The End is Coming... Are You Wearing Clean Underwear?

I haven't done a list post in a long time, but what should I do a list about? I have already gone over everything that I am looking forward to in the next update. Hell, I have already gone over a lot of things. But there are a lot of things that still need to be completed before the next update. That would make a good list!

10. Finish Kurodachi - DONE - This one was my main focus for the last couple of days. I got all my Krabkatoa shells and turned them in on Monday. I love it so far. I can't say whether the damage is better or worse over time than Hagun, but it is looking good so far.

9. Finish meriting BLM - This should have been done a long time ago. I did just dump 8 more merits into Thunder and Ice potency, but I still need 10 more to top that off. Then I need to do Enfeebling Magic merits. And then I have to see what I want to do with tier 2 merits.

8. Finish Radennotachi - Haven't even started working on this, and it is probably going to be back burner for other Magian weapons I need to get done. My math shows that it is slightly better than Hagun, but not by much. Even with Kurodachi, there are still places for the Radennotachi, like on Salvage bosses or just about any place that you don't want to feed mobs a lot of TP.

7. Finish the Cure Potency Teiwaz - This is probably my next highest priority not only because it is an amazing piece of equipment, but also because Omoi has one and we are close to being on the same stage. She owes me some dead Trents. :)

6. Finish the Thunder Potency Teiwaz - Another hot piece of gear that I need to get done. Especially if the weapons are going to get better as SE extends trial of the Magians. My BLM would love this, especially now that I am getting closer to having a good Elemental set on my BLM.

5. Finish the OAT Goshawk - This weapon is just insanely good, but you have to understand the math to understand why. 600 Delay makes it look really slow, but for a job that can get to a 5-hit build the extra Delay means you have a lot more space to mess around with the Store TP you are wearing. This one is going to kill a whole lot of RNG.

4. Finish the Wings Missions - While this one isn't as important for this update, unless they require the current mission set complete to finish the Wings quests, it is still good to be ready for the end when it does come. I don't want to be locked out of Walk of Echoes when it is opened.

3. Finish the Wings Quests - I am all caught up in Bastok, but I still need to finish the Sandy and Windy quest lines. Iz is almost caught up to me on the Sandy quest line so I will probably do that with him, but Omoi is way past me on the Windy storyline. Maybe she will help me go back and finish them. :)

2. Start really meriting my RNG - While my gear is great on my RNG, my merits for the job are pretty lacking. I will occasionally toss a merit hear or there, but it's really time I knuckle down and get them done, especially because the tier 1's are pretty darn good for RNG.

1. Finish my Morrigan's set - I don't know if I will get this done in time, but it is a pretty big goal for me. I already have two ingots and I should be able to get at least 1 more before the end of the week, but I am only getting about 1 or so a week, and I will never be able to get all 12 before the update. And then I need to get the O. Ingots for the head.

Those are what I wish I could accomplish before the June 2010 Update, but I won't be able to finish them all. What do you wish you could finish before you have to level all your jobs to 80?

I haven't done a list post in a long time, but what should I do a list about? I have already gone over everything that I am looking forward to in the next update. Hell, I have already gone over a lot of things. But there are a lot of things that still need to be completed before the next update. That would make a good list!<br /><br />10. Finish Kurodachi - DONE - This one was my main focus for the last couple of days. I got all my Krabkatoa shells and turned them in on Monday. I love it so far. I can't say whether the damage is better or worse over time than Hagun, but it is looking good so far.<br /><br />9. Finish meriting BLM - This should have been done a long time ago. I did just dump 8 more merits into Thunder and Ice potency, but I still need 10 more to top that off. Then I need to do Enfeebling Magic merits. And then I have to see what I want to do with tier 2 merits.<br /><br />8. Finish Radennotachi - Haven't even started working on this, and it is probably going to be back burner for other Magian weapons I need to get done. My math shows that it is slightly better than Hagun, but not by much. Even with Kurodachi, there are still places for the Radennotachi, like on Salvage bosses or just about any place that you don't want to feed mobs a lot of TP.<br /><br />7. Finish the Cure Potency Teiwaz - This is probably my next highest priority not only because it is an amazing piece of equipment, but also because Omoi has one and we are close to being on the same stage. She owes me some dead Trents. :) <br /><br />6. Finish the Thunder Potency Teiwaz - Another hot piece of gear that I need to get done. Especially if the weapons are going to get better as SE extends trial of the Magians. My BLM would love this, especially now that I am getting closer to having a good Elemental set on my BLM.<br /><br />5. Finish the OAT Goshawk - This weapon is just insanely good, but you have to understand the math to understand why. 600 Delay makes it look really slow, but for a job that can get to a 5-hit build the extra Delay means you have a lot more space to mess around with the Store TP you are wearing. This one is going to kill a whole lot of RNG.<br /><br />4. Finish the Wings Missions - While this one isn't as important for this update, unless they require the current mission set complete to finish the Wings quests, it is still good to be ready for the end when it does come. I don't want to be locked out of Walk of Echoes when it is opened.<br /><br />3. Finish the Wings Quests - I am all caught up in Bastok, but I still need to finish the Sandy and Windy quest lines. Iz is almost caught up to me on the Sandy quest line so I will probably do that with him, but Omoi is way past me on the Windy storyline. Maybe she will help me go back and finish them. :)<br /><br />2. Start really meriting my RNG - While my gear is great on my RNG, my merits for the job are pretty lacking. I will occasionally toss a merit hear or there, but it's really time I knuckle down and get them done, especially because the tier 1's are pretty darn good for RNG.<br /><br />1. Finish my Morrigan's set - I don't know if I will get this done in time, but it is a pretty big goal for me. I already have two ingots and I should be able to get at least 1 more before the end of the week, but I am only getting about 1 or so a week, and I will never be able to get all 12 before the update. And then I need to get the O. Ingots for the head.<br /><br />Those are what I wish I could accomplish before the June 2010 Update, but I won't be able to finish them all. What do you wish you could finish before you have to level all your jobs to 80?

