tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39743943445899441612024-03-02T06:24:44.075-08:00The Dark Renegade's MusingsStarcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.comBlogger513125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-22153214958960915082021-12-07T18:59:00.006-08:002021-12-07T18:59:27.548-08:00Yes, I am officially necroing the blog because of all the Endwalker whining... GET OVER IT!<div>(Posted on my sports-conspiracy blog, but I thought it might be good to put it here too!)</div><div><br /></div>I could probably go into any number of sports-related rants regarding the entitlement of fans and the like -- up to and including my increasing anger at the idiots who do not understand a sports fan has no right to a legal, lawful, nor fair contest.<div><br /></div><div>Really, they don't. <i>Mayer</i>!</div><div><br /></div><div>But what I have seen the last almost-five days now in video-gaming has to take the cake.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know I probably said here (and I know I said elsewhere) I was never going to play <i>Final Fantasy XIV</i> again.</div><div><br /></div><div>The coronavirus and the need to kill copious amounts of time while staying the fuck at home (thank you, Samuel L. Jackson!!!!) changed all that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today is the official release date of the final expansion of the first story arc, <i>Endwalker</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I do not know when I will complete it, or whether I will be able to. More on that in a second.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have been considering doing another video-game post on the death of Activision-Blizzard, and the DESERVED death of the company, as a going concern.</div><div><br /></div><div>I may, well, soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>But this is one factor in what is going on here. Because a lot of people, disgusted with the sexual-harassment/assault culture at Blizzard (as well as increasing microtransactions, including pay-for-gold (which the company which owns the game DOES have the right to do -- unlike Real Money Trading outfits!)) have left <i>World of Warcraft</i> in monstrous numbers, leaving WoW with a player-base, by some estimates, of less than 2 million subscribed accounts.</div><div><br /></div><div>By comparison, Square-Enix and FFXIV, this weekend for the "Early Access" of <i>Endwalker</i>, have reported, and by quite a distance (some metrics say the record could be by a multiplicative factor of at least two, if not more!!), the highest server load in the history of the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which has created massive problems.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of which, which will probably take a back seat, is a very real issue with certain processors (like mine, AMD models appear to be reported as having problems) with the game, at best, dropping or stuttering sound. At worst, like mine, the computer will randomly freeze and force a complete reset of the system!</div><div><br /></div><div>But that's nothing compared to their more glaring problem: Full worlds and massive server queues.</div><div><br /></div><div>And everyone says "This is normal for a launch!!", etc. And they are right -- TO AN EXTENT...</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem is, the mass exodus out of Blizzard and into Square-Enix was never foreseen.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second problem is that the development team knew they couldn't do anything about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some blame COVID, I blame Bitcoin. There's also a definite scalper motif into this, which has bled into the high-end gaming consoles as well. It's one of the reasons I may have to quit for a while: Upgrading systems has become impossible because of the semiconductor shortage which has gone on the better part of 12-18 months now.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have friends of mine who would like to update their video cards. Here's your problem, as evidenced last June at a store in Dallas. I want you to take special note of a gentleman in the mob just in front of the cammer before it attempts to stampede the store, upon notification that, between all the Bitcoiners and scalpers, there's no prayer there's enough video cards to get everybody one:</div><div><br /></div><div>(Look at about 1-2 seconds into the video. Look closely at his hand, you won't see it for long...)</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-wqxyBVPqQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>There's at least one person in the damn line who has BRASS KNUCKLES!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>That's how bad that is.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the reason I made this post is another kind of entitled jackass...</div><div><br /></div><div>"I WANNA PLAY WIGHT NOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Just a short list of what has been going on on the Official Forums of the game (and thank God I'm banned from those several times and characters over, because somebody would get threatened with a punch to the mouth):</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"I want to thank you for making bethesda and fallout 76 look good. I was going to type a lot more, but why bother. you and the company decided that you would loose more money from player leaving then from getting more servers."<br style="background-color: #e6e1d3; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif, "MS Pゴシック"; font-size: 13px;" /></li><li>Another thread: "I don't accept your apology"</li><li>Calls for lawsuits...</li><li>"Shame on you Square"</li><li>I know there was at least one all-caps profane rant on the question -- which was probably allowed to remain far longer than it should've...</li><li>"Get over it? No, I don't think I will."</li><li>And on</li><li>AND ON</li><li><b>AND FUCKING ON!!!!!</b></li></ul><div>The only way Square-Enix was going to get this right was not to release <i>Endwalker </i>for AT LEAST ANOTHER YEAR.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>That's how bad the gaming console/semiconductor/video card/chip market has been FUCKED, between the scalpers and the Bitcoin geeks, with a small nod to COVID, in the last two years.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you don't think they would've done something <i>if they could've</i>, you're even more arrogant than I thought.</div><div><br />FUCK OFF.</div><p> </p>Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-4680185051855212492015-05-18T22:44:00.001-07:002015-05-18T22:44:49.023-07:00My Reputation Finally Following Me To XIV?I think I've seen two people in Duty Finder parties now who recognize me from my rants on here and on XI.<br />
<br />
First one was harmless: Drew Ultros on my Trials Roulette and the guy asked, recognized me, told me to keep it civil, we did.<br />
<br />
The second guy was an asshole.<br />
<br />
Couple of nights ago, drew Amdapor Keep (Hard) for my Expert/Alexandrite run. My friend Arg came with me to farm tomes.<br />
<br />
Basically, the main mental midget was the healer. I'm certain the guy knows me from BG...<br />
<br />
Why??<br />
<ul>
<li>We're on Anchag. The third time around, I get the draw for the lightning, and do not make it back to the statue in time. So, Douchenozzle Healer decides to /pray, /pray, /pray some more, and eat about 2/3 of his life when he gets AoE'd because he's too interested trying to figure out whether he wants to dismember my corpse or have sex with it. The Swiftcast Raise FINALLY comes, but basically too late.</li>
<li>Boogyman, second boss. Nothing much a problem here, except the dickhead decides, out of very much nowhere, to /slap me. Mental note made, I also make the note in my FC chat, which Arg is in as well.</li>
<li>Final boss, and I'm getting heat for sucking. Yep, full-scale Bluegartr reject, whether he's actually BG or not. I get heat for using the limit break to finish off the DPS check before we die to it (mainly because healer and tank cannot be arsed to break everybody out of their pudding). I tell him to shove it, he lets me die when the Cankerous Goblet decides to hold me in place.</li>
<li>By this point, I know the jackass ain't gonna raise me, so it's on from here. Arg finally has to break it up (after he, as the only DPS the tank and healer ever gave a damn about, much less two), and the healer says Arg was the only one doing anything, with far lesser gear than mine.</li>
</ul>
You know, if I wanted that, I'd post on Bluegartr.<br />
<br />
Really.<br />
<br />
Do me a favor -- you think I suck shit that badly, you and your buddy kick me.<br />
<br />
But you'll lose the person single-handedly responsible for bringing me on XIV once he takes the 30-minute penalty too.<br />
<br />
