MyFinalFantasy

Gamers Anonymous

2014-11-05T19:15:00.004-08:00

My chair grates against the dirty tile floor in the Gamer's Anonymous meeting room. My cheeks flush red for a moment and I pause to take a look around at the dozen pairs of eyes all fixated on my every move. I imagine them for a moment transfixed by the illuminating glow of computer monitors and take a deep breath. They are just like me.

"Hello, my name is Bob and I am a gamer."

There is a murmur of "Hello Bob" and I do my best to smile. My name isn't really Bob but I doubt the authenticity of several other name tags in the room. Misskitty and Gankymcgank are obviously reflections of online personas. These are the real addicts, those who can't separate their characters from their own individual personalities, at least - that's what I tell myself.

Ganky applies some smelly herbal concoction to his felt-tip marker and winks at me as he positions himself behind an unsuspecting victim. I continue, "I have played World of Warcraft off and on since Open Beta."

I used to be Bob, the gamer who missed out on eating dinner with his wife and kids regularly; opting instead to eat my meals in front of the computer screen. It is so many others on a daily basis. It could end up being you. World of Warcraft touts 11.5 million subscribers, according to some sources. While that doesn't take into consideration the sheer number of customers who pay for multiple accounts, the number is still impressive by industry standards alone. Regardless of who pays for the accounts, each one returns a monthly profit for Blizzard. MMO addiction spells big profits for gaming companies and World of Warcraft has proven that it can hold and maintain market interest, or fuel addiction according to some.

The scenario at the beginning of this article is fictitious and does not represent any personal experience, nor any experience that I have heard of. It may sound extreme to some, while others may wish for such a support group to help them break free from their virtual chains. We can all understand a weakness to entertainment and a desire to be constantly entertained. Most of us go to work or school, both in some cases, and then come home and look to gaming as a form of stress relief or escape from the responsibilities that no one else seems to understand. Soon we find that we're staying up just a little bit later in order to finish an instance run or a quest chain, a few minutes turns into a few hours. In the morning we log in before dashing out the door so we can see if our auctions sold. We log in again as soon as we get home and then repeat the process.

Somewhere along the way we get lost. The gaming loses its purpose and we log in to do nothing in particular. Questing doesn't sound fun, PvP (player versus player) has lost its charm, not everyone is interested in getting achievements for doing the same old crap... so we log in and we sit. It is then that addiction becomes the most apparent, when the game turns into a chat program with phenomenal graphics and you still pay 15 dollars a month.

Some read the trade, city, and guild chats - making funny comments here and there. Others find enjoyment in becoming an internet bully and chide silly questions and belittle other players at random. I stopped posting to the forums a very long time ago, but I often stopped in to read the class sections for tips on how to cope with patch changes. It has never been uncommon to find well put together posts suggesting changes or protesting actions taken by the developers hammered by the forum trolls with responses indicating that the player should "learn to play" or "just quit - can I have your items?" or maybe the most absurd: "tldr" (too long didn't read) as if telling someone that you didn't read their post because you thought it was too long is worth the effort of mentioning in the first place.

Perhaps it becomes like smoking, where some claim that the desire to smoke had been replaced with the habit of lighting up and holding the cigarette. I know that there were days when I would log in just because it was habit to do so. In that regard, maybe it isn't that far off.

Unlike in life, however, the player has some control over how they interact with this virtual environment. Everyone looks the same and on face value, everyone starts out the same. The geek can become the jock, the kid with no friends can be popular. The guy who’s always been picked on can be the bully. The possibilities are endless, just as they are in real life, but many of these same individuals have associated life with failure, with responsibility, and perhaps with impossible odds. Anything risked in the game world can be associated with entertainment until the game becomes life. For most, life does not allow you to simply start over whenever you are unhappy with the results of your decisions.

It's only when I step back from the game for a while that I see what makes World of Warcraft so alluring. In many ways it is just like life. It is unfair and disappointing. The developers change aspects of your class that you loved and so you re-roll, creating a new character that better fits the flavor of the month changes. Some players choose to stay true to their original class and continue to play in the face of patches that cause them to receive less invites to raids and strip them of their unique abilities in an effort to homogenize class roles - designed to promote the concept of 'Bring the player, not the class'.

If such changes were made in real life, the consequences might result in the loss of your job as the company you work for decided that reductions in production staff could be offset with an increase in sales staff with more reliance on automated production lines. In World of Warcraft, however, negative changes to the class you play can be mitigated by playing an alt (alternate character) instead.

Addiction to video games is real. Addiction to World of Warcraft is real. Regardless of why you play, of why you continue to log in, and why you haven't quit time and time again when you thought you would for sure, many people feel the same. The good news is that there is life after World of Warcraft and there is life outside of it. Sometimes it takes getting angry with the direction the game is headed, sometimes it takes someone else quitting and successfully re-entering life, and sometimes it might just require some counseling like it did for Bob. Any way you shake it, though, life is good. You should join us sometime - no guild application required!

Applications for Beta for Final Fantasy XIV Reborn Now Accepted

2013-01-13T11:52:00.001-08:00

Well, it looks like Beta testing for FFXIV Reborn is just around the corner! If you'd like to get in on the action and snag a sneak peak of the new engine and changes they've made to the world, now's your chance to apply. Another great thing about this Beta event is that the staff are being much more attentive to player input than we had the first time around. Need another reason to apply? This Beta even will ACTUALLY include testing on the PS3 system!!!! This is a huge move forward in securing a multi-platform player base!

What is a world without second chances? This reminds me of the plot of one of my short stories, "The Viability of a Seed" in which a 2,000 year old date palm seed is given a second chance to grow. Inspired by the real-life story of Methuselah, a Judean Date Palm sprouted from a 2,000 year old seed, this story makes no promise of success -- merely the chance to succeed. The only hope for Methuselah is that it turns out to be female, in which case the plant species that has been extinct for centuries will be reborn. If Methuselah is male, it may very well be the last of its kind. In the same way, if FFXIV fails to succeed in 2.0, it may be the last MMO that Square-Enix produces in the Final Fantasy franchise.

So, how do you apply for the BETA? Do you need to have already purchased the first version of the game? The good news is that anyone can apply for access to the Beta event, even if you've never played Final Fantasy XIV! All you have to do is go to the Beta Application page and apply! Those players who purchased the PS3 version of FFXIII can enter the code that came with the game for possible preference in acceptance for the PS3 Beta.

The Modern FFXI Dilemma

2012-07-26T08:55:00.002-07:00

Should I return to Final Fantasy? This is a question that many people find themselves asking. The reasons for why they left the game vary. Perhaps another MMORPG came out that seemed interesting, stealing their attention for a time but not able to sustain their gaming needs. Perhaps the sale of gil by gilfarmers and the subsequent volatility in the economy drove them out. Over time, those frustrations fade into the memories of the good times had in the game. Maybe many friends departed the game and loneliness prompted the subscription cancellation. There are countless reasons why people leave and just as many for wanting to come back.

But before you reactivate your subscription or repurchase the game, you have to consider what changes may have rolled out in the game since you've been gone, whether many of your online friends have departed or if that even matters, and whether your expectations match up with what Final Fantasy 11 can offer you in its current state.

One of the first places you're going to want to look is the Official FFXI Homepage. Here you'll find information about recent and upcoming updates, detailed patch notes, and other community related information.

