven't or don't want to rectify (AV) but in the end the game experience in FFXI is excellent and enjoyable. It is far more social and it was built to be this way. Grumpy gamer kids may not really appreciate this aspect of the game, but in the end, we are all probably much better off without them.<br /><br />And of course, if you just want to dismiss everything I just said, go ahead and call me an SE fan boy.

Morning in Vana'diel: What's going on here.

Haven't been around in a while. I have to apologize that I just couldn't find the motivation to write for a couple of weeks because the format change was a bit draining on my writing and after several years of pretty consistent writing, what do you want from me? :)

Anyway, this post isn't to explain why I haven't been writing, it's to write about Evolith, Synergy and all this stuff I still haven't figured out. Now, I am usually on top of things like this but for a while I have just been so busy that it's hard to keep up. The other problem is trying to find a comprehensive collection of real facts about the system that doesn't included 5 random uninformative posts in between every useful post, e.g.

The real problem though is not the information or how the community is dealing with the system, it is with the complexity of the system and superfluous nature of that complexity. I don't know what the minds at SE were thinking but it couldn't have been anyone that plays the game that came up with this. A new crafting system that is dependent on more open-world NM drops. A new point system based on those same NMs, to get items to get the new crafting system to work. Drops from those NM's to make the gear in the new crafting system. Drops from those same NM's to get the Evoliths to put in to the slots (that are added using the new crafting system) using the new crafting system.

The word that comes to my mind is convoluted. Convoluted wouldn't be too bad if it also didn't follow another SE tradition: 99% uselessness. I thought we had finally gotten away from this for the most part. I thought that SE had finally understood that player's will quickly figure out what sucks and ignore it. The initial round of augments had such wonder additions as "Vs. Vermin, Light Magic Enmity -1" and other such nonsense. Ok, so I made that one up but they were in that vein. The best so far have been on individual weapon types, slight increases on their weapon skills.

Don't think I am counting the system out just yet, I think that once people figure out what is best it should be pretty good. I just don't get why it is so complicated for no reasons. You could have done this whole thing without the point system, or you could have had new items with slots built in, or you could have made synergy more focused or you could have had evolith purchasable with these new points or well, you get the point.

Expect more on Synergy, Evoliths and other such things soon.

Haven't been around in a while. I have to apologize that I just couldn't find the motivation to write for a couple of weeks because the format change was a bit draining on my writing and after several years of pretty consistent writing, what do you want from me? :) <br /><br />Anyway, this post isn't to explain why I haven't been writing, it's to write about Evolith, Synergy and all this stuff I still haven't figured out. Now, I am usually on top of things like this but for a while I have just been so busy that it's hard to keep up. The other problem is trying to find a comprehensive collection of real facts about the system that doesn't included 5 random uninformative posts in between every useful post, <a href="http://www.bluegartrls.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85534">e.</a><a href="http://www.bluegartrls.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85524">g.</a><br /><br />The real problem though is not the information or how the community is dealing with the system, it is with the complexity of the system and superfluous nature of that complexity. I don't know what the minds at SE were thinking but it couldn't have been anyone that plays the game that came up with this. A new crafting system that is dependent on more open-world NM drops. A new point system based on those same NMs, to get items to get the new crafting system to work. Drops from those NM's to make the gear in the new crafting system. Drops from those same NM's to get the Evoliths to put in to the slots (that are added using the new crafting system) using the new crafting system. <br /><br />The word that comes to my mind is convoluted. Convoluted wouldn't be too bad if it also didn't follow another SE tradition: 99% uselessness. I thought we had finally gotten away from this for the most part. I thought that SE had finally understood that player's will quickly figure out what sucks and ignore it. The initial round of augments had such wonder additions as "Vs. Vermin, Light Magic Enmity -1" and other such nonsense. Ok, so I made that one up but they were in that vein. The best so far have been on individual weapon types, slight increases on their weapon skills.<br /><br />Don't think I am counting the system out just yet, I think that once people figure out what is best it should be pretty good. I just don't get why it is so complicated for no reasons. You could have done this whole thing without the point system, or you could have had new items with slots built in, or you could have made synergy more focused or you could have had evolith purchasable with these new points or well, you get the point. <br /><br />Expect more on Synergy, Evoliths and other such things soon.

Morning in Vana'diel: Polls.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Now with more thoughts and input on the interesting topics of the day!™So, I have been thinking about how to make the site a little more interactive and get a little bit more input when it comes to the topics that people want to hear about. I think that polls might be the easiest way to do this. Now, I don't know if you know this already but I am not a programming genius. I am not even up to programming retard yet. :) But I think it should be pretty easy to find a little script or something that will let me post up some polls. Then the site will totally be interactive!

I think it might be time to do another "On the Cheap" post and getting input on the job that should be next will be much easier than trying to get responses out of the comments section. Also, you will be able to voice your opinion on the quality of changes, updates and other things that SE is providing. So, give me a couple of days and hopefully by the end of the week I will have a working poll system. Remember though, that just because I am posting polls now doesn't mean you have to stop telling me how dumb my ideas are in the comments.

<a href="http://theiowarepublican.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/polls1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://theiowarepublican.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/polls1.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Now with more thoughts and input on the interesting topics of the day!™</span>So, I have been thinking about how to make the site a little more interactive and get a little bit more input when it comes to the topics that people want to hear about. I think that polls might be the easiest way to do this. Now, I don't know if you know this already but I am not a programming genius. I am not even up to programming retard yet. :) But I think it should be pretty easy to find a little script or something that will let me post up some polls. Then the site will totally be <span style="font-style:italic;">interactive</span>!<br /><br />I think it might be time to do another "On the Cheap" post and getting input on the job that should be next will be much easier than trying to get responses out of the comments section. Also, you will be able to voice your opinion on the quality of changes, updates and other things that SE is providing. So, give me a couple of days and hopefully by the end of the week I will have a working poll system. Remember though, that just because I am posting polls now doesn't mean you have to stop telling me how dumb my ideas are in the comments.

Morning in Vana'diel: Quality Control.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Today's post spun forth from my mind while writing the POL New Update. Yes, to this day I still think that FFXI is a better overall game than WoW. Do I want to be part of the slobbering masses? Is WoW really good? It is, but it's not everything.

The one thing that SE did amazingly well was creating a variety of end-game systems. In WoW, you can either raid or PvP. There are different raids and they do get might complex after a while, but the construction of them and the progression of them is very linear. You work on older content to gear up to do newer content. There is little you can do to pick and choose what event you want to do because you will not be able to do the newer content without gear from the older content. Again, I believe this is because of a far superior job-system design on SE's end. If you have different jobs there is less concern about having to create linear progression and you instead can have a much wider base to create new content. You don't have to worry that all your new content has gear for every single job because players have multiple jobs.

SE's approach lets you pick and choose the end-game you want to play, while Blizzard's approach forces you down a path of their own choosing. You may say that Blizzard's choice is better because they have more people playing, but how many of those people are hardcore end-gamers? How many of them are running the current level of content as soon as it is released? The answer is not very many, and a much lower percentage that FFXI players. Ultimately, this is a game design decision. While WoW is very accessible to those people that are just starting the game, the end-game situation is very inaccessible even with the improvements and changes that Blizzard has made in the past. The problem is even worse if you come in late during one of their expansion cycles, because you will have to do 3 or 4 levels of content to get to the current level of content.

In FFXI once you hit end-game you can pick and choose among many different options and while gear helps there are no artificial road blocks that limit you based on gear. Save for PW and AV which are the ultimate in ultimate end-game mobs there is little that a player can not do in end-game because of gear. Sure, it may require a few more people, and while people are definitely moving toward low-man options for end-game events, this is not an artificially created barrier forcing you to do content that you, your friends or your guild may not be interested in doing.

I have said it before and I will say it again, WoW is a great game, but it is far from the perfect game. The number of casuals that play WoW is huge, while the number of casuals that play FFXI is tiny. I do think that WoW has far more hardcore players than FFXI, that would be undeniable, but the percentages are far more in favor of FFXI, and even the raw numbers would be much closer.

