The Effect of Atma on the Balance of Damage Dealing Classes.

Yadda, yadda, yadda, I'm not dead, etc.

Since the introduction of the Abyssea expansions, Atma have been of increasing interest and importance to all of the damage dealing classes. Perhaps more importantly (and maybe unsettling to some) Atmas may be completely realigning years old beliefs and understanding about the balancing of all the DD classes. Atmas are not the only thing factoring into these changes, of course, there are the new Empyrean weaponskills, the huge step up in the quality of the stats from the AF3 +2 gear, and even all of the new job abilties and spells that all classes have been receiving. Atmas, though, are one of the most obvious examples of the new world order that has appeared after Abyssea was launched.

Throughout much of FFXI's history the DD classes have been split into two camps: the dual-wielders and the two-handers. Dual-wielders have the tendency toward low swings speeds and multi-hit weaponskills (often with critical hit modifiers), while two-handers have leaned toward higher swing speeds matched with lots of Store TP to boost their TP per swing and reduce their number of swings to get to the next weaponskill. Dual-wielders tend to have a larger portion of their damage come from their regular melee swings, while weaponskills tend to make up a proportionally larger part of two-hander damage. This was in the past, though, and times are changing.

There are now several new Atma that have come available that have given a big boost to dual-wielders. This is a boost that dual-wielders have needed ever since the big two-handed buff from several years ago. The reason these new Atma are so good is that they modify what dual-wielders do best, melee damage and critical hit weaponskills. While there are very good Atma to help the damage of two-handers, like Voracious Violet (STR+:Superior, "Double Attack"+:Minor, "Regain":Minor), and two-handers can still use the Atma that the dual-wielders use, comparatively they just don't stand up to the huge buffs gain by dual-wielders. The first and most important Atma for dual-wielders (and it's so good that it is a top tier one for two-handers too) is Razed Ruins (DEX:Superior, Critical Hit Rate:Major, Critical Hit Damage:Major) which is the new main damage boost to dual-wielders. Razed Ruin massively increases the frequency of critical hits and then also increases the damage of those critical hits. Basically, it modifies it's own damage modifiers creating incredible internal synergy (and I am not just using that as a buzz word).

Speaking of synergy, second on the list of great dual-wielder Atmas is the Sanguine Scythe (HP+: Major, Critical Hit Damage+: Major, Enmity+: Minor). This atma has less straight forward damage boosts as it only has a major increase in Critical Hit Damage, but the HP and Enmity are excellent boosts to any dual-wielder that is considering tanking. MNK's could find this very useful, but NIN are really going to shine with this one. NIN with a huge boost to Critical Hit Rate and Damage can easily pull enough hate with damage that they are competitive with PLD. It is important to note though that the cap on the bonus to Critical Hit Damage modification is an additional 50%. Once you get past 50% Critical Hit Damage bonus, you are just wasting it. That means if you are wearing Critical Hit Damage bonus items, and can get to 20% before using Razed Ruin, then it will be better to go with a different Atma than Sanguine Scythe.

Third, is the Gnarled Horn Atma (Counter+: Minor, Critical Hit Rate:Minor, AGI+:Major). The modifications on this is a little different than Sanguine Scythe, and those differences can effect your choice for which to go with for your second Atma. There are still debates on which is better, but it looks like it can get to be pretty job specific when deciding which to use. If you do not need the increase in Critical Hit Damage then this is definite the right Atma to use. There have been reports of up to 80% Critical Hit Rates using this and Razed Ruin. Additionally, the new NIN WS Blade: Hi has a modifier of AGI, and it is a massive damage WS (and looks freaking awesome). The additional counter can also be very good for tanking or melee NIN.

In the end, the boost to dual-wielders has been huge and will likely get even larger after the next update when we likely get access to a third Lunar Abyssite. Of course, these Atmas boost the damage of two-handers but definitely to a lesser extent because a smaller proportion of their damage comes from the melee hits that are most modified by the Critical Hit boosting Atmas. The Critical Hit Rate Atmas in fact will likely be capped on two-handed WS that can Critical Hit. And my poor SAM doesn't even get a Critical Hit WS (though it does get Blade: Fudo which is still incredibly awesome).

Debates have already erupted about who is the new king of DD's. Have dual-wielders passed two-handers already? Does one of the dual-wielders stand above the rest? What about the other non-Atma factors like the new Weaponskills? The honest truth, despite the protests of the screamers and fan boys, is that the jury is still out and the jury will remain hung until things have settled after the last Abyssea expansion is released next month, at the very least. The balance only just started to tip toward Critical Hits after the launch of Scars. Things can and will radically change once we can get a third Atma, and even further once we get to the final level cap. Only once we hit the final level cap and things have stabilized for some time will we really even get a glimpse of what the damage dealing landscape really looks like.

Yadda, yadda, yadda, I'm not dead, etc.<br /><br />Since the introduction of the Abyssea expansions, Atma have been of increasing interest and importance to all of the damage dealing classes. Perhaps more importantly (and maybe unsettling to some) Atmas may be completely realigning years old beliefs and understanding about the balancing of all the DD classes. Atmas are not the only thing factoring into these changes, of course, there are the new Empyrean weaponskills, the huge step up in the quality of the stats from the AF3 +2 gear, and even all of the new job abilties and spells that all classes have been receiving. Atmas, though, are one of the most obvious examples of the new world order that has appeared after Abyssea was launched.<br /><br />Throughout much of FFXI's history the DD classes have been split into two camps: the dual-wielders and the two-handers. Dual-wielders have the tendency toward low swings speeds and multi-hit weaponskills (often with critical hit modifiers), while two-handers have leaned toward higher swing speeds matched with lots of Store TP to boost their TP per swing and reduce their number of swings to get to the next weaponskill. Dual-wielders tend to have a larger portion of their damage come from their regular melee swings, while weaponskills tend to make up a proportionally larger part of two-hander damage. This was in the past, though, and times are changing.<br /><br />There are now several new Atma that have come available that have given a big boost to dual-wielders. This is a boost that dual-wielders have needed ever since the big two-handed buff from several years ago. The reason these new Atma are so good is that they modify what dual-wielders do best, melee damage and critical hit weaponskills. While there are very good Atma to help the damage of two-handers, like Voracious Violet (STR+:Superior, "Double Attack"+:Minor, "Regain":Minor), and two-handers can still use the Atma that the dual-wielders use, comparatively they just don't stand up to the huge buffs gain by dual-wielders. The first and most important Atma for dual-wielders (and it's so good that it is a top tier one for two-handers too) is Razed Ruins (DEX:Superior, Critical Hit Rate:Major, Critical Hit Damage:Major) which is the new main damage boost to dual-wielders. Razed Ruin massively increases the frequency of critical hits and then also increases the damage of those critical hits. Basically, it modifies it's own damage modifiers creating incredible internal synergy (and I am not just using that as a buzz word). <br /><br />Speaking of synergy, second on the list of great dual-wielder Atmas is the Sanguine Scythe (HP+: Major, Critical Hit Damage+: Major, Enmity+: Minor). This atma has less straight forward damage boosts as it only has a major increase in Critical Hit Damage, but the HP and Enmity are excellent boosts to any dual-wielder that is considering tanking. MNK's could find this very useful, but NIN are really going to shine with this one. NIN with a huge boost to Critical Hit Rate and Damage can easily pull enough hate with damage that they are competitive with PLD. It is important to note though that the cap on the bonus to Critical Hit Damage modification is an additional 50%. Once you get past 50% Critical Hit Damage bonus, you are just wasting it. That means if you are wearing Critical Hit Damage bonus items, and can get to 20% before using Razed Ruin, then it will be better to go with a different Atma than Sanguine Scythe. <br /><br />Third, is the Gnarled Horn Atma (Counter+: Minor, Critical Hit Rate:Minor, AGI+:Major). The modifications on this is a little different than Sanguine Scythe, and those differences can effect your choice for which to go with for your second Atma. There are still debates on which is better, but it looks like it can get to be pretty job specific when deciding which to use. If you do not need the increase in Critical Hit Damage then this is definite the right Atma to use. There have been reports of up to 80% Critical Hit Rates using this and Razed Ruin. Additionally, the new NIN WS Blade: Hi has a modifier of AGI, and it is a massive damage WS (and looks freaking awesome). The additional counter can also be very good for tanking or melee NIN.<br /><br />In the end, the boost to dual-wielders has been huge and will likely get even larger after the next update when we likely get access to a third Lunar Abyssite. Of course, these Atmas boost the damage of two-handers but definitely to a lesser extent because a smaller proportion of their damage comes from the melee hits that are most modified by the Critical Hit boosting Atmas. The Critical Hit Rate Atmas in fact will likely be capped on two-handed WS that can Critical Hit. And my poor SAM doesn't even get a Critical Hit WS (though it does get Blade: Fudo which is still incredibly awesome).<br /><br />Debates have already erupted about who is the new king of DD's. Have dual-wielders passed two-handers already? Does one of the dual-wielders stand above the rest? What about the other non-Atma factors like the new Weaponskills? The honest truth, despite the protests of the screamers and fan boys, is that the jury is still out and the jury will remain hung until things have settled after the last Abyssea expansion is released next month, at the very least. The balance only just started to tip toward Critical Hits after the launch of Scars. Things can and will radically change once we can get a third Atma, and even further once we get to the final level cap. Only once we hit the final level cap and things have stabilized for some time will we really even get a glimpse of what the damage dealing landscape really looks like.

On It's Feet!

This is an illustration of when ingrained learning kicks in. :)

I love Abyssea. It is really fun. There seem to be so many aspects to it. So many things we can't even really explain yet. Like, why did Turul and Ovni start aggroing all of a sudden? Are the "!!" really random? How do all the Abyssite drop? At some point though, all of this information just gets to be overwhelming. Why are there so many questions that remain unanswered? What are we supposed to do to try to figure all of this out? Why can't SE just give us some straight forward content.

I am not saying that there is something wrong with Abyssea itself. As I have already said it is challenge and rewarding content. I am just concerned that instead of content we are getting randomness. One of the reasons that I liked Salvage so much was that it was a riddle but it was one that we could figure out. Sure there was the normal drop rate issue, but it felt like if you did it long enough it would all average out in the end.

I look at Abyssea and I see a huge jumble of events. A little Limbus, a splash of Salvage, the old Sky/Sea combo, finished with a dash of Kings. It's very interesting and fun, but it seems all a bit scatter brained (not like I am one to criticize, my posts can end up rambling on forever). The tiers don't seem symmetrical. It seems more like a hodge-podge of previous end-game content mixed with something all new.

