Samurai 5-hit Build: My Gear.

I think the primer yesterday about SAM 5-hit builds was too vague, so I am going to use my own character as a model to show just how you would create a good 5-hit build with a 464 delay Great Katana and what different options you have available.

These sets use gear I currently have or have relatively easy access to. It may require work for some people, and it may be gimp to other people. The point is that there are many different paths you can choose. Let's take a lot at what I can use right now to get to a 5-hit build.

Cheap and easy:

This is the set-up I could use today without spending anything or doing anything different.

TP
Main: Kokushitsunotachi
Sub: Rose Strap
Ammo: Goblin Cracker
Head: Walahra Turban
Neck: Unkai Nobowa
Earring: Bushinomimi
Earring: Brutal Earring
Body: Usukane Haramaki
Hands: Hachiman Kote
Ring: Rajas Ring
Ring: Adler Ring
Back: Forager's Mantle
Waist: Swift Belt
Legs: Byakko's Haidate
Feet: Usukane Sune-ate

WS
Main: Kokushitsunotachi
Sub: Rose Strap
Ammo: Thew Bomblet
Head: Varangian Helm
Neck: WS Gorget
Earring: Bushinomimi
Earring: Brutal Earring
Body: Usukane Haramaki
Hands: Myochin Kote +1
Ring: Rajas Ring
Ring: Flame Ring
Back: Forager's Mantle
Waist: Sentry Belt
Legs: Usukane Hizayoroi
Feet: Perle Solerets

Under TP build I have +34 Store TP from gear which gives me 20.6 TP per swing, and for WS I have +16 Store TP from gear which is 18.4 TP per swing. That is 100.8 and more than enough for what I need.

Of course this is not optimal. It gives up a bit of haste in the hands for the huge bump in haste from dropping an entire attack round to get to the next WS. There are other ways that this can be approached as well as using the Store TP +5 Keitonotachi. This is just the most simple route for me at this time.

I would actually suggest that people get both the Kokushitsunotachi and the Keitonotachi. The Koku is used for situations in which TP spam is ok, but the Keitonotachi is essentially the new Hagun, the main new go-to GKT. This is simply because while it is lower base damage, it will let you get to 5-hit very easily and it has a high base damage.

My Koku is almost complete and I will be working on my Keitonotachi soon. Next week before the update I will be going over some alternative 5-hit builds and look at some other GKT. And then I will cry as it all changes again after the next update.

I think the primer yesterday about SAM 5-hit builds was too vague, so I am going to use my own character as a model to show just how you would create a good 5-hit build with a 464 delay Great Katana and what different options you have available.<br /><br />These sets use gear I currently have or have relatively easy access to. It may require work for some people, and it may be gimp to other people. The point is that there are many different paths you can choose. Let's take a lot at what I can use right now to get to a 5-hit build.<br /><br />Cheap and easy:<br /><br />This is the set-up I could use today without spending anything or doing anything different.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TP</span><br />Main: Kokushitsunotachi<br />Sub: Rose Strap<br />Ammo: Goblin Cracker<br />Head: Walahra Turban<br />Neck: Unkai Nobowa<br />Earring: Bushinomimi<br />Earring: Brutal Earring<br />Body: Usukane Haramaki<br />Hands: Hachiman Kote<br />Ring: Rajas Ring<br />Ring: Adler Ring<br />Back: Forager's Mantle<br />Waist: Swift Belt<br />Legs: Byakko's Haidate<br />Feet: Usukane Sune-ate<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WS</span><br />Main: Kokushitsunotachi<br />Sub: Rose Strap<br />Ammo: Thew Bomblet<br />Head: Varangian Helm<br />Neck: WS Gorget<br />Earring: Bushinomimi<br />Earring: Brutal Earring<br />Body: Usukane Haramaki<br />Hands: Myochin Kote +1<br />Ring: Rajas Ring<br />Ring: Flame Ring<br />Back: Forager's Mantle<br />Waist: Sentry Belt<br />Legs: Usukane Hizayoroi<br />Feet: Perle Solerets<br /><br />Under TP build I have +34 Store TP from gear which gives me 20.6 TP per swing, and for WS I have +16 Store TP from gear which is 18.4 TP per swing. That is 100.8 and more than enough for what I need.<br /><br />Of course this is not optimal. It gives up a bit of haste in the hands for the huge bump in haste from dropping an entire attack round to get to the next WS. There are other ways that this can be approached as well as using the Store TP +5 Keitonotachi. This is just the most simple route for me at this time.<br /><br />I would actually suggest that people get both the Kokushitsunotachi and the Keitonotachi. The Koku is used for situations in which TP spam is ok, but the Keitonotachi is essentially the new Hagun, the main new go-to GKT. This is simply because while it is lower base damage, it will let you get to 5-hit very easily and it has a high base damage.<br /><br />My Koku is almost complete and I will be working on my Keitonotachi soon. Next week before the update I will be going over some alternative 5-hit builds and look at some other GKT. And then I will cry as it all changes again after the next update.

A Few Things That I (Still) Don't Understand.

I might have mentioned that I don't understand some people. Ok, so I talk about it all the time. Some people get so obsessed with some gear that they don't know when to give up on it's pursuit. Some people get so used to doing events that they don't realize when it's time to move on. Some people don't realize that just because they have the gear from an event already doesn't mean that everyone does, and that sometimes you need to do things you don't want to do anymore to get people to help you. These things can even contradict. One person's treasure is another person's trash. But none of this is what I really want to talk about today. Today I want to talk about Magian weapons.

A common topic? Yes, definitely. I have talked a lot about Magian weapons, but I don't think that some people even get the point right now. I think the problem may stem from the lack of difference there really was from level 75 to 80. The problem is that you can't just look at a Magian weapon and say "Well damn, I have to have that or I am gimp" because the increase in damage is just the next step up, it's not a paradign shift in game mechanics. I think most people (myself included) thought that the jump in level from 75 to 80 was going to be accompanied by the same jump up in stats that happens from 1 to 75. That wasn't to be the case. The only really consistent increase came in the form of skill increases (which arguably is even more important than raw stats but that is a discussion for another day). Instead of the exponential increase in damage most people expected to see from a higher damage weapon and 5 additional levels, it instead turned out to be more of a linear increase in damage. Nothing ground breaking, and a lot of time that is the only thing that will get people out of their rut.

