Just trying to stir up some activity on the site!

Gonna start posting some random polls!

This one's pretty self explanatory.  Of the six starting jobs, which one did you start your FFXI career as?

Our little group has been having trouble deciding where to go, so I thought I'd mention what I'm missing that I might particularly want:

Marduk:
Hands:  35
Legs:  25
Feet:  25

Morrigan's:
Head:  25/35
Hands:  All
Legs:  35
Feet:  25/35

Skadi:
Feet:  35

Usukane:
Feet:  25/35

Most of the rest, I don't particularly want, or already have.

Just a word of warning:  Square-Enix will be converting all Playonline Accounts to Square-Enix Accounts.  This process is supposed to start in late July.  If you haven't changed your information by the end of August, you will be unable to play the game.

They will be releasing more info on the conversion later.  Just wanted to give you a heads-up.

Note that people with a token already have a Square-Enix account.

Little helpful hint for those wanting global in-game weather forecasts.

http://ff11info.com/bazaar/en/weather.php

Thought I'd mention that there is some interest to do Salvage (yes, again).  Salvage gears are slated to be augmentable later, but not with this update.  (This update is just god gear / abjuration gear.)  So if you have any motivation to get gear/items, maybe say so.

For those of you that might be thinking about returning to the game, but dislike the idea of dropping $30 for all three Abyssea expansions, there's some good news for you~

May 15 is the release of the newest FFXI collection, which includes all addons released so far, for $20.  You also get a code for a new item, a Destrier Beret, which below level 30 gives you Regen/Refresh, +Movement Speed, +Skill Rate, and Auto-Reraise.  IT also lets you put on an adolescent chocobo costume.

The date of the next major version update has been set at May 10.  This is when the Titan -> Phoenix merge will happen.  Other adjustments that will be coming at this time (subject to change, naturally) include AH consolidation, Dynamis reworking, ability to send certain Ex items between characters that share an account, adventuring fellow upgrades, Voidwatch system, new ways to get Abyssea seals, and more.

Since a lot of people need to look this up often!  I even made a chart to help.

Quote from: LoneKenT on April 01, 2011, 12:33:59 AM
    Attempting to proc a !! while ANY !! is under effect will not work
    Attempting to proc !! while the monster is readying/using a TP move/Casting will not work
    Attempting to proc !! while the monster is stunned will not work
    If WS missed, it'll not proc. If WS heals monster or do 0 damage, it'll proc.
    Some monster have magic shield, can't proc red or grellow if it's up. If u try, it'll say "resists the effect of the spell"
       or "fails to take effect")
    Some monster's auto attacking (i.e iron giant attacks, shinryu) is considered TP move, so can't proc when they're swinging.
   
    Exploiting the weakness once will grant larger treasure rewards, potentially even ones normally unavailable, but hitting
    the same weakness repeatedly can negate the effect and remove the treasure bonus.
   
    !! durations get reduced if used repeatedly on the same NM
    (ex. First red proc last 30 sec, 2nd red proc last 15 sec, 3rd or more red proc last 1 sec)



    GRELLOW [DAY BEFORE + CURRENT DAY + DAY AFTER] (AF3+1, AF3+2 items, synthesis mats) :

    Lightsday: Holy, Banish 2, Banish 3, Banishga 2, Flash, Dark Threnody, Radiant Breath, 1000 Needles
    Darksday: Bio 2, Aspir, Dispel , Drain, Kurayami:Ni, Light Threnody, Death Ray, Eyes On Me
    Firesday: Fire 3, Fire 4, Firaga 3, Flare, Katon:Ni, Ice Threnody, Heat Breath, Firespit
    Earthsday: Stone 3, Stone 4, Stonega 3, Quake, Doton:Ni, Lightning Threnody, Magnetite Cloud, Seedspray
    Watersday: Water 3, Water 4, Waterga 3, Flood, Suiton:Ni, Fire Threnody, Maelstrom, Regurgitation
    Windsday: Aero 3, Aero 4, Aeroga 3, Tornado, Huton:Ni, Earth Threnody, Hecatomb Wave, Mysterious Light
    Icesday: Blizzard 3, Blizzard 4, Blizzaga 3, Freeze, Hyoton:Ni, Wind Threnody, Frost Breath, Ice Break
    Lightningsday: Thuder 3, Thunder 4, Thundaga 3, Burst, Raiton:Ni, Water Threnody, Mind blast, Blitzstrahl