At the end of the day, I can see why many people play WoW for much shorter periods of time than FFXI, and why so many people come back to FFXI after playing WoW. WoW is a good relief valve from FFXI, but for anyone that has played FFXI seriously WoW is a toy at best.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Hydra.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Hydra.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 210px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Today's post spun forth from my mind while writing the POL New Update. Yes, to this day I still think that FFXI is a better overall game than WoW. Do I want to be part of the slobbering masses? Is WoW really good? It is, but it's not everything.</span><br /><br />The one thing that SE did amazingly well was creating a variety of end-game systems. In WoW, you can either raid or PvP. There are different raids and they do get might complex after a while, but the construction of them and the progression of them is very linear. You work on older content to gear up to do newer content. There is little you can do to pick and choose what event you want to do because you will not be able to do the newer content without gear from the older content. Again, I believe this is because of a far superior job-system design on SE's end. If you have different jobs there is less concern about having to create linear progression and you instead can have a much wider base to create new content. You don't have to worry that all your new content has gear for every single job because players have multiple jobs.<br /><br />SE's approach lets you pick and choose the end-game you want to play, while Blizzard's approach forces you down a path of their own choosing. You may say that Blizzard's choice is better because they have more people playing, but how many of those people are hardcore end-gamers? How many of them are running the current level of content as soon as it is released? The answer is not very many, and a much lower percentage that FFXI players. Ultimately, this is a game design decision. While WoW is very accessible to those people that are just starting the game, the end-game situation is very inaccessible even with the improvements and changes that Blizzard has made in the past. The problem is even worse if you come in late during one of their expansion cycles, because you will have to do 3 or 4 levels of content to get to the current level of content.<br /><br />In FFXI once you hit end-game you can pick and choose among many different options and while gear helps there are no artificial road blocks that limit you based on gear. Save for PW and AV which are the ultimate in ultimate end-game mobs there is little that a player can not do in end-game because of gear. Sure, it may require a few more people, and while people are definitely moving toward low-man options for end-game events, this is not an artificially created barrier forcing you to do content that you, your friends or your guild may not be interested in doing.<br /><br />I have said it before and I will say it again, WoW is a great game, but it is far from the perfect game. The number of casuals that play WoW is huge, while the number of casuals that play FFXI is tiny. I do think that WoW has far more hardcore players than FFXI, that would be undeniable, but the percentages are far more in favor of FFXI, and even the raw numbers would be much closer.<br /><br />At the end of the day, I can see why many people play WoW for much shorter periods of time than FFXI, and why so many people come back to FFXI after playing WoW. WoW is a good relief valve from FFXI, but for anyone that has played FFXI seriously WoW is a toy at best.

Morning in Vana'diel: I Can't Wait for You to Shut Me Up.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! I really, really, really want more developer contact... or do I?

Hmmm, so I guess I should explain my disappearance during one of the busiest weeks for FFXI news. The only problem is that there isn't much of an explanation besides the fact that I was busy which in turn made me lazy. There is much to cover from the week that has passed and I plan to try to handle that today if I can. If I can't I will die trying. Or at least sprain my pinky or something.

There might be quite a few posts today because of this, so if it's too much too read... well fucking deal. :)

Speaking about talking too much, I wanted to bring something up from a different game that has nothing to do with FFXI... or does it? I know, by now anyone that plays FFXI has at least a bit of a problem with WoW in some form or another. But I don't want to focus on that, I wanted to talk about the cautionary tale that can be learned from events that have happened on the WoW forums.

You might or might not know this but WoW has official forums and in those forums the lead developer (Ghostcrawler is his name on the forums, his real name is Greg Street) is known for posting about the design concepts and the direction of the development team. To a FFXI player this might seem like the promised land, a game that actually has direct contact with the developers? But as they say, the grass is always greener on the other side of the street.

While FFXI players often beg for more developer contact, this might be a place where we should reconsider what we are wishing for because we just might get it. While more developer contact seems like it could have no bad outcome, there may be a reason that SE doesn't do it more often. And that reason is us, the players.

Ghostcrawler recently posted on the WoW forums that he is going to be cutting back on how much he posts because two things happens whenever he posts explanations of in-game content. The first is that while some people understand what he is saying, a lot of people (and usually the most vocal) break down what he is saying taking things out of context or not keeping perspective about the post. The second thing that happens is that the criticism of the post turns personal, questioning his understanding of the game or knowledge of a class. Yes, the players actually believe they understand the game better from their incredibly limited personal anecdotes than the guy that has access to the data from everyone in the game and the knowledge of the entire game.

You might notice that this sounds familiar. That is because it is. You can see that happen on any FFXI forum. "The developers don't understand the game!" "Why are they nerfing/Why aren't they buffing my class?" "The developers want us to quit!" The similarities between the complaints that people make on FFXI forums compared to the ones made on the WoW forums would be funny if it wasn't so striking. I have literally seen the same exact wordings in the "threats" made by the players of both games.

What does that tell me about the benefit of developer contact? That it doesn't make one lick of difference to player's enjoyment of the game. The whiners will always whine, threaten to quit, scream at the developers whether they are listening or not, and will blame everyone else for their problems. Hey, sounds like life really, doesn't it? In the end, does developer contact change anything at all? While it feels like we may be disconnected from the developers is that because we feel like they are not "listening to us" when they aren't going to listen to us anyway? Even if FFXI's developers were listening and posting and talking to us, would it change anything at all? They know where the game is going months out, they know how they want things balanced, and as much as we critique would it really change anything? Should it change anything?

I know I don't want FFXI run by some of the forum posters I have seen. The term "Monty Hall" comes to mind.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sundi_wut.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sundi_wut.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 243px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! I really, really, really want more developer contact... or do I?</span><br /><br />Hmmm, so I guess I should explain my disappearance during one of the busiest weeks for FFXI news. The only problem is that there isn't much of an explanation besides the fact that I was busy which in turn made me lazy. There is much to cover from the week that has passed and I plan to try to handle that today if I can. If I can't I will die trying. Or at least sprain my pinky or something.<br /><br />There might be quite a few posts today because of this, so if it's too much too read... well fucking deal. :) <br /><br />Speaking about talking too much, I wanted to bring something up from a different game that has nothing to do with FFXI... or does it? I know, by now anyone that plays FFXI has at least a bit of a problem with WoW in some form or another. But I don't want to focus on that, I wanted to talk about the cautionary tale that can be learned from events that have happened on the WoW forums.<br /><br />You might or might not know this but WoW has official forums and in those forums the lead developer (Ghostcrawler is his name on the forums, his real name is Greg Street) is known for posting about the design concepts and the direction of the development team. To a FFXI player this might seem like the promised land, a game that actually has direct contact with the developers? But as they say, the grass is always greener on the other side of the street.<br /><br />While FFXI players often beg for more developer contact, this might be a place where we should reconsider what we are wishing for because we just might get it. While more developer contact seems like it could have no bad outcome, there may be a reason that SE doesn't do it more often. And that reason is us, the players.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Ghostcrawler recently posted on the WoW forums that he is going to be cutting back on how much he posts because two things happens whenever he posts explanations of in-game content. The first is that while some people understand what he is saying, a lot of people (and usually the most vocal) break down what he is saying taking things out of context or not keeping perspective about the post. The second thing that happens is that the criticism of the post turns personal, questioning his understanding of the game or knowledge of a class. Yes, the players actually believe they understand the game better from their incredibly limited personal anecdotes than the guy that has access to the data from everyone in the game and the knowledge of the entire game.<br /><br />You might notice that this sounds familiar. That is because it is. You can see that happen on any FFXI forum. "The developers don't understand the game!" "Why are they nerfing/Why aren't they buffing my class?" "The developers want us to quit!" The similarities between the complaints that people make on FFXI forums compared to the ones made on the WoW forums would be funny if it wasn't so striking. I have literally seen the same exact wordings in the "threats" made by the players of both games.<br /><br />What does that tell me about the benefit of developer contact? That it doesn't make one lick of difference to player's enjoyment of the game. The whiners will always whine, threaten to quit, scream at the developers whether they are listening or not, and will blame everyone else for their problems. Hey, sounds like life really, doesn't it? In the end, does developer contact change anything at all? While it feels like we may be disconnected from the developers is that because we feel like they are not "listening to us" when they aren't going to listen to us anyway? Even if FFXI's developers were listening and posting and talking to us, would it change anything at all? They know where the game is going months out, they know how they want things balanced, and as much as we critique would it really change anything? Should it change anything?<br /><br />I know I don't want FFXI run by some of the forum posters I have seen. The term "Monty Hall" comes to mind.</span>

Morning in Vana'diel: The Chocobo Revolution Has Begun!

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Apparently, it's all a ruse by the Chocobo Liberation Front.

Apparently, I raised someone's ire with my belief in the fundamental goodness and cuteness of all Chocobo. While I would like to believe that they are nothing more than our awesome companions that require no maintenance and are just there for our riding pleasure, there is an undercurrent of resentment and revolt building.

Our Eye in Einherjar provides this exclusive report:

Chocobos are not cute, they are the opposite of cute. They sit there looking so fucking innocent but you just watch...one of these days they will turn on us all! They can only take so much chauffeuring your lazy asses around, and then one day someone will be cruising along la-di-da and then bam! The chocobo will stop and you go flying into a huge fucking tree...the chocobo then bashes your face in with it's beak and eats your brains!

