My FFXI retrospective- Top 10 (2)

So let's keep the list going from last post, popcorn ready? =D

No.5 WG /shout.......err, WG English /shout I mean

Well, it's understandable that after Abyssea came out all /shout moved to Jeuno, but what's not understandable is that JPs still /shout in WG, and English speakers /shout in Jeuno.

Before Abyssea came out, WG was a wonderful place full of /shout, and it was pretty fun to just afk in WG and camp /shouts. I remember when I first arrived WG, I was only a lv 31 RDM(highest job) trying to unlock BLU. And I was so shocked to see so many /shout in WG, since people rarely /shout in other cities. Then as my lv got higher, I started to move my HP to WG, and live there. There used to be all sorts of /shout in WG, CoP missions(I used to camp this really hard), Nyzul boss floor, ISNM, EXP pt looking for a tank or a healer, MMM, buying Alexandrite etc etc. Makes me feel lonely that most /shouts died now.

Although English /shout already moved to Jeuno, but they still rarely exist whenever I get on. Usually I can see 1 Abyssea EXP pt /shout and 1 scars NM seal hunt /shout in Jeuno, and that's about it. Since there are not too many /shout, I ended up getting too shy to /shout for buying Alexandrite as well ._. /shouting for buying Alexandrite somehow gives me pressure :/

I guess /shout dying is probably just the result of this game getting less ppl and major event narrowed down to Abyssea only.



No.4 Joytoy camping

Well, Joytoy used to be one of the best sword for many job that can use it. It was a must have for Atonement spam PLD, melee RDM, melee COR, some DNC, and epeen BRD. Because it was so good and so popular at 75, everyone and their mother wants it. So this sword was always overcamped. If someone in the LS is camping this sword, it usually became a whole LS event that entire LS came and help. And of course, countless drama and epic(?) moment occured on the way.

My first joytoy camp occurred a few days after my COR ding 75. Shytoon asked who needs a Joytoy in LS(Escaflowne) and I said I need it for COR, and another RDM in Escaflowne also needed it, so we planned to camp Charybdis for those who needs it. The RDM that wants it got ToD by afking near spawn point and got his sword. Me and Shytoon got ToD from him and made a pt to kill the NM.

When I camped my Joytoy, I only joined Escaflowne for a couple of days and a total noob, with no friend in LS and never really done anything, only had 2 new 75 jobs with no endgame gear. So I was surprised that 8 people came and helped, all thanks to Shytoon, if it wasn't him asking in LS I don't think anyone would come to help a new member, and it also shows that Chary camp is truely something to unite people in LS together. After a few hours of camping, we got a lot of competition, in the end it ended up 20 ppl all gathering in that small room waiting for Chary to pop. At first I thought we'll probably never claim with such competition since we didn't claim any NQ kraken either. But after 3~4 hours of camping(And people in my pt leaving+ new LS people came in to rep) the taru BLM in my pt claimed with stun. CLAIMMMMMED! I almost jump off the chair ._., since that was the first kraken we claimed.

As our pt killing Chary, the entire room full of people was watching us, although they were just waiting for us to wipe so they can take it, it still felt epic(?) to fight an NM in front of so many ppl all watching our every move, and became the center of attention. After our pt killed the NM, everyone, including those outside of pt all said "congratulations" to me. This is downright the most epic moment I ever had in FFXI, more than everything else.

Ok, epic story over, time for drama story.

A few months later I joined another LS ModifiedStorms(which is dead now), and another RDM in LS said she wants Joytoy. I went to help her camp joytoy with LS leader and a few other LS member. What I didn't know is the leader decided to camp the NM again for his joytoy and everyone else's. I let Sylvester know that I was camping joytoy when he asked me what I was doing, and Sylvester skipped class and camped for ToD after knowing about the NM from me. The next day it ended up ModifiedStorm LS was competing against Sylvester's pt for same NM, and of course after ModifiedStorms failed to claim the NM the LS leader was pissed and blamed me for "leaking ToD" (Although I never got any ToD from previous NM) to outsider. So that was drama No.1, between me and ModifiedStorms.