It's not bad at all, it can just get confusing sometimes. Sometimes it's nice to have content with some obvious solution to it. There is some comfort to be found standing on a dragon's feet. It's a whole new world, but that doesn't mean that SE has to steal my security blankie. :)

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/baby_faf.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/baby_faf.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 275px;" /></a>This is an illustration of when ingrained learning kicks in. :)<br /><br />I love Abyssea. It is really fun. There seem to be so many aspects to it. So many things we can't even really explain yet. Like, why did Turul and Ovni start aggroing all of a sudden? Are the "!!" really random? How do all the Abyssite drop? At some point though, all of this information just gets to be overwhelming. Why are there so many questions that remain unanswered? What are we supposed to do to try to figure all of this out? Why can't SE just give us some straight forward content. <br /><br />I am not saying that there is something wrong with Abyssea itself. As I have already said it is challenge and rewarding content. I am just concerned that instead of content we are getting randomness. One of the reasons that I liked Salvage so much was that it was a riddle but it was one that we could figure out. Sure there was the normal drop rate issue, but it felt like if you did it long enough it would all average out in the end.<br /><br />I look at Abyssea and I see a huge jumble of events. A little Limbus, a splash of Salvage, the old Sky/Sea combo, finished with a dash of Kings. It's very interesting and fun, but it seems all a bit scatter brained (not like I am one to criticize, my posts can end up rambling on forever). The tiers don't seem symmetrical. It seems more like a hodge-podge of previous end-game content mixed with something all new.<br /><br />It's not bad at all, it can just get confusing sometimes. Sometimes it's nice to have content with some obvious solution to it. There is some comfort to be found standing on a dragon's feet. It's a whole new world, but that doesn't mean that SE has to steal my security blankie. :)

Words That Have No Meaning.

Soloing, Low-manning, efficiency. It seems to me that these words have lost all meaning. Soloing doesn't mean soloing anymore. Today it means finding a slow, glitchy or bindable mob, and then casting Poison and Bio II for hours at a time. That's not soloing. That doesn't take skill. It just takes an anti-social personality type and a lot of patience. I respect people that solo things as a test of skill. Soloing Limbus back in the day. Soloing anything where if a spell fails to land you are pretty much dead. That takes skill in my eyes. Boring a mob to death is not skill. Stop acting like it is skill.

If you take longer to kill a mob than it's respawn time, then you suck. There is nothing more to it. You don't suck at playing the game. You suck at soloing. Soloing used to be about efficiency. After the test of skill, the reason people soloed Limbus was to collect coins faster than with a group. That doesn't apply to Chukwa. If you are soloing Chukwa, then you are just wasting time. You don't have proper TH. You don't have friends.

Yes, yes, there are always exceptions. You work nights and don't have any JP friends. You just changed servers (though it does beg the question). You really are testing your skills. These are all fine exceptions. And everyone uses them as an excuse, but I think for the most part these are just covers for two things: Greed and Anti-social behavior.

Here is my real issue with soloing a lot of things now: You aren't just fucking other people (you obviously don't care about them already if you are taking 50 minutes to kill Chukwa), you are fucking yourself over. If you just ask a couple of your friends (if you have any), you can kill most mobs ten times faster, with a much higher drop rate, if you just agree to do the same thing for your friends.

Maybe I am just lucky and have amazing friends. Friends that don't just want to do stuff with our LS, but also want to do things just as a group. Friends that are just as happy when I get gear as they are when they get gear. I do have amazing friends, but I don't think it is a special circumstance. I think many people can have friends if they want them. But greed leads to anti-social behavior, and that is what soloing means to me now (with the previously mentioned exceptions). Soloing is about greed plain and simple.

Anything that can be soloed can be done far more efficiently with a small group. And anything that can be done with a small group can be done more efficiently with a larger group. Yes, there is absolutely a point where having more people becomes less efficient when it comes to gear, but I don't think most people that "solo" are even close to that balance.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Khalamari.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Khalamari.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 375px; height: 400px;" /></a>Soloing, Low-manning, efficiency. It seems to me that these words have lost all meaning. Soloing doesn't mean soloing anymore. Today it means finding a slow, glitchy or bindable mob, and then casting Poison and Bio II for hours at a time. That's not soloing. That doesn't take skill. It just takes an anti-social personality type and a lot of patience. I respect people that solo things as a test of skill. Soloing Limbus back in the day. Soloing anything where if a spell fails to land you are pretty much dead. That takes skill in my eyes. Boring a mob to death is not skill. Stop acting like it is skill.<br /><br />If you take longer to kill a mob than it's respawn time, then you suck. There is nothing more to it. You don't suck at playing the game. You suck at soloing. Soloing used to be about efficiency. After the test of skill, the reason people soloed Limbus was to collect coins faster than with a group. That doesn't apply to Chukwa. If you are soloing Chukwa, then you are just wasting time. You don't have proper TH. You don't have friends.<br /><br />Yes, yes, there are always exceptions. You work nights and don't have any JP friends. You just changed servers (though it does beg the question). You really are testing your skills. These are all fine exceptions. And everyone uses them as an excuse, but I think for the most part these are just covers for two things: Greed and Anti-social behavior.<br /><br />Here is my real issue with soloing a lot of things now: You aren't just fucking other people (you obviously don't care about them already if you are taking 50 minutes to kill Chukwa), you are fucking yourself over. If you just ask a couple of your friends (if you have any), you can kill most mobs ten times faster, with a much higher drop rate, if you just agree to do the same thing for your friends.<br /><br />Maybe I am just lucky and have amazing friends. Friends that don't just want to do stuff with our LS, but also want to do things just as a group. Friends that are just as happy when I get gear as they are when they get gear. I do have amazing friends, but I don't think it is a special circumstance. I think many people can have friends if they want them. But greed leads to anti-social behavior, and that is what soloing means to me now (with the previously mentioned exceptions). Soloing is about greed plain and simple.<br /><br />Anything that can be soloed can be done far more efficiently with a small group. And anything that can be done with a small group can be done more efficiently with a larger group. Yes, there is absolutely a point where having more people becomes less efficient when it comes to gear, but I don't think most people that "solo" are even close to that balance.

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.

XPing in the New World Order: A Primer.

Stop XPing. It's not worth it. There is no amount of XP you can get in the real world that justifies doing it anymore. No time investment is worth it. No dual BRD parties can keep up. There is nothing you can do to XP anymore.

You have to go to Abyssea. Abyssea is the best XP in the game, and it is not even close to being a competition. If you are XPing in the "real world" then you are doing it for one of three reasons. 1. You don't have time for a full Abyssea alliance XP run (which can be very time consuming). 2. You don't have enough people for a full Abyssea alliance XP run. 3. You are out of Traverser Stones (though this might never be a problem again for those that are good at XPing in Abyssea).

The History: The last few years has been about the specialization and at the same time marginalization of certain jobs in XP parties. SAM, WAR, DRG and DRK are the main DD, RDM was the main healer. BRD was the buffer and puller. COR was the secondary buffer, and was poor at pulling and DDing. This was moving in the opposite direction of the value of jobs at non-XP events. PLD were the main tank, MNK tanked Salvage, RDM was a healer, but WHM was the go to for the most part. BLM was very valuable, as was SCH. BRD was still very important. Melee DD were either critical or useless.

Abyssea comes along and turns all of that on top of it's head.

The Set-up: Balance is critical. While in the past people wanted to have a high concentration of buffs and DD, this isn't as required now. You still want to have a high rate of damage, but you need a variety of damage. Melee, WS and magic damage are all critical to get the balance in "lights". There are also new roles. Now you will need people that are pretty much dedicated to opening chests. Two people is probably best because you start to get a whole lot of chests after a while and you can't open everything with one person after a while.

The most important thing is to have a variety of kill-shots. Some melee kills, some WS kills, and especially some magic damage kills. This will give you pearlescent, ruby and azure light, respectively. The idea is that you want to build up these lights as quickly as possible, so you want to kill things with your different damage sources. Personally, I think it is a little better to go on streaks. Kill a few with melee and WS, then kill a few with magic, and go back and forth. The point is that you need all three sources of damage to make sure you are getting the most sources of light. While the message will never say anything more than "you gain a feeble amount of X light" you will still be building them up behind the scenes.

The beginning: Some people say to go with all magic kills to get to time first, and some say all melee to increase your drop rate of chest, but I have to say that mixing it up is probably the best. I don't know the exact way the system currently works (no one does) but I have found that going on little streaks seems to be the best for me so far. Kill about 5 with melee to up your pearlescent light, then kill 5 with magic to up your Azure light, and toss in some WS and Elemental WS kills to increase your Ruby and Amber lights. The important thing at the beginning is to just focus on killing, don't worry about chests too much and having a good assist.

The mid-game: Don't freak out! That is the best advice I can give. The XP doesn't start rolling until you are well into the time chests, but the time chests usually don't start rolling until about an hour into the run. The worst thing I have seen done to runs so far is people start freaking out about an hour into the run and over focusing on one type of kill. Remember, balance is the most important for good chest generation. You need high tiers of all the different lights on a good run. If you start freaking out and don't keep things balanced, then you end up ruining the run by not getting enough chests or not getting time chests. Once you start getting time chests it's time to relax and enjoy the run.

The end-game: Put on some music, get used to your assist macro and go to town! You still need to keep a balanced light progression because things can still go out of wack if you are not careful. Additionally, the longer the run goes the more likely people are going to cap out their levels and merits, or get tired and want to go to bed, or shave their cats or AFK banging hot chicks, etc, but the important thing to remember is that lights are saved individually. What does this mean? Normally, if you are there for the whole run you are capped out on lights and will be getting the top tier lights all the time, but if you leave and come back or if you are new to the run then you will have zero light and need to build it up again. It appears that the person that kills the mobs determines what the light level is for the chests. That means if you have someone new get a kill shot the chest, if one even appears, will be at the low level. In general, if you are coming into or back into a run in the middle then you want to avoid getting a kill shot for at least a half hour. Also, if you have to swap around quite a few of your melee or BLM then you need to consider the fact that it could take quite some time to rebuild their lights to the point that they are worth anything.