The chocobo revolution has begun. Next thing you know there are chocobos with swords and shit all up in Jeuno and Whitegate just killin bitches not looking back! Stomping little bitch ass tarus...hangin mithras up by their tails...ignoring the humes cause seriously who would role play a hume lul...chopping off those fucking pointy elvaan ears and running around pretending to be Spock...Gutting those fat ass galka bitches and wearing them as fur coats...when it's all said and done we'll be the ones waiting at the tele crystals and at the gates waiting to take the chocobos wherever they need to be.

Our reporter just left a cryptic signature "B to the G", likely because he is afraid that his expose will make him one of the first targets of the Chocobo Revolution™.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/choco_rides_you.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/choco_rides_you.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 373px; height: 415px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Apparently, it's all a ruse by the Chocobo Liberation Front.</span><br /><br />Apparently, I raised <span style="font-style:italic;">someone's</span> ire with my belief in the fundamental goodness and cuteness of all Chocobo. While I would like to believe that they are nothing more than our awesome companions that require no maintenance and are just there for our riding pleasure, there is an undercurrent of resentment and revolt building. <br /><br />Our Eye in Einherjar provides this exclusive report: <br /><blockquote>Chocobos are not cute, they are the opposite of cute. They sit there looking so fucking innocent but you just watch...one of these days they will turn on us all! They can only take so much chauffeuring your lazy asses around, and then one day someone will be cruising along la-di-da and then bam! The chocobo will stop and you go flying into a huge fucking tree...the chocobo then bashes your face in with it's beak and eats your brains!<br /><br />The chocobo revolution has begun. Next thing you know there are chocobos with swords and shit all up in Jeuno and Whitegate just killin bitches not looking back! Stomping little bitch ass tarus...hangin mithras up by their tails...ignoring the humes cause seriously who would role play a hume lul...chopping off those fucking pointy elvaan ears and running around pretending to be Spock...Gutting those fat ass galka bitches and wearing them as fur coats...when it's all said and done we'll be the ones waiting at the tele crystals and at the gates waiting to take the chocobos wherever they need to be.</blockquote><br />Our reporter just left a cryptic signature "B to the G", likely because he is afraid that his expose will make him one of the first targets of the Chocobo Revolution™.

Morning in Vana'diel: The Enticement of the Treasure Chest.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! They flourish in abundance as the mythical wardens of hard earned treasure and reward, the treasure chest is an Icon of Final Fantasy events.


Everyone is familiar with the treasure chest, its a concept that has existed from the very first Final Fantasy game. The sophistication behind it has evolved a great deal since then of course. No longer is it a specific item only in 1 place, but a reel of choices that can spawn, a lottery of goodies to either engender delight or despair.

When FFXI first came out chests were fairly limited in where you would find them, at the center of BC's awaiting your touch to give you the sphene you've been waiting for so much, or that ever elusive vial of mercury you just couldn't quite find to finish the stack.

Then Chains of Promathia came out and mimics suddenly became a menace to everyone, not just the fumble-fingered thief who failed to pick a lock or a random BC that no-one wants to do. I don't know about you but Mimics are EVIL, I can't stand that floor in Limbus Apollyon with oodles of them scattered around grinning at you in that toothy, trampled-by-cows-fence look.

With the introduction of Fields of Valor (FoV), the treasure chest evolved yet again with the tempting blue and brown bound chests that now drop from the gullets of creatures slain in battle, although how a chest that side came out from a Tunnel Worm, I am intrigued to know. Putting logic aside for a moment, I find these chests an intrigue.

When the blue ones appear, its always worth a quick rummage through them to see if there is anything decent to store up while you are running around in those lower levels exping on your own or in a smallish party. The BROWN ones however are the devilment themselves. They spawn and look so innocent and cryptic. You can chose to ignore them, or you can spend 3 mins trying to unlock it.

I have discovered that if I fail to unlock it, I am always out by 1 digit, as if it plans the key as I fail in a smug kind of condescension that says nearly but no cigar. If you DO manage to break into these secretive vaults, it doesn't matter what is contained there within, you TAKE it, as if to say HA! Mine now!" Of course, you then drop it on the floor because its a piece of dross 9times out of 10, but STILL, its the satisfaction that you managed to get in for a change rather than being 1 digit out.

<strong>Morning in Vana'diel</strong> <em>is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! They flourish in abundance as the mythical wardens of hard earned treasure and reward, the treasure chest is an Icon of Final Fantasy events.</em><br /><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/ffxi/images/thumb/4/42/Treasure_Chest_(Monster).jpg/180px-Treasure_Chest_(Monster).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/ffxi/images/thumb/4/42/Treasure_Chest_(Monster).jpg/180px-Treasure_Chest_(Monster).jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 188px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> Everyone is familiar with the treasure chest, its a concept that has existed from the very first Final Fantasy game. The sophistication behind it has evolved a great deal since then of course. No longer is it a specific item only in 1 place, but a reel of choices that can spawn, a lottery of goodies to either engender delight or despair.<br /><br />When FFXI first came out chests were fairly limited in where you would find them, at the center of BC's awaiting your touch to give you the sphene you've been waiting for so much, or that ever elusive vial of mercury you just couldn't quite find to finish the stack.<br /><br />Then Chains of Promathia came out and mimics suddenly became a menace to everyone, not just the fumble-fingered thief who failed to pick a lock or a random BC that no-one wants to do. I don't know about you but Mimics are EVIL, I can't stand that floor in Limbus Apollyon with oodles of them scattered around grinning at you in that toothy, trampled-by-cows-fence look.<br /><br />With the introduction of Fields of Valor (FoV), the treasure chest evolved yet again with the tempting blue and brown bound chests that now drop from the gullets of creatures slain in battle, although how a chest that side came out from a Tunnel Worm, I am intrigued to know. Putting logic aside for a moment, I find these chests an intrigue.<br /><br />When the blue ones appear, its always worth a quick rummage through them to see if there is anything decent to store up while you are running around in those lower levels exping on your own or in a smallish party. The BROWN ones however are the devilment themselves. They spawn and look so innocent and cryptic. You can chose to ignore them, or you can spend 3 mins trying to unlock it.<br /><br />I have discovered that if I fail to unlock it, I am always out by 1 digit, as if it plans the key as I fail in a smug kind of condescension that says nearly but no cigar. If you DO manage to break into these secretive vaults, it doesn't matter what is contained there within, you TAKE it, as if to say HA! Mine now!" Of course, you then drop it on the floor because its a piece of dross 9times out of 10, but STILL, its the satisfaction that you managed to get in for a change rather than being 1 digit out.

Morning in Vana'diel: Do they know more than we think they know?

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! The FFXI community sure does love to bash the developers. We wonder why they do the things they do. But sometimes their goals and actions actually seem right in line with how the game should operate. Are we the ones that are fooling ourselves about who knows most about the game?

I have always wondered how the developers come up with some of the gear in the game. Some of the crap that we see makes me wonder what they are thinking when it comes to making gear. But there are times when SE adds things that make me think they have a very deep and robust understanding of what is available and how the players use it. I don’t know if it is coincidence, or if it’s intentional but I think that at least some one at SE has some idea of the greater ideal.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Store TP: This is the first place that I can see there is an obvious intention to keep the math for not just Samurai, but many different jobs to optimize the number of hits it takes to get to 100TP. It used to be that there was a very strict formula that Samurai had to use to get to 6-hit builds, and the other DD had a similar but more difficult situation most of the time. Then the Askar body was added that allowed a lot of other jobs to get a rather simple 6-hit build. Then Aurum body was added which freed things up even more, and now we have the Rose Strap. Each of these was added separately but progressively making it easier and easier for people to build and then tweak their builds to get a 6-hit build. Samurai now even has a relative cheap option for getting to a 5-hit build without having to use a rather to extreme Great Katana.

Haste: Haste is an even more interesting situation. The obvious place to look first is the Usukane gear. When it was first introduced the Usukane gear was amazing, but it was the first time after the general move toward haste gear that SE offered a tradeoff between the maximum haste that was available in that slot and a piece of gear with less haste but clearly better stats overall. There are other factors like Usukane gear fitting perfectly with the Black Belt to get to the equipment haste cap. As time has passed there have been more and more pieces that fit in this pattern, like Askar Head and Aurum feet. There are now more options to replace what used to be cookie-cutter pieces. This fits in well with the notion that is gaining greater acceptance that maximum haste is only especially good at very high accuracy levels and below that things are less clear.