The Breakdown -- Part 1: Missions and Quests.

I have been thinking about how to approach everything that was announced Sunday and I have decided it's going to take at least a week to cover everything in detail. I have been scouring the Interverse™ to find all of the details I could on everything that is being discussed about everything that was released.

As a general reference for the coming weeks worth of posts here is SE's plan for the next year of FFXI.

The first section that SE talked about was Missions and Quests. Normally for the update notes this would be one of the most boring section. Not because the missions and quests are boring but because there isn't much to talk about the update notes for them. The coming update will give us the second to last set of missions, so things should be ramping up to a good conclusion.

Here is what SE has to say about the missions:

The Story Continues!
New Wings of the Goddess missions will be coming to you in the March version update!

Nerves run high as the embattled Allied Forces march on the enemy's heartland, Valdeaunia, to execute a daring operation to strike down the Shadow Lord. Charged to stand at the helm of this desperate campaign is the celebrated San d'Orian hero, Sir Ragelise B Baloumat of the Knights of the Ironcrest Hawk…

Dauntless soldiers who would dare follow Castle Zvahl's perilous passageways to their end will find themselves standing before the Throne Room. There, they will learn the true identity of the imposing dark figure whose entrance is heralded by a garrulous imp…

The repercussions of Atomos' mindless devouring of memories and time have extended even to the present. The ominous comet has again appeared, this time above the skies of San d'Oria and far closer now than ever before. What could this possibly portend for the future of Vana'diel…?

What will become of the heroes and heroines of the Allied Forces? All will be revealed upon the release of the March version update!

The Wings of the Goddess mission storyline draws ever nearer to its epic finale, with but one more set of episodes to follow those of the March version update.

There is one big difference though between the normal missions and quest update and this one. That is the Trial of the Magians, which I am now official declaring the Trial of the Moogles™. And the Moogles are doing a good job of getting me excited about the update.

In all of SE's normal vagueness, we are left wondering what exactly it is that we are getting out of this new system. Here is what they have said so far:

“Trial of the Magians” is the title given to a new quest series designed especially for level 75 characters.

Quest Structure
The quests will be divided into a number of categories, and progression in each will allow players to earn different rewards. The following quest branches and more are being considered:

- Weapon enhancement.
- Armor enhancement.

Trial of the Magians will be introduced to the game in multiple stages, with the initial set of weapon enhancement quests slated for addition in the March version update.
Enhancing a Weapon

A Trial of the Magians weapon enhancement quest can be initiated by first trading a suitable weapon to a Magian Moogle NPC, at which point a list of corresponding quests will be displayed. Players may choose a quest based on difficulty level and the enhancement they would like added to their weapon, which will be granted upon the fulfillment of the quest objective.

A single weapon can undergo numerous upgrades. By trading an already-enhanced weapon to a Magian Moogle, players can undertake successive quests to have it further improved. Multiple quests can be undertaken simultaneously.

By repeating the quests, up to 80 different features can be added to a single weapon. With figures such as Damage and Delay added to the equation, there exist 500 possible attribute patterns for a single quest branch!

There are also plans to make it possible to enhance Relic and Mythic weapons through Trial of the Magians. While players can expect quest difficulty to far exceed similar quests released thus far, we are confident the rewards will make it more than worth the while!

So what do we know so far?