A final note: Bring Forbidden Keys! You don't want to lose a time chest just because the Random Number Generator doesn't love you (the Random Number Generator doesn't love anyone, everyone is the bitch of the Random Number Generator). Don't forget about Ruby and Amber light! Ruby light comes from WS kills and give you other lights for the most part. This is nice at the beginning to get more Azure, Ruby and Pearlescent lights, but later in runs you need the Ruby lights to boost your XP and Crour per kill. XP caps around 300 per kill without Ebon, Silver and Gold lights, so you will definitely need them toward the mid to end of the run. Amber light gives you more treasure chests with potential pop items in them, so they are worth it if you are doing it as a group of friends, but less important if you are in a pick up group.

Stop XPing. It's not worth it. There is no amount of XP you can get in the real world that justifies doing it anymore. No time investment is worth it. No dual BRD parties can keep up. There is nothing you can do to XP anymore.<br /><br />You have to go to Abyssea. Abyssea is the best XP in the game, and it is not even close to being a competition. If you are XPing in the "real world" then you are doing it for one of three reasons. 1. You don't have time for a full Abyssea alliance XP run (which can be very time consuming). 2. You don't have enough people for a full Abyssea alliance XP run. 3. You are out of Traverser Stones (though this might never be a problem again for those that are good at XPing in Abyssea).<br /><br />The History: The last few years has been about the specialization and at the same time marginalization of certain jobs in XP parties. SAM, WAR, DRG and DRK are the main DD, RDM was the main healer. BRD was the buffer and puller. COR was the secondary buffer, and was poor at pulling and DDing. This was moving in the opposite direction of the value of jobs at non-XP events. PLD were the main tank, MNK tanked Salvage, RDM was a healer, but WHM was the go to for the most part. BLM was very valuable, as was SCH. BRD was still very important. Melee DD were either critical or useless.<br /><br />Abyssea comes along and turns all of that on top of it's head.<br /><br />The Set-up: Balance is critical. While in the past people wanted to have a high concentration of buffs and DD, this isn't as required now. You still want to have a high rate of damage, but you need a variety of damage. Melee, WS and magic damage are all critical to get the balance in "lights". There are also new roles. Now you will need people that are pretty much dedicated to opening chests. Two people is probably best because you start to get a whole lot of chests after a while and you can't open everything with one person after a while.<br /><br />The most important thing is to have a variety of kill-shots. Some melee kills, some WS kills, and especially some magic damage kills. This will give you pearlescent, ruby and azure light, respectively. The idea is that you want to build up these lights as quickly as possible, so you want to kill things with your different damage sources. Personally, I think it is a little better to go on streaks. Kill a few with melee and WS, then kill a few with magic, and go back and forth. The point is that you need all three sources of damage to make sure you are getting the most sources of light. While the message will never say anything more than "you gain a feeble amount of X light" you will still be building them up behind the scenes.<br /><br />The beginning: Some people say to go with all magic kills to get to time first, and some say all melee to increase your drop rate of chest, but I have to say that mixing it up is probably the best. I don't know the exact way the system currently works (no one does) but I have found that going on little streaks seems to be the best for me so far. Kill about 5 with melee to up your pearlescent light, then kill 5 with magic to up your Azure light, and toss in some WS and Elemental WS kills to increase your Ruby and Amber lights. The important thing at the beginning is to just focus on killing, don't worry about chests too much and having a good assist.<br /><br />The mid-game: Don't freak out! That is the best advice I can give. The XP doesn't start rolling until you are well into the time chests, but the time chests usually don't start rolling until about an hour into the run. The worst thing I have seen done to runs so far is people start freaking out about an hour into the run and over focusing on one type of kill. Remember, balance is the most important for good chest generation. You need high tiers of all the different lights on a good run. If you start freaking out and don't keep things balanced, then you end up ruining the run by not getting enough chests or not getting time chests. Once you start getting time chests it's time to relax and enjoy the run.<br /><br />The end-game: Put on some music, get used to your assist macro and go to town! You still need to keep a balanced light progression because things can still go out of wack if you are not careful. Additionally, the longer the run goes the more likely people are going to cap out their levels and merits, or get tired and want to go to bed, or shave their cats or AFK banging hot chicks, etc, but the important thing to remember is that lights are saved individually. What does this mean? Normally, if you are there for the whole run you are capped out on lights and will be getting the top tier lights all the time, but if you leave and come back or if you are new to the run then you will have zero light and need to build it up again. It appears that the person that kills the mobs determines what the light level is for the chests. That means if you have someone new get a kill shot the chest, if one even appears, will be at the low level. In general, if you are coming into or back into a run in the middle then you want to avoid getting a kill shot for at least a half hour. Also, if you have to swap around quite a few of your melee or BLM then you need to consider the fact that it could take quite some time to rebuild their lights to the point that they are worth anything.<br /><br />A final note: Bring Forbidden Keys! You don't want to lose a time chest just because the Random Number Generator doesn't love you (the Random Number Generator doesn't love anyone, everyone is the bitch of the Random Number Generator). Don't forget about Ruby and Amber light! Ruby light comes from WS kills and give you other lights for the most part. This is nice at the beginning to get more Azure, Ruby and Pearlescent lights, but later in runs you need the Ruby lights to boost your XP and Crour per kill. XP caps around 300 per kill without Ebon, Silver and Gold lights, so you will definitely need them toward the mid to end of the run. Amber light gives you more treasure chests with potential pop items in them, so they are worth it if you are doing it as a group of friends, but less important if you are in a pick up group.

Learn and Burn: Gear From the .dats.

Back for more education? Well, like yesterday you are going to get less real edification than the day before. The first part of the June 2010 update was available for download today, and with that comes part of the new .dats for the coming update. It's like finding part of your Christmas present stash two weeks early. There are many pretty things going on in the .dats, new gear, new job abilities, new spells, new... other stuff. Today, lets take a quick look at some of the new gear and make some educated guesses about who might be getting this gear.

My first thought when I saw this, especially now that we can see the Yagudo head used as a necklace, is that a clothcrafter out there some where was doing the doing the nasty with Hoo Madoo the Fornicator. It does look pretty cool with the feathers and all, but it is a little bit creepy to have a Yagudo head on your chest. It's going to look like it's trying to motorboat all those female characters out there. My first thought is that this is going to be THF AF3, just because it looks a little bit like Denali gear. Alternatively, it looks like it could be WAR AF3 because WAR does have that certain barbarian aspect to it, though in FFXI they have mostly been seen as the "master of weapons" kind of figher, even if they do prefer the Great Axe. After I put some thought into it and remembered that I had seen this body piece previously, I have come to the conclusion that this might be BST AF3. I think this shows an obvious break from the previous line of AF gear. Older BST AF looked like it was made out of sheepskin, and had a pretty good look to it. The feathers give it the same kind of look, but I think it does look a little too much like a Yagudo and not enough like some kind of bird that a BST could charm. In the picture that this gear appeared in previously, the character wearing it was using an axe. While axes used to be quite ubiquitous, since the two-handed update they are mostly the sole dominion of BST. Even WAR that still stick with Axes usually do so with an off-hand Sword like a Ridill or Joyeuse. Finally, the base model for this body piece is taken from the Bison set which was also used for the Khimaira. Taking this all together, I am definitely leaning toward BST for this design.

This one is pretty obvious to me, I believe this one is the RNG AF3. One of the things that I love about RNG AF is it's lack of symmetry. Any archer is going to have have an unbalanced look to them because they have to have certain protection against the bow string and freedom to maneuver and to nock an arrow. The RNG has always had a hint of rugged woodsman to it, a master of the wilderness, and I don't know how well the orange of this gear fits with that, but I do like how one arm is much more heavily armored than the other, and the other arm has an enlarged elbow guard. This is actually pretty close to how heavily armored archers would look. I also like the pouch that matches that of the original AF (not just because it made it easier to figure out that this was RNG AF). It does look like the armor on the arm is directly lifted from the graphics on the Shantotto expansion legs. I suppose this could also be for Corsair or even for Thief, but I just don't see it.

This could be a lot of things, and I think most people's initial impression would be that it is BST AF3. Well, that can't be the case because I already said something else was BST AF3. :) And there are other good reasons too. The first and most obvious reason to me is that it is in the togi design, which is the basis of most "Far East" gear so far. You might as about the sheepskin, and I might answer that you should take a very close look at Usukane gear. While Usukane is very elaborate, if you look at the layers of the gear you can actually see some fur underneath part of the designs. I think that is because it is partial designed to be realistic looking and that is the backing that you would get on armor like that. So that leaves us with Samurai, Monk and Ninja. I think that Samurai is going to get something that is more like traditional Domaru, and this is not that. A Ninja may not be really Ninja-like in game, but the design of their gear still generally follows the Ninja-design style. That leaves us with Monk. Monks are supposed to be austere and this gear does have a very basic and unadorned look to it. There are a few other visual clues too. There is a very basic brown belt tied around the waist, another Monkish adornment. Also, it has a waist support that looks a lot like a muscle belt, which just seems to be something that a person that relied on their hands as weapons would use.

This gear screams Dark Knight to me. If it is then of the new AF3 piece this one follows most closely in design to previous AF gear. The dark and steel look to this gear says "I am emo and I need to cut things with a Galka". The design of this gear is based on the pretty much useless Einherjar gear. It has similar shoulders, but it doesn't really have the purple that is found in most of the Dark Knight AF gear. While I think this one is definitely Dark Knight, it is also possible that it could be a number of other jobs, especially Warrior. It would fit in with the heavy armor aspect of the Warrior archetype but the Warrior AF in the past has tended toward showing off a lot of skin, and not actually protecting vital organs. It could also be for PLD or DRG, but there are obvious problems with that. For PLD, this gear is just too dark, and well, we have already seen screenshots of what looks like PLD AF3. As for DRG, it doesn't have anything that really resembles anything Dragon like on it at all. And I think they would probably go for something a little more purple.

This is the one that gave me the most trouble. I originally thought it was going to be the BST AF3 back when I thought the one that I finally picked to be BST AF3 was THF AF3. It has that same rugged look that you would see out of a BST related piece, but it also has more metal protection, which made me think it was for another job. I finally came to the conclusion that it was probably WAR AF3 because I really couldn't think of any other job for it. If SE decided to go with that barbarian look for fighter that I talked about before, then this would probably be what it would look like. It's got the battered hides, with the metal chains for extra protection. I do have to say that I am not sure that all of this gear is actually the AF3 that SE has promised. Of all the body pieces that were in the update today, I would say that this one is the most likely to not actually be AF3. There are also a bunch of other jobs that this could be associated with like MNK, NIN, RNG and THF.

