Low Morale

Tonight's

That's gonna leave a mark.

Dynamis-Xarcabard run did not sound promising. We had piss-poor attendance and Cythe, our linkshell's leader, was a no-show. We hadn't done that zone for a long time, and it was looking like we were in for a great big death festival. I could think of several things I'd rather be doing.

There were only three tanks in the party, which Neyla pointed out would meana lots of fun when it came time to kite the demon NMs. Ikari said he thought he could lead us through it and someone ponied up the cash for an hourglass. We went in, with Gladdy betting we'd wipe on the first pull... which we did.

We gradually started getting our shit together, and we made more progress than I expected. There was too much dying for my liking, though. Neyla ended up taking seven or eight dirt naps over the course of the run. I died a few times and saw my meager xp buffer whittled down to almost nothing.

We only made it as far as the third trio of demon NMs, and that's when Altana smiled on us. We got two pairs of Cleric's Mitts in a row. The first set went to Jefa, who was at the top of the tier. I was third on the list behind Caliysto, but she wasn't there so they were mine.

After

Neyla needs to kill something. Guess who's been chosen?

we were kicked out of the zone, I decided to ride the ferry to Al Zahbi so I could be in place to rebuild my buffer. Neyla was bored and rode out with me, and I suggested taking him to unlock the Mamool Ja Staging Point. He's on vacation next week and plans to merit on Red Mage a bit, so he'll need fast access to that glorious camp.

I received a /tell from Cythe during the ride. His work schedule has changed, and he's quitting Dynamis and can't lead the shell anymore. I'm not sure what that means for his plans to upgrade his relic weapon or the future of lolDynamis. I have a feeling Monday night -- our scheduled return to Xarcabard -- will be interesting.

"I need to kill something after all that death," Neyla said, so we killed the Mamool Ja outside the zone. It was a short walk through Mamook after that. I returned to Al Zahbi and logged out.

God Mode

My

My chocobo goes on a walk around Windurst.

little chocobo is coming along nicely, I think. The care plan system's usefulness escaped me for the longest time, so he hasn't been going on walks in town until today. His attributes are all in the "Poor" range, but I'm hoping that will start to change with regular outings.

I'd only planned to log on long enough to check on the bird, since I'd picked up an Xbox 360 and a copy of Dead Rising today. The idea was to slaughter some zombies to try out the machine and then come back to get an xp buffer on White Mage.

I was still wrestling the snake tangle of cables behind my television when Neyla called. He was down in Toraimarai Canal as Beastmaster, and the Oni Carcass was there. It's a Notorious Monster from the Doomed family, and it drops some katana worth 100k. I'd bumped into it during my first foray into the canal for the Star Onion Brigade coffer hunt, but I left it alone. Neyla, always eager for a challenge, had wandered down there periodically to hunt for it.

I switched over to Beastmaster and joined him in the canal.

There are several Stygian Pugils in the area near Oni Carcass, but we started out by charming two closer to the Priming Gate because they'd be disposable. We ran into the NM's alcove and sent the pets in to attack.

"We're going to need a lot of pets," I told Neyla as I watched the frog's HP bar.

Neyla's

Oni Carcass can't survive a Beastmaster assault.

pugil died first, so he went down the hall and grabbed another while mine took over tanking duties. When mine died, I grabbed another. We tossed more pugs at it, eventually working our way down the hall closer to the alcove with three leeches. I discarded my pug and grabbed a leech, releasing them and grabbing another when they got close to death.

It took awhile, but we were finally able to wave goodbye to the frog. It didn't drop the katana. We returned to the Priming Gate and exited into Windurst Walls. The entire thing, from the first charm to our return to town, took thirty minutes. Not bad. Neyla says he plans to keep checking on Oni, because it was a fun fight and a little katana money never hurts.

Dead Rising euphoria ensued. I found some sort of garden implement with a long handle -- possibly for pruning tree branches -- that could decapitate zombies from a good distance. I eventually got overwhelmed and eaten while trying to grab a gun off a zombie cop. Then it was time to return to Vana'diel and get that xp buffer.