This is maybe a little melee-centric but the gearing choices for gear for many different jobs are all becoming more complicated because there are varied and effective alternatives to the old “must-haves”. And I don’t think that is just because more gear has been added, but more because SE really does know what they are doing most of the time. Shocking I know, but it can’t just be coincidence.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sundi_wut.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sundi_wut.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 243px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! The FFXI community sure does love to bash the developers. We wonder why they do the things they do. But sometimes their goals and actions actually seem right in line with how the game should operate. Are we the ones that are fooling ourselves about who knows most about the game?</span><br /><br />I have always wondered how the developers come up with some of the gear in the game. Some of the crap that we see makes me wonder what they are thinking when it comes to making gear. But there are times when SE adds things that make me think they have a very deep and robust understanding of what is available and how the players use it. I don’t know if it is coincidence, or if it’s intentional but I think that at least some one at SE has some idea of the greater ideal.<br /><br />Let’s look at a few examples:<br /><br />Store TP: This is the first place that I can see there is an obvious intention to keep the math for not just Samurai, but many different jobs to optimize the number of hits it takes to get to 100TP. It used to be that there was a very strict formula that Samurai had to use to get to 6-hit builds, and the other DD had a similar but more difficult situation most of the time. Then the Askar body was added that allowed a lot of other jobs to get a rather simple 6-hit build. Then Aurum body was added which freed things up even more, and now we have the Rose Strap. Each of these was added separately but progressively making it easier and easier for people to build and then tweak their builds to get a 6-hit build. Samurai now even has a relative cheap option for getting to a 5-hit build without having to use a rather to extreme Great Katana. <br /><br />Haste: Haste is an even more interesting situation. The obvious place to look first is the Usukane gear. When it was first introduced the Usukane gear was amazing, but it was the first time after the general move toward haste gear that SE offered a tradeoff between the maximum haste that was available in that slot and a piece of gear with less haste but clearly better stats overall. There are other factors like Usukane gear fitting perfectly with the Black Belt to get to the equipment haste cap. As time has passed there have been more and more pieces that fit in this pattern, like Askar Head and Aurum feet. There are now more options to replace what used to be cookie-cutter pieces. This fits in well with the notion that is gaining greater acceptance that maximum haste is only especially good at very high accuracy levels and below that things are less clear.<br /><br />This is maybe a little melee-centric but the gearing choices for gear for many different jobs are all becoming more complicated because there are varied and effective alternatives to the old “must-haves”. And I don’t think that is just because more gear has been added, but more because SE really does know what they are doing most of the time. Shocking I know, but it can’t just be coincidence.

Morning in Vana'diel: The Auto-Translate funtion.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Love it, hate it, you can't get away from it!

We have all used it at some point in our FFXI career, most of us have abused it, or twisted the intent to become something salacious or crude. You can't avoid those spammers of it in Jeuno or Whitegate promising secret delights and other equally empty promises.

It features in forum signatures and both extremely simple and incredibly complex at the same time. It is the Auto-Translate function.

I was thinking about it the other day while roaming around Vana'diel. I had run into a Japanese taru who needed the pot fight from the Zilart Missions. Seeking on thief was quickly losing its appeal so I said "pick me pick me" which actually came out as "OK (Invite to join party)". One swift change into something sexy (DRG/SAM) and I was ready to go. He was a little startled that I was proposing we duo it, but we muddled through the Auto-translator to get to where we needed to go and accomplish our goals.

It IS limited, don't get me wrong, it is clunky and hard work and every complaint about it is correct because it barely cuts the barriers down with regards to communication, but I love it! I think it is a fantastic idea. Its unique, unusual and idealistic. Its insanity at its best, the idea that you can take a few simple terms and attempt to bridge the gap between several very different cultures. Of course, quite often it falls short of what you are trying to achieve, even so people manage to muddle through with persistance and perseverance. Even people who hate the auto-translate can get into the humour of the situation and will respond.

I know a lot of people are suspicious of it, and I have reactions to it, I don't like people I know talking to me in auto-translate, I think it is laziness. Since most of the people I talk to are Americans, that is probably true but it still gets under my skin. Another over-reaction is that it is a multi-lingual party, which people don't like involving themselves in because it can be hard work to communicate between the different members.

MOST of the time all you are doing is experience point harvesting, getting to camp and blobbing stuff is pretty well covered in the auto-translate function, I genuinely feel this IS an over-reaction to it.

People don't communicate enough, they aren't articulate any more, they just resort to base and common language that quite often is a poor expression of their real intent and desires. My hat is off to SE for attempting something as brave as this, foolish for sure, but still brave for even daring to challenge the barrier of language in FFXI.

<strong>Morning in Vana'diel</strong> <em>is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Love it, hate it, you can't get away from it! </em><br /><em></em><br />We have all used it at some point in our FFXI career, most of us have abused it, or twisted the intent to become something salacious or crude. You can't avoid those spammers of it in Jeuno or Whitegate promising secret delights and other equally empty promises.<br /><br />It features in forum signatures and both extremely simple and incredibly complex at the same time. It is the Auto-Translate function.<br /><br />I was thinking about it the other day while roaming around Vana'diel. I had run into a Japanese taru who needed the pot fight from the Zilart Missions. Seeking on thief was quickly losing its appeal so I said "pick me pick me" which actually came out as "OK (Invite to join party)". One swift change into something sexy (DRG/SAM) and I was ready to go. He was a little startled that I was proposing we duo it, but we muddled through the Auto-translator to get to where we needed to go and accomplish our goals.<br /><br />It IS limited, don't get me wrong, it is clunky and hard work and every complaint about it is correct because it barely cuts the barriers down with regards to communication, but I love it! I think it is a fantastic idea. Its unique, unusual and idealistic. Its insanity at its best, the idea that you can take a few simple terms and attempt to bridge the gap between several very different cultures. Of course, quite often it falls short of what you are trying to achieve, even so people manage to muddle through with persistance and perseverance. Even people who hate the auto-translate can get into the humour of the situation and will respond.<br /><br />I know a lot of people are suspicious of it, and I have reactions to it, I don't like people I know talking to me in auto-translate, I think it is laziness. Since most of the people I talk to are Americans, that is probably true but it still gets under my skin. Another over-reaction is that it is a multi-lingual party, which people don't like involving themselves in because it can be hard work to communicate between the different members.<br /><br />MOST of the time all you are doing is experience point harvesting, getting to camp and blobbing stuff is pretty well covered in the auto-translate function, I genuinely feel this IS an over-reaction to it.<br /><br />People don't communicate enough, they aren't articulate any more, they just resort to base and common language that quite often is a poor expression of their real intent and desires. My hat is off to SE for attempting something as brave as this, foolish for sure, but still brave for even daring to challenge the barrier of language in FFXI.

Morning in Vana'diel: A Letter From Sad Samurai

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Are you a Super Sam? Or are you just Nobungo Nobody? Maybe we can help!

Today we have a letter from a reader that is asking for some advice about his Samurai.

“Dear YANYOK,
I am a Samurai. Samurai as I am told and affirmed throughout the internet universe is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I leveled Samurai so that I would be worshipped as a damage dealing god with the ability to heal the weak, defend the masses and feed the poor. When I finally hit 75 though, the adoration I expected did not arrive. I had outfitted myself with all of the finest Hachiman gear (I do look awesome) and I have enough Store TP to furnish an old folks home’s bottom wiping requirements for months. I even have a great katana named after a demon (or something)! I have been faced with derision and shame, and I don’t know why. I am a Sad Samurai.”

Sad Samurai, I think I can see your problems and they are problems for many new and upcoming Samurais. The problem is that you have no idea what you are doing, and you are just faking it. I will give you three simple suggestions to make your life easier as a Samurai and to help turn that frown upside down.

1. Learn to count – This is the easiest thing to do for a Samurai but also the most neglected by bad Samurai. One of the first things you are going to want to merit as a Samurai is Store TP. With those merits and your base Store TP merits you will need to find another 11 Store TP while you are out there. Start with a Brutal Earring and a Rajas Ring of course, and if you don’t have one, just hang up your Sune-ate right now and bust out that staff and robes. Then pick either Hachiman hands or feet, and use Dusk Gloves or haste feet for the other slot. And there you have it, a 6-hit build. Easy as pie. If you are wearing more than one piece of Hachiman at any time even your momma-Samurai is gonna laugh at you.

2. Sam Subs – Use the right sub job and people won’t wonder if you were dropped on your head as a baby Samurai. Ninja? Just say no. You may think you are so scary awesome that you need not just Seigan and Third Eye but shadows too, but everyone else knows that you are just a poser. Still with WAR or DRG for strictly DD situations or DNC for Campaign. Sure, sure, I am going to get flamed for this one but if you use anything else you are going to make the Samurai Jesus cry.

3. Pretty does not equal good – Those Askar hands look so cool don’t they? Yeah, you definitely are a poser… at minimum use Dusk or Hachiman depending on your set up. And stop whining about the reduced movement speed; just make a macro to swap your hands like everyone else does. Do you have an Askar body? It looks hot, it’s got neat stats, and it’s not as good as a 5-year old body piece. Keep that Haubergeon if you can because that accuracy will help you more than anything else you can get (yes, even haste if you gimp enough).