And there was drama No.2 occurred on same day. Although Sylvester's pt claimed the NM and killed it, someone(who was Syl's best friend and my friend as well) in the pt ninja lotted Sylvester's joytoy without having any job to equip it. I totally didn't know how greedy one person can be until that day. XD And even funnier, that person didn't have any job to equip his joytoy, so he can't show off his new gear. He ended up having to show off his joytoy by typing something like "/em takes out a joytoy from his pants" when he saw me. I think he also put it in bazaar comment so he can brag about having a joytoy when other ppl check him. Every time when I remember this drama, I can't stop laughing at how foolish and greedy one person can be just so that they can brag about the gears they have. But then again, I think I've seen enough lootwhores so I shouldn't be surprised. (/points at Tavera's countless "collection" gears in his MH that he can't equip/doesn't need)

Anyways, I decided to camp another ToD for ModifiedStorms, one ToD for one ToD, fair. I joined the pt of a PLD(who helped Syl camped his joytoy)that wanted the sword. And this Chary just won't pop 16hr after ToD XD, so the PLD went mad and left. I got bored and stayed there after pt disbanded, made a new friend Jigsaww and had fun chatting. In the end Chary finally popped but that was 20hr after ToD, and we didn't have right setup to kill it so I just let another pt claimed and kill and got my ToD. We basically camped there for 6~8hr straight and it wasn't afk camp XD It's pretty hard to imagine playing for 8hr for an NM today since we all live in super fast abyssea era nowadays.

Anyways, I sent the ToD to ModifiedStorms when they started camping Chary another day, and they ended up having to compete with Sinister on that day. And it became another LS v.s LS claim war, with both LS sending a bunch of people trying to claim the NM. The leader and some members of ModifiedStorms already had drama with Sinister long time ago, so that's old drama on top of the competition. I had Sinister pearl equipped when the competition occurred, so reading the LS chat log was pretty exciting, although I decided not to help any of them to avoid getting into anymore drama.

Although there was quite a lot of competition most of the time, sometimes there were no competition as well. I saw that NM up once unclaimed, I asked people in Sinister if anyone want the sword and Sabretooth's GF wanted it for BRD. So I just waited there and watch Sabre tanked the NM on DRK like a pro XD

Half an year later I met the leader of ModifiedStorm again and he admitted he was overreacted on that day and I told him I feel sorry for the result on that day. So I guess this was settled, although the LS no longer exists. I didn't get a lot of chance to do joytoy camp after that. The last one was either with IronMoogle(that one didn't claim, a DNC claimed and soloed it) or the one with Sinister. Then lv cap update came and no one really care about Joyeuse anymore. I haven't go to that room after lv cap increase, I wonder how easy the NM is now.

Lol, so much drama and camping for a sword no one gives a shit now.




No.3 Pink bird merit pt

Well, I wanted to write about EXP pt in general, but somehow EXP pt revived after recent EXP update. So I guess I'll write about pink bird merit pt only.

I made my first merit pt after my BLU ding 75, I wanted to try merit pt but I know I'll never get merit pt invite as a BLU(I can't even get usual EXP pt invite on BLU), so I decided to make one myself.

Now that I think about it, it was rather reckless since I had no idea how merit pt works, not to mention I didn't even have /NIN for BLU, only /THF which was an ok sub for EXP pt but not fast paced merit pt. But that wasn't my first reckless pt, when I just started the game I also made my first dunes EXP pt without knowing how EXP pt works in this game at all. And I also made my first Abyssea cruor/EXP pt before the community discover how abyssea chests/light works. I guess being reckless is my trademark ._.

Anyways, I invited DDs and RDM as usual. I didn't know that merit pt doesn't need a tank, so I invited a NIN as a tank. I also didn't know merit pt needs a BRD and/or COR to make it work, so I didn't invite a BRD since there were no BRD seeking. Then someone in the pt asked if we have a BRD, I searched again and a seeking BRD popped, I quickly invited the BRD and finally got full pt going.

This pt was actually pretty successful, not the best but still ok, considering how bad the pt setup was. A pt with a NIN and gimpy BLU/THF and no COR still ended up having a decent EXP was a miracle kinda XD Especially the BLU/THF only has AF1 and no Disseverment(strongest BLU spell for 75 bird pt, a must have if you join merit pt on BLU, other spell dmg can't even come close)

That was also my first time experiencing fast EXP. I didn't know that pink bird merit pt was more than getting EXP/merit points until later. Merit pt was a proving ground for DD job power, the EXP/hr you got from your pt indicated if your DD job is gimp or pimp. Many DDs spend ages to improve their gear and this is where they can parse and witness the result of their effort. I joined many more merit pt on COR later, and slowly improved my dmg output with typical "more haste, more acc, MOAR WS dmg!" route, following all the DDs, using merit pt to test if my DD power is on par and gear set viable.

Pink bird merit pt, it's more than just merit pt, it's where many DDs find their glory. Gimp or pimp, win or fail, we see it all here.