Short Review of Seekers of Adoulin: Wow.

I like the expansion -- as frustrating as it can be.

I mean, I REALLY like the expansion.

Why?

Because the storyline makes the current state of the expansion being abject balls-hard make sense.

It makes sense after Adoulin sealed the walls off for, what, 300-400 years?, that the monsters just outside the gates are starting off at T to 99 (levels 100-102).

The Reives make sense that they are hard.  And will someone actually learn how to deal with a fight that isn't:

1. Run to the Objective.
2. Zerg.
3. ????
4. Profit

Pros:

• Square-Enix finally gets to set the terms on which any continuance of the game will be done.  The players no longer have fundamental control of the future of Final Fantasy XI.  If the players want to act as if "It's my $12.95, I can do what I want...", Seekers will die, FFXI right behind it.  Square-Enix has forced server cooperation (yes, this means that, though I don't believe him and he believes me to be a twit, Comeatmebro will have to cooperate for now to ensure that he gets the content he wants) as a condition of continuance.  We'll see how some servers do in that regard.
• Even the new bayld armor shows Matsui's conviction on advancement through gear.  It appears as if my full-augmented BST AF2+2 set is going to be a Charm-macro set real good and quick.
• Incompetent players will be pushed out of the game.  This should be obvious, on not only the social end, but that they truly will get nothing done at all.
• A rich storyline with diversified options as far as how to go about getting a foothold in Adoulin.  Coalitions, Quests, Missions, straight XPing...
• People actually have (and, in some cases, get) to play their jobs again!  Old-school BST fights!  /NIN being brought back.  Fighting from distance being a point of emphasis of Matsui here.
• The new areas are just sick.  And the Reive mechanic is quite engaging.  We'll see how this holds up over time, though...

Cons:

• If enough players either don't care or are too stupid to play this content, servers will eventually wilt off.  If you think you can Abyssea-zerg your way through this content, as the old song goes, "You've Got Another Think Coming".  And if enough people walk away or fail, servers will not see advancements in the mission storyline, nor the new gear, etc. and so forth.
• It's going to take a while.  QUITE A WHILE.  Is the player-base going to be patient enough to actually *gasp!* WORK AT THINGS?

On balance, there are some very strong concerns.  An apathetic player-base kills a server, now -- kills the game outright, frankly.

And, given the story-line, that makes sense.  Early indications look decent.  We'll see where we are later in the spring and summer.

EDIT:  Large Reive Hint!   Beastmasters can Wide Scan for Reives within the range of their Wide Scan.

Oh for the love of God...

Still 800+ files to go.

The update server tapped out on me at about 11:15.  Do the math!

It's 4:45, got back from whatever run I was doing, and got a congestion update circa noon!

So, Take 2...  Who knows when I'm getting in!!

An 1160 getting on POL, and another 1160 getting on to the update.  We're into the check phase now.

EDIT:  5:55 PM:  Done.  In game.  Expansion content not in play yet.  Total update time:  8 hours and 30 minutes.

I've said a lot of things about how ridiculous FFXI can be...

But this damn update takes the cake!!

I guess I should count myself as fortunate that my wireless hasn't borked the last six hours.

In any event, I started the update almost as soon as I could get on it.  3:57 AM PDT.

It's 9:45.

I still have 1200 files left, and I have not been interrupted.

Methinks the game is just about over...

Two things that can only portend great ominousness about any future Final Fantasy XI has or may have had...

1) An Absolute Debacle on the part of their third-party partners, Digital River, regarding the supposed release date/time of the Seekers of Adoulin digital download...

Some of us aren't just trying to get the code to farm whatever information we can get out of the expansion files, people.

Some of us actually welcomed an early-morning download time so that we could keep from over-straining the networks we're on -- some of us share bandwidth with others.

So, imagine my disgust when it becomes evidently clear that the right hand had no clue as to what the left hand was doing, and that the expansion wasn't available on Digital River's services until this afternoon, by all appearances, for many people...

Yes, at the end of the day, it really makes little difference -- the game servers will not have Adoulin content up for at least another 24 hours (as of time of writing, they said the evening of Wednesday).