Well Sad Samurai, I hope that helps you turn from a zero to a hero. Just remember, it’s better to be look funny and kick ass than to look cool and make everyone think you should go in the healing party.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/sad_samo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/sad_samo.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 404px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Are you a Super Sam? Or are you just Nobungo Nobody? Maybe we can help!</span><br /><br />Today we have a letter from a reader that is asking for some advice about his Samurai.<br /><br />“Dear YANYOK,<br />I am a Samurai. Samurai as I am told and affirmed throughout the internet universe is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I leveled Samurai so that I would be worshipped as a damage dealing god with the ability to heal the weak, defend the masses and feed the poor. When I finally hit 75 though, the adoration I expected did not arrive. I had outfitted myself with all of the finest Hachiman gear (I do look awesome) and I have enough Store TP to furnish an old folks home’s bottom wiping requirements for months. I even have a great katana named after a demon (or something)! I have been faced with derision and shame, and I don’t know why. I am a Sad Samurai.”<br /><br />Sad Samurai, I think I can see your problems and they are problems for many new and upcoming Samurais. The problem is that you have no idea what you are doing, and you are just faking it. I will give you three simple suggestions to make your life easier as a Samurai and to help turn that frown upside down.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />1. Learn to count – This is the easiest thing to do for a Samurai but also the most neglected by bad Samurai. One of the first things you are going to want to merit as a Samurai is Store TP. With those merits and your base Store TP merits you will need to find another 11 Store TP while you are out there. Start with a Brutal Earring and a Rajas Ring of course, and if you don’t have one, just hang up your Sune-ate right now and bust out that staff and robes. Then pick either Hachiman hands or feet, and use Dusk Gloves or haste feet for the other slot. And there you have it, a 6-hit build. Easy as pie. If you are wearing more than one piece of Hachiman at any time even your momma-Samurai is gonna laugh at you.<br /><br />2. Sam Subs – Use the right sub job and people won’t wonder if you were dropped on your head as a baby Samurai. Ninja? Just say no. You may think you are so scary awesome that you need not just Seigan and Third Eye but shadows too, but everyone else knows that you are just a poser. Still with WAR or DRG for strictly DD situations or DNC for Campaign. Sure, sure, I am going to get flamed for this one but if you use anything else you are going to make the Samurai Jesus cry.<br /><br />3. Pretty does not equal good – Those Askar hands look so cool don’t they? Yeah, you definitely are a poser… at minimum use Dusk or Hachiman depending on your set up. And stop whining about the reduced movement speed; just make a macro to swap your hands like everyone else does. Do you have an Askar body? It looks hot, it’s got neat stats, and it’s not as good as a 5-year old body piece. Keep that Haubergeon if you can because that accuracy will help you more than anything else you can get (yes, even haste if you gimp enough). <br /><br />Well Sad Samurai, I hope that helps you turn from a zero to a hero. Just remember, it’s better to be look funny and kick ass than to look cool and make everyone think you should go in the healing party.<br /></span>

Morning In Vana'diel: Mandatory Subs.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! What are the best subjobs; the ones designed to be the best sub jobs or the old reliable ones?

In the plethora of potential subjobs (and I am not counting those subjobs that you shouldn't be using but are always funny to listen to FFXI noobs profess because of their potential awesometude, one day I will tell you about the value of a Galka BLM/MNK that my co-worker insisted was the way he was going to play FFXI) there are two recent additions that have become near mandatory for at least some jobs. The weird thing is that those subjobs were added to actually be subjobs, at least that is what SE has said in an interview. Those subjobs are Dancer and Scholar. Are these jobs now mandatory for us all? Should they be? Are they really a new option at all?

Dancer - Dancer was added to allow melee to solo, and solo they can do now. They still can't overcome some of the more difficult things they couldn't do before and there are certain melee mixes that more favor subbing Dancer, but for Campaign it makes many jobs not so much of a death sentence. WAR, DRK and at least partially MNK are still kind of boned when it comes to subbing Dancer because they even with the self-healing they can still take a lot of damage and there is a point at which /DNC can't keep up with damage. WAR can use Defender of course, and MNK can use Counterstance, but they both have their obvious drawbacks. DRK is screwed even with /DNC because they don't really have much to help themselves out even with /DNC. The jobs that can best use /DNC are SAM and NIN because they have a way to block damage providing them the time to cure themselves up and regain some precious TP for those cures. SAM even has a built-in generator to supply cures in the form of Meditate.

Scholar - This is a little more controversial for some mages, but there are a variety of ways that Scholar is a beneficial subjob. WHM is the first job I think should consider using /SCH. /SCH provides a big boost to everything that WHM does poorly and also importantly, it artificial boosts some of the stats that are very hard to level for a new WHM like Healing and Divine. The additional benefit of 10% off of casting time and recast (a boon for WHM everywhere) and cuts the MP cost of those spells by 10% too. The stratagems are not as immediately useful for White Mage but situationally can be great for a fast and cheap raise or reraise. For other jobs, /SCH doesn't stand out quite a much, but can still have it's uses. For BLM, I think it is even unappreciated in that the stratagems are much more valuable and it can boost some very important skills if needed. It's real problem is that it lacks some of the defensive capabilities for soloing, but in group play I believe that /SCH is competitive if not better than /RDM or /WHM.

Why consider new sub jobs? Well, I finally finished my /RDM and now I need to do /SCH. :)

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Moogle_Cap.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Moogle_Cap.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 472px; height: 497px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! What are the best subjobs; the ones designed to be the best sub jobs or the old reliable ones?</span><br /><br />In the plethora of potential subjobs (and I am not counting those subjobs that you shouldn't be using but are always funny to listen to FFXI noobs profess because of their potential awesometude, one day I will tell you about the value of a Galka BLM/MNK that my co-worker insisted was the way he was going to play FFXI) there are two recent additions that have become near mandatory for at least some jobs. The weird thing is that those subjobs were added to actually be subjobs, at least that is what SE has said in an interview. Those subjobs are Dancer and Scholar. Are these jobs now mandatory for us all? Should they be? Are they really a new option at all?<br /><br />Dancer - Dancer was added to allow melee to solo, and solo they can do now. They still can't overcome some of the more difficult things they couldn't do before and there are certain melee mixes that more favor subbing Dancer, but for Campaign it makes many jobs not so much of a death sentence. WAR, DRK and at least partially MNK are still kind of boned when it comes to subbing Dancer because they even with the self-healing they can still take a lot of damage and there is a point at which /DNC can't keep up with damage. WAR can use Defender of course, and MNK can use Counterstance, but they both have their obvious drawbacks. DRK is screwed even with /DNC because they don't really have much to help themselves out even with /DNC. The jobs that can best use /DNC are SAM and NIN because they have a way to block damage providing them the time to cure themselves up and regain some precious TP for those cures. SAM even has a built-in generator to supply cures in the form of Meditate.<br /><br />Scholar - This is a little more controversial for some mages, but there are a variety of ways that Scholar is a beneficial subjob. WHM is the first job I think should consider using /SCH. /SCH provides a big boost to everything that WHM does poorly and also importantly, it artificial boosts some of the stats that are very hard to level for a new WHM like Healing and Divine. The additional benefit of 10% off of casting time and recast (a boon for WHM everywhere) and cuts the MP cost of those spells by 10% too. The stratagems are not as immediately useful for White Mage but situationally can be great for a fast and cheap raise or reraise. For other jobs, /SCH doesn't stand out quite a much, but can still have it's uses. For BLM, I think it is even unappreciated in that the stratagems are much more valuable and it can boost some very important skills if needed. It's real problem is that it lacks some of the defensive capabilities for soloing, but in group play I believe that /SCH is competitive if not better than /RDM or /WHM.<br /><br />Why consider new sub jobs? Well, I finally finished my /RDM and now I need to do /SCH. :)

Morning in Vana'diel: Coming Correct.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Level correction, the stat that you almost definitely never even cared about!

I was thinking about why there seems to be so many simple answers to gear questions in FFXI, but why they never seem to pan out. Why do I seem to have enough accuracy, but I can't see to cap it when I am fighting NMs? Why aren't I criting as much as I should be? I think that reason may be that there is level correction for more than just damage.

Right now we know that level correction applies to damage because we can see observable differences in damage based on level and because the formulas that we got a long time ago tell us that is the case. The formulas are taken on faith but they do fit the empirical evidence so there is good reason to accept them. Although the level correction functions differently, it is known to apply in some manner to both melee and magical damage.

My question is if we know that level correction applies to damage, why do we not make the same assumptions for other stats like accuracy/evasion and critical hits? Is it simply because we can see no way to test it? Should we be giving advice on gearing based on the current level of testing if it does not include level correction? Does level correction even exist for these statistics?