Unfortunately, the Undead Swarm had stolen the Astral Candescence the night before and getting a party proved difficult. My usual tactic of going after guild points (on the premise that the invites always come when you're busy doing something else) failed. There just weren't as many people in a partying mood, the spoiled bitches.

So,

I'm getting good skillups when the jelly tanks for me.

I decided to give WHM/BST a try. I grabbed the few pieces of Charisma gear I could equip on White Mage and rode out to my favorite camp in Aydeewa. The crawlers I'd planned to kill checked Decent, but I didn't care because I didn't need a large buffer; just something that would let me survive a few deaths in tomorrow's Dynamis-Xarcabard run.

A sig I'd seen somewhere said having BST at 75 unlocks God Mode, because your ability to charm mobs scales upward to your main job when Beastmaster is subbed. A Lv. 45 WHM/BST can charm like a 45 BST, even though the /BST would technically be 22. A 75 WHM/BST is going to charm like a 75 BST. (Edit: Yeah, I completely boned the explanation of how Charm works in my first draft. Neyla explained it. No Lv. 1 WHM/BST is going to be charming Steelshells; they'd just get one-shotted for their trouble).

It was a lot of fun. There were no problems landing Paralyze or Slow, I could use Dia II, and even with Haste going I still couldn't take hate off my pet. All the MND gear I wear made for a very potent Stoneskin. Best of all, I could use Flash when I mischarmed; the jellies would flail blindly while I waited for my Charm timer to cool down. Instead of finishing the mob off with Rampage, I was using Hexa Strike.

I managed to get six levels of Club skillups while I was at it. and can quest Black Halo now. I think I'll be going WHM/BST again in the future to cap my Club skill and then start working on Staff. Neyla plans to go RDM/BST at some point for Dagger skillups, so I'll wait until he's ready to quest Evisceration and we can work points at the same time.

Explosion of Light

I

I love sunset on Mount Zhayolm.

probably should've tried to get a short party to build up an xp buffer, but I was late logging on. Instead, I ran out to Mount Zhayolm to try and find the ??? for a key to the Halvung Gate that nearly thwarted my party the other day. I ran all over the place and thought I'd found it behind a small structure, but nothing happened when I clicked it. There may be some prerequisite I'm missing.

Quieren couldn't make the Limbus run because it was his wedding anniversary, so Veresko led us to Temenos North. This tower has seven floors, each with a different kind of beastman.

We had a lot of deaths on this run, almost all of it due to Summoner mobs who decided to Astral Flow us. We were fighting normally and then BOOM! The screen exploded as Carbuncle appeared and blasted us with Searing Light. It was nasty.

I died on the first floor and deleveled to 74, but I got it back when I reraised. I spent the rest of the run waiting for the next death to take away my level for good.

I

The gigas floor was one of the easier parts of Temenos North.

got a little snippy with Medicineman. He didn't bring a Reraise item and asked for Raise III after the first near-wipe. We had another near-wipe from Ninja two-hour on the sixth floor and I was just trying to get people back on their feet as quickly as possible by cycling through my raises. He started whining when I gave him plain vanilla Raise and I told him to hush.

"The other White Mages like me," he said. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I didn't care. If a Ranger can't earn that lost xp in about ten minutes of meriting, there's a serious problem. I bet he brings a Reraise item for the next run. First rule of White Mage: We hate giving lower Raises, so shut up and accept it when we feel we have to do it.

We managed to win, but we were very close to running out of time. Each of us walked away with three Ancient Beastcoins. Asmodius gave me his and said he'd give the last one he owes me on Sunday. Then I'll have enough coins to upgrade the Beast Trousers when I get the necessary drops and have Beastmaster to 74 so I can equip them.

I can't believe I only died once on that run. Mirewen died about five times, and Veresko later said he lost 5k xp along the way.

Quieren called later in the evening to ask how it went.

"That's why we never farmed that one in my old Limbus shell," he said after I told him about the deaths. "We just went straight for the win. It's not worth it."

Ifrit's Cauldron Freezes Over

Let's get the big news out of the way first. I finally hit 75 today.

I didn't have any plans, and Neyla was off playing Call of Duty 2. I put up my flag, figuring I'd give it an hour and then take it down in favor of a nap if I didn't get a party. Silly me. I got an invitation about twenty seconds later.

