The Rogue's Den

Izman, Fairies & Turtles, Oh My!

2009-09-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

My first day back was a pretty good one! Nearly, great!

I would have loved to have spent my first night back dying in Nyzul or killing Goobue's in the Boyahda Tree with Miss Teila. However, she was absent from the world of Vana'diel this week. =(

Coming in at a close second, however, was Mr. Izman! (And a very others who shall be named hereafter).

I'm very excited and very ecstatic to be back -- but, alas, not all is well in Kallo Land. When I left from the game for my three month hiatus, I had to sell my beloved Blau Dolch in order to pay off the rest of my Skadi Cuirie. It would have been rude to leave those debts unsettled after all.

So, Mr. Izman, was kind enough to buy me a Fane Baselard (Because I'm super poor), and we got a group together to go try out some of these Fey Weapon Augments.

In the line-up we have...

Highlife and Invyiana! I'm not so use to Invy being a class that can punch things...uh, well! Punch things well! But she did a pretty good job. =) She didn't die like Izman forsaw, so that's good. Highlife came how he usually comes! A Hagun wielding, TP buildin' Cowboy! He splashed about 200TP worth all over my face for fun between pops. =\ Thanks Highlife.

Also! Highlife had this! ; ; and I tried to nix it, but it didn't go over so well. =(

Then of course, we have the ever looney Omoikitte and Clubber! As soon as I was back in game, Omoi proceeded to catch up on all the heckling she's missed out on in the past 3 months. =P There was much rejoicing (her) and much crying (me). Honestly, I just think she's jealous of the tantalizing tentacle. /shrug. And surprisingly enough, Clubber didn't die at all during this! GASP! He did, however, stand with his back towards the camera...to be mysterious? Probably. Had he died, I'd say it was to be Emo. =P

And finally, we have the Champ himself, Iron Will Izman. Who, as anyone who is anyone should know, is a hell of a player. Other than that one death (which, to be fair, wasn't his fault -- I guess. 1900 Skull Smash. =P Though it was funny.) did an amazing job kiting the Qaudav. He has it down to a near science, it's not even kiting so much as the turtle running back and forth and back and forth, not really knowing how to get back the wall to get the Izman.

Also, not pictured -- is Whmrock! Who took Omoi's place as White Mage. I would've had a picture of this cute little Tarutaru, but he was too big and awesome for the Camera! D= Maybe next time. Now, the Damage and the Accuracy are each One away from being perfect (as far as I know), I would KILL for that Stun to be Triple Attack +2. However, Stun isn't bad for Campaign\Solo'ing. So, I was very happy with it. Especially since I got it after only two tries.

I'm going to keep plugging away and see if I can't nab one or two more with that same stats, except a Triple Attack instead of Stun. =) We'll see how it goes.

And on a side note, while I was doing campaign I got a random dex buff (from a SMN I think) and ended up with THIS! That's a lot of Dexterity...

And lastly, I'd like to leave you with a fitting little quote from Izman, dedicated to everyone's favorite (or not) old ranting, raving lunatic, Ringthree...

Ancient...get it? He's Ancient...as in old! Heh heh heh...that's a good one...

How To Make A Party.

2009-09-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I would like to say I miss everyone! I know I said a short vacation but real life has a way of you know, screwing things up. For awhile there, I thought I had quit...I know it's been going around and I know I even told a lot of people I quit. Hell, I even believed a did for awhile. However, things are looking a tad bit better, so I'm going to try and come back in a smaller capacity...see if real life lets me do that.

Anyhow! I thought as a small celebratory post I'd let you all in on the secrets...of how to make a successful party at any level (read: 75) in 9 easy steps.

Step One. Locate a Tank. (Warrior, Ninja, Paladin.)

Step Two. Make sure they have the appropriate sub. (Ninja.)

Step Three. Find a Healer. (Red Mage, White Mage, lolScholar.)

Step Four. Refresh is nice. (Red Mage, Bard, Corsair.)

Step Five. Kick the Corsair for having Ranger subbed and wanting to be a Damage Dealer.

Step Six. Good, you've found a Bard.

Step Seven. Fill up on real Damage Dealers!

Step Eight. Do you have a PUP? Kick the PUP from the party and find a not PUP.

Step Nine. PAR-TAY!

Vacation Time!

2009-06-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody, this is going to be a short one.

I've suspended my content IDs today in order to try and readjust some real life things. I promise I'll be back, and this is really just the equivalent to me sitting in my Mog House pretending to Bonecraft except I get to keep 10$'s a month. =)

I'll still post here occasionally, probably some more Triple B stuff. So, yep! I'll see you all around. =)

Nyzul Isle: Perfection.

2009-06-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

Now, I’ve been doing Nyzul Isle for quite some time. I have a static on Saturdays where all we do is farm Armor. But, lately, I’ve been climbing floors on Tuesdays with Teila to get to Floor 100. Well, as of a few weeks ago…

Floor 100 Runic Disk: Obtained.

Quick congratulations to Kittkatt and Sirfrice who completed their Floor 100s along with Teila and I, and a big thank you to Xzaver and Potpressure who helped us on the final few floors!

At this point, my plans are to collect all three armor sets. I’ve already got every Nyzul Weapon, and from there I’ll probably just never do Nyzul Isle again. Maybe, maybe not. I’ve thought about using Nyzul to try and get high demand NM drops, such as E Bow or Peacock Amulet, but for now I’m not really too worried about it.

However, what I’ve come to realize over the past few weeks playing Nyzul is just great of an event it really is. I know some people probably have some gripes about, those gripes may or may not be valid. Honestly, I don’t really care. I think it’s an amazing event and for several reasons.

The most prominent of those is that it’s something the casual player, as well as the hardcore player can do. If you only have 30 minutes to play, it’s enough time for 1 run. If you’ve got all day and you’re a Captain, then you can do 5 runs.

Another reason is the different tactics you have to employ to actually be successful in Nyzul. It’s not just about grabbing all your best Damage Dealers and burning through it. Floors like Lamp floors require a very high degree of communication. Or floors such as “Eliminate specified enemies” or “specific enemy” or “enemy leader”, you have to be able to avoid agro in order not to waste any time.

One of the things that I think is exceptionally unique about Nyzul Isle, is that any job can participate and potentially shine. Just in case some of you may be confused about this statement let me explain. When fighting Dark Ixion or Odin – Rangers and Summoners excel at dealing damage. You’re not going to bring 3-4 thieves along in order to down either of these. Blue Mages unless you have a good Cannonball setup, isn’t as prominent in end game as say, a Samurai. These kinds of ‘rules’ apply all across the game. But in Nyzul, every single job if played skillfully has the potential to be the difference between and win and a loss.

Blue Mages for example, in Nyzul Isle can kill a LOT of the trash mobs without even drawing their weapons, making “Eliminate all enemies” floors go exceptionally fast. There was one instance where we had to fight a Soulflayer NM with White Magic restricted and our Blue Mage main healed the entire group while stunning. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done.

Samurai, Dark Knight and Warriors with Ninja or Samurai sub jobs can tank the “Enemy Leaders” and even the “Boss Floors” with great ease if geared well enough or if the player is skilled enough. Even as a Thief, I’ve tanked every single one of the HNM Bosses in Nyzul Isle.

Now, of course there are some of those little ‘rules’ that seem to pop up everywhere. You don’t find groups taking very many Paladins or Ninjas to tank when things like Samurais and Dark Knights can do it just as well, AND provide significantly more damage. However, because group sizes for Nyzul are so small – no more then a party – anyone can do it. So those Paladins or Ninjas who can’t seem to find a group can always just make their own for friends or shout for more.

However, with all this in mind, Nyzul Isle didn’t become one of the most player-friendly events introduced by SE until the recent changes. Being able to record multiple discs at a time it was really made this take off. Since then we’ve left the age of “get to floor 100, then stop doing it” or “form a single group, get one person to 100 then farm floors”. Now we’re in the era of “get floor 100 for multiple people, then shout for boss floors”. The more people that get floor 100, the more each server has access to participate.

The only problem is, it seems there are still quite a few people that don’t understand that they can participate in any floor of Nyzul, even if they themselves don’t have a runic disc that high.

Oh, well. If they don’t know at least THAT much, it’s probably better they’re not trying to activate lamps in order with us, eh?