PS: He suggested that, next time, I report you for harassment. Well...Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-78795124512351377652015-05-16T17:08:00.001-07:002015-05-16T17:08:02.974-07:00Wow... That was... underwhelming.Took me longer to download the updates than to complete Rhapsodies I.<br />
<br />
I have two songs to describe Rhapsodies I:<br />
<br />
<i>"This song... is pretty damn short."</i><br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
<i>"This is your birthday song...</i><br />
<i> It isn't very long..."</i><br />
<br />
I think it's clear that when XI becomes an MMMRPG, the whole thing is basically going mobile.<br />
<br />
The new area and battle system is _OK_, but there just isn't enough meat and potatoes to it.<br />
<br />
As for the storyline, interesting but not nearly up to even Adoulin standards, much less 2.55.<br />
<br />
Be interesting to see if I even THINK of resubbing, barring circumstances.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-35684128445535290512015-05-15T18:09:00.002-07:002015-05-15T18:09:25.437-07:00Big Story from Azeroth: Blizzard needs to shut down WoW PvP...Only being put here because it's so similar to a lot of my <i>Final Fantasy XI</i> rants (and what's with the damn download times on the update, even BEFORE the free login period begins, SE???)...<br />
<br />
Big news in the gaming community this week that Blizzard banned a number of users for using bots in <i>World of Warcraft</i> PvP competition.<br />
<br />
... because that number is SIX FIGURES of six-month suspensions.<br />
<br />
Various reports put the number at somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 banned characters (or is it accounts?).<br />
<br />
That's 1-2% of the 10 million subscribers WoW has, and, PvP being the sole <i>raison d'etre</i> for a lot of these immature shitheads to play WoW, I would have to think we can add at least that number to the two million or so subscriptions which have fled WoW in the last few months.<br />
<br />
Basically, it appears as if the entire PvP metagame (and if it's not all of it, it's a large, large fraction!!!) was based around the bot HonorBuddy, which allows players to farm honor in PvP play without actually committing to PvP. No engagement is necessary.<br />
<br />
They're still looking, but it now appears that this is a problem even an order of magnitude or two above the Salvage bans of 2009, which basically exposed FFXI for what it really was, and set the table for the company to transition to FFXIV.<br />
<br />
There's really only two solutions: Reset ALL PvP in <i>World of Warcraft</i>, or shut it ALL down until gameplay can be rebalanced.<br />
<br />
This isn't 1 or 100 accounts. This is the classic case of "If you owe the bank $100, it's your problem. Owe the bank $1,000,000, and it's the bank's."<br />
<br />
It is now clear that no meaningful PvP play is going on whatsoever on <i>World of Warcraft</i>, so it either needs to be reset or shut down.<br />
<br />
This, on the heels of Blizzard actually doing something SE may have tried to do ONCE: Blizzard won $7,000,000 from a WoW bot maker in court.<br />
<br />
I always knew most WoW players were immature little pieces of shit, so none of this surprises me.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-6119767195988819862015-04-21T00:06:00.002-07:002015-04-21T00:06:39.063-07:00Take Your RMT and Pay To Win Shit and GET OFF MY GAME!!!That took about 30 posts on the XIV Official Forums.<br />
<br />
This one might well be a temp unless they realize it's the same guy from the XI forums, at which point I'm probably done there.<br />
<br />
We have an RMT apologist on the XIV Official Forums, name Tocsin, I think from the Jenova server.<br />
<br />
Goddamn bitch decides he wants to be against RMT, by allowing Square-Enix to sell the gil, making the game Pay to Win!<br />
<br />
I'm gonna tell you right now. I don't think SE has the manpower to start and RMT/P2W operation -- the credits to 2.55 seem to indicate they have no manpower to stop it.<br />
<br />
What I hope isn't happening (and what I fear happened in XI) is that SE got a cut of some of the profits to leave them alone.<br />
<br />
And it sounds like this piece of shit on the Official Forums would rather see this game decline to Pay To Win status.<br />
<br />Take that shit to MMMRPG XI, shithead!! We don't need you here!<br />
<br />
We've got enough of a problem when communication between players becomes damn near impossible/unfeasible because of talk and shout RMT spam. We don't need RMT/Pay To Win encouragement here.<br />
<br />
Otherwise, this game becomes XI, and it's fucked. Period.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-44885033243463720742015-03-19T01:15:00.001-07:002015-03-19T01:15:59.680-07:00Oh my dear God, they didn't...Well, the good news is you don't get an immediate shutdown.<br />
<br />The bad news is that you might get it WORSE.<br />
<br />
With about 48 hours notice, Square-Enix Japan announced a press conference for "The Future of Final Fantasy XI".<br />
<br />
What we got was not what we expected. Some people are probably happy that the game is not shutting down.<br />
<br />
The first major announcement was the final scenarios to the game. <br />
<br />
Rhapsodies of Vana'diel will be the final set of scenarios added to the game, the first of which to be added in the May version update.<br />
<br />
From the digest, it's going to tie in fourteen years of FFXI. The other two parts are in August and November.<br />
<br />
One major prediction came true and then some: PS2 support is ending in one year's time. So is XBox's.<br />
<br />
And the major event coming forward is apparently "The Goddess' Gala", incorporating both in-game campaigns and other campaigns.<br />
<br />
The second of three major announcements was the announcement of a new Vana'dielian mobile game for Japan only -- Final Fantasy Grandmasters. This took up the bulk of the 45-minute presentation.<br />
<br />
But then the third one came, and, when it did...<br />
<br />
They are planning to partner to get a mobile interface for actual FFXI play -- with one of the worst and most corrupt such companies around, Nexon.<br />
<br />
OH... SHIT!!<br />
<br />
So you're not only possibly creating "All The Bravest II", but you're doubling down with the people from Maple Story and all the hacking and shit and cash-shops and the like from that???<br />
<br />
Are we going to have a Final Fantasy XIV left when you guys are done???Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-73425385746150708432014-12-24T21:14:00.003-08:002014-12-24T21:14:15.527-08:00Oh, and Draylo can still shut up...Got some interesting news from the "agents in the field" just before I got XIV.<br />
<br />
Draylo finally got banned for RMT??<br />
<br />
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!<br />
<br />
(if true)Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-25534992923403709252014-12-24T21:13:00.000-08:002014-12-24T21:13:12.490-08:00I Said I'd Never Do It, and I Was Wrong(Though I will admit it took getting it as a gift...)<br />
<br />
I said when XIV launched that I'd never play it.<br />
<br />
Well, one of my main XI friends bought me the PS3 version for Christmas.<br />
<br />
I haven't been able to put it down since.<br />
<br />
Only real problem so far (and the real "fun" doesn't start til 50...) is the RMT spam.<br />
<br />
The RMT spam...<br />
<br />
And more RMT spam...<br />
<br />Started within five minutes of first login.<br />
<br />
Hasn't stopped since.<br />
<br />
Otherwise, the game action is basically non-stop! No auto-attack and go off and do something else once you've proced the Dynamis mob here. Oh no...<br />
<br />
Gil is a premium.<br />
<br />
Just, wow. They got it right.<br />
<br />
May actually non-vacation take the XI character down for a bit to see what they'll do with XI now that Adoulin is finished on the storyline.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-79044595416969766532014-06-29T13:06:00.000-07:002014-06-29T13:06:06.547-07:00Hey Draylo, SHUT THE FUCK UP...You want a great example of why Final Fantasy XI is a dead shell of itself there only to make a few extra bucks for Square-Enix now?<br />
<br />
Here's the latest missives from the elitist fuck camp, in response to <a href="http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/42981-Rate-of-Leveling-and-the-New-Player-Experience">a Matsui article in the Official Forums</a>...<br />
<br />
After a fairly peaceful first page, the fun begins with <a href="http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/42981-Rate-of-Leveling-and-the-New-Player-Experience?p=513851&viewfull=1#post513851">this post by Olor</a> on page 2:<br />
<br />
<i>"Mules are only usable in place of real players in serious content
because of 3rd party programs. Frankly, it's part of the "not taking"
people problem. The problem boils down to people being selfish though.