I also recommend checking out FFXI web communities and forums. I won't provide links here because there's no guarantee the ones I post will remain active. Your best bet is to do some Google searching. If you are having difficulty finding anything with an active user base, this should indicate what you may find in-game.

Things have changed since the early days of finding a party, standing around whacking and skill-chaining or healing while someone pulls. That is quite rare now and has been for some time. The paradigm has shifted, most of the common gameplay is mob warfare. Alliances of players run around for hours upon end from book to mobs, or a small section of an Abyssea zone, hacking and slashing without coordination. It can be fun, but it isn't the same experience as it was before.

There are still NM's to seek out and fight for drops or glory. There are still BCNM's and other higher-skill events to lead or participate in. Fishing and crafting is still a part of the game, though the economy may have shifted somewhat since you've been gone.

In the end, I think it comes down to expectations. With so many free-to-play options available, you may find yourself better suited to making new memories in new games or waiting for the next big expansion release to catch the influx of new and returning players. Whatever you do, be sure to make an educated decision and if you do resubscribe, make sure it's for the right reasons.

Happy gaming!

I Was a FFXI Player

2012-07-19T00:08:00.001-07:00

Every now and then I find myself fighting the urge to re-up my subscription to dive back in to Final Fantasy's MMO worldscape of Vana'diel. I can manage to stave it off for a while, but eventualities always keep me braving the absurd and the monthly charges once again assault my credit card.

The realization that the things I loved about the game are still present, but mutated... enjoyable but no longer the same takes a while to kick in. Naturally, I begin to question why. Why do I spend so much time in the game chasing the phantom memories that made my addiction so long lasting? Whenever I resubscribe, I'm charged a hefty $16.95 a month for my primary character and three mules. The cost is so steep compared to other available gaming options, but still the allure manages to seep through.

I wonder about this every now and then. What was it about this game that can bring me back time and time again? The world has changed, the party structures and roles have changed, even the jobs themselves have seen such radical change over time.

This last endeavor only lasted a month. I was enjoying myself, but no one I used to know was playing so it was like starting all over. You sit in Port Jeuno and listed for shouts and yells and get into the groups that seem fun. You take some jobs and level to cap and then max out merits, perhaps rinse and repeat a few times... So a bit of test farming to see what's making the easy gil. Maybe even poke around on FFXIAH.com to see what times you can buy for less than vendor prices to sell back to npc's at a tidy profit. After a while, though, these paltry activities leave you wanting a bit more. It always goes back to the good ol' days, doesn't it?

The remember when's of yesteryear are truly the ghost in the machine. Over time, games must change to stay viable. Leave the game and come back to see it changed and you suddenly have to reconcile those differences. Depending on where you are and where you were, those changes could have serious impacts on the way you play your game. This could mean spending countless hours researching builds, jobs, gear options, or whether you should switch altogether and level up a job you had in the closet. Great, now you're far behind the curve because you've got to group and gear for what you want. Is your job a desirable? If not, you best be starting the parties and alliances it'll take to get the jobs done. After that, it's still a whole lot of luck.

The new expansion is on the horizon. New jobs, new lands, a great many things unseen. I'm not sure if I'll be buying a copy to jump back in, but you better believe it'll be a terrible battle of wills.

GG, SE, GG

FFXI Mog Satchel - Registering your Security Token

2011-10-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a run down of the procedures you must follow in order to successfully register your FFXI Security Token so you can log in with your new one-use passwords and enable your Mog Satchel.

Open the box and navigate to the internet address provided.
Create an account and log in. (Accept the usage agreement.)
Enter your email address.
A verification email is sent to the address you entered.
Click the URL provided in the verification email.
Enter your desired ID. (Check for availability.)
Enter a password. (Enter in the password confirmation.)
Enter your birthday.
Select a security question. (Just in case you lose or forget your password.)
Enter the answer to your security question.
Confirm the data and submit.
Login using the account you just created.
Select the Security Expansion. (Click next.)
Select the Security Token Registration. (Click next.)
Accept the terms. (Click next.)
Enter the seriel number located on the back of your Security Token.
Press the red button on your Security Token to display a one-use password.
Enter the six digit code displayed on the device. (Click next.)
Complete the Registration.

Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it? But wait! You aren’t done! Now that you’ve registered your Security Token, you’ve got to add it to your PlayOnline account! I know, right? But don’t worry, this is pretty quick and easy too.

On the left of the screen, click Link Settings.
Select “Add a link” (Click next.)
Select PlayOnline. (Note: trial accounts cannot be linked.)
Select PlayOnline Info. (Click next.)
Confirm your account.
Confirm Add.
Open PlayOnline.
Edit login settings to include “One time password”

Congratulations! You have now added the Security Token to your FFXI account. You will now be required to enter two passwords each time you log in. The first password will be the one that you created in the registration portion of this guide. The second password will be generated by pressing the red button on your Security Token device. “One time password” does not indicate that you will only enter the password once, but instead that each password the device generates will only be good for one use. You will still be required to enter in a new password in this field each time you log in.
If you have found this guide useful, I would also like to recommend my other articles on Final Fantasy XI.

How to Beat FFXI

2011-09-26T11:36:00.001-07:00

Okay, so the game isn't really beatable, it just isn't designed that way. But there are things within Final Fantasy XI that were very hard, or next to impossible, to do without a dedicated group that have become much easier with the increased level cap. As a bit of a disclaimer, I was recently prescribed Prozac for some service related anxiety problems and as a result my desire to play the game has all but faded away in the last couple of weeks. I'm a disabled veteran, you see, and as a result I sometimes have a hard time dealing with everyday situations. I haven't given up the ghost yet, and still plan on spending more quality time within vana'diel.

Some of my recent accomplishments include progressing further in both the ToAU and WotG story lines, getting my soboro great katana, and getting my joytoy. Classic items such as the Blau Dolche dagger have become incredibly cheap, but are still just as effective in their normal level range before you begin upgrading to new weapons and gear from the add-ons.

I haven't experienced anything new from the recent level cap increase to 95 yet. I just log in and do some crafting, post to the auction house, and check on my chocobo. Other than that I've been pinging around the house doing things I haven't done much of in years. It's both good and bad. Sometimes I feel like I'm burning the fuse at both ends. Panic attacks are not uncommon.

I've been trying to think of other things I can do in FFXI that might have a more calming affect. Maybe I Gould spend more time working on the magian weapons, or leveling RDM from 75. I don't know. It seems that the key to having a great time in the game is still based on the idea of having core friends you can do things with. I mean, I can solo Shinryu, but that's not much fun after the first few times. I could probably go solo some of the old gods in Sky, but I never learned much about that area and how all of that works.

I have been meaning to level up my synergy skill, but that honestly sounds so boring.

So how about you guys? What have you been doing lately in FFXI that seems worthy of your time? Have you gone back to lay some of those elusive notorious monsters like Charybdis? Have you been looking for things to do while leveling multiple jobs to 90, now 95? Give me some feedback here.

FFXI Thunder Magian Staff Trials

2011-06-30T06:39:00.001-07:00

I managed to hit level 90 on my Black Image after leaving it at 61 for the longest time, so I figured that it might me a good idea to start working on the magian staves to replace my old elem staves I've had laying about. One of the first things I noticed was that the first trial overlaps for several staves. While inventory slots are precious right now, I decided to grab a few so the trial staves and headed out to Grauberg (S) to smack down some treants with the frequent wind weather there.

