You'd think they'd have learned by now...

Fetch quest madness -- took over an hour to actually SEE a Crawler in the Maze of Shakhrami (first target for the fetch quest)...

Of course, once I actually found one and was able to attack it, got the item I needed and am moving onward.

BUT STILL... It seems like they encourage people to just cock-block people completely out of progressing in these damn expansions.

And, Murdoc: 100K to progress?? YOU BITCH!!!

Quick Update, and some early thoughts before play resumes on the update...

Didn't play as much as I planned to before I left for a show over the weekend in Los Angeles.

Laid up with a small cold, so I'll be on to play the new update and expansion as soon as play resumes...

DNC 74, SAM (at least) 26 (and probably a couple more than that)

My new Siren Dynamis shell had to cancel Wednesday because we couldn't get enough people, and I don't know what happened on Sunday.

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Some thoughts on the posted information on the POL site with a lot of what's happening in the new update:

New quests, especially WotG...

Let's hope this gets some people off their duffs and actually progressing in the WotG stuff. Read the last Vana'diel Census for more on that. I am hoping that, maybe, access to a "new end-game area" is part of this, but it doesn't sound like it.

Nation on the Brink, LFP... Need 3 Healers and 2 DD...

Maze Mongers changes...

The best one for me is the one where you can "sell", for marbles, unused runes. I actually have my maze set up where I like it (a soloable situation), but could use a few more marbles to get more Vouchers...

Fishing maze? Meh.

Chocobo Circuit

I never saw the Chocobo Circuit as that much of a viable thing, and I still (really) don't.

Wedding Support Now Automating as of 11/18

Not a bad idea with manpower being an issue...

Several minor, though important, changes to WotG Campaign areas...

Was wondering when they might address some of the stuff going on in Xarcabard (S) to allow people to, I don't know, actually _PLAY THE ZONE_...

Gates will now remain open in Eldieme (S) to allow people to get the Union-spoil caskets easier.

And more Union spoils are now available to bribe people to actually try the campaign battles in Beaucedine (S) and Xarcabard (S).

(One side note: I still dis-believe the notion of 100-pieces dropping in Campaign battle Union spoils. I've played so many Campaign Battles, it's not even funny... Not one 100-piece yet even in the chests.)

New NM's all over the place...

You know what I'd like to see? More challenging, though soloable, NM's and BCNM's.

And they have officially nerfed the AV Modus Veritas situation!!!

Nice ninja nerf, there, Square-Enix!! But is anyone REALLY surprised???

More chat filters (for spam, offensive words, etc.) put in.

I can see it -- Hell, I've been officially warned for some of my language in-game.

The GM Call response will no longer tell you where you are in the queue.

No real surprise (that functionality went away with the addition of several modes (online on the web especially) to getting in touch with the GM's, suggestions to the STF, etc. Now they just change the message so it's no longer an issue.

And the previously announced SMN, RNG, and BST stuff... Update scheduled to end in about 3 1/2 hours. Probably go download it now.

Evolith is a mystery...

Well, we now know what the third update for this time around is going to be.

When it's going to come out is anyone's guess. I think they're still trying to beta-test it, frankly. Supposed to be for that third update, but, as of now, they schedule it at, at minimum, late November.

It sounds as if they finally admitted that the present Augment system is one masterful flop, as they've introduced the Evolith system (and all-but explained what the heck that huge data update was from last week...).

Basically, you can now slot your own augments of choice, if you can get the stones you want, into just about anything -- which, of course, raises the potential for another side effect (encouraging players to augment (and, hence, render Exclusive) their entire gear set, yanking the whole mess out of RMT's hands).

Mayhaps that's the entire point of the Augment (and now the Evolith) system, and something they might be considering for XIV.

And the all-too-predictable bribe...

Sounds to me like Square-Enix didn't get too many people interested in Shantotto Ascension, so they, as one might have predicted, they threw in something...

