Slow and Steady

In Final Fantasy XI news, my decision to walk away from the leveling-up-at-all-costs hysteria and focus on the fetch quests and farming aspects has paid off.

Who let Calista Flockhart run around Vana'diel without an escort?

I had a very relaxing gaming session, running around the plains and killing crawlers to collect their silk for sale at the Auction House. I managed to bring my Black Mage to Level 10 and outfit him with a tunic. He know looks like a proper little nuker and not a hobbit businesman.

I also spent a good deal of time chatting with Feriz, who was running around back in San D'oria. He was killing sheep, so I couldn't resist throwing "Baaaaaa!" comments his way. He was attacked by goblins, and I advised him to try giving them hugs.

"Wouldn't it be great if you could, and then the goblin said 'Nobody's ever done that before' and runs off crying in gratitude," I said.

I attempted the first Windurst mission and was doing well until I ventured into a secret passage and was killed by a giant beetle. Dammit.

Another Boat Ride

After running a few fetch quests in San D'oria, I decided it was time to go back to my home city of Windurst. I'd agreed to go on a mission there, and until it was completed I couldn't change my residency and partake in San D'oria's missions. The part I dreaded was the actual journey, but I remembered making the last trip without getting into a single battle. I was willing to risk it. I went to the market square's auction house to see if I could find a traveling companion or two, but nobody was interested.

It's a taru convention on the ferry back to Windurst.

I left the safety of San D'oria, traveled across the La Theine Plateau and even managed to cross the dreaded Valkurm Dunes (where parties go to kill incredibly tough monsters and gain massive amounts of experience points) without incident. When I arrived at the dock, I started talking to a few other players who were traveling to Windurst. With Kitn in the lead, we decided to form a party for safety. One or two monsters were pulled on board the ship by one of the fishermen, but it died quickly.

A long march through the canyon, and the four of us were soon in sight of Windurst's familiar plains. I can't believe I had felt homesick for the place. It's a strange reaction to have, considering the place is just a bunch of one's and zero's on a computer. I led my companions to the magic shop so they could find some new spells, said my goodbyes, and left the party.

With any luck, I'll have everything squared away and can travel back to San D'oria Saturday night. I don't feel so nervous about traveling alone. I can't believe I only spent a week in San D'oria. It seemed like a lot longer than that.

After Sunday's death-laden adventures, I've decided to dial my participation back a bit. The fetch quests and missions are in digestible chunks I can enjoy more than trying to gorge myself every evening at the experience points buffet. I'm saving those big meals for the weekends. I think I'll be happier and enjoy the game more.

* Pause and consider.

Numbers Game

In role-playing games, Experience Points are the numerical measure of progress. If you do something right like kill a monster, you're granted a certain number of experience points. If you screw up and die, you lose Experience Points. At set intervals, you accumulate enough Experience Points to move your character to the next Level. Hence, I've started as a lowly Level 1 Black Mage and killed and practiced my skills until I'm Level 9.

I got used to seeing myself lying dead in the ditch this morning.

I died a lot today.

I've learned the value of "putting my flag up," which is a signal to other players you want to join a party. If a leader is trying to find players, they do a search and every player with their flag up in that region is listed. The first group I partied with in the La Theine Plateau this morning lacked a decent tank and I ended up dead. The party disbanded and I was constantly attacked trying to make my way back to the safety of San D'oria. I died repeatedly. It's a miracle I didn't get bumped back down to Level 8 for my errors.

A balanced party sought me out later for more power leveling. Finally, a group with two tanks and some healers! I had fun traveling with them and getting their advice on the game. We trudged back onto the plateau for a "camp and pull" session: a member of the party wanders out, attacks a monster, and leads it back to where we're waiting. The practical upshot of this technique is keeping the monster's friends from joining in the fight. Unfortunately, they pulled in a tough orc which slaughtered everyone and came very close to killing me before I managed to fire off one last spell to destroy it. I got a ton of experience points since I was the only one left, but then I had to wait until the party made its way back to me while hoping nothing sinister would find me first.

The party got to me and decided to log off, leaving me stranded again. I managed to get back without incident (after the morning's ordeal, I was better at dodging orc patrols), but I was annoyed. I finished the day with almost the same Experience Points I had at the beginning. I learned from my mistakes, but there should be a rule against stranding mages. That's just not right.