Little Ladies Day

I was heading out for a bite to eat, when I noticed the beautiful decorations in every city. A little investigating brought me to Ul'dah and a lalafell. He announced that today was Little Lady's Day, a day when gentlmen became seneschals, servents to all young ladys. I was so excited! I could use a personal servent!

The biggest event was the doll contest. Townsfolk all over were tailoring dresses for dolls in the likeness of Princess Edvya, the patron of the festival. The ladies would then vote on the best doll. With a big reward.

I perked up at this. The Royal Seneschal suggested I buy a doll, and work on my own. there was no way I was going to turn this down! First the doll, then the manservents!

A quick trip to my favourite goldsmith Serendipity revealed that they were swapped with orders for the Princess Edvya dolls. Seeing my downturned face, she came up with a brilliant plan. The guild would make its own doll, and then show it off to all before auctioning it! I was tasked with traveling the realm, showing it off to get all the young ladies voting.

I was surprised at seeing the beautiful little dolly, and moved to pick it up. Imagine my surprise when it scooted along on its own! Trust Serendipity to turn a cute doll into an automaton. Still I had my task. Off I was to traverse the realm!

First stop, Gridania! Tossing cherry blossoms above her, I showed off the beautiful Princess to all the girls. Meanwhile, keeping my eyes out for any young men worthy to be my loyal servants! While I did a great job on the first, alas, all the good guys were taken already.

With reports that our little Princess was quickly becoming the talk of the town, I headed to Limsa Lominsa. The doll was a hit. However, I quickly left, as a horde of girls decided that someone with such a cute doll had to be their seneschal!

The doll was beginning to act weird... refusing to leave my side. Serendipity gave her a quick check up. After verifying that she was still working properly, she sent me off another another PR mission. This time, I was to dance for the gathering dignitaries in Ul'dah.

As I did my happy little kitty dance, I was surprised to see some movement from the doll as well. Was she joining me in my dance? Nah. Had to be a trick of the light.

Still, my job complete, I returned to Serenity. As she announced that the Princess was all but ready to be auctioned off, I saw it. The heart broken look on her face. Serendipity panicked, jabbering about her core being broken. I pressed her for answers, finding out that she had added a mammot core to the doll, practically giving it sentiance. *sigh* Only Serendipity would do this

Fearing for the dolls safety, I was sent after peach blossoms. Apparently, the core needed a special oil made from them. however, it appeared to be too late. The doll remained motionless. Even worse, the voting was done. And having heard nothing, Serendipity sighed, asking me to take the doll with me. It wasn't the reward money from the contest. But it was something.

No sooner did I agree to keep her, then the doll started moving again! she clung happily to me, to my embarrassment. I sighed as I headed home, not a gil richer, with a happy little princess following me.

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Archer: 4 -> 12

Armorer: 35

Blacksmith: 31

Botanist: 44 -> 46

Carpenter:  44 -> 50!

Culinarian: 37

Fisher:  31

Gladiator: 1 -> 5

Goldsmith:  32 -> 33

Leatherworker: 32

Marauder: 1 -> 6

Miner: 41 -> 43

Thaumetergist:  27

White Mage 50!

Finally! Another class done! Phew! 3 out of 19 complete.

Leveling a second class takes quite a bit of time. But thankfully, I've already got high level gear from running Crystal Tower. So, I just got to do my Relic quest.

The preview for Leviathan is up. Looks like some awesome gear. Here's hoping they don't modify the Relic quest to include him.

So, my next plans. I've still got to level Thaumetergist. But, I've decided that I'm also going to level the two tank classes together. Taking them through the dungeons for xp. That will give me practice with tanking. Yet another useful skill to have.

After playing around, I discovered how to do poses and such while the UI is gone. So now I can take cooler looking screenshots! Check this one of me in my White Mage gear!

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Archer: 4

Armorer: 35

Blacksmith: 31

Botanist: 41 -> 44

Carpenter:  44

Conjurer: 48 - 50!

Culinarian: 37

Fisher:  31

Goldsmith:  32

Leatherworker: 31 -> 32

Miner: 41

Thaumetergist:  27

Update on Patch 2.16

So, I've played a bit more now since the patch. The changes to the AoE is purely cosmetic. it isn't devided in half like the picture looked. But rather, it pulses outwards.

The Ready check feature? More an annoyance then useful. Everyone seems to ignore it anyways. And when it pops up in the middle of combat? Distracting.

The wishlist is underused, as I thought it would be. The changes to Quick Synthesis makes it much more useful then it was previously. And I love the random pet and mount commands.

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Archer: 2 -> 4

Armorer: 35

Blacksmith: 31

Botanist: 41

Carpenter:  35 -> 44

Conjurer: 45 -> 48

Culinarian: 37

Fisher:  31

Goldsmith:  32

Leatherworker: 31

Miner: 37 -> 41

Thaumetergist:  27

Patch 2.16

Didn't get much gameplay in yesterday. Servers were down most of the day. First, for some emergency stuff. Then, for the new patch.

2.16 has added a few things. Some of them I've found interesting. Others not so much. The random minion and mount is neat. Especially for someone like me who likes to collect them. Adding the Hydra and Chimera to duty finder? Yet another smart decision that should have been done when they were first implemented.

They've added a bunch of features to Free Companys in order to help them be better organised. But a little something was slipped in. Under scheduling activities, they mention gardening. Something new that will be added in 2.2 for Free Companies to do. Hopefully, this will not require you to have a company house.