But, owing to that at least one digital game provider had the expansion, and the right idea to release it (if it says Tuesday, it should be available Tuesday as if the stores were open at midnight for it!), I decided to cancel the SE Store order (they can have their freaking music box, for all it matters), ordered from Amazon, and had everything downloaded and installed within about 30 minutes...

... which then led to about a 45-minute Check Files "update" which, though annoying, was what it was.

I've said this company is in trouble, and days like this are an indication.

2) But, boy did I not have any idea how much trouble SE is in!!

Square-Enix, perhaps not coincidentally, and largely owing to poor console sales in western territories, is announcing a corporate restructuring, top-to-bottom.

Filings as of the 26th (JP Time) (.PDF file here) show some very ominous signs for the company:

• Earnings reports have forced a revision of the profit margin of the company for the fiscal year ending 3/31/2013 from a 3.5 billion yen profit to a 130 billion yen loss!  (A loss of approximately 113 yen per share of stock.)
• Reason:  Largely, the console games are not selling well in Western territories.  Even as it is apparent that Square-Enix is trying to grab money anywhere it can get (sources, today, indicate Square-Enix sold off four of it's free-to-play titles to another company for a cash infusion), Square-Enix is forced into a major corporate restructuring.
• As a result, Yoichi Wada, head of Square-Enix, is out.

They aren't going to be around much longer, people.

I've really gotten the impression that, if Square-Enix doesn't get bought out by some point in 2013, it'll be a surprise.

I wouldn't be shocked if the Evil Bastards at EA come in and swoop up the remains like a vulture picking at a carcass.

I think, honestly, they've made one or two mistakes too many.

Livestream of Adoulin blog

8:04 Starts with overview of town of Adoulin.  East Adoulin first -- castle into main part.

East Adoulin music:  "Sacred City of Adoulin"

Large zone.

8:06 Huge statue of Altana with a waterfall.  Nice early landmark for first visits.

Large circular library -- can be explored in the Adoulin storyline.

So large of a zone, it has multiple waypoints.  Walking will be an issue.

8:08 And then to West Adoulin...

Music:  "The Pioneers"

Center square for a nice meeting point (that's so 2006 or so!)...

Absolute ton of waypoints...

Auction Houses in Adoulin are linked up with the main Auction House.

8:10 Starts discussing Coalitions (the six "guilds" which were mentioned at VanaFest 2012) by visiting the Pioneering Coalition building.

Pioneering Coalition is basically Colonization assignments in the Ubulka Continent.

And we leave Adoulin to the west (two nice Galkas at the gate for Tohi!)...

8:12 And the rest of the Community Team joins Camate in the Frontier Station.  Kind of like an Outpost front line for the Colonization Coalition.

Bivouacs can be built to extend the line and create bonuses.  Gather supplies, ease of transport, etc.

Bayohne:  Galka GEO
Rukirii:  Mithra DRG
Okuipuit:  Tarutaru RUN
Camate:  Forgot (Elvan)

8:15  Battle Time!

Start by looking at Geomancer.

RUN gets Flash as a pulling mechanism.

Two different kinds of runes -- they DO stack with BRD songs or other Magic.

Indi-spells are cast on self to do a bubble.

First one shown is Indi-Fury -- gives everyone inside the bubble a Fury (probably increased attack, decreased defense).

Geo-spells use the Loupans to create a bubble around a spot.

Geo-Paralysis is the example shown -- all opponents in the circle are subject to paralyzation.

4 person-120 XP for the first one.

Only one active Luopan at a time, so Full Circle eliminates.

You can also enfeeble a single opponent with an Indi (Indi-Slow) spell and then a beneficial Loupan (Geo-Refresh).

However, such an Indi-spell will only effect monsters of whom you have hate with.

Luopans can take damage and also lose HP over time.

A Geomancer can use Life Cycle to heal a Luopan (just like Spirit Link in DRG), and another ability (Ecliptic Attrition) will allow the GEO to increase the effect strength at the cost of increased decay.