I think there are more than a few reasons to move on Magian weapons now, instead of later.

1. With the rare expection, they really are the best weapons in the game. Outside of a very few number of weapons, there is nothing that can beat a Magian weapon. All jobs now have access to weapons that have higher damage or more attacks per round than anything else available. Relics and Mythics generally excepted, I believe that Ridill is the only weapon that still can make a claim to being overpowered. And that is arguable...

2. Outside of Mythics and Relics, Magians will definitively be the best weapons in the game after the next update. While one could argue that we still don't know what is coming for upgrading weapons in the future, we can look at the end-point Empyrean weapons and say that they are obviously not complete. Also, it is undeniable that the base damage has to increase as the level cap increases. All of the old weapons just can't keep up with the march of progress.

3. You are going to have to do more work to upgrade your weapons in the future. If you fall behind now, you just have more work to do in the future. It's not like the trials are going to get easier. SE is just going to add more and more trials onto the end of the ones that already exist. And they are going to make Magian weapons even stronger. When the next update comes, are you going to want to be killing Treants in Grauberg? Or are you going to want to finish off your Indra Staff to get the next step in Lightning Damage Potency?

4. If you aren't working on upgrading your Magian weapons then you really are gimp. This is one of my unapologetically elitist moments, but in the end it's not elitist at all. Up to the penultimate Empyrean stage and up to the final stage of the rest of the weapons they trials just aren't that hard. Sure getting some of the 20 drops for the high damage OAT weapons can be a bit of trouble, but there is nothing that is stopping you from doing it besides yourself. The problem might be that for almost the entirety of FFXI people had to work with other people to get the best gear, but instead of working as a motivating factor this actually just encourages people to be free-riders. But now, when faced with a set of quests that require individual action for the most part, the free-riders are left out in the cold. And they should be.

I might be an elitist dick, but this isn't about criticizing gear because it's hard to get or because it takes a lot of time to get. In this case, I am not the elitist dick, other people are just lazy dicks. And I would much rather be just about any kind of dick than a lazy dick. :)

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Magian_star.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Magian_star.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 249px;" /></a>I might have mentioned that I don't understand some people. Ok, so I talk about it all the time. Some people get so obsessed with some gear that they don't know when to give up on it's pursuit. Some people get so used to doing events that they don't realize when it's time to move on. Some people don't realize that just because they have the gear from an event already doesn't mean that everyone does, and that sometimes you need to do things you don't want to do anymore to get people to help you. These things can even contradict. One person's treasure is another person's trash. But none of this is what I really want to talk about today. Today I want to talk about Magian weapons.<br /><br />A common topic? Yes, definitely. I have talked a lot about Magian weapons, but I don't think that some people even get the point right now. I think the problem may stem from the lack of difference there really was from level 75 to 80. The problem is that you can't just look at a Magian weapon and say "Well damn, I have to have that or I am gimp" because the increase in damage is just the next step up, it's not a paradign shift in game mechanics. I think most people (myself included) thought that the jump in level from 75 to 80 was going to be accompanied by the same jump up in stats that happens from 1 to 75. That wasn't to be the case. The only really consistent increase came in the form of skill increases (which arguably is even more important than raw stats but that is a discussion for another day). Instead of the exponential increase in damage most people expected to see from a higher damage weapon and 5 additional levels, it instead turned out to be more of a linear increase in damage. Nothing ground breaking, and a lot of time that is the only thing that will get people out of their rut.<br /><br />I think there are more than a few reasons to move on Magian weapons now, instead of later.<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">With the rare expection, they really are the best weapons in the game.</span> Outside of a very few number of weapons, there is nothing that can beat a Magian weapon. All jobs now have access to weapons that have higher damage or more attacks per round than anything else available. Relics and Mythics generally excepted, I believe that Ridill is the only weapon that still can make a claim to being overpowered. And that is arguable...<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Outside of Mythics and Relics, Magians will definitively be the best weapons in the game after the next update.</span> While one could argue that we still don't know what is coming for upgrading weapons in the future, we can look at the end-point Empyrean weapons and say that they are obviously not complete. Also, it is undeniable that the base damage has to increase as the level cap increases. All of the old weapons just can't keep up with the march of progress.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">You are going to have to do more work to upgrade your weapons in the future.</span> If you fall behind now, you just have more work to do in the future. It's not like the trials are going to get easier. SE is just going to add more and more trials onto the end of the ones that already exist. And they are going to make Magian weapons even stronger. When the next update comes, are you going to want to be killing Treants in Grauberg? Or are you going to want to finish off your Indra Staff to get the next step in Lightning Damage Potency?<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight:bold;">If you aren't working on upgrading your Magian weapons then you really are gimp.</span> This is one of my unapologetically elitist moments, but in the end it's not elitist at all. Up to the penultimate Empyrean stage and up to the final stage of the rest of the weapons they trials just aren't that hard. Sure getting some of the 20 drops for the high damage OAT weapons can be a bit of trouble, but there is nothing that is stopping you from doing it besides yourself. The problem might be that for almost the entirety of FFXI people had to work with other people to get the best gear, but instead of working as a motivating factor this actually just encourages people to be free-riders. But now, when faced with a set of quests that require individual action for the most part, the free-riders are left out in the cold. And they should be.<br /><br />I might be an elitist dick, but this isn't about criticizing gear because it's hard to get or because it takes a lot of time to get. In this case, I am not the elitist dick, other people are just lazy dicks. And I would much rather be just about any kind of dick than a lazy dick. :)

Old Man Ring Shakes His Cane.

