Gear by Omael

As a few of you know, I like letting people borrow my kick-ass gear when I’m not using it (which is surprisingly often). Recently, I saw that Amiyumi was leveling warrior. She was about to hit 45, so I told her she could borrow the Luisant gear I currently had. As the body and legs are 800k each, I only have the helm, gloves and boots, which would still be a massive upgrade over just about everything else. When she got to 45 and headed to Jeuno to pick the luisant stuff up, I got to /check her and see what gear she had. I can’t say I was surprised, as Ami was a 75 black mage, but I was a little disappointed. I’ve seen, and partied with, warriors with worse gear than that, but I hold my linkshell mates to a higher standard (which is probably unfair). So, I’m letting her borrow much more than my luisant stuff. She now wields my two Woodsman’s Rings, Jaguar Mantle, Royal Squire’s Breeches, and two Combat Caster’s Axe +1. When she gets to 60, I will also let her use my Potent Belt and Chivalrous Chain if she needs them. If I can ever remember to do it, I’ll have to ask her to put Gear by Omael in her bazaar comment. The only thing that bothered me about letting her borrow all this stuff is that, between thanks she said something about thinking I didn’t like her. I don’t know where she got that idea.

Sometimes I Wonder Why I Even Bother Trying Anymore

What the hell happened? – Stream of Consciousness 1

My ongoing series of interviews with linkshell members has brought something to my attention; FFXI doesn’t piss me off nearly as much as it used to. Sure, I can’t seem to get any Assault missions done, or even get past rank 5. That doesn’t really bother me, though I guess it should. I’ve been rank 5 for over two years, but I’m still not at the level range where having Sky access becomes necessary. I don’t give much of a fuck about competing with some gil-seller bitches for some stupid NM in Sky, or about “endgame” in general. I think I’ll concentrate on SE’s twisted sense of humor and work towards an Optical Hat. Of course something that fugly would have good stats. SE enjoys watching its customers parade about in the least impressive-looking gear. It would be really fucking hard to make hairpins visible, wouldn’t it? I’d actually enjoy having a little bug wing on my head whenever I’m wearing my emperor’s hairpin. That would be fucking sweet. Maybe around Christmas or something when I get closer to 70 I’ll start bothering the MoogleArmy for help with getting past rank 5. Speaking of MoogleArmy, I think a lot of my more laid-back attitude is their fault. More and more of the aggravating dumbfucks have been driven out. I suppose I owe Katsumoto and Aricelia some thanks for that. Without the intolerance and occasional rudeness they bring to the linkshell, there’s a good possibility that the MoogleArmy would’ve been overrun with morons by now. I’ve been a part of a linkshell with too many stupid fucks and not enough good people to know what happens shortly after the idiot : not idiot ratio becomes unbalanced too far in the idiot direction. When Cyaan quit about a week ago, he told me how he was sitting right next to Jedimasta and me when I gave Jedi my Haubergeon. I honestly don’t even remember him being there. He remembered me though, and that still strikes me. In Kyssandra’s blog, she revealed that she’s actually been a guy all along. I can’t really say I’m surprised as I assume everyone that plays a female character is a guy (or desperately wants to not be). I am surprised that he’s been able to pull this ruse off throughout his entire time in FFXI, as Skype has become a popular way for some of the linkshell to talk to each other. I find things like that or teamspeak, etc. take away from the anonymity of online gaming so I don’t bother with them. Anything worth saying to me can be typed, and anything you can’t type I don’t want to hear. Fuck, most of what people type I wouldn’t want to hear out loud anyway.




Where the fuck is my shadow?

Getting the Fransisca in 50 Words or Less

Zi’Tah looks cool. I need map of Tree. MoogleArmy, assemble! Waiting sucks. There it is! Kyssandra deals Aquarius massive damage! Aquarius hits hard, Kyssandra down. Rampage sucks against this thing. Larien and Aricelia down as well. Fight gets desperate. Cold and Houz finish the job. Mine! Jean shows up late….

