Kristofer Jumps In, Too

Kristofer's Demone is a hot mithra chick.

I joked the other day I'd have to create a character for Kristofer and ensnare him into the Final Fantasy XI addiction. I didn't realize he'd already been thinking about it. An extra character is only $1/month, so I let him put one together this evening.

Naturally, he went straight for the Mithra. What is it about straight guys that they love running around as slinky catwomen? It's like being in touch with your inner transvestite, and doubly fun because people will flirt with you without knowing if you're a guy or a gal behind the keyboard.

I sat on the bed and guided him through the game's interface. It's maddening at first -- during an early fight he jumped up from the chair in frustration and said "You do it!" -- but he quickly got the hang of it. He ran around Windurst's gates, killing Tiny Mandragoras and Bumblebees, slowly raising his character. Over the course of the evening he befriended two other players and briefly teamed up with them for monster-killing action.

He's playing as a black mage, and he likes it for the same reason I do: You deal out large amounts of damage and you don't have to get close to the monster. He put some of his swag up for auction, so the next time he plays he can buy some new weapons and spells. Keeping spells current is a mage's prime task. You can gimp out on armor, but never your spells.

His interest in the game surprised me, and that he enjoyed it once he started surprised me even more. He said he's thinking about getting a new computer, and it would be so badass if we could run around killing monsters together and recruit Gravely.

"A taru, a mithra and a galka walk into a bar, and the bartenders says 'What is this, some kind of joke?'"

I created a signature for use in the Quetzalcoatl Daily News forums. The picture of Gravely's character was too good not to use. (Forgive me, Cris!)

Gravely Joins the Fray

Gravely's Rojamasru is a big S.O.B., isn't he?

Cris jumped into Final Fantasy XI and we were able to hang out for an hour or so. His character is named Rojamasru. He's playing a huge hulking Galka warrior -- I somehow knew he wouldn't be able to resist the big bear-like guys -- and I didn't have to do much to keep him healed. He doesn't take nearly as much damage as I did when I was starting out.

It's funny to think I never get a chance to see Gravely in real life, but now I could virtually bump into him on an almost-daily basis. It's handy. I set him up to join the RainbowCarnage Linkshell, and I'm sure Rimare answered some of his questions when I logged out to watch the debate. Kristofer sat on my bed and watched me show Cris the ropes.

There's a lot of information for him to absorb right now, but he said he's getting into it. He's got a 30-day free trial to decide, at any rate.

Time To Celebrate!

I make Spiny Spipi my bitch.

I said yesterday I wanted the Mist Silk Cape, so after Kristofer went home I logged into the game and started wandering around East Sarutabaruta in search of the Notorious Monster known as Spiny Spipi. I've never hunted an NM before, so I didn't know how long it takes them to spawn or if a lot of other people would be lurking around with the same idea.

I was slaughtering every crawler I found and trying to complete a stack of silk thread. I don't think I'd been at it more than fifteen minutes when I found Spipi. When I checked his strength, it said "Impossible to Gague," which I thought meant it would kill me in one hit.

Nope. Not even close.

I easily dispatched the monster and got a silk thread and the Mist Silk Cape! On my first try! How cool is that? The cape sells for $35k at the Auction House, but I'm keeping it.

Far more exciting is the news that my friend Cris has taken the plunge and purchased Final Fantasy XI. I can't wait to escort him around Vana'diel. This is going to be cool. I bought a World Pass so he can play on the Quetzalcoatl server... which is pretty much the server for Glenville State College grads at this point.

Drogaroga's Spine

Drogaroga's Spine arcs across the canyon.

I was exploring a little to prepare for Windurst Mission 2.2, and wandered into a completely new area called The Meriphataud Mountains. Like Tahrongi Canyon, it's a barren region of sandy rock.

I was chatting with Rimare as I was running around the area, and I saw something called "Drogaroga's Spine" stretching from one side of the map to the other. I decided I had to see it, so I started running north and dodging the Goblin Butchers and Hill Lizards which dotted the landscape.

Holy... crap...

I don't know what kind of creature Drogaroga was, but its spine stretches all the way across the landscape. It's immense. Just when you think you've exhausted the game's wonders, something like this is thrown in to make you feel very very small.

On a side note, I was killing Crawlers and farming their silk when I nuked one another player wanted. I hadn't seen the other guy coming and apologized for taking his target. "It's okay," he told me. "I just got an item from a monster which sells for thirty thousand at the auction house."

It turns out there is a Notorious Monster (an uber-version of a regular monster) named Spiny Spipi who spawns in that part of East Sarutabaruta. It looks like a regular crawler, but it's tougher. If the player is very lucky, Spipi drops a Mist Silk Cape when it dies. Players will camp out for hours and wait for Notorious Monsters to spawn, and I think taking out Spiny Spipi is going to be my goal for the next week. I want that cape!

Lapis Coral

News of the book's blank pages disturbs the mages in Windurst.

I died twice in pursuit of my goal, but I managed to complete Windurst Mission 2.1. Instead of trying to put together a party, I did my best to slip through the Maze of Shakrami without getting killed by the goblins. I almost made it, but a large scorpion spawned behind me and slaughtered me. A helpful mage was passing by, took pity, and revived me. With the mage's help, I found the Lapis Coral, warped back to Windurst, and finished it up.

Feriz has come back to the game after a month-long absence. We chatted a bit while I was running around fighting crawlers. I have three plants in my garden, and once they're harvested I'm going to San D'oria for awhile, I think.

I've finally figured out the bazaar system, so I can now carry around items to sell to other players. It's funny to be running along and get a message like "Thus-and-such examines your merchandise," usually quickly followed by "Thus-and-such leaves your bazaar." It's easy to camp my character in front of the auction house while I'm at work and let people buy stuff while I'm away.