I am getting cranky. Cranky is a good place for me. I have been dealing with the two-headed beast of camping near irrelevant NM's and a horrible internet connection. I have lost at least two, if not more, Okyupete kills for my second Magian GKT because of my internet connection taking a dump all over itself. You might remember me mentioning how much I love the Magian system because you can do it yourself at your own pace, and it's relatively easy to get an amazing weapon. Yeah, well if you add in a crappy internet connection that all goes out the freaking window.

Ok, so it's not the Magian system's fault that my internet connection is worse that two tin cans and a piece of string, but I am cranky so logic doesn't matter! I will be less cranky once I have killed 6 more Lamprey Lords and then 8 more Chesma's and then collect 50 Carabosse's Gems... wait, what the fuck? Are you fucking with my mind? 50 Gems from a tier 2 Abyssea mob? Now, the kick in the balls that my internet connection has been giving me over the weekend suddenly feels like a gentle cupping compared the giant black dildo that SE has inserted into my rectum. I don't want to hear about how you can farm the pop items for Carabosse in an XP party, and I don't want to hear about the fact that there are a ton of far more difficult drops for other weapons. I just don't want to hear it, I just want this giant black dildo out of my rectum.

Speaking of annoying, I can't wait for people to finish leveling their jobs in Abyssea and realize that there is actual real gear in there. I know people that have spent 16 hours in Abyssea leveling and have somehow not leveled everything they have, merited everything they have, and flipped their XP like the score in an Atari 2600 game. Yeah? You don't know what an Atari 2600 is? Too young you say? Fuck you. Go to a fucking museum and check it out, you can find it right next to the Magna Carta, the Rosetta Stone, and the skeleton of an fucking Allosaurus.

Did I mention I am currently working on something like 5 different Magian weapons right now? I have killed every single moronic NM that SE has ever added to the game. Some of these NM's have to be a freaking joke. Okyupete? Ankabut? Where do they come up with these names? A three-year-old's first illiterate Crayola scrawl? Jolly Green? Killed it, and the fucking thing doesn't even have a last name, and it's not even a fucking giant. Hey, SE, you already have freaking green giants in the game, why don't you call one of them Jolly Green? You know the worst part? I am doing Great Katana and Bow, and they both perfectly overlap, so I have committed genocide against the peace loving Treants of Grauberg, not once, not even twice, but three time, and it's going to happen again because of that Plantoids under weather thing. I make Pol Pot look like Strawberry Shortcake. You don't know Pol Pot, you say? What? You don't know fucking Strawberry Shortcake, either? Get the fuck off my lawn!

And Yilbegan can get the fuck off my lawn too! Fucking shadow-less, but fucking cool looking dragon, that's like the anti-dragon. Tank it on it's rear feet? Only damage it when wings are up? What the fuck? It's like everything is backwards because of some little in-joke at SE headquarters. "Oh, we so funny!" Yeah, fuck you too, buddy! Oh, you dropped a Platinum Ore and a Platinum Ingot? How generous! Let me show my appreciation by jamming a fork in my ear. Oh wow, the fork in my ear does nothing to minimize the pain of the brutal dildo assault...

Internet connection problems make the Old Man Ring pretty cranky. I am sure it's because my roommate is simultaneously uploading and downloading every episode of Top Gear ever created, in every language known to man. My poor GB's and Wifi's don't stand a chance against a full frontal assault from Jeremy Clarkson. You don't know Jeremy Clarkson? Great, you just gave me an aneurysm.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ring_self_portrait.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ring_self_portrait.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 356px;" /></a>I am getting cranky. Cranky is a good place for me. I have been dealing with the two-headed beast of camping near irrelevant NM's and a horrible internet connection. I have lost at least two, if not more, Okyupete kills for my second Magian GKT because of my internet connection taking a dump all over itself. You might remember me mentioning how much I love the Magian system because you can do it yourself at your own pace, and it's relatively easy to get an amazing weapon. Yeah, well if you add in a crappy internet connection that all goes out the freaking window.<br /><br />Ok, so it's not the Magian system's fault that my internet connection is worse that two tin cans and a piece of string, but I am cranky so logic doesn't matter! I will be less cranky once I have killed 6 more Lamprey Lords and then 8 more Chesma's and then collect 50 Carabosse's Gems... wait, what the fuck? Are you fucking with my mind? 50 Gems from a tier 2 Abyssea mob? Now, the kick in the balls that my internet connection has been giving me over the weekend suddenly feels like a gentle cupping compared the giant black dildo that SE has inserted into my rectum. I don't want to hear about how you can farm the pop items for Carabosse in an XP party, and I don't want to hear about the fact that there are a ton of far more difficult drops for other weapons. I just don't want to hear it, I just want this giant black dildo out of my rectum.<br /><br />Speaking of annoying, I can't wait for people to finish leveling their jobs in Abyssea and realize that there is actual real gear in there. I know people that have spent 16 hours in Abyssea leveling and have somehow not leveled everything they have, merited everything they have, and flipped their XP like the score in an Atari 2600 game. Yeah? You don't know what an Atari 2600 is? Too young you say? Fuck you. Go to a fucking museum and check it out, you can find it right next to the Magna Carta, the Rosetta Stone, and the skeleton of an fucking Allosaurus.<br /><br />Did I mention I am currently working on something like 5 different Magian weapons right now? I have killed every single moronic NM that SE has ever added to the game. Some of these NM's have to be a freaking joke. Okyupete? Ankabut? Where do they come up with these names? A three-year-old's first illiterate Crayola scrawl? Jolly Green? Killed it, and the fucking thing doesn't even have a last name, and it's not even a fucking giant. Hey, SE, you already have freaking green giants in the game, why don't you call one of them Jolly Green? You know the worst part? I am doing Great Katana and Bow, and they both perfectly overlap, so I have committed genocide against the peace loving Treants of Grauberg, not once, not even twice, but three time, and it's going to happen again because of that Plantoids under weather thing. I make Pol Pot look like Strawberry Shortcake. You don't know Pol Pot, you say? What? You don't know fucking Strawberry Shortcake, either? Get the fuck off my lawn!<br /><br />And Yilbegan can get the fuck off my lawn too! Fucking shadow-less, but fucking cool looking dragon, that's like the anti-dragon. Tank it on it's rear feet? Only damage it when wings are up? What the fuck? It's like everything is backwards because of some little in-joke at SE headquarters. "Oh, we so funny!" Yeah, fuck you too, buddy! Oh, you dropped a Platinum Ore <span style="font-style:italic;">and</span> a Platinum Ingot? How generous! Let me show my appreciation by jamming a fork in my ear. Oh wow, the fork in my ear does nothing to minimize the pain of the brutal dildo assault... <br /><br />Internet connection problems make the Old Man Ring pretty cranky. I am sure it's because my roommate is simultaneously uploading and downloading every episode of Top Gear ever created, in every language known to man. My poor GB's and Wifi's don't stand a chance against a full frontal assault from Jeremy Clarkson. You don't know Jeremy Clarkson? Great, you just gave me an aneurysm.