It

Trolls are better with Dia II.

was your basic TP burn party, with me and a Red Mage as the only magic users. The leader wanted to wait around a bit for a Bard to show up, but that didn't work out for him and we hit Mount Zhayolm to kill trolls. Our party was almost stopped before we could start, since nobody had the key to the gate. We were going to hit Sky and I was in the middle of casting Teleport-Mea when another crew came along and opened the gate. We shot through and started the slaughter.

I'm still adjusting to the role of Red Mages in these merit parties, a change I've noticed over the last few levels. They almost always go /WHM so they can be healers, and the use of enfeebling spells (even something as basic as Dia II) is practically nonexistant. I know a lot of the mobs die so fast it doesn't seem worth it, but trolls and wyverns will linger a bit if you don't hobble them.

Our Red Mage served as puller, grabbing and sleeping mobs while we roamed around. He hasted two of the melees and kept me refreshed (mostly). It was disturbing seeing a Red Mage wearing the Walahra Turban instead of the pimp hat, though. I see a lot of mages wearing it, but I refuse to drink that particular Kool-Aid.

When we disbanded, I was 10k away from 75. I decided to put my flag up again. Quieren was meriting on White Mage and sent me a /tell that his party was about to reform and I could join them if I wanted. He switched to Black Mage, so we hit the Mamool Ja Staging Point with Tride and two guys from Q's linkshell. Labyrinth went as Ranger and Litant was Bard.

The only stranger was the Ninja, and for some reason he kept asking me to use Erase on him when he didn't need it and being one of those tanks who like to bark at White Mages. I sent a joking /tell to Quieren about letting the guy die unless he reminded me to cure him, and Q laughed and told me to play nice.

We

Ding! Time to check on merits!

rocketed along, which Labyrinth and Tride nearly one-shotting some of the mobs. Quieren kept using Burst II, which meant I kept my fingers on the Flash macro to save his ass when he got hate. The Ninja ran out of tools, so he had to return to town to get more. Tride went back to switch from DRK to BLM, and Quieren followed to unlock Freeze II.

We killed a few more things, and then Litant got disconnected and our Ninja told us he had to go to dinner and logged out, tellng us he'd be back in ten minutes even though I was only 250xp away from 75. The guy hadn't been gone more than five seconds before everyone started bitching about having to hold back because he couldn't hold hate if it came with handles.

Quieren and Tride manaburned some puks for me until I got my level and could eat my Reraise III scroll. I was extremely grateful, but in some ways this is more frustrating because my next death is an instant delevel. I'll try to get a buffer tomorrow or Friday before Dynamis.

I feel sorry for Quieren and Neyla. They've been robbed of some of their greatest comedy fodder. Neyla's first comment on hearing I'd finally dinged 75 was "In other news, Ifrit's Cauldron has frozen over."

I logged out in Jeuno after talking to Maat's moogle to unlock the Merit option.

Something that cracked me up was bumping into Jender near the portal in Whitegate. I'd joined her static party ages ago and eventually left because it was moving slower than I liked. When we saw each other, we were both almost exactly 10k away from 75. She was heading to Mount Zhayolm and dinged about the same. time. We sent each other mutual congratulations.

Agonizingly Slow

A semi-regular debate I have with Neyla is the xp per hour between Paladin and Ninja tanks. I contend there are too many variables in any party to assume the choice of tank is the main influence in how much you can get. Today's party is the type I like to mention when the subject comes up.

The

Our Ninja has the evasion of a rock wall.

group wanted to party at the Mamool Ja Staging Point, and it was wretched all around. I should've known there'd be trouble when I saw the Ninja wearing a Hauby... you know, the one with -20 Evasion. The party's leader was a Black Mage who didn't have any problems ripping hate like a Band-Aid, which meant I was regularly Flashing the wyverns to keep them from biting his taru butt. We also had a Summoner whose only function seemed to be using Fenrir buffs and spamming Cure III to ensure I wasted MP every time I cast Regen spells.

I wasn't really surprised when the Monk suddenly had a "linkshell event" and had to leave.

