Here I go Again...

True to my narcissism of my character Sheeba, I strive to control my environment. However, when I looked around all I saw was silence and solitude. The game is quiet amidst rumors of total annihilation after the first reviews hit, and people have already fallin into their own individual ruts of "getting by" and "making do" while secretly hoping for better things to come. So what do I decide to do in this wake of lonely chaos?


Start a linkshell of course! What can I say...my personality is drawn to these things like a moth to a flame. However, I am limiting my involvement to the creator and originator and keeping it casual. I do still have a dissertation to write after all. So I started a social crafting linkshell for players of Wutai to join and chat about their crafting pastimes and network with each other for materials and such. It runs itself for the most part with the exception of distributing pearls.

If you are on Wutai, or are a new player undecided on a server, check us out. Our website is Epic Production and we have fully functioning forums, galleries, chat and recruitment. The population is adult mainly over 21 (probably so I don't offend anyone with drinking or swearing). Most people have "progression" pearls as well. This game oddly has a function allowing you to hold up to 8 linkshells and watch chat in all of them. We won't start on the practical functions they are lacking.

It has been a week and the members are filling in nicely, we will see what the population looks like in another week or so. In addition to this I will update what my sanity outlook is...

Time for a new PC!

I finally have the means to build myself a new gaming PC. I am really excited to be able to customize each part and build something that will fit my style of playing and my needs. My boyfriend has successfully built 2 already from scratch so I hope this will be lucky number 3!

The geek specs are following: Core i7 950, Nvidia GTX480, 6GB Ram, and a SSD drive. I also got a new 23" 1920X1080 monitor. Here is a picture of building in progress.

Beckon of The Elementals Complete!

Time for another storyline quest for my character. I finished the rank 15 Gridania quest this weekend and earned some more cool cash for my efforts (15,000). I also was granted the ability to "parley" with vendors, but I haven't tried that out yet. I liked this quest more then the previous as we got a chance to hear some of the vocal dialogue again, I got more of my favorite pudgey moogles, and there was not as much running around. I outlined the quest below with pictures (spoiler alert!)

Head over to Carline's Canopy to talk to Miounne where she will offer you the quest, "Beckon of the Elementals". make sure you are on a rank 15 class before speaking with her. She asks you to head over to the Archers Guild ""Quiver's Hold" and speak to Nonolato to start a cutscene.

Second Week Goals: Check.

     It was my birthday this week so I took some time away from my fantasy life to enjoy some real life fun with friends and family. We are now at our second full week playing the game and one week past retail release. My goals for this week included finishing up some passive crafting skills, gear upgrades, and advancing my rank towards the second mission. So lets take a look at how my time limited play panned out this week.

Are we Being Caught in a Bad Romance?

     I was fortunate to be able to squeeze in some evening hours this week to really give FFXIV a chance to prove itself to me during the pre-order grace period. However, I feel let down and I am beginning to wonder if my own rose colored glasses are coming off regarding this game. Are we indeed being courted in a Bad Romance with FFXIV?

    Most of my experience is with the crafting system so far, and repeating guildleves this week with some independent grinding squeezed in on the side. At first, crafting was interesting, a fun game that held my attention and concentration as I strive to succeed in my endeavors, much like the courtship period in a new relationship. However, as the week wore on and I was taking 8 guildleves at a time to complete, I started to notice the tedious process of equipping the correct gear and going through 8 windows of confirmations was starting to wear on me, and that was before the crafting even starts! As a FFXI player I can put up with the lack of recipes available in game and no tutorials, but the UI and game response timing is just clunky at best. I found myself starting to get very sleepy when it came to my 4th or 5th crafting leve, sort of like a date that won't stop talking about themselves....

Whisper in The Wood Complete!

    I was able to reach rank 10 on my Weaver and complete the second quest in my character's personal storyline Whisper in the Wood (Gridania). I really enjoy discovering more about the storyline, and as other quests in the game have not yet been implemented, these are the cutscenes we have to look forward to now. I also earned some sweet gil for it (15,000). I outlined the quest below with pictures (spoiler warning!)

   The questline starts at Miounne at Carline's Canopy (Adventure Guild). She gives you a short cutscene and asks you to head over to the Carpenter's Guild to speak to A'naidjaa.

First Week Goals: Check

Pre-order opening week is almost done! Although there was much lag, some server closure problems, and much forum whining, things are starting to settle down. At least until Thursday when the general population invades!!!!

As I have previously stated, my playtime is somewhat time limited due to needing to share a computer until I can build a new one next month. So I usually only get a few evenings a week to hijack my boyfriends computer while he works.