My Magian Projects: Kokushitsunotachi

I have noticed something slightly disturbing since the update; a lot of people are still using their old pre-75 weapons. There are a huge number of new weapons available through the new Magians system, and while the new top-of-the-line weapons will require some time to get them done there are still some people that haven't end gotten the ones from last update done.

Personally, I already have my Kurodachi fully upgraded to the last update. I also am working on my Goshawk for my RNG and staffs for my WHM and BLM. I really like the design of the trial system, so maybe I can help be a good motivation for everyone else!

Right now, I have a Kurodachi with DMG+28, Delay+20 and Occasionally Attacks Twice. To upgrade it to the highest possible level right now, I need to do the following:

Trial 1557: 10 Chasmic Stingers
Trial 1558: 20 Mikey's Silver Nuggets

That will leave me with the horribly named Kokushitsunotachi with the following stats:


The Chasmic Stinger comes from the Chasmic Hornet in Abyssea-La Theine. The Chasmic Hornet is an NM spawn from Great Wasp placeholders. It looks like the stingers are drops like other Magian items and two can drop at a time. The respawn on the Chasmic Hornets is still unclear right now, and there is differing reports from 30-1 hour.

The Mikey's Silver Nuggets come from Megamaw Mikey which is also in Abyssea-La Theine. It also spawns as an NM from placeholders, in this case they are Rock Grinders.

While I am working on my Kokushitsunotachi, I am also working on the high damage Great Katana path that eventually leads to the Masamune. I will go over that tomorrow.

I have noticed something slightly disturbing since the update; a lot of people are still using their old pre-75 weapons. There are a huge number of new weapons available through the new Magians system, and while the new top-of-the-line weapons will require some time to get them done there are still some people that haven't end gotten the ones from last update done.<br /><br />Personally, I already have my Kurodachi fully upgraded to the last update. I also am working on my Goshawk for my RNG and staffs for my WHM and BLM. I really like the design of the trial system, so maybe I can help be a good motivation for everyone else!<br /><br />Right now, I have a <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=19375">Kurodachi</a> with DMG+28, Delay+20 and Occasionally Attacks Twice. To upgrade it to the highest possible level right now, I need to do the following:<br /><br /><a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Trial_1557">Trial 1557</a>: 10 <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=2936">Chasmic Stingers</a><br /><a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Trial_1558">Trial 1558</a>: 20 <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=2942">Mikey's Silver Nuggets</a><br /><br />That will leave me with the horribly named Kokushitsunotachi with the following stats:<br /><a href="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100701123844/ffxi/images/0/03/Kokushitsunotachi_OAT.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100701123844/ffxi/images/0/03/Kokushitsunotachi_OAT.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 366px; height: 104px;" /></a><br /><br />The Chasmic Stinger comes from the <a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Chasmic_Hornet">Chasmic Hornet</a> in Abyssea-La Theine. The Chasmic Hornet is an NM spawn from Great Wasp placeholders. It looks like the stingers are drops like other Magian items and two can drop at a time. The respawn on the Chasmic Hornets is still unclear right now, and there is differing reports from 30-1 hour.<br /><br />The Mikey's Silver Nuggets come from <a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Megamaw_Mikey">Megamaw Mikey</a> which is also in Abyssea-La Theine. It also spawns as an NM from placeholders, in this case they are <a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Rock_Grinder">Rock Grinders</a>.<br /><br />While I am working on my Kokushitsunotachi, I am also working on the high damage Great Katana path that eventually leads to the <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=19406">Masamune</a>. I will go over that tomorrow.

Walk of Meh?

I suppose it makes logical sense to have Walk of Echoes be a Campaign style zone. Logical sense doesn't make me happy though. Unstructured end-game? Random lotting on good gear and crafting items? Is there any incentive at all to do this with my LS? I know they never said it was going to be an end-game area... wait, didn't they say it was supposed to be an end-game area? I think they did. If you squint really hard, maybe you can make yourself believe that this is end-game. I just don't like it because they promised me a better focus on end-game at Vana'fest, and this isn't what I had in mind.

Maybe I thought SE was going to pitch a perfect game on this update? Maybe I was letting my expectations get too high. Maybe they are making end-game content for people that don't do end-game.

Maybe all those people that constantly bitch about not having enough low-man stuff to do are reaping what they have sown. Go find some friends and stop ruining my game. Just so you know, this is your "low-man" content. You get to go to the Walk of Echoes with 50 of your closest friends, and then hope to win lots on actual end-game gear.

I am left a little confused, a little bitter, and a little cold.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way, this really doesn't bug me all that much. There is still more content in this update than we have gotten in over a year. There is also the problem of trying to predict what SE is delivering from their update notes. This could be a super-awesome new event and everyone will love it. Or it could be Garrison. While I love to flex my precognitive skills when it comes to FFXI, my powers are not strong.