Trial 790
Treants
50 while
weather must be present
5 points per kill
Grauberg (S)

This was slow going solo, but it wasn't long before someone else showed up with a lot more to kill than I needed for one staff. Taking advantage of the momentum, I warped back to Jeuno and turned in the trial for the first, then a second, and a third staff. Note: you can't have the same trial on more than one weapon. You have to warp back and accept 790 on the next staff once you've completed one.

Trial 791
50 Spiders
Weather: Heat, Wind, Thunder, or Light
5 points per kill
Kuftal Tunnel

I tried for hours hanging out in the Boyahda Tree for thunder but it was a no go. I'd read about this being the same experience for some on the wiki talk page for this trial and they'd ended up heading to Kuftal to finish. After several levels of staff skill dorking around in the Tree as BLM/BST, I caved and headed for the hills. Finishing this trial was super quick with another duo I ran into there. And just as we finished we ran face to face into Guivre. Yikes! Okay, not so much anymore. I popped manawall, hit manafont for giggles, and went to town. I'd say the poor guy didn't have much of a chance, but I don't feel that bad for him. That day vengeance was mine!

Trial 816
50 Monsters
Weather or Day: Thunder
1, 5, or 6 points per kill
The Boyahda Tree

By the time I rolled around to this trial, the weather npc gave favorable chances for lightning in the Tree, so I headed out to kill spiders and shrooms. It was easy enough, nothing too interesting to report here. I did go as BLM/BST for more staff skill and the kills were super easy, as they should be at this level. The numbers listed above for kills are as follows: 1 for a kill on Lightningsday, 5 for Thunder weather, 6 for both at the same time.

Trial 817
75 Beasts
Weather or Day: Thunder
1, 5, or 6 points per kill
The Boyahda Tree

Again, weather was feeling stormy in the Tree, so that's where I went. Only this time the target was the bunnies, Moss Eaters. Super easy, went /bst for staff skill. Ran out of weather and finished the last 20 or so with day kills, which was a bit slower but did the trick.

Trial 822
150 Vermin
Killing blow >= 50 Thunder damage
1 point per kill
Grauberg (S)

For this trial I headed back to Grauberg to hunt down those pesky chigoes. I ended up getting a group for a little less than half of these and with another BLM in the group we totally smoked them. Thundaga III followed by a Thundaga and that was that. Soloing took some time, but it wasn't too bad since I no longer had to wait for weather and the kills were easy. En-disease did suck when it landed so I just tried to keep refresh up and convert handy from my RDM sub.

That's all I have for now. Next on my list is trial 823, 200 slimes with Thunder killing blow of 150+. Den of Rancor is supposed to be good. I'll update later as I progress.

FFXI Ultimate Collection Abyssea Edition

2011-05-22T09:25:00.001-07:00

After several months trying to like FFXIV and many attempts to go back and try to get into the game, I finally made my way back to Final Fantasy XI. It seems like now was the perfect time to return with the release of the Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection - Abyssea Edition. You can get right back into the game with all of the expansions and add-ons for only 20 bucks and it's available as a digital download through Amazon and Steam. This was perfect for me since I had missed the latest addons and at the normal 10 bucks a pop I saved a good ten bucks at least. I honestly can't recall where I left off with the addons since I didn't really end up doing any of the story lines for them past the first one, and of course I stopped playing right before I got the sweet end piece of augmented gear.

Now there is Abyssea and a level cap of 90. I'm left wondering which class I should play. I've spent the last couple of days dorking around on BST and finishing an old 290 axe trial. Is it just me or did experience points from mobs get increased? I started the quest to get into the new areas, I just need to go enter one of the maws and turn in my key item for some visitation time. Without a linkshell, though, it seems a little scary. I mean, what's to lose except a little experience points, right? Still, I wish I could find some Abyssea mentors to help me understand all these time extensions, at as, and insane experience points groups that are available. I guess the first step to that would be to just ask, but I guess I've been busy with other in game things so far. It goes back to th question of what job I want to play. While I've been thinking it over, I've been leveling up some crafts, spending some Gil, making some Gil, and LOVING how the auction houses are all tied into Jeuno now. Take that, FFXIV, why can't you get it right like XI? Superior retainer system my ass.

Another cool thing about this Ultimate Collection is that it comes just in time to snag the 9th anniversary experience points bonus ring and outfits. The Novennial ring comes with an experience point bonus of +100% for a maximum of 9000 extra points per charge and a duration of 720 minutes per go. This puppy has 10 charges, so if you don't let any go to waste that's 90,0000 bonus experience points by the time you're through. Amazing! As far as the novennial outfits go, they are quite Victorian in style and very slick. The male version is not as colorful, but does have a bit of charm to it. Personally, I'm digging the female version. The coloring and design is breathtaking - and that's saying something coming from a hetero male.

Here's my mule, Angrymonkey sporting his bodacious digs.

The female Novennial gear has got to be one of my all time favorite armor designs.

You'll have to forgive me for the quality of the photos, I took them off my big screen TV with my Xoom. They aren't to show off the quality of the game, which has improved by the way with adjustable background ratio up to 16:10, but to highlight some of the things I'm excited about. So, without further delay, I will introduce the Destrier Beret that comes with this collection via special code. This hat turns you into a chocobo! Not only that, but for your jobs under 30, it also adds regen, refresh, auto-raise, increased skill gain, and increased movement speed! Is that insane? I love it! Picture added to post for awesomeness.

This helm is awesome! It makes me want to play one of my jobs I never leveled.

Here's me as a chocobo!

BTW - there are a lot of speculation threads on the internet that assume this is only for new accounts, but I can confirm that they code works for existing accounts as well.

FFXIV Auction House

2011-03-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted on this blog. Honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I stopped playing the game months ago. After loading it up the other day to take a peek at what's changed, I was still mostly unimpressed. Good news though, there's another update coming tomorrow (March 3rd, 2011) that quite a few people seem to be excited about. I won't hold my breath.

The going notion seems to be that the game is in a general beta state at the moment. I'd have to agree that this is true. Actually, if you're looking for an escape... the game probably isn't too shabby right now in comparison to some single player titles. In fact, to a large degree it does feel much like a single player game. Sure, there are real people walking around, but there hasn't been a lot of chatter in the areas I've been to lately. After tossing out a shout to ask for opinions of the game after months of work, I was able to connect with a player who was quite helpful. So I suppose the interaction is there if you're looking for it. Hands down, though, you can easily squeeze out more than forty hours just learning the different classes and trying out leves and missions. The update tomorrow is supposed to include side quests as well. That's always nice.

But what about the auction house in FFXIV? The developers haven't killed the idea, and may include it in the future... I really hope they do. There are some hardcore players that love the idea of the retainer market system with it's shoddy improvements. But the bottom line is that it takes far too much effort to sustain a healthy economy. Fostering player interaction? My ass. We did just fine in FFXI. I can trade off the auction house through the trade channel in World of Warcraft without much effort. I don't need the entire economic dynamic to be centered around bouncing through floor after floor of retainer areas and dealing with people bazaar'ing items in the wrong floor just to find what I want to buy or compare prices to list my own wares.

