Final Fantasy XI Then...

[C']

Well it turns out I didn?t need to find Azima for my quest (at least not yet). Instead some more investigating around Windurst Walls provided some leads towards the school of magic in Windurst Waters where a truly bizarre encounter at the Acolyte Hostel provided me with the item I needed. Sadly this led to the next stage of the quest which is another vague hunt for items without telling me exactly what I need

[Darwock]

Rare I've been on that stage of the quest for over a year. It's totally baffling. I plan on looking it up some day I think, cos if I've not stumbled on the answer after a year I'm obviously never going to.

Just woken up after my late night in Dynamis-Bastok (finished somewhere around 5am I think!). Only died once last night, it went very smoothly. I've done 3 Dynamis so far and had 3 clears, planning to sign up for Jeuno on Saturday and with luck I can get the clear on all 4 cities just a fortnight after my first expedition - fingers crossed.

[C']

Ah someone else who has done this. Were you not even slightly perplexed by being quizzed by talking dolls? The whole thing was just bizarre. In fact it seems anything with those dolls confuses the hell out of me. I have no clue what the finishing cut scene for the avatar battles is supposed to mean.

[Darwock]

those dolls crop up a lot in windurst missions and the blm AF quests. They are a pet project of some of the windurst ministers it seems. Although I have to say the impression I got from the quiz de vana'diel was that it was a Cardian that was talking, but I can't really remember.

[C']

I see.

Not being from Windurst I guess I have missed all that information leading to my resulting puzzlement. In a way, that is completely natural and probably what is intended.

[Darwock]

That doesn't mean windurstians know what they are all about though! The avatar one in particular is very odd...

[C']

http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/675/detail.html

New Battlefields are always welcome (although we seem to struggle as a LS to get stuff like this happening).

The magic thing is probably the best they could have dealt with the situation. It allows BLM to continue to EXP/merit in manaburn (whilst melee get their TPBurn) but it prevents the 'Throw More BLM At It' mentality of HNM killing and all BLM KSNM/Divine Might runs. Obviously the proof of the pudding is in the eating and S-E updates never seem to go all to plan.

Still hopefully it makes all those Tarutaru BLM army RMT groups ineffective.

I guess we may also see a mass exodus of ex-DRK to ex-RNG to BLM players to the next uber DD job. I have a lot more respect to players who pick jobs because it's what they want to play and before they become flavour of the month which I think applies to the majority of our linkshell.

[Darwock]

FFS, well there goes any possibility of fighting notorious monsters solo then, that's totally ****e! Stuff like that epic fight I had against the colourful leshy won't be possible anymore.

Also when you've already got the mentality going around that BLMs are "practically hated" above level 70 (to quote someone from Rargh) this really doesn't seem like a particularly clever move.

Don't make the mistake of interpreting a mass exodus from the BLM job as a sign of glory-hunting, if they make it so I can't do anything interesting as a BLM without lots of melee help then I'll be chucking it too.

[dataDave]

I need to go to Gusgen Mines again tonight for 'The Forsaken Mines' mission. Wheee!!! I like that place.

Then I'll be heading up the tower for sure. I want Rank4 tonight and then perhaps I can get some levelling in before I think about rank5 this weekend.

Got the day off on Friday, however I'm at a pinball exhibition at Villa Park in Brum on Saturday and won't likely be back until 10-11pm.

Thinking about taking a break for a week or two after my Rank5 is reclaimed. I really need to tidy my flat and get back to the gym for a bit of a sesh... as well as join in on the NTSC vs VersuS festivities.

[C']

FFS, well there goes any possibility of fighting notorious monsters solo then, that's totally ****e! Stuff like that epic fight I had against the colourful leshy won't be possible anymore.

Also when you've already got the mentality going around that BLMs are "practically hated" above level 70 (to quote someone from Rargh) this really doesn't seem like a particularly clever move.

Don't make the mistake of interpreting a mass exodus from the BLM job as a sign of glory-hunting, if they make it so I can't do anything interesting as a BLM without lots of melee help then I'll be chucking it too.

But in a lot of cases it is a case of glory hunting on the part of players eager to do ?t3h Ub3R D4/\/\aG3?. The rise and fall of RNG and the resulting influx of BLM was not a coincidence.

My prediction for these players is now SMN or BLU.

DRG were told to adapt.

RNG were told to adapt.

NIN & THF were told to adapt when it came to recent TP changes.