I think we might be heading to Walk of Echoes one way or the other because the update notes seem to suggest that our new Magian friend is going to be sending us there. Which means we are going to need to get kills or drops from the area. If we just need kills, hey, that's fine, I don't mind that. If we are going to need to win lots from a union type system then I am going to fly to Japan and disembowel myself on Sage Sundi's desk.

<a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/5549/5549.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/5549/5549.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 415px; height: 100px;" /></a>I suppose it makes logical sense to have Walk of Echoes be a Campaign style zone. Logical sense doesn't make me happy though. Unstructured end-game? Random lotting on good gear and crafting items? Is there any incentive at all to do this with my LS? I know they never said it was going to be an end-game area... wait, didn't they say it was supposed to be an end-game area? I think they did. If you squint really hard, maybe you can make yourself believe that this is end-game. I just don't like it because they promised me a better focus on end-game at Vana'fest, and this isn't what I had in mind. <br /><br />Maybe I thought SE was going to pitch a perfect game on this update? Maybe I was letting my expectations get too high. Maybe they are making end-game content for people that don't do end-game.<br /><br />Maybe all those people that constantly bitch about not having enough low-man stuff to do are reaping what they have sown. Go find some friends and stop ruining my game. Just so you know, this is your "low-man" content. You get to go to the Walk of Echoes with 50 of your closest friends, and then hope to win lots on actual end-game gear.<br /><br />I am left a little confused, a little bitter, and a little cold.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/5549/5549_3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/5549/5549_3.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 180px;" /></a>Ok, now that we have that out of the way, this really doesn't bug me all that much. There is still more content in this update than we have gotten in over a year. There is also the problem of trying to predict what SE is delivering from their update notes. This could be a super-awesome new event and everyone will love it. Or it could be Garrison. While I love to flex my precognitive skills when it comes to FFXI, my powers are not strong.<br /><br />I think we might be heading to Walk of Echoes one way or the other because the update notes seem to suggest that our new Magian friend is going to be sending us there. Which means we are going to need to get kills or drops from the area. If we just need kills, hey, that's fine, I don't mind that. If we are going to need to win lots from a union type system then I am going to fly to Japan and disembowel myself on Sage Sundi's desk.

Magian Torture Center Now Open for Business.

I love the concept of the Trials of the Magians (even if my plot to have it called the Trial of the Moogles™ has failed badly). I love the idea of killing stuff to fulfill requirements to improve your weapons and armor. I love the idea of progressive upgrades even if the weapons aren't really progressive upgrades to current levels of gear. Progressive upgrades may be more apparent after the next update and the expansion of the system and the increase in the level cap. Anyway, that is off the subject. The problem I have with the trials of the Magians is the camping of the NM's part of the system. I can deal with everything else, including the farming mobs under certain weather conditions. I just hate camping NMs. I always have hated it from the first time I found out that people camped them.

Now, it is better than competitive camping of NMs because you can always team up with other people to kill the NMs, but that was never my real complaint. The real complaint is the absolute waste of time waiting for an NM to spawn. You have to wait an hour at least, and that is just for the window to open. Then after that you have to hop that it actually spawns. The worst part is that you usually can do anything else in that time. You have to stand around for the 5-15 minutes waiting for the damn thing to spawn if it is going to spawn. We still have no idea what determines the real chance of the NM to spawn. For example if your name is Iceblazek, the chance of Triple Black Stars to spawn is so abysmally small that you might as well just move in with the Crawlers in Rolanberry Fields. He could be like the boy that was raised by wolves, except by Crawlers...

I like the "kill X mobs" even if it is "kill X mobs under X weather" because it can be done at your own leisure. I completed the last couple of trials for my Kurodachi much more quickly than the first couple of trials because I could do them at my own speed. I didn't need to wait for a stupid NM to spawn. I didn't have to leave and come back later because I didn't want to wait at least another hour for a chance for it to spawn. I actually like the fact that you have to get the tier 3 VNM drops to upgrade the Occasionally Attacks Twice weapons. It is hard work, but it is something that everyone can do with relative ease. If I could just skip the stupid NM trials I would be a happy man.

Even with all my complaining, I love the Trial of the Magians. It is something that SE has needed to add to FFXI for a long time. Long term upgrades are very good for the game I think. It's kind of like a more manageable version of Salvage without having to dump 10 million into the body piece. I actually like the idea of them taking this further. They just need to make sure that relics and mythics upgrade as well as the regular weapons upgrade. I have never invested the time in a relic or mythic because I prefer medium term goals in a video game. Relics and mythics are long term hardcore goals, and most other gear are either grinds or short term goals. I think Trial of the Magians weapons manage to split the difference both in terms of effort and reward. If you want to take the short cuts like not getting the VNM items, then you can get the less powerful version of the OAT weapon. I wouldn't suggest that, but I am sure that someone out there can justify it to themselves.

SE, I can't wait to see what you are going to do next with Trials of the Magians just don't make me camp anymore stupid NMs...

