Enmity Ignoramus

It's amazing how different two parties can be. I went seeking on Monk and got an invite from a group at the same Colibri Camp from yesterday. The setup looked pretty decent, and I was eager to get in there an maybe ding 65. Ha-ha-ha!

They were in a rebuilding phase, and the original leader came back as I was arriving and asked to be put back in. The Thief they'd invited got pissy when they told him he wouldn't be needed, but the Summoner was ready to leave and opened his space again.

The

This Paladin couldn't hold hate if you stapled it to his hand.

Paladin was having an awful time of it, and I realized how badly yesterday's galka had spoiled me. Yesterday, the only holding back I'd allow was to wait for the second Provoke before using Howling Fist. In all that time, I only stole hate two times. I don't know how his gear and enmity stacked up against today's tank, but the difference was stark. Hate was all over the map, with the birds going apeshit and attacking everyone. I got so tired of being hit by Snatch Morsel that I stopped using food altogether.

Our White Mage wasn't much better. I knew him from the early days of BigKahunas, and his impersonation of a Curebot didn't impress me. No affinity for the job. I was also semi-irked when he used a Marron Glace, which is pretty close to useless for a White Mage in an xp party when there are better things like cookies or Mushroom Stew out there. I give him and the Paladin credit for trying very very hard without Refresh, but they still sucked.

I managed to use my Empress Band and one Anniversary Ring charge before we disbanded. The best thing I can say about the party is that I got a buffer; with Sunday's ENM and escort, I'll be a little more than halfway to 65. I'll take what I can get.

Colibri's Revenge

After checking on the new chocobo egg -- it's due to hatch tomorrow -- and grabbing some Tandjana Grass for another round of Hot and Cold in Valkurm Dunes, I flew out to Jeuno to fish and seek for a party on Monk. I had an invitation before I could equip my Sinking Minnow lure. My lucky day.

I

Colibri can be highly entertaining.

used the ring and headed for Al Zahbi to join the group, which was preparing to camp on the south-western clearing in Bhalfau Thickets. There's a tower surrounded by colibri, wonderfully devoid of aggro mobs. Normally I'd take pride in stealing hate from a Paladin tank, but I always dial it back a little on those birds because I hate it when they steal my food buffs.

It was a nice set-up. Paladin, White Mage, Red Mage, Monk, Ranger and Thief. It was entertaining watching the enfeebles; any spell the Red Mage used would be learned by the colibri and then cast on the tank. He eventually stopped using Paralyze and Slow and settled for Dia II, Refreshing and Hasting.

He also jumped in with his sword. Neyla would advocate a healthy SATA on any melee RDM, but there's really not much else they can do there. The White Mage left and was replaced by a Samurai; the Red Mage put away the sword and took over as main healer.

I was about 10k into Lv. 62 when I got there, and we disbanded when I dinged 64 less than three hours later. I'm going to mourn when my Anniversary Ring finally runs out of charges.

In other news, I sold my Ancient Beastcoins and got my Tiphia Sting. I have no buffer on Monk, so I'll either try for a party tomorrow or just wait until Sunday's ENM and escort to get it.

Pity Party

I've

Give me skillups, damn you!

been fishing for gil so much this week that I managed to burn myself out a little. For a change of pace, I decided to pursue the mighty fool's dream of trying for a skillup. I bought a couple stacks of meatballs and hit the ferry in Selbina, reeling in Titanictus and Sea Zombies. No skillups, of course. I took the Sea Zombies to that fat galka bastard Zaldon, but he didn't find any bait for me.

I fished until the trolls started marching on Al Zahbi and then used my ring to join Neyla for some Besieged action. Nanunanoo, Arctyrael and Ikari joined us.

I had to head back to Windurst when it was over to get ready for Limbus. Quieren didn't tell me he wasn't going to be there, so I ended up leading the run. I wasn't prepared and had no idea what zone we should do or what jobs people should bring. I picked Temenos West because it's the easiest zone I know and always drops a ton of coins. With only thirteen people, I figured we'd make out like bandits.

There were a few snags along the way. Mirewen went AFK before we teleported out of Jeuno and didn't come back for 30-40 minutes because of some construction problem. I'd already dissolved that party and absorbed its members into the rest of the alliance. The Rappa got disconnected on the mandragora floor and died when he logged on again. He didn't feel like waiting around to be raised after the run, so he wished us luck and homepointed.

Despite

Killing sharks while we wait.

my massive case of leadership stage fright, we did okay. I did a lot of pulls with Carbuncle when animals were too close for Aaleel to isolate. I went for extra time instead of items on one floor because I wasn't sure how we were doing -- I wanted to win, but said I'd be happier just knowing we hadn't all pissed away 50k in gil to watch me fuck up. Apu lotted coins for me and Kyrial popped the chests.

I brought the leftover bank from last week's run and added them to the pot, so we walked away with five coins. If I had my way and didn't have to worry about AF upgrades or fighting Omega and Ultima, I'd just do that zone over and over again because it always puts out.

I now have fifteen Ancient Beastcoins to sell. I bought the Pallas's Bracelets the other day from fishing revenue, and I'm going to get the Tiphia Sting if I ever manage to unload the coins.