SE shouldn't let people blatantly brag about cheating with zero
consequences, it's certainly doing nothing to help the game. Yeah if the
only way to get content done is to use 3rd party programs and have 2
accounts it does nothing to attract and keep new players playing. It's
toxic."</i><br />
<br />
<br />
That's the idea, Olor. There's nothing more nor less to say about it.<br />
<br />
What these people have been saying is that bots and illegal play are the only realistic manner in which the game ever has been remotely <u>playable</u>. Without them, there is not only no player-base, but no game.<br />
<br />
<i>"I recognize that banning everyone who uses 3rd party tools at this point
would annihilate the playerbase - and I know my viewpoints on them are
not popular, but there needs to be some action taken so that it doesn't
devolve further into "no 3rd party tools? No invite" than it already
has."</i><br />
<br />
This is one of the main reasons I don't complain about the current soloable state of Final Fantasy XI. Because, barring that, you can't play this game without being a Draylo or a Thornyy or some other RMT/3PP piece of shit who needs to get belted up side the face.<br />
<br /><i>
"Or they need to just link to windower from the official website and make
it clear that in order to play competitively you'll need to use it. The
status quo, where spellcast and other 3rd party tools that automate
gear changes are officially against the rules but people feel
comfortable enough breaking the rules to all but brag they are using it
on the official forum... it's not sustainable. Those tools are a big
part of what's dividing the playerbase. "</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Again, it's a question of what the player-base actually is: Is it a bunch of cheating pieces of shit who are sustaining a game which needs to be shut down as a legal fraud, or is it a bunch of people who are trying to fight this shit and, because of economic reality, is hamstrung because the game is being built for the cheaters, and perhaps by them as well.<br /><br />
--<br />
<br />
As one might expect, <a href="http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/42981-Rate-of-Leveling-and-the-New-Player-Experience?p=513875&viewfull=1#post513875">Draylo came to town with it</a>:<br />
<br />
<i>"Don't speak for me you idiot. Alliance content opens up more challenging
fights by design, compared to 6 man (legion was 10x harder than Delve
2.0 at release.) Alliance content lets you include MORE jobs and people
to play with. With the current delve it actually penalizes you for
bringing anything more than what is necessary to win (three people lol.)
Any new person you add that might need to clear the zone for KI or just
to have fun is adding 68k HP.... The drops are the exact same as if you
went with three people and you have to share all of it. It's hardly me
asking for EXCLUSIVE content just because I wanna be special, its asking
for fairness. Divine Might was a perfect system but SE didn't follow
through."</i><br />
<br />
Here's your "fairness", you piece of shit...<br />
<br />
If you believe the way you play the game and the illegal tools you use are that necessary for the game, then you get banned from the game any player who does not use them. Period.<br />
<br />
And, because you are a fucking moron, you don't realize you have the means by which to make that charge.<br />
<br />
There is no "fairness" under a system which rewards outright criminal behavior. It doesn't matter what the system is...<br />
<br />
Criminal behavior begets criminal behavior, Draylo. You and Thornyy, personally, might want to keep that in mind in the near future. <br />
<br />
<i>"You sound like a gimp idiot who detests windower and "cheaterz" because
you aren't a good player. Nowhere in my posts have I stated I two box or
that I cheat, I simply said that you can "trio it with mules". That is
hardly saying anything. For your information you don't need "cheatz" to
two box, most of the jobs in this game are extremely easy to play like
BRD where you cast 4 songs and afk."</i> <br />
<br />
You admit it in this paragraph, you fucking jackass...<br />
<br />
Being a "good player", in your opinion (and you've made a career on FFXI doing this), requires Windower.<br />
<br />
Anyone who, through gear of legal type or illegal type, is not optimized is a "gimp idiot" who "[isn't] a good player".<br />
<br />
<i>"So they should remove all the lore and quest from the game because some
person quit for FFXIV and is now coming back because that game is
boring? Do you know why its boring? EVERYTHING is handed to you, the
quests right now are exactly as you say, go to Point A, then B, then get
reward. They aren't hard to do, and certainly aren't "time consuming"
they take like 10~20 minutes per job or AF quest. The game is more
accessible now than it ever has been, you can get to any area incredibly
easy."</i><br />
<br />
Why not, if they're going to allow you to have everything in the damn thing handed to you because you have illegal tools and they either won't or can't do anything about it?<br />
<br />
This game ain't big enough for you and me, and one of us needs to have serious legal action taken against us for our conduct with respect to Final Fantasy XI, Draylo. <br />
<br />
Trust me, Draylo, with your mouth, I can make my half of that happen real good and quick.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-89508661165129256222014-06-21T22:23:00.001-07:002014-06-21T22:23:13.689-07:00Non-XI: Oh... My... Fucking... God...Mario Marathon 7 has been DDoSed.<br />
<br />
Let me repeat that: One of the largest video-game marathons on the Internet, the annual Mario Marathon 7 from Indiana, has been hit with a DDoS attack to stop people from being able to donate to Child's Play.<br />
<br />
(There are actually three such marathons going on this week -- The Speed Gamers is having their week-long Pokemon event, and the Games Done Quick people start their summer event tomorrow...)<br />
<br />
But someone, some point this evening, successfully got taken down the Mario Marathon website, and halted all donations until a workaround was created. The general idea of the marathon, where donations determine it's length, has probably been scrapped.<br />
<br />
WHO THE FUCK DO YOU ANIMALS WHO DO THIS KIND OF SHIT THINK YOU ARE?<br />
<br />
SERIOUSLY...Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-89645894246744464882014-06-13T16:55:00.001-07:002014-06-13T16:55:11.666-07:00So is this what was needed all along, or an admission and bowing to the frauds?Some of my friends are saluting some of the updates being made on June 16-17.<br />
<br /><br />
It's either the day legitimate players have been waiting for, or the day the Windower cheats can admit Square-Enix bowed.<br />
<br /><br />
I'm not sure which, and it probably is far too late in FFXI's shelf life for it to matter.<br />
<br /><br />
Basically, the main thing which has the legitimate players excited is real, first-party viewing of the MP of the entire alliance, as well as it's TP.<br />
<br />This has long been a luxury afforded the cheats, and something I've long said that, if we were entitled to it, we'd have gotten it already.<br />
<br /><br />
Well, this update, we finally become entitled to it.<br />
<br /><br />
There are also several other updates as well with major quality-of-life improvements (crafting kits for certain items, a massive weaponskill update, other UI adjustments, etc.).<br />
<br /><br />