Who are the People in Your Neighborhood? Part 3: Jengaa

The Bahamut server is home to a very diverse group of people. Nearly all of them suck. Severely. There are some though, that have managed to prove themselves not as stupid or annoying as the rest. Most, if not all, of these people belong to the MoogleArmy linkshell like me. This week, I have a conversation with one of the handful of Elvaan that aren’t completely stupid, Jeangallo. As always, questions will be in BOLD. All responses are unedited and will appear in ITALICS. Any additional comments by me will be in parentheses ( ).

How long have you been playing FFXI?

I started playing around the NA pc release. I started the game with my good friend Mogwae.

Why did you choose to make your character a female Elvaan?

Truthfully I was pretty high and drunk. I got lost in windy for about 3 hours before I figured out how to get out to sarutabaruta. I promptly died at that point. I don't really remember picking my character model. (That does explain why anyone would want an Elvaan character.)

How did you choose your character's name?

It was an amalgam of my friends name jessie and galloway, with a bit of a change to make it less retarded.

I usually see you playing as a RDM or a DRK. Other than them, is there another job that you enjoy?

I've started to level my blm again and I really enjoy it. I wanted to level a DD job and DRK seemed fun until I realized I was an elvaan... So I decided since BLM was 37 already why not take it a bit farther.

Which do you like less: Norg or Rabao?

Now that I have my Joyeuse and the Western Altepa OP, it doesn't matter either way.

Which do you like more: Windurst or San d'Oria?

I started in Windurst and I'll die there. Imo the best city because of the easy access to the Whitegate warp taru, a MH exit that goes straight to the Jeuno airship and uh dancey tarus.(Fuck Fag d'Oria, Windurst rules.)

You and I both appreciate a finely-furnished Mog House. What is your favorite piece of furniture and why?

I don't really have a favorite, I try to make my MH as feng shui as possible. I do really like my wall hangings. The Windy flag for obvious reasons and the painting I got for the New Years event. At the moment I think my most favorite furnishing would be the Beverage Barrel that I don't have yet.

Are there any linkshell members that you just fucking hate?

I hate people that don't buy cheap decent gear that you should get the moment you hit that level. Oh and joos.

Are there any members that you like more than the rest, other than Larien?

I think the people I hang out with the most are Coldwind, Vitrolant, OMGwae, Houzie, Bermont, Jedimasta, and uh Aricelia. But I think that Jeanwind is ftw.

What would you like SE to add to the game?

Individual ring fingers. I want 10 Bomb Queen rings and a lvl 5 gobbie. (That would be pretty cool. Acc ring prices would skyrocket, though.)

What would you like to see them change or just remove?

BLU's... Fucking Jackasses.

If you could be any ingame monster, what would you be? Why?

What's that mob that looks like a vagina?

How the hell did you get the nickname "Jengaa", anyway?

Once I wanted to farm white steel for the ugg. pendant pop item. I convinced a handful of people to come help me. After we zoned into Pso'Xa I came upon a treasure chest. It wasn't a treasure chest, I died but got out alive. Unfortunately Reza didn't. So I organized a rescue party. We died. So I organized a rescue party for the rescue party. Needless to say after the rescue party for the rescue party for the rescue party for Reza died, there was no one else left in MA to rescue us. So I guess Lar calls me that because I'm the idiot that always pulls the block from the bottom and I get people killed.

When you leave FFXI forever, what do you want people to remember about you?

I made Birdhair cry once.


Next week: She’s a Mithra whm and supposed pokemon master. I also have heard rumors that she’s an actual she, unlike the majority of Mithras. I have a chat with Larien. I’ll find out if Pankration can be the pokemon of FFXI. I certainly hope so, as watching Fafnir and Behemoth fight sounds pretty fucking cool. Also, being able to say “I beat someone with my Cock(atrice)” makes it pretty good already.

Tales from the Long-Long Ago: The Origin of Gearliness.