You see, to some (myself included), the economy is a very big part of an MMO. There is a whole game inside the game with comparing prices, calculating return on investment, the worth of time spent, the rates of sales, and all the intricacies of supply and demand. Just as in every MMO, the game is always full of people complaining about never having enough online currency and there will always be those who seem to have an abundance. With this comes price gouging, competition, rising and falling prices as markets are neglected or swamped. It can be invigorating.

Logging on to check your mail and see what sold is a common source of joy for many players, whether they are market barons, farmers, or the people who just sell the junk they get while completing quests and grinding.

You can argue against the auction house all you want, but it's an eventuality that must come if the game is to ever see a successful root in PS3 and further PC sales. If you are one of the ones staunchly defending the market wards, you should consider the value of broad appeal. S-E won't serve up FFXIV for free forever and I doubt that current subscriptions would be enough to sustain it -- not even counting the people who would leave if the low, low price of "free" was increased...

I can honestly say that it is a big deal to me and that I just can't see myself sticking with the game without a healthy economic system that is as simple as searching for an item and either bidding or buying with a matter of a few clicks at most.

I had planned on adding a PS3 copy to my collection so I could play between the two like I did with FFXI. So, you see, this isn't necessarily a rant post. More like a Come-to-Jesus plea for help. I was so excited for this game to have all the market intricacies that I enjoyed in XI and that I get in WoW at a very low scale. I think the basis is there between the different crafts, and the game could include a lot more complexity where it seems things were just hashed together. I'm both excited and afraid for the future of this game as a long-standing MMO title in the Final Fantasy franchise. I hope they can pull it together.

Making Gil in FFXIV: Part 3

2010-10-23T09:41:00.001-07:00

Over the past few posts we've I discussed several principles behind making gil in FFXIV. Of course, my methods for making the gil I have so far (up over 2.3 million on my retainer right now and an additional 170k on me) have been a little different than the basic suggestions I've offered to date.

I mentioned in an earlier post that if I had it to do all over again, I'd have specialized instead of spreading my time across multiple crafts and sub-crafts. It was great money at first, when the game was new, but over time the gap between that top 5%, who work together and churn out finished products with substantial skill required for off-skill materials, and the common player has continued to increase -- exponentially. This means that by the time the casual player has had a chance to catch up, the market has been saturated and the top tier of non-crafting players are no longer paying premiums for those goods or services.

Case in point: fish glue. This was the first major bottleneck in the craft system. Most, if not all, weapons or tools required fish glue as a primary ingredient or as an ingredient required to make an ingredient. Thus, as far as most were concerned, all paths led through fish glue. The problem was that it requires somewhere in the neighborhood of level 15 Alchemy to make the glue and fishing of 10-15, depending on your fishing pole, just to catch the dark bass reliably. Therefore, the people who began selling both fish and glue at the apex of need were able to charge extreme fees, which were passed down through the finished products and to the consumer. Those looking for the most competitive edge were willing to pay those fees rather than easier until prices naturally fell. After a few weeks others started catching on, leveling both fishing and alchemy, and made a modest profit before even more players followed suit and the bottom fell out of the synths.

There is still money to be made with fish glue, but that money is typically realized by further processing materials across multiple crafts into seldomly made finished goods. By now, most modern weapons are using horn glue. The next tier will very likely use something else.

Truth be told, my income generation as of late has been significantly reduced. I just didn't have the energy to try to spam multiple crafts and I was already too far behind the curve of the power crafters. The thing that compounded the problem the most is the fact that I really don't have any friends on the server that play regularly. So while I do have a significant stockpile of gil at my disposal, I don't really have anyone to play with on a regular basis. So what's the point? Aside from the random person willing to party for their own leves, most of my shouts and says have been ignored.

What I'm trying to say here is that making gil in this game isn't enough. You've really got to foster those in-game relationships or it's all for naught.

Since you've stuck with me so far, I'll let you know what I've been selling.

Early on I discovered that brass nuggets sold relatively well, and I could make them before I could use them reliably for skill. So I ended up selling them at 1.5k each. Yeah, no kidding, and they sold like hot cakes.

Lightning crystals have been a nice boon. When I was under the misguided impression that it would be best to level several (all) crafts to provide myself with the necessary sub-items, I started farming/saving lightning crystals for clothcraft. Even this very morning I unloaded 20 for 3k a piece via someone's bazaar. They set the price, I just delivered. Easy 60k and lightning crystals are a byproduct of farming wind shards, can't beat that.

Small items such as rings and bracelets seemed to sell well in the lower level camps. I'd load up my retainer with weapons and armor and rent a stall and then I'd pick a camp and park my character there for the night. A few quick minutes to restock my bazaar in the morning before work would help make those small profit synths add up by the time I got home and was ready to play again.

Harpoons seemed to sell well for a while, but sales are slower now and the majority of lancers are moving on to higher tier weapons.

Animal glue is a nice filler when you don't know what to put in that last bazaar slot. I sell them for 450 a piece and the random sales do add up over time.

Hempen cowls sold well at first but too many idiots are selling them for well below 10k. You can't buy them all out, so the best you could hope for is convenience shoppers outside of town. This is beyond silly because it shows that a lot of crafters aren't factoring shards + time + materials into their profit equations. Really, though, it probably boils down to powerleveling a craft on finished goods, which is stupid for a few reasons with the way the game is currently set up, and then just trying to unload. I suppose this is the reason that more complex crafts held their viability longer, they were just plain inconvenient.

To be honest, most of my gil over the past few days has come from buying under-priced items in other people's bazaars and reselling them for what I believe they are worth. Profit is realized when someone else browses my bazaar and agrees with me. On the same token, if I find someone seeking an item or repair that is profitable for me, in respect to both time and gil, I'll fulfill the request. Example: I will not sell wind shards for 200 gil a piece because I use far too many to justify that price. It would cost skill increase and/or farming time. Likewise, crystals of any type are worth more to me than the standard price I've seen of 1.5k. I can now break a crystal into 16 shards for the cost of 1 fine sand. That gives me skill and shards that I can sell, it just makes more sense to hold out.

Anyway, this is reaching ridiculous length so let's stop for now. Come back soon for more FFXIV financial discussions.

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SE Gives Extended Free Trial for FFXIV

2010-10-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Quote from Loadstone:

Important Notices

2010/10/15 06:30 from FINAL FANTASY XIV

FINAL FANTASY XIV Free Trial Period Extension

First of all, we would like to thank you for joining us in the realm of Eorzea, and hope you are enjoying your adventures.

Since the official launch of service on September 30, 2010, we have received a wealth of constructive feedback from the FINAL FANTASY XIV community, and the development and management teams would like to take this opportunity to express their sincerest gratitude. For those who purchased the collector’s edition and began to play one week before official service began, the month-long free play period is drawing to a close. Considering the nature of much of the feedback we received, however, and the current state of the game, we have decided to extend the free trial period for all users. Please continue reading for further details.

We would like to assure players that the world of FINAL FANTASY XIV is constantly growing and evolving, and the voices of the community are essential to that process. The development and management teams are carefully considering all player feedback, and working diligently to implement whatever changes and additions will serve to make Eorzea a better home for adventurers. We humbly ask for your continued support to this end.