<a href="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100323155502/ffxi/images/f/f7/Krabkatoa.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100323155502/ffxi/images/f/f7/Krabkatoa.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 351px; height: 351px;" /></a>I love the concept of the Trials of the Magians (even if my plot to have it called the Trial of the Moogles™ has failed badly). I love the idea of killing stuff to fulfill requirements to improve your weapons and armor. I love the idea of progressive upgrades even if the weapons aren't really progressive upgrades to current levels of gear. Progressive upgrades may be more apparent after the next update and the expansion of the system and the increase in the level cap. Anyway, that is off the subject. The problem I have with the trials of the Magians is the camping of the NM's part of the system. I can deal with everything else, including the farming mobs under certain weather conditions. I just hate camping NMs. I always have hated it from the first time I found out that people camped them.<br /><br />Now, it is better than competitive camping of NMs because you can always team up with other people to kill the NMs, but that was never my real complaint. The real complaint is the absolute waste of time waiting for an NM to spawn. You have to wait an hour at least, and that is just for the window to open. Then after that you have to hop that it actually spawns. The worst part is that you usually can do anything else in that time. You have to stand around for the 5-15 minutes waiting for the damn thing to spawn if it is going to spawn. We still have no idea what determines the real chance of the NM to spawn. For example if your name is Iceblazek, the chance of Triple Black Stars to spawn is so abysmally small that you might as well just move in with the Crawlers in Rolanberry Fields. He could be like the boy that was raised by wolves, except by Crawlers...<br /><br />I like the "kill X mobs" even if it is "kill X mobs under X weather" because it can be done at your own leisure. I completed the last couple of trials for my Kurodachi much more quickly than the first couple of trials because I could do them at my own speed. I didn't need to wait for a stupid NM to spawn. I didn't have to leave and come back later because I didn't want to wait at least another hour for a chance for it to spawn. I actually like the fact that you have to get the tier 3 VNM drops to upgrade the Occasionally Attacks Twice weapons. It is hard work, but it is something that everyone can do with relative ease. If I could just skip the stupid NM trials I would be a happy man.<br /><br />Even with all my complaining, I love the Trial of the Magians. It is something that SE has needed to add to FFXI for a long time. Long term upgrades are very good for the game I think. It's kind of like a more manageable version of Salvage without having to dump 10 million into the body piece. I actually like the idea of them taking this further. They just need to make sure that relics and mythics upgrade as well as the regular weapons upgrade. I have never invested the time in a relic or mythic because I prefer medium term goals in a video game. Relics and mythics are long term hardcore goals, and most other gear are either grinds or short term goals. I think Trial of the Magians weapons manage to split the difference both in terms of effort and reward. If you want to take the short cuts like not getting the VNM items, then you can get the less powerful version of the OAT weapon. I wouldn't suggest that, but I am sure that someone out there can justify it to themselves.<br /><br />SE, I can't wait to see what you are going to do next with Trials of the Magians just don't make me camp anymore stupid NMs...

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?

POL News: June Update Teaser Finally Arrives!

It's coming! The June 2010 Update has finally been announced and it looks like SE is going to come through with all their major plans. The first stage of the level cap increase and a ton of equipment and weapons to go along with it. The nation quest are finally finishing up, and along with that we will be getting access to the Walk of Echoes. How we get into the Walk of Echoes still remains a mystery, but I am sure we will find out soon enough. Also, more Magian trials are on their way. Are they going to include more weapon upgrades because of the increased level cap? Are we just going to get gear upgrades? How will gear upgrades work? Am I going to have to camp Ho Majoo the Wooblededoo 800 more times again? This is all before we even start talking about job adjustments and the changes that are going to happen to sub jobs. I am guessing we are mostly going to see nerfs for sub jobs but we might see a buff or two here and there.

And all this is great stuff is coming even before you consider that the first Abyssea update hasn't even been mentioned yet! End game galore! I love it!

For SE's full announcement check below the cut!
We are pleased to announce that our development team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the upcoming FINAL FANTASY XI version update, which is currently on track for a mid-June release.

This update promises to be a momentous one, with the first level cap increase in over six and a half years, and a veritable slew of new equipment and weapon skills to accompany it.

But that's not all! Adventurers across Vana'diel can look forward to experiencing the climactic conclusions of the popular Wings of the Goddess nation quest storylines, braving the eerie environs of the new Walk of Echoes area, taking up the gauntlet with new Trial of the Magians trials, and much more! With a host of job adjustments and other refinements on the way as well, this update is sure to offer something for players of all stripes.

As always, detailed previews will be forthcoming right here in the Topics section, so keep watching this space!

<a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/5427/5427.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/5427/5427.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 415px; height: 100px;" /></a>It's coming! The June 2010 Update has finally been announced and it looks like SE is going to come through with all their major plans. The first stage of the level cap increase and a ton of equipment and weapons to go along with it. The nation quest are finally finishing up, and along with that we will be getting access to the Walk of Echoes. How we get into the Walk of Echoes still remains a mystery, but I am sure we will find out soon enough. Also, more Magian trials are on their way. Are they going to include more weapon upgrades because of the increased level cap? Are we just going to get gear upgrades? How will gear upgrades work? Am I going to have to camp Ho Majoo the Wooblededoo 800 more times again? This is all before we even start talking about job adjustments and the changes that are going to happen to sub jobs. I am guessing we are mostly going to see nerfs for sub jobs but we might see a buff or two here and there.<br /><br />And all this is great stuff is coming even before you consider that the first Abyssea update hasn't even been mentioned yet! End game galore! I love it!<br /><br />For SE's full announcement check below the cut!<br /><span class="fullpost">We are pleased to announce that our development team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the upcoming FINAL FANTASY XI version update, which is currently on track for a mid-June release.<br /><br />This update promises to be a momentous one, with the first level cap increase in over six and a half years, and a veritable slew of new equipment and weapon skills to accompany it.<br /><br />But that's not all! Adventurers across Vana'diel can look forward to experiencing the climactic conclusions of the popular Wings of the Goddess nation quest storylines, braving the eerie environs of the new Walk of Echoes area, taking up the gauntlet with new Trial of the Magians trials, and much more! With a host of job adjustments and other refinements on the way as well, this update is sure to offer something for players of all stripes.<br /><br />As always, detailed previews will be forthcoming right here in the Topics section, so keep watching this space!</span>

Sub-Routine: Ninja

The level cap increase is coming! Are you prepared? This is the first in a series of articles that are going to look at all the potential sub jobs and the benefits that are going to come out of them as the level cap increases. Now, you might be wondering why I am going to go over sub jobs instead of main jobs, and there are a couple of answers. First, sub jobs have been generally designed around the level 75 cap for about 5 years now. SE has been adding abilities just above the level cap for sub jobs that are now going to become available. Second, we don't really know what is coming for main jobs. We do have SE's traditionally vague pronouncement of changes, but outside of SAM having Sekkanoki being bumped down to be available for sub jobs there really isn't much to go on for direct information. Third, while you know what you are generally getting out of a main job, sub jobs can alter, sometimes radically you play style for that job, so it is a good idea to know what is coming so you can maximize the potential of your main job.

