As of 11:11 PM PDT, this blog is no longer a member of the Tarutaru Times Online, per Eric Yeoh.

Nothing further need be said.

This blog is soon to be removed from the TTTO by it's founder...

Frankly, he should've done it 18 months ago.

Got the message from him tonight that he wants to hear from me first, that he doesn't like the threatening tone here.

Frankly, my mere presence in XI has been same. I see the types of people who play this game, and, frankly, cannot live and let live.

As was basically stated the first time they wanted me yanked, I want to destroy the "community", because it serves no one but the cheaters, the RMT, and a Square-Enix which I must question whether they fulfill the minimum required not to have the entire enterprise declared fraudulent.

This game serves no one but the little shithead griefers who have turned the Internet into such a malicious mess that I am certain I will either be dead or in prison in the next 18 months.

It is sad, really, but it is clear that the player-base has made it's material decision. May they take the final step and have me removed from XI.

While you have some extra time today...

A couple of charity notes...

-- A periodic reminder on the Speed Gamers' month-long effort to raise awareness for the campaign to get ACT Today a $250,000 Pepsi Refresh grant for it's efforts in helping parents of autistic children.

The effort is in 15th place, so there is a significant amount to make up to get up toward the historical gardens effort in Ohio and the Hip Hop Academy who are leading the effort (the top 2 of that tier win $250,000 for their charity each).

Most nights throughout the month, you can watch nightly streams of Zelda games to help them raise awareness of the effort.

-- A rare fully-midweek marathon by Zeldathon.com to raise money for the National Children's Advocacy Center. $1,000 is the goal, and they're about halfway there. It's scheduled for 72 hours or so, and they're about 2 days in.

So, a couple things to look at while you are waiting for them to finish the physical server maintenance, defragging, what have you...

If people wonder why I get pissed, it's nights like tonight which should answer your question...

OK, we just finish a decent, though not great, run on Abyssea-Konschtat with Dreamer.

MMM shout group goes up -- specifically asking for 75+'s, for a Bird Killer maze.

We're wiped within four, because the BRD can't bother to recast because his first attempt got We-sisted... WAAAAAAAAH...

They don't even know how to do MMM - and, given their level of incompetence, either bought or Astral Burned the shit to 72-76.

They didn't even have the basics of the basics down with respect to anything...

We either got sabotaged or griefed, and I don't take kindly to that shit. Neither does the person who put the group together.

Vashielx and Hellbunny, fuck your asses. Your incompetence is fucking scary.

Well, Wednesday appears to be "Get a Life" holiday for Square-Enix...

All-Worlds Maintenance on the physical server machines.

8 AM - 5 PM PDT Wednesday.

So all you people who need to go outside...

(*mumbles* and all those who think I do...)

The vast majority of FFXI players are nothing but a bunch of whores.

Said it, there it is, meant it.

What finally made me come to the realization of it was more Campaign bullshit.

Consecutive Campaign battles -- one in Meriphataud and one in Rolanberry. There to help win a few battles and get a buffer for my 77 DRG (/DNC because I can't count on these whore shitheads to heal anyone but themselves) for Abyssea later this afternoon.

Both have Belfrys up, and people are openly being encouraged to extend the battles needlessly by letting them spawn infinitely.

WHO THE FUCK DO YOU FUCKING WHORES THINK YOU ARE??

The point of a Campaign battle is to WIN it.

Without that, there should be no rewards whatsoever.

Extending battles like that takes away resources which can be used in the rest of the Crystal War -- but, as we well know, the player-base would rather turn Vana'diel into an Abyssean nightmare, as long as they had all the cool leet gear to rule alongside the Beastmen.

Arrogant, fucking whores -- that basically describes the vast majority of the FFXI playerbase.

If it isn't that, it's bot-lotting, hacking the game, Besieged bullshit, claim-lots, etc. and so forth and so on.

More charity notes -- if I can come up with some XI material, you'll see it later.

*groan* What a week... (RL crap.) Couple of vid-gaming charity notes this "Independence" Day weekend. (More like, in this country, independence from your brains...)

---

The Speed Gamers' "Summer of Zelda" effort does not appear to be getting off to a very good start.

Let me explain it for those TTTO-types who didn't see the original post I made.

This is not a donation marathon this time, but streams on most nights of the month of July where the Speed Gamers will be playing Zelda games -- with perhaps some others mixed in -- to raise awareness for ACT Today's participation in the "Pepsi Refresh" program.

The "Pepsi Refresh" program is a grant-fundraiser which Pepsi is doing where, every month, they grant money to worthy organizations.

Those grants are determined by votes from the public, who can go to their website and vote on the ideas they consider the best.

ACT Today is in the top tier, for $250,000. Only the top two get the money per month.

ACT Today stands 15th.

2nd place (in the $250,000 tier) right now is a historical gardens motif for an Ohio charity.

#1?? Hip Hop Academy.

WTF?

People like ACT Today have to try to scrape for money and people are voting for a Hip Hop Academy to get people into the music industry???

Pardon me while I *V O M I T*.

Why not just go all the way and make it a Gangsta Academy?

----------------

Also, Extra Lives is doing another Pokemon marathon. This time, it's for "Free the Children".

UStream stream here.

Some charity notes from the gaming blogosphere...

-- Another marathon of Mario games was just completed over the weekend, a third annual event...

This marathon, for Child's Play, raised $81,816.

Details here.

That's almost $140,000 between them and The Speed Gamers recent effort for ACT Today.

-- Oh, speaking of The Speed Gamers...

The Speed Gamers is attempting to raise awareness of ACT Today, with a possible $250,000 payoff at the end of the month from Pepsi, if the gaming community is supportive enough.

Details on their effort can be found here.

This is not, per se, a charity marathon, but they are going to have a "Month of Zelda" to raise awareness for a voting campaign through the Pepsi Refresh project, where they will stream every night for the next month in an effort to raise votes for ACT Today.

If they get one of the top two numbers of votes, the charity wins a cool quarter of a million dollars from Pepsi.

Am I then to assume another round of server mergers is to come this year?

FF XIV release date: Sept. 30 for the PC. PS3 doesn't get it til the botters run the damn game over in March 2011.

The playerbase continues to show it's ignorance...

Got this gem from Jud a few days back, and had been meaning to write about it:

"Chin continues to do more good for this game and community than you could even possibly comprehend."

Face it... You defraud players like me, you're a piece of shit in my book, and so is her "employer", (and that is why I call them) Pet Food Cheater.

But it got me to thinking about FFXI and all the other stuff going on therein, and I decided to come up with some analogous (and, frankly, if you believe Jud, equally true!) statements, and to show you why I believe those statements to be equally true.

#1:

"The creator of (Windower/App/NASA/other illegal third party software) continues to do more good for this game and community than you could even possibly comprehend."

Let's get right down to brass tacks here.

First, there are things in this game you cannot take part in without illegal software, and, as long as Square-Enix continues to fraudulently look the other way, that's not going to change.

Without claim bots, you basically are shut out of HNMLS's.

Without Windower, there are mobs that it is claimed you cannot kill (like those who do actions precisely on certain percentages of life totals which will kill the alliance -- PW's final form being one example).

Without other illegal bots, you basically are shut out of the weekly Kupofried's Ring quests, etc.

But we're all supposed to accept this, right?

Bullshit. BUT: If what Jud said is right, these illegal applications would be some of the most important peieces of code in the game, because the game, to many, cannot be played without them.

Which see the jackass who said that if we didn't play with Windower, we could enjoy our $1,000 PS2, because that is what we are playing with if we don't cheat our fucking asses off.

#2:

"The Astral Burners and other 'griefers' continue to do more good for this game and community than you could even possibly comprehend."

This should actually be even easier. In the day and age where the game does not even begin, now, until you hit at least level 75, anything to allow players to level faster is encouraged...

(And, in the day and age where the little Internet pigs basically run roughshod over everyone else, if it stops another player from doing the same, the victory to the AB party/etc. is double!)

So exploits and using those exploits to cockblock other players is actually _good for the game_ in the eyes of a lot of these people.

In fact, if I had a dollar for every person who said that the Salvage banned should never have been touched, I'd have a year's worth of membership fees and then some.

#3:

"RMT continues to do more good for this game and community than you could even possibly comprehend."

I cannot understand how anyone chooses to pat cheaters on the back, then turn around and condemn RMT.

Here's the thing: If you allow players to abrogate the Terms of Service without penalty, you basically are then giving up any right of ownership to the content therein, if you are Square-Enix.

RMT, sickeningly, provides a valuable service to more than a few players in this game -- not unlike the Astral Burn illegal bullshit.

And it provides it to the players in both directions -- buying material, and selling material.

RMT, in fact, offers players the opportunity to advance their characters faster -- the only reason, probably, it not being allowed is that Square-Enix at least puts down on paper their assertion of ownership of their content.

They put a lot of other things down on paper that they fraudulently have no intention of ever enforcing, too.

Anyone who believes the likes of Chinchilla still contribute to this game have to conclude that RMT does so as well -- both to the players in the game who use it, and to the players who, ostensibly, are getting out and want to sell their characters for an ROI.

---

These are just three examples I came up with.

There's a take-home point here.

If the social aspect of Final Fantasy XI is as important as many players indicate it to be, the Terms of Service are null and void, and the only people who can really act to remove players should be the player base themselves.

And I see the GM's are in fine form...

Walk of Echoes post Dyna today...

Went in, got wiped, and got the message that all party members had fallen in battle, and that we would be removed in 3 minutes and 514000 seconds.

As GM Bublex later put it, that's almost a year, apparently.

But it's what he suggested we do after I told him we had all seen the same message -- after I had asked many of the players who were there...

He wants us to do File Checks, thinking it might be the files being corrupted...

Eh????

Another nice deflection by the GM Force...

---------------

Quickie update:

No Dynamis either Sunday (Father's Day) or Wednesday (Dreamer did Abyssea instead).