Today, we have released information regarding forthcoming version updates. For further details, please view the following Lodestone Topics:
・Version Updates Coming Soon! (10/15/2010)
( http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/index.html )
・Ask the Devs! (10/15/2010)
( http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=c07a85c2f170a53057f5a39f56e6fc02b03b1184 )
・Message from the Director (10/15/2010)
( http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=f2cf790e548828eb22d3c4dff5f04bf0793632b5 )

Free Trial Extension Details

Eligibility
All users who registered a FINAL FANTASY XIV service account and purchased a character by October 25, 2010 will be eligible.

*Character purchases must have been carried out no later than October 25, 2010 at 23:59(PDT).
*Accounts terminated due to User Agreement infractions are ineligible for extension.
*Holders of multiple service accounts may receive extensions on all accounts.

Extension Period
An additional thirty (30) days, for a combined free trial period of sixty (60) days.

*Free trial period end dates and initial billing dates will be automatically extended. Users are not required to take any action.
*Extensions will be for a period of thirty days regardless of billing cycle length. Regular billing will begin upon conclusion of the extended free trial.
*Should automatic renewal of options be disabled, the free trial will still be extended.
*Users notified by automated mail of either the end of their free trial period or the beginning of their billing period will still receive the extension.
*Extensions will be processed by the Square Enix Account Management System on or around October 19, 2010. An official announcement will be made at that time.
*Information regarding new billing period dates will be available via the Square Enix Account Management System.

Making Gil In FFXIV - Part 2

2010-10-15T13:47:00.001-07:00

If you caught my last post about making gil in FFXIV, we covered some of the basic ideas behind making money: buy low sell high, craft for profit, inventory stagnation cost, etc. I also made a point off mentioning that in the current system, one can adequately get by using leve gil and item rewards to outfit themselves - wearing what rewards they can, selling what they can't, and purchasing or trading for items they need. Crafting things yourself can be fun, but is not necessarily necessary.

Since you're still with me, assuming that you are if you're reading this, it's probably safe to say that you're looking for more than just getting by. As of last night I was sitting just above 1.7 million gil - and while that may not impress some, it's definitely more than just getting by with the basic necessities. Even so, my character has yet to equip rings, bracelets, or other extravagances - many of which I've sold plenty of. Those things, while important to some who may be looking for top physical or magical performance, are not important to my primary goal at this point in time. That goal, of course, is to make a sizable amount of gil prior to the market normalization. I expect that this event will likely occur sometime before PS3 release and will be greatly influenced by the recent market ward system update.

Regardless, the real thing that many new players want to know is what they can sell for good profit. And while this may be different from server to server, there are some safe bets that can help you to make gil.

The first apparent need that I ran into as a new player was manifested from a lack of fire crystals. I could not find these at all when I first started out and aside from leveling my ore-based crafts strictly from leve synths, this was a major clinching point. I soon found myself farming these by killing fireflies and glowflies in the Limsa area. I later discovered that star marmots and first-tier coblins dropped them occasionally and that the second-tier of these families dropped them a bit more frequently.

It wasn't long before I realized that another deficiency was a lack of wind shards. After a little investigation I discovered that these shards could be obtained through gathering with highest points into wind resists and by killing sheep and later puks and dodos.

The biggest thing here is to pay attention to what the crafting classes need. I can tell you that selling fire shards at the blacksmith guild shop would probably net you the most sales, while lightning crystals would sell well at the weavers guild.

If SE's previous MMO, FFXI, taught us anything it was to never underestimate the power of selling to vendor. Obviously, not everything you come across in the game will be worth getting excited about, but it would be a good idea to take some time as you clear your inventory to notice which items pull in decent returns. Marmot pelts are a level 20-ish leather synth but also sell for somewhere in the ballpark of 500 gil apiece directly to vendor. This spells instant profit if you can't seem to unload at the guild overnight for increased revenue.

Listen, if you are like some players I've run into who don't check vendor prices before bazaaring, you could be making your savvy peers some easy gil simply by buying up your junk and making a quick trip to offload to an npc.

If you pick up crafting, be aware of the full cost of attempting to churn out finished products with complex or higher tier material requirements. Sometimes it really is better to sell parts to other crafters who have bought into the misconception. You'll gain skill, make gil, and won't be struggling to put things together before you can realize a profit. Another point to consider is that once the initial supply choke point is breached, the cost of shards often dissolve in the equation of undercutting. This means that at certain points of saturation, you'll actually make more by not performing the synth at all and just listing the shards themselves. This makes for very inefficient leveling of skill for the novelty of selling a finished product. While there are few things cooler in the game at this point than the concept of armies of players utilizing your weapons, armor, and jewelry, you have to be wary of being sucked in to the mindset that many other players will succumb to. If you do, these people will become your competition - your goal should be to make them your customers.

At the risk of creating a post worthy of 'too long, didn't read,' I'll end this here. You know the drill by now, stay tuned for more musings on gil making in FFXIV.

Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 1
Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 3

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Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 1

2010-10-13T23:45:00.001-07:00

So, last post I mentioned that I've been working on ways to make gil in FFXIV. This is a pretty big topic in itself, so there's really no way to cover it in one session. Instead of trying to do that, I'll start at some of the basic principles. Of course, this may prove rudimentary to some, but stick with me and we'll get to the beef of it all soon enough.

One of the neat things about online economies, such as those in massively multiplayer online role-playing games, is that they are as dynamic as the players who populate the virtual worlds of the game itself. Within these confines we often see the same behaviors, though sometimes amplified or muted based on the interpretations of individual online personas. Generally, though, we find that those who are not savvy at handling their real-life funds also struggle in-game. Thankfully, understanding the basic concepts in-game can also translate to the outside without costing you anything more than some of your dedicated leisure time.

There are some phrases that will resonate with a certain sense of familiarity: buy low - sell high, it takes money to make money, supply and demand... Thankfully, there is more than just these principles to get us by in FFXIV, though they are the bread and butter foundation to a gil making strategy.

So far, it seems that you can get by just fine in the game by playing your standard disciple of war or disciple of magic class. You can happy do your leves, collect your cash and item rewards, and supplement the rest of your gear by shopping frugally and making connections with other players. By killing mobs, you can trade materials and shards / crystals for goods and services. Or, sell them out-right for more liquidity and less restraints with your buying power.

On top of that, it is also viable to pick up one or more crafting classes as well. Here you will need to balance your efforts to avoid the obvious, and sometimes less than obvious, time sinks. These are usually dual-purposed as gil sinks as well, so keep an eye out. The finished product is not always the one that will net you the most gil per effort or time. With so many other crafters working as peers, juniors, and seniors on the supply line, you've got to examine the synths that ail make you money. You have to keep an eye on the competition. Sometimes you'll suddenly get a break in steady sales only to discover some nimrod haas parked his retainer a few feet from yours with blow out, rock bottom prices. This devalues your product, possibly saturates the market, and leaves you in a tight spot. Do you buy him out and relist the items at the going rate or do you mark down your own items and research your next product? There are several factors to consider. How rare are the materials required? How much do you already have invested? How much can you afford to lose if things don't go according to plan? And perhaps a bit more subtle, how much will it cost you to have bazaar slots taken by items that will not move - in other words, how much potential income do you stand to lose?

My next post will include a few more specific ideas on how to make gil in FFXIV, so sign up for my RSS feed or stop by again soon!

Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 2
Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 3

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FFXIV - All Things Considered.