Triple B, Series 1, Round 1

2009-05-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

I know! I know! You're asking yourself, "What the WTF is Triple B". Well! See, it stands for Brutal Ballista Brawls and I created it! How so? Well, that's another great question! See, with all these people nagging me to make a post and me asking, "What would you like to read about?" and them saying, "ME!" I thought "Boy! I sure wish there was some way I could just smash in all their faces and watch them writhe about in pain..." And so as I imagined the awesome gorrific details in my head I thought...thats it! I'll write about that! And hence Triple B was born.

I also figured, since a lot of people make me angry (well, not angry really...I'm just a mean, evil person) I could make this a regular thing! After all, other peoples misery (fictional or not) is always entertaining to those not affected!

So! Without further ado, let's join our two Triple B Annoucers Jim and Bob for the action!

~ ~ ~

Bob >> Welcome Ladies, Gentlemen and Galka's from all walks of Vana'diel to the first ever Brutal Ballista Brawl showcase! We've got a hell of a list of Adventurer's in todays line up! From top of the line Relic Wielder, to bottom of the barrel Dancers no one has ever heard of! And today, they're going to lay it all on the line for...well our entertainment!

Jim >> And the best part is, they don't really have much of a choice!

Bob >> That's right Jim! So, why don't we take a look at our Adventurer's in todays match?

Jim >> In Round One, we have Four Matches; Match A consists of a hotshot Paladin from San d'Oria! He's a local from way down south someplace, who enjoys long strolls through the pasture and spending qaulity time with the 'family'.

Bob >> Oh, I bet he does! Izman is one hell of a tank, but will he be able to outlast his opponent? A daring, charming young Mithran Dancer from Windurst! Shrew! She's recently traded in her Elemental Staves for a pair of Dance shoes! We'll see how she fairs against the veteran Tin Can from Sandy!

Jim >> Match B has an interesting setup! From the far far away lands of...to be honest, I don't know where he comes from! Hard hitting, dirt sucking Warrior Clubber! Always a crowd favorite.

Bob >> That's right Jim! His numbers always seem to be the highest, but his survivability rate is usually somewhere around 5 seconds.

Jim >> And that's tops! But, we'll see what happens. His opponent today, Iceblazek, is sure to have some tricky cards up his sleeves.

Bob >> Always a thinker that one. Planning every and researching any possible way to overcome his foe. And when that doesn't nessicarily work, he's always got gil to drop on a solution. We'll see if it helps him with his opponent today.

Jim >> Match C features what today will be, perhaps our shortest match!

Bob >> Shorter then Clubbers life expentency in End Game?

Jim >> Ok, well maybe not that short...

Bob >> But damn close! Our first Adventurer is a long time Dynamis Veternan and proud--

Jim >> As proud as one can be wearing Purple...

Bob >> And proud owner of a Gungnir...Qtipus! Decked out in his Cuirass, he's actually got a fairly respectable opponent today!

Jim >> Correct you are Bob! Darkdawn! World class multi-classer! The biggest surprise for this match is going to be which job Darkdawn shows up as!

Bob >> And for the final Match of the day, Match D we've got what is being called the Battle of the Sex..iest two men to ever grace Vana'diel's soil!

Jim >> In one corner -- sporting the ever popular, ever respected, heralded and even worshipped, Beard of the Beards -- Arminius!

Bob >> And opposite him, he who needs no introduction...The Ninjafox himself. Just one whisper from that beasts lips and any soul -- man or woman -- melts like a hershies bar on a hot sunday afternoon sidewalk!

Jim >> Speaking of the action! It seems Match A has already started!

Bob >> ...

Jim >> ...

Bob >> And...is already over.

Jim >> Oh! Now that's just embarassing right there. Poor little furball couldn't even take half the beating Izman had in store for her.

Bob >> Apparently not Jim. Iron Will Izman, as he's sometime called, seems to have an Iron Fist behind that shield. All it took was a shield bash to the face and that poor kitten is going to be intensive care for weeks on end!

Jim >> I think perhaps she's given a whole new meaning to the letters L, O and L. Let's hope Match B lasts a bit longer!

Bob >> Speaking of, it seems Iceblazek has shown up Thief to this little exursion! Well, that's an odd choice considering how heavy of a hitter Clubber there is.

Jim >> Well, I don't know now Bob...he hits hard. But it's also pretty slow. I think Iceblazek is going to rely on his agility and evasiveness to come out on top here.

Bob >> And there's Clubber opening up with a meditate, and shouting his signature line, "It's Clubbering Time!"

Jim >> There goes the Steel Cyclone...the moment of truth!

Bob >> And Iceblazek's ninja subjob gives him the edge he needs! That TP was totally waste ---wait! Wait a minute whats this?!

Jim >> Clubber is down!? Iceblazek didn't even need to take a swing!

Bob >> Well, this is quite an interesting discovery...perhaps all those times it wasn't Clubber just pulling hate from hard hits and dying.

Jim >> No, it would seem not Bob. Apparently, he just swings so goddamn hard he tuckers himself right out.

Bob >> Well! Whatever the reason, Iceblazek walks away the victor in this case! Lets move on over to Match C.

Jim >> I just got word Match C is being delayed...apparently Darkdawn hasn't shown up. Qtipus is down in the ring now awaiting the appearance of his opponent.

Bob >> This here Jim, could be both a blessing and a curse. It gives Qtipus the time he needs to gain control over his mental state and think out all possible strategies based on what job Darkdawn brings to the ring...

Jim >> Right you are Bob! But the real question going through his head right now...Gungnir or Valkyries Fork?

Bob >> Meanwhile! We've got Arminius "The Beard" and Ninjafox "Dark Chocolate" taking thier places in Match D right now.

Jim >> Foxy looks pretty intimidated by that beard, Bob.

Bob >> He sure does. It's not an easy thing stepping into the ring with that bush. But, still, Ninjafox does have a look of confidence about him...

Jim >> He's saying something...I...I can't quite make it out, it's more of a whisper...

Bob >> Wait a minute! What have we here! Arminius seems to be struggling with something...oh! No way!

Jim >> His beard seems to be peeling itself off from his face! It's...it's leaving Arminius! The beird is parting with it's host!

Bob >> Ninjafox must've whispered gentle sweet nothings to it...I told you nothing can withstand his sexy voice!

Jim >> Apparently not! Arminius' beard has just attached itself to Ninjafox's face! He's got double the sex appeal now!

Bob >> Seems to me Arminius just can't take it! He's turn his Hagun on himself! Oooh! That's just brutal!

Jim >> This is a first! We've never had a adventurer commit seppuku!

Bob >> Can you blame him Jim? He loses his beard and THEN has to look onto that...incredibly...sexy...motherfucker...

Jim >> Bob! Control yourself!

Bob >> Ah! Sorry there Jim...for a second I got carried away...

Jim >> It's bad enough half the female spectators were just instantly impregnated by Foxy's piercing glare. Keep your lid on!

Bob >> You're right Jim! Let's take a look over at Match C!

Jim >> Mm, Darkdawn is still a no show. It seems our referee's our declaring Qtipus the winner here.

Bob >> Well, sadly, it seems like our viewers are robbed of the main event tonight! As deadly and calculating as Darkdawn is -- he's just as notorious for taking way to long to get dressed!

Jim >> With a wardrobe as extensive as his, you got to cut the guy some slack!

Bob >> Well! That wraps up todays matches! Be sure to tune in next time for Round 2!

Jim >> Match ups will include the mighty Iron Will Izman verse Iceblazek! And Qtipus verse Hot Chocolate himself! Till next time!

~ ~ ~

And that's that folks! Hope you enjoyed it! If you did, I'll make this regular thing as I had a lot of fun writing it!

Nags.

2009-05-27T23:24:00.001-07:00

Izman and Iceblazek said I have to update my blog.

Keep your panties on ladies. I'll do it soon. Promise.

<3 Pew Pew~

The Merits of a Good Thief

2009-05-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mr. Darkdawn, here I am again about to impart my infinite wisdom unto thee. Today's topic is going to be about Merits and which are best for you, as a career Thief! This guide won't be anywhere near as long as my Gear guide and it's not as clear cut as some of the gear is. Opinions here may be a bit different depending on how you play or how you want to customize yourself. I will tell you what I believe to be the best choices, but in the end it's always up to you to make the decision.

In other words, I don't want to hear you bitching that "something isn't right" because someone else told you different or you want to do it another way. On with the show!

Attributes
Strength: This is an obvious choice as all melees will benefit from more strength. If you have more than just your Thief you're going to want to chose this as your main attribute merit.