Let's start with Ninja. Why? Well, because I think it is something that everyone is going to level anyway for the shadows so we might as well find out what else we are getting out of it.

1. Tier 2 Elemental Ninjutsu @ 40.
No. Just no. You don't have the skill, you don't have the MAB, you don't have the inventory space. Yes, there is going to be that random BLM out there that is going to try this out on a level 40 crab and they are going to say "it totally works" and then they will be attacked by a hundred psychopathic monkeys with nothing by terrorism and murder by anal rape on their minds... or maybe that is just what I hope happens to them.

2. Yonin/Innin @ 40.
Ok, so I have heard people say that SE is going to change this and move them up out of sub job range, but I have seen absolutely no evidence of this. First of all, if SE doesn't give this at sub job level then there is going to almost no reason to use NIN as a sub (ok, so there really isn't a whole lot of reasons besides shadows right now either). Other jobs are going to be handing out some pretty nice buffs as the level cap increases, why can't NIN? Second, Yonin and Innin aren't god-like abilities. I mean freaking /WAR is going to get Aggressor... I think /NIN is ok giving THF a little more accuracy and crit hit rate (which THF doesn't really need a huge boost in anyway) from behind.

Yonin is going to give more enmity production, save people a few Shihei, improve evasion which isn't going to matter to anyone besides THF and decrease incoming crits which is definitely nice. More specifically Yonin will continue to make PLD the only tanking job in the game. I suppose that maybe some of the concern for giving these abilities through the sub job is that it will just make PLD stronger. NEWS FLASH: PLD is the only tank in the game right now! Everything else is just a DD/NIN. NIN can hold hate really well, but in the end, they are nowhere close to PLD even when they have exclusive access to Yonin. There are only three tanking situations in FFXI; you need a real tank and you bring a PLD, you don't need a real tank and you sub NIN or SAM, you are fighting Tiamat. Tank imbalance in FFXI doesn't really matter because so many people have PLD leveled.

Innin is what I think most people are going to care about because it is an offensive boost for DD jobs. Evasion doesn't mean anything really to jobs that are used to wearing Haubs or pinning hate on someone else. The enmity reduction is going to be very nice for some jobs like RNG, who already have major hate issues and finding it very easy to quickly move up the hate list. It is also pretty good for keeping yourself alive in a Dynamis type situation where you want to share hate more than you keep it. SAM's are still going to hate /NIN because all the real offensive bonuses are going to come from being behind the mob, and that is a no-no for SAM damage production. On the other end of the spectrum THF is going to love Innin, since they already stand behind mobs a good portion of the time. That is going to be a good boost in accuracy for a dual wield job like THF as well as the previously mentioned and perhaps not all that relevant boost to critical hit rate. MNK might also benefit from this boost, but it might take some adjusting to get used to standing behind mobs on MNK.

3. Dual Wield III @ 45.
Here is the make or break for the future of /NIN. THFs are already going to be drooling over subbing NIN but this might cause the return of WAR/NIN if you have the gear to support it. Right now a really well geared and well played WAR/NIN can still beat out a Great Axe WAR/SAM, but it is much easier for the WAR/NIN to go /SAM and do better too. The really important aspect of this is that this is a pretty big step up in swing speed as Dual Wield III is a 10% decrease in weapon delay. The question then becomes is 10% swing speed improvement and Innin enough to beat out /SAM which as I will cover later isn't really getting a whole lot more with the increase in the level cap? I am thinking that it just might be what be needed to see a return of WAR/NIN. And the new Magian weapons might add another factor into the equation. I am not sure, but I am holding out hope.

4. Subtle Blow III @ 45.
Another nice bonus, but I don't think that it is going to be a real consideration for picking a subjob. Less TP given almost always means less damage taken, but that is what we have healers for.