They've changed a few things about combat. What I enjoy most is that you no longer have to target an enemy to set your pet to obey. This was a bit of an annoyance and I have no idea why it was set up that way in the first place.

For some reason, they changed the way enemy AOEs show up...

As you can see, they have split the aoe in half. Why? Does this mean that, if you are in the outer half when the AoE goes off, you'll take less damage then if you were in the inner half? I'll be looking into this.

The new marketplace Wish List is interesting. You can place up to 10 items that you wish to have. There will then be a Demand search option that will list the items that are most wished for. You can then tell from there, what to go hunting for and sell. Unfortunately, this feature does require player participation. It would be easier to keep track of what items sold the most, and for how much. this would give a broader view of the marketplace.

This is a big one! You can now change the quests that appear in your duty list. I can't tell you how many times I've had trouble finding a quest marker for a daily, simply because I grab all six at once. Now, after completing one, I can pop it out of my duty list and have the sixth visible on my map.

You can now do a ready check. This will send out a notice to the members of the party, to see if they are ready. Quite useful and yet something that I don't think will get much usage.

Waymarks! This looks interesting! You can now set waymarks that show players where to be! This could be very useful in setting up positions during combat!

The new achievement equipment is meh. The durability loss on most of them could be useful, but the slots could be filled with better equipment at that point. The spiritbond equipment doess appear to be an improvement over what you can already purchase from your quartermaster, but at this point the 500 leves you must do is better used for my crafting classes.

Quick synthesis has been changed! Now, your craftsmanship, control and CP have an affect on success and change for HQ. This is great news, as it means that no longer will I be crafting a bundle of materials that I should have no problem making, and end up with a couple of failures. Also, the chance of crafting a HQ piece should be much higher.

And now, for what everyone has been waiting for! Wet Miquo'te pictures! Yep! They added wet effcts to the game! Unfortunately, its not as impressive. But, you can tell that there is some differeance. Mainly with the environment! Still, here's some cheesecake pictures for you, to show the difference!

Without wet effects

With wet effects

The effects are more obvious in game. Objects are darker. Especially wood. But, the effects are there.

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Archer: 1 -> 2

Armorer: 35

Blacksmith: 31

Botanist: 40 -> 41

Carpenter: 30 -> 35

Conjurer: 43 -> 45

Culinarian: 37

Fisher:  31

Goldsmith:  32

Leatherworker: 31

Miner: 37

Thaumetergist:  27

Treasure hunting

I have a new favourite passtime! Treasure maps! Oh these things are fun!

Once you get to 36 on a gathering class, you can do a special quest to unlock this. Me being the idiot that I am, I thought you had to wait till 40, and thus missed out on four whole levels of treasure!

The quest goes over the basics. On 40+ nodes, you have a chance of finding a treasure map. Once you have gathered one, you have a 16 hour cooldown before you can get another. These maps will appear in a bottle in your inventory. You can only have one of each kind of map on you, and one decoded map. However, if you want, you can stash one of each kind of map on your retainers as well. useful for the 8-man Peistskins.

By right clicking the map, you can Decode it. This gives you a location and a general area of where the map is. Head there, and use Dig. if you are in the right area, the treasure chest will pop up. Opening it will destroy your map and start a fight, so make sure you are ready.

Depending on the map, monsters of varying difficulty will spawn. You must destroy them in order to open the chest and claim your reward, in the form of xp, gil, tomes and crafting items. And on certain maps, the rare rare chance of a minion. The most popular one, the wind-up tonberry, is selling for 300k on my local marketplace.

The 8 man peistskins can be completed with as few as four players, but it is suggested that you have a full group. As everyone will get the gil reward. If you are a free company saving up for a house, this can be a major boost! Each person with a map,and all donating their proceeds? thats close to a hundred thousand gil easy.

Now, I apologize for the time it took to get this post up. But it was for a good reason! I spent that time getting my Weaver up to level 50! Another class down! Woot!

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Armorer: 35

Blacksmith: 31

Botanist: 40

Carpenter: 30

Conjurer: 41 -> 43

Culinarian: 37

Fisher:  30 -> 31

Goldsmith:  32

Leatherworker: 31

Miner: 32 -> 37

Thaumetergist:  27

Weaver: 35-50

Status of the Blog: February

So, as everyone who has played an mmo knows, playing the same character for an extended amount of time gets kind of boring. So, I created a couple of alts to reduce the boredom. Note: I will still be working on Demana. I will only be counting her levels for this blog. But, I will occasionally be playing these new alts.

So, I've gotten a few likes on facebook, and a follower on my blog. Thanks to all of you. I will be continuing to work on this, even if I slow down a bit.

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Armorer: 30 -> 35

Blacksmith: 31

Botanist: 38 -> 40

Carpenter: 30

Conjurer: 37 -> 41

Culinarian: 37

Fisher:  30

Goldsmith:  32

Leatherworker: 31

Miner: 32

Thaumetergist:  26 -> 27

Weaver: 35

Leveling a Second Class

Leveling your first class on a character is simple! So much to work with. Quests all over the place, not to mention the necessiary story line quests. Your second class however... that can take longer.

Sure, there are the occasional quests that got left behind, but there are other things to look at.

Grinding: What is grinding? Grinding is when you head to a location and simply fight mobs. This is the longest, and most dull route. Thankfully, you do get a bonus to xp from kills, due to having a class higher then your current class. Plus, there are loot drops to consider. This can make grinding profitable.