I find this body piece to actually be the best looking for the bunch so far. I also found it pretty hard to make a guess as to who it would belong to. My ultimate conclusion is that it is BLU AF3. It has the design of an Aht Urhgan style body piece, with the cloth under the metal armor and everything tied on. Like the body piece that I guess is going to be WAR AF3, I think there is a good chance that this piece might not actually be AF3. While you might think that BLU don't normally get heavy armor, keep in mind that AF3 will be coming from Abyssea where things are a bit more rough than they are in our version of reality, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that they would get heavier armor. Also, when it comes to game play, improving a classes armor level is not without precedence as DRG was given access to heavier gear after Aht Urhgan was released. The style of the gear just speaks BLU to me, but I could easily be wrong on this one. It could be DRG, it could be WAR, it could be PLD, hell, it could even be THF.

So what do you think of my picks? Did I get the right jobs? Do you even think this is going to be AF3 or do you think it is something completely different? Leave a comment, I would love to hear your interpretations!

Back for more education? Well, like yesterday you are going to get less real edification than the day before. The first part of the June 2010 update was available for download today, and with that comes part of the new .dats for the coming update. It's like finding part of your Christmas present stash two weeks early. There are many pretty things going on in the .dats, new gear, new job abilities, new spells, new... other stuff. Today, lets take a quick look at some of the new gear and make some educated guesses about who might be getting this gear.<br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/THF_AF3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/THF_AF3.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" /></a>My first thought when I saw this, especially now that we can see the Yagudo head used as a necklace, is that a clothcrafter out there some where was doing the doing the nasty with Hoo Madoo the Fornicator. It does look pretty cool with the feathers and all, but it is a little bit creepy to have a Yagudo head on your chest. It's going to look like it's trying to motorboat all those female characters out there. My first thought is that this is going to be THF AF3, just because it looks a little bit like Denali gear. Alternatively, it looks like it could be WAR AF3 because WAR does have that certain barbarian aspect to it, though in FFXI they have mostly been seen as the "master of weapons" kind of figher, even if they do prefer the Great Axe. After I put some thought into it and remembered that I had seen this body piece <a href="http://ringthree.blogspot.com/2010/05/so-what-did-i-miss.html">previously</a>, I have come to the conclusion that this might be BST AF3. I think this shows an obvious break from the previous line of AF gear. Older BST AF looked like it was made out of sheepskin, and had a pretty good look to it. The feathers give it the same kind of look, but I think it does look a little too much like a Yagudo and not enough like some kind of bird that a BST could charm. In the picture that this gear appeared in previously, the character wearing it was using an axe. While axes used to be quite ubiquitous, since the two-handed update they are mostly the sole dominion of BST. Even WAR that still stick with Axes usually do so with an off-hand Sword like a Ridill or Joyeuse. Finally, the base model for this body piece is taken from the Bison set which was also used for the Khimaira. Taking this all together, I am definitely leaning toward BST for this design.<br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/RNG_AF3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/RNG_AF3.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" /></a>This one is pretty obvious to me, I believe this one is the RNG AF3. One of the things that I love about RNG AF is it's lack of symmetry. Any archer is going to have have an unbalanced look to them because they have to have certain protection against the bow string and freedom to maneuver and to nock an arrow. The RNG has always had a hint of rugged woodsman to it, a master of the wilderness, and I don't know how well the orange of this gear fits with that, but I do like how one arm is much more heavily armored than the other, and the other arm has an enlarged elbow guard. This is actually pretty close to how heavily armored archers would look. I also like the pouch that matches that of the original AF (not just because it made it easier to figure out that this was RNG AF). It does look like the armor on the arm is directly lifted from the graphics on the Shantotto expansion legs. I suppose this could also be for Corsair or even for Thief, but I just don't see it.<br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/MNK_AF3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/MNK_AF3.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" /></a>This could be a lot of things, and I think most people's initial impression would be that it is BST AF3. Well, that can't be the case because I already said something else was BST AF3. :) And there are other good reasons too. The first and most obvious reason to me is that it is in the togi design, which is the basis of most "Far East" gear so far. You might as about the sheepskin, and I might answer that you should take a very close look at Usukane gear. While Usukane is very elaborate, if you look at the layers of the gear you can actually see some fur underneath part of the designs. I think that is because it is partial designed to be realistic looking and that is the backing that you would get on armor like that. So that leaves us with Samurai, Monk and Ninja. I think that Samurai is going to get something that is more like traditional Domaru, and this is not that. A Ninja may not be really Ninja-like in game, but the design of their gear still generally follows the Ninja-design style. That leaves us with Monk. Monks are supposed to be austere and this gear does have a very basic and unadorned look to it. There are a few other visual clues too. There is a very basic brown belt tied around the waist, another Monkish adornment. Also, it has a waist support that looks a lot like a muscle belt, which just seems to be something that a person that relied on their hands as weapons would use.<br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/DRK_AF3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/DRK_AF3.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" /></a>This gear screams Dark Knight to me. If it is then of the new AF3 piece this one follows most closely in design to previous AF gear. The dark and steel look to this gear says "I am emo and I need to cut things with a Galka". The design of this gear is based on the pretty much useless Einherjar gear. It has similar shoulders, but it doesn't really have the purple that is found in most of the Dark Knight AF gear. While I think this one is definitely Dark Knight, it is also possible that it could be a number of other jobs, especially Warrior. It would fit in with the heavy armor aspect of the Warrior archetype but the Warrior AF in the past has tended toward showing off a lot of skin, and not actually protecting vital organs. It could also be for PLD or DRG, but there are obvious problems with that. For PLD, this gear is just too dark, and well, we have already seen <a href="http://www.playonline.com/ff11/event/vanafes2010/reportimg/5c_0021.jpg">screenshots</a> of what looks like PLD AF3. As for DRG, it doesn't have anything that really resembles anything Dragon like on it at all. And I think they would probably go for something a little more purple.<br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/BST_AF3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/BST_AF3.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" /></a>This is the one that gave me the most trouble. I originally thought it was going to be the BST AF3 back when I thought the one that I finally picked to be BST AF3 was THF AF3. It has that same rugged look that you would see out of a BST related piece, but it also has more metal protection, which made me think it was for another job. I finally came to the conclusion that it was probably WAR AF3 because I really couldn't think of any other job for it. If SE decided to go with that barbarian look for fighter that I talked about before, then this would probably be what it would look like. It's got the battered hides, with the metal chains for extra protection. I do have to say that I am not sure that all of this gear is actually the AF3 that SE has promised. Of all the body pieces that were in the update today, I would say that this one is the most likely to not actually be AF3. There are also a bunch of other jobs that this could be associated with like MNK, NIN, RNG and THF.<br /><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/WAR_AF3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/WAR_AF3.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" /></a>I find this body piece to actually be the best looking for the bunch so far. I also found it pretty hard to make a guess as to who it would belong to. My ultimate conclusion is that it is BLU AF3. It has the design of an Aht Urhgan style body piece, with the cloth under the metal armor and everything tied on. Like the body piece that I guess is going to be WAR AF3, I think there is a good chance that this piece might not actually be AF3. While you might think that BLU don't normally get heavy armor, keep in mind that AF3 will be coming from Abyssea where things are a bit more rough than they are in our version of reality, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that they would get heavier armor. Also, when it comes to game play, improving a classes armor level is not without precedence as DRG was given access to heavier gear after Aht Urhgan was released. The style of the gear just speaks BLU to me, but I could easily be wrong on this one. It could be DRG, it could be WAR, it could be PLD, hell, it could even be THF.<br /><br />So what do you think of my picks? Did I get the right jobs? Do you even think this is going to be AF3 or do you think it is something completely different? Leave a comment, I would love to hear your interpretations!

Getting Your Learn Off: Abyssea Monsters.

Yesterdays column took some time to research both for the historical and mythical stories behind the weapons and for the Final Fantasy aspects behind them too. This column will be a little bit less informative than that. While some monsters in FFXI have a deep and storied history, most of them do not. And that is where I come in. I believe that several of these new mobs have in-joke back stories, and if they don't then I will just create them.

The very first thing that should probably be noted is that all of the monsters in this first expansion look like they have gone through the laundry with your brand new purple sheets. While this is going to make Omoi as giddy as the first time that she saw Titinia in campaign, I don't know what most people are going to think of the purplization of all of these mobs. Some of them are new of course, but some of them are not and some are just funny.

Limule

Being an airborne crustacean endemic to Abyssea, endowed with a robust carapace and elongated forelimbs wherefrom razor-sharp pincer reach rapaciously for prey. Bereft of a counterpart in Vana'diel, biologists theorize that these shelled hoverers have undergone evolution in dimensional isolation. They have emerged as a pervasive species following the great cataclysm that befell the land.

This floating Horseshoe Crab is probably the least purple of the new monsters, and the most obvious in naming convention. Limule is French for Horseshoe Crab, and the Latin form is Limulus. The name is not too creative on SE's party, but the mob looks pretty interesting. It also has a shocking familiarity to it. While the description provided by SE indicates that there are no counterparts for this monster in Vana'diel, I believe a deeper look at the evolutionary tree can provide something analogous. What else in Vana'diel has a shell and pincers? That's right, you basic generic crab. The on going joke about crabs is that they were one of the only mobs you ever fought in XP parties back in the day. So much so that people joke that the game could be called Crab Fantasy XI. SE can deliver a good joke sometimes, and we are going to need some new leveling mobs. My prediction: You are going to be seeing quite a few of these things on your way to 99. Oh, there is something else that is a bit familiar about this mob. It is a "sea" creature and the beginning of it's name is reminiscent of the mobs that are found in Sea. Is there some relation between Abys"sea" and Sea? Mobs in sea also have bright but weird colors in general.

Clionid

Being a mollusc of mischievous bearing and ghostly aspect, much given to rollicking in the air in a dance at once graceful and deadly. Alongside the Limule, they have grown to prominence in the wake of the great cataclysm, spreading as a plague across Abyssea. Of the little that is known of these invertebrates, their proclivity for aggression towards mankind is well-documented.

I don't know how anything that has never been seen before can be "well-documented" but apparent we have been out of the loop. I give SE an A on the background research for this mob. A Clionid is basically a sea slug that is called sea angels. These shouldn't be confused with the sponge of a similar name though. They are in fact mollusks, so the description is quite accurate. It is also another sea-related creature, and it has that vaguely Limunian appearance, so maybe there is something to that Sea connection. It also looks vaguely like a ghost but that might not mean anything.