I'd like to be opening the champagne on this one -- as it might well cause real Windower UI problems, yes -- but I'll need to see them actually break the device a bit more before I start the celebration.<br />
<br /><br />
But the bubbly is on ice, ready to go... ;)Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-19000214480621424652014-05-16T02:28:00.001-07:002014-05-16T02:28:12.128-07:0012th Anniversary Has Started, and That Means Mog Bonanza...*grumbles about the Outer Ra'azkanar run-through for the mission there -- they're going to have to seriously tone down those Colonization Reives*<br />
<br />
But that's another post for another time...<br />
<br />
In addition to TWO bonus rings this year (one for XP, one for Job Points, same mechanic for each), another Mog Bonanza.<br />
<br />
So off we go to what I won't win.<br />
<br />
Level 6, which I will "win" by matching no other prizes:<br />
<br />
Bonanza Ball<br />
<br />
No (material) change, yawn.<br />
<br />
Level 5, match the last number of your marble to the single number drawn for that level...<br />
<br />
Two additions:<br />
<br />
The music situation now adds music from Rise of the Zilart to your orchestrion.<br />
<br />
You can also win a single Lebondopt Wing, which is the one from Outer Ra'azkanar Skirmish.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Probably get the music thing to add the Zilart music.</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 4, match the last two numbers to the numbers drawn...<br />
<br />
Deletions:<br />
<br />
The Sacred Kindred Crest Orbs<br />
Bomb Masque<br />
Chocobo Masque<br />
Chocobo Suit<br />
<br />
Demotions:<br />
<br />
Kupon W-EWS: Empyrean Weapon Skill weapon, one choice -- from Level 3 to 4.<br />
Kupon AW-WK: One Wildskeeper Reive drop from any of the six Wildskeeper Reives -- from level 3 to 4.<br />
<br />
Holdovers include the S3 (Simulacrum L3), E+2 (one piece Empyrean +2 Armor), De (one old-delve non-boss upgradable armor with three Airlixir +2s), PK109 (one piece Bayld +1 armor) Kupons.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Not sure on this one.</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 3, match the last three numbers to the three numbers drawn.<br />
<br />
Gil options remain the same.<br />
<br />
Holdovers: I-S5 (Simulacrum L5) Kupon.<br />
Galley Kitchen<br />
Speed Belt<br />
HQ Behemoth, etc. pops (<i>at Level 3, since you can get one for 3,000 login points?????</i>)<br />
Arise<br />
Meteor<br />
119 weapon upgrade box (~20 or so inside)<br />
<br />
Important change:<br />
<br />
The AF-109 (1 stack of any Rem's 1-5 Chapter) Kupon now is any chapter 1-10! And it's saying all 10 stacks??? That cannot be right.<br />
<br />
Additions:<br /><br />Plumb Boots -- Inside the Belly prize. Level 99 All. Phys. Damage Taken Down 5%, but you lose movement speed in the tradeoff.<br />
Frayed Sack H1 -- 12 Wailing Stones +1 (upgrade items for Outer Ra'azkanar Skirmish, I think)<br />
<br />
<i><b>Probably a 6-10 stack, whichever one I need at that moment. If it's all 10, sweet...</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 2, match the last four, yadda yadda...<br />
<br />
Gil here too.<br />
<br />
Most of the non-Kupon stuff holds here. Still have no freaking idea WHAT the Alza'daal Table does!<br />
<br />
Mog Kupons:<br />
<br />
A-DeII (holdover): Delve Boss Drop - Armor<br />
W-DeIII: Delve Boss Drop -- Weapon<br />
<br />
(these might be first-level Delve only, though)<br />
<br />
W-Job (addition): One of the 119 weapons gotten through Oboro. I already have the axe.<br />
I-Mat (addition): One high-level crafting material, be it Delve 1, Delve 2, and others. (<i>Blat.</i>)<br />
AW-Mis (addition): One high-level mission BC weapon/armor drop.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Leaning W-Job for the dagger.</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 1, match em all.<br />
<br />
Gil option, natch.<br />
<br />
The usual suspects: K-Club, D-Ring, 10K currency piece, Ebisu Rod, Relic/Mythic/Empyrean Weapon Kupon at Level 90, 300 of whatever you need to turn your 99 R, M, or E to 119.<br />
<br />
Two additions:<br />
<br />
Judgement Day: It's a painting of the fight between Odin and Alexander. What could possess something like that to be Level 1, I dunno.<br />
<br />
and an item only represented by three question marks, and that's how it's going to stick for a while.<br />
<br />
Basically, it's an item (one of several which will be needed) to get an Ergon Weapon for RUN or GEO.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Tough call again.</b></i>Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-39581423359862576532014-04-20T16:15:00.001-07:002014-04-20T16:20:24.675-07:00Elitists and the Concept of Game Disruption: SE Misses The Boat AgainHave posted nearly nothing on this blog for quite a while now.<br />
<br />
I still play FFXI, but I think it's clear that the migration of the bulk of the FF MMO community to XIV:ARR will result in the near-term shutdown of XI.<br />
<br />
That said, there is a subject I've been meaning to blog about for some time, and I think that, for both elitists and casuals, SE has completely missed the boat on the entire process.<br />
<br />
I think I can clearly base this on the concept of a response by Matsui regarding Solo Play, Barriers to Party, and Community Enhancement, from the Official Forums:<br />
<br />
<i>" I feel that there are three groups of players: those that want solo
growth elements, those that want to join parties more easily, and those
that want a way to be able to practice and learn content."</i><br />
<br />
He's wrong. Though those three groups exist, there are at least two more, which do have an intersection: <br />
<ul>
<li>People who wish to make money at the game (RMT)</li>
<li>and people whose only existence in the game is to clear content and control who else can.</li>
</ul>
And it's for these two sets of people (who can easily nab top-level content and control it (we've got one such jackass on Leviathan who has basically run off most of the other players on the server)) that Matsui and Square-Enix do not get two ugly facts:<br />
<br />
<i><b>First, casuals and hardcores cannot co-exist on Final Fantasy XI.</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>Second, only one group has the right to play on Final Fantasy XI. Square-Enix just needs to get a set and determine and enforce which one.</b></i><br />
<br />
Why do I say this?<br />
<br />
First, Siviard calls Matsui out basically immediately:<br />
<br />
<i>"The bolded section is the most inaccurate piece of blabber I think I've
ever seen by Matsui. Sadly, the opposite is true. Players who have
better gear and are "ahead of the game" do their best to REJECT players
who are behind and won't allow them to come along for endgame content.</i>
<i><br />
Don't have Aegis/Ochain on your Paladin? You're not wanted. Don't have
Gjallarhorn or Daurdalba on your Bard? Leave now. Don't have
Annihilator 119 on your Ranger? Don't bother responding. etc. etc."</i><br />
<br />
Worse yet, if you aren't a:<br />
<ul>
<li>Monk</li>
<li>Ranger</li>
<li>Bard</li>
<li>Corsair</li>
<li>White Mage</li>
<li>or Paladin</li>
</ul>
FOR-GET - IT.<br />
<br />
Maybe the occasional BLM.<br />
<br />
But, again, Siviard's statement doesn't take into account that the vast majority (on the North American side, effectively ALL) elite players cheat, demand cheating and do everything in their power to ensure they are the only ones who can -- and since they can clear the content, they inflate the difficulty of the game for everyone else.<br />
<br />