Leves: Each day, you gain a set amount of Leves. These work as additional quests. While best used for crafting and gathering classes, they are also useful for leveling. If you are done with the DoH and DoL classes, then this is a quick route for xp.

Dailys: Upon hitting level 42, you have access to daily quests. Just like leves,you have so many per day. Unlike leves, unused quests don't stock up. If your class is a high enough level, I suggest at least turning them in as that class.

Roulette:  Each day you have access to a bonus for a random dungeon run and random guild hest. While the random dungeon run will give you tomes of philo for running at level 50, the experiance boost is much better. You can get the 100 philo simply running any end game dungeon, making the xp more valueable.

Fates: FATEs are everywhere. The good ones have multiple enemies, combining the benefits of quests with grinding. If you can get a good group of players and gather the enemies together, they are definately worth doing.

Dungeons: Since 2.2, dungeons have recieved a large boost to xp gain. Killing an enemy in a dungeon will reward around three times the amount of xp that killing a mob outside a dungeon will. Combined with how much mobs there are inside of a dungeon, this makes for quick leveling.


The best plan for leveling involves a mixture of these. Queu up for a dungeon (using roulette if you haven't already for the day),  then run and do some FATEs while you wait. Grind some mobs when there aren't any FATEs up, and then jump into a dungeon when its ready.

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Armorer: 30

Blacksmith: 31

Botanist: 33 -> 38

Carpenter: 30

Conjurer: 34 -> 37

Culinarian: 37

Fisher:  30

Goldsmith:  32

Leatherworker: 31

Miner: 32

Thaumetergist:  26

Weaver: 35

Job Unlocked: White Mage

For a while now, I have been training as a conjurer. Learnng the ways of nature and how to channel it. How to throw rocks and blow people away with wind. And now, my guild leader has news for me. He asked me to escort two of our own on a special ritual to please nature, so that we may continue to live in the forest.

I soon met the siblings Raya-O-Senna and A-Ruhn-Senna in the Central shroud. They were prepared to perorm the ritual to appease the great elemental. Unfortunately, their way was blocked by a bunch of monsters. I swore to protect them, as we rushed towards the tree.

At least a dozen monsters stood in our way. Our nature magic protected us, allowing us to take them down before making our way to the tree housing the great elemental. An there, on the ground, was a crystal. Raya recognised it, as the legacy of A-Towa-Cant. A soulgem bearing great power.

A-Towa was the last to perform the great ritual of Quelling. He bore the great power of the white mages. And now, he had chosen my to inherit his powers.

After being initiated into the White Mages, I recieved a notice from my guild master. Reports had come in of a wounded creature in the North Shroud. And was asked to heal it of its injuries.

I was surprised when I came across it. A beautiful unicorn, injured. I tended to it, using my magic to heal its wounds. It was so grateful, it let me a magic whistle. One that would allow me to summon it to aid me.

 Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Armorer: 30

Blacksmith: 30 -> 31

Botanist: 32 -> 33

Carpenter: 30

Conjurer: 27 -> 34

Culinarian: 37

Fisher: 28 -> 30

Goldsmith:  31 -> 32

Leatherworker: 30 -> 31

Miner: 32

Thaumetergist:  26

Weaver: 32 -> 35

Useful Macros

As I discussed in a previous post, I've found macros quite a bit more useful in FFXIV then I did in WoW. Crafting is much quicker using macros instead of figuring out what combination to use. I figured I'd post a few useful macros and commands.

First off, is the "/micon" command. This gives the macro a specific icon from an ability. Example:

/micon bio

This gives the macro the Bio icon. Bipassing the rather limited amount of icons available for selection. This also gives the icon a button cooldown, like the others on your toolbar.

Another useful command is <tt>. Example:

/ac bio <tt>

This casts the spell on the target of target. When playing a healer, I've found this command to be invaluable. I can keep my focus on the tank, and slap on a few DoTs between heals. Or even toss up a debuff.

Making a several spell macro with long lasting recast times? try '/recast'. Example:

/recast "rouse" <me>

This shows the time left before you can recast the spell. Useful for keeping track of any spells on cooldown, or whether a spell has actually trigger.

Here's a full blown macro for my fishing buddies.

/micon "Cast"
/ac "Hook" <me>
/wait 11
 /ac "mooch" <me>
/ac "Cast" <me>

So, this is meant to be activated when you hear or see that a fish has bitten. The animation takes a while to go through. At the end, it will first attempt to mooch the fish to catch a bigger one. If this doesn't work, it will once again cast out.

 Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Armorer: 30

Blacksmith: 30

Botanist: 27 -> 32

Carpenter: 30

Conjurer: 22-> 27

Culinarian: 33 -> 37

Fisher: 25 -. 28

Goldsmith: 30 -> 31

Leatherworker: 30

Miner: 30 -> 32

Thaumetergist:  25 -> 26

Weaver: 31-> 32

Grinding Golems!

My hunt for more gil brought me to the markets of Ul'Dah. A Lalafell, seeing my downcrest expression, informed me of strange new golems appearing! He informed me how the material might be worth a fortune on the market, and that he'd cut me in for a piece of it. He introduced himself as a representitive of Amajina & Sons mining. He gave me his business card, and sent me to meet with his associate. Told me I couldn't miss him.

He was right. There, at the location,was a buff guy with leather straps across his chest,and a weird helm on his head. Apparently, I was being a bit too stealthy. When I said hello, he nearly jumped onto the ceiling. Was pretty funny really.