Sibilus

Being and uncommonly large saurian possessed of virulent temperament, it's distinct coloration is a dread warning of lethal venom to all would-be predators. Biologists have called attention to a likely relation in the now-extinct variety of lizards that inhabited the marshlands of Quon in vast numbers until the outbreak of the Great War.

Meet the purple people eater. Obviously a purple reskin of the Peiste, and most likely very venomous. Remember to bring your Antidotes. Again, SE has done their homework with the name for this mob. Sibil- is a latin root meaning "to hiss", and sibilus as a noun is a hissing noise. Quite appropriate for this mob. I don't see much else that that unique about this mob besides the fact that SE's new favorite color is purple. If they still have Grim Glower then people are just going to avoid them, but if they actually have decent attacks, they could be interesting.

Elasmoth

Being a subspecies as that hulking beast known as the Behemoth, albeit of such gargantuan proportions as to render the moniker given its Vanadielian cousin. Warlike markings emblazon their muscular frame, needlessly intensifying their fearsome mien. Claims that their mighty roar can fell stars from the heavens are received with skepticism, though none disputes that it can stop a man's heart in his chest.

Ok, this is the grandpappy of all Behemoth, not just because of the description but also because of it's snowy white beard. Maybe it is just the Santa Claus of the Behemoth world, giving the little Behemoth boys and girls huge spikes and asteroids to fling at people. More purple in this design, but at least it has some cooler markings. This might be the Behemoth that stole the nerd Behemoth's lunch money. Hey, all the chick Behemoth love tattoos. I do find the description interesting because of the reference to Comet and Meteor. The only reference I could find to Elasmoth is in the video game Fossil Fighter... it was probably just a coincidence.

Purbol

Being a mutant strain of that odious breed of carnivorous frond known as the Morbol that has adapted to thrive in the aberrant ecosystem of Abyssea. Fouler of both breath and temperament than its Vanadialian counterpart-if that can be believed-it has been observed gnarling with perverse pleasure as its grossly distended feelers suck clean the lifeblood of its hapless victims.

Seriously SE? Seriously? Purbol? As if the color wasn't enough, you are now naming the mobs after purple? I get the pun, but man, you didn't have to make it that obvious. All this purple is going to make Omoi very happy though so I am OK with it. Sounds like it is going to have all the basic Morbol attacks but a bit beefed up. Even Worse Breath? Worst Breath? Really Stinky Breath? Dog Fart Breath? You already gave one Morbol Death Breath, what are you going to make this one do? Maybe it will inflict Zombie (ST20). It also sounds like it is going to use that draining roots move too.

Adenium

Being a bipedal, sentient vegetable that resembles a Mandragora in every aspect save for its prodigious size and ruddy complexion. Does this curious pigmentation derive from the selfsame phenomenon that has crimsoned the Abyssean sky? Is it merely abashed at having grown to proportions unseemly for one of its species? Further observation is required to unravel these vital questions.

An ashamed Mandy that has turned red in embarrassment? Ok, that was a little bit clever SE. This is like the second mob that they have mentioned as being of huge size, but the other one is that new Behemoth. That said, all of the new tier 3 VNM's are huge versions of standard mobs already. Who wouldn't love fighting a ginormous Mandy? Also, another place where SE has actually spent some time naming the mob, the Adenium is a kind of flower, more commonly called the Desert Rose. I don't know what it's flower move is going to be, but I expect more pain than sleeping powder for some reason.

Iratham

Being of the Caturae, a family of most unnatural lifeforms of utterly indeterminate composition and origin. Said to have been sighted across the realm shortly after the first tremors sundered the Abyssean landscape, their true nature remains shrouded in mystery to this day. Fringe researchers have posited a relationship to a recreational activity of a long-lost civilization, but this theory has yet to draw much support.

That "recreational activity of a long-lost civilization" is Chess. You see Caturanga, Catur for short, is the Indian name for the game that is the basis of modern day Chess. Caturae would be creatures of Catur or more simply living Chess pieces. The game originate on the Indian sub-continent and spread across the world. The mob itself is very unique looking, and the hands and the feet look so familiar but I don't remember where I have seen that design before. It might not even be FFXI, it might be another SE game, which would be an interesting cross-over in design. Iratham is the name of the chariot piece in Caturanga and it behaves exactly the way the modern Rook does. It is also an anagram for "A Mithra" but that is probably just coincidence. In the future, expect to see Kutharei ("Horse" in English) it is the equivalent of the Knight piece and Yaanei ("Elephant") which is a close amalgamation of the modern Bishop. We will see when the next expansions drop.

Yesterdays column took some time to research both for the historical and mythical stories behind the weapons and for the Final Fantasy aspects behind them too. This column will be a little bit less informative than that. While some monsters in FFXI have a deep and storied history, most of them do not. And that is where I come in. I believe that several of these new mobs have in-joke back stories, and if they don't then I will just create them.<br /><br />The very first thing that should probably be noted is that all of the monsters in this first expansion look like they have gone through the laundry with your brand new purple sheets. While this is going to make Omoi as giddy as the first time that she saw <a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Titania">Titinia</a> in campaign, I don't know what most people are going to think of the purplization of all of these mobs. Some of them are new of course, but some of them are not and some are just funny.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Limule</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Limule.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Limule.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a><blockquote>Being an airborne crustacean endemic to Abyssea, endowed with a robust carapace and elongated forelimbs wherefrom razor-sharp pincer reach rapaciously for prey. Bereft of a counterpart in Vana'diel, biologists theorize that these shelled hoverers have undergone evolution in dimensional isolation. They have emerged as a pervasive species following the great cataclysm that befell the land.</blockquote>This floating Horseshoe Crab is probably the least purple of the new monsters, and the most obvious in naming convention. Limule is French for Horseshoe Crab, and the Latin form is Limulus. The name is not too creative on SE's party, but the mob looks pretty interesting. It also has a shocking familiarity to it. While the description provided by SE indicates that there are no counterparts for this monster in Vana'diel, I believe a deeper look at the evolutionary tree can provide something analogous. What else in Vana'diel has a shell and pincers? That's right, you basic generic crab. The on going joke about crabs is that they were one of the only mobs you ever fought in XP parties back in the day. So much so that people joke that the game could be called Crab Fantasy XI. SE can deliver a good joke sometimes, and we are going to need some new leveling mobs. My prediction: You are going to be seeing quite a few of these things on your way to 99. Oh, there is something else that is a bit familiar about this mob. It is a "sea" creature and the beginning of it's name is reminiscent of the mobs that are found in Sea. Is there some relation between Abys"sea" and Sea? Mobs in sea also have bright but weird colors in general.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Clionid</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Clionid.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Clionid.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a><blockquote>Being a mollusc of mischievous bearing and ghostly aspect, much given to rollicking in the air in a dance at once graceful and deadly. Alongside the Limule, they have grown to prominence in the wake of the great cataclysm, spreading as a plague across Abyssea. Of the little that is known of these invertebrates, their proclivity for aggression towards mankind is well-documented.</blockquote>I don't know how anything that has never been seen before can be "well-documented" but apparent we have been out of the loop. I give SE an A on the background research for this mob. A Clionid is basically a sea slug that is called sea angels. These shouldn't be confused with the sponge of a similar name though. They are in fact mollusks, so the description is quite accurate. It is also another sea-related creature, and it has that vaguely Limunian appearance, so maybe there is something to that Sea connection. It also looks vaguely like a ghost but that might not mean anything.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sibilus</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sibilus.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Sibilus.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a><blockquote>Being and uncommonly large saurian possessed of virulent temperament, it's distinct coloration is a dread warning of lethal venom to all would-be predators. Biologists have called attention to a likely relation in the now-extinct variety of lizards that inhabited the marshlands of Quon in vast numbers until the outbreak of the Great War.</blockquote>Meet the purple people eater. Obviously a purple reskin of the Peiste, and most likely very venomous. Remember to bring your Antidotes. Again, SE has done their homework with the name for this mob. Sibil- is a latin root meaning "to hiss", and sibilus as a noun is a hissing noise. Quite appropriate for this mob. I don't see much else that that unique about this mob besides the fact that SE's new favorite color is purple. If they still have Grim Glower then people are just going to avoid them, but if they actually have decent attacks, they could be interesting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Elasmoth</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Elasmoth.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Elasmoth.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a><blockquote>Being a subspecies as that hulking beast known as the Behemoth, albeit of such gargantuan proportions as to render the moniker given its Vanadielian cousin. Warlike markings emblazon their muscular frame, needlessly intensifying their fearsome mien. Claims that their mighty roar can fell stars from the heavens are received with skepticism, though none disputes that it can stop a man's heart in his chest.</blockquote>Ok, this is the grandpappy of all Behemoth, not just because of the description but also because of it's snowy white beard. Maybe it is just the Santa Claus of the Behemoth world, giving the little Behemoth boys and girls huge spikes and asteroids to fling at people. More purple in this design, but at least it has some cooler markings. This might be the Behemoth that stole the nerd Behemoth's lunch money. Hey, all the chick Behemoth love tattoos. I do find the description interesting because of the reference to Comet and Meteor. The only reference I could find to Elasmoth is in the video game Fossil Fighter... it was probably just a coincidence.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Purbol</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Purbol.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Purbol.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a><blockquote>Being a mutant strain of that odious breed of carnivorous frond known as the Morbol that has adapted to thrive in the aberrant ecosystem of Abyssea. Fouler of both breath and temperament than its Vanadialian counterpart-if that can be believed-it has been observed gnarling with perverse pleasure as its grossly distended feelers suck clean the lifeblood of its hapless victims.</blockquote>Seriously SE? Seriously? Purbol? As if the color wasn't enough, you are now naming the mobs after purple? I get the pun, but man, you didn't have to make it that obvious. All this purple is going to make Omoi very happy though so I am OK with it. Sounds like it is going to have all the basic Morbol attacks but a bit beefed up. Even Worse Breath? Worst Breath? Really Stinky Breath? Dog Fart Breath? You already gave one Morbol Death Breath, what are you going to make this one do? Maybe it will inflict Zombie (ST20). It also sounds like it is going to use that draining roots move too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adenium</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Adenium.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Adenium.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a><blockquote>Being a bipedal, sentient vegetable that resembles a Mandragora in every aspect save for its prodigious size and ruddy complexion. Does this curious pigmentation derive from the selfsame phenomenon that has crimsoned the Abyssean sky? Is it merely abashed at having grown to proportions unseemly for one of its species? Further observation is required to unravel these vital questions.</blockquote>An ashamed Mandy that has turned red in embarrassment? Ok, that was a little bit clever SE. This is like the second mob that they have mentioned as being of huge size, but the other one is that new Behemoth. That said, all of the new tier 3 VNM's are huge versions of standard mobs already. Who wouldn't love fighting a ginormous Mandy? Also, another place where SE has actually spent some time naming the mob, the Adenium is a kind of flower, more commonly called the Desert Rose. I don't know what it's flower move is going to be, but I expect more pain than sleeping powder for some reason.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Iratham</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Iratham.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Iratham.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a><blockquote>Being of the Caturae, a family of most unnatural lifeforms of utterly indeterminate composition and origin. Said to have been sighted across the realm shortly after the first tremors sundered the Abyssean landscape, their true nature remains shrouded in mystery to this day. Fringe researchers have posited a relationship to a recreational activity of a long-lost civilization, but this theory has yet to draw much support.</blockquote>That "recreational activity of a long-lost civilization" is Chess. You see Caturanga, Catur for short, is the Indian name for the game that is the basis of modern day Chess. Caturae would be creatures of Catur or more simply living Chess pieces. The game originate on the Indian sub-continent and spread across the world. The mob itself is very unique looking, and the hands and the feet look so familiar but I don't remember where I have seen that design before. It might not even be FFXI, it might be another SE game, which would be an interesting cross-over in design. Iratham is the name of the chariot piece in Caturanga and it behaves exactly the way the modern Rook does. It is also an anagram for "A Mithra" but that is probably just coincidence. In the future, expect to see Kutharei ("Horse" in English) it is the equivalent of the Knight piece and Yaanei ("Elephant") which is a close amalgamation of the modern Bishop. We will see when the next expansions drop.