Overall, I give the Ninja sub job at least a B+ when it comes to the improvements the sub job is going to get as the level cap increases. It will still have shadows, but it will finally have the offensive potential that is needed to help it even be considered with /SAM. It has at least two different jobs that might be able to greatly benefit from the improvements (THF and WAR) and there are always hidden benefits that we might not even know about right now. I would say the future looks really bright for Ninja as a sub job.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Subway_ninja.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Subway_ninja.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 261px;" /></a>The level cap increase is coming! Are you prepared? This is the first in a series of articles that are going to look at all the potential sub jobs and the benefits that are going to come out of them as the level cap increases. Now, you might be wondering why I am going to go over sub jobs instead of main jobs, and there are a couple of answers. First, sub jobs have been generally designed around the level 75 cap for about 5 years now. SE has been adding abilities just above the level cap for sub jobs that are now going to become available. Second, we don't really know what is coming for main jobs. We do have SE's traditionally vague pronouncement of changes, but outside of SAM having Sekkanoki being bumped down to be available for sub jobs there really isn't much to go on for direct information. Third, while you know what you are generally getting out of a main job, sub jobs can alter, sometimes radically you play style for that job, so it is a good idea to know what is coming so you can maximize the potential of your main job.<br /><br />Let's start with Ninja. Why? Well, because I think it is something that everyone is going to level anyway for the shadows so we might as well find out what else we are getting out of it. <br /><br />1. Tier 2 Elemental Ninjutsu @ 40.<br />No. Just no. You don't have the skill, you don't have the MAB, you don't have the inventory space. Yes, there is going to be that random BLM out there that is going to try this out on a level 40 crab and they are going to say "it totally works" and then they will be attacked by a hundred psychopathic monkeys with nothing by terrorism and murder by anal rape on their minds... or maybe that is just what I hope happens to them.<br /><br />2. Yonin/Innin @ 40.<br />Ok, so I have heard people say that SE is going to change this and move them up out of sub job range, but I have seen absolutely no evidence of this. First of all, if SE doesn't give this at sub job level then there is going to almost no reason to use NIN as a sub (ok, so there really isn't a whole lot of reasons besides shadows right now either). Other jobs are going to be handing out some pretty nice buffs as the level cap increases, why can't NIN? Second, Yonin and Innin aren't god-like abilities. I mean freaking /WAR is going to get Aggressor... I think /NIN is ok giving THF a little more accuracy and crit hit rate (which THF doesn't really need a huge boost in anyway) from behind.<br /><br />Yonin is going to give more enmity production, save people a few Shihei, improve evasion which isn't going to matter to anyone besides THF and decrease incoming crits which is definitely nice. More specifically Yonin will continue to make PLD the only tanking job in the game. I suppose that maybe some of the concern for giving these abilities through the sub job is that it will just make PLD stronger. NEWS FLASH: PLD is the only tank in the game right now! Everything else is just a DD/NIN. NIN can hold hate really well, but in the end, they are nowhere close to PLD <span style="font-style:italic;">even when they have exclusive access to Yonin</span>. There are only three tanking situations in FFXI; you need a real tank and you bring a PLD, you don't need a real tank and you sub NIN or SAM, you are fighting Tiamat. Tank imbalance in FFXI doesn't really matter because so many people have PLD leveled.<br /><br />Innin is what I think most people are going to care about because it is an offensive boost for DD jobs. Evasion doesn't mean anything really to jobs that are used to wearing Haubs or pinning hate on someone else. The enmity reduction is going to be very nice for some jobs like RNG, who already have major hate issues and finding it very easy to quickly move up the hate list. It is also pretty good for keeping yourself alive in a Dynamis type situation where you want to share hate more than you keep it. SAM's are still going to hate /NIN because all the real offensive bonuses are going to come from being behind the mob, and that is a no-no for SAM damage production. On the other end of the spectrum THF is going to love Innin, since they already stand behind mobs a good portion of the time. That is going to be a good boost in accuracy for a dual wield job like THF as well as the previously mentioned and perhaps not all that relevant boost to critical hit rate. MNK might also benefit from this boost, but it might take some adjusting to get used to standing behind mobs on MNK.<br /><br />3. Dual Wield III @ 45.<br />Here is the make or break for the future of /NIN. THFs are already going to be drooling over subbing NIN but this might cause the return of WAR/NIN if you have the gear to support it. Right now a really well geared and well played WAR/NIN can still beat out a Great Axe WAR/SAM, but it is much easier for the WAR/NIN to go /SAM and do better too. The really important aspect of this is that this is a pretty big step up in swing speed as Dual Wield III is a 10% decrease in weapon delay. The question then becomes is 10% swing speed improvement and Innin enough to beat out /SAM which as I will cover later isn't really getting a whole lot more with the increase in the level cap? I am thinking that it just might be what be needed to see a return of WAR/NIN. And the new Magian weapons might add another factor into the equation. I am not sure, but I am holding out hope.<br /><br />4. Subtle Blow III @ 45.<br />Another nice bonus, but I don't think that it is going to be a real consideration for picking a subjob. Less TP given almost always means less damage taken, but that is what we have healers for.<br /><br />Overall, I give the Ninja sub job at least a B+ when it comes to the improvements the sub job is going to get as the level cap increases. It will still have shadows, but it will finally have the offensive potential that is needed to help it even be considered with /SAM. It has at least two different jobs that might be able to greatly benefit from the improvements (THF and WAR) and there are always hidden benefits that we might not even know about right now. I would say the future looks really bright for Ninja as a sub job.

The Beginning of All Things to Come.

I have had mixed feelings about update day over the last year. While you can not help but get hyped up about the coming of anything new, for the most part, the past year of updates has been a great let down.

And while there are many things left to discover about this update, the initial indications are that this update may not be a let down at all. In fact, it may be the beginning of a shift in a new direction.

The gear .dat lists are already out. Missions titles and descriptions are posted. The Trial of the Moogles™ information is becoming more clear. Things are looking pretty damn good at this point.

New (H)NMs are available from a new guy in Ru'Lude Gardens. It's hard to tell what they might drop but there are titles for a number of new NMs, so I suppose by the most strict definition they have to be HNMs. Looks like the pop items are going to cost some gil, but we don't know how much so far.

Some of the goals for the Trial of the Moogles™ have been discovered but they so far there is not much information on what you can get out of them. They are likely already part of the augments listing so we probably can't see which are which until we get in the game. Though it should be noted that Occ. Atk. Twice, Occ. Atk. 2-3 times, and Occ. Atk. 2-4 times, has been added to the list of potential augments.

New NM and the Trials are the most interesting things to me so far, but there are still new missions, and the new Campaign Op for fighting the Shadow Lord.

The .dat mining looks like a good start, but I don't think we are going to get the full picture until we are able to get on the servers late tonight.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/New_NM1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/New_NM1.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 267px;" /></a>I have had mixed feelings about update day over the last year. While you can not help but get hyped up about the coming of anything new, for the most part, the past year of updates has been a great let down.<br /><br />And while there are many things left to discover about this update, the initial indications are that this update may not be a let down at all. In fact, it may be the beginning of a shift in a new direction.<br /><br />The gear .dat lists are already out. Missions titles and descriptions are posted. The Trial of the Moogles™ information is becoming more clear. Things are looking pretty damn good at this point.<br /><br />New (H)NMs are available from a new guy in Ru'Lude Gardens. It's hard to tell what they might drop but there are titles for a number of new NMs, so I suppose by the most strict definition they have to be HNMs. Looks like the pop items are going to cost some gil, but we don't know how much so far.<br /><br />Some of the goals for the Trial of the Moogles™ have been discovered but they so far there is not much information on what you can get out of them. They are likely already part of the augments listing so we probably can't see which are which until we get in the game. Though it should be noted that Occ. Atk. Twice, Occ. Atk. 2-3 times, and Occ. Atk. 2-4 times, has been added to the list of potential augments. <br /><br />New NM and the Trials are the most interesting things to me so far, but there are still new missions, and the new Campaign Op for fighting the Shadow Lord.<br /><br />The .dat mining looks like a good start, but I don't think we are going to get the full picture until we are able to get on the servers late tonight.

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>