2010-10-06T10:55:00.001-07:00

As a purchaser of the FFXIV Collector's Edition, I've been spending a fair amount of my time in the land of Eorzea this last week. I've definitely learned a thing or two, mostly from figuring out that I had done it wrong initially. Primarily, my mistakes ended up being in the form of non-specialization and taking some of the more expensive leveling routes for some of my crafts.

It was frustrating to hit level 10 Blacksmith without having an easily recognizable finished product that I could churn out and sell for profit while a level 8 tanner (leatherworking) was able to sell me Smithy's Gloves +1 that he was able to make. What the hell? I console myself with the thought that I may see the fruit of my labors manifest in the next 5-10 levels. But this is just one of the things about new games. I could be totally oblivious to some synth out there that could help me to realize a more immediate return on my time and material investment. There just aren't any reliable guides available yet. We who go forward are the trailblazers, lighting the way for those who may follow.

******

I actually started this post a few days ago but didn't get around to finishing it. Yeah, I've been that occupied with my time in Final Fantasy 14 lately. It's been a learning process, for sure, and every day I walk away with a better understanding of the game and its many intricacies.

I'm looking forward to posting more about my adventures and shedding some light on what I've discovered so far. Most of my time has been engulfed in the creation of goods and turning a tidy profit. I'm now sitting somewhere in the neighborhood of 600k gil and I'm definitely looking to expand that to over a million while the game is still new. If you're interested in the FFXIV economy and how to make money, be sure to check back in! No, I'm not going to try to sell you a guide, I find a lot more value in an open, 2-way conversation on the ins and outs. So bookmark this blog or join my rss feed and stay tuned!

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Min Maxing and FFXIV

2010-09-15T10:22:00.001-07:00

Stats were a very big part of FFXI and even if you didnt completely buy into the idea of spending millions of gil for the slightest edge over the rest of the community, many people did their best to manage their stats in a way that would significantly improve their performance. I wasn't a hardcore player by any means, but I must admit that I took a significant amount of satisfaction from finally being able to afford that next big ticket item. Sure, as a casual player there was a lot that was out of bounds -- based on my commitment level and the time I was willing to dedicate to the project -- yet there were still more than enough reasons to be perfectly happy without having the very best the game had to offer those with the highest level of dedication and patience.

Even so, we're talking about an environment where at one point elitests would completely refuse to group with someone who didn't have a race that complimented their chosen job based on a few points of base stats. So, yes, there were some down sides to the system as well, but those came directly from the community and were not intended by the developers.

So I suppose that takes us to our next question, what role will item optimization take in S-E's next online addition to the Final Fantasy franchise? Will FFXIV have the same emphasis on stat stacking for specific abilities, enough to warrant complex macros to swap gear for specific spells or abilities? I, for one, greatly enjoyed having that much control over my own performance in FFXI.

So far, in Open Beta, I haven't really encountered these traits. Still, the game is pre-release and people haven't really figured much of this stuff out yet. A lot of these testers haven't played FFXI, or didn't make it past the trial if they did: based on some of the comments I've been seeing on the various forums I've been reading.

But I have hope. S-E is going to have to implement something to keep hard core to slightly-above-casual players not only occupied, but satisfied. There is the culinary profession, which will need to have some kind of demand to have a viable purpose in the game -- let alone the self-supporting economic component to make it more than just a time/gil sink. Let's face it, there has to be some kind of built on reward for spending all that time leveling up the job.

And of course, there are the Notorious Monsters, or NM's, that have made a reappearance. What would be the point of killing them without some type of reward that would justify the time spent camping/killing them?

In the end, I do believe there will be some form of min/max benefit to the game. Will it take the same shape as it did in FFXI? Maybe not, but only time and the player base will tell.

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FFXIV Playstation 3 Alternative?

2010-09-13T21:45:00.001-07:00

Well, it's time for me to go back to school again to pursue my Masters, so it wasn't too difficult to persuade myself into buying a new laptop. Sure enough, one thing led to another and I ended up with a nice ASUS gaming machine that is pure over-kill for anything a degree in Information Security and Assurance could possibly throw my way. The G73JH-A1 is a powerhouse of a laptop with a 1.6GHz Intel i7-720QM Quad-Core Processor, 8GB of DDR3 Ram, and a full terabyte of storage.

But as gamers, isn't that pretty much our nature? Besides, who wants a machine that operates at the pace of a fast snail by the time the degree program is finished? Am I right?

Anyway, the laptop arrived on Friday so after removing bloatware and creating a restore image, I loaded up the FFXIV Open Beta and used the HDMI out to send it over to my 42 inch LCD TV. That, combined with my Logitech gaming controller, turned the otherwise PC experience into something of a consoler's dream.

After a few hours in Gridania and the surrounding areas, I'm more than confident that my setup would satisfy the most ardent of console gamers desires. The laptop ran cool as a breeze and the gameplay was smooth and clean. Plus, with the bluray player and the built in storage, this beast is a competent media center monster. Of course, the price is a bit up there for someone who is just looking for that console experience at the same time as PC release as promised earlier in the year. That said, if you're in the market, this is definitely the way to go.

As for school, I suppose I'll be playing as a reward for good behavior, so here's to hard work and good grades, lounging out in my free time with the kids watching the screen while I play some MMO goodness and de-stress. Cheers!

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FFXIV - Community Anyone? Anyone? Hello?

2010-09-09T03:34:00.000-07:00

One thing that has stricken me as odd is the shear unwillingness of a lot of the beta players to converse and share information. This isn't anything like my FFXI experience. For this reason, I can't wait until the 22nd for the Collector's Edition access to kick in. I really do think that a big part of the problem is that the beta tester population is significantly not made of people who enjoyed FFXI.

The game mechanics don't necessarily necessitate solo play, but it seems that people are very much of the mind that they just want to be left alone. Going back to the problem of locating the correct type of shards or crystals, asking in say at the camp or in shout in the city often resulted in not a single response. The same goes for asking random people if they'd like to group up to break the monotomy of grinding between levels 6-8, where it only makes sense to fight the mobs that are tough enough to make each fight a bit risky.

Maybe I haven't met the right beta testers, but the game right now seems to be even more solo than WoW is touted to be. That said, I've had a great leve group out at Camp Drybone, so I know it can be done. I guess that people just need time to figure out what works and what doesn't. That doesn't explain the radio silence, but what can you do?

All said, I'm looking forward to launch on the 22nd! Since the beta doesn't consist of /bug reports, I'm trying to learn as much as I can before the game goes live.

FFXIV Dude Where's My Fire Crystal!?

2010-09-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest problems I've had in the Open Beta so far is the vast limits that the game imposes on growth. Starting out in Ul'dah, I have been unable to locate a mob or activity that drops or provides Fire Crystals -- which are required for even the most basic crafting recipes for Blacksmithing and Goldsmithing. How in the world am I supposed to make nuggets to turn into ingots if the only fire I can get my hands on are shards?

It seems like the only progression you'll get right off the bat is to use the guildleves to help you level your skill, but once those are done you have to grind -- just like all of the combat or caster jobs out there. Maybe I'm just having a hard time wrapping my brain about it, but I can only see this problem compounding with retail. Allowing players to start their careers as crafters is great, but you have to give them a path to progression. Should leveling when you start out be solely contingent upon leves which can't be repeated for an additional 48 hours?