I have considered some hypothetical situations that may demonstrate the need to reconsider how some people currently look at the previously mentioned stats.

Scenario 1: Evasion - A long time ago it was suggested that Evasion being a melee stat may scale like a melee stat above skill level 200. Meaning that above that level each level of skill only gives .9 of a skill instead of a whole point. This would mean that flat Evasion would be better to decrease the accuracy of an opponent than Evasion skill. Even if this was not the case, then shouldn't flat Evasion be at least equal to Evasion skill? The problem is that this observation generally did not pan out, and it did indeed look like Evasion skill had a larger effect than Evasion. This could be because there is a check between a mob's "weapon" skill level and the target's Evasion skill level before the actual chance to hit is determined. I believe there are several places where a similar skill vs. skill check is made. This may not be as much of a "level correction" situation but it serves the same function.

Scenario 2: Accuracy - The current trend for many accuracy estimates is to look at currently known information for some mobs (almost always XP level mobs) and then extrapolate them out to higher level mobs. I do not know how accurately this has been tested, but I have definitely found that the accuracy drop for higher level mobs does not seem to correlate. If there was no correction then there should be a simple linear curve for accuracy against mobs, but theorycrafting here and most evidence points to a more dramatic curve against higher level mobs. This could also be a situation of skill vs. skill checks, as opposed to a direction level correction function, but the result is the same.

Scenario 3: Crit hit rate - Again, another area where the current trend seems to function off of one set of tests on Greater Colibri, while against higher level mobs the level of critical hits does not follow the assumed linear curve. It would seem this is the most obvious case where a level correction function is occurring, because a simple DEX v. AGI check would even against high level mobs should be resulting in very high crit rates that are not currently being observed. It would seem just like the melee damage formula the crit hit rate formula is based on a level correction first before the DEX v. AGI check is made.

These are all hypothetical explanations of how level correction may exist for these stats (and others like enfeebling and elemental) but may not necessarily be noticed because all of the testing is being done on XP mobs, so there is a dearth of comparable information that we can use to check if level correction is occurring or not. What we need is more parsing of higher level mobs, but the difficulties of that are obvious as there are many more factors that occur when dealing with higher level mobs than a normal XP camp. But parses to gather this kind of information is probably a good place to start.

Are some people giving poor information when they use a simple linear extrapolation for accuracy and crit hit rate? How would we even construct a model to take level correction into account?

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Beau_entrance-1-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Beau_entrance-1-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 195px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Level correction, the stat that you almost definitely never even cared about!</span><br /><br />I was thinking about why there seems to be so many simple answers to gear questions in FFXI, but why they never seem to pan out. Why do I seem to have enough accuracy, but I can't see to cap it when I am fighting NMs? Why aren't I criting as much as I should be? I think that reason may be that there is level correction for more than just damage.<br /><br />Right now we know that level correction applies to damage because we can see observable differences in damage based on level and because the formulas that we got a long time ago tell us that is the case. The formulas are taken on faith but they do fit the empirical evidence so there is good reason to accept them. Although the level correction functions differently, it is known to apply in some manner to both melee and magical damage.<br /><br />My question is if we know that level correction applies to damage, why do we not make the same assumptions for other stats like accuracy/evasion and critical hits? Is it simply because we can see no way to test it? Should we be giving advice on gearing based on the current level of testing if it does not include level correction? Does level correction even exist for these statistics?<br /><br />I have considered some hypothetical situations that may demonstrate the need to reconsider how some people currently look at the previously mentioned stats.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Scenario 1: Evasion - A long time ago it was suggested that Evasion being a melee stat may scale like a melee stat above skill level 200. Meaning that above that level each level of skill only gives .9 of a skill instead of a whole point. This would mean that flat Evasion would be better to decrease the accuracy of an opponent than Evasion skill. Even if this was not the case, then shouldn't flat Evasion be at least equal to Evasion skill? The problem is that this observation generally did not pan out, and it did indeed look like Evasion skill had a larger effect than Evasion. This could be because there is a check between a mob's "weapon" skill level and the target's Evasion skill level before the actual chance to hit is determined. I believe there are several places where a similar skill vs. skill check is made. This may not be as much of a "level correction" situation but it serves the same function.<br /><br />Scenario 2: Accuracy - The current trend for many accuracy estimates is to look at currently known information for some mobs (almost always XP level mobs) and then extrapolate them out to higher level mobs. I do not know how accurately this has been tested, but I have definitely found that the accuracy drop for higher level mobs does not seem to correlate. If there was no correction then there should be a simple linear curve for accuracy against mobs, but theorycrafting here and most evidence points to a more dramatic curve against higher level mobs. This could also be a situation of skill vs. skill checks, as opposed to a direction level correction function, but the result is the same.<br /><br />Scenario 3: Crit hit rate - Again, another area where the current trend seems to function off of one set of tests on Greater Colibri, while against higher level mobs the level of critical hits does not follow the assumed linear curve. It would seem this is the most obvious case where a level correction function is occurring, because a simple DEX v. AGI check would even against high level mobs should be resulting in very high crit rates that are not currently being observed. It would seem just like the melee damage formula the crit hit rate formula is based on a level correction first before the DEX v. AGI check is made.<br /><br />These are all hypothetical explanations of how level correction may exist for these stats (and others like enfeebling and elemental) but may not necessarily be noticed because all of the testing is being done on XP mobs, so there is a dearth of comparable information that we can use to check if level correction is occurring or not. What we need is more parsing of higher level mobs, but the difficulties of that are obvious as there are many more factors that occur when dealing with higher level mobs than a normal XP camp. But parses to gather this kind of information is probably a good place to start.<br /><br />Are some people giving poor information when they use a simple linear extrapolation for accuracy and crit hit rate? How would we even construct a model to take level correction into account?<br /></span>

Morning in Vana'diel: Shantotto is Coming!

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Shantotto is coming to take over the world, are you ready?

In the very near future we should be hearing about the coming release of A Shantotto Ascension on the FFXI website. The story actually looks a little more interesting than the last two mini-expansion-scenario-things, and Shantotto is definitely a much more colorful character than Boy Aldo that is for sure. While it would be rather annoying and disappointing if this mini-expansion was in the same fetch quest vein as the first two mini-expansions there is a good chance the story will be of the same quality of the first two mini-expansions. Even those that decried the tedium of the questing in the first two mini-expansions admitted the stories were still rather intriguing and up to snuff.

While storyline and questing can be fun for something, the gear is usually what motivates people to get going with these mini-expansions. The first scenario offered a new body piece that replicated or only slightly improved stats over what was available for most jobs. The second mini-expansion definitely offered a lot more flavor in what was available stat-wise. I am hoping that the next expansion follows this and tosses in some stats that are surprising or useful for a new slot. The graphics for the new head and body pieces tend from pretty awesome (the new mage coat) to gaudy and out of character for FFXI (the new mage hat), but they were both in slots that let you see them all the time.

For Shantatto's expansion I have to wonder what they are going to do next. Legs seems like the next option that would let you see the new gear but I don't know how exciting it is too just see some new legs. It could be something else, a belt, a back piece, but you don't really see those so who knows. It could even be a new weapon, which would be pretty neat, but runs the risk of making everyone all cranky because weapons across almost all jobs have a tendency to make people freak out, mages especially. Either a mage weapon is going to be better than elemental staffs or not. If it is better, then you have a bunch of angry mages, if it is worse, then you have a bunch of angry mages.

No one wants angry mages. That's scary. :(

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Shan_1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Shan_1.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 108px; height: 157px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Shantotto is coming to take over the world, are you ready?</span><br /><br />In the very near future we should be hearing about the coming release of <a href="http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/addon/">A Shantotto Ascension</a> on the FFXI website. The story actually looks a little more interesting than the last two mini-expansion-scenario-things, and Shantotto is definitely a much more colorful character than Boy Aldo that is for sure. While it would be rather annoying and disappointing if this mini-expansion was in the same fetch quest vein as the first two mini-expansions there is a good chance the story will be of the same quality of the first two mini-expansions. Even those that decried the tedium of the questing in the first two mini-expansions admitted the stories were still rather intriguing and up to snuff.<br /><br />While storyline and questing can be fun for something, the gear is usually what motivates people to get going with these mini-expansions. The first scenario offered a new body piece that replicated or only slightly improved stats over what was available for most jobs. The second mini-expansion definitely offered a lot more flavor in what was available stat-wise. I am hoping that the next expansion follows this and tosses in some stats that are surprising or useful for a new slot. The graphics for the new head and body pieces tend from pretty awesome (the new mage coat) to gaudy and out of character for FFXI (the new mage hat), but they were both in slots that let you see them all the time. <br /><br />For Shantatto's expansion I have to wonder what they are going to do next. Legs seems like the next option that would let you see the new gear but I don't know how exciting it is too just see some new legs. It could be something else, a belt, a back piece, but you don't really see those so who knows. It could even be a new weapon, which would be pretty neat, but runs the risk of making everyone all cranky because weapons across almost all jobs have a tendency to make people freak out, mages especially. Either a mage weapon is going to be better than elemental staffs or not. If it is better, then you have a bunch of angry mages, if it is worse, then you have a bunch of angry mages.<br /><br />No one wants angry mages. That's scary. :(

Morning in Vana'diel: All That Is Yet To Come.