• You can only get the quest(s) at level 75. So this is an end-game thing, not a FoV type thing.
• So far we know that you can do Weapon and Equipment Enhancement, but this coming update looks like it will only have Weapon Enhancements available.
• You have to trade the weapon to get the quest, which means that the enhancements will likely be based and limited by weapon type. E.g. you won't be able to get the same damage bonuses for a dagger as you do for a Great Katana.
• You will be able to pick your difficulty and/or your enhancement before you do the quests.
  
• You can do multiple enhancements, and you can do them simultaneously.
  
• Up to 80 different enhancements can be added and you can effect delay and damage too. By SE's math, this means you can make up to 500 different configurations for a single weapon.

These are the knowns so far, but I want to emphasize those aspects that I believe make this especially noteworthy. First, you can have multiple enhancements and you can get those enhancements at the same time. No pre-farming FoV, no selling off items that get crappy enhancements. Second, you get to pick the enhancements before you do the quests. While I have no hatred of the Random Number Generator (I do still play this game, which is a RNG nightmare) but I do like this very much. You get to plan out what you want and then work for it. Work/Reward ratio? Yes, please! Third, it sounds like this is end-game and difficult. I just hope that challenging means instanced/spawned fights like Fey weapons or something like that. I hope it is not gil-based like Salvage. I want to fight things, not farm crap.

That is it for Missions and Quests. What do you think of the Trials of the Moogles™?

I have been thinking about how to approach everything that was announced Sunday and I have decided it's going to take at least a week to cover everything in detail. I have been scouring the Interverse™ to find all of the details I could on everything that is being discussed about everything that was released.<br /><br />As a general reference for the coming weeks worth of posts here is SE's plan for the next year of FFXI.<br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/5d_1845en2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/5d_1845en2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 279px;" /></a><br />The first section that SE talked about was Missions and Quests. Normally for the update notes this would be one of the most boring section. Not because the missions and quests are boring but because there isn't much to talk about the update notes for them. The coming update will give us the second to last set of missions, so things should be ramping up to a good conclusion. <br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Here is what SE has to say about the missions:<br /><blockquote>The Story Continues!<br />New Wings of the Goddess missions will be coming to you in the March version update!<br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sandy_mission.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sandy_mission.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 182px;" /></a>Nerves run high as the embattled Allied Forces march on the enemy's heartland, Valdeaunia, to execute a daring operation to strike down the Shadow Lord. Charged to stand at the helm of this desperate campaign is the celebrated San d'Orian hero, Sir Ragelise B Baloumat of the Knights of the Ironcrest Hawk…<br /><br />Dauntless soldiers who would dare follow Castle Zvahl's perilous passageways to their end will find themselves standing before the Throne Room. There, they will learn the true identity of the imposing dark figure whose entrance is heralded by a garrulous imp…<br /><br />The repercussions of Atomos' mindless devouring of memories and time have extended even to the present. The ominous comet has again appeared, this time above the skies of San d'Oria and far closer now than ever before. What could this possibly portend for the future of Vana'diel…?<br /><br />What will become of the heroes and heroines of the Allied Forces? All will be revealed upon the release of the March version update!<br /><br />The Wings of the Goddess mission storyline draws ever nearer to its epic finale, with but one more set of episodes to follow those of the March version update.</blockquote><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Moogle_Trials.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Moogle_Trials.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 182px;" /></a>There is one big difference though between the normal missions and quest update and this one. That is the Trial of the Magians, which I am now official declaring the Trial of the Moogles™. And the Moogles are doing a good job of getting me excited about the update. <br /><br />In all of SE's normal vagueness, we are left wondering what exactly it is that we are getting out of this new system. Here is what they have said so far: <blockquote>“Trial of the Magians” is the title given to a new quest series designed especially for level 75 characters.<br /><br />Quest Structure<br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Bastok_mission-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Bastok_mission-1.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 182px;" /></a>The quests will be divided into a number of categories, and progression in each will allow players to earn different rewards. The following quest branches and more are being considered:<br /><br /> - Weapon enhancement.<br /> - Armor enhancement.<br /><br />Trial of the Magians will be introduced to the game in multiple stages, with the initial set of weapon enhancement quests slated for addition in the March version update.<br />Enhancing a Weapon<br /><br />A Trial of the Magians weapon enhancement quest can be initiated by first trading a suitable weapon to a Magian Moogle NPC, at which point a list of corresponding quests will be displayed. Players may choose a quest based on difficulty level and the enhancement they would like added to their weapon, which will be granted upon the fulfillment of the quest objective.<br /><br />A single weapon can undergo numerous upgrades. By trading an already-enhanced weapon to a Magian Moogle, players can undertake successive quests to have it further improved. Multiple quests can be undertaken simultaneously.<br /><br />By repeating the quests, up to 80 different features can be added to a single weapon. With figures such as Damage and Delay added to the equation, there exist 500 possible attribute patterns for a single quest branch!<br /><br />There are also plans to make it possible to enhance Relic and Mythic weapons through Trial of the Magians. While players can expect quest difficulty to far exceed similar quests released thus far, we are confident the rewards will make it more than worth the while!<br /></blockquote>So what do we know so far?<br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Windy_mission.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Windy_mission.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 182px;" /></a><ul><li>You can only get the quest(s) at level 75. So this is an end-game thing, not a FoV type thing.</li><li>So far we know that you can do Weapon and Equipment Enhancement, but this coming update looks like it will only have Weapon Enhancements available.</li><li>You have to trade the weapon to get the quest, which means that the enhancements will likely be based and limited by weapon type. E.g. you won't be able to get the same damage bonuses for a dagger as you do for a Great Katana.</li><li>You will be able to pick your difficulty and/or your enhancement <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> you do the quests.<br /></li><li>You can do multiple enhancements, and you can do them simultaneously.<br /></li><li>Up to 80 different enhancements can be added and you can effect delay and damage too. By SE's math, this means you can make up to 500 different configurations for a single weapon.</li></ul>These are the knowns so far, but I want to emphasize those aspects that I believe make this especially noteworthy. First, you can have multiple enhancements and you can get those enhancements at the same time. No pre-farming FoV, no selling off items that get crappy enhancements. Second, you get to pick the enhancements before you do the quests. While I have no hatred of the Random Number Generator (I do still play this game, which is a RNG nightmare) but I do like this very much. You get to plan out what you want and then work for it. Work/Reward ratio? Yes, please! Third, it sounds like this is end-game and difficult. I just hope that challenging means instanced/spawned fights like Fey weapons or something like that. I hope it is not gil-based like Salvage. I want to fight things, not farm crap.<br /><br />That is it for Missions and Quests. What do you think of the Trials of the Moogles™?</span>