I hope the BLM are willing to ?adapt?.

I don?t know where this ?BLM are practically hated? thing has come from. They aren?t especially useful in the average EXPing group that I have seen of late at the higher levels but they did bring this on themselves. They were the first group to form their ?specialist? EXP party types (the Manaburn which aren?t affected in the least with this) and stick ?Manaburn Only? in the /seacom (obviously not all).

Also, I think you?re worrying unnecessarily about solo NM fights. If the rate of accumulating magic resistance is so fast that it affects a solo BLM (who don?t chain nuke constantly when solo, instead relying on a big nuke > sleep > rest > repeat strategy if I am to understand correctly) then it basically removes BLM from such fights altogether.

I have (some) faith in S-E that they are not intending to remove BLM from such battles. Instead just removing the impetus of having 6-12 or even more BLM all nuking simultaneously.

[dataDave]

I just choose jobs that people recommend to me.

I started as WHM to help my now absent friends... subbed BLM as the obvious choice... lvl'd that equally as I had nothing better to do... started DRK as a melee as I already have the black magic under my belt.

[Darwock]

It came from Meric, as a response to Daragon struggling to get a party above level 73.

They can stick it to be honest, I've always valued my independence in this game and now it's been compromised. How would you like it if you were told Utsusemi would give you a reduced number of shadows with every recast when fighting a NM? Nuking is what BLMs do, it's *all* they do... unless you subscribe to the (Meric again) school of thought that BLMs are expected to compromise their role to help the healers do their job.. and if that's going to become the role for BLMs in the future they can stick that too. Shouldn't really concern me since I'm leaving anyway, but well done S-E for knackering it even further.

manafont will be broken completely too, you have 30 seconds to get out as many nukes as possible.. but now you have to wait for your spells to regain effectiveness ><

[chang]

Well it turns out I didn?t need to find Azima for my quest (at least not yet). Instead some more investigating around Windurst Walls provided some leads towards the school of magic in Windurst Waters where a truly bizarre encounter at the Acolyte Hostel provided me with the item I needed. Sadly this led to the next stage of the quest which is another vague hunt for items without telling me exactly what I need

Koru moru tells you what you need in his own cryptic annoying way of speaking. warm egg and cold bone. he doesnt however give you a clue as to what drops them, so ill leave that part up to you (assuming you avoid the AH that is)

[C']

It came from Meric, as a response to Daragon struggling to get a party above level 73.

They can stick it to be honest, I've always valued my independence in this game and now it's been compromised. How would you like it if you were told Utsusemi would give you a reduced number of shadows with every recast when fighting a NM? Nuking is what BLMs do, it's *all* they do... unless you subscribe to the (Meric again) school of thought that BLMs are expected to compromise their role to help the healers do their job.. and if that's going to become the role for BLMs in the future they can stick that too. Shouldn't really concern me since I'm leaving anyway, but well done S-E for knackering it even further.

manafont will be broken completely too, you have 30 seconds to get out as many nukes as possible.. but now you have to wait for your spells to regain effectiveness ><

Utsusemi has been ?nerfed? twice already. There was a patch in September 2004. It was pre-announced that AOE effects which affect shadows differently. The impact this had was mostly minimal although there was also the hidden change of Ranged Attacks and TP attacks always removing a shadow making battling RNG type enemies much more awkward (I can go and fight a lvl 10 RNG type Goblin and although it?s melee hits will likely miss 95% of the time, each and every crossbow shot will hit a shadow).

Then there was update last year which saw a reduction in enmity for each shadow hit. Again the impact from this was minimal but there was a new hidden change whereby multiple hitting TP attacks (not AOE) such as Goblin Rush, Jet Stream etc would remove multiple shadows instead of the solitary shadow it would previously. Combine this with the previous never miss update and you have a spell that is many times less effective than it once was.

NIN were told to deal with it and adapt and in a lot of cases they did. Beforehand there was a lot of panic and anger (moreso for me on the first announcement, not so much the second as I had been through and survived the previous) but things often work out so don?t worry too much.

But having gone through ?adjustments? I?m afraid I can?t shed too many tears for BLM.

[C']

Koru moru tells you what you need in his own cryptic annoying way of speaking. warm egg and cold bone. he doesnt however give you a clue as to what drops them, so ill leave that part up to you (assuming you avoid the AH that is)

Wow, blast from the past

You still playing?