DRG now to 76, DNC to 77.

Two things which don't completely negate the goodness, but temper it a little...

-- Presto (the DNC 77 ability which makes two levels of step effect in one shot for an extra finishing move) shares the same timer with Steps. So not only are you expending two rounds of time for the three finishing moves and two levels (one less than if you did two steps), but you don't have long not to have lose the effect whatsoever.

-- Spiritual Jump and Jump work in the same manner.

Doesn't make them suck, mind you...

OK, WHO came up with THIS fucking idea???

As I'm waiting to see if the bitch and the hoarding moron actually got me GMed and banned or not (and they better have...), I see (more, hear) one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen on the Internet.

YouTube.

On the bar below the video screen, there's an extra button, with what looks like a circle...

The button is actually a Jabulani, I think it's called -- the World Cup soccer ball.

YOU CAN NOW PUT THOSE DAMNED VUVUZUELAS IN THE BACKGROUND OF ANY YOUTUBE VIDEO???

O M F G...

Mog Bonanza Bullshit

Rank 5 -- Alexander Statue. Not that it's going to matter anyway.

Two away from a Rank 3.

Part Deux: I might just have finally gotten banned from the game tonight...

And you know what?? That'll just show Square-Enix' true colors.

Had another run-in with ghetto trash on the game tonight. Biggysmallz from Crenshaw, LA... )He gave me his address. He'll regret that one day... That's two for The List.)

(At least that's his claim. Watch, it's probably Adam the bitch.)

But he's not the one who's going to get me banned.

He's just the hoarding bitch who got me to basically call him (and he admitted as such to me) a "hoarding asshole".

That got Angelskiss (more like "Angels' Bitch"!!) involved.

You see, Angelskiss, I'm a threat to all of you. When I told you that you better hope they ban me from the game -- if you want to take that as a personal threat, so be it.

My very presence in Vana'diel is a threat, to one degree or another. My very presence is infringing on your enjoyment of FFXI, because I'm not going to accept your degree of bullshit.

So you better hope they ban me. I said it to you personally, and I say it here now, generally, to the cheaters who have overrun this game.

I'm done respecting the rank-and-file players, in any real capacity.

I was done with that shit when ChinCheater and the other cheaters got banned almost 18 months ago.

And I fully expect, 18 months from now: I'm in prison or dead.

I have no place in your Vana'diel. None.

You would not want me to act in the same way as you would.

Had a bit of an altercation during Abyssea today....

Had another one of those conversations today. And I think it was with Edwyth (on an alt). (If I am wrong and the person I spoke to was not Edwyth, then I apologize.)

Anyhoo, I first thought it was that shithead Adam Westwood, who said he was coming on Leviathan to take potshots at me...

Turns out that the person I did talk to was talking to Chinchilla on Skype or such, and wanted to know how I felt about her still being allowed on FFXI at all...

Needless to say, that didn't start my Abyssea run on a good note.

At this point, the allowance of Square-Enix to allow players like Chinchilla and Keichan/Kaeko/Kanichan to continue playing this game at all is not only an act of fraud on the company's part (as well as on the parts of the individual players), but is probably the only reason FFXI still exists.

Additionally, the only question as to if to sue Square-Enix would come down to a question of standing -- vis-a-vis,( in a legal sense) what damages, if any, would be allowed.

Especially with the amount of cheating and illegal shit running rampant in FFXI, these "players" are probably adept to advance further and faster than the legitimate players even after they get banned.

In fact, the person I talked to today had the audacity to say that it was entirely Square-Enix' fault the Salvage exploits took place, and that they should not have banned anyone for the duping.

Realize, at that point, that you basically kill two cardinal rules of the game:

Q12652, which bans all conduct within the game which is not done within intended parameters.

and the exploit rules, which disallow all conduct which exploits code for illegal purposes.

The latter is the reason I GM'ed the current Campaign XP situation -- 3 times now without appropriate response.

You know, I realize, within the context of a social game which the players want to destroy the balance of (simply for their own benefit), that it is considered insanity to demand the rules be enforced.

As I told the person: I feel not only condemned because I vociferously speak out, I feel condemned because I refuse to use 3PP and bots and exploits and the like.

This is not a democracy -- the players should have zero say as to what is allowed and what is not. That they appear to have that says basically allows:

-- Windower
-- bots, completely destroying any hope that non-RMT players have of taking part in several functions of the game
-- RMT itself
-- etc.

...and I find it a laugh my discussion partner believes that all RMT should be jailed, as I do.

Face it: The players want to use any means they can (cockblocks, bots, exploits, Windower, etc.) to advance in the game (often at the expense of other players).

If Square-Enix does not have the right to ban conduct as it sees fit (but then has to enforce what it makes a Term of Service), then what ownership do they have of anything?

*sigh* One of these days...

No, no, no! I was asking a legality question!!

Got a message saying the GMs can't give game advice, etc.

Should explain: There is a possible exploit (said also because I pretty much have an idea as to how it was coded in the game) with Campaign XP.

If you are a 76, you are now getting 120% of the "maximum XP" you would've gotten for Campaign.

The code has it that, every 15 levels, you get 20% of the "maximum XP" you would've gotten (double the Allied Notes) for a Campaign battle assessment.

The problem is, I don't think they ever accounted for a 76-99 situation.

So, it's a THIRD GM call on this subject (don't get me wrong -- they're fucking swamped!!), because I want it on record that it's "intended" so there's no screwing around later.

Some early thoughts, now that I've had the chance to play some of the new material

-- Genkai VI is not unreasonable, though those who recently merited might think otherwise.

-- Actually got a meritpo with five other people, and ran like Hell to Caederva (after all bird camps were already taken 10 minutes after the restart!!), and did imps and the like til I got my 3 merit points.

Then, with a Besieged starting, ran out to kill a couple birds. DING 76 DNC! Return, change, repeat. DING 76 DRG!!

Already a number of 77s on Siren.

16 78's on, as of 2:30 AM PDT.

3 79's.

NO 80's.

-- Started the Bastokan finale line, and need a Castle Zvahl Baileys [S] cutscene next. But I got a bit sidetracked.

-- Walk of Echoes. You have GOT to be kidding me.

Campaign on Steroids.

A bunch of antlions ran over about 10 of us for breakfast. :)

It's got potential, though -- let's see what happens with larger groups.

-- Abyssea is a TRIP!! Did Konschtat for my first run. If you go in alone, or use one Traverser's Stone, you get 30 minutes before you get kicked out. Another stone cannot be given to you for a full 24 hours, it sounds like (minimum 20).

Lower level monsters con EM-DC to a 76, meaning they probably are 74-76. Fought three Shadow Lizards -- quite a challenge, but no real danger. Just think of a 75 as a level 1, and you get the idea. :)

They do spawn chests, which can have items! Combination quests apply here as well.

(Got Eft Blood and a Giant Bugard Tusk, which are used in crafting L76-80 items.)

However, they do tell you the amount of time you have left and the number of guesses left, and the list is only 11-77 -- you must guess to get a clue. A guess gets you an additional clue, other than higher or lower.

Heard a rumor some of these chests are mimics!!!

One possible bug I saw: In the chat log, it will show the maximum number of attempts allotted, but will not decrement that number when an attempt is made. In the mini-game window, it will decrement, however. Has been reported to a GM.

There are quests here, and I completed about two of them in the time allotted.

-- Interesting ninja addition (pun intended, in this case): The Utsusemi icon now shows how many shadows you have left in your last casting.

More later. My bed calls me... :)

One quick EDIT before bed:

Sounds like there are two BCs in each finale line. The reward is an L80 ring. San d'Oria's is HP +25, Reduces Critical Hit Rate.

Well, another 90 minutes, I guess...

... and that's not for the download and install. That's the maintenance.

What was supposed to be a 1 PM PDT restart is now 6:30 PM PDT, after several extensions.

Taking bets??

So screw me for having a real life...

This is reminding me of the updates before the last year or so...

Had RL business to attend to this morning, and now basically CANNOT get in to do the goddamned update.

And I know if I wait, it'll be Thursday or so, because of a combination of emergency maintenances and every damn player downloading all the new stuff.

Literally spamming the Retry for 20 minutes now (now over a dozen POL-1160s, and the occasional POL-1161), and I've gotten to start the download ONCE.

EDIT #1: 3:17 PM. 25 more minutes, one more try in, got frozen out the moment everything got checked before the first file could be downloaded. Two reboots, a de-crapify, and a disk defrag later, trying to get back in to where I was to start the process AGAIN!

EDIT #2: Two hours after I finally got in, sounds like it's almost done!! Off to get Merit Points, sounds like!! :)

New Update Quickies

-- THERE IS A SIXTH GENKAI QUEST.

SE lied to us on this one, saying there would be no sixth Genkai. From the official update news:

To increase character job levels to 76 and beyond, players must complete the new limit break quest "New Worlds Await" offered by the Nomad Moogle stationed at the Ru'Lude Gardens.

I can only hope that this doesn't turn ugly real fast. No fetch quests -- for the love of God, no fetch quests...

EDIT: CONFIRMED through the dat mining: Five Kindred Seals, Three Merit Points.

-- Walk of Echoes

Battle time limit is 30 minutes (clock starts on engagement). The transport there is in Xarcabard [S], and you must purchase a key item to access WoE -- however, the limit is one per _Vana'delian day_.

Five minutes from either victory or chest-opening to leave.

Because of a "known issue", you need ToAU installed for the time being to do Walk of Echoes.

Perhaps something having to do with the code being somewhat Besieged-like???

-- Aquaveil now prevents against a certain number of interruptions of spells.

-- Emnity generation on Sleep, Bind, and Blind spells has been adjusted.

-- New VNM's

Probably above Yildebegan.

The title screen has been changed. The expansions will be on the right -- the menu will be below the main game title now.

That'll take some getting used to.

Victory, in spite of ourselves...

Well, on "Adieu, Lilisette"...

That's right -- finished with the main mission line to today's update. Wow.