    BLUE (RARE ITEM DROP):

    7:00-14:00 - Piercing
    Dagger: Shadowstitch(70), Dancing Edge(200), Shark Bite(225), Evisceration(230)
    Polearm: Skewer(200), Wheeling Thrust(225), Impulse Drive(240)
    Archery: Sidewinder(175), Blast Arrow(200), Arching Arrow(225), Empyreal Arrow(250)
    Crossbow: Slug Shot(175), Blast Shot(200), Heavy Shot(225), Detonator(250)

    14:00-22:00 - Slashing
    Sword: Vorpal Blade(200), Swift Blade(225), Savage Blade(240)
    G.sword: Spinning Slash(225), Ground Strike(250)
    Axe: Mistral Axe(225), Decimation(240)
    G.axe: Full Break(225), Steel Cyclone(240)
    Scythe: Cross Reaper (225), Spiral Hell(240)
    Katana: Blade: Ten(225), Blade: Ku(250)
    G.katana: Tachi: Gekko(225), Tachi: Kasha(250)

    22:00-7:00 - Blunt
    H2h: Raging Fists(125), Spinning Attack(150), Howling Fist(200), Dragon Kick(225), Asuran Fists(250)
    Club: Skullbreaker(150), True Strike(175), Judgement(200), Hexa Strike(220), Black Halo(230)
    Staff: Heavy Swing(5), Shell Crusher(175), Full Swing(200), Spirit Taker(215), Retribution(230)

    RED (ATMA / KEY ITEM DROP):

    Dagger : Cyclone / Energy Drain
    Sword : Red Lotus Blade / Seraph Blade
    Great Sword : Freezebite
    Scythe : Shadow of Death
    Polearm : Raiden Thrust
    Katana : Blade: Ei
    Great Katana : Tachi: Jinpu / Tachi: Koki
    Club : Seraph Strike
    Staff : Earth Crusher / Sunburst

Empyrean Armor Seal Charts


Empyrean Armor +2 Chart







Heroes of Abyssea: Dominion Ops Listings

Quote from: Areya on December 09, 2010, 12:54:34 PM
A helpful list for knowing which NPCs to talk to for which targets.  I listed the Op #, the target, and the general area they can be found.  Hope this helps.

Grauberg

Sergeant #1: (G-12) Near Conflux #4

4    Faunus Wyvern - Wyvern - I-9~I-10 5    Putrid Peapuk - Puk - I-8~I-9 9    Peak Pugil - Pugil - H-11 10    Glen Crab - Crab - G-11 13    Goblin Plunderer - THF Goblins - I-12~J-12 14    Goblin Meatgrinder - WAR Goblins - J-11

Sergeant #2: (F-10) South of Conflux #7

7    Sensenmann - BLM Skeletons - D-8 8    Deimobugard - Bugards - F-9 11    Seelie - Pixies - F-5~F-6 12    Unseelie - Pixies - F-5~F-6

Sergeant #3: (L-6) East of Conflux #8

1    Sinister Seidel - Magic Pot - J-5 2    Monitor - Detector - K-5~L-5 3    Stygian Djinn - Djinn - K-7 6    Glade Wivre - Wivre - I-8

Altepa

Sergeant #1: (C-11) Near Conflux #8

1    Sand Sweeper - Doll - D-10 2    Surveyor - Detector - D-12 3    Bonfire - Bomb - D-11~E-11 13    Fear Dearg - Mandragora - E-9 14    Barrens Treant - Treant - E-10