Gear Whore’s connotation is too negative, so I’ve decided to refer to myself as Gearly. Jedimasta’s also very gearly. Gearliness is next to godliness, as I often say (but never out loud). Having the best gear has always been a goal of mine since I first started FFXI on the Fenrir server. I wasn’t Omael at the time, and I very quickly learned how important good gear was when I arrived at the Dunes as a level 13 Red Mage. I had just spent all my conquest points on those Legionnaire’s Mittens and most of my gil on a new sword. I felt pretty good about myself. Then I got to the Dunes. My first party was with a Tarutaru Black Mage wearing two astral rings. The little bastard would cast spells for the entire fight, while I would run through MP like shit through a goose. We got to talking, and he told me how INT and MND were the most important stats for a Red Mage while in a party. Being an ignorant noob at the time, I had no idea those stats made much of a difference. While using a sword did help the party kill lizards a little faster, getting a wand that increased both INT and MND would be a good idea to use when I was in a party, since all my enfeebling spells would be a little better. After a couple hours, my party got attacked by a goblin and died. I went back to my home point in Bastok and headed straight for the auction house. There I found a wand that added INT and MND, as well as making it harder for my spells to be interrupted. I fucking hated it when that happened, so the wand was instantly declared awesome. It couldn’t hit monsters very hard, but I still carried my sword around for that. After killing a few hundred bees to make some Gil, I took a look at the “spells” section of the auction house. I saw Bio on the list. I didn’t have that, and the Tarutaru black mage told me to make sure I get that one, since it’s a good spell. I bought it and learned it on my way back to my mog house. When I checked my delivery box to get my beehive chip money, I found a Saintly Ring and an Eremite’s Ring from the black mage! I sent the Taru a few /tells to let the person know I would gladly pay for them, but they told me no. The next time I went out to the Dunes, I did notice my Cures were a little better when I used the rings and wand. I also found out that monsters don’t like having Bio cast on them. Ultimately, though, I stopped leveling Red Mage around level 30. I envisioned the en-spells making weapons deal all of their damage as that element, not just adding on a shitty 3 or 4 points. My original goal was a Samurai/Red Mage, as they didn’t have my favorite job from FFV, Sorcerer (or Mystic Knight depending on who you ask). Turns out instead of being very cool like I had hoped, it sucked very ass. I then unlocked Beastmaster and took it pretty far, but those days are for another blog entry.

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? Part 2: A Coldwind’s a-comin’.

The Bahamut server is home to a very diverse group of people. Nearly all of them suck. Severely. There are some though, that have managed to prove themselves not as stupid or annoying as the rest. The majority of these people belong to the MoogleArmy linkshell like me. This week, I attempt to see what’s really going on in the mind of MoogleArmy’s most helpful member, Coldwind. He’s a master THF, and a high-caliber PLD. He’s also friendlier than just about everyone. As with Kyssandra, questions will be in BOLD. All responses are unedited and will appear in ITALICS. Any additional comments by me will be in parentheses.


How long have you been playing FFXI?

I have been playing FFXI since NA release. Played for a while and quit, then I came back and quit, had that yo-yo effect going. But when with the release of the Xbox 360 version I said to myself: "Now is the perfect time to come back to the game and get a job to 75". Now I have two lv 75 jobs and working on my third.(Show-off...)

What made you choose Galka as the race for your character?

Well, Tarutaru were too cute, Mithras are woman and I don't like playing female characters, Elvaan were too creepy with their long necks and Hume were too bland for me because they aren't great at anything stat wise. Galka caught my attention from the get go, the loveable big guy, big hp boost because I wanted to be a monk or paladin at the time.

How did you choose your character’s name?

I like the cold weather, which is weird coming from a person that lives in a tropical island, goes with the theme that the Galkas get slave names in Bastok too.

Which job do you enjoy the most?

The Paladin job. Protecting others is my job.

According to your blog (which should be required reading for the rest of MA), you were originally from Bastok but now call Windurst home. Why did you pick Windurst? Do you hate San d’Oria as much as I do, or is Windurst simply the lesser of two evils?

I picked Windurst because is a beautiful place to hang out. Also you can warp around to get to places, which is neat. San d'Oria is such a boring place, I go there as little as possible.