Took a long time to traverse all the bullshit in the Keep (S), but the fight was surprisingly easy...

Oh, get THIS crud...

There are days that I wonder if there is one player who doesn't use the illegal shit other than me -- and those days are about when I see the rank idiocy of a lot of the players.

Don't believe me??

We try to do "Into the Beast's Maw", and this idiot SAM mistakes his Instant Reraise for his Instant Warp and warps out. We lose, he has to leave for 90 minutes, and we now have 2 hours more to wait (that I probably won't be able to, thanks for nothing!!) for him to come back to try again -- because this was a group set up a couple days ago by Sephina!!

Who's the dummy writing this show??

Update before the update, again...

Well, unless something unforeseen happens tonight, I should be 1 TNL 76 on DRG and DNC, as planned.

Doing "Into the Beast's Maw" at the moment as we speak. A victory there basically puts me at "Darkness Descends". Hopefully, I can get that done tonight too and be on "Adieu, Lilisette" to be on the final nation quest set tomorrow.

No Dynamis today, last Wednesday was Buburimu -- another win, DRG belt dropped, and the OTHER Dragoon got it.

Did some VNM's with a new all-DNC linkshell that Kiana put together -- did a couple Urds, got another DNC a Choeria Earring...

Tried to get some of the Sunday Dyna shell caught up on WotG, but Adelheid was being stupid again.

It finally ends at 189 hours...

The Speed Gamers took it as far as they could, but the final total (needed $59,000 for two more hours) was $57,268.60.

Congratulations.

(or is it: Confederate Icon-ulations ??) :)

Wings progress!!

Thank you to Darkmage of my Wednesday Dyna shell, Husband and a third I forgot the name of (sowwy). We got two of the three Battle of Xarcabard missions done. Now the Count Bifrons (or whatever his name is) and then the second Help-Lilisette fight...

----

Speed Gamers (just to tell you, because no one reading this is probably up now):

They're STILL going. Extensions will continue for the foreseeable (at least until 5 AM CDT this morning) because they now have exceeded their goal and reached $51,000. Another $1,000 before 5 AM CDT (3 AM out here) adds two MORE hours.

After that...

So how long will the update be?

Three days to go, and they have not told us.

Of course, this is just a lame excuse to do the following:

The Speed Gamers are now in OVERTIME.

How far do they go? Your decision through your donations.

They ended 168 hours at $40,874.34. They want $50,000.

$42,000 in the next hour gives you two more hours.

By 9 PM CDT, they continue two more if they're at $44,000.

At that point, it's $46,000 for two more hours.

Then to $49,000, then $51,000, $52,000 -- and then, we see...

Check em out at the link.

Couple of little bits of stuff...

1) Blogger acted up today -- sounds like a couple of Volkai's comments got eaten.

*Blogger burps*

2) Speed Gamers now in the homestretch.

$33,121 with about 20 hours to go. Can't see them making it to $50,000 -- $40,000 might even be a reach... Good work on them in any event, but I do think they have to be disappointed.

And here come the job adjustments...

They basically wrapped up the update info today (at least the non-ninjanerfs...) with job adjustments, mostly for the 76-80 crowd. Now, I don't play every job, so I don't have expertise in them all, but it sounds like everybody gets at least one.

Info taken from the official site.

Abilities and some comments:

Restraint (WAR 77) Increases your weaponskill power with each attack, but disables critical hits.

Risk-reward. Problem is, you better be able to consistently hit to get to a weaponskill against the L80s of the world.

Perfect Counter (MNK 79) Next attack within 30 seconds gets countered.

And with a 60 second recast, you can see that up quite a bit, I think.
Mana Wall (BLM 76) Allows damage to be taken with MP.

Oof. Rendering the Black Mage all but useless, I fear, with one good hit. One hit and there you go with your mega-magic.

Despoil (THF 77) Steal + Status Effect

Nice! Same delay as Steal (5 minutes), but now they make it MORE useful.

Divine Emblem (PLD 78) Increases next divine spell's accuracy and increases emnity.

Hate mechanics always help PLD.

Nether Void (DRK 78) Enhances Absorb-??? spell.

Still trying to figure out the point of the Absorb-statistic stuff -- the enhancement better be quite nice.

Double Shot (RNG 79)

Pretty much self explanatory.

Sengikori (SAM 77) Bonus to chains and bursts with next weapon skill.

Sengikori and Sekkanoki??? SICK!

Futae (NIN 77) Double the tools for more damage.

Never have been a fan of the Ninjitsu elemental spells.

Spirit Jump (DRG 77 -- 90 s) Jump + suppressed Emnity. Additional effect if Wyvern is present.

Nice. A third Jump to gain TP with for my DRG, and I won't grab so much hate with it!! :)

Blood Pact: Holy Mist (SMN 76) Light elemental damage. (Probably Carbuncle)
Lunar Bay (SMN 78) Darkness. (Not sure on this one)
Night Terror (SMN 80) Darkness. (Probably Diabolos)

Yeah yeah... Not like that many SMN 75s didn't commit TOS violations to get there. (I didn't say they all did...) Useless like Holy, frankly.

Bolter's Roll (COR 76) Enhanced movement speed. (to party members in AoE)

Something most players want, but might be of more limited use than some other COR rolls.

Caster's Roll (COR 79) Enhanced "Fast Cast". (ditto)

This, however, could be of quite some use to casters, especially the higher up you go.

Tactical Switch (PUP 79) Master TP <-> Puppet TP

That's got some nice possibilities.

Presto (DNC 77 -- can always be up) Enhances next step effect and grants an additional finishing move.

OH HELL YES!!! Not just the extra effect enhancement, but now it's 2 step hits to get 5 finishers than 3 for DNC 77+ main.

Divine Waltz II (DNC 78)

Self explanatory -- and ABOUT DAMNED TIME!

Climactic Flourish (DNC 80) Allows you to perform critical hits. Expends finishing move.

What is this? Limited Mighty Strikes?? Next hit you do after a Climactic is automatically critical??

Libra (SCH 76) Examines the current emnity level.

Of all individual players in the combat, or just the SCH?? Kinda semi-useless if the latter.

Some other changes:

-- Six new BST Jug Pets, probably at least 80 cap.

-- Sekkanoki is going from SAM 60 to SAM 40.

Wow. That's going to be interesting. DNC 80/SAM becomes a possible play.

-- DRG Spirit Link now will give the Dragoon half the wyvern's TP!!

WOW!!! That's huge!

-- The bonus on a COR roll of 11 is that the effect will be increased to ten minutes.

This was what they were probably talking about at VanaFest to increase the gambling aspect of CORs.

-- DNCs can now Cure Waltz non-party members.

Part II of "IT'S ABOUT DAMNED TIME!!" Lengendary and Dreamer may want me to come DNC more often again.

-- DNCs to get Dual Wield at 20, with increasing job traits as levels go up.

Sounds to me like DNCs might be the big winners here of this round of adjustments. I won't complain about that!!

Restrictions on support jobs for abilities:

-- WHM and NIN won't be available at all. (No Yonin, Innin, or Afflatus)

-- Shadowbind gets an accuracy penalty.

-- SCH Accession and Manifestation will triple the casting time for /SCH.

New job traits:

(I have to be careful on some of these -- the way they listed them might make it confusing as to which jobs get which traits...)

Critical Attack Bonus (WAR, THF 78; DNC 80)

Critical Attack Defense (PLD 79, BRD 80)

Tactical Parry (NIN, DNC 77): Grants TP upon a successful Parry.

Tactical Guard (MNK 77, PUP 80): Grants TP upon a successful Guard.

Shield Defense Bonus (WAR 80, PLD 77)

Stout Servant (BST, PUP 78): Reduces damage taken by pet.

True Shot (RNG 78): If from an "appropriate distance", increased damage by ranged attack.

Blood Boon (SMN 60): Decreases (sometimes) the MP costs of Blood Pacts of non-Astral Flow abilities.

Skillchain Bonus (DNC 45, SAM 78)

But why DNC 45 if SAM (the King of the Skillchains) has to wait to 78 to get the bonus on SC damage?

Fencer (WAR 45, BST 80): Increases critical hit rate and adds a bonus to weaponskills, but must only be wielding with the main hand.

Conserve TP (DRG 45, DNC 77, RNG 80): Occasional reduction in TP cost of weaponskills.

YEOWCH!!!

Occult Acumen (DRK 45, SCH 78): TP bonus when doing damage with dark or elemental spells.

Magic Burst Bonus (BLM 45, SCH 79, NIN 80)

Divine Benizen (WHM 50): Speeds up any status recovery magic (Esuna, Erase, etc.), and grants a bonus to emnity reduction.

Resist Amnesia (BST, PUP 15; COR 30)

New Spells:

Baramnesia and Baramnesra.

Protect V, Shell V, Cure VI.

Stone V, Water V

Aspir II for DRK

Foe Requiem VII, Army's Paeon VI, Knight's Minne V

Aisha: Ichi (effect currently unknown).

PLD gets Phalanx and Shell IV

RDM gets Regen II

DRK gets Stone and Water III

RDM gets Stone and Water IV

(All past 75)

and more BLU spells.

Monday can't come fast enough!!!

Walk of Echoes announced...

As one of the final update things before the big update to take us to level 80, they finally announce Walk of Echoes, what it will be, and what restrictions...

First off, the restrictions:

You must be level 70 or above.

You must have progressed at least to "Cait Sith" in the Wings of the Goddess storyline.

(But I think that's like mission 3 or something...)

What is the Walk of Echoes?

Basically, from what I read, a combination of Campaign and Besieged...

There will be a number of progressive battlefields, each with fearsome foes. There will be a participant limit AND a time limit.

While the participant limit has not been reached in a battlefield, anyone can join it, much as in a Campaign or Besieged battle.

There is a series of foes, and, at the conclusion, three (apparent) levels of booty:

1) Items dropped by monsters (lotted by any and all participants in that fight)
2) Items dropped at the end of a successful run via a Campaign Union-style chest...