I can't complain too much. As annoying as my party was, Veresko had it worse. He managed to die twice in the first hour before his party could get to camp because they kept getting aggro, and then his party leader mysteriously disconnected. At least I managed to get a little less than halfway to 75.

I fished a little and then logged out to watch some DVDs. Quieren called me at home to tell me he'd received the Monster Jackcoat in Dynamis-Bastok. "I tried to send you a /tell and you weren't there," he said. "What's that about?"

I logged on for Dynamis-Beaucedine. Cythe had familial obligations and Moink was in Promyvion-Vzahl, so Ajs tapped me to form the main tank party. I grabbed Dor for my second White Mage, and he was an MP-efficient change of pace. Moink has a habit of casting Cure V for every little scratch.

Unfortunately,

The fun never stops in Dynamis.

Dor needed to got to the bathroom and had put himself on auto-follow without telling me. We were camped at the bottom of a ramp and getting ready to kill some Yagudo. I did an equipment swap and he went charging out into the middle of them and was killed instantly. He was gone long enough for me to kick him and put Moink in his place since he'd managed to catch up to us.

It was a slow run without Cythe, but we still managed to get the win. The only piece of relic armor we got was Dragoon's Wyrm Mail, which everyone lotted as a joke. Neyla lost his internet connection midway through and couldn't finish.

One of the great pleasures of lolDynamis is the /shout macro goodness from our pullers and tanks. Each run, they come up with something new. Gladdy's pull macro this time referenced the stingray-induced death of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. I giggled every time Gladdy ran out to pull, because this is what we got: "CRICKEY! OBSERVE THIS Adamantking Effigy, SHE'S A BEAUT! OMFG STINGRAY!"

"I'm soooooo going to hell for that one," Gladdy said.

Destroyers

We did our first Omega fight in BigKahunas today. Malystryxx joined us, as well as another Red Mage named Arthur. We got off to a rocky start, leaving Jeuno a good forty minutes late and then having "adjustments" to the tier system before we entered the fight. All that info has been posted on the site for weeks, but of course nobody bothered to actually look at it until we were ready to go in.

The

Proto-Omega wants his oil can.

fight itself was a lot of fun. Omega has two stances during combat. He's impervious to physical damage when he's on four legs, so Quieren would kite him around while the mages nuked. It was all about the physical damage when he was running around on two legs, so Quieren would straight tank him. Omega also spawns Gun Pods which have a nasty AoE attack, so they're a priority when they appear.

It was a bit of a clusterfuck at first, since we were running all over the place. Quieren died and the Ninjas had to take over tanking duties until he was back on his feet. All the while, Quieren is cautioning us to stay calm and slow down, that it wasn't a race to kill him. Still, we managed to bring down that clanking beast. New title: "Apollyon Ravager."

We got Omega's Eye and Omega's Tail, which are given to an NPC in Selbina to obtain Homum gear. Quieren got the head piece and Apu got the one for the feet.

I switched over to Beastmaster when it was over and did a little solo work to catch up to Neyla, who'd gotten about 700 ahead of me. Then I went fishing and waited for "Test Your Mite," which we won easily. Neyla and I are now 10k into 71.

Hadafal

I got a Staff skillup on Wulfgar's shins.

wants to buy Dusk gear, so he organized a Copycat run so we could sell the drops and make some gil. I wanted to go so I could get a set of Destroyers. Hadafal, Veresko, Zoner, Wulfgar, Flippy and I hit Palborogh Mines and made our way to the BCNM. We had five orbs, and I won the /random to trade first.

My orb fight went without a hitch, but the second was rougher because the Ahriman charmed me and used my two-hour. It didn't help that Veresko died and I didn't have enough MP to raise him, so he had to stay down until it was over. The third fight was a wipe because the bastard spammed a few -ga spells and killed me before I could snap off a Benediction of my own.

We won the fourth and fifth battles, and the Destroyers dropped on the last orb. I'm a long way off from being able to wear them on Monk, but at least I can wear them on Beastmaster. If I really wanted to, I could go BST/MNK and have the latents worked off far in advance... just in time for the developers to introduce a better Hand-to-Hand weapon, I'm sure.

Our drops were kinda crappy, probably worth 2.5 million altogether. I don't really mind, since I got the one thing I wanted out of it.