Dexterity: The best choice for a Thief since all your weapon skills and your main job ability are modified by it. This is an especially good choice if you're a race with low dexterity. A nice amount of other melee jobs will also benefit from this since it affects critical hit rate and accuracy.

The Bottom Line: It's really a dead tie between the two as far as I'm concerned. You can't losing choosing one over the other. Personally, I went 3 into strength and 2 into dexterity. I had Ranger in mind when I choose the Strength, otherwise, I would've went full into dexterity.

Combat Skills
Daggers: This is the obvious choice, make sure you go the full 8\8 into it. I would suggest this as being one of the first things you choose to merit.

Evasion: Another good one, put 4\4 into this. Especially if you're into solo'ing on your own a lot.

Marksmanship: This one is great if you plan on solo'ing a lot with your crossbow. If you're a hardcore Thief I would strongly recommend putting your last 8\8 into this category. However, if you have other melee jobs it would be better served in another combat skill.

Sword: This is an obvious choice if you're one of the lucky Ridill Thieves. Then again, if you're a Ridill Thief you already know what to merit and did so years ago, what the hell are you doing reading my blog?

Parrying: This is one I've told myself I might try out if I ever cap parrying. Thieves are tied with Corsair, Samurai and Ninja for highest parrying, and we've got the highest Evasion. So with capped\merited Evasion\Parrying I can only assume our survivability would be amazing with solo'ing. But, I'd recommend sticking to the above options.

The Bottom Line: 8\8 Dagger Merits and 4\4 Evasion Merits are a must. The last 8 are all in your hands.

Other
Critical Hit Rate: This should be any melees first choice from this category.

Spell Interruption Rate: Good for obvious reasons. If you're a Melee\Mage user, this doubles on both fronts as long as your melee is in constant use of a ninja sub job.

Enmity Increase: I wouldn't suggest Enmity Decrease as a Thief for any reason since it would have adverse on Trick Attack. However, Enmity Increase on the other hand would help Trick Attack immensely. Since we don't push out the numbers like Samurai and Dark Knights do, I don't think you would be pulling too much hate over tanks. Even if you do, we as Thieves have the ability to duck and dodge a few hits.

The Bottom Line: Critical Hit Rate and Spell Interruption Rate are your best friends here, but if you feel like pulling away from the norm a bit, try replacing the Spell Interruption Rate with Enmity Increase and having a little bit of fun.

Thief
Now here is where we get to the meat and potatoes. This is also where things start to get fun for Thieves as a job, because nothing in here is going to affect 'other melee' jobs you might have. This is also where we get to solve a few problems you might noticed in your every day thief life.

Group One
Sneak Attack: This should be one of the first choices that crosses your mind. Sneak Attack does more damage than any of your others job abilities and you use it most often. Now, if you're a career thief and you have a decent TP build you should also notice in Merit parties that you get 100% TP way quicker then your Sneak Attack recharges. I got news...this isn't going to completely solve that problem as you get stronger. In most cases it will, but still you'll get a couple times where you hit your macro and WS...and miss Sneak Attack by 1 or 2 seconds. This still a solid choice though.

Trick Attack: You're looking at the same general reasons as above, however, in my eyes the overall effectiveness of this merit is going to be aimed at a more concentrated area. End Game, most specifically, Wyrms with Spike Flails. You are basically useless as a Thief at this point since we're not allowed around back. However, as long as you can gain TP at a constant rate on the Wyrm, you got a nice chunk of WS every 50 seconds here. Combined with a gear set that strengths that and you've got a decent reason to merit Trick Attack.

Triple Attack: I'd recommend this as your first priority in this category and your second after doing your Dagger Merits. For the obvious reasons, Triple Attack is sick. A full Haste build with Triple Attack maxed out and every so often you get this 'mini-hundred first' animation going. It's so gratifying to see.

The Bottom Line: Sneak Attack and Triple Attack are going to be your best friends. If you're in the End Game Scene a lot, Trick Attack might have a nice home with you over Sneak Attack.

Group 2
Aura Steal: For me, Aura Steal is sitting right on the line between being "extremely situational" and a "novelty". There are so many other jobs who can Dispel easier and more frequently then a Thief can. However, there have been a few times where Aura Steal has saved my ass. A single merit into Aura Steal won't hurt you -- but no more. Additional merits only add an increase in a chance to absorb the effect and the big draw from Aura Steal doesn't come from absorbing the buff, just from dispelling it.

Assassin's Charge: Similar to the above -- because of Assassin's Charge long recast, it's not as useful as it could be. I'd say put a single merit into it and have it for occasions when you really need to pump out just one high damage weapon skill. Like, if you need to stick hate on a Tank for an NM. Otherwise, leave it alone.

Feint: This here is probably the biggest draw to the Group 2 merits. Feint drastically lowers the evasion of a target monster. I'm not sure what the exact amount of evasion down is, but it makes a Thief evade as well as a White Mage. Most people will probably tell you to max this out and if you're into the HNM scene -- or Salvage especially, that's a great idea. The more you can use this in Salvage the quicker things will go. However, I'd recommend only putting three merits into it and I'll explain why with the next one.

Ambush: This merit gives you +3 Accuracy and Ranged Accuracy for each merit, but the Accuracy and Ranged Accuracy is only in effect when you are behind a monster. Which, as a Thief...is nearly always. Full merited you have +15 Accuracy. Now, the reason I recommend this over fully meriting Feint is that you will get far more use out of Ambush. Whereas Feint's greatest use comes in during Boss-type monsters. Most battles with Bosses last long enough for a single feint and are dead before a fully merited Feint is up -- there are plenty of exceptions, but I believe this to be true in most cases. The only great exception is Salvage. If you do Salvage on a regular basis, fully merit Feint. Otherwise, a 6 Minute Recast is going to be fine and you'll benefit in and out of every event with Ambush more.

The Bottom Line: Ambush and Feint are going to be your biggest draws. Aura Steal and Assassin's Charge have their uses, but not as much as the other two. Go full into Ambush or Feint, then spend one each on Aura Steal or Assassin's Charge. If you can't decide which you'd prefer, go full into both Ambush and Feint and forget the other two.

The Final Merit Map
Strength or Dexterity: 5\5

Dagger Skill: 8\8
Marksmanship Skill: 8\8
Evasion Skill: 4\4

Critical Hit Rate: 4\4
Spell Interruption Rate: 4\4

Sneak Attack: 5\5
Triple Attack: 5\5

Aura Steal: 1\5
Assassin's Charge: 1\5
Feint: 3\5
Ambush: 5\5

How To Become a Succesful Thief

2009-04-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

Although there may be better guides out there to specifically suite your needs, there are certain topics on which I feel a strong connection and would argue that perhaps I know at least a little bit about. Enough to write you a small How To on, well, How To be a better Thief. Both in practice, functionality and perhaps. A bit more simple and easier then both of those, is to tell you which gear is going to best suit your Rogue.

Now, some of things are going to be common knowledge, choices that have been generally accepted by the community at large. Others may perhaps be my own personal preference, but everything does have some type of rhyme or reason behind it.

Today, we're going to talk about gearing out your Level 75 Thief -- at a later date, perhaps, I'll go back and create a listing of gear for progression from early levels to later levels, but I'm going to assume that everyone's goal is to reach the level cap, even if you decide to smell flowers on the way.

Similar to when I made the mock post about how to pimp out your thief, I do believe to be the best you can be there are several different sets of gear you need to have. However, we're only going to go over the bare essentials for now and perhaps cover more of them at a later date.

Before we get into what equipment to best choose for your setup I like to make sure we're all on the same page as to what kinds of stats a Thief is going to want to look for. Your main stats are as follows; Dexterity, as it's a modifier for Sneak Attack, Dancing Edge, Evisceration and Shark Bite, as well as affects your accuracy and your critical hit rate; Agility, as it affects your Trick Attack; Strength, as it affects your damage and attacks on all levels. I'm personally of the opinion that Dexterity is always better then more Agility and that Sneak Attack will always out damage Trick Attack -- even with Rogue's Armlets +1 and with the most insane Agility Build, simply because your Dexterity works over time as a modifier for both Sneak Attack and your Weaponskills. Whereas with Agility and Trick Attack you'd need to make sacrifices and min\max between Agility and Dexterity. Also, for most of your career your going to want to eat Sole Sushi for the Accuracy (as well as the STR\DEX. Or Squid which has the same stats, but gives AGI instead of STR.), as you start to get more comfortable with your accuracy try switching to Marinara Pizza (which has Acc and Atk) but ideally, you should shoot for some type of meat. Red Curry is amazing for Atk, but also extremely expensive. With that out of the way, it's on with the show...