Getting Your Learn On: Abyssea Weapons.

Visions of Abyssea has been announced and is available for pre-order. The version update is coming June 21st (Rob won that bet too), and we got a much needed update to the rewards from Abyssea.

I love the nomenclature that SE uses for naming their weapons, especially in FFXI. They don't just create random ass names like WoW (e.g. this or this), SE actually does some research and invests some time in coming up with names for their weapons that have some historical background. Not all of them are historically accurate, but many of them do have some historical underpinnings. Hell, the Nanatsusayanotachi is an actual sword that is currently on display in Korea. The names of the weapons that have been released with the Visions of Abyssea announcement are actually quite amazing. They also have a lot of historical and mythical importance and their stories may give some clue as to their strengths or weaknesses in FFXI.

Sword: Almace
This sword looks simply amazing. It is also freaking huge. Historically, the Almace was a sword given to Charlemagne along with the Durendal and Curtana (other familiar weapons from FFXI and other Final Fantasy games). It is described mostly in Norse mythology though it is mentioned much less than the other two. It is later given to Turpin, the Archbishop of Reims. It might also be confused with or replaced by Joyeuse in some historical records. It was described as an incredibly well-designed and strong sword. In the Song of Roland, Turpin wielded it in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass were he died. Yeah, that is ill portent for those that might get this weapon, but it definitely looks cool enough to use it anyway. Alternative names for the Almace are Almice and Almacia. There is no previous mention of a weapon by this name in the Final Fantasy series.

Marksmanship: Armageddon
Armageddon is a name that is actually more in line with SE's own naming system for guns than it is with some historical or mythical weapon. Names already in FFXI that spring to mind include Annihilator and Death Penalty. The relic and mythic weapons have names in a similar vein if not in historical continuity. SE has preferred the WoW-style naming convention for guns in a lot of Final Fantasy games. The name appears in all sorts of Final Fantasy games but usually as part of an ability or special attack name. Armageddon itself is the Judeo-Christian notion of the end of days. More specifically it is the site of the epic battle at the end of the world. This is your traditional Revelations story with Jesus fighting Satan and fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

Great Sword: Caladbolg
Poor Great Sword got completely skipped over in the last round of epic weapons, but SE brought it back this time in impressive fashion. Originally, Caladbolg just generally meant "great sword" and it's original translation was something like "hard sheath" or "hard cleft". In Irish mythology, Caladbolg is the sword of Fergus mac Róich. The sword itself is said to create a rainbow arc when swung and is able to chop the tops of hills. The name of the great sword could be the source of the name of King Arthur's sword, Excalibur. Caladbolg is also a Celestial Weapon from Final Fantasy X belonging to Tidus in the US version, but that could just be a weird translation error.

Axe: Farsha
Found in Hindu mythology, the Farsha is translated to mean "battle axe" and was the favorite weapon of Parashurama, with his own Farsha known as the Parashu. A Farsha was generally double bladed or had a blade and a spike and could be made out of wootz steel (which I just found out isn't just something that SE made up but is a historical-mythical type of steel). The blade itself was as big or bigger than the haft (the part you hold). That means that SE followed the design pretty closely when they designed this new weapon. No prior Final Fantasy references this weapon.

Club: Gambanteinn
Another Norse myth, this club literally translates into "magic wand". This in itself is very interesting because it implies there is a magical component to the item itself and not just another worthless melee club. This is a more generic term than some of the previous weapons and it doesn't refer to a specific magic wand. That said the wands that are mentioned in Norse myth appear to have cursing or charming aspects to them. Interestingly, in the Norse mythos it sounds like you actually have to hit someone with the club to bewitch them. So maybe SE does want you to use it to melee. This club has not be used in any other Final Fantasy games.

Archery: Gandiva
Created by Brahman, the supreme Hindu god, the Gandiva was passed down through Hindu mythology by some pretty big names like Shiva and Indra before making it into the hands of Arjuna. Arjuna then used the bow to kick a major amount of Hindu ass. The bow was covered in gold and the tips of the bow glowed, this might be the tie in for the new Archery WS "Refulgent Arrow". It is also said to sound like a thunderclap when an arrow is shot from it. It has a very nice model compared to all other bows in the game and I hope that SE improves the design of bows like this in the future. With the advent of the Occasionally Attack Twice bow though, SE is going to have to do something really special to make this bow worth it. While a bad ass weapon, it is a name that has not be used before in Final Fantasy history.

Staff: Hvergelmir
SE just loves using unpronounceable names for a lot of there weapons and this is no exception. Like the Armageddon, this weapons name doesn't come from a weapon from the historical record. In Norse mythology, it is actually in reference to a spring that is near the world tree, Yggdrasil. Above Hvergelmir, Nidhogg is chewing away at the roots of Yggdrasil. I have to wonder if this is finally going to be the "Rainbow Staff" that SE mentioned they are thinking about adding to replace the Elemental staffs. The Hvergelmir itself means "bubbling boiling spring" in Norse, and is the source of all cold rivers to the Norse. I don't know if this means it will have any relation to Blizzard or other ice related spells though. As this is not really a specific weapon but more of a reference this name has not appeared in a Final Fantasy game.

Katana: Kannagi
These weapons get more and more interesting. Though I thought for sure that this weapon would be related to Japanese mythology because of the root word "nagi" it actually has nothing to do with that, and it is actually a vengeful woman (shocker) from Tamil (Indian) mythology. Basically, her husband is stupid but tries to make up for it up, gets falsely accused of stealing from the Queen and is beheaded on the spot. Kannagi gets pissed and proves her husband didn't steal, and the King and Queen are so upset that they die. Kannagi is still pissed though, so she tears off one of her own freaking boobs and chucks it at the city of the King and Queen which causes it to burn down. I could be wrong in this, but I searched for a while and couldn't find a direct reference to this as a weapon. It is also an anime and I have no idea about it so it might have the same historical roots that are unknown to me. There is a lot of cross over of Hinduism/Buddhism into Japanese culture over time, so there might be some correlation between this story and the weapon, but I don't know of any better connection. Kannagi has not be used as the name of any weapon in the Final Fantasy series.

Great Katana: Masamune
Ah, Masamune, one of the traditional katanas from SE games. Masamune is actually not a sword in historical context but actually a swordsmith, though the katanas that he made were often called "Masamune Swords". Masamune was revered as the best swordsmith in Japanese history and his blades were considered to represent zen-like aspects in the warrior. Several of Masamune's swords are already in FFXI in the form of the Fudo and the Hocho. As I mentioned above the Masamune has appeared in Final Fantasy games before, and in fact, it has appeared in every Final Fantasy game except FFXI until now. It is also Sephiroth's weapon, which means that it is game-on for fan boys. It has had a Haste effect associated with it in past Final Fantasy games.

Scythe: Redemption
Though this again does not represent a specific weapon in real life or mythology, it does have a very interesting name for a weapon that is used almost exclusively by Dark Knights. Redemption is part of the overall story lines for several DRK related characters within FFXI, Zeid for example. The notion of redemption itself is based around the idea of being absolved or forgiven of sin or evil acts. DRKs aren't really considered to be the most pious people in the game, so giving them a weapon with the name Redemption may indicate that there is some kind of deliverance from their own evil through the weapon. Or it could just be a bad ass name for a weapon because it means that the DRK is going to redeem those that he uses the weapon on by introducing them to their maker, a bit prematurely. It is not used in any other Final Fantasy game.

Polearm: Rhongomiant
This one is pretty simple. Rhongomiant is King Arthur's spear that he used to run-through Sir Thomas of Wolford in rather dubious fashion. King Arthur challenged Sir Thomas to a duel and Sir Thomas accepted. As King Arthur advanced, Sir Thomas tripped and fell stabbing himself through the back of his head with Rhongomiant. It sounds more like a Brittney Spears song than an Arthurian legend. Some say that this weapon just resembles a Cermet Lance that were popular back before even CoP, but there are obvious differences in design and style, and essentially everything in the game is a reskin by now. There is no reference to this weapon in any other Final Fantasy game.

Dagger: Twashtar
I don't like this design at all even though it slightly resembles the Vajra, likely because of their similar origins. Twashtar is wielded by the Hindu god Twashtri, who is known as the "heavenly builder". The Twashtar is an Astra, a weapon that is imbued with the power of the god affiliated with the weapon and only unlocked with a specific spell granted by that god. The Vajra is another Astra weapon. The Twashtar's specific Astra ability was to cause confusion in a group of enemies and cause them to fight each other. This could have some application for FFXI as an additional unlockable effect. The Twashtar doesn't appear in any other Final Fantasy games.