Buy all three expansions, and get a free item. This one is the "Nexus Cape", where, once every 40 hours, if you get in a party (in most of the zones in "Vana'diel present") and have to temporarily leave to replenish supplies, change subjobs, what have you, you can be teleported right back to either the exact field location if the party leader is out in the field, or a home point if the party leader is in a town.

This is, of course, limited to that you already have to be in a party in the first place, but...

Well, _that_ only took two days...

1) My first Besieged /blacklist victim. Asshole.

2) A building Dynamis linkshell, roughly the same times I ran on Leviathan (slightly earlier Wed., slightly later Sun.). We'll see how it goes. Participated in an attempted Behemoth camp with them tonight.

A Week of Change in the Air

Whether you choose to believe in it or not is an exercise to the individual reader...

73 DNC (almost 74), 26 SAM

Fowling Earring and Warwolf Belt, the major regular gear additions...

Sunday Dynamis (Leviathan): Ice. Previously discussed.

Final Leviathan Dynamis Wednesday: Sandy. Win. And then, in one of the three pulls for farming before time expired, I win the BST pants. 3/5 BST AF2.

Assaults: First completion of Golden Salvage, and finally got promoted out of Private Second Class.

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If the first couple of days are any indication, it's night and day, because it's clear that there are more players than just this old curmudgeon who aren't going to accept all the bullshit which has polluted FFXI. We'll see how it goes...

I got some Assaults done already, have done two Besiegeds (ProTip: One of the reasons Siren has never lost is, if something needs people's attention, it's communicated to the entire damn field!!)...

What a concept!!! (BTW, I tried that both on Asura and on Leviathan...)

So, anyway, 75 DNC this week, starting meriting that thing, and we'll go from there to get ready for the update.

Goals, if I can find people willing:

CoP (still on 4-2)

Zilart (have never really started it)

ToaU (On Puppet in Peril, and now have all the Assault portals)

WotG (Battle of Jeuno/Nation on the Brink)

and we'll go from there. I figure, if things are as we expect them for WotG, there will be a lot more demand for that stuff in a few days.

Today will be unusual. First time in 10 1/2 months that I won't have a scheduled Dynamis at about 12 noon-12:30 PST (yes, remember to set your clocks back!). I wish Kiana and Lengendary well -- can't say too many bad words about them, except for the occasional sloppiness (and Kiana spoke to that more than often ;) ).

My Last Night on Leviathan, Part Three: Some Last Goodbyes

So, with that, I transfer worlds. I'll probably post these and send the profane rant to the STF first.

Then I have to take down everything in my delivery box and everything in the Auction House which hasn't sold yet. Then, I log out and transfer.

I guess, effective immediately, I'm a free agent again, and my Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings are now free.

To that end, I wish well the good people of Lengendary, my former Dynamis linkshell.

Kiana, the hard-working leader who takes no crap. I know I can be a bit of a pain, but at least I try not to be... Good luck on completing Ice one of these runs, and on getting your two remaining pieces of DNC AF2...

Hefty, our little sac-taru. Boats and hoes, eh? Here's one more ceremonial chuck into the snowbank on the way out, and best wishes to an entertaining little tarutaru.

Donbibo, our resident basketball. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, consider how many times a RDM dies in Dynamis...)

Palantor, our main PLD. Glad we got to talk during that whole sorry episode which sealed this decision.

Mickoftime, ditto.

Dogan, I hope the assault static can work well for you.

Indred, may you never be healed out of the yellow... :)

Gadwin, glad I could stand up for you on that last Ice run, and Mektar can kiss my motherfucking ass...

… and to all the other members I forgot, I'm sorry. It's just been a really tough go of it the last several months or so...

And, one more goodbye before I do slam the door in the fucking cheaters' faces:

Kobayashimaru, who suggested Leviathan: I'm sorry. That server has taken such a dive in the last six months.

ON EDIT: As Seymour said in FFX: It is done. As of about 1 AM this morning, PDT, the 30th of October: I am Starcade, now from Siren. Yeah, it's probably because of the Besieged record, but let's see if, as I suspect, this might transfer to a few more players who just MIGHT give a damn.