Choosing Main Hand Weapons and Off Hand Subs
There is of course, one general setup that any player knowledgeable in the ways of the Thief will tell you to use, but there are plenty of alternatives. Just keep in mind that most 'generally accepted' gear choices are such for a reason.

The Blau Dolch and the Sirocco Kukri, are going to be your best and most obtainable option for Main and Off Hand, respectively.

The Blau Dolch is very expensive, but has one of the highest damages and a very low delay as well as a hidden effect of Attack\Accuracy. The latent is active when your TP is below 100%, and because of the way Weaponskills work, this means it's also active during Weaponskills.

The Sirocco Kukri is about a 30% drop from the NM Kreutzet which is easily tanked by an Evasion Geared Ninja or Thief with decent support from a RDM or WHM. The main draw to the Sirocco Kukri is the 150 Delay, and the 100% Proc rate of the Wind Damage. It's not going to be amazing all the time, but on certain monsters it does do up to 10 damage each time.

However, if the Blau Dolch is out of your price range, or the Sirocco Kukri is out of your skill level other great alternatives are the Perseus' Harpe, Stylet, Misericorde (Or the +1).

If you can get your hands on it, however, outside of a Mythic or Relic Weapon, your best option for Main and Off Hand is going to be the X's Knife\Blau Dolch combo. This is going to take a significant amount of dedication and luck, though.

Some people may ask as to whether or not the Kraken Club or the Ridill would be a good off hand for Thief for TP gain. It's my opinion, that while both of these are very powerful pieces of gear they're really not as practical for Thief as they may be for other jobs. With the right gear and haste setup Thieves can attain a very fast rate of TP gain without the help of these two items. Unlike Samurai's, as an example, there isn't as big of a difference in our Weaponskills when we have over 100% TP. And since out biggest numbers are put out with the help of SA and TA, we have little use for using TP beyond those two Abilities. While, I'd never turn down a Ridill -- the only reason for that is that along with the 'Occasionally attacks two to three times' Ridill does have a decent base damage. The Kraken Club, however, for a Thief, would better serve as gil to get us better gear.

Top 5 Choices:
1. X's Knife
2. Blau Dolch
3. Perseus' Harpe
4. Sirocco Kukri
5. Stylet

Ranged And Ammo Slots
There are two aspects to Thief when choosing your Ranged\Ammo Slots. Partying and Soloing. Thief does have a decent skill in Marksmanship, and as such it gives us access to the ever popular Status Bolts. It's with these and a decent Ranged Accuracy Setup, that allows us to solo some monsters as good as we do. In a party setup, most monsters die to quick to worry about using Status bolts, not to mention we'll never be as good at it as mages are. So, I'd worry about using Ranged Weapons only when soloing or in extreme circumstances (Salvage, for example, is a great place to use Acid Bolts).

While I will be covering Soloing in a later post, some good Crossbows to watch out for are; Ziska's Crossbow and the Velocity Crossbow. Both of them have very, very low delay, and the Ziska's Crossbow has the most Ranged Accuracy availible on a Ranged Weapon.

In a party situation I recommend using Darts, or some other form of Ammo pulling device. This way you can macro in a Fire Bomblet for TP use and a Bomb Core, or Black Tathlum for Weaponskill. The first two being my own personal preference.

Top 5 Choices: (Crossbows excluded)
1. Fire Bomblet
2. Bomb Core
3. Black Tathlum

Head Slot
For TP Gain, you have several options; Optical Hat (Or even a Pahluwan Qalansuwa, a War Beret or the +1) is a good old fashion choice when you're just hitting the 70s and haven't got the merits or accuracy to make a solid haste setup yet. However, in the long run you're going to want to aim for a Walahra Turban, Denali Bonnet or Homam Zucchetto -- in that order. Though, really, it's a toss up between Denali and the Homam. I'd put the Skadi Visor in there somewhere as well, but with the Walahra Turban being better and infinitely more obtainable, there's not much reason too. Especially considering both the Denali and Homam would be a better choice.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Walahra Turban
2. Denali Bonnet
3. Homam Zucchetto
4. Skadi Visor
5. Optical Hat

As for your Trick Attack, a good solid piece that's easily obtainable is the Empress Hairpin, or the Dragon Cap. The Enkidu's Cap is also a solid piece of gear, but a bit harder to come by. I reccomend the Dragon Cap since it's got more Agility and a hit of Enmity. Keep in mind, my Trick Attack set is no where near where I'd like it to be, so there may be better options I'm not aware off so please feel free to let me know where I can improve on this particular aspect.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Dragon Cap
2. Enkidu's Cap
3. Empress Hairpin

As for your Weaponskill piece, I'm going to start with the best option and that's the Hecatomb Cap. Now, it does come HNMs and a lot of more casual endgame players just don't find themselves with the time to camp HNMs. However, the Neptunal Abjuration: Head is a very, very common drop and you'll often find that most HNM shells will part with it for a small fee (usually around 1 Million Gear) which is a very good price for a piece of gear you'll likely never replace. Next down the list is from the SCNM battle in La Vaule S, Gnadbhod's Helm, and your third best option and most easily obtained is the Assassin's Bonnet from Dynamis - Windurst. If you're just hitting 75 you're probably still wearing your Empress Hairpin, so get it replaced as quick as possible. Even the Skadi's Visor would be a better choice here, but again, based on the difficulty of Salvage you'll have better luck getting the Relic Hat or one of the previously mentioned.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Hecatomb Cap
2. Gnadbhod's Helm
3. Assassin's Bonnet
4. Skadi's Visor
5. Empress Hairpin

Necklaces and other jewelry
The obvious choice is the Love Torque, every Thieves wet dream, I know. But, it's also a drop from the highest tier Sea NM. So, while you're waiting, you should look into perhaps buying a Peacock Charm or camping a Peacock Amulet. Some of the less expensive\time intensive options are the Chivalrous Chain. Those are your best TP options.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Love Torque
2. Peacock Charm or Peacock Amulet
3. Chivalrous Chain

As for TA, look for something with Agility -- your best bet is going to be a Hope Torque, but good luck getting that for TA over a job that is going to utilize it a whole lot better.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Hope Torque

As for Weaponskills, your best option is going to be looking into the Weaponskill Sea Gorgets from the quest In The Name of Science, Dancing Edge and Shark Bite are the Breeze Gorget and Evisceration is the Shadow Gorget. Now, if you're a creationist and don't quite beleive in stuff like Gorgets or Science, then a Love Torque will work great as a Weaponskill piece too, other cheaper alternatives are the Kubira Bead Necklace or the Spike Necklace.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Breeze Gorget and Shadow Gorget
2. Love Torque
3. Kubira Bead Necklace
4. Spike Necklace

Equipping your Ears with rings
For your best options, you're going to need to have quite a bit of the Story content done, by this I mean Rise of the Zilart and Chain's of Promathia. Because your best option for TP comes from both -- Brutal Earring and the Suppanomimi. The Hollow Earring and Ethereal Earring are both good choices too, in that order. If you can't get any of these for TP, you can always go for something simple like Coral Earrings. It's unfortunate we don't get any real good accuracy earrings outside of these, but it's a curse most jobs have to deal with.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Suppanomimi
2. Brutal Earring
3. Hollow Earring
4. Ethereal Earring
5. Coral Earrings

For TA, get some Wing Earrings or Drone Earrings, they're both extremely cheap.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Drone Earrings
2. Wing Earrings

For Weaponskill, you have quite a few options. I opt to keep my Brutal Earring in since it's a 5% Double Attack rate and the chance of a double attack procing is very high. As for your other ear, look into one of these choices; Pixie Earring, Delta Earring, Melnina's Earring (Elvaan Only), Adroit Earring.