Let's take a look at a Term of Service that I think these hardcores refuse to use to their advantage...<br />
<br />
Prohibited Activities, 3.2:<br />
<br />
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">3.2 <i>Disruption</i>.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">
You may not in any way disrupt or interfere with the Game experience of other
players, including the disruption of SQUARE ENIX’s computers and servers.</span><br />
<br />
Note that, by saying "in any way", this is in no way limiting the discussion of Game Disruption to physically disrupting the game/Internet, Square-Enix actually has opened the door to do the following in response to Byrth's response to some of these concerns:<br />
<br />
<i>"It's being cast as a community issue, but really it's not.</i>
<i><br />
* You want a job that can survive essentially anything? You want an Ochain and Aegis PLD.</i><br />
<i>* You want to fit two buffers into one party slot? You want a Daurd/G-horn BRD.</i><br />
<i>* You want a competitive DD that won't pull hate off a Paladin? Your options are either a Yoichi RNG or Anni RNG."</i><br />
<br />
Essentially, if I were an elitist fuck like Thornyy/Comeatmebro or the other scum who have polluted the community beyond all semblance of repair, I would do the following:<br />
<br />
<i><b>Refusal to play an optimized job, and optimize that job completely, disrupts the Game Experience of any player who is meaningful to the game.</b></i><br />
<br />
Refusal to use bots/third-party programs, attempts to play non-optimized jobs, refusal to gear your job "properly", should be an expulsion offense, to these players.<br />
<br />
So, what of it, Square-Enix?<br />
<br />
Or is Siviard's call what you have wanted all along, and, now that FFXI means nothing to you, you can let this happen now until the game shuts down:<br />
<br />
<i>"In essence.....FFXI has become BlueGartr "</i><br />
<br />Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-90424226607373993932014-01-01T09:46:00.003-08:002014-01-01T09:46:26.987-08:00But Square-Enix didn't like what she said, soooo...Here it is...<br />
<br />
In response to the person bitching about Trust, Tohihroyu said:<br />
<br />
<div class="_37">
<i>"Here's
a novel Idea! now this might be ever so difficult for a hiveminded
eletist sheep like you to comprehend, so I will word this as slowly in
your special language as I can so you can get a grasp on it: </i></div>
<div class="_37">
<i> </i></div>
<div class="_37">
<i>Do not participate in trust, don't talk to ANY of the following NPC's:
Clarion Star, Wetata, or Gondebaud for they will burden you with the
always gimp Trust NPC's, I mean they don't even gear swap every second
just to swing their weapons (which are also gimp because they are not
from delve OR iLevel RME!</i></div>
<div class="_37">
<i> </i></div>
<div class="_37">
<i>how GASTLY! its makes your butt want to
clench! how DARE they do that?! not to mention Ayame! what a gimped sam!
she dose not use meditate or hasso! (and even if she did she dose not
gear swap! oh noes!) and how they look on parser? UNACCEPTABLE! just
like gimps if they are not up to par according to third party tools they
are no better than the gimp casuals who pollute your precious air!
since they don't use windower or bot! how terrible! how awful! </i></div>
<div class="_37">
<i> </i></div>
<div class="_37">
<i>even
though those silly GM's say use of 3rd party tools is not allowed you
disregard that, your e-penis growth is far more important then rules,
right?
Guffaw! how DARE people not bot (aka triple+ box) how DARE they use
something thats useful for the low levels that you shit for brains would
never help on unless they bought gil and paid you a million gil for
getting things done or levels? and of course pay for the leet gear too,
oh wait SE got rid of FC's!"</i><span class="null"></span></div>
Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-53589956357217503732013-12-27T02:33:00.000-08:002013-12-27T02:33:05.893-08:00That's what SHE said, Dammit!!One of the best advancements in Final Fantasy XI in recent months is the Trust Initiative.<br />
<br />
So leave it to Karah of Carbuncle to <a href="http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/39226-Trust-is-extremely-annoying">try to dump water on it</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>"I used to be able to /sea area, cool, there's only 1 person there, no
possible way that he'd get in my way.... but now every ONE person, is
actually 4 with this trust crap.</i>
<i><br />
Just wanted to vent, I think it's a pretty stupid thing, but its the
only way the people that use them are capable of accomplishing things,
so "necessary evil" I guess."</i><br />
<br />
So trying to counterbalance against the 9-boxing bot-bullshit is, well...<br />
<br />
You know what? I'll just let my friend Tohihroyu say it best...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/39226-Trust-is-extremely-annoying?p=485466&viewfull=1#post485466">Read her response</a> to Miss Wet Blanket up there... <br />
<br />
The young Padawan is learning. Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-33257532138041580862013-12-06T01:51:00.002-08:002013-12-06T01:51:53.133-08:00I Dream of Mog Bonanza 2014, brought to you by Campbell's Alphabet Soup!!Well, while I'm downloading one of my Christmas presents to myself (<i>Final Fantasy VIII</i> for Steam) -- damn false positives on McAfee... -- I decided to take another look at the new Mog Bonanza for the end of 2013 and start of 2014.<br />
<br />
BTW, next version update: December 11th.<br />
<br />
SIGNIFICANT number of changes for the ilevel 119 stuff, and a lot of stuff is getting Mog Kupon Alphabet Soup-ed...<br />
<br />
Level 6<br />
<br />
Losing tickets get a Mog Missile, again.<br />
<br />
Level 5<br />
<br />
Matching the single number of Level 5 gets the normal array of special BCNM entry keys (of which I think I have them all), most of the statues (Ark Angels, Adamantoise, etc., Shadow Lord) plus a number of new entries:<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon I-S1: Your choice of any one simulacrum piece, Level One.<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon I-Skill: Pick the skill of your choice, and you will get (I presume a usable) item which will increase that skill. No word yet on whether it caps the skill or just gives a set amount of skill increase.<br />
<br />
1 Rem's Tale Item, Chapters 1-5: Your choice of one chapter, one item, for the Artifact Armor increase to ilevel 119. You still need 5, I believe, to actually upgrade the item, plus either a Delve boss win or a win of one of the Sacred Kindred's Crest BC's at harder than normal level.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Probably a skill item for my black mage, frankly.</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 4: Two-digit number drawn, last two digits of any marble you have match to win.<br />
<br />
Deletions:<br />
<br />
Mog Bonanza S2: It's upgraded to S3 for this one, see below.<br />
Redeyes: Given out commonly in the BC events.<br />
The Ark Weapons: Nice costumes, but little else.<br />
<br />
Holdovers:<br />
<br />
Odin Statue<br />
Choice of one Skill Up Ring<br />
Choice of one Black Belt item<br />
<br />
Demotion:<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon A-De: Single ilvl 110 armor piece and three Airlixir +2s. Demoted from Level 2 to Level 4.<br />
Mog Kupon A-E+2: Empyrean Armor +2, one choice. Demoted from Level 2 to Level 4.<br />
<br />
Additions:<br />
<br />
Bomb Masque<br />
Chocobo Masque<br />
The Chocobo Suit<br />
Statues for Cardian, Goobbue, or Atomos<br />