Sergeant #2: (G-11) East of Conflux #5

7    Desert Puk - Puk - G-10 8    Ergdrake  - Wyvern - G-9 9    Dune Cockatrice - Cockatrice - H-8 10    Gastornes - Roc - I-8

Sergeant #3: (F-8) East of Conflux #7

4    Dune Manticore - Manticores - F-6 5    Manigordo - Smilodons - F-8 6    Camelopardalis - Dhalmels - F-7 11    Nannakola - Ladybugs - I-6 12    Akrab - Scorpions - H-6

Uleguerand

Sergeant #1: (F-7) Near Conflux #7

1    Mechanical Menace - Acrolith - G-8~H-8 2    Spectator - Detector - G-7 3    Sub-Zero Gear - Archaic Gear - F-8 11    Ermit Imp - Imp - E-8 12    Benumbed Vordiga - Gargouille - E-9

Sergeant #2: (J-5) Near Conflux #6

4    Snowflake - Snoll - F-5 5    Verglas Golem - Golem - G-6 6    Olyphant - Marid - F-6 7    Svelldrake - Wyvern - H-5~H-6 8   Adasaurus - Raptor - I-6

Sergeant #3: (K-9) South of Conflux #5

9    Ectozoon - Worm - K-8~L-8 10    Hoarmite - Diremite - K-7 13    Bluffalo - Buffalo - J-9 14    Sierra Tiger - Tiger - J-10

Abyssea Mob Type Chart

Thought I'd mention that the servers are back online, pending any further outages of course.  While the break from the game was actually pretty nice, it's good that we can play again.  See y'all there.

The earthquake off the coast of Japan a couple of days ago wreaked havoc on the country and caused death and destruction.  Our hearts go out to the victims.   

We have a couple of Lucky folks in Japan that we haven't heard from, if anyone hears from them, please let us know!  I know things are nuts over there and they may not have power or networks.

Also, due to the widespread disaster, this was posted:

An excerpt from the Caution posted on
TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY (TEPCO)’s home page:

A big earthquake occurred in the northern part of Japan at 2:46PM of March 11th 2011. Because TEPCO's facilities have been seriously damaged, power shortage may occur.
TEPCO appreciates customers' cooperation in reducing electricity usage by avoiding using unnecessary lighting and electrical equipment.
We are taking all measures to restore power, however, we expect extremely challenging situation in power supply for a while. We kindly ask our customers to cooperate with us in reducing usage of power.

Because of this, SE has shut down FFXI and FFXIV for at least a week.  Also, they're not charging for April.  Hopefully things will recover and things will start to return to normal.

On March 16, they're consolidating several FFXI servers.  While Phoenix is not on the chopping block (thankfully), people from Titan server will be coming to Phoenix.  Keep an eye out for new people, some of them might need a social LS.

Next month there's another update, with some changes like experience adjustments outside of Abyssea, consolidation of Auction Houses, and some other changes.

Also, I believe it's a good time to increase the linkshell population a bit, so if you know any drama-free people...

Since a few of you asked what the sets look like, here's a few:

Orison - White Mage


Charis - Dancer


Estoqueur's - Red Mage


Savant's - Scholar

(doing Scholar Job Emote, lol)

Unkai - Samurai


Caller's - Summoner

Abyssea has most of the high end stuff these days, so things like Limbus and Sky NMs are largely untouched these days.  While a lot of the gear is a bit outclassed now, there's still some good stuff.  Anyone interested in maybe making a group to do this stuff?  Homam, Nashira, AF+1, god gear?

A helpful list for knowing which NPCs to talk to for which targets.  I listed the Op #, the target, and the general area they can be found.  Hope this helps.