Now, I'll probably get a few people questioning my choice on the Delta Earring. But, since I never stack SA with TA anymore, you don't need Enmity for SA so it's not really a concern and since Charisma is a modifier for Dancing Edge, it's a win\win situation.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Delta Earring
2. Pixie Earring
3. Melnina's Earring
4. Adroit Earring

Body Armor
Alright, here is where things start to get fun for our gil purses! The best option all around is going to be the Skadi's Cuirie. It's got absolutely everything you will ever need. It's only downfall, is in a haste setup, it's not the best choice, but it's still an amazing addition even to that. I'd wear it over the Rapparee Harness any day of the week because you may not be hitting as often, but whats the point of swinging faster if you're not going to hit? However, the Rapparee Harness is still a very good piece, make sure you have the accuracy to back it up, because it really hurts loosing the +10 Accuracy you'd get from a piece like the Scorpion Harness (or the Pahluwan Khazagand) which is what you'll probably wear until you're at least using Marinara Pizza. Ideally, you'll want the Homam Corazza though, it has an insane amount of Accuracy and Triple Attack to boot. Another excellent option, which, I would put above the Skadi's Cuirie for TP gain is the newly added Mirke wardecors, put Accuracy +10 and Dual Wield +3% on that and you're in business. With /nin and a Suppanomimi you're looking at somewhere around 23% Dual Wield on top of whatever your haste setup is and of course your Triple Attack and Double Attack.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Mirke wardecors (with Accuracy\Dual Wield)
2. Homam Corazza
3. Skadi's Cuirie
4. Rapparee Harness
5. Scorpion Harness or Pahluwan Khazagand

For TA, your best piece is going to be Nyzul Isles Denali Jacket, however, Skadi's Cuirie is a close second and until both of those I'd stick with a Dragon Harness.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Denali Jacket
2. Skadi's Cuirie
3. Dragon Harness

Now, your options open up a bit more here for Weaponskill and as such we also get a chance to get very specific. At the very minimum, you should use Dragon Harness. However, if you get the option grab a c from Kirin's Neptunal Abjuration: Body and use that for Dancing Edge since it has Accuracy +10 on it. I'd personally, still use Dragon Harness for Shark Bite -- but what you should really be aiming for is the Skadi's Cuirie. A nice alternative to all three of these is using the Mirke wardecors with Attack +10 and Accuracy +10, it basically becomes a Skadi's Cuirie ver .5 at this point. If you can get your hands on an Enkidu's Harness, this might serve as an alternative as well, but being as it has no Dexterity, you're losing out on both Sneak Attack and Weaponskill modifiers.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Skadi's Cuirie
2. Mirke wardecors (with Accuracy and Attack)
3. Hecatomb Harness
4. Dragon Harness
5. Enkidu's Harness

Different gloves for different jobs
I'm going to start off with TA options -- there is really only one option for Trick Attack, get the Rogue's Armlets +1. With as good as these gloves are they get exponetially better the more Agility you stack since they increase the damage modifier by 15%. There are other gloves (Dragon Mittens or Skadi's Bazuabands) you can use until you get these, but you should at some point make sure to get these.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Rogue's Armlets +1
2. Dragon Mittens
3. Skadi's Bazuabands

For TP, you're absolute best piece of gear is going to be Homam Manopolas for the Haste and the Accuracy. Any melee will tell you the two best stats are Haste and Accuracy, but the only piece of gear that gives both of these is Homam and as such, it should be a top priority. An alternative and your second choice should be Dusk Gloves, they haven't got any accuracy but you can make up for this with food or in other slots. If you can't afford Dusk Gloves, find something with Accuracy, my suggestion would be Pahluwan Dastanas, War Gloves or the +1 version, or better yet, Enkidu's Mittens.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Homam Manopolas
2. Dusk Gloves
3. Enkidu's Mittens
4. War Gloves
5. Pahluwan Dastanas

As for Weaponskill, you'll want to aim for Hecatomb Mittens over all. Personally, I use Hecatomb Mittens for Shark Bite and Enkidu's Mittens for Dancing Edge and Evisceration. Overall, though, I think Hecatomb is your best choice. Skadi's Bazubands aren't bad, but they could use some Dexterity and since the previous two are easier to option it's a no brainer. If you're just hitting 75, Rogue's Armlets are alright to be wearing for now, but you should get them replaced as soon as you can as the other options are significantly better.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Hecatomb Mittens
2. Enkidu's Mittens
3. Skadi's Bazubands
4. Rogue's Armlets

Rings and Trinkets, but mostly Rings
There is a wide array of rings here, and most of them are pretty expensive, but all of them are entirely worth it. We'll start with TP; now, personally I've never used Accuracy rings on my Thief and I never really had a problem. But, nonetheless, for TP gain you're probably going to want to look into Sniper's Rings. Because Dexterity affects accuracy, you could technically main dexterity rings but you'll get more benefit out of straight accuracy. If you have Chains of Promathia done, the benefits of Rajas ring are great enough to keep that equiped at all times. The Ulthalam Ring is also a very, very good choice from the end of the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Sniper's Rings
2. Ulthalam Ring
3. Rajas ring

For TA get the most agility on your rings that you can. Emerald Ring is Cheap but good, Breeze Ring is the best.

Top 5 choices:
1. Breeze Ring
2. Emerald Ring

For Weaponskill you're going to want Rajas Ring all the time, if you're in the appropriate zone the Ulthalam's Ring as well -- otherwise, but a high Dexterity Ring beside your Rajas. Spinel Ring if you're being cheap and Thunder Ring if you have the gil.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Rajas Ring
2. Thunder Ring
3. Spinel Ring

Note: Since the introduction of the Augments system and A Crystilline Prophecy you can use the Ebon Key rewarded from completing the final mission to attain a random Level 74 Ring, such as the Spinel, or Emerald Ring. There have some reports of people receiving anywhere from +1-+3 of a particular stat on the ring. If it's random, which some beleive it is, then it's theoretically possible to get a Spinel Ring with +2 or 3 Dex, or Str even on it. So, if you have the means to obtain Ebon Keys on a regular basis it wouldn't be a detriment to do so.

Cloaks for your Daggers
There is unfortunately, no cloaks or capes out there with Haste and there are very little with Accuracy as well. If you're an avid assaulter then I would look into trying to attain the Aileron Mantle, better then that, however, since it doubles as the best Weaponskill piece is the Cuchulain's Mantle. Beyond those, the better back pieces don't give anything that directly attributes to faster TP gain, but are still well worth the money. In order from best to not the best they are; Forager's Mantle, Cerberus Mantle, Amemet Mantle +1.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Cuchulain's Mantle
2. Aileron Mantle
3. Forager's Mantle
4. Cerberus Mantle
5. Amemet Mantle +1

For Trick Attack you'll want to look into something along the lines of an Assassin's Cape or a Commander's Cape -- both of which are also going to double as our alternatives for Weaponskill when you can't afford Cuchulain's Mantle. Personally, I use the Assassin's Cape -- though, I suppose it's debatable if three STR would outweight one DEX. Since you're using SA and DE though, that 1 DEX is doing twice the work...so I would stick with an Assassin's Cape.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Cuchulain's Mantle
2. Assassin's Cape
3. Commander's Cape

Utility Belts
Starting with your TP options; your best choice if you have the time, dedication and luck is going to be the ever amazing Velocious Belt. If thats a bit out of your league, you cannot afford to pass up on the Swift Belt. Until you get a Swift Belt, however, you can use a Potent Belt just fine, or even the ever cheap Life Belt as a last resort.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Velocious Belt
2. Swift Belt
3. Potent Belt
4. Life Belt

For TA scoop up a Scouter's Rope as it will double in your Evasion Setup,

For Weaponskill, you have a bit of a judgement call to make here; both the Cuchulain's Belt and the Warwolf belt are very good choices. And one is only 5,000g compared to the nearly 1 Million gil price tag on the second. I use the Cuchulain's Belt myself sine it has one more Dexterity and 10 attack, whereas the Warwolf gives 5 STR, and thats only half the attack in the long run.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Cuchulain's Bel
2. Warwolf belt

Pants and Subligars
Yes, I know...Subligars, bleh...they're a nessicary evil the world of thieves though. We'll start with TP -- you're absolutely best option is going to be Skadi's Chausses. They have Accuracy, Haste and Store TP+7. They're simply beautiful. Just barely below them on the list you have Homam Cosciales for the same reasons, minus the Store TP. You should make getting either of these your number one priority. If you have the money to spend the Bravo's Subligar is a very good piece that has a tad bit of haste and is very low level -- until then, just put on something with accuracy. I use Pahluwan Seraweels, myself. In all honesty, Enkidu's Subligar is a good TP piece if you dont have haste and don't need accuracy because of the Store TP, but the things are just so damn ugly. It's up to you -- but get one of the first two mentioned.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Skadi's Chausses
2. Homam Cosciales
3. Bravo's Subligar
4. Enkidu's Subligar
5. Pahluwan Seraweels

For TA, nothing beats the good old Rogue's Culottes! I'm sure there is something better with more Agility, but +4 is still pretty good.