(OH FUCKING GREAT!! JUST GIVE THE FUCKING BOT-LOTTERS FIRST REAL CHANCE AT THE 76+ GEAR... WHY NOT JUST TELL US ALL WE NEED FUCKING BOTS TO PLAY THIS FUCKING GAME???)

*rant over* Where was I...

3) Sufficient participation can give individual players further loot (*perhaps to combat #2*).

I think you see my main complaint above. Will be fun to _try_, but...

-----------------

Couple of other things:

Forgive me, Aneiro, if I have no sympathy for your "open letter". First off, we have our strong differences. Second, you've got graduation and beyond come August. At some point, much like some of the other programs, new people are going to have to come in.

But make no secret: I have very little respect, now, for the people who represent us, the players. I know there's at least one podcast AND the main information portal for the game which openly coddles cheating and misconduct. I just seem to find that it's more important in life to have friends and to have people with you than have any sense of integrity or reality in this world.

That's fine. It's one of the reasons I'm certain that something is going to come up -- and I'll be banned from this game in about three months. Someone is going to finally piss me off (and I estimate it'll be about the time of second Abyssea), and I'm going to be gone when I finally tell them to, bluntly, piss off.

I do not trust the FFXI community, nor the rank and file playerbase.

Speed Gamers: Two hours short of halfway. $17,152 -- probably about $7,000 or so short of where they need to be (I'm not certain they can get the "end of telethon" bump that's going to make up what probably is going to be the difference between getting their goal of $50,000 and getting a more realistic idea of $35,000...) if they want to make the $50,000 they made in last year's Final Fantasy marathon.

What Price Loyalty FINALLY complete...

Oh geez... Finally got it done tonight.

Almost was going to pass out tonight after some early mornings (watching soccer in South Africa), but decided to take a flier on forming a What Price Loyalty group...

Taruknight and Minotauro immediately responded (one a PLD, the other a SMN with Alexander).

After a few minutes, one of them went to Sandy in the past and got Hagmos (who I made a RDM, all /NIN because of Klara's crazy hate mechanics).

Then I get a tell from nowhere from Faithful (WAR), who then convinces his wife (WHM), who also needed the situation, to do it with him.

So we head north and KICK -- HER -- ASS!!

Thank you to the aforementioned!! Really...

And thanks to the Wednesday Dynamis shell for organizing a Bahamut V. 1 run Saturday, which we won, though I died at the end of it.

-----------

Speed Gamers update:

They're a bit behind. 56 hours in, at an average of about $300/hr over the marathon, they should be at about $16,800 to get $50,000 by 4 PM PDT Friday.

They are at $13,745.05 right now.

Couple of updates...

This World Cup has SUCKED, by the way... Level of play far down...

-----------

Speed Gamers update: Slightly behind, and this is the weekend part. Goaling for $50,000 in 7 full days of Mario gaming. 2 full days in, and about $12,700. Stream, donating link, and more info here.

-----------

Updates:

SAM to 66

2nd Evasion merit taken care of.

WHM to 43 or 44 -- got a level on that, forget which.

Dynamis 6/6: None. Locked out of all relevant zones.

6/9: Very boring Snow run. Got a win.

6/13 (today): Sandy win. 2 100s dropped, got neither.

---------------

Update in a little more than a week.

The Speed Gamers Mario Marathon starts today...

Something other than the World Cup is starting today...

The Speed Gamers are starting their one-week marathon, all Mario, all week -- for ACT Today.

Ambitious goal to match the $50,000 they raised for the Final Fantasy marathon last August.

Good luck.

Abyssea trailer released -- sales begin. Update is June 21.

That's pretty much all, but it does sound like that we will not have to have Walk of Echoes access to get Abyssea.

Trailer, on the add-on site, seems to show both Meriphataud [A] and La Thiene [A], seeming to indicate that we are looking are more "alternate reality/timeframe" zones of what we already have.

Also, introduction of the third mega-weapon set -- and it is basically Magians... The Emperyal Weapons are the third mega-weapon set, and they do appear to be Magian-based. Probably Abyssea, after the current content.

Update IS the 21st -- preparatory update is on the 10th, but no change in game til the 21st.

Abyssea on sale now.

I don't know why I even try with Campaign Unions anymore...

It's really about as worth it as hitting a Moonfang Warrior today...

I think I've truly seen where RMT shitheads and botlotting fuckwads have basically ruined what was supposed to be a good incentive for people to do Campaign.

I mean, when hasn't there been a time when, in about a 7-way lot with 7-10 people in it, one or two people run off with all the meaningful stuff, leaving the rest of us to battle over the Slug Eyes and Silver Ores of the world.

Can't wait to see how they're going to with Abyssea in a couple of weeks...

Starcade falls under several Temporary Effects

Minutes of My Life I Want Back +20. That's how long it took me to get everything straightened out on the service once I saw I had the opportunity. Enforced vacation over.

Inventory Space -10. Got my Mog Bonanza Marbles.

Sanity -10%. For various and sundry reasons. (Including my next-door (out of building) neighbor who is TOO FUCKING LAZY TO GET OUT OF HIS CAR!! HONK HONK at 8 AM!!! Forget me -- there's a baby below us trying to sleep too!)

Oh *guh-roan*...

Day 3 of my enforced vacation...

Several things...

Got to listen to some of the "Promathia Unchained" episode -- otherwise known as the "Donkey Fucking" episode. To me, unless they basically super-charge all the monsters in Promathia areas to make it implausible for a solo 75-80 to basically run through and get their Swift Belt, etc., I can't see how this does anything but help, especially with everyone heading toward Abyssea.

Weaponskills: We'll see on those. What conditions, what weapons, etc.?

If they don't pull the double-charge from my "pending transactions" tomorrow, I'm out of the Mog Bonanza. Not that I'd win anything more than a statue anyway, so it's not the end of the world, but the longer this goes, the more I agree with my roommate, who said I (and all others so inconvenienced) should get June for free.

(I still have a World Transfer to take care of though.)

Square-Enix, get the fucking hint yet? The only way to get rid of RMT is to JAIL RMT!!!

---

Have downloaded and started to play Pangya during my little vacation. Fun little game, but someone has to explain to me how these multiple-account pros are allowed to put up -31 and the like on the Rookie Server...

The free clubs *SUCK*.

---

All those Chinese/Japanese blog-spammers who try to get advertising on my comments, please GO THE FUCK AWAY!

---

Two charity efforts in the next couple of weeks.

The Returners are back, and they're doing all the MegaMan games through Monday. You can check them out here. Donations (which, as of now, total about $180...) benefit The Alzheimer's Foundation.

And, from next Friday to the following Friday, we have The Speed Gamers in their one-week marathon of the summer. One full week of Mario. Charity is ACT Today. You can check them out here.

Yeah, it DOES sound like someone got in...

The website domain listed on the purported e-mails that players have received, mentioned in the last blog post IS the Square Enix North American support web domain.

The website they post is:

http://support.na.square-enix.com/jump/chat2/

and support.na.square-enix.com IS the North American support web domain.

So this almost certainly means someone got in to the registration server, and several passwords have had to be reset.

(This, probably, also might explain the double-billing -- as my bank explained to me, they look for "out of pattern" situations -- the single billing to Square-Enix on that date is not out of pattern, even with the World Transfer thrown in. A double billing, OTOH...)

Well, it sounds like I'm off the game for several further days... Square-Enix is incompetent.

I just spent 40 minutes waiting to talk to a brick wall.

Let's see: They have had "emergency registration server" maintenance on the North American side for two whole days and part of this morning.

They have said NOTHING vis-a-vis what caused this.

In fact, the less I hear, the more I think it's one of two things:

1) Either someone MAJORLY fucked up the June billings (which would explain being double-billed -- and, quite correctly, the SafeSecure, etc. flags going up)

OR

2) Someone got in, leading to 1).

And then I get the dose of the vaunted Square-Enix customer service, in which it would appear as if I knew more about what was going to happen before I got in touch with them. Speaking with "Agent Chris F." was like speaking to a brick wall!!

You would think these guys would at least be given a general understanding of some of what goes on in such LM-21 situations, or would be given some information regarding the nature of the emergency maintenance.

He, apparently, got neither.

So, I'm off FFXI until the pending charges wipe. And THEN I have to hope that that particular card has not been locked off the system. If it is, I'm gone from FFXI, and I'm going to raise motherfucking Hell.

It's clear they don't want their currently paying customers, as I've said now for about a year and a half.

ON EDIT:

RUH - ROH !!!!

There is no confirmation at this time whether the e-mails several players have been reporting as receiving today (Source: BG) are real or fake.

If they are real, then someone got into the registration servers (probably DURING THE BILLING PROCESS). Basically, the e-mail purports that this was from an "external source", but it's clear they got in!

Be very careful proceeding until further confirmation comes from Square-Enix.

Boy, is this a 300th post to remember...

Because, as of the moment, I don't have an account on FFXI.

Well, not really, it's been frozen for an LM-21 nonpayment on a credit card, declined authorization.

They double-charged my credit card (including a second World Transfer Fee) -- and the money is in my account, waiting to be taken out. The credit card company correctly

EXCEPT: They didn't take it out.

Now, for the last two days, we've gotten reports that the North American Square-Enix Support Center has had to have limited access during their business hours (basically, anything requiring authentication of who you are and all that stuff), so that means I'm off the game til they fix it -- and THEN I probably have to fish something out after that.

And it's for "emergency registration server maintenance". You don't think that's the reason it's gone wacky? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah... Of course it is!!!

Something in the ether wants me out of here this week. I can see that. Before I got yanked last night, I was running to do a quest in Oldton Movalpolos (or however that's spelled -- that's how often I go there), I get pulled into a VNM group, and the Lamprey Lord wipes us -- twice.

So, anyhoo... Off to see if I can glean any information as to what the problem is, and we'll go from there.