Great Axe: Ukonvasara
This Great Axe may be the most historically accurate representation of a weapon in the entire group. The Ukonvasara is a magical weapon of the Ukko in Finnish mythology. The name of the Great Axe is likely a derivation of the name of the god. Across cultures, this weapon could be equated to Thor's hammer, Mjollnir. Another very interesting aspect of this weapon is that the exact translation is actually "Ukko's Hammer", and the model for the Great Axe actually looks more like a great hammer than it does an axe as it is basically lacking a blade. Clubber suggested something to me; if this is actually a great hammer, and SE recognizes that fact, does that mean that this weapon will do blunt damage? It's a very interesting question, indeed. In Finnish mythos Ukko created lightning by using the Ukonvasara. As with most of these weapons, this name has not yet be used in a Final Fantasy game.

Hand-to-hand: Verethragna
Our final selection actually is the reason that I started looking into all of the names of these weapons. Verethragna is the divine embodiment of victory in Zoroastrianism and it literally translates to "smiting of resistance". Now that is pretty bad ass. Huge horns form the punchy part of these weapons, and have a shocking similarity to Behemoth's horns. Even more interesting, Verethragna is a constant companion of Mithra (the Persian god, not the guy pretending to be a girl). These are probably one of the coolest looking new weapons. This is their first appearance in a Final Fantasy related game.

Visions of Abyssea has been announced and is available for pre-order. The version update is coming June 21st (Rob won that bet too), and we got a much needed update to the rewards from Abyssea.<br /><br />I love the nomenclature that SE uses for naming their weapons, especially in FFXI. They don't just create random ass names like WoW (e.g. <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=40384">this</a> or <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=37852">this</a>), SE actually does some research and invests some time in coming up with names for their weapons that have some historical background. Not all of them are historically accurate, but many of them do have some historical underpinnings. Hell, the <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=18447">Nanatsusayanotachi</a> is an actual sword that is currently on display in Korea. The names of the weapons that have been released with the Visions of Abyssea announcement are actually quite amazing. They also have a lot of historical and mythical importance and their stories may give some clue as to their strengths or weaknesses in FFXI.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sword: Almace</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Almace-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Almace-1.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 393px;" /></a>This sword looks simply amazing. It is also freaking huge. Historically, the Almace was a sword given to Charlemagne along with the <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=17700">Durendal</a> and <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=16575">Curtana</a> (other familiar weapons from FFXI and other Final Fantasy games). It is described mostly in Norse mythology though it is mentioned much less than the other two. It is later given to Turpin, the Archbishop of Reims. It might also be confused with or replaced by Joyeuse in some historical records. It was described as an incredibly well-designed and strong sword. In the Song of Roland, Turpin wielded it in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass were he died. Yeah, that is ill portent for those that might get this weapon, but it definitely looks cool enough to use it anyway. Alternative names for the Almace are Almice and Almacia. There is no previous mention of a weapon by this name in the Final Fantasy series.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Marksmanship: Armageddon</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Armageddon-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Armageddon-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 395px;" /></a>Armageddon is a name that is actually more in line with SE's own naming system for guns than it is with some historical or mythical weapon. Names already in FFXI that spring to mind include <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=18336">Annihilator</a> and <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=19007">Death Penalty</a>. The relic and mythic weapons have names in a similar vein if not in historical continuity. SE has preferred the WoW-style naming convention for guns in a lot of Final Fantasy games. The name appears in all sorts of Final Fantasy games but usually as part of an ability or special attack name. Armageddon itself is the Judeo-Christian notion of the end of days. More specifically it is the site of the epic battle at the end of the world. This is your traditional Revelations story with Jesus fighting Satan and fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Great Sword: Caladbolg</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Caladbolg-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Caladbolg-1.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 454px; height: 515px;" /></a>Poor Great Sword got completely skipped over in the last round of epic weapons, but SE brought it back this time in impressive fashion. Originally, Caladbolg just generally meant "great sword" and it's original translation was something like "hard sheath" or "hard cleft". In Irish mythology, Caladbolg is the sword of Fergus mac Róich. The sword itself is said to create a rainbow arc when swung and is able to chop the tops of hills. The name of the great sword could be the source of the name of King Arthur's sword, <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=18276">Excalibur</a>. Caladbolg is also a Celestial Weapon from Final Fantasy X belonging to Tidus in the US version, but that could just be a weird translation error.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Axe: Farsha</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Farsha-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Farsha-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 425px; height: 308px;" /></a>Found in Hindu mythology, the Farsha is translated to mean "battle axe" and was the favorite weapon of Parashurama, with his own Farsha known as the Parashu. A Farsha was generally double bladed or had a blade and a spike and could be made out of wootz steel (which I just found out isn't just something that SE made up but is a historical-mythical type of steel). The blade itself was as big or bigger than the haft (the part you hold). That means that SE followed the design pretty closely when they designed this new weapon. No prior Final Fantasy references this weapon.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Club: Gambanteinn</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Gambanteinn-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Gambanteinn-1.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 305px;" /></a>Another Norse myth, this club literally translates into "magic wand". This in itself is very interesting because it implies there is a magical component to the item itself and not just another worthless melee club. This is a more generic term than some of the previous weapons and it doesn't refer to a specific magic wand. That said the wands that are mentioned in Norse myth appear to have cursing or charming aspects to them. Interestingly, in the Norse mythos it sounds like you actually have to hit someone with the club to bewitch them. So maybe SE does want you to use it to melee. This club has not be used in any other Final Fantasy games.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Archery: Gandiva</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Gandiva-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Gandiva-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 333px; height: 400px;" /></a>Created by Brahman, the supreme Hindu god, the Gandiva was passed down through Hindu mythology by some pretty big names like Shiva and Indra before making it into the hands of Arjuna. Arjuna then used the bow to kick a major amount of Hindu ass. The bow was covered in gold and the tips of the bow glowed, this might be the tie in for the new Archery WS "Refulgent Arrow". It is also said to sound like a thunderclap when an arrow is shot from it. It has a very nice model compared to all other bows in the game and I hope that SE improves the design of bows like this in the future. With the advent of the Occasionally Attack Twice bow though, SE is going to have to do something really special to make this bow worth it. While a bad ass weapon, it is a name that has not be used before in Final Fantasy history.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Staff: Hvergelmir</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Hvergelmir-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Hvergelmir-1.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" /></a>SE just loves using unpronounceable names for a lot of there weapons and this is no exception. Like the Armageddon, this weapons name doesn't come from a weapon from the historical record. In Norse mythology, it is actually in reference to a spring that is near the world tree, Yggdrasil. Above Hvergelmir, Nidhogg is chewing away at the roots of Yggdrasil. I have to wonder if this is finally going to be the "Rainbow Staff" that SE mentioned they are thinking about adding to replace the Elemental staffs. The Hvergelmir itself means "bubbling boiling spring" in Norse, and is the source of all cold rivers to the Norse. I don't know if this means it will have any relation to Blizzard or other ice related spells though. As this is not really a specific weapon but more of a reference this name has not appeared in a Final Fantasy game.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Katana: Kannagi</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Kannagi-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Kannagi-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 354px; height: 400px;" /></a>These weapons get more and more interesting. Though I thought for sure that this weapon would be related to Japanese mythology because of the root word "nagi" it actually has nothing to do with that, and it is actually a vengeful woman (shocker) from Tamil (Indian) mythology. Basically, her husband is stupid but tries to make up for it up, gets falsely accused of stealing from the Queen and is beheaded on the spot. Kannagi gets pissed and proves her husband didn't steal, and the King and Queen are so upset that they die. Kannagi is still pissed though, so she tears off one of her own freaking boobs and chucks it at the city of the King and Queen which causes it to burn down. I could be wrong in this, but I searched for a while and couldn't find a direct reference to this as a weapon. It is also an anime and I have no idea about it so it might have the same historical roots that are unknown to me. There is a lot of cross over of Hinduism/Buddhism into Japanese culture over time, so there might be some correlation between this story and the weapon, but I don't know of any better connection. Kannagi has not be used as the name of any weapon in the Final Fantasy series.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Great Katana: Masamune</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Masamune-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Masamune-1.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 385px;" /></a>Ah, Masamune, one of the traditional katanas from SE games. Masamune is actually not a sword in historical context but actually a swordsmith, though the katanas that he made were often called "Masamune Swords". Masamune was revered as the best swordsmith in Japanese history and his blades were considered to represent zen-like aspects in the warrior. Several of Masamune's swords are already in FFXI in the form of the <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=16904">Fudo</a> and the <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=16924">Hocho</a>. As I mentioned above the Masamune has appeared in Final Fantasy games before, and in fact, it has appeared in every Final Fantasy game except FFXI until now. It is also Sephiroth's weapon, which means that it is game-on for fan boys. It has had a Haste effect associated with it in past Final Fantasy games.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Scythe: Redemption</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Redemption-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Redemption-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 313px;" /></a>Though this again does not represent a specific weapon in real life or mythology, it does have a very interesting name for a weapon that is used almost exclusively by Dark Knights. Redemption is part of the overall story lines for several DRK related characters within FFXI, Zeid for example. The notion of redemption itself is based around the idea of being absolved or forgiven of sin or evil acts. DRKs aren't really considered to be the most pious people in the game, so giving them a weapon with the name Redemption may indicate that there is some kind of deliverance from their own evil through the weapon. Or it could just be a bad ass name for a weapon because it means that the DRK is going to redeem those that he uses the weapon on by introducing them to their maker, a bit prematurely. It is not used in any other Final Fantasy game.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Polearm: Rhongomiant</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Rhongomiant-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Rhongomiant-1.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 356px;" /></a>This one is pretty simple. Rhongomiant is King Arthur's spear that he used to run-through Sir Thomas of Wolford in rather dubious fashion. King Arthur challenged Sir Thomas to a duel and Sir Thomas accepted. As King Arthur advanced, Sir Thomas tripped and fell stabbing himself through the back of his head with Rhongomiant. It sounds more like a Brittney Spears song than an Arthurian legend. Some say that this weapon just resembles a Cermet Lance that were popular back before even CoP, but there are obvious differences in design and style, and essentially everything in the game is a reskin by now. There is no reference to this weapon in any other Final Fantasy game.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dagger: Twashtar</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Twashtar-1-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Twashtar-1-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 383px; height: 400px;" /></a>I don't like this design at all even though it slightly resembles the <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=18996">Vajra</a>, likely because of their similar origins. Twashtar is wielded by the Hindu god Twashtri, who is known as the "heavenly builder". The Twashtar is an Astra, a weapon that is imbued with the power of the god affiliated with the weapon and only unlocked with a specific spell granted by that god. The Vajra is another Astra weapon. The Twashtar's specific Astra ability was to cause confusion in a group of enemies and cause them to fight each other. This could have some application for FFXI as an additional unlockable effect. The Twashtar doesn't appear in any other Final Fantasy games.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Great Axe: Ukonvasara</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ukonvasara-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ukonvasara-1.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" /></a>This Great Axe may be the most historically accurate representation of a weapon in the entire group. The Ukonvasara is a magical weapon of the Ukko in Finnish mythology. The name of the Great Axe is likely a derivation of the name of the god. Across cultures, this weapon could be equated to Thor's hammer, <a href="http://www.ffxiah.com/item.php?id=18324">Mjollnir</a>. Another very interesting aspect of this weapon is that the exact translation is actually "Ukko's Hammer", and the model for the Great Axe actually looks more like a great hammer than it does an axe as it is basically lacking a blade. Clubber suggested something to me; if this is actually a great hammer, and SE recognizes that fact, does that mean that this weapon will do blunt damage? It's a very interesting question, indeed. In Finnish mythos Ukko created lightning by using the Ukonvasara. As with most of these weapons, this name has not yet be used in a Final Fantasy game.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hand-to-hand: Verethragna</span><br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Verethraga-1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Verethraga-1.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 332px; height: 400px;" /></a>Our final selection actually is the reason that I started looking into all of the names of these weapons. Verethragna is the divine embodiment of victory in Zoroastrianism and it literally translates to "smiting of resistance". Now that is pretty bad ass. Huge horns form the punchy part of these weapons, and have a shocking similarity to Behemoth's horns. Even more interesting, Verethragna is a constant companion of Mithra (the Persian god, not the guy pretending to be a girl). These are probably one of the coolest looking new weapons. This is their first appearance in a Final Fantasy related game.