Which do you like more: Rabao or Kazham? Why?

Kazham because is near a jungle, when you have to party there the zone is very close and the auction house is linked to Windurst, the greatest nation.

Which do you like less: Jeuno or Aht Urhgan Whitegate? Why?

I like Aht Urhgan less, its cool that its such a small zone but the lag is terrible.

I’ve noticed that you leveled Beastmaster to 40 very quickly (getting close to 50, too.). Almost too quickly, in fact. Are you from the same race of super-leveling mutant/robots Kyss is?

Lol. The super-leveling mutat/robots will take over the world soon enough.(I knew it!!) I enjoy the Beastmaster job a lot, the advantage of the job is I don't have to wait for a party invite I can do it all by myself. Been able to do that instead on waiting on others to get exp is why I've been flying through levels.(Again, show-off....)

You don’t have to name names (it would be funny if you did), but are there any linkshell members you really, really don’t like?

I can't say I don't like anyone, but I can't recall the names at the moment (most have gone already).

Are there any linkshell members you like more than the rest?

There are a lot of members I like in the linkshell, the one that stands out is Jeangallo. With Jean there is always something crazy to do. Doesn't matter if we win or we lose horribly is always fun.

What would you like to see added or changed in FFXI?

More exp zones for meripo, right now those places are always crowded. A nomad moogle in Selbina/Mhaura. More love for the Paladins, Thief and of course Beastmaster.(A tweak on PLDs that finally makes nin tanks obsolete would be nice. My last two pts had nin tanks and they couldn't hold hate worth a shit.)

What would you like to see taken out? Why?

Exp loss when you die, because my Paladin don't get much party invites to get it back.

If you could be any kind of ingame monster, which would you be and why?

Super high level chigoe, a very annoying monster that hits people hard and very fast, would like to see a bunch of dead bodies around me.(I haven't had the pleasure of fighting a chigoe yet, but the idea of a zone of corpses is appealing.)

I’ve noticed that you don’t seem to get upset or pissed off at anything that happens ingame. How do you manage that?

I always have fun no matter what happens in the game. It has to be something really bad or annoying to get me very upset.(I will be watching the ls chat very carefully for the day that happens.)

When you decide to leave FFXI forever, what do you want people to remember about you?

I would like to be remembered as a person who had a lot of fun helping others in everything I could.


Next week: He’s unpredictable(according to Cold, anyway)! He’s a RDM! He's marrying Larien ingame! He’s a…female Elvaan?! I attempt to unravel the mystery of the only female Elvaan I can actually recognize at first glance, Jeangallo!

Why do Beastmaster and Bard have to wear the faggiest gear in the game?

Every job in FFXI gets to wear armor that adds bonuses to the stats important to them. For the most part, that armor looks pretty good. There are, of course, two exceptions; Beastmaster and Bard. As Charisma is their most important stat, SE has decided to curse them with some of the fruitiest, most effete gear in the game. Flower necklaces, hippie-colored ribbons, rings with intimidating names like “Hope” and “Loyalty”. What belt do they get to wear when they hit 40? If the Beastmaster wants his charms to land, and if the bard doesn’t want to be gimp, they get to wear corsettes. That’s right, fucking corsettes. It gets even better for beastmasters, because they’ll get to use a Darksteel Codpiece when they reach level 50. I don’t see anything attracting more monsters than dark black crotch armor. God knows they need something to aim for when they’re fighting you. Bard gear has always been an enigma to me, as the few I’ve ever partied with had a very large variety of gear, and I’m not sure exactly what they need other than Charisma. Nobody notices if their gear is crappy though, as even the shittiest Bard can reduce a party’s downtime and thus are treated like fucking royalty. For the most part, they want to boss everyone around so the melees don’t get Ballad cast on them. I wish I could remember that bard’s name that I partied with in the Quicksand Caves long, long ago. Not having my 0 mp recover faster is so much more important than if we have to rest every other battle so the stupid Red Mage can get his mp back. Why there was a Red Mage main healing at that level with a Paladin tank, I’ll never know.