A party of 4 99's can chain on the Blanched Mandragoras shown...  :)

8:22 Bit deeper in now.

New one:  Fernfelling Chapuli.

AND THEY LINK...  :)

Elemental ra-magic is demonstrated here.  It's elemental magic centered on the caster, rather than on the mob.

8:26 Now, it's time to go to Reives.  (What I called "Besieged in Reverse" last year.)

3 kinds:

Lair
Wildskeeper
Colonization

We'll see two of them -- first, a Lair Reive.

Campaign type tags, but this one is actually easy to jump in and join.  Run in and get started.

However:  You get a penalty (no entering a Reive for 10 minutes) for leaving.

Lair Reives is basically to destroy certain things -- like a Wasp Nest for a bug lair.

Rewards contingent on participation, like Besieged and Campaign.  XP, another point-type based thing for Adoulin (bayld is apparently what it is called).

8:31  To the next zone...

Environmental blockages shown now.  Colonization Reive this time.

Good idea to clear the area out BEFORE you deal with the blockage.

Indi-Attribute spells shown.

Nice battle music for the Reive.  :)

Colonization Reives open up pathways and open up the ability to use Bivouacs.

You need actual Skills to open up the blockages once you clear the way to attack them.

8:36 Time for Rune Fencer.

To the Morimar Basalt Fields.

RUN gets many of the same buffs that you might expect for a PLD-type job.

Also gets Spikes spells too!

RUN-exclusive spell, not revealed as to what:  Foil.

Opponent:  Sinewy Morimata.

RUN is the new tank spell -- harnesses power of runes.

Runes can be used like Finishing Moves on a DNC.

Releasing runes can be done in two ways:  One is Fusion...  That's elemental damage.

Gambit reduces elemental defense.

Swordplay shown -- increases accuracy and attack until the next critical hit is scored against the Rune Fencer -- which won't happen, because they have GM Invincible on.

Valiance:  Reduces damage from elemental spells of certain types the runes used determine.

Liemont:  Absorbs elemental damage of certain types the runes used determine.

8:43 Last destination of the stream.

The Aydeewa Subterrane????

A cool surprise:  The Music Box Bonus item...

Just played the Music Box from this zone...

They then show the bonus items for the Ultimate Collection - Seekers Collection.

End of stream.

Not much to the actual stream itself.  Good introduction for people who haven't been keeping up.  Some stuff for the other people.

So, according to the bitches on the FFXIAH forums......

... I'm Tohi's boyfriend now.

Half of me wants to laugh -- she's well taken, thank you very little.  (Wonder what her boyfriend would actually think of all that garbage?)

Part of me wants at the trolls for their blatant misrepresentation...

Until I realize...  That's about all the fuck they are good at surrounding FFXI!!

EDIT:  Tohi's answer to the "rumors":

I just realized something last night in yet another argument I've had with Leviathan's elite...

Got into it again -- no trouble this time.  Just got into it again.

Oh, which of the big-time Leviathan players was it this time?

Well, no matter for the moment.  If his name comes up again, I'll edit or mention it later.

What's important is something I realized:  He had the same "I pay my money, I have the right to play the game how I want." routine.

Well, got news for you:

No you don't!!

A player has no right to play the game at all, except under the terms the absolute owners of the game, Square-Enix, set forth.

If a player's play is in contradiction with that situation, he does not have the right to play the game the way he so chooses.  He does not have the right to bot the game, hack the game, use an illegal user interface to the game, or gain advantage by any of those or other known or unknown exploits!

I'd love to stand around and call people out and basically take names and addresses of some of you motherfuckers for when the shit finally DOES hit the fan.

I don't have the right to play the game like that.  So I can't.

This is why I've had to crack the ol' "book", 100 Ways to Go "There" Without Going "There".

(No, it's not an actual book, but should give you an idea of what I'm trying to go with here.)

The fact is that Square-Enix grants you a limited license, where the players (except when it politically suits them) claim unlimited license.

Kinda reminds me of how piracy has killed my love for anime!

Shall we make it the end of my love for the Final Fantasy franchise too?