For Weaponskill you'll want to start off with Dragon Subligar since it's cheap and readily availible. As your options expand, you can hunt down Enkidu's Subligar, or aim for the big golden ring, the king of them all -- Hecatomb Subligar. Now, this is going to be a bit harder to buy from an HNM shell, so Einhjerar might be a good option if you don't have the time to dedicate to HNM camping.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Hecatomb Subligar
2. Enkidu's Subligar
3. Dragon Subligar

Boots, Shoes and Leggings
We're going to talk about WS first because I have a very important point to make: It is NOT ok to still be wearing your Leaping Boots or Bounding Boots at this point in the game. Especially when you have access to Dragon Leggings, at the very least. Pick up a pair of those. You want to aim for the Hecatomb Leggings -- but there are a few options on your way up; Pahluwan Crackows for example, Enkidu Leggings are great for TP and WS alike. Now, with that out of the way...

Top 5 Choices:
1. Hecatomb Leggings
2. Enkidu Leggings
3. Dragon Leggings
4. Pahluwan Crackows

For TA, you can probably use whatever your using for WS -- Dragon Leggings and Enkidu's Leggings both have some good AGI and Attack on them, Dragon even has some Enmity.

For Haste, and this will round out our TP Set and our guide -- you want to aim for Homam Gambieras. Enkidu's Leggings and Dusk Ledselsens will make a nice alterantive until you can get them though. If you can't manage anything with haste, Accuracy is your next best friend. Pahluwan Crackow have some, Skadi's Jambeaux have some, hell, even Cobra Leggings have some. Just find whatever has the most and make sure to keep working towards your Homam.

Top 5 Choices:
1. Homam Gambieras
2. Enkidu's Leggings
3. Pahluwan Crackow
4. Skadi's Jambeaux
5. Cobra Leggings

Conclusion
So, all in all, what you should've noticed is this -- For TP gain, get as much Haste as you can but make sure you have the Accuracy to back it up. Double and Triple Attack is amazing, so push that in where can to be more awesome.

For Weaponskills, focus as much as Dex as you can since it doubles on Sneak Attack and Weaponskills -- but make sure to include some Accuracy for Multi-hits.

Any questions, concerns or feel like I've left something out? Feel free to comment. Otherwise, enjoy or piss off. <3

Note:
The Top 5 Choices does not ALWAYS apply, you should chose what equipment is best for you based on the performance of your gear as one. As an example, If you're missing a lot even with Sushi, do not swap Scorpion Harness out for Rapparee Harness.

Updates:
5/4/2009 Added the "Top 5 Choices" to each section. Added Bravo's Subligar.

Raising the Bar

2009-04-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

It's been quite awhile since my last update and a lot has happened recently. I don't just mean, a lot has happened in the since that there's been quite a few things that have gotten done. Oh, no, that's too vague, too general of a description to suffice for the merit of the happenings of late. You see, I've been playing this game for a very, very long time. To even call this a game anymore, seems...unjust. Gaming to me is a hobby, of course, but this game has me ensnared to much that it could easily be said this game itself is a hobby independent of gaming.

Bearing all of the nonsensical mumbo-jumbo in mind, you have to realize that the happenings which happened are so monumental to me as a player, it's a crime I haven't written about them sooner.

So, without further ado...I'll cut to the chase, then provide the exposition...

Mmm...that look as good to you as it feels on me? I bet it does. First, thanks are in order -- Teila, Shrew and Izman for helping lend me the last few million I needed to complete the Harness. Thank you to my Salvage group for all the times we had to kill that stupid Chariot in Arrapago to get those damn boots.

Thoughts...

The Boots -- I don't know how I lived without these. The speed is very, very noticable! When I take them off, it's like walking in Dusk. And no one likes walking in Dusk!

The Body -- the first thing I did was go out into Bhaflau Thickets and TP up to 300%. Then I had my good friend Erell come out as Corsair and put an 11 Chaos Roll on me and an 11 Hunter's Roll. Then I feinted the Colibri, had Erell Light Shot it. I threw up SA, Assassin's Charge and I whipped out a whopping 2,500 damage Dancing Edge, even. Perfect 2,500. I about shit my pants. Now, yes, I do realize I was amazingly buffed up -- but this goes to show the potential my new stats on my body give me. Before this, when I did this Solo my average on these birds was somewhere around 1,100-1,300. So, to have it jump THAT much is just insane.

Even in Merit Parties on VT-IT Mobs, my weapon skills are hitting for 1,200-1,500 without food! I absolutely love it.

What excites me most about coming so close to completing Skadi's Gear is I finally feel like I'm accomplishing something as an individual. I've talked before about how as we play the game, no matter how strong we get, or how awesome our gear is...we never quite feel like the cream of the crop. There's always someone else just out of range that we still idolize that we think, "Man...I'm never going to be like that Blaize guy." However, standing around and seeing people check me three times in a row, like they're taking a double take really makes me feel accomplished as a player.

As it stands, I'm only a few pieces away from completing my gear as a Thief -- realistically, there's still that unattainable status gear I'd love to have. But thats still a few years off.

Even with all this good news...Arrapago still has the last laugh. You see, Zhayolm was kind enough to give up a pair of Freya's Trouser's for our Salvage group. Un\Fortunately, Ninjafox, who was first in-line for them wasn't there. =( So they went to me. But, Arrapago, who is determined to run me into the ground is now hording my 25 Freyr's Trousers like he had did with my Freya's Ledelsen's these past few months...soon though...soon...

Now, for a bit of a break from all the text, I give to you the Chat that ensued the morning after I got Freya's Trousers with the ever lovely, graceful and super awesome Ninjafox...

I <3 you Foxy. I really do.

My Black Mage as well, is growing at a very fast rate. My gear is perhaps, still sub par, but I'm working very hard on fixing that. My merits, however, are coming along even faster. I've recently just capped Elemental Magic Skill merits and I'm halfway through Enfeebling. Dynamis Xarcabard dropped Sorcerer's Petasos for me, and now all I need is to claim the Tonban and the Belt to finish it off. The biggest problem, is that all of the Black Mage gear I want is Rare\Ex and very hard to attain; Morrigan Gear, Novio, etc. etc.

Nyzul Isle is coming alon very nicely. Teila and I have started climbing, two-three floors every Tuesday and right now we're up to Floor 51. Once that's finished we'll probably start using our two-three tags to get Captain Rank done, then use every tag to finish off our Nyzul Armor Sets.

Wednesdays have become known as our "X's Knife BCNM Day". Teila, Sene, Xzaver, Peeper, Kittakatt and Myself are all static'ing that BCNM on Wednesdays in order to get Peeper and Sene a Z's Trident and me and Xzaver an X's Knife...and I guess Sene want's one too. We'll see...=P

That's about as far as everything goes in the past month or so. Coming up in the next few weeks will hopefully be news of more Salvage Gear being completed -- however, my good friend Darkdawn, has recently been leveling his Thief and has came to me for gear advice on more then one occassion as well as macro suggestions.

So, in the coming week or so, I'll be dropping a few Blog Posts concerning Thief Gear and some macros. I promise it'll a bit more affordable then my "On the Pimp" Guide. =)

Belt of Swiftness.

2009-04-06T00:45:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the most elusive pieces of equipment (other then Skadi's Ledelsens) is the all-awesome Swift Belt from the Sacrarium RS NMs from the Chains of Promathia expansion. This belt has Accuracy +4, Attack-5 and Haste +4%. It's level 50 and is wearable by all jobs it's a very desirable piece of gear.

The drop rate is said to be 33%. 66% with TH2.

I went 1\15.

At first, it was an interesting little thing...my very first time popping, everyone else seemed to get drops and I was just the odd one out. No big deal, it happens sometimes. So, a friend of mine made me take one of his extra pops. No drop. That's fine, 0\2 isn't bad. Mathmatical odds dictate that next time I should be fine.

So, next time I bring two books -- just to be safe.

0\5. Hmm...

Three books next time and I'm now 0\8.

Three MORE books...0\12.

Alrighty, this is getting a bit ridiculous.