Rolanberry Delightaru (probably a Cooking enhancement furniture piece)<br />
One Sacred Kindred Crest Orb (either type)<br />
<br />
And then FOUR different Mog Kupons:<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon I-S3: One Simulacrum Piece, Level Three<br />
Mog Kupon A-PK109: Bayld armor ilvl 109 -- basically the initial Bayld armors, +1. One choice.<br />
<i><b>Probably a Skill-Up Ring, probably Magic.</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 3: Three-digit number drawn, match last three to win.<br />
<br />
Gil options are the same as they've always been. Gil for the May 2013 Mog Bonanza was 27% of the total gil put in.<br />
<br />
Nomad Moogle Rod is gone, for the same reason Redeyes left Level 4.<br />
The Neo-Nyzul Mog Kupon is gone, as is the one for Neo-Salvage.<br />
<br />
Holdovers:<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon I-S5: One Simulacrum Piece, Level Five.<br />
Frayed Sack of Abundance +1: 12 Verdgris Stones +1<br />
Galley Kitchen<br />
Speed Belt<br />
<br />
Downgrades:<br />
<br />
Arise and Meteor fall from Level 2 to Level 3.<br />
<br />
Additions:<br />
<br />
HQ Behemoth, Fafnir, and Adamantoise pops, one choice.<br />
One choice of a box of items to upgrade your relic, mythic, or empyrean to ilvl 119. (The box contains the largest number of beitetsu, Plutons, or Riftborn Boulders, but not the full amount by any means.)<br />
<br />
New Mog Kupons:<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon I-AF109: 1 choice of a stack of 12 of any chapter (1-5) of Rem's Tale.<br />
Mog Kupon W-EWS: The Empyrean Weapon Skill weapon for any one of the weapon types.<br />
Mog Kupon AW-WK: One Wildskeeper Reive good drop of your choice -- think of it as a mega-Rela from the Celennia Library.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Tough call.</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 2: Four-digit number drawn, last four digits to win.<br />
<br />
Holdovers:<br />
<br />
<br />
23% of the gil pool split by number of winners.<br />Black Belt<br />
Cat's Eye<br />
Opal Silk<br />
Saber Shoot<br />
Shaper's Shawl<br />
The Boss Delve crafting items, choice of one.<br />
<br />
Demotions:<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon A-DeII: Delve Boss armor drops, choice of one. Demotion from Level 1 to Level 2.<br />
<br />
Additions:<br />
<br />
Scarletite Ingot (<i>Unless you are needing one to craft, a few of them dropped in the BC events, dropping their value under 2,000,000 gil on Leviathan.</i>)<br />
Ormolu Ingot<br />
Delve Boss Weapons, choice of one. (<i>Which makes several of the Rank 1 prizes ridiculous.</i>)<br />
Alza'daal Table: The classic table on which battles were drawn out. High-end storage piece, not clear as to any Moghancement, but there'd have to be a nice one for it to be THIS high.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Probably one of the boss weapons. Depends on what I have when the numbers come out in February.</b></i><br />
<br />
Level 1: Five-digit number drawn, marble must match it.<br />
<br />
Deletions:<br />
<br />
Actually, I was wrong about one thing: The Ridill was removed after the Homecoming Bonanza, before the May 2013 one.<br />
<br />
Holdovers:<br />
<br />
Basically, most everything.<br />
<br />
K-Club<br />
D-Ring<br />
Relic, Mythic, or Empyrean, Level 90 (<i>but the Delve Boss weapons are Level 2...</i>)<br />
10,000-piece for Dynamis (<i>I know it's cashable, but on equal terms with the 90-Relics? With a gil prize that probably far exceeds the 40-70 million gil the 10K piece is saleable for?</i>)<br />
Ebisu Fishing Rod<br />
<br />
Additions:<br />
<br />
Mog Kupon I-RME: Basically, if you have a Level 99 Relic, Mythic, or Empyrean, Congratulations... It's now ilevel 119 -- 300 (the full required number to update) of the respective items to upgrade.<br />
<br />
<i><b>If I win this, they'll peel me off the ceiling first, and then it's a REAL tough call.</b></i><br />
<br />--<br />
<br />
Also, the Return to Vana'diel Free Client Edition for everybody starts today until December 23. RMT and Troll Alert!!! Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-70896236245750410472013-11-26T14:04:00.002-08:002013-11-26T14:04:42.630-08:00Final Fantasy XI has an Oprah Moment...I give this game the end of the fiscal year -- March 31, 2014.<br />
<br />
The next stunt for the XIth Anniversary is...<br />
<br />
EVERYBODY GETS A RIDILL!!!<br />
<br />
EVERYBODY GETS A RIDILL!!!<br />
<br />
EVERYBODY GETS A RIDILL!!!<br />
<br />
EVERYBODY GETS A RIDILL!!!<br />
<br />
Yep, straight out of Oprah...<br />
<br />
I mean, you can choose something else, and there are some interesting choices on the list, but the fact is that FFXI is giving away (for free, to anyone who was an active player from October 1 to November 30 -- at any time in the timeframe) a choice of one of the following:<br />
<br />
50 of any one set of the seals except the new Sacred Kindreds<br />
25 Sacred Kindreds<br />
3 copies of any of the new "Rem's Tale" upgrade situations (upgrading artifact armor to ilevel situations)<br />
50,000 of any expansion's main "conquest currency" -- Conquest Points, Imperial Standing, Allied Notes, Bayld<br />
50,000 of any one guild's points<br />
<br />
Undecennial Ring<br />
<br />
Nocturnus Mail<br />
Nocturnus Helm<br />
Nightfall<br />
<br />
(Fiat Lux)<br />
<br />
Seveneyes<br />
Hauteclaire <br />
<br />
(Khaimara's prize drops - were Level 3 Mog Bonanza Prizes through 2010)<br />
<br />
Algol<br />
<br />
(Cerberus' prize drop -- was also a Level 3 through 2010)<br />
<br />
Hofud<br />
Valkyrie's Fork<br />
<br />
(Einherjar Odin I prize drops -- these were Level 1 GRAND PRIZES in 2010)<br />
<br />
Suzaku's Sune-Ate<br />
Seiryu's Kote<br />
Genbu's Shield<br />
Byakko's Haidate<br />
<br />
(Each Sky God's main prize drop -- Byakko's was a Level 2 in 2009 and 2010)<br />
<br />
Joyeuse<br />
<br />
(This was a Rank 2 in 2010.)<br />
<br />
and... RIDILL...<br />
<br />
(The worst offender of all. This was a LEVEL 1 GRAND PRIZE <i><b>SIX MONTHS AGO</b></i>!!) <br />
<br />
Yep, they're done. I give it about three more months into the first of the year to give XIV a bit more time to ferment.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-8952502657907143122013-10-30T18:49:00.000-07:002013-10-30T18:49:25.896-07:00New SP's: So, after all this time, this is what we get...Haven't said much lately, but the word is finally out on the November 2013 update having the new Special Abilities (the "one-hours").<br />
<br />
So, after, what, two years of waiting?, here they are...<br />
<br />
WAR: Blazing Rush: Increases Double Attack rate.<br />
<br />
<i>That's _IT_? Unless you mean it allows the WAR to bust whatever caps on DA rate that their gear give or something, that's all the WAR gets?</i><br />
<br />
MNK: Inner Strength: Increases Max HP<br />
<br />
<i>Unless the harder Adoulin stuff is meant to be SO HARD that you literally need a MNK with over 9000 HP... Not a very promising start.</i><br />
<br />
WHM: Asylum: Massive party increase to enfeebling magic and Dispel.<br />
<br />
<i>So kinda half-Perfect Defense plus a little bit... OK, this one makes more sense than the first two.</i><br />
<br />
BLM: Subtle Sorcery: Decreases emnity, increases magic accuracy.<br />
<br />
<i>That sounds more a Job Ability than a one-hour!!</i><br />
<br />
RDM: Stymie: Greatly increases next enfeebling spell.<br />
<br />
<i>RDM is _USELESS_!!!</i><br />
<br />
THF: Larceny: Steals one positive status effect from the enemy.<br />
<br />