He asked if I had plenty of experience dismantling golems. I hesitated before saying that I did. After all, i supposed destroying them would count as dismantling. He gave me the go ahead, promising me a 'refreshing' reward when I was done. Grinning happily, I pranced off, visions of gil dancing in my head.

I got to the dig site to find that, apparently, they corporation had hired a bunch of others to gather the material for them. Because there was a large group of other adventurers waiting there! It was a grab fest for bricks, golem parts flying everywhere! Thankfully, I managed to grab a few parts, getting out just in time. A nearby adventurer took a brick to the face, collapsing beside me.

I managed to get to the beefy businessman, crumbling parts in hand. The guy was  proud of me, said he had a special payment for me! He pointed behind me. I turned around, to find myself face to face with a bounty of beautiful ladies. i could only stare as they dragged me away, promising me a 'puff-puff' I would never forget. They blindfolded me. And then... i felt two warm and soft objects... pressing against either side of my face. It was heaven!

I was quite relaxed a few moments later, as we discussed the rest of my payment. Next thing I knew, I was ushered away. My pockets no fuller. However, I discovered a strange little golem stashed away in my bag. He refused to stop following me as I ran away.

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Armorer: 25 -> 30

Blacksmith: 26 -> 30

Botanist: 27

Carpenter: 27 -> 30

Conjurer: 22

Culinarian: 27 -> 33

Fisher: 23 -> 25

Goldsmith: 30

Leatherworker: 28 -> 30

Miner: 30

Thaumetergist:  21 -> 25

Weaver: 30 -> 31

Burgeoning Dread

There I was, enjoying a nice cup of milk, when I was alerted to a new threat to the land! a woman, screaming about the end of the world! She told me that the signs were all there! Flames from the heaven, tree-burying blizzards, cyclones carrying off packs of goobbues. I could only scratch my head in bewilderment, as I had yet to see any of these weather phenomena.

Turns out the woman was a reporter. And well... we all know how much they exaggerate. Still, she offered me a chance to be part of the story. And business was rather slow. So I agreed to explore this out.

Apparently, the commander of the Serpents believed this to be a Garlean plot. And I was to find proof that this was of otherwoldly origins. So i was off, to East Shroud. A quick hop, skip, and jump on chocobo. Imagine my surprise, to find dozens of adventurers already there. apparently, news travels fast.

Soon after, a spriggan, covered in rocks, appeared. The adventurers began their battle, tearing the spriggan to shreds. No sooner was it defeated, then a strange voice was heard, speaking in rhyme. The owner soon appeared. A massive Lalafell! She sent her spriggan minions after us, while she cast her spells. It was truly terrifying. However, just like her minion, she was made short work of.

The adventurers scattered after she dissappeared. But, I saw something, lying on the ground. It was a little doll. The kind I used to play with as a kitten. Well, this was proof that the Garleans weren't involved. As I doubt any of them even had a childhood. Proof in hand, I went to the Adder's Nest.

The commander mocked me for bringing him a doll, questioning my maturity. Oh, my fur was getting all ruffled. And then, the earth shook. The massive creature was back! Getting a better look at it, I realized it was not a Lalafell. Though, the resemblance was uncanny. And on top of it, was a smaller version! Lalafell sized! She jumped down, and the creature changed, becoming a small doll.

The commander was infuriated by the sorceress' demands that we grovel for mercy. A quick battle of wits and mockery ensued. The creature's name was soon revealed. Shantatto. And she had indeed, traveled from another dimension. She was here to save us... by destroying everything and making her own empire.

She thanked me for destroying her golem earlier. Giving me the shrunken form of her newest one as a reward. However, she warned me that I had better treat her right, or she would set my pants alight. Great. Now I'm rhyming!

Either way, she returned to her own dimension to prepare for the invasion. As for the doll she gave me, it was apparently still able to conquer a nation in its shrunken state. Hearing this, I quickly snuck away with my kitty stealth, hiding it away before the soldiers could demand it be turned over.  After all... it was adorable!

Levels:

Alchemist: 30

Armorer: 25

Blacksmith:  25 -> 26

Botanist:  26 -> 27

Carpenter: 27

Conjurer: 22

Culinarian:  25 -> 27

Fisher: 22 -> 23

Goldsmith: 30

Leatherworker: 27 -> 28

Miner: 26 -> 30

Thaumetergist:  18 -> 21

Weaver: 30

Storyline Complete

So, I've finished the main storyline. And while it was enjoyable, it was also quite frustrating.

The whole thing was one massive bottleneck! Its done to force players to slow down and take more time with their character. In order to access over two thirds of the dungeons, you need to go through the storyline. In order access the marketplace, retainers, or grand companies, you have to go through the storyline.

Honestly, I found it very annoying. Rather then bottlenecking players like that, they should just reward them for completing the storyline. Give them a choice. Have ways set up so that players can access the dungeons and features without going through it. Give those who do extra rewards. special minions, or mounts. early access to equipment.

Just don't force them to do it in order to progress. Or, perhaps, give them an option to skip it on future characters if they have completed it on one. Just saying!


Levels:

Alchemist: 25 -> 30

Armorer: 25

Blacksmith:  25

Botanist:  26

Carpenter: 25 -> 27

Conjurer: 22

Culinarian:  25

Fisher: 22

Goldsmith:  25 -> 30

Leatherworker: 26 -> 27

Miner: 26

Thaumetergist:  15 -.18

Weaver: 25-> 30

Arcanist 50!