Case in point, while others told me that they were able to get wind shards by mining outside of Ul'dah, I was unable to find a single one in eight skill levels. It wasn't until I road the ferry to Limsa and mined in their areas that I began getting them in my loot. Any why did I need to get my hands on wind shards? Cooking! I found a simple recipe that would finally allow me to gain skill off my crayfish -- allowing me to do something other than vendor my fish. 1 crayfish + 1 wind shard = River Sand. As long as you can get your hands on the wind shards, this makes leveling up cooking much easier to grind.

It just seems like too many things are interdependant on one another. To cook, I can't just kill things that drop meat or fish. I have to find creatures or gathering activities that provide the right kinds of shards or worse.. crystals, which are much more rare. This may depend on the area you start out in, it's quite possible. It's just a little annoying that I can get fire and earth shards by fishing, yet not air. Is this based on weather? Time of day? Did I just not fish or mine at the correct time or the right day of the game week? My only option for prey was moles, marmots, and coblyns. None of these dropped the shards I needed.

The obvious answer then seems to be that I should head to the market ward. With no search feature, you've got to check each player and retainer manually across around 10 different areas. A smart shopper would try to compare prices. Yuck! Good luck! This is something that needs to change. I don't mind being able to trade my goods for others that may be harder for me to obtain. Maybe Botany is the way to go? If I don't want to do that, I should be able to barter the items that I can gather. Help me do that with a viable search or auction system.

FFXIV Open Beta

2010-09-07T10:26:00.001-07:00

Over the past few days, I've been deep in the throngs of open beta play with FFXIV. I actually got quite lucky, to be honest. I don't believe I would have managed it on my own, that's for sure. Chalk this one up to having a wife who's beyond awesome. She was actually the one who got me in. My luck, it would seem, was not as good as hers, and yet I suppose I lucked out for even having a wife who would do that for me in the first place.

The site was straight up hammered. With all the negative press from closed beta, you'd think that most players who were only casually interested in the game would have left it alone. Maybe it was more like passersby being drawn to stare at car wrecks on the freeway instead of just going on their merry way? Either way, imagine a large-scale distributed denial of service attack and that's pretty much what was happening behind the scenes with the servers. They just couldn't handle all the web traffic and login attempts. Hundreds of thousands of people were all trying to squeeze through a tiny pipe all at the same time and refreshing the page every thirty seconds - thus compounding the problem. But what can you do? It's not like they'd save you a spot in the beta for being nice and waiting until the initial rush has settled.

The surprising thing is that this shouldn't have taken SE by surprise. How many of you remember the fiasco that was the Wings of the Goddess expansion registration server crisis? Nothing like selling your customers a partially finished expansion and then making them wait to register it because your infrastructure isn't up to snuff to handle the requests. Metrics, what are those?

Does this seem like a bitch fest? It really isn't. More just light humor exposing certain trends with the Final Fantasy trademark as of late. You see, there is a lot to wade through when trying to garner info about FFXIV. You've got the haters, the fanboys, the dreamers, and the cynics.

The Haters - these guys hate the game pretty much because it exists and isn't what they are used to. Either that or because it's cool to rage about things on the internet and call people, products, and those who like them stupid. They may regurgitate valid points that others have made, but it's all just fodder for the war machine.

The Fanboys - These guys are equal opposites to The Haters. These guys love the game because there is no other option. All your base are belong to Square-Enix so shut up and play or go away. Logic fails on these people and if you disagree then you were obviously looking for just another WoW clone and don't have the intellect it takes to play a sophisticated MMO.

The Dreamers - easily mistaken for Fanboys, these guys are nearly blind in their sentiment that things will get better. No hardware mouse, auction house? Don't worry, all in due time! Anti-RMT measures that seem more like anti-player? It's all for a better playing experience...

The Cynics - these guys are the realists of the bunch. They want the game to be good, but they just can't help but see the glaring flaws. With the game so close to release, they are in a panic and try to spread the word -- hoping that their complaints get some recognition so a fix can be implemented. But is it too late?

I suppose there could yet be another category of player out there, The Realist. Part dreamer, part cynic, these players remember the Wings of the Goddess release and the unfinished expansion. They realize that it isn't beyond SE to release an unfinished product. They saw the affects of certain anti-RMT measures and the way they killed the economy and playstyles of legitimate players. They realize that SE is a company who prefers to dictate rather than listen. Yet, somehow they hope there is more. They hope that SE will listen, that the game will grow and evolve into something much more than it is now.

Of these, I hope the majority of us could be realists. There are some issues with the game in its current state, that's for sure. We can't make a company like Square-Enix listen to us, that's on them, but hopefully we can enjoy the game for what it is.

I look forward to posting more about my in-game experience, so stay tuned!

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Business and Pleasure

2010-05-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've been playing some FFXIII lately while studying for a few of my Microsoft Server 2008 certification tests, so I haven't had the time to fully dedicate my attention to the game. All the same, it has proven to be a lot more interesting that I first thought.

Don't get me wrong, the cinema is amazing, but the first 20 hours or so really do seem to play a lot like an extended movie with interaction. This is visually appealing but left me feeling a bit left out of the playing experience.

As the game has progressed, I have really enjoyed the idea of upgrading my weapons and accessories and it makes me wonder if this is perhaps a ploy to get us ready for the new play-style and progression system that will come with FFXIV.

I'm still holding out for my Final Fantasy 14 beta invite for the PS3. I haven't even looked online to see if there are reports that they've started that phase yet. I guess I'm a bit nervous to find out that I missed the boat. I'm still keeping an eye on my email inbox, just in case!

FFXIV Beta Leaks?

2010-04-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

So, I've been looking around the internet for more information about FFXIV, but there isn't a lot out there. Of course, that's a good sign as it means that not many people are breaking the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). One of the biggest offenders I've seen to date has been Order of the Blue Gartr. The violations haven't been from the forum moderators but from the community. The Mods have a policy of removing the screenshots and data when they locate it, but with the number of posts it's near impossible to do without the content being flagged by other members of the community. I've also read that this has been a very big problem on Slashdot as well.

While I don't advocate breaking the NDA during beta tests by any means, it's hard to resist trying to snag a hint at the latest scoop floating around the internet. I have successfully Beta tested three different times and not once did I break the NDA, but that doesn't mean I will immediately turn off my monitor and perform a reboot if I come across leaked information.

The majority of the stuff I've read has been really good. Many reports suggest that once you've played Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XI seems mundane. That's good news. FFXI has been a source of countless hours of enjoyment for me, so if this latest installment of the MMO series for Final Fantasy blows away all previous expectations... well, that will leave me being a very happy camper.

FFXI Level 20 Avatar Fight: Ramuh

2010-04-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested, I originally obtained most of my avatars through the level 20 solo fights. While many players will recommend against doing this as it prohibits you from using the tuning forks for easy avatar battle travel later on, for some it is the only real option unless they want to level another job to Avatar fighting range first.

I am posting a video of this first fight for you to learn from. Sorry about the cheesy music, a friend of mine did the compilation for me back in 2006.

Taking a break from FFXI?

2010-04-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't logged into FFXI for a few days and I haven't really missed it all that much. I was doing well with my Trial of the Magian axes, but I don't know. I guess it's been a rough week for me. I spent last night working on two of my computers and applying updates and whatnot. I just didn't feel compelled to log in.