<i>Independent of Aura Steal and the like. OK. Has it's uses.</i><br />
<br />
PLD: Intervene: Shield attack to greatly reduce attack power and accuracy of the enemy.<br />
<br />
<i>So an OFFENSIVE PLD 1-hour... Interesting.</i><br />
<br />
DRK: Soul Enslavement: Blood Weapon, except TP this time.<br />
<br />
<i>Weapon skill still has to hit. :)</i><br />
<br />
BST: Unleash: Shortens recast timers of Sic and Ready, increases chances of Charm.<br />
<br />
<i>Ummm... No.</i><br />
<br />
BRD: Clarion Call: Adds one more song effect that can be given to players.<br />
<br />
<i>The more songs, the more you are of worth to a large-scale hyper-game/Adoulin event.</i><br />
<br />
RNG: Overkill: Reduces ranged attack delay, increases double and triple shots.<br />
<br />
<i>Nice for ranged fights, of which there are at least a few.</i><br />
<br />
SAM: Yaegasumi: Evasion of techniques increased, TP bonus as you evade more.<br />
<br />
<i>So is this Weapon Skills or something else?</i><br />
<br />
NIN: Mikage: Grants bonus number of attacks to main-hand weapon to the number of Utsusemi shadows you have.<br />
<br />
<i>So now we finally get Hundredhanded-Whateverhisnameis in Mamook's main effect...</i><br />
<br />
DRG: Fly High: Shortens Jump recast.<br />
<br />
<i>Ergh. Could be great, could be terrible. Hope these SPs work on a different timer.</i><br />
<br />
SMN: Astral Conduit: Reduces Blood Pact recasts.<br />
<br />
<i>SMN is becoming more and more useless with the Perfect Defense nerf!! I mean, what, Garuda and spam Predator Claw???</i><br />
<br />
BLU: N. Wisdom: More BLU spells become available.<br />
<br />
<i>Probably most of the Adoulin stuff and other overpowered stuff. Which see the JA post-75, I think.</i><br />
<br />
COR: Cut Cards: Reduces SP time for party members.<br />
<br />
<i>Note: Doesn't take it to zero, probably. Probably cuts it by a percentage/half or something.</i><br />
<br />
PUP: Heady Artifice: Puppet uses it's SP, SP depends on the type of head.<br />
<br />
<i>Probably the list we had before. One of the few initial survivors, it looks like.</i><br />
<br />
DNC: Grand Pas: Flourishes cost nothing.<br />
<br />
<i>Isn't that part of Trance? Ew....</i><br />
<br />
SCH: Caper Emissarius: All party emnity goes to the party member of your choice.<br />
<br />
<i>Hmmm...</i><br />
<br />
GEO: Widen Compass: Geomancer spells now have wider effect.<br />
<br />
<i>Again, that seems like a lesser Job Ability.</i><br />
<br />
RUN: English Name Unknown: Greatly reduces magic accuracy of enemy.<br />
<br />
<i>Yeah, sure, whatever...</i><br />
<br />
God, do most of these suck.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-17864003543325695222013-10-15T01:56:00.001-07:002013-10-15T02:01:22.337-07:00XIV: Oh Shit, The Entire Hospital Might Be Dead On This OneI read a political/economic blog that's about to go down for good that characterizes the US Dollar as having one form of lesser STDs while the rest of the world has a killer virus.<br />
<br />
That might be an analog for Final Fantasy XI vs. XIV right now.<br />
<br />
Reading a massive BG thread on what might be a game-killing exploit: Some players figured out how to change the database on player's on the PLAYER SIDE.<br />
<br />
This means: They could be whatever level, with however much gil, items, crafting levels, etc. and so forth and so on.<br />
<br />
Word is: This actually was discovered during the latter stages of the Beta test!!!<br />
<br />
We're talking complete hackage of the game here.<br />
<br />
And NOW, there's word that characters on XI are being deleted with no cause whatsoever -- the characters are not being banned, hacked, or anything, at least that we know of. The characters are just... gone!<br />
<br />
Basically, players were giving themselves gil, according to the cheaters, and selling them to RMT for ridiculous amounts, probably making a massive penny in the process.<br />
<br />
But, as one person so well put it: The game is fucked. You rollback again, you're basically now on XIV-3. You don't, and you basically let everything stand.<br />
<br />
Wow. Just -- fucking -- wow.<br />
<br />
ETA: And, yes, BG: What they did to get money for the added gil was quite illegal under California Law. We're talking felonious grand theft here. Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-21423410090333153382013-10-14T02:12:00.001-07:002013-10-14T02:12:15.635-07:00It's Official, The Patient Is DeadIt won't be long now.<br />
<br />
Not after the pop-event they just did the last almost-72 hours, to end in about six.<br />
<br />
Several of the uncommonly-played Kindred Crest/High Kindred Crest Battle Circles were severely augmented this weekend.<br />
<br />
How so?<br /><br />Every boss monster in the BC (and, for the Dragon Scales one in Chamber of Oracles, that meant two sets -- and for the three beastmen KC50s in each of the BC areas just out of towns, that meant four sets) dropped some version of the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>A Mog Kupon S (full set of seals for any one +1 Empyrean armor upgrade) -- this sometimes would be a Mog Kupon L (Lumoria Sea Torque drops), and even an A was in there someplace (AV!!!)</li>
<li>A Monstrosity Mog Garden drop -- either a Monarch Beetle Saliva or a Golden Seed Pouch</li>
<li>Most of the time (at least until I had the full set), an Ancient Black Magic scroll would drop.This is where the situation often got fun... Very common substitutes for this included:</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>Phalanx (taking the value from about 1.9M or so on Leviathan and gutting it to basically 0) -- got three before I stopped trying to add to that number</li>
<li>Raise III (taking THAT value from about the better part of a million to about 0)</li>
<li>Utsusemi: Ni (same drill)</li>
</ol>
Give you an idea of how bad those three got: The FIRST DAY of the event, I got 3 Phalanxes (gave one to an alt of Tohi's boyfriend), and two each of Raise III and Ni.<br />
<br />
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL<br />
<br />
4. High-end Geomancer spells, both of Black Magic and Geomancy<br />
5. The two big-ticket Provenance Watcher spells, Arise and Meteor. Got an Arise on Saturday night.<br />
<br />
BUT <u>THAT'S</u> NOT ALL<br />
<ul>
<li>A crafting item. This could be anywhere from a Saffron Blossom, to a Scarletite Ingot (the latter WAS 11,000,000 gil on Leviathan, until the undercutting bitches halved the price, possibly permanently). Yes, I'll have one to hold on to for a bit...</li>
<li>Often, a food item of some value would drop, usually either Dragon Meat or Hydra Meat (cratering at least the latter's price). </li>
<li>A +2 Empyrean item/Walk of Echoes drop of some sort. This could be anywhere from a Card/Coin/Stone/Jewel to a Frayed Pouch. A Heavy Metal Pouch was claimed to have dropped.</li>
</ul>
And the event was also a normal Double XP event too!!!<br />
<br />
I mean, if this wasn't the...<br />
<br />
PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE LOG IN SO WE CAN JUSTIFY THE CONTINUANCE OF FINAL FANTASY XI THROUGH AT LEAST THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR...<br />
<br />
event, I don't know what is.<br />
<br />
There have been times that servers on XI have reported under 300 players on -- of course, that would mean about 1 legit player, 50 alts, 200 bots, and about 49 bazaars.<br />
<br />