For awhile now, I didn't even bother. Probably months! Until Aniero decided HE wanted one and made me drag him down there with some people. Well, of course I'm not going to do it for others and not try myself. So...the first time...I took two books, popped them both. 0\14. Ugh...

We went again a few days ago. We had 5 people who needed Swift Belts, I had three books on me. All of the people there were my friends and today, I was determined not to leave those sewers until EVERYONE had a book.

You've fucked me over 14 TIMES Sacrarium...today, I wasn't going to let you push me around.

First book I tell everyone is a free pop -- if it drops, everyone can lot. So we pop Mithra and kill it...

"Mithra NM drops a Swift Belt."

Fuck yes. Everyone lots and I pass. Xzaver has a shiney new belt! And then I get yelled at for passing. X.x; Love you guys too.

We pop my second one -- no drop. Ok, that's cool...Sacrarium showing some balls. Let's do it.

Teila pops hers next -- BOOM! "Hume NM drops a Swift Belt" Congrats babe. =)

Aniero pops his next -- BAM~! "Hume NM drops a Swift Belt" What now Sewer bitch!?

Xzaver pops his book -- ...no drop. Whatever, he has his already! So suck it Sacrarium!

At this point no one had full hate, so we went and took a short break and I sent Herra back to Jeuno to pick up a new book from my mule. We had two more Belts to get and we had three -- four more pops.

So, Herra comes back and we do our thing at Mithra again...SWIFT BELT! Peeper wins the lot after forcing me to lot first.

We pop the second one...no drop. Two books left.

We pop one...SWIFT BELT! And it's mine, mwahahaha! DAY IS COMPLETE! FUCK YOU SACRARIUM!

Now! At this point everyone who had come originally got thier belt...just as planned. Kallo 1, Sacrari--I'll just not finish that setence. But! If you can count at all, I still have one book left at this point and a friend of mine, Erell, did come to help and also needed a belt. So, why not! I used the pop to try and get her a belt...

The Sacrarium has the last laugh...

For now.

Left to Right Top: Peeper, Xzaver, Kallo, Aniero, Teila.
Left to Right Bottom: Erell, Thazienne, Herra.

Thank you to everyone! Especially to Thazienne, Herra and Erell who came out to help for hours and hours without asking for a single thing or expecting anything in return! <3 you all! Congratulations to everyone who walked away with a Swift Belt! =D

On a side note: Lots of EPIC shit happened between this and now so I'll be posting that soon enough! WOO!

"On The Pimp: Thief."

2009-03-31T22:32:00.001-07:00

As a sort of tribute to my good friend, and in many cases, mentor Ringthree, I wanted to do my own take on a little project he's started entitled "On the Cheap". Now, Ringthree has written a few guides for jobs were he instructs the casual end game player on how to properly outfit said job without being super OMFG uber. This is not to say that you won't have to invest a pretty penny sometimes, but for the most part it does stay true to his title.

Unlike, Ringthree though, I don't want to teach you to justify your gimpiness. Sorry. But that shit just don't fly with me. So, I present to you...

On The Pimp; Thief.

First let's cover the rules of "On The Pimp."

1. You can't be gimp. Sorry, if you are gimp, I can't help you. If you are the kind of person that hears something and then sticks to it no matter what, just quit now. If you can't adapt to changes in the game, quit. If you refuse to do something because something isn't worth that much gil, then just fucking die in a fire. MONEY is key, the more we have in the game, the more we fucking pwn all over the gimpy-ass newbs!

2. You have to really be an end-game player. I am expecting you to have every title in the game, and have done every mission everywhere, I do expect you to have done main story-line content. This should be a goal of an end-game player at the very least. Zilart should be finished. CoP should be finished. Aht Urghan should be finished. If you don't have these, or at least most of it and trying to get to the end, then you aren't an end-game player, you are just lazy or your are just making pretend. So DIAF.

3. You have to be able to do ALL end-game events. I am not demanding that you be in a full-time HNM LS, you should at least CO-OWN it. If you don't then you really aren't an end-game player, you are just a player with a job at 75.

4. You have to be willing to spend gil. Not just a LOT of gil. All of it. That's why it's called the Pimp. I am going to tell you to get all HQ gear, regardless of price, and I will also indicate expensive items that you will need anyway. This is like the Frugal Gourmet for FFXI. Yes, I know, none of you got that reference. :(*

*This has nothing to do with MY guide, I just wanted to leave it in so we all know how much of a nerd Ringthree is.

Ok! Now on with the show!

1. Weapon
Is there really ANY need to discuss this? Mandau. Vajra. Let's move on.

What? Ok! No, you're right, you're right. Ok, X's Knife is very, very good. But, we're not trying to maximize our potential here, we're trying to be Pimp. X's Knife is good, but technically...it's free. So, fork over the Millions of Gil for Mandau and Vajra, gimp.

The only real problem here is which do you Main Hand and which do you Off Hand? Honestly...switch it up a bit. Mon\Wed\Fri Mandau, Tue\Thu\Sat, Vajra. Midnight to Noon, Mandau. Noon to Midnight, Vajra. Done deal.

2. Ranged\Ammo
Now to be trully PIMP, you can't just have one...so, what you're going to need is a Ziska's Crossbow, of course. Then you'll also want a Fire Bomblet for TP and then a Bomb Core for WS. Since you won't lose TP just switching your Ammo. Moving on.

3. Head
This one is really a no brainer...for TP you're going to want a Walahra Turban, I know, I know...doesn't cost much. But, really, you won't be standing around in Whitegate in your W. Turban -- because your WS piece is the big shiner! Hecatomb Cap +1. The real goal of being truly Pimp is so get that White Box around EVERYTHING. Ok, Professional Pimp Kat Williams will be the first to tell you -- the more shine, the better. Every day you be hustlin'.

4. Neck
Now, it's at the neck we sort of run into another problem with the TP set...the best choice is going to be a Love Torque...however, Love Torques aren't really that far out of your grasp if you put in enough work. So, I suggest spending a few million on the Ancient Torque. Not as good...sure, but remember, it's not about functionality. It's about status. So if anyone tries to tell you other wise, just say you screwed thier mom. For WS, go ahead and use this, the Love Torque, or better yet, spend money to get people to farm you organs for the WS Gorgets.

5. Earrings
Ok, first and most obvious choice...buy all your ABCs and get a Brutal Earring -- other accessories though they won't cost you much gil, are Delta Earring and Suppanomimi. You can also purchase a Pixie Earring from a local HNM shell.

Now, to be truly Pimp -- screw ALL of these and just drop your gil into two Androit Earrings +1. Again, keep that White Shimmering Box in mind all the time.

6. Body
I'm going to be met with a bit of resistance here...but, it's got to be said. For WS Gear -- you're going to want to make a judgement call. Skadi's Body is easily the best...however, Hecatomb +1 may be more gil depending on your server. So check prices -- there's also something to be said about a person who has FULL +1 gear, rather then someone who is missing one piece. For TP I'd go for the Antares Harness, nice and expensive piece. If only we had some way to HQ it.

7. Hands
This one should be a no brainer to everyone! Dusk Gloves +1 and Hecatomb Mittens +1 is going to easily cost you around 30 Mil. If you even have to question this, just give up and go play WoW.

8. Rings
Do Thunder Rings have a HQ Version? Find out. Buy them. That's for WS, of course, for TP you're going to need two Sniper Rings +1. You can't afford not to have them.

9. Back
With the addition of the WotG Campaign Ops BCNM in each of the Allied Nations -- we now have one of the most expensive back pieces! Cuchulain's Mantle! Easy 3-4 Mil for WS...but...for TP, and standing around in Whitegate you'll need to pick up a Cerberus Mantle +1. Gotta have those White Boxes lined up for the /check after all.

10. Waist
No discussion here. Sonic Belt +1. Don't even take it off for WS. Anyone who ever checks you needs to see this and only this. Period.

11. Legs
Sadly, Skadi's Legs are very affordable and all the other pieces for TP in this slot are virtually free. So, go with the Skadi's as they say more about how much time you dedicate to playing. The WS piece is a no brainer -- as long as you've been following this guide you should know...Hecatomb +1, duh.

12. Feet
This will of course round out the Hecatomb +1, completing our WS Gear and FULL HQ Hecatomb. As for TP...all the good options are more or less free. Buy a pair of Strider's Boots, just so you can run circles around all the gimpies. It just doesn't make sense to come to the final gear slow and NOT spend money on it, you know?