 The first time is always special! Finally got my first class to 50! And with it, opens up more possibilities. I now have access to end game content. Hard Mode and Extreme Mode dungeon. Relic weapons and Darklight armor. And that isn't including the other 18 classes I've still got to level up.

But before that, I've got Job quests to complete! First, I headed to Gridania and Y'mhitra. She was in tears! Her college, the one investigating Tristan, was murdered! Together, we hurried to Mor Dhona, to investigate. With Titan-egi out for protection, we questioned the survivor.

They had found a soulcrystal! Tristan attacked and stole it. He had ran off with it, heading toward some place called the Singing Shards. It was time for this to end.

We found him there... talking to a man in a black mask! An Ascian of the Twelfth Chalice. Tristan tossed him three summoner soulcrystals. The man promised to extract the summoner's knowledge from them, as well as an elder primal, giving him the power.

He laughed when he saw us, saying that he had orchestrated our every move! That he would use his new power to eliminate the beast tribes. To prevent the primals from rising again. Tristan summoned his new beast. Belial Egi. And the fight was on.

Belial was powerful. I could barely hold him off. And then, Tristan did something that shouldhave been impossible! He absorbed his egi! Its powers increased his, allowing him to cast meteors down from the sky. Smaller elementals, Black Claws, were summoned. The battle was fierce. But finally, through Y'mhitra's help, he was defeated.

It was then he revealed his motives. His brother had been tempered by a primal. Forced to worship it and do its bidding. Through the power of the summoners, he had hoped to wipe out the beast races. He had killed his brother, and performed many a vile deed to claim the powers he had.

Tristan swore to tear the soulcrystal from my blasted form, and summoned his egi once more. However, the strain was too much. The egi exploded, and he was consumed. A sad end, to a blackened heart.

We returned to Gridania. Y'mhitra thanked me for my valient battles, and awarded me a final piece of Allascan armor. The Evoker's Doublet. Found at the same dig site as the soulcrystals. However, there was more. A whispering from the soulcrystal revealed to me the true power of my Egi. A power hidden deep within. One that would aid me in the future.

With that task completed, I headed to Limsa Lominsa. Alka came running to meet me, with reports of another Tonberry emerging from the Wandering Palace. The marauders were heading out in greater numbers to prevent it from escaping. She urged me to keep my fairy under control as we returned to Upper La Noscea.

I recognized the Tonberry. It was the same from earlier. But, it appeared to be enveloped in dark magics. Alka was ready for battle! Meanwhile, the Tonberry warned us. Warned its 'Sun' to stay away. The Tonberry ran, hiding inside the Wandering Palace. We followed, attacked by many other tonberrys. Soon, the wanderer came out, summoning a corrupted fairy to aid it. The battle was hard fought. but finally it was weakened. Alka made to strike the final blow, only for my fairy to once more block it. I knew what it wanted, and I cast my healing magic on the wanderer.

The magic removed the corruption from the Tonberry. It called my fairy Lily, and asked why she was here. It turns out, he had been a scholar named Surito Carito. 1500 years ago, a disease had been brought to Nym, transforming the infected into Tonberry. The scholars had tried to stop it, only to be infected themselves.

He thanked me for reuniting him with Lily, and for a moment, in the fairy's light, I saw him as he once was. The maruaders returned to the guild, while Surito wished to speak with me. The soulcrystal no longer worked for him, and he could no longer summon Lily. So, he bequethed it to me, and taught me his most powerful art, Lustrate. Gifting me a robe, he thanked me.

Levels:

Levels:

Alchemist: 25

Arcanist:  47 - 50, COMPLETE!

Armorer: 25

Blacksmith:  25

Botanist:  26

Carpenter: 25

Conjurer: 22

Culinarian:  25

Fisher: 22

Goldsmith:  25

Leatherworker: 26

Miner: 26

Thaumetergist:  15

Weaver: 25

Status of the Blog

So, I decided to change a little bit about how I'm posting. I'm going to be listing all my jobs, in order to make it easier for me to keep track of. The labels  will still include just the ones that have gained levels.

Also, I'm approaching an important milestone. In less then a week, I'll have my first level 50 character. I'm really excited about that. I'll be able to enjoy end game content, while leveling more classes.

Also, thanks to some friends, I'm working on ways to get this blog more out there. Setting up a facebook page, and seeing about Google+. I've already got a twitter account set up, with friends helping me.

Twitter: @FFXIV50
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ffxiv50
Goggle+: Will update if I create.

Levels:

Alchemist: 25

Arcanist: 45 -> 47

Armorer: 21 -> 25

Blacksmith: 20 -> 25

Botanist: 25 -> 26

Carpenter: 25

Conjurer: 22

Culinarian: 22 -> 25

Fisher: 22

Goldsmith: 21 -> 25

Leatherworker:  25 -> 26

Miner: 25 -> 26

Thaumetergist:  15

Weaver: 25

Summoner and Scholar

The time came to return to Y'mhitra! Having defeated Garuda, I was ready to take her essence and summon her egi! But first, new clothes! Ymhitra has apparently found me some special gear, crafted for summoners! So I'm off to get my new threads!

The trip takes me to Mor Dhona, a frozen wasteland with crystals everywhere. Apparently, the gear was uncovered by some archeologists. But they weren't going to just let me have them. no. I must first get rid of the Mirrorknights invading the dig sites.

The constructs fell one by one. And for each, I was rewarded with a piece of the Evoker's gear. I could feel the ancient arcane power in them. And finally, I was given the headpiece. The horn. The symbol of the Summoner. And I knew, I was ready. Ready to bind Garuda-Egi to my services.