Grauberg

Sergeant #1: (G-12) Near Conflux #4

4    Faunus Wyvern - Wyvern - I-9~I-10 5    Putrid Peapuk - Puk - I-8~I-9 9    Peak Pugil - Pugil - H-11 10    Glen Crab - Crab - G-11 13    Goblin Plunderer - THF Goblins - I-12~J-12 14    Goblin Meatgrinder - WAR Goblins - J-11

Sergeant #2: (F-10) South of Conflux #7

7    Sensenmann - BLM Skeletons - D-8 8    Deimobugard - Bugards - F-9 11    Seelie - Pixies - F-5~F-6 12    Unseelie - Pixies - F-5~F-6

Sergeant #3: (L-6) East of Conflux #8

1    Sinister Seidel - Magic Pot - J-5 2    Monitor - Detector - K-5~L-5 3    Stygian Djinn - Djinn - K-7 6    Glade Wivre - Wivre - I-8

Altepa

Sergeant #1: (C-11) Near Conflux #8

1    Sand Sweeper - Doll - D-10 2    Surveyor - Detector - D-12 3    Bonfire - Bomb - D-11~E-11 13    Fear Dearga - Mandragora - E-9 14    Barrens Treant - Treant - E-10

Sergeant #2: (G-11) East of Conflux #5

7    Desert Puk - Puk - G-10 8    Erg Drake  - Wyvern - G-9 9    Dune Cockatrice - Cockatrice - H-8 10    Gastornes - Roc - I-8

Sergeant #3: (F-8) East of Conflux #7

4    Dune Manticore - Manticores - F-6 5    Manigordo - Smilodons - F-8 6    Camelopardalis - Dhalmels - F-7 11    Nannakola - Ladybugs - I-6 12    Akrab - Scorpions - H-6

Uleguerand

Sergeant #1: (F-7) Near Conflux #7

1    Mechanical Menace - Acrolith - G-8~H-8 2    Spectator - Detector - G-7 3    Sub-Zero Gear - Archaic Gear - F-8 11    Ermit Imp - Imp - E-8 12    Benumbed Vordiga - Gargouille - E-9

Sergeant #2: (J-5) Near Conflux #6

4    Snowflake - Snoll - F-5 5    Verglas Golem - Golem - G-6 6    Olyphant - Marid - F-6 7    Svelldrake - Wyvern - H-5~H-6 8   Adasaurus - Raptor - I-6

Sergeant #3: (K-9) South of Conflux #5

9    Ectozoon - Worm - K-8~L-8 10    Hoarmite - Diremite - K-7 13    Bluffalo - Buffalo - J-9 14    Sierra Tiger - Tiger - J-10

Yep, another update, another spell I need help with.

In this case it's the level 90 spell Reaving Wind, which has the unfortunate distinction of coming from Amphipteres, the flying drakes that populate the past northlands.  To say the least, they don't mess around.  So any help would be appreciated.

Side note:  I wouldn't be surprised if Yovras taught a spell later....

Yep, another update is in the works.  Preliminary announced highlights:

• Level Cap Increase (Probably up to 90)
• Final Wings of the Goddess Missions
• Even More Spells and Job Abilities
• New Job Emotes
• New Item Storage Options
• More Magian Trials
• More Synthesis and Synergy Recipes

Although not formally announced yet, it's likely the last Abyssea addon will be coming too.

(Edit:  Yep, Heroes of Abyssea too.)

The Scars of Abyssea areas have some Empyrean Armor (AF3) activites.  Now, while you can find groups to do these kind of things, I'd prefer to help out Lucky members and not some greedy random.

First, the AF3 feet are obtained randomly (and rarely) through golden chests in these zones.  A small group (maybe a party, maybe slightly less) would be able to farm the chests fairly well.  I've managed to get some feet solo and duo but can't grab Time Extensions so the window of opportunity after building up Amber light is very small.

Secondly, to upgrade all the AF3 pieces to +1 status (where they start to become useful) you must trade in 8 of the proper seal.  For example. to upgrade Unkai Kabuto to Unkai Kabuto +1, you require 8 Unkai Seal: Head.  There are repeatable quests that can yield these seals, but some of these quests are difficult/expensive to repeat.  However, they also drop off of some NMs in the zones.  Therefore, we could organize some NM hunts for these.  Many of these NMs can be taken down with a small group.  Not to mention they also yield equipment.