So, I was perusing the comments from last week and I spied a comment left my Celestria, who as I have professed before is probably the smartest person on the planet. She noted that while she loves Salvage for the challenge and the bonding even those that are fully in love with it like her can still get bored of it after time. That time is usually when you are just grinding to get more gear, rather than challenging yourself as much.

This is what Celestria had to say:

Salvage has been my favorite for a long time, but the hundreds of repeats needed to get everybody the ultimate gear is starting to get on my nerves. Still, it's a great bonding experience and a fun test of skill. Looking back at how Salvage was figured out by a huge community effort on BG, that was an amazing thing to be a part of.

I hope there is a next big event. With the total lack of effort we've seen SE put into WoG and the mini-expansions, I wouldn't say a new endgame event is guaranteed. But if there is one, I hope it's for small groups like Salvage, and has new and exciting puzzles like Salvage, and no cells or artificial restrictions like Salvage. Bonus points if it's released before FF14. :)

When thinking about what is left to come before FFXIV we can look at what is already out there for us to do. First of all we do know there is Castle Zvhal Keep and Baileys, including the Throne Room. Now, my guess is that these will not be so much end-game activity areas as they will be similar areas to what we already have in the Beastmen Strongholds. That doesn't mean that there won't be end-game mobs or treasure and loot to be gotten in those areas, I just don't think it will stand out.

I do think we will get a real end-game area in the form of the Walk of Echoes. It has the feel of an end-game area; it's a completely separate zone, it's broken up into separate areas, and it just looks like an end-game area for FFXI. There are a huge number of different but very large islands in the area. It is really had to tell if it is going to be broken up into something like Einherjar or if it is going to be something that is done collectively like Sky or Sea. I personally am hoping for the latter because we haven't really gotten anything like that in a while.

I doubt we will see the Walk of Echoes in the next update because SE still hasn't opened up Castle Zvahl yet. That means we probably wont see it until the Holidays at best. Hopefully, once these mini-scenarios are out of the way we will be getting something a little more interesting for the rest of us.

So, I was perusing the comments from last week and I spied a comment left my Celestria, who as I have professed before is probably the smartest person on the planet. She noted that while she loves Salvage for the challenge and the bonding even those that are fully in love with it like her can still get bored of it after time. That time is usually when you are just grinding to get more gear, rather than challenging yourself as much. <br /><br />This is what Celestria had to say: <blockquote>Salvage has been my favorite for a long time, but the hundreds of repeats needed to get everybody the ultimate gear is starting to get on my nerves. Still, it's a great bonding experience and a fun test of skill. Looking back at how Salvage was figured out by a huge community effort on BG, that was an amazing thing to be a part of.<br /><br />I hope there is a next big event. With the total lack of effort we've seen SE put into WoG and the mini-expansions, I wouldn't say a new endgame event is guaranteed. But if there is one, I hope it's for small groups like Salvage, and has new and exciting puzzles like Salvage, and no cells or artificial restrictions like Salvage. Bonus points if it's released before FF14. :)</blockquote><br />When thinking about what is left to come before FFXIV we can look at what is already out there for us to do. First of all we do know there is Castle Zvhal Keep and Baileys, including the Throne Room. Now, my guess is that these will not be so much end-game activity areas as they will be similar areas to what we already have in the Beastmen Strongholds. That doesn't mean that there won't be end-game mobs or treasure and loot to be gotten in those areas, I just don't think it will stand out.<br /><br />I <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> think we will get a real end-game area in the form of the Walk of Echoes. It has the feel of an end-game area; it's a completely separate zone, it's broken up into separate areas, and it just looks like an end-game area for FFXI. There are a huge number of different but very large islands in the area. It is really had to tell if it is going to be broken up into something like Einherjar or if it is going to be something that is done collectively like Sky or Sea. I personally am hoping for the latter because we haven't really gotten anything like that in a while. <br /><br />I doubt we will see the Walk of Echoes in the next update because SE still hasn't opened up Castle Zvahl yet. That means we probably wont see it until the Holidays at best. Hopefully, once these mini-scenarios are out of the way we will be getting something a little more interesting for the rest of us.

Morning in Vana'diel: PvP in FFXIV?

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! PvPer's are mouth-breathers and gankers all! I bet they like to steal candy from babies and bang Sam's mom!

So far SE (Tanaka specifically) has said that FFXIV will not have open world PvP and even if PvP does make an appearance it will be in the form of a sport or game like Ballista or Brenner. For most FFXI people this is pretty much the norm. There has never been any focus on PvP really, even if some people found Ballista and Brenner to be quite fun. FFXI was never designed to have PvP in it, and while Ballista and Brenner do allow it, it definitely wasn’t the focus of the development team for more than an update or two.

With the confirmation of the lack of PvP in FFXIV, I have seen a few (not many) posts around the interweb decrying the loss of their favorite past time… but I have to wonder if they are barking up the wrong tree. Most people that were very pro-PvP left FFXI a very long time ago to play WoW which has a very developed and balanced world and game-based PvP system. To stay in FFXI and complain that FFXIV doesn’t have a PvP system is kind of like going to a Football game and getting upset that they are not playing Basketball.

Now, I am not trying to decry the entirety of PvP. There should be places where those mouth-breathers can gank each other to their hearts delight. (I KID! I KID!) But FFXI has never been a place for that outside of the (rather enjoyable) games that people can play against each other in game. I don’t know why the same developer with the same development team would approach the sequel to the same game any differently.

I guess I will never understand the mind of the PvP mouth-breather… I KID! :)

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Brenner01.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Brenner01.gif" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 444px; height: 105px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! PvPer's are mouth-breathers and gankers all! I bet they like to steal candy from babies and bang Sam's mom!</span><br /><br />So far SE (Tanaka specifically) has said that FFXIV will not have open world PvP and even if PvP does make an appearance it will be in the form of a sport or game like Ballista or Brenner. For most FFXI people this is pretty much the norm. There has never been any focus on PvP really, even if some people found Ballista and Brenner to be quite fun. FFXI was never designed to have PvP in it, and while Ballista and Brenner do allow it, it definitely wasn’t the focus of the development team for more than an update or two. <br /><br />With the confirmation of the lack of PvP in FFXIV, I have seen a few (not many) posts around the interweb decrying the loss of their favorite past time… but I have to wonder if they are barking up the wrong tree. Most people that were very pro-PvP left FFXI a very long time ago to play WoW which has a very developed and balanced world and game-based PvP system. To stay in FFXI and complain that FFXIV doesn’t have a PvP system is kind of like going to a Football game and getting upset that they are not playing Basketball.<br /><br />Now, I am not trying to decry the entirety of PvP. There should be places where those mouth-breathers can gank each other to their hearts delight. (I KID! I KID!) But FFXI has never been a place for that outside of the (rather enjoyable) games that people can play against each other in game. I don’t know why the same developer with the same development team would approach the sequel to the same game any differently.<br /><br />I guess I will never understand the mind of the PvP mouth-breather… I KID! :)

Morning in Vana'diel: Goodbye Mr. Booboo.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! When someone leaves, its a moment to self reflect.

People quit, its the normal cycle of any game. Its a funny thing that we consider a single player game the end of a natural cycle of game play, but in an MMO, someone is "quitting", or giving up is the implication we attach to it.

If you really examine the context of how you feel when someone leaves the game, invariably its from your own perspective, not theirs. You still have things you want to do, goals you wish to achieve and people you want to talk to.

It is hardly unreasonable therefore to want to end your tenure of FFXI if you feel you have reached the targets, or really just don't have the drive and motivation any longer to keep investing the level of time and effort into the game that you have previously.

Even Ringthree has cycles where, with very little new content to get his game buds pulsing, ends up with a waning interest because there are no larger goals he feels he can commit to. That is what the expansions needed to do, but instead they offered a momentary fancy. Perhaps that is the lure that will bring peopel to FFXIV. The thrill of something new to explore. Uncharted shores of adventure and all the new experience that comes with it.

So Mrbooboo is leaving FFXI. He has reached every goal he wanted to reach, the people worth talking to will still keep in contact with him after he leaves, those that are not will fade into a memory that is both bittersweet and happy. I have never been one of those people to cling to your leg if you tell me you are going to leave. I just accept that it is what you want to do. Of course I will miss you, I enjoy your company, or the chats we have. I do however think it is good to know when you have reached your limit.