Y'mhitra had found the perfect location. The Floating City of Nym. It was time to return to those ruins. The whispers were calling to me through the win. The journey was quick, the path was clear. And before long, the ritual was underway.

Garuda-egi lived up to her original form. she lashed at me with powerful winds, her pinions striking at me. And when I thought I had her down, she summoned a pair of egis of her own to assault me. Still, infused with the power of the Allegan, she went down like the others.

Y'mhitra congratulated me, on binding the three avatars to my service. And promised me that she would seek out information on Tristain, and what treasure he sought. But until then, I had other tasks. And it was off to the Marauder's guild to speak with Alka.

Alka, too, had new gear for me. She had found inscriptions depicting the ancient scholar garments. She hoped they would restore more of my pixie's memories. I would first need direwort shrubs. Their dye an important ingrediant. I would then take this material to the master tailors of Ul'dah.

The shrubs were guarded by Marlboro's. Those foul breathing plants. I spent the battle running around the field, picking them off one by one. Their noxious fumes nearly did me in. But I prevailed at the end.

Leaves in hand, I headed to meet Mister Redolent Rose. While he was able to do some of the work, he wasn't able to do it alone. I was forced to visit the goldsmiths and leatherworkers to complete the outfit. The trip was worth it. As I soon stood in a set of gear worthy of a scholar.

I returned to Alka, the very image of a Nymian Scholar. She had translated more of the tablets, reporting a story of a virulent plague. The scholars, with the aid of the fairys, purified the land of this disease. She sent me to Camp Bronze Lake, to help the ill and wounded.

They eagerly welcomed me at the camp, and sent me to work. My magic easily removed the disease. However, as soon a I cured my third and fifth patient, I was attacked by the corrupted aether I had extracted. The plague cured, I headed back to Alka. My faerie, meanwhile, had remember the purifying magic.

And now, what you all wish to see. My beauty in these new gears!

Scholar

Summoner

Garuda and rep grind

So, I finally got to Garuda. Damn she was a pain in the ass! Especially when she suddenly whips out an attack that does two times as much damage as i have hit points.

after finally handing her feathery butt on a plate, I started looking into the rep grinds. I love these. Always one of my favourite parts of World of Warcraft.

Near the end game, around 42 and 43, you can start a series of quests with the Slyph and the Amal'jaa. You can do 6 daily quests each day, choosing from between the two of them. At first, they will only have three quests each. However, as you build your rep, you will be able to choose from a total of 9 each.

The rep grind provides items. Starting with crafting, then dyes. At the end, you can get a new minion, and an expensive mount. A lot of the crafting materials are good. The Amal'jaa sells metals, while the Sylph sells cloth.

At the start, you can do all the quests from either side. But later, you will need to pick and choose. Personally, i hate the invisibility quest the Sylph give. So, I'm currently only doing 5 out of 6 dailys.

Levels:

Arcanist: 44 -> 45

Scholar

After some nudging from my company mates, I went after the scholar job.  So, I found myself back at Limsa Lominsa and the Arcanist guild. They sent me to the Marauder's guild, where I met a little one by the name of Alka Zolka who is different then the others. Intelligent and wordy. Apparently she had translated some tablets. But, they were stolen.

A quick trip to eastern La Noscea and a race across the sands led me to her, where she had come across the bandits. The fight was quick and brutal, with the bandits dieing off before us. She was excited at finding a tablet containing a military treatise. And I found the fairies of Eos and Selune. New familiars to serve me and my role as scholar.

Alka asked me to meet her back at the Marauders guild, where she hopefully have more of the tablets translated. It turns out the crystal was the Soul of the Scholar. Knowing little about the ways of the arcane, she entrusted me with the crystal.

I took a moment to familiarize myself with my new allies. Eos was a healer. She could regenerate my allies, place protection upon us and improve our healing . Selene offered support. Silencing my enemies while speeding my allies up. A quick run of a dungeon allowed me to learn my abilities quickly.

It didn't take long before Alka was ready. More of the tablet was translated and he had news for me. Apparently, my power came from the fairy who had forgotten most of it. So, it was now my task to help her remember. A quick jog to a familiar place should remind her. So, a journy to the city, or rather ruins, of Nym in Outer la Noscea

A quick check of my map revealed that I had yet to journey there. So this was a trip for both of us. A quick flight through a bunch of kobolds brought us to Camp Overlook. A quaint little place. but merely a stop on our journey to the ruins.

The ruins were filled with whispers. Ancient lore long forgotten. Massive coeurls and golems made of basalt blocked our way. The whispers were having a clear effect. The faery was starting to remember. We were ready to leave. But, not before taking a glance at the Nymian ruins in the distance.

While there, the faerie remembered some of the ancient power. When we returned, Alka was surprised by our discovery, promising to continue studying the tablets to reveal some discoveries of her own.

When next I saw her, Alka was excitedly babbeling about Marauder techniques and footwork. Upon seeing me, she pulled me aside. She had a problem she needed my assistance with. A tonberry had wandered out into Bronze Lake. And the marauders had been dispatched to defeat it. She asked for my assistance, pointing out that tonberries had claimed a nymian temple and were most likely ancient enemies of the fairy. Perhaps fighting them would rekinde more memories.