Morning in Vana'diel: Quests to care about.

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 them or hate them, there are still some quests still worth looking at in FFXI.



Some people love doing every single quest in FFXI, however menial or boring it can be, and sure there are some quests that are tedious, run here, talk to 1 person, run half way around the world via X point to talk to another person before running back again. Etc etc.

However, there are a few nuggets of gold hidden in the general monotony of most quests, at least FFXi rises above WoW in terms of tedium and sheer repetativeness when it comes to what you need to do for each task. There are the quests that everyone does sheerly for the money/reward/effort over cheapness. Such as Sleepga II, Warp and Utsusemi-Ni to mention a few.

After all a bit of running around for a free scroll is considerably better than forking out a large sum of your hard earned gil for the item (unless of course you are one of those who went down the "pfft never leveling THAT job" route, did the quest, sold it, and 6months later are "leveling THAT job" you said you never would, you KNOW what I am talking about.)

Hidden amongst the dross there ARE some quests that maybe don't have a great reward, but the storyline is GREAT. The Serpent General quests fit into this category, its obvious someone actually cared about these stories when they were being created, as the interest reflects in the quality of the quest itself. Another hidden gem is a seldom done San d'Orian quest which grants the title Obsidian Storm. Not everything questy is tedium incarnate, some will and do capture your imagination and sweep you up in the grand storyline behind it.

<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! Love them or hate them, there are still some quests still worth looking at in FFXI.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://forums.kitchengod.com/modules/gallery/albums/screenshot/Quest_Item.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://forums.kitchengod.com/modules/gallery/albums/screenshot/Quest_Item.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 610px; height: 525px;" /></a><br /><br />Some people love doing every single quest in FFXI, however menial or boring it can be, and sure there are some quests that are tedious, run here, talk to 1 person, run half way around the world via X point to talk to another person before running back again. Etc etc.<br /><br />However, there are a few nuggets of gold hidden in the general monotony of most quests, at least FFXi rises above WoW in terms of tedium and sheer repetativeness when it comes to what you need to do for each task. There are the quests that everyone does sheerly for the money/reward/effort over cheapness. Such as Sleepga II, Warp and Utsusemi-Ni to mention a few.<br /><br />After all a bit of running around for a free scroll is considerably better than forking out a large sum of your hard earned gil for the item (unless of course you are one of those who went down the "pfft never leveling THAT job" route, did the quest, sold it, and 6months later are "leveling THAT job" you said you never would, you KNOW what I am talking about.)<br /><br />Hidden amongst the dross there ARE some quests that maybe don't have a great reward, but the storyline is GREAT. The Serpent General quests fit into this category, its obvious someone actually cared about these stories when they were being created, as the interest reflects in the quality of the quest itself. Another hidden gem is a seldom done San d'Orian quest which grants the title Obsidian Storm. Not everything questy is tedium incarnate, some will and do capture your imagination and sweep you up in the grand storyline behind it.