I wish Mrbooboo all the best with whatever it is he does from now on, he certainly lives an exciting life, if he isn't scaling Everest, he's off on some other trek or another. I hope that he remembers FFXI in a good frame of mind, without the bitterness that some people can take with them, and I applaud him taking this step.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! When someone leaves, its a moment to self reflect.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Mrboobooslastday.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Mrboobooslastday.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: ;" /></a>People quit, its the normal cycle of any game. Its a funny thing that we consider a single player game the end of a natural cycle of game play, but in an MMO, someone is "quitting", or giving up is the implication we attach to it.<br /><br />If you really examine the context of how you feel when someone leaves the game, invariably its from your own perspective, not theirs. You still have things you want to do, goals you wish to achieve and people you want to talk to.<br /><br />It is hardly unreasonable therefore to want to end your tenure of FFXI if you feel you have reached the targets, or really just don't have the drive and motivation any longer to keep investing the level of time and effort into the game that you have previously.<br /><br />Even Ringthree has cycles where, with very little new content to get his game buds pulsing, ends up with a waning interest because there are no larger goals he feels he can commit to. That is what the expansions needed to do, but instead they offered a momentary fancy. Perhaps that is the lure that will bring peopel to FFXIV. The thrill of something new to explore. Uncharted shores of adventure and all the new experience that comes with it.<br /><br />So Mrbooboo is leaving FFXI. He has reached every goal he wanted to reach, the people worth talking to will still keep in contact with him after he leaves, those that are not will fade into a memory that is both bittersweet and happy. I have never been one of those people to cling to your leg if you tell me you are going to leave. I just accept that it is what you want to do. Of course I will miss you, I enjoy your company, or the chats we have. I do however think it is good to know when you have reached your limit.<br /><br />I wish Mrbooboo all the best with whatever it is he does from now on, he certainly lives an exciting life, if he isn't scaling Everest, he's off on some other trek or another. I hope that he remembers FFXI in a good frame of mind, without the bitterness that some people can take with them, and I applaud him taking this step.

Morning in Vana'diel: Not Wasting Time.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Keeping busy in Vana'diel.

So after having a rather interesting and very productive weekend last weekend, I am looking to try to squeeze in another one this weekend. Some weekends are better than others, but we have really reinvigorated our off event time with some ZNM action. Even Omoi the hater of all things Zeni related is getting into the action even if it is just because she gets to watch her cute skeleton pet getting it's brains bashed in.

I got to use my Sarameya pop set last weekend, as did a couple of us, and we are all work to get our next set of pops. It's actually pretty easy to do a low man Sarameya if you have the gear to deal with it and some good healers. Sarameya doesn't hit that hard and the spells can be dealt with pretty easily if you are prepared. It's a difficult fight to deal with if you aren't prepared, and it is still challenging and fun when you are prepared. Hopefully next time we will get some better drops (well, I will get some better drops, Izman already rocked out with his drops).

I really like doing ZNM because it is something I can do pick-up with a couple of friends, and outside of our second Sarameya which we delayed because our first attempt didn't go so well, it is something you can really do at the drop of a hat. There is very little in FFXI that you can do at the drop of a hat. SE has been getting better and better at implementing things that are enjoy and more importantly can be done without a massive amount of time spent collecting people and preparing.

What is your favorite in game event?

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ring_Blaize_Sara.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ring_Blaize_Sara.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 172px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Keeping busy in Vana'diel.</span><br /><br />So after having a rather interesting and very productive weekend last weekend, I am looking to try to squeeze in another one this weekend. Some weekends are better than others, but we have really reinvigorated our off event time with some ZNM action. Even Omoi the hater of all things Zeni related is getting into the action even if it is just because she gets to watch her cute skeleton pet getting it's brains bashed in.<br /><br />I got to use my Sarameya pop set last weekend, as did a couple of us, and we are all work to get our next set of pops. It's actually pretty easy to do a low man Sarameya if you have the gear to deal with it and some good healers. Sarameya doesn't hit that hard and the spells can be dealt with pretty easily if you are prepared. It's a difficult fight to deal with if you aren't prepared, and it is still challenging and fun when you are prepared. Hopefully next time we will get some better drops (well, I will get some better drops, Izman already rocked out with his drops).<br /><br />I really like doing ZNM because it is something I can do pick-up with a couple of friends, and outside of our second Sarameya which we delayed because our first attempt didn't go so well, it is something you can really do at the drop of a hat. There is very little in FFXI that you can do at the drop of a hat. SE has been getting better and better at implementing things that are enjoy and more importantly can be done without a massive amount of time spent collecting people and preparing.<br /><br />What is your favorite in game event?

Morning in Vana'diel: Chop, Chop, Stab, Stab.

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Is everyone dead?

Yes, it has been a little slow here as of late. It's the time of year when work picks up for me, but that doesn't mean that I don't have things to post, just not the time to do it as much as I would like. Enough of my personal failings, lets get on with the show.

I have noticed a trend in gear for my most beloved set of jobs: nothing is changing. Honestly, there may be an item here or there than steps up to take a slot or two from a previous King, but in the end there hasn't been a major shake up in gearing since the introduction of Salvage. There may be variations in play style for some jobs, but in the end those variations have been the same for a year or more. Samurai either use full Usukane or a mix and match set. Dragoon and Dark Knight may pick different body pieces but the best gear for the rest of the slots is pretty much the same. Warrior... well they haven't changed since Zilart really. LOL

Our mage friends have seen a lot of differences and there is a lot of variation based on what they are fighting and what they are doing. There best in slot gear varies from job to job and from event to event. Their best gear includes stuff from the most recent update all the way back to Zilart. This is probably because they have to do far more different things that a melee does. But I ask you, melee brethren, is it our fault that we are just so good at the chopping and the stabbing?

So, even though melee have done nothing wrong their gear still looks like it is circa 2004 a lot of the time. Then again, those poor mages have been using those elemental staffs since the beginning of time. Now that is something to complain about.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/i-r-stab-u-now-k.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/i-r-stab-u-now-k.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 259px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Is everyone dead?</span><br /><br />Yes, it has been a little slow here as of late. It's the time of year when work picks up for me, but that doesn't mean that I don't have things to post, just not the time to do it as much as I would like. Enough of my personal failings, lets get on with the show.<br /><br />I have noticed a trend in gear for my most beloved set of jobs: nothing is changing. Honestly, there may be an item here or there than steps up to take a slot or two from a previous King, but in the end there hasn't been a major shake up in gearing since the introduction of Salvage. There may be variations in play style for some jobs, but in the end those variations have been the same for a year or more. Samurai either use full Usukane or a mix and match set. Dragoon and Dark Knight may pick different body pieces but the best gear for the rest of the slots is pretty much the same. Warrior... well they haven't changed since Zilart really. LOL <br /><br />Our mage friends have seen a lot of differences and there is a lot of variation based on what they are fighting and what they are doing. There best in slot gear varies from job to job and from event to event. Their best gear includes stuff from the most recent update all the way back to Zilart. This is probably because they have to do far more different things that a melee does. But I ask you, melee brethren, is it our fault that we are just so good at the chopping and the stabbing?<br /><br />So, even though melee have done nothing wrong their gear still looks like it is circa 2004 a lot of the time. Then again, those poor mages have been using those elemental staffs since the beginning of time. Now that is something to complain about.

Morning in Vana'diel: On the left...

Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! A little bit of a new look, and more to come?

If you take a look to your left you will see the new name plates for the staff writers here. Well, they are actually pretty hard to miss unless you are trying. These new name plates also link directly to any article that they have written or been mentioned in. So for example if you don't like me, but you love Qtipus, you can just click on his link and it will take you to all the articles that Q has written or been mentioned in. This should help you dear reader to sort through all of the posts here.

We will slowly be adding more and more of these kinds of name plates for the different writers and also for the different columns here. For example, if you are looking for a certain column just click it's name plate and you will get every column in that series. I know this isn't anything ground-breaking but I think it will help people locate some older but still relevant content, and new people looking for new stuff. :)

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/R3_Title4-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/R3_Title4-1.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 75px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! A little bit of a new look, and more to come?</span><br /><br />If you take a look to your left you will see the new name plates for the staff writers here. Well, they are actually pretty hard to miss unless you are trying. These new name plates also link directly to any article that they have written or been mentioned in. So for example if you don't like me, but you love Qtipus, you can just click on his link and it will take you to all the articles that Q has written or been mentioned in. This should help you dear reader to sort through all of the posts here. <br /><br />We will slowly be adding more and more of these kinds of name plates for the different writers and also for the different columns here. For example, if you are looking for a certain column just click it's name plate and you will get every column in that series. I know this isn't anything ground-breaking but I think it will help people locate some older but still relevant content, and new people looking for new stuff. :)