We met at the temple in Bronze Lake.The tonberry was most peculiar, wearing a graduate's cap and tassle, as well as glasses. However, it soon charge us, summoning slimes to aid it. We made short work of the slimes, and Alka charged to strike the killing blow. However, as she did, my faerie charged in front, stopping her. The tonberry stared at her for a moment in shock, before running off.

Alka was upset, knowing that her boss would be unhappy. But meanwhile, I knew that something was up. My faerie knew the tonberry. Somehow.

Still, Alka encourage me to gain better control over my faerie. She does not undestand. She is not a simple summon. She is a living creature. With a mind of her own and her own memories. I look forward to what those memories reveal.

Levels:

Arcanist: 41 -> 44

Summoner fixed

So, the Y'mhitra is back up and working. And with that, I was able to continue my adventure. Apparently, during her time down, she found some information on the Gary Oak impersonater who attacked me. She sent me to Little Ala Mihgo to meet with an informant, and a name. Tristan.

No sooner did I meet with the informant, then I was attacked by a trio of hired thugs. Apparently Tristan warned his friends, who thought I was a servant of the primals. I was a bit dissappointed there wasn't more challange.

Levels:

Arcanist: 40 -> 41

Botanist: 23 -> 25

Conjurer: 16 -> 22

Fisher: 21 -> 22

Weaver: 24 -> 25

Heavensturm

Alright. I got bored. With my summoner down and my healer taking a bit, I started Heaventsurm. My journey started at the Amphitheater in Gridania. There, I met a lady wearing a horse helm. Uma Bugyo, from the Far East.

Who is eager to bring the Horse to Eorzea. But, apparently, no horse is allowed in the Black Shroud. So, she urges me to wear the helm and be the Horse. Yeah... not happening. But, it seems interesting so far, so I'll go along with it.

I apparently need to get all three capitals to agree. And in return, I get three different helms. Starting with the gold. And there, I met Uma Yoriki.

He urged me to accept that the horse was more beautiful then the chocobo. Yeah. no. Anyways, he send me to Bentbranch Meadows. To speak with the Golden Uma Doshin. Wearing... that ridiculous helmet... *sigh* There will be no pictures of that.

Anyways, I met with Uma Doshin. Who criticised the people of this realm. To show the beauty of the horse, he had me pose amongst the chocobo. Why that would show the beauty of the horse, and not my beauty, I have no idea. But I did it. I think the chocobos laughed at me...

Whatever. I had to do another pose for the Doshin. Who then sent me on my way, in tears from laughing so hard I'm sure! I feel rediculous...

A quick trip back got me the golden horse helm. I then had to head to Limsa Lominsa for the Red Uma Yoriki. And really, if you've seen one horse head guy, you've seen them all... Anyways, I was then sent to Red Rooster Stead. To show them the strength of the horse, they had another red horse helmed guy helping with the harvest. These guys are weird. What, just because we look like a horse we suddenly have the strength and beauty of one? Ugh.

The poor guy had put out his back. Wuss. So, I had to go and help with the harvest. And then they expected me to hook myself up to the carriage and pull it myself. Ohhh! I scratched them up something fierce for that! They decided I was strong enough after that, and I went on my way. Got the red helm and back to Uma Bugyo.

A trip to Ul'dah, and I'm before the Black Uma Yoriki. And a test of speed. So, like a certain group of birds, I ran. And I ran. Some young adventurer pointed out how ridiculous I look. I gave him the scratching of his life before I got back on my way. And I ran. And I ran. When I finally go to the Black Uma Doshin, they told me how they thought I was fast. And how they would like to mount me. That was it. All my fury came out at that point. Things went black. When i came to, the poor thing was unrecognisable. Woops. Well, I took my carrot and headed back to Ul'dah to claim my prize.

Back to Gridania I went, my black helmet on. Only to find that some group called the Chocowacker was against all this horse nonsense. And so, I left to speak with the people. Of the grandness of horses. And they spoke of the legends of unicorns. and the speed of horses. With that, I was off to meed with the Chocowackers. A challange was made. Their strongest chocobo, versus a horse.

So, i headed to Treespeak in North Shroud, to witness the battle. Instead I saw a childish spat about which was better. The chocobo was finally delivered... by a man wearing a horse helm. He spoke that, while both were great, neather was the finest creature he had seen. Instead... I was!

*Blush* Well, I must admit... he's right there.

Levels:

Conjurer : 15 -> 16

Summoner Bugged

*sigh* so I reach 40, only for the quest giver to end up being bugged. I try to pick up the quest from her, only to find that she won't give it to me.

I realise that with games getting bigger and bigger, it becomes much harder to find bugs. And this one would be easy to take care of. Admin kills the quest giver, and respawns it. That should fix it.Until then, I'm leveling my Conjurer.

Levels:

Alchemy:  18 -> 24

Arcanist: 37 -> 40

Carpenter: 23 -> 25

Conjurer: 10 -> 15

Leatherworker: 18 -> 25

Know your role!

You know what ticks me off? People who don't know how to play their class! I'm not talking about low levels who are just starting out. I'm talking about characters in mid to high level dungeons who don't know what the hell they are doing!

Seriously! Tanks, know how to keep the agro off you party members. Healers, keep the tank from dying! DPS, lay the smack down on the boss! How hard is it? Yes, a couple of boss battles require some additional strategy. But other then that, there isn't too much required of you.

There is of course, one other thing every class needs to know how to do...

Levels:

Botanist: 22 -> 23

Carpenter: 20 ->  23

Culinarian : 19 -> 22

Fisher: 20 -> 21

Miner: 24 -> 25

Weaver: 22 -> 24

Titan Egi!