ON EDIT: Agent Tiffany, bless you, but I already knew before I submitted my information for the Web Chat that nothing specific could be done because of the maintenance. So that's 20 minutes of my life I won't get back (seemingly banging my head against the wall to explain that to her....). No information gleaned at all.

"Awakening"? More like, put to sleep this week so far...

Urgh... Why don't people get that I don't trust a lot of people in this game...

First, we got this whoever-wanted-to-show-up-and-shoot-his-mouth-off... This person seems to forget one very important thing: The bulk of my group progress in this game outside Dynamis was done under false pretense -- my Siren LS had to lie to me about the identity of the person behind most of the expertise in doing so.

Second, we got Fiat Lux back this week. So I'm basically getting the Allied Ring run out, but made one attempt...

Now I'm 0/3 against the Big Guy. This one to about 45% when I hear the most feared words in any fight:

"DAMMIT, I FORGOT MY RERAISE!"

Shoulda warped out then and there.

I swear on all that is holy: If I live to be 100, I will never understand how someone can come to an advanced fight like Fiat Lux and forget, as Wakka called them, "the basics of the basics".

I mean, come off of it? No Reraise to Fiat Lux? No shihei for /NIN??

It's not like the mages are sapped enough for MP... Nooooooooooooooooooo...

Are you guys really that stupid not to understand basic game strategy?

Given your reliance on bots, exploits, and shit, the answer is clear: YES!

Third, Dyna-Xarcabard didn't go so well -- we killed nine NMs, and got one drop -- WHM, from a standard monster. :P

Fourth, just did a Limbus with Dreamer. To Hell if we could grab a timer to get beyond floor 2...

And more "Besieged is for skillups." shit. You know what?? They should ban every person from the game who simply uses Besieged for skillups. And if that means no more Candy, then the playerbase shows how full of shit they (as a group) are.

Week-end update and some odds and sods...

A light week today, as I'm keeping eyes out for RL stuff at the moment.

A few things:

2 Dagger merits and an Evasion merit.

Sergeant Major rank acquired and first rank point from there as well.

Dyna Sunday: Bastok. 8 AF and 6 Wootz, none of it to me.

Dyna Wednesday: Valkurm, for Tavnazia access.

Yeesh. Ow. Chainspell-Stun is important on the Mega Boss... Lost.

No progress on Verthandi nor on What Price Loyalty, though there seem to be six interested if we can get all of us on at the same time for the latter!

==========

Odds and sods:

-- Before I begin, read this:

Up 50-0, powerhouse team forfeits to first-time team, all parties benefit.

An all-you-can-eat buffet to a starving man indeed, Mr. Reilly. I needed that pick-me-up, badly.

-- To Kimiko: Sad to hear the big-time shell didn't work out, but, given how much a lot of these shells spend for illegal shit to even be "allowed" to "play" the endgame, am I surprised that they would want your real life to be subjugated to their HNM camping and all that shit?

They would NOT want me around. Seriously...

-- Nyzul Isle loves spitting in everybody's face.

Earlier this week: 1-5 run to help three people get started. Floor 1: Family -- three SOULFLAYERS!! We win only the one floor and take the rank points, my 1 being the 25th for rank-up! But isn't that a wonderful way to introduce new players to Nyzul Isle?

Who playtested this shit?

Friday I: A 20 run. Four puddings on 18.

Friday II: A 40 run. FIVE chariots on 38!

Someone doesn't want people to get to 100 or get the A/D/G gear, don't they?

Again: WHO PLAYTESTED THIS SHIT???

-- To reiterate: Your gear is your rep. And if they have the ability and willingness to ninjar your lots (or bot them outright, something making Campaign Unions abjectly worthless!!!), who are they to care about your perception of their reputation?

It really makes me wish I could reach through the screen and choke them out.

-- Promathia being "unchained" is a big topic of discussion lately. I'll be interested to see how it works out -- there are definitely ways it could help (including a couple of long-standing quests I've been holding off on), but...

-- Extension of Magian quests to include tweaking of requirements? Perhaps cutting the number of drops needed from VNM III's to 5? 3??

-- Will get Mog Bonanza Inventory Space -10 next week. :) (Final date for ticket purchase is next weekend.)

-- Wed. shell is getting into Limbus on Tuesdays and looking at a lot more...

Have a safe holiday weekend, and thank you to BP, for fucking killing the entire Gulf of Mexico!

"Hello, bitch!!"

Another Chinese-style day today.

The title is how I was addressed by another of the Inland Empire's greatest idiots.

The reason I bring it up is that it appears that's how most of Vana'diel views people who don't have all the gear that they do.

Frankly, in Vana'diel, your gear IS your reputation. That's why it doesn't surprise me to see someone jack a KClub and then server hop.

That's why it doesn't surprise me to see someone jack a Byakko's Haidate, get a warning put up on them in BG, then BRAG ABOUT IT like the fucking idiot did something that shouldn't have had someone reach into his RL room and wring his fucking neck!!

Without real consequences, all this stuff goes on and people are more than happy to do it.

That's why I have trouble trusting people in this game and that's why I'm not as "advanced" as people think I should be.

Go to Google this weekend -- seriously...

If you have some free time, hit up Google this weekend.

Today is the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man.

And, as Google likes to go, they have changed their logo accordingly...

Except for one thing...

Click "Insert Coin" and you can PLAY IT on the Google Logo!!

Kudos to my roomie for showing it to me.

I've had a very Chinese day today...

Guess this will probably have to do as the end of week update:

THF to 24.

Done with the Hippogryphs, and now to the 10 Eyes of Verthandi, which I presume will take about a year to complete.

Dagger skill over 250.

Final Polearm merit gotten, now on to Dagger merits.

I've gotten crap (except about average gil from the first two Moggiebag pulls) from the Anniversary event -- no, I DON'T want another Silver Moogle Belt.

Sunday Dynamis: Snow, pull got fracked up again, and I learned why we don't farm Snow after the run -- Dragons up the arse for the loss!

Wednesday (Dreamer) Dynamis: Qufim. Win. Another SCH piece (what is it with me and SCH pieces and CoP Dyna?)

Next Wednesday: Valkurm, and Tavnazia access.

Monday: More VNM's, this time starring Flies with massive AoE damage. Ow.

Still stuck on "What Price Loyalty"...

--------------

As I said, I had a very Chinese day today.

As in, "interesting times", and cursed "interesting times" at that.

Had an interesting Net read on an asshole this morning, a confrontation with a neglecting parent this afternoon, and a tactical nightmare tonight!

This morning: Read BG some more, and tend to like watching the drama and the squirming in the "Player Warning" fora.

So, color me unsurprised when I see a name from the last weeks of when I was on Siren: Saio.

He apparently decided he didn't want to spend 50 million gil on a KClub, jacked it, jumped servers, and a GM had to be fished up to get it back.

I had my problems with Saio on a Nyzul run, then got told he was on one of the big HNM shells on Siren (little surprise the guy comes across as an abject prick), so even less surprise that he would do something like this.

This afternoon: Out in RL. So I'm walking along, minding my own business, when I hear:

"FUCK YOU!"

And we're not talking about the type of FU from a 20 year-old punk.

This punk was about 9-10 years old -- and by no means any ghetto or street attached to him. White and with the glasses that would appear to be a professor's.

His mother (wheeling a wheelchair), was trying to get the little brat to mind and come back...

The first time I heard the little idiot say that, I was looking around like Booker T would: "Tell me you didn't just say that!"

The second time: "FUCK YOU! I'M TIRED OF THIS SHIT!"

Now, as I told the mother, I'm more than willing to swear a blue streak. But this is a nine-year old brat doing this to his mom -- in public!

The only reason I didn't belt the kid 10 across the ass is because I'd go to jail.

Talking to the mother, he only reason she isn't is because she believes that's illegal even for the mother to do in California. So she has to ask God for strength (ha ha -- He's got enough keeping someone like me from going postal.)

Then, I ask her to consider what this kid is going to be like when he gets a bit older...

Then she tells me not to false witness the kid -- at which point (and I make sure both kid and mom hear it) I leave, basically telling myself that I better get out before I do something to get myself put in prison.

Basically, if I wanted to do it within the law, I'd have been tempted to call CPS on the pair.

If I didn't, 10 for the kid, 10 for the mom, 10 more for the kid.

Let's just say, in about five years, if you see a kid (about 15) in the Inland Empire murder somebody, I'd lay odds on this one, if someone doesn't (within reason) get this kid in line.

Tonight: Nyzul. (After yet another failed attempt to get a group together for "What Price Loyalty".)

First run: 2 All floors, a Chariot, a Soulflayer, and a Lamps Order floor with Gears (penalty for killing) all over the bleeping place near every lamp! This on floors 6-10!!

Somehow, we win the damn thing.

Second run: First floor (11) goes down in about 45 seconds (spec. enemy). We get two more floors, and then get an All floor where discovery by Gears is a penalty.

So we tiptoe through the tulips, our main healer dies (again!), and, once we somehow win the floor, there are under five minutes left.

Oh, did I tell you that, in the middle of the run, I was told I had to go do something?

So, odds are, we go up with a weakened WHM, we lose...

So guess how many people in the group want to exit, take the tokens and the rank point, and get something out of the run?

Me.

1.

I won't name names -- the blame is not specific.

This happens ALL THE FREAKING TIME when I go to Nyzul.

We literally suicide the run by going to the last floor with badly insufficient time.

I never understood the tactics behind it. Odds are, unless we luck out in the draw, we lose if we go up.

We get an All Floor? We lose.

Get a leader floor? Chances are, we lose.

Lamp Order? We lose.

Lamps, same time. That's what we got. We lost.

Any Gear restrictions? Probably lose.

Very few win options with about 4 minutes to go, and, EVERY DAMNATED TIME we go through this with groups, I get stiffed out of a rank point and tokens because everyone else just thinks that THIS TIME will be the Free Floor.