So, what did I miss?

I am back, slightly more tan, slightly more drunk and wishing I was still on vacation. But time marches on, and as it does so comes the version update notes. Let's review what happened last week and toss in a little dash of Ring meta-commentary for some spice!
First, SE gave a little more information about the first Abyssea expansion, Visions of Abyssea. The information provided was not that deep to say the least. I didn't really expect all that much, but all we got was basically a generic blurb about darkness, bleakness, anguish, destruction, and harrowing...ness. Hell, they even used the called the skies sanguine. Hey SE, you are making a game for a bunch of previously teen now sadly older video game nerds that just can't let go. How are they supposed to know what sanguine even means... wait... ok, maybe they are going to be the only people in the word that knows what sanguine means. Alrighty SE, go ahead, what were you saying? Anyway, we get a lot of big, nasty, scary words and not much of anything of substance. I mean honestly, the drawn picture of the new expansion gives us a better impression of what we can expect than the words that you choose to write about the damn thing! I felt like I was reading some kind of spooky-evil-demonic-underworld former baseball player trying to answer direct questions about steroids at a congressional hearing.

That isn't to say that I am not looking forward to the expansion, because I am totally geeking out for the damn things. An entire set of expansions designed around end-game? Where do I sign up? After finally doing some of my Wings missions (my god do those missions get INSANELY good after Lilith is introduced) and getting a better idea of what is going on, I am firmly of the opinion that Abyssea is the memories of the current time in Lilith's time-line that Atomos has already swallowed up. Yeah, those were spoilers there, but seriously something needs to get you guys motivated to do those missions and quests already! If you look at the background painting of the Abyssea website you will also see all sorts of new weapons as well as in the pictures on the Visions of Abyssea page. First and foremost, there is the sword the size of a small elephant in the hand of a particularly white Paladin. The gear is definitely in the .dats already, but that sword is not. That sword would give the bulbous-Nerf-cartoon weapons from WoW penis envy. Sure, sure, the taru is wearing purple Baron's gear, and he has an all new club model, but what is really interesting is the fist full o' giant spikes the MNK is using. Oh, and the nasty, demon Behemoth... that's interesting too.

Well, that was my report on one picture... man I can be long winded. That doesn't mean I am going to stop though. :) Our second pic is interesting in all new and equally long-winded ways! Ok, first of all there is the new mob, which is just the center mob in this picture from the back. But do we really care about non-series-related mobs? No, we don't. We care about big-bladed choppy sticks, the Yagudo-wannabe's that wield them and their... pink "power" Ranger friends? Seriously, ok, white haubs? Weird, but whatever, they do look good. Aqua-marine Baron's gear (and I don't give a fuck what color E. Body is, but I am not stepping into that war either)? That's fine by me. But I swear to god SE, I will fucking fly to Japan and I will piss in all of your fucking sake if put even one decent fucking stat on that pink holocaust. It's Noct gear, a cool design if in somewhat boring colors, but it's been made FABULOUS! Don't you fucking dare! Skadi is already way more pink than it should be... Ranger's are awesome archers with a little wilderness stealth and a whole bunch of shoot-you-in-the-face damage tossed in. This is what SE said about RNG's at VanaFest:

We also plan on adding new equipment designed for both form and function, with attributes and appearance befitting these lethal hunters and huntresses.

If this shit makes it into the game, then we know that SE really has been fucking with us all this time. Form and function? Attributes and appearance? Fuck me gently with a chainsaw... So, the RNG gets tossed into the dressing room at Benetton but the BST beats him up, steals his lunch money, rapes a Yagudo and then wears it's skin like Buffalo Bill and gets a "that's not an axe, THIS is an axe" axe to top it all off. The BST gear in that model-line is notorious for massive suckage, but man there is no way they can put bad stats on a coat made out of a fucking Yagudo. It would be an even bigger crime than making "Rosy the Ranger" gear.

Yeah, that was long-winded, so what? Don't make me stab you. I have been out of the loop for a week. Tomorrow, I might go over the new quests update, or I might just skip it because I don't know if it's worth a whole blog post, and I do need to cover the CoP areas getting uncapped and the money I now owe Iceblazek. Fucking SE!

I am back, slightly more tan, slightly more drunk and wishing I was still on vacation. But time marches on, and as it does so comes the version update notes. Let's review what happened last week and toss in a little dash of Ring meta-commentary for some spice!<br /><a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/VoA_0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/VoA_0.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 415px; height: 100px;" /></a>First, SE gave a little more information about the first Abyssea expansion, Visions of Abyssea. The information provided was not that deep to say the least. I didn't really expect all that much, but all we got was basically a generic blurb about darkness, bleakness, anguish, destruction, and harrowing...ness. Hell, they even used the called the skies sanguine. Hey SE, you are making a game for a bunch of previously teen now sadly older video game nerds that just can't let go. How are they supposed to know what sanguine even means... wait... ok, maybe they are going to be the only people in the word that knows what sanguine means. Alrighty SE, go ahead, what were you saying? Anyway, we get a lot of big, nasty, scary words and not much of anything of substance. I mean honestly, the drawn picture of the new expansion gives us a better impression of what we can expect than the words that you choose to write about the damn thing! I felt like I was reading some kind of spooky-evil-demonic-underworld former baseball player trying to answer direct questions about steroids at a congressional hearing. <br /><br />That isn't to say that I am not looking forward to the expansion, because I am totally geeking out for the damn things. An entire set of expansions designed around end-game? Where do I sign up? After finally doing some of my Wings missions (my god do those missions get INSANELY good after Lilith is introduced) and getting a better idea of what is going on, I am firmly of the opinion that Abyssea is the memories of the current time in Lilith's time-line that Atomos has already swallowed up. Yeah, those were spoilers there, but seriously something needs to get you guys motivated to do those missions and quests already! If you look at the background painting of the Abyssea website you will also see all sorts of new weapons as well as in the pictures on the Visions of Abyssea page. <a href="http://www.playonline.com/ff11/addon/images/common/ex1/ss/ss1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/ff11/addon/images/common/ex1/ss/ss1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 376px;" /></a> First and foremost, there is the sword the size of a small elephant in the hand of a particularly white Paladin. The gear is definitely in the .dats already, but that sword is not. That sword would give the bulbous-Nerf-cartoon weapons from WoW penis envy. Sure, sure, the taru is wearing purple Baron's gear, and he has an all new club model, but what is really interesting is the fist full o' giant spikes the MNK is using. Oh, and the nasty, demon Behemoth... that's interesting too. <br /><br />Well, that was my report on one picture... man I can be long winded. That doesn't mean I am going to stop though. :) Our second pic is interesting in all new and equally long-winded ways! <a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/VoA_2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/VoA_2.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 376px;" /></a> Ok, first of all there is the new mob, which is just the center mob in this picture from the back. <a href="http://www.playonline.com/ff11/event/vanafes2010/reportimg/5b_3472.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/ff11/event/vanafes2010/reportimg/5b_3472.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 518px; height: 182px;" /></a> But do we really care about non-series-related mobs? No, we don't. We care about big-bladed choppy sticks, the Yagudo-wannabe's that wield them and their... pink "power" Ranger friends? Seriously, ok, white haubs? Weird, but whatever, they do look good. Aqua-marine Baron's gear (and I don't give a fuck what color E. Body is, but I am not stepping into that war either)? That's fine by me. But I swear to god SE, I will fucking fly to Japan and I will piss in all of your fucking sake if put even one decent fucking stat on that pink holocaust. It's Noct gear, a cool design if in somewhat boring colors, but it's been made FABULOUS! Don't you fucking dare! Skadi is already way more pink than it should be... Ranger's are awesome archers with a little wilderness stealth and a whole bunch of shoot-you-in-the-face damage tossed in. This is what SE said about RNG's at VanaFest: <blockquote>We also plan on adding new equipment designed for both form and function, with attributes and appearance befitting these lethal hunters and huntresses. </blockquote> If this shit makes it into the game, then we know that SE really has been fucking with us all this time. Form and function? Attributes and appearance? Fuck me gently with a chainsaw... So, the RNG gets tossed into the dressing room at <a href="http://www.benetton.com/portal/web/guest/home">Benetton</a> but the BST beats him up, steals his lunch money, rapes a Yagudo and then wears it's skin like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jame_Gumb">Buffalo Bill</a> and gets a "that's not an axe, THIS is an axe" axe to top it all off. The BST gear in that model-line is notorious for massive suckage, but man there is no way they can put bad stats on a coat made out of a fucking Yagudo. It would be an even bigger crime than making "Rosy the Ranger" gear. <br /><br />Yeah, that was long-winded, so what? Don't make me stab you. I have been out of the loop for a week. Tomorrow, I might go over the new quests update, or I might just skip it because I don't know if it's worth a whole blog post, and I do need to cover the CoP areas getting uncapped and the money I now owe Iceblazek. Fucking SE!