Final Fantasy XI Then...

[Darwock]

3 deaths on the way up is an argument FOR a 1 party attempt??

I still think you'd do better to organise a time when we all can go. It worked for Dem.

[Sdub]

Tobal - lvl 60 exp party tonight if you're up for it so get your Galka arse online ^^

[mikewl]

Anyone know exactly when the maintenance is tonight, im hearing from some its starting at 4pm to 9pm and others saying it starts at 9pm.

Edit:

Just checked and all servers are down now at 4.16pm which means they should be back up for 9pm.

What would the static say to a quick BCNM60 Test tonight after the updates, If Bayan can join us that would be cool, I think I have a tactic which I want to test out, which should work.

[Marvelon]

I'm up for a testrun, we'll be online at 9.

[mikewl]

Cant log in at all ft: ft: ft: ft:

[Tobal]

Ding! 61 woohooo...

We going to keep leveling till we hit 65?

Also Bcnm, i need some quick cash to get either Minuet earring or Victory ring.

[C']

Just a quick word to LS people (don?t worry it starts out sounding like another ?I am quitting, I mean it this time >.>? post but it actually isn?t). I?ve been absent from RARGH! quite a bit over the last week and just posting to clarify a few things.

Last Thursday I decided to try and farm a new area and went to Sanctuary of Zitah to go after the Goobbue Gardener?s and try to get Tree Cuttings and Boyahda Moss stacks. And on Thursday the results were great. I picked up a stack of cuttings in less than 2 hours, as well as multiple moss stacks and got 9 into a new stack of cuttings before I had to log out.

Now, my intention originally was to get some quick gil and build a fund for the forthcoming levels. I had a few items of equipment that I wanted:

Arhat?s Sune-ate+1 (Evasion+5 and Emnity+2)
Having this would mean that I had the option of removing my Mermaid Ring (Emnity+2) and Bat Cape (Evasion+5) and getting the following.
Another Sniper Ring
Anemet Mantle+1

However, whilst at work on Friday my mind was ticking over what I had accomplished in a relatively short period of farming the previous night. I did a few calculations and could it be possible?

Could I use this farming method to get my Scorpion Harness?

Excitement ran through me. I recalculated just to make sure I hadn?t gone wrong but it did seem possible, with a bit of hard work, and sustainable droprates a Scorpion Harness was possible within a couple of weeks.

I didn?t want to inform other LS people in case my plan didn?t come off. Only Apa knew what I was doing and he took it upon himself to act as a motivator of sorts. At this point I decided to make Evangelion my LS home in order to avoid distractions and allow me and Apa to chat in private about how my plan was progressing.

So Friday night I returned home and put in some more hours. At the end of it I had finished 2 more stacks of cuttings and had 7 into a new stack.

I was incredibly excited. In the space of 2 nights farming I had pulled in 500k gil. I have never had such rates of gil coming in before.

Imagine what I could get if I dedicated the weekend to farming (I?ve done it in Pashow several times).

However, this is where the story falls down.

It would seem that other people had the same idea.

To say the area was overcamped on Saturday was an understatement. And being a NIN/thf I lacked any reliable, quick claiming method so my kill rate was lacking, and obviously the droprate was worse. I managed to complete a stack and got a couple of extras but that took hours.

I could see it wasn?t working and logged until Sunday. The results were not much better. I logged on and off intermittently and somehow managed to struggle to get a stack completed. Although at this point I had managed to acquire 1.3 million, it was a long way short of the 2 million I had predicted I could have pulled in.

I could already see my plan collapsing around me.

My only hope was that weekday farming sessions would be more beneficial. It would mean that my timeplan would be out somewhat but that it would still be possible to get the Harness.

Monday I was ill which ate into my plans again and already I could feel the motivation that had been so high on Friday dribbling away. Tuesday was my last chance.

Fortunately, they were few people farming the area so I was able to get a lot of claims. However, in the space of 45 minutes I only got 1 Tree Cutting drop. This was then followed by an army of farmers arriving all at once. I hit Mijin-Gakure. Whatever motivation that was left had long gone.

I didn?t know what to do. My thoughts once again started doubting whether FFXI is the game for me. I seem to be the only person I know who struggles like this in game (obviously not true but in the lowest moments, Vana?diel is an incredibly isolated place).

Last night I had a long discussion with Apathye. I was determined that this really was it and even stuck 7 pieces of EXP equipment on the AH. Perhaps if I got rid of my equipment it would be easier to finally quit this game. However, the fact I couldn?t get the decision out of my mind of the fact I?m posting here made me realise that quitting is not what I want to do. We are all so close to the end game activities that I am determined not to give up now. I already got my gear off the AH (and rebought the 2 that had sold).

However I will admit that I am still feeling somewhat dejected with the game. I actually don?t need any equipment until level 63 so maybe I should and level up to there first before worrying about equipment. I know the static is making efforts to get to 65 and I don?t want to be left behind. Not for any selfish or vanity reasons, such as not wanting to be a lower level, but simply because I want to be able to complete the forthcoming San d?Ora and Rise of the Zilart missions with the group of players that I have spent most in game time with.

I?m sure some people know that my playing aims are to complete missions without people who have already done the mission or high level assistance. The LS is the best chance I have of doing this so I guess I do have some worries that I am going to lack this.

Anyway, just needed to explain a few things. I may not be the most cheerful or talkative LS member for the time being and I hope you guys can see me through this rough patch that I am struggling with.

[Marvelon]

Well Rare, you get to repay me for help with the Katana soon ^^ Jelly Ring coming up at lv 63 : D It's a guaranteed drop, so "all we have to do" is get to a certain spot in the bostanieux obliette (underneath Chateau d'Oraguille) get to a certain area, whilst avoiding aggro from monsters that check VT+ to lv75's and kill a lv 75 NM.... piece of cake!

[Tobal]

I tried the tree cutting methods after you had mentioned something about it, unfortunately it was friday night and there was at leat 6 other people farming the same area, and to make it worse of the 8 i killed i only got a few moss, putting me off the whole thing, but i've found another way to make a small steady stream of gil from HQ low level alchemy recipes and repairs/making carbon rods.

Plus im sure you can join us for exp session when your on, we've party with Tox/nat a Sam/Nin combo which worked out well and im sure the others would be willing let you join us if wanna try some DD

[Daragon]

Could someone put me out of my pain and tell me that Tree cuttings are NOT the particular item that drops off goobue that sells for around 50k a stack.

If so, I'm going to find a quiet corner to sit in and cry for a good hour or two.

I've defintely chucked at least 6 cuttings after needing to make room for more crawler silk during my farm last night

[Tobal]

Indeed Tree Cuttings = 120-150k a stack from Goobues

unless u got treantblubs(1kX12) or moss(10k+ X12)

[Tobal]

Anything planned for tonight? Bcnm / exp ???

[Darwock]

I killed a notorious Goobbue last night and all I got was a smelly Dahlia.

[Hohum]

120-150k a stack!? Good god... last time I looked when I was playing on Titan they were about 20k a stack. That's madness

[mikewl]

Tobal, how about bcnm60, we 2 hour it as we did when we beat it before then teleport to mea and exp. I think I really need my 2 hour to be sure of victory so 1 bcnm at a time I think will be best, unless for some reason we do it easily.