Never understood the strategy.

Oh, and will someone explain to me how the Kaiser Behemoth has a range of what has to be about 40 yalms on that AoE spam of his???

So I _should_ update this, with Abyssea's contents becoming somewhat evident...

So what did I do last week:

Sunday Dynamis: Windurst, of all places. We did win, a bit sloppily near the end.

One afternoon this week: Camped the Headlong Belt NM, Chonchon. Seems to be a popular little bloke. (Wonder why... His drop is a poor-man's Swift Belt!! :) )

2/3 on the pop (go or sub BST or RNG for Wide Scan -- helps a ton in finding it), 1/2 on the drop.

Wednesday Dynamis: Buburimu. Won it, and a SCH piece of equipment. Wish that damn DRG belt would've dropped for them like it did the run before that they had there!

Friday night: VNM's, featuring Urd. She's a bitch!! :)

But, once we got a PLD to properly tank the thing, it was easy. No change to the Yellow Abyssite for the one I need for Magians though. 2/3 on the earring drop, though, so both Kiana and I got that earring for our DNCs.

Also dropped about 350K on Ancient Beastcoins to finally pick up a Brutal Earring. Double Attack GO! :)

Saturday was not fun. I tried to tell my Wednesday Dynamis shell that I was no good at Ninjitsu, and they didn't listen. At least it was my orb they lost -- and they won't take me back out on UO again. Not with their uber-RDM doing the kiting.

Had my first good Besieged blow-up again -- Square-Enix needs to take that abusive bullshit skill-up situation out of Besieged and make these people either go out and do it in the field (here's a hint: Trial of the Magians for your weapons -- that thing is going to cap my dagger skill for DNC before I leave it (over 251 now)).

So, is it not surprising that I log in this morning and it's "Cure Bomb the One Remaining General" time!! Whoo-hoo!! Kiss the Candy goodbye, Leviathan, because the shitheads don't care!

(Not yet, but you know it's coming -- Phoenix, apparently, just lost the Candy with 1500 people on the server...)

Did the Moggiebag quest. Good first pull.

Will delay the "Inventory Space -10" as long as I can. Not like I'm going to win more than a Statue anyway, it seems.

Got my 7th Polearm merit -- about 9.7K to the last one, then we start Daggers.

Magians: About 20 Hippogryphs to go. Then, the decision, which I'm vacillating on. It's going to take a lot of time for me to kill 400 Amorphs, 500 whatchamacallits, and 300 Peistes. But can I get enough Verthandi groups to get 10 Eyes in that time frame?

Hmmm...

=============

And then, today, we get our first look at Vision of Abyssea proper.

Looks to be a third parallel world, and you will need Zilart AND Wings to purchase it.

New Cavernous Maws are going to appear, and, from the two screenshots they gave us, it appears as if the new zones will be, once again, rehashes of the current zones.

June update release, $9.99, and there will be quests in this battle add-on, but the battles are 75+ -- the quests will require a 30+ job, but the battles are supposed to challenge 75+.

=============

One stumper:

I know everyone's going to say that it was on POL or on the VanaFest site, but I, for the life of me, cannot find this one piece of information:

I've heard basically everybody and their brother say that Square-Enix has confirmed the June level cap increase will only be five levels, to level 80.

If so, precisely where is it so confirmed? I've checked POL, I've checked the VanaFest site -- including most of both videos on the Special Talk Session and the English updates...

So where is it confirmed for 80?

Me, I'd prefer 85...

ON EDIT: Nope, it's 80. Thank you to Volkai for pointing out the subsequent interview that Elmer posted snippets to in ZAM -- link is in his comments to my post.

So you mean to tell me that someone actually voted for the POL Window loop-song...

Well, this was the Japanese voting on it...

"Memories of Dusk and Dawn", the 8th Anniversary music set, is out on iTunes US (as well as other places), and the votes came up with some interesting choices, including the aforementioned.

Some obvious choices:

"Awakening" (Though I actually prefer the one from one of the subsidiary games...)
"Distant Worlds" (full version,with lyrics -- the CoP ending cutscene with the partial song is epic!)
"Ronfaure"
"The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah"
"Vana'diel March" (The OLD opening screen -- and the song which implies you probably waited too long to log in now.)

Some of the more "interesting" ones:

"POL Opening": WTH is this from? Sounds like a racing theme or something...
"Shadow Lord": Main Dynamis music. Seems a bit too plain.
"Gustaberg": Maybe because I'm Bastokan, but ditto.

Some I'd have voted for:

The Movapolos theme
"Run, Maggot, Run..."

-------------------

And I see I have two Campaign bitches:

1) the guy who basically moves the monster just enough to ensure that no one can "see" the monster so that the battle is extended.

2) And I see the hiders/hoarders of the last Campaign mobs are at it in full force. That shit has to stop.

Over 250 RMT shitheads served...

So it's Vana'Versary time...

Got the ring, got the dinner tux (what, other than a small quest and two inventory slots, is that supposed to mean?), and got my adventuring info...

Most interesting? 262 GM calls.

So, I figure, that's about 255 or so RMT screams and a few other things...

---

Magians down to about 110 Hippogryphs. Probably going to cap Dagger in all this.

6 Polearm merits, going for a 7th now. After 8, then start Dagger.

Provided I get on to be one of the first 36 that can go, doing my first CoP Dynamis tomorrow with our combined forces: Buburimu. Should be vewy interesting.

Quick update and two charity efforts to report about:

First, was in Vegas for a few days for some R&R and P&Q... God, has the world gone mad...

Anyhoo, quick update on my first week back on Leviathan:

Sunday Dynamis: A real rough run through Ice -- five drops, only a few NMs defeated.

Wednesday Dynamis (Lengendary + Dreamers): Snow -- Boss pull got screwed up. Will explain policies of Dreamers later. They're pretty close to Lengendary's.

Got the Allied Ring, and have used two charges to go SAM 61 -> 63.

THF has been taken from 15 -> 20.

Will finish the Arcana level tonight on the Magians dagger.

===========

Two charity efforts to push this weekend:

1) thespeedgamers.com -- The Speed Gamers are back again, doing a Mother marathon for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer. As of writing, at 11 PM Pacific, the marathon had gone for 7 hours even and had raised $2,420 of a goal of $10,000.

EDIT: As of the end of the marathon: $10,400+ -- Congratulations!

2) For three reasons, I post this second one:

a) Always an affinity to this performer
b) It'll piss at least one reader of the blog off
c) And it's such a unique and wonderful idea, I couldn't pass up posting it...

www.deborah-gibson.com -- the official website of Deborah Gibson -- is doing a unique auction between now and May 12th, is doing an auction: "Only in My Jeans". (Yes, she cues the cheesy joke several times in her video -- in which she also explains her "Gibson Girl Foundation", who awards tuition to an entertainment camp (not sure if it's necessarily Gibson's "Camp Electric Youth". She also tells the story about how her camps have changed the life of one 16 year old autistic youth.)

No, she hasn't broken out the closet, but she's asked a lot of other people to help her.

Yes, she did put one pair of her own up, but got help from the likes of these celebrities who autographed jeans for the effort:

-- Jonathan Knight of the New Kids on the Block
-- Rob Thomas
-- The cast of "Glee"
-- Hayley and Hilary Duff
-- Lance Bass
-- Rick Fox of the Lakers
-- Ryan Seacrest

and a number of others. By the actual auction site, it lists the closing date (and at least some of the items (if not all) do have a clearly-stated reserve price) as midnight eastern at the end of May 25th.

So, there's a second charity thing to look for...

But I do have to say: Shaq didn't get the memo.

Shaq does have an item on Deborah's auction. But, Shaq-Fu, the idea was an auction for jeans -- Shaq autographed a single sneaker and sent it for the auction. It's up there -- and has some bids on it!

And the move is made...

I'll post more on it later, but just a quick point:

Over 3,000 people on Leviathan at 9:20 AM PDT this morning. Got the Allied Ring and added a couple more friends from C&D before I left Siren (with limited, though some, malice).

Dynamis in about 3 hours.

In the immortal words of Fang: "Unleash Hell!"

Some of us have fucking lives...

You know, I more than happily was prepared to leave Siren after the conquest update and the billings...

Now, I don't know if you could pay me to log back in to that server...

You're down to the point, frankly, that people know that the good gear has to be cockblocked or everyone is going to go after the level 99 cap and stuff...

JPs trying to enforce a line basically blocked us from getting in to Fiat Lux. Wait on Siren now appears to be 2-3 hours unless you really want to piss off the JPs.

I might log back on tomorrow -- probably will on Sunday morning to pick up my Allied Ring and take a big dump at the unplayable server. I'm out of here.

Leviathan, don't think I ain't comin' back pissed!

Hmmm... Gotta figure out how to avoid those imps...

Well, a quick update, nonetheless:

-- Alchemy to 38 and the test item already turned in. Smithing to 11.

-- Did a lot of Campaign and associated, and Siren now has the four Northlands zones and Fiat Lux is open.

HOWEVER: Some brave idiot at Square-Enix put two true-sight Imps on the bridge of Castle Zvahl Baileys (S) and there's *no way around them*!!

So, after getting my XP back from the latest attempt, I'll try again to get to the Keep and the Throne Room tonight.

-- Scored two Polearm merits, now up to 4. Want to max out Polearm merits before the level cap starts going up.

-- Magians: Doing dagger for the OAT one, about 180/400 for the Arcana part, then 300 Hippogryphs (eek!!), and then a decision -- the easier and longer way, or the shorter but much harder way...

-- Probable schedule for the transfer: After the Conquest update next week, make sure the May fees have actually been billed (so I pay for the transfer in June, and Abyssea in July), then, if won, grab the Allied Ring, and then hopefully be able to transfer back to Leviathan (with limited malice for Siren, more because the server is rank unplayable most of the time) in time for Lengendary's Sunday Dynamis run.

Yeah, I'd like to take some cool Shadow Lord gear back with me, but...