If you're interested, let me know.

Thought I'd mention this, because of a lot of accounts that are created but never actually post something.

If you make an account on the Lucky boards, you should either be a member of Lucky, or going to apply for the LS.  That's..  basically the only reasons you should have an account here.

Going to start to clear off some of these excess names.

Hey FFXIV'ers, post some screenshots in the gallery!  Show us your characters, battle shots, other exciting pictures!

Thought I'd point out that new boards specifically for FFXIV topics have been set aside.  Also, I created a new FFXI subcategory.  Hopefully this will help keep things a bit more organized.

Well, it won't be long until FFXIV is released for real.  I know a lot of you will be abandoning FFXI for FFXIV at least temporarily.

Never forget that Lucky is your original home though.  And you're always welcome there.

And now, some random screenshots of some of the things you might have missed in the meantime:

Since there's some interest on this, I'd thought I'd recount some of the progressions on my Magian Trials, with info like camps, job choices, and other advice...

First:

"Cure Staff"

The starting item is a Crook:  lv75, WHM/BLM/RDM/SMN/BRD/SCH.

Note:  June Update lowered the totals on some of these trials after I had already done them, original number will be posted in parentheses.
Note 2:  All targets must give exp.

Trial 790: 50 (100) Treants - Weather Effect Active

Fortunately, treant saplings count.  in Caedarva Mire, around Nashmau, are some Treant Saplings.  Did this as SMN.

Trial 791: 50 (100) spiders - Fire, Wind, Lightning, or Light Weather

Bark Spiders in The Boyahda Tree.  Rainy season (Game Spring) works best.  Also did this as SMN.

Trial 828: 50 (100) Any Target - Light Day/Weather

Lot of freedom for this trial, overall.  I chose to do Lesser Colibri in Wajaom as RDM/BST.  Between Joyeuse's multihitting pierce damage and Red Kissers completely owning Colibris, this didn't take long.  Note that I macro swap in the staff before pet gets the kill.

Trial 829: 50 (100) Arcana - Light D/W

While a lot of people go to Ro'Maeve for this one, it was overcrowded at the time, so I took RDM and went behind the Blue Door in Pso'Xja.  The Gargoyles and Magic Millstones behind here ALWAYS pop Easy Prey, unlike the ones in other sections, and 8 kills / 16 minutes isn't bad.  I swap in the staff and use a nuke to finish off the targets, or sometimes even staff swinging works.

Trial 834: 150 Beasts - 50+ Light Damage Kill

This trial's a bit trickier.  My targets were War Smilodons in Jugner Forest [ S ]; east of the fort, past a couple of one-way drops, there's a small cluster of tigers.  I went SMN for this, and used Carbuncle's Meteorite to finish off the targets.  (Again, swapping in the staff.)

Trial 838: 10 Bottled Pixies

The Yagudo High Priest that spawns near Castle Oztroja in  Meri. Mt [ S ] has a 100% drop on Bottled Pixies.  I went NIN/DNC and soloed these, hit the C.A. in Castle Oztroja to get back to town, swapped to WHM, Recall-Passhow, then chocoed to the Fay Spring to turn in the pixie.  Since they're r/e, I had to do this several times.

At this point, the staff is Lv 75 Teiwaz with +4DMG and Cure Potency +15%

Trial 1700: 15 Bottled Pixies

See above.  This trial was added after the level cap went up to lv80, so I was actually able to solo the Yagudo High Priests (lv 76-78) as WHM to save time having to swap jobs.  Recall-Pashhow to turn them in, Recall-Meriph to get back to camp.

Trial 1701: 150 Elementals, Light Day/Weather

Thankfully, summoner pets count!  Good targets here are Yagudo's Elementals in West Saruta [ S ].  As SCH/BLM, I was able to one-shot the pets with Ebullience if I was unresisted.  Blizzard IV for the wind and earth spirits, Thunder IV for the fire.  There's a total of 4 Yagudo Mendicants in the area, solo you only need about two of them.