This seems to happen from time to time when I start to question the time I spend playing online games. There seems to be so much involved in farming for in-game currency and items and consumables and the list just goes on. At times the process is fun, but other times it seems like more of a chore. To be honest, this isn't one of those times either since I just feel generally apathetic.

I am excited to see if I get in the PS3 version of the FFXIV beta. That would be pretty neat to try out. I am interested to see how well the PS3 integrates with a multi-platform MMO. I play FFXI on my 360 at times and it really isn't anything to brag about.

I'm thinking about starting up on my Master's again in May, which will take a lot of my time. I've also got another little one on the way so there's that as well. I just don't see myself devoting the time to take one or more jobs up to the new level caps. But I must admit, it is kind of nice seeing people all over again, that's definitely a plus in regard to the server consolidations. My auctions were going well too and I actually made decent profit selling bolts.

Who knows, maybe I'll give it a few days and see how I feel. I'm sort of planning on taking a few Microsoft cert tests soon and was toying with the idea of taking the first at the end of this month. If I can juggle studying with play time and spending time with the family, sure, why not?
:)

Chocobo Racing Silks - Further Discussion

2010-03-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have had a bit more of a chance to experiment with the Blue Racing Silks and the Sky Blue Racing Silks with my digging lately. The reason for this is primarily that 200 successful digs can take a while longer than I really have to spend on work nights. So, I often get about 60-70 free digs before switching to the Sky Blue Racing Silks to finish off the remaining 45 fatigue digs for the night.

Last night turned out pretty decent for my moderate level of digging skill. I netted two gold beastcoins, a handful of silver, two petrified logs, a few ebony logs, an oak log, some mythril ore and a mythril beastcoin and other miscellaneous items. Oh, the 6 danceshrooms were a nice sell-to-vendor treat. I definitely paid for my greens! The moon was 69% and a few of the zones I tried were near barren, it took a while to finally get in that haul. I'm glad I had the patience to see it through.

The Blue Racing Silks are definitely good for zones where the incidentals are beneficial. Digging in Tahrongi gets me a lot of pebbles and flint stones for my free digs with the occasional surprise. Digging in the jungle, however, brings in a nice flow of bone chips, which I send to my mule in Windy to level bonecraft. Just hit level 9 tonight and am ready to start making gelatin and glue here soon. A few years ago those stacks of chips would have sold for 10k easy, but nowadays they only go for 1k. There's really no point in trying to list them, I'd just as soon get some skill off them and keep the AH stocked with my more profitable digs.

I'm enjoying synthing the logs I get and receiving the occasional HQ. I haven't lost any of my lumber yet, which is always a risk with crafting in FFXI, but I'm sure it's bound to happen sooner or later. I suppose that's the gamble. You win some, you lose some.

I'm still not sure what the Sky Blue silks are doing for me. Is it increasing the skill of my bird temporarily to artificially boost my digging skill? That would make it easier to pull up those harder items if I get them in the treasure pool, but there's really no way for me to know client-side. I really wish these things weren't quite so ambiguous.

Chocobo Digging

2010-03-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I picked up my FFXI chocobo digging recently and finally made it to the rank of Initiate. That means that I have slightly better accuracy than someone just starting out and I can dig every six seconds instead of every sixteen. Wahoo! My area wait time is at 50 seconds, meaning that I can't start digging until 50 seconds after I've zoned. This is down from a full minute when you start out.

I raised a digging chocobo with the Bore and Burrow abilities to increase the rate of successful digs. With maxed out discernment I'm finding that my successful dig rate is way better than I had ever encountered before and I can stay competitive in the jungles without a problem. With 67 woodworking skill, I synth the higher priced logs into lumber and have been surprised with a few HQ's that result in more lumber than logs and increase my income. At this point in the game, though, I'm still aiming to pay for my digging sessions. Anything extra is just a nice surprise.

I think I made a mistake by getting the Sky Blue Racing Silks. It seems, after doing some reading, that it is rather inconclusive what they do for your skill. Sure, I get the messages that my chocobo has gained knowledge from digs quite frequently, but what does that mean exactly? I still haven't found any comprehensive arguments that can say with any certainty that this is actually directly improving skillup rates to cut down the time required to level up your digging skill. Why is that so important? As an initiate I see a slightly better accuracy rate and I can dig quicker. The next rank is the first one that really starts setting you up for the big leagues. Players will often refer to the Novice rank as A45. The reason being is that, of course, your area wait time drops from 50 seconds after zoning to 45, but furthermore, this is the first rank where you receive 0 delay between digs. So, instead of waiting six seconds to dig again, you can basically do it back to back. Going on with this, each successive rank contiunes the decrease in area wait time by five seconds while maintaining the 0 delay between digs. On and on it goes until you finally reach the rank of Expert with an area wait time of 10 seconds. This rank is often referred to as A10, catching on?

Aside from the obvious benefits of ranking up your digging skill, higher ranked players also gain access to digs that would be impossible for newbs like me. We're talking about elemental ore, orichalcum ore, adaman ore, and precious metal beastcoins plus other hard to obtain items. This is where all that hard work starts to pay off. You no longer worry about whether you're going to break even on greens, now we're talking about putting the little Tarus through college. That's the idea, anyway. The problem is that after the anti-RMT actions instituted into the game, the fatigue system will only allow you to dig up 100 items a day, which resets at midnight in Japan. From everything I've read, that puts you on schedule to obtain your A10 rank after a mere 20-22 months of digging to cap every single day. That's right, no holidays, no birthdays, no anniversaries off, digging every single day to fatigue. Bleh!

I suppose that's why I had such high hopes for the Sky Blue Racing Silks. With the idea that I could shorten that time, well, I was pretty stoked. I have since learned that I may be much better off going with the Blue Racing Silks, which increase the number of successful digs per day substantially. Hmm, immediate payoff. If FFXIV weren't right around the corner I might be tempted to just stick it out and see how these Skill + silks work out, but the truth of the matter is that I really don't have the intention to stay in this game for that long. Sure, the quest for 99 sounds like it might be kind of fun, but let's face it. I have become a loner in this Final Fantasy game. My friends have moved on or only log on once in a blue moon and it gets lonely. I work full time and I've got a family and I just don't have the time to try to foster new friendships. Let's face it, in this game it's always been a crapshoot of hit or miss and generally these things include helping other people with the things they MUST have in the hope that they reciprocate later on. In my experience, I end up spending a lot of time helping others who are quick to forget the good deed. New addons or not, I think it's time for me to move on. Until then, though, I'm having fun seeing what I can dig up in my old stomping grounds.

Last night I got a few gold beastcoins and some choice pieces of ore and logs. I made more than I spent on greens and, who knows, maybe I got a few good skill increases somewhere in there. I'm already halfway to getting my new racing silks to increase my successful digs and I suppose I'll keep the others in my storage in case some new information comes to light later on down the road.

My experiences so far have left me hoping that an improved version of chocobo raising and digging find themselves in Final Fantasy XIV. I also hope that the developers find better ways to mitigate RMT activities than dictating what real players can do with their time in game. There will always be other ways around it. And really, what's to stop an RMT joint to bot up a few more mules and keep the dig botting going around the clock? All it really does is make it harder for real players to track competitors. I would much rather avoid a zone always occupied by a single player who dig bots than try to keep up with his many alts. But, alas, we digress into the topic of how Fishing and Digging have had their noses cut off to spite the face -- and that, my friends, shall be for another day.

Until then, happy digging!