I guess I should get to those thirty-six comments...

... and I will sometime this morning.

But I have a message I just sent to the Special Task Force:

Starcade from Siren (soon to be Leviathan again):

WHERE ARE THE BANHAMMERS FOR THE PORTAFURNACE BLACK ABYSSITE ABUSERS?

PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO TELL ME THAT THIS ISN'T OF THE LEVEL OF THE 2009 SALVAGE EXPLOITS...

Abyssite/Maw-gate -- a conjecture that may well open Pandora's Box...

I don't ask a lot of people to read this blog with an open mind, because I know most won't. (Volkai, I know you're different with respect to all that.)

This, I want you to try to read with an open mind, because it's the result of me doing some thinking as I was doing some RL work tonight, out and about doing some walking.

What you are about to read, over and above, is complete conjecture. I don't have evidence to it, but if it were to be true, I do believe it would be quite explosive.

Let's begin from what I understand to be the process involved:

What a number of Japanese players (and possibly others, but what we learned was that this was a set of Japanese players who at least had it advertised) did was that they used the Porta-Furnace (the picture posted here shows it in present Saruta), and then somehow used the Cavernous Maw (they literally had to be right on top of the damn thing with the Furnace) to go to Saruta [S], where, immediately upon zoning in, they received a Black Abyssite, completely (or at least partially -- we aren't clear as to whether the parties had a Tier III Abyssite or not) jumping the VNM Tier system.

(FWIW, I propose any player who popped the VNM Wyrm using an illegally-acquired Black Abyssite in this manner be banned, because of the massive proposed abuse which could well be involved.)

Now, if this is the case, we have a problem:

First off, the process of Synergy should've been simply terminated upon zoning.

Second, all that the use of a Cavernous Maw should be is as if one had crossed a "zone-line" into the corresponding zone in the Shadowrealm. It's basically a simple "zoning" plus a small cutscene.

Third, and here's the important part:

What has happened here is a crossing of codes involving Synergy, the Porta-Furnace, zoning by use of the Cavernous Maws, and the gaining of Black Abyssite.

Now, the only legal way to gain a Black Abyssite is to have a Tier III Abyssite, and use it to pop a Tier III VNM, which your alliance must defeat.

Even THEN, it's a probability situation only.

With all this in mind, my conjecture:

Unlike the Salvage dupes, which could clearly be excused as "spaghetti code" (that Salvage is done by one party of 6, the drops are allocated per party, but it's an action through Salvage itself), this exploit appears to me to be an intentional exploit, unauthorized by Square-Enix.

My conjecture is that somebody put in some code that wasn't supposed to be there.

I believe this was an act of commission, rather than omission.

The number of intersecting game mechanics, and the wide variation of those game mechanics, appear to make it not simply a matter of spaghetti code.

The clincher to me is the acquisition, upon zoning, of a key item only legally obtained through killing a monster (in this case, a Tier III VNM you popped, and, again, only through a probability motif).

Either this was somebody within Square-Enix coding, or someone got in. But I do not believe this was authorized (the only way it could be would be if Square-Enix intentionally put this in to get players banned), and I think Square-Enix, as it investigates players to ban, needs to isolate this code, find out who put it in, and deal with them accordingly.

This is going to get very interesting, I do believe.

MORE Fun for the Special Task Force

Well, it sounds to me as if we have a real problem here...

This morning (in fact, during JP prime time), the game had to be shut down for an emergency All-Worlds Maintenance for two hours -- and, for three servers, three hours!

After the Maintenance, we found out that the use of the Porta-Furnace (the portable Synergy furnace) has been discontinued until further notice, and there was discussion on BluGartr as to whether this had anything to do with Japanese linkshells being able to pop the VNM Wyrm at the top of the VNM tree and gain so many drops from it.

It turns out, according to Fusionx, that might well be the case!

Apparently, players using a Porta-furnace just before entering a Cavernous Maw (unclear as to whether this was true in both directions) could receive the immediate pop key item for the VNM top-level Wyrm!

Ban the fucking lot of them if this is true. ANY use of a Black Abyssite for this purpose should ban, at minimum, the popper, if not all characters who gained items with any degree of knowledge.

This most certainly compares to the Salvage bans.

In lieu of a weekend report, several additional points:

Wow, what a week -- RL as well as all the other stuff.

Anyhoo, instead of the normal "this is this level, that is that...", a few points while I do some low-level SCH levelling in La Thiene...

First, there are other reasons I decided to make the move back to Leviathan:

1) Siren is far too static at this point. It's a great server with players who actually give a damn about playing the game. The problem is that getting into as fair a system like Lengendary (to whom I shall return once I return to Leviathan, probably just in time for their May 2 Dynamis run) is not that common.

2) The game, as I have stated here a number of times, has become unplayable on Siren -- even a Nyzul 21+ climb group I latched into took over two hours on prime-time US Friday night (about noon or so in Japan Saturday) to set up. Damn Chariots prevented a shot at 35 for my Disc, but oh well...

3) If things are going to deteriorate as badly as I've seen in this game, then the claws need to come out, and I need to take my (bad) reputation vs. a lot of the players to even the next level and force the GMs to finally make a decision whose side they are really on...

So that's the first part.

Secondly, just to note that Kimiko and I had a meaningful discussion last night, and we hashed out a few things (including, if that person from a LONG LONG time ago who challenged me to condemn Kimiko is still reading, pointing out just that). I do wish them well, but, since Kaeko left, the linkshell has kinda gone quiet.

Thirdly, and in response to Robonosto's latest bleating, I decided to go over to BluGartr and read up on a bunch of the drama around that (alleged) 3,000-character list of people paying for and using a (purportedly) non-working packet bot.

I just want to repost a bunch of the gems I've seen in this thread and my comments to them:

Thorny, responding to a spat with Draylo asking what makes him a better player than Draylo:

In no particular order
-My gear
-My knowledge of game mechanics, including intricacies many people have no idea even exist
-My job spread
-My ability to 2box efficiently with any combination of jobs
-My leadership/organizational skills
-My ability to use jobs other than BLU when they're better(always)

Well, that's nice... *sarcasm*

Problem: Not a few posts before, they listed at least three illegal Windower plugins, on top of Windower itself, so the gear was obtained dirty, the knowledge of game mechanics requires illegal conduct to actually effect, the job spread was obtained dirty, leadership/organizational sounds like more of that MDIYM skill, and I don't play BLU that much either, but know it has benefits.

Gethsemane basically debunks the "lack of necessity of cheating" argument:

"When it comes to using an advantage in the game that is illegal it only comes down to a few things really. The main issue would be morals. Do you believe in cheating and using any advantages in life to get something you want? Some would argue that is how people should live life to achieve everything they want in life and be successful and there is many cases that prove this works. There's also cases that also show that you knock down a lot of people to the ground and walk all over them while doing so. Main point in the end is what kind of person are you?

Okay well with all those issues aside, most people have done everything in the game and realize to get the very few items left that they need they will be facing an endgame shell that uses bots. Maybe not all their members do, but rest assured at least a majority may. Since Square Enix has no way to detect these bots and cannot do anything about them; wouldn't it be justified to also bot as well to have a 100% fair claim against them instead of being at a disadvantage? Another way to look at it really.

And to all the people that are LOLing over people supposedly purchasing bots with money that these people somehow have shit out of their asses for this bot; a majority of the bot users did not spend one single penny of real life cash for this venture. Most of them have sold drops to other people on their servers and then sold the gil, traded the gil for cash for the packet bot. Basically only a short time investment into the game. More a shell could dominate the more they could get all the money drops and equip their members with bots all the quicker.

You either do or your don't. You will always be at a disadvantage when it comes to endgame HNMs. Perhaps this post will be a clear message to Square Enix that they should put in items to pop all these NM/HNM etc. We shall soon see. Sorry for the wall of text, that was my take on all of this anyways."

Answer that, those who deny the social necessity to cheat to be declared a successful FFXI player. Since it's not me talking about it, I'll just leave it up there...

As I will do with Thorny's nonsensical justification, equating cheating, success, and intelligence of FFXI:

"Fair enough.

Since FFXI requires no reflexes, simply thought, we can assume that a good player is both an intelligent player and has learned many things about the game already. Keep in mind that intelligence is a measure of ability to learn and adapt, while knowledge is that which has already been learned.

Drawing from this, an intelligent player is also an intelligent person, as intelligence itself is a general quality.

An intelligent person will realize that kings are botted and most(all?) other NMs are not competed for enough to merit a bot. While they may or may not camp kings, they realize that bots will not end there as there will always be a way to simulate simple actions through programs and there will always be people aiming for an unfair advantage.

An intelligent person will either avoid kings or use a bot.

If someone does not avoid kings or use a bot, they are not intelligent.

Since they are not intelligent, they're not a good player, and as such, incompetent."

Another example:

Priran: "I've yet to see a legitimate defense for botting."

Eanae: "No one cares to have an excuse. I have claim, you don't. Reason enough."

That's basically the central point. The defense is that you cannot play the game (or, at the least, that portion of it) without one, because the game has been modified by the shitheads to require it.

Oh, and, by the way, to those who think like what Eanae says: Fuck you.

Priran was asked for a solution, and responded, to the immediate dissatisfaction of posters:

"This game is beyond saving. They should have banned the shit out of anyone botting back in the day and put the fear of fucking god in anyone who even thought about it, but instead they dragged their feet with their useless GMs and burden of proof that would frustrate the ACLU.

FF14 needs to get rid of this client-side BS."

Priran is right. The game now requires illegal third-party program content to be socially accepted within the game, at least on the American side of matters. To say otherwise is either ignorant or lying.

Fact is that the only real solution to botters is to ban them -- if the game is not able to survive without them, shut the whole damn mess down. Period.