Currently, the staff looks like this:  Surya's Staff - lv 80 WHM/BLM/RDM/SMN/BRD/SCH, Cure Potency +17%

I'll add more later.  I've also completed a Fire Path Shamshir, a Lightning Path Guichard's Axe, and worked on some others.

Since there's a few people that have heard about the ridiculous rates of exp in Abyssea but don't really understand how it works, thought I'd post some info on it that might answer some questions.

Requirements
Obviously, you need the battlefield addon Visions of Abyssea, for starters.  After doing the initial cutscenes you get a Traverser Stone.  After your first visit into Abyssea, you can get up to three of these at once.  They refresh one every 20 hours.  Each one gives you (base) 30 minutes in Abyssea.  It's highly recommended to have at least 90 minutes of time for an exp party.

If you leave Abyssea early (teleport, warp, use the maw..   Logout or Connection Lost doesn't stop the timer!) you keep the time you had.  And you can store up to 120 minutes this way.

Group Setup
You want a full alliance for experience points.  Jobs that do well in meripo work fine in Abyssea as well, however of particular note is the need for magic damage.  Therefore, having several BLMs, SCHs, and BLUs is very useful.  BRDs are of course useful as ever, especially for dark-resistant mobs like bats.

Also, you'll want 1-2 people doing nothing but chest duty.  These can be low level jobs (30+), they don't actively fight but use keys and work the locks on chests.

Lights
The key to success in Abyssea exp is light management.  Lights can be received from killing enemies or from red chests.

Azure Lights come from scoring magic kills on opponents.  These increase the yields of blue chests, which house such benefits as +10 minute Time Extensions, bonus exp, bonus cruor, hp/mp refill, or temporary items.

Pearlescent Lights come from scoring melee kills (Auto-Attack, not WS) on opponents.  These increase the rate of chests appearing.

Ruby Lights come from scoring physical WS kills on opponents, but not all mob types seem to yield them.  These increase the rate of red chests, which can contain any type of light.

Amber Lights come from scoring magical WS kills on opponents.  These increase the rate of golden chests which have augmented items or other items like scrolls, money items, etc.

Silver Lights increase the cruor that kills yield.

Golden Lights increase the exp that kills yield.

Ebon Lights are the rarest and boost all the others!

The max aura for a single color tends to occur somewhere in the 25-30 range.

Strategy
Strategy can vary slightly but this seems to work the best:

First, the empahsis is on building up Azure Light energy, as this improves the yield of blue chests.  This helps Time Extensions show up more often.

After a sufficient amount is accumulated (15-25), then Pearlescent Light is increased so that the chests pop more often.  Once this is sufficiently strong so that chests appear very often, then there's usually an emphasis on Time Extensions.  (By this point, some people may be running low on time.)

Then, the buildup of Golden and Ebon Light can commence, as the exp/kill starts climbing to high levels.

Is It Worth It?
Abyssea allows neither Experience Bonuses nor Exp Chains.  However, once a group is sufficiently established, exp/kill can climb up to 600, and the enemies drop fairly quickly.  It starts off sluggish, but the longer you stay, the faster the exp rolls in.  Personally I've went 76->80 on several jobs in a single session.

Not to mention, you also gain ridiculous amounts of cruor in the process, which can buy the lv 78 sets, among other things.

Targets
There are a few camps that are popular.  Here's ones that I've seen:

Abyssea-Konschtat:  Lizards

Abyssea-La Theine:  Vultures,  Frogs (not Poroggos), Pixies

Abyssea-Tahrongi:  Giant Bats, Mandragoras (these particular ones don't use a sleep move)

Hope this is insightful.

They announced another version update slated for next month.  And yep, yet another level increase is on the way!  Along with more job adjustments, more Magian trials, and more Wings of the Goddess story.  I believe the next portion of Abyssea will be released as well.