Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Don't Call It A Comeback.

I took a glance at this journal recently and noticed that I haven't posted since I relocated. In fact, it's been a long time since I played FFXI for more than a couple days in a month span. So, time to rejoin the ranks and document a few changes. There's far too much to cover but I'll start somewhere...

I moved from where I was living to my own house. This happened after my last entry, about seven months ago. I bought a car I love and I've been pretty much keeping busy. I play Xbox 360 when I'm not working or hanging out with friends or what have you. During this time I've reactivated Draconum a time or two but have only visited Vana'diel a few hours at most throughout the entire month, then I canceled again. It just wasn't practical nor was it fitting into my schedule.

Lately, I've had a few things change in my life, and FFXI has apparently changed a fair amount too. There were a few major updates while I was still playing, and since I've been gone Square-Enix has implemented even more changes that have positive effects. During a visit to Fmtwo's house, he and I discussed many of these new aspects of FFXI. I decided to reactivate while I was there (had my laptop with me) and I joshed around a bit.

Fields of Valor did the trick. I can now get bonuses to EXP and gil (as well as other extras) just for killing specific targets. In combination with the bonus EXP levels given for killing "easy prey" and "decent challenge" monsters, a player can now solo (or duo/trio, etc) effectively without need for a party. This is mainly a useful way to be able to spend a little time making progress in FFXI without having a lot of time before work, or whatever the case may be. There have been numerous changes and updates that make FFXI easier to get into for newcomers, easier to play in shorter bursts of time, and more. Needless to say, I'm fairly impressed. I wish the game had been like this all along, but I'll take what I can get.

Now that I've been gone so much for so long, the most annoying dimensions of the game are no longer real issues, because much of it seems fresh to me again. So, in tandem with the way things are in my life, these changes have carved a place for me to toy around as Draconum and have some more misadventures. I'm happy to be back, but it should be noted that many (most, in fact) of the players I have spent my FFXI career with are now gone. Be it retirement or server transfer, TheSolonavi LS is all but barren, and my Friend List ingame is essentially desolate. Sodako has (at least temporarily) made a return with me, so I'll be keeping to myself and focusing on the last few remaining good friends I have.

So without further ado, on to the pics!



First we have FM and me killing stuff in Kuftal Tunnel:



Partying a little with MNK:



Random weird conversation:



Soloing in Xarcabard on MNK after figuring out Fields of Valor
(chat log shows the bonuses I got):



Monk does not respect the genitals:



Bard hitting 74:



I have a lot of Seals:




CORNER OF DEATH!
Valion:

Second victim!
Fmtwo:





More will follow as I snowball some progress or as I perpetuate the illusion of progress, depending. It's a new phase and to an extent, a whole new can of worms. We'll see how it goes.
Until next time~

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