November and the new areas (if we make it that long!!!) can't come fast enough. Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-24201835892848106042013-10-10T23:05:00.004-07:002013-10-10T23:08:36.611-07:00So how many legitimate players are there per server? Three or Four??Someone posted this screenshot to FFXIAH, and I will let it stand without comment, but for the question as to how many legitimate players there are to a server these days...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://static.ffxiah.com/images/ss/full/3k1veDFowN3riVRh.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="225" src="http://static.ffxiah.com/images/ss/full/3k1veDFowN3riVRh.jpg" width="400" /><br />
For the record, I count 26 players in this picture. Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-4721900598512636462013-09-30T17:10:00.000-07:002013-09-30T17:10:08.819-07:00Haven't posted here in a while, but some XIV-related BG tears motivate me to.Really, haven't had much to talk about in quite a while. XI is surviving, the Yorcia Skirmish gear is sick (so sick I'm soloing Walk of Echoes confluxes, Caturae, and came within 15% of soloing the Dynamis Lord (and his dragons). (Damn Tera Slash.)<br />
<br />
But it's something I saw today on BluCheater got my attention.<br />
<br />
Sounds like some people got banned from XIV for the amount of gil they had, or so it appears.<br />
<br />
There was another one of those interesting maintenances on the new game a few nights ago, and now, a number of players have been banned from non-legacy servers (basically, where all the players started at nothing with the ARR release) based on the amount of gil they had.<br />
<br />And, of course, Churchill telling people who actually are in tune with reality to shut the fuck up.<br />
<br />
No, Church, you take your cheater ass and YOU shut the fuck up.<br />
<br />
Basically, what this move was designed to do was exactly what people said: To set a maximum income at this point in the game. Above that, there has to be the belief (and there are numerous RMT trolls on XIV already, apparently!) that the gil is being prepared to be sold or the like.<br />
<br />
I mean, even in XI, gil has a more and more limited use after a certain point. Basically, the STF of XIV is doing what the STF in XI should've done all along.<br />
<br />And, once again for emphasis, Churchill: Shut the fuck up.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-86861781570057502362013-07-23T03:01:00.002-07:002013-07-23T03:01:39.768-07:00Rude Awakening (and not the type most of the BG Brigade would want)...Tohihroyu and I often used to do Dynamis, in a group I informally called Dynamis Tonight.<br />
<br />
She got me and her boyfriend and we decided to go to Dynamis-Xarcabard and hope we could get a camp.<br />
<br />
We, largely, couldn't, but that's not the gist of this post.<br />
<br />
What we did fight went down far too quickly for us to even proc most of the time.<br />
<br />
So we decided to go farm some Animated Weapons.<br />
<br />
We got the sword pop, then I decided, "What the hey?"<br />
<br />
75-90 seconds later, one dead Animated Longsword.<br />
<br />
As time was running down in our run, we did the Claymores next.<br />
<br />
Once we got a pop and got full, maybe 90 seconds, goodbye Animated Claymore.<br />
<br />
So then I decide to get brave (read that as: Stupid) and try to get the Scythe, remembering how much of a bear it was to get Tohihroyu her item for her scythe.<br />
<br />
4 minutes to go in the run, we pop the Animated Scythe.<br />
<br />
2 minutes, it's dead. Easy. None of us got hit, my pet maybe twice. Would've been probably a minute and 15 seconds if not for Phalanx by the enemy.<br />
<br />
Where am I going with this?<br />
<br />
I pretty much now have to retire from Dynamis, save work for the other two.<br />
<br />
It got so sick that, had we 20 more minutes and the pop, I might've tried the Dynamis Lord himself! (To wit I almost WISH we would've wiped.) <br />
<br />
I'm, literally, way too powerful with a Delve axe/Wildskeeper Axe combo, full merits on Beast Affinity (which makes my pets, what, Level 123?), and most of the Delve armor for BST or DRG. (Steelflash combo for earrings, Haste belt from plasm...)<br />
<br />
Just, wow. I feel sad. After getting my fourth Wildskeeper KI by finally winning Foret (only one left is Yorcia), I now have both my Mandau and my Gungnir in storage.<br />
<br />
I know there are other things to do. More plasm to farm, etc. But Dynamis was good to me -- VERY GOOD.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-26971662481228391112013-07-12T15:59:00.000-07:002013-07-12T15:59:48.057-07:00Another dupe-fest going on? Wouldn't shock me in the slightest...With only ten minutes warning (and much to the chagrin of any Dynamis, Wildskeeper Reive, etc. people), Square-Enix took the game down about 12:30 PDT this afternoon.<br />
<br />
It's almost 4 as I type this. The game is still down.<br />
<br />
The longer it's down, the more I think we've got another exploit-fest on our hands.<br />
<br />
The reason is in the follow-up that was posted about 30 minutes later. "Unimplemented items" have been dropping in certain battlefields.<br />
<br />
That's either a fire-able fuck-up (either the coder or someone in QA), or we've got another STF problem on our hands.<br />
<br />And given a lot of the gear that's already been announced (and the scruples of much of the NA playerbase), I wouldn't put it past anybody to start duping the shit out of these +188 weapons to break the game completely.<br />
<br />
The thing is, this isn't just some small situation. This is either a major code fuck-up or a straight-up exploit.<br />
<br />
My money's on the latter.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3974394344589944161.post-32216462440323630932013-07-07T15:21:00.000-07:002013-07-07T15:21:16.725-07:00Could SE finally be waking up, or is there something else at play here?Been noticing a couple of heartening developments that the GMs appear to be doing:<br />
<br />
The first is that it appears that a single GM has been scouting Empyreal Paradoxes (or, more, the lobbies for the Shinryu Abyssea boss fights) for bot-skillers -- those people outside every... damned.... possible... area who repeatedly use spells or the like to bot themselves silly, or so it often seems.<br />
<br />
Well, somebody's been looking for them in some of the more out-of-the-way places.<br />
<br />
Also, a report from FFXIAH stating that a PLD was caught flee-hacking to sac in Delve. (Geez, you fuckers too cheap for Mazurka???)<br />
<br />
Reactions have been predictable, but there is one ominous overtone I do need to make note of:<br />
<br />
It is not much of a secret that it really does appear, Adoulin notwithstanding, that the absolute future of the MMO division of Square-Enix is whether they can get <i>Final Fantasy XIV</i> off the ground again.<br />
<br />
It should also be no secret that the real word about that Square-Enix was going to start de-emphasizing <i>Final Fantasy XI</i> into what was then called "Rapture" (think of how that term is used!) came about just after the largely-North American Salvage bans of January 22, 2009.<br />
<br />
It is widely believed that Square-Enix is deliberately attempting to kill <i>Final Fantasy XI</i>.<br />
<br />
Frankly put, the easiest way to do it is also the one thing that Square-Enix needs to do if they are going to have an MMO division at all -- enforce their damned rules.<br />
<br />
Conservative estimates are putting it at 80% of the North American playerbase which would have to be removed if the rules were enforced.<br />
<br />
Keep all this in mind as the Mog Resort and three new areas are opened this week.Starcadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.com1