So, I quit Mutiny, and joined The Older Gamers. my friend Galen Malchome recommended it. So after an application process, I got in and met my new companions.

While I did enjoy Mutiny, there just wasn't enough people on. I play MMOs for the social aspect. I like to chat with people. Otherwise, I might as well be just playing another video game on my console.

we ran a few dungeons together. And I finally got to The Navel to fight Titan. Halfway through.. I fell... and could not get up. Where is Life alert when you need them?

Anyways, the battle was soon over, and I was fianlly able to do my level 35 Summoner Quest. At level 37. Ran back to Gridania, picked up the quest and teleported to North Shroud. Expecting a battle like the one I fought against Ifrit-Egi, I set my home point so I wouldn't have far to run after I died.

I summoned Tankenstien, and rode off to the quest location. I started it up... and had an easy fight. I was rather surprised. He went down without any difficulty. I started to pat myself on the back, and then...

A New Challenger Approaches!!!

 

 

 

Gary Oak appeared to challenge me to a pokemon battle! Woops, wrong game. Anyways, the guy sends his Ifrit-Egi to fight me. It was easily distracted by Tankenstein, as I was yet to gain my Titan-Egi. Course, my fellow kitty had no problem summoning him to scare off the enemy at the end. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Anyways, got my Voidwalker Titan-Egi, and a new spell! Fester. Which does additional damage per DoT on an enemy. Probably causes quite a bit of aggro too. I'll find out when i run with another party. Which probably wont be too long from now. Level 40, here I come!

Haukke Mansion and Gil Spammer

Had my first run of Haukke mansion today. Did good until the last boss. Then everything fell apart. And as the story can be advacend no further, I have to wait for a successful run before my Summoner can get her next summon. Got to complete the Navel.

So, let me take this time to talk about something I HATE! Gil sellers. You see this on every MMO out there. People spamming you with tells, trying to get you to spend actual money on in game currency. Its annoying as all hell! Not to mention against the rules.

At least in Warcraft, you only got them when you were in the capital cities. Here, I get them everywhere!.

Levels:

Arcanist:33  -> 37

Botanist: 21 -> 22

Carpenter: 17 -> 20

Leatherworker: 17 -> 18

Weaver: 21 -> 22

Crafting cross class skills!

So, I have gotten all of my crafting skills over 15! This means I have unlocked all the first tier of cross-class skills. Each of them is interesting in their own way. But some are more useful then others.

Before we get to that, I'd like to send out the call. This blog has recieve no followers. And no comments. I would appreciate it if this changed. By following the blog, you'll get updates when I post them. And by posting comments, I'll hear what you think of this blog. And what your thoughts are on my posts. I want to know that I'm gettng repeat traffic. That people aren't just glancing at my blog, and deciding that it isn't worth their time. So, if you would, please follow and comment. Or even follow me on Twitter! @FFXIV50. Thank you. Now, onto the cross-class skills!

Careful Synthesis: (Weaver) Efficiency: 90%, Success Rate: 100%. Increases progress.

This is my new progress skill. I only use this. No risk of failure. Once you know how much each use gives, you know how many times you need to use it. Straight up awesome.

Hasty Touch: (Culinarian) Efficency: 100%, Success Rate: 50%. Increases quality and requires no CP

You see this here? I love this baby! Oftentimes i've run out of CP, still had Durability to go. Progress just needed one pop to complete and quality was still low. I could waste time popping this off to try and get that quality up, and then just slap on the final touch. This has gotten me more HQ items then I care to count.

Ingenuity: (Blacksmith) CP 24. Lowers recipe level to current level for the next five steps

This ability.. is a bit iffy. By lowering the level to your current level, this gives you a bigger boost in progress and  raising quality. But honestly, only use this if you are doing really high level stuff. Considering that most of the time, you'll be repeating lower level recipes, this should only have a temporary spot on your toolbar.

Manipulation: (Goldsmithing) CP 88. Restores 10 points of durability after each step for the next three steps

This skill should replace Master's Mend if you are still using it. It does the same thing, except you don't have to wait to use it. Plus, if you are using skills that don't remove durability, you'll regain it.  Not one I often use though.

Rapid Synthesis: (Armorsmithing) Efficiency: 250%, Success Rate: 50%. Increase progress

If you feel like taking some risks, this is an awesome ability. Simply pop Steady Hand first, so the Success Rate will climb to 70%. You'll be getting 50+ on your progress.

Rumination: (Carpenter) Removes Inner Quiet effect and restores CP proportional to the number of times control was increased

As someone who always uses Inner Quiet, this skill is somewhat useful. You click Inner Quiet at the beginning, and you just plow through your crafting. If you have Durability left over, but not enough CP, you pop this baby and get back to work!

Tricks of the Trade: (Alchemist) Restores 20 CP. Can only be used when material condition is Good.

If you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants, this skill is useful. Every time the condition changes to Good, you pop this baby and gain 20 cp. The tradeoff is that you don't get to use that condition change to improve your quality, and it increments the steps. 

Waste Not: (Leatherworking) CP: 56. Reduces loss of Durability by 50% for the next 4 steps.

This is one of my favourites! It gives your four steps for the price of two! Its also rather cheap in comparison to some of the other Durability skills.

levels:

Arcanist: 31 -> 33

Armourer: 18 -> 21

Blacksmith: 15 -> 20

Carpenter: 16 -> 17

Conjurer: 8 -> 9

Culinarian: 13 -> 19