This is one of the reasons I will tell Square-Enix to go fuck off on FFXIV. Anyone who doesn't think that game won't be reverse-engineered to irrelevance before the release date is real fucking funny. You don't think there aren't efforts _RIGHT NOW_, during the Closed Beta, to build illegal 3PP (or at least the basis of them, depending on how much of the game is truly unfinished) for XIV? You're real funny.

Tsuko from Asura: "A problem without a solution, by definition, isn't a problem- its an inevitability. If one has no opportunity to alter said inevitability, for the better or for the worse, why is one at fault for participating in it?"

At that point, all the people who DON'T bot should then be removed, because THEY are then the problem, compromising the enjoyment of those who do -- if their whole enjoyment of the game doesn't come from the botters lording over those who don't.

It's like the old saying: "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." I gave my solution: Ban all your fucking asses, shut the game down if that isn't going to work.

Rog sums it up: "No one is entitled to anything."

Hence why I would commit criminal acts to a lot of you if I had the same mentality as a lot of you.

In fact, as I have said repeatedly on this blog: You are committing criminal acts against not only the other players, but Square-Enix, by your continued illegal conduct.

Tsuko says, in response: "This isn't logical. Square Enix simply owes me the opportunity that everyone else has at the present time."

To which Yugl responds: "Why does SE owe you the same opportunity as everyone else at the present time?

- Non instanced zones
- Any HNM (Only 18 can fight at one time unless CFH)
- Missions with progress requirements
- Events with minimum LV requirements"

Why not just then, say, that third-party programs are a requirement to play FFXI and everyone who doesn't just GTFO? SE damn fucking well owes me that opportunity, and you fuckers justify taking it away.

Weeks: "As a rule, the few anti-botting people left acknowledge that Square's half-assed enforcement of their rules is as much to blame for this as the people who choose to cheat. But no, nobody is off the hook for their own actions as long as there are people in endgame or being kept out of endgame who refuse to play along."

One of the reasons that there are days I openly fantasize about taking a baseball bat to the remaining XI servers.

(Let's see if that gets me labelled a terrorist.)

Basically, because that's about the equivalent of what the botters are doing to the rest of us!

-------

One more comment:

You see, this is why Kaeko was a bit of a rarity, and why I can't call him all of the words that he might think I do. (See post on the revelation)

Most of these botters and their ilk derive their enjoyment from denying it to others and making it clear that they have no place for their $12.95 a month.

Robonosto, I'm not THAT stupid...

Kimiko wants to talk, but was AFK when we were on together tonight. Might try later, but I wanted to update the list with some comments from an Robonosto, a user of Kaeko's blog and his post, regarding me and my stands on cheating.

Just really sounded like he came across as a little BluGartr bitch.

Don't believe me? Read what he has to say...

First comment:

"Second, the thing is that players like Starcade seem to think that "if you're not cheating, you're not trying" is a categorically true statement, so they take the contrapositive to heart, yet both are generally false for the most part. But they are more concerned about being right than the fact that being asocial/antisocial is part of why they can't "succeed." It's kind of like the C-student douchebag who points out in a lecture that the cell counts in a 2x2 contingency table are 1 more than what the total is supposed to be. D-bag is technically right but about shit that doesn't even matter. The most pathetic part is that still they subscribe to the "cheaters'" standard of success rather than develop their own intenral standards of success."

Let me debunk all that.

First off, the statement of Los Guerreros (and, a variant on old Jesse Ventura) is absolutely true with respect to Final Fantasy XI. If Square-Enix continues to turn it's back and allow the game to be made into an abject fraud, in the very legal sense of the term, I'm going to call them on their shit and basically tell people to run as quickly from both of their MMOs as quickly as they can!

If you take a look at the predominant communities in this game, either all of them cheat or the vast supermajority of them do.

You cannot do HNM's at all without cheating. You'll be run off without bots.

Windower = Cheating and should = Ban, if it didn't mean the end of FFXI outright. Where's the hammers from the December 24, 2009 statement, Square-Enix?

I just read a BG thread in which someone has apparently outed a list of almost three thousand characters (truly or otherwise, still not quite completely clear) who bought a (purportedly) NON-WORKING packet bot for upwards of a $45,000 profit for it's creator, just for the right to even be able to play the elite-level content.

There are dozens of other examples from the last 18 months all over this blog.

No, Robonosto, it is true in FFXI, because of the very social nature of the MMO that Kaeko speaks of: "If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying.", and the social pressure to do otherwise is quite intense!

Because, to go to your last statement in your first comment: I would love to believe that my standards of success meant a god damn in this game, but the people at Square-Enix (much to my utter chagrin, and perhaps in perpetration of the legal fraud which is FFXI), they don't. You need that elite gear that most of you cheat your fucking asses off to get to play much of this game, and numerous illegal third-party applications (many paid for - see above and the 12/24/09 statements by Square-Enix) on top of that.

THAT, Robonosto, is why what Kaeko said about me is true. That also is why I take the revelation that he was the one helping me quite badly. And that, combined with the utter death of Whitegate in the time of this Trial of the Magians nonsense, is why I'm relocating to Leviathan and my old Dynamis shell after the May 1 billings.

(And the claws are going to be out, and the shit is going to hit the fan. I expect to be banned by the second release of Abyssea, if not before.)

Because, again, this is the social nature of the game -- for exactly the reasons you give. I'll give you another school analogy: It's like the social outcast who's the A student and working hard in his classes seeing his high school (like one in Florida I read about this week in Yahoo) building an $80,000,000, 18,000-seat football stadium.

Why am I going to even study, when it's clear the only reason the school exists is to allow the football team to rampage the cheerleaders and run over the opposition in their new crystal palace?

The social fabric has already declared educational success USELESS. The very nature of the fabric, plus the pressure of the others, makes educational achievement a zero while the football team's success becomes the sole focal point of the school.

As it is with FFXI, with comments I've posted from all over the Net. If playing fair had one iota of value left, especially in the American FFXI playerbase, we'd probably have at least 8 fewer servers than we do now! (In fact, given the stated context from Vana'Fest, one almost has to admit that the first lopping off of 8 was because of how much illegal conduct was upholding the population on 32 servers.)

You don't understand something: If I used your styles of tactics to "succeed", a number of you would be having me arrested for the criminal conduct I would commit against your accounts.

I cannot operate in your world. Therefore, I wish to destroy it, and, if Vana'diel goes down with it, that's evidence that Square-Enix never wanted to enforce its stated rules in the first damn place.

As for "being social, rather than being 'right'", if I were to operate in the socially accepted modes, I'd be "compromising others' standards of play".

Kaeko responded:

"As far as Starcade, your analogy probably works, but for me it's just about accepting (or maybe tolerating?) someone with different views. I made a strong effort to be social and interact with him and found him to obviously be very socially awkward (even online), but not a bad person at heart. For that reason, I'm not going to bad mouth him or overtly try to cause trouble for him regardless of what he does now. It's probably out of pity more than some personal self-righteousness but whatever."

The problem I have is that it never should've been that way in the first place. It's like this Jim Cornette interview I'm reading. He has now been referred to the Federal and Tennessee governments as a terrorist for stating to a (former) old wrestling friend (Terry Taylor) that he would like to see Vince Russo dead.

(As would a lot of us who would've rather wanted to see Bischoff/Turner win the Monday Night Wars over Vince McMahon. There is a glorious "shoot" from early NWA/TNA in which Roddy Piper just rips him several new assholes.)

The thing is that he spent three years in TNA working with Russo, compromising his principles to the point that he could not look himself in the mirror anymore, and that, frankly, is how I felt after I learned who I was lying down with, with all other parties in the equation knowing what was going on.

Pity me if you must, go ahead. But the facts remain that if I hadn't worked with you for so long, I would actually openly accuse you of trying to sabotage my character (both in-game and personally). FWIW, I don't know what I can say to that now.

Robonosto (I assume) continues: "Actually, I did not mean to minimize the cheating that exists. I'm just more irritated with do-nothing, passive, excuse-making attitudes of which Starcade's is representative. (I would consider the STFU reporting he blabs about to be merely "fake hustle.") Maybe I'm totally biased here, but Japanese players have way more of a "pickup" culture (doing pickup Salvage for one) than non-Japanese do. But I'm someone who's done most things by pickup, so it could be argued I'm just bitter.

Also, his being upset about being "deceived," making "concessions," the "rank necessity of cheating," putting moral purity on a pedestal, as it were... you would think this "people out to get you" B.S. would eventually become tiresome for the one promulgating it, but I guess not.

Why am I even typing this? "LOL""

Do-Nothing, Passive, Excuse-Making...

I will swear on my parents' graves that you do not want the alternative to what you consider to be "Do-Nothing, Passive, Excuse-Making", as far as that goes.

I've already said that, if they ever held another FFXI FanFest, that I would have to be restraining-ordered from the event. I do mean this quite seriously. There are a number of top people in the player community against whom a criminal incident would be a very real possibility.

I have to hold a lot of that back, because I have other things in my life which are more important to me than this game (Hell, this is basically true of all of my passions at this point -- if I were to attend Fanime next month in San Jose, I'd be going to prison. I still have grudges from that specific con three years standing that would end very badly. That's why I've already told them they better have me banned from the event, similarly to why I am physically banned from AX. Put me in a room with the head of Crunchyroll? Ditto.). That's why I take three nights a week off so that my dear roommate (who is not of this Earth much longer, if aggravations continue) can work on her Net project.

The thing is that I assume (and this is probably, more every day, a VERY BAD assumption) that I can at least try to work within the system and take the cheating in FFXI down.

Fact is, you want the programs, the bots, the RMT, and all that stuff, to gain every conceivable advantage over those (like me) you consider lesser.

I pay my $12.95 a month with the expectation that the game will be administered according to the rules. If that's not going to be the case, Heaven help FFXI.

I'd like to try to work within the system. If that's not going to work, they better ban me, and quickfast.

"Fake Hustle", huh? Do you read half the shit about FFXI, or do you just accept what is being rammed down your throat and ask for "another"?

If playing by the rules has zero value in this game, you don't want me around.