Now, you have to realize -- playin' the game within the game and being a playa is a very difficult job. This guide here, really only serves to get you started...it's a foreword, more than anything. So as you start pimping yourself out you need to keep in mind that other then a TP and WS set there's a LOT more you need to focus on...below are only a few other sets you should invest some time and money into.

Haste Set for TP Gain
Accuracy Set for TP Gain
Attack Set for Parsing Closer to other DDs
Ranged Accuracy Set
Kiting Set
Solo Set
Shark Bite WS Set
Dancing Edge WS Set
Evisceration WS Set
TP Set Geared toward Off Handing your Ridill
TP Set Geared toward Off Handing your Kraken Club
Evasion Set
Sneak Attack Solo Set
Trick Attack Solo Set
Enmity Gear Set
SATA Solo Set
SA WS Set
TA WS Set
SATA WS Set

So, with all of this under your belt...I wish you luck. =) Once again, this has been "On the Pimp; Thief."

Sudden Change of Fortune.

2009-03-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

So, big news, huh? I finally feel like I'm a Salvager now. I don't think having certain pieces is required, of course, but when I look at my check list, I am now 11\15. And even though, I only have one piece completed, I don't feel so gimp around people like Omoi, Ring and Izman. Even though I still am.

So, yes, I am now 3\3 on Skadi Body...luckily, I began preparing for this several months ago. I spent 4 Million Gil in about 30 seconds last night to get my 4 Ingots I currently I have. Today, I spent the majority of my time cleaning out my MH...and deciding what I could do without for a few months.

Most people I know who have Salvage Bodies fall under two categories; A. Work hard and long and eventually get your body. B. Bitch a lot and get your body super quick, then bitch that the game doesn't give you what you want.

I'm not going to be A or B. For one, I'm not going to bitch I don't get my gear...because I'm going to have Skadi Body! WOO! As for A, I have been working hard, but I'm not going to wait long. My Evasion Setup is suffering a bit as I AH a few of those pieces, and my RNG is even being put back on the shelf until I complete the Skadi Cuirie.

In the end though, it's all going to be worth it! I have about 2 Mil worth of gear that I'm selling, that will put me at 6 Ingots -- the halfway point. I have a single Khroma Ore in my MH, thats like 6.5 ingots. And I've got 30,000 IS I want to use on ISNMs for more Khroma Ore ASAP.

We also have a KS99 coming up in Versus soon and that will help so much, if I lot high enough to use an Orb and get a bit lucky. Otherwise, I've had another friend (Love you Luso!) offer to use his hundreds of Beastman Seals in effort to get a K Club, which would in turn, benefit all three of us involved in doing the BCNM. =)

Other than all that, expect to be /sea'ing me in The Boyahda Tree a hell of a lot in the next few weeks!

I'm also extremely excited now because of Crystalline Prophicies. I no longer have to make a TP\WS Mirke Coat. And since RNG is on the back burner again, I'm not going to worry about a RNG Mirke Coat. However, I am going to sell my Scorpion Harness for now to fund the Skadi Cuirie, so my Mirke Coat will be transformed with Acc\Eva or Eva\Dual Wield into a Scorpion Harness +3.

Also! Soon to come, a post about Nyzoolie Isle! Been doing quite a bit of that and I've gotten far enough now that I'd like to talk about it a bit.

And as a P.S. Thank you to Izman, Omoi, Celes, Blaize, Ring, Qtip and Darkdawn ~ They were my group for my 35. =) <3<3<3 Even if they did make me pull the 4th floor Gears ; ; (Which in a way makes the drop a little more sweet.)

I'm a Huge, Goddamn Nerd.

2009-03-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

This will be quick.

But not painless.

...not for me at least.

So! I had a dream last night. I dreamed about Skadi Jambeaux. Not just like, "Oh, hey I'm in a dream and I can see I have Skadi Feet. Cool." No, it was the major driving action of the dream. See, Versus was fighting ...something, it felt like it was Mother Globe, but we were kiting her around some factory(?) in a spaceship (?) and she was a giant Pylon (from Star Craft) and she spawned the little Probes that harvest for the Protoss. Anyhow. Thanks to my Skadi Feet I was able to kite everything with Ranged Attacks while we regroupped and the Skadi Boots were like SEX! They were so fucking awesome! I was kiting backwards and everything ; ;

...God, I'm such a nerd.

Sadness...

2009-03-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

No, Ringthree didn't have another heart attack. But thank you for your concern.

I hear Libraries have great Health Coverage.

So, today I went and signed a lease for my new place I'll be moving to in May with a person some of you may know as Argetlam -- for those who don't, he's my roommate. My plan was, since this Apartment Complex owns pets was to get myself a kitten. In fact! One of my cats back home JUST had kittens and they'll be old enough to leave on...May 1st! Perfect! However...in order to move a pet in you have to have it spaded (in my kitties case) and de-clawed. Which means, I can't have a cat. Because you can't get them spaded and de-clawed until they're like 6-8 months old. =( She wouldn't be a kitty no more and it's no fun having a pet if you don't have it from when it's super small so you can watch them grow.

So, it's with great sadness I have to annouce that I won't be getting an Izkitty (that was going to be her name.)

I'm going to go cry quietly in the corner. ; ;

So Jess Will Stop Whining...

2009-03-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a Blog Post...Ahem...

Fuck you Arrapago Remnants. Ok, look Salvage...I know you think that maybe I don't have the right to complain because, hell, Izman went who knows how long without getting his Ares Pants. But you know what? Fuck you! You gave him his body and head piece prior, AND at least his has always been a rare drop.

You see people, I could deal with it if like, no one had Skadi's Boots, ya know? But, guess what, EVERYONE DOES! Even the Dragoon who plays a Bard and White Mage! (And is now leveling Thief just to spite me in those damn sexy little Jambeaux! =P)

So, yes. Fuck you Arrapago Remnants.

There Jess, that's your Blog Post.

<3 Everyone.

Patience & Planning

2009-02-19T01:32:00.000-08:00

I want to talk a little bit about what I consider to be long term goals for me in Final Fantasy XI. Now, I'm not quite sure all of them will come to completion. Perhaps if I had the same mindset now several years ago when I first started...maybe. Then again, I still think FFXI has plenty of life left in it and if I had the discipline I think I lack (for a lot of things) I think they're all very doable.

Anyhow, in short...I think my goal from the very beginning was to level every job. Now, some people probably think, "Yes, that's extremely unreasonable." However, I don't think it is. There will, of course be a lot of sacrifices. But there are some things you have to keep in mind...not every single job has gear that ONLY it can wear. If you level Dragoon and Dark Knight, you're not going to have 16 Equipment pieces for Dragoon TP, 16 for Dragoon WS, then another 32 for Dark Knight. Especially if you PLAN for it.

Now, granted, that's a pretty easy one to get by. Saying, "Well, it won't be so easy if I level Paladin and a Black Mage." That's very true. There are still ways to cut corners -- and for any naysayers out there, just because we're making sacrifices and cutting corners doesn't mean we're gimping our jobs. I'll get back to that in a moment though.

Since the introduction of allowing people into our Mog House -- I think a LOT of people, well, a LOT more people have begun decorating thier MH. This leads to using up slots that don't need to be used up. You can only have a maximum of 80 Storage. Anything in your Safe past that, is taking up room. So, in a perfect Vana'diel the most inventory spaces you can have between yourself and your Mog House is...306. That's with 4 Book cases, whose Storage total comes to 80.

If you collected...Full Wyrmal, Hecatomb, Zenith, Adaman, Pahluwan, Amir, Yigit, Askar, Denali, Goliard Gear -- between ALL those you would still have 256 spaces AND three of those sets are stored. Relic can be stored, AF can be stored. Assecories such as Rings\Belts\Necklaces\Earrings can easily be shared with different jobs.

So, with all that in mind, I come back to the 'other sacrafices' we would have to make. And those are the sacrafices to gear we don't NEED, but gear we WANT. I'll use my Thief as an example. To be a succesful Thief, I really only need 36 pieces of gear. 16 TP, 16 WS. Done. Some of those even overlap. However, because I want to be the best Thief I can be...I have other sets...

Steal Gear, Enmity Gear, Evasion Gear, Solo Gear, Ranged Accuracy Gear, Kiting Gear, Haste TP, Accuracy TP -- just to name a few (or close to all of them.)

Some of these, I rarely EVER use. Enmity Gear? Almost never. Ranged Accuracy\Kiting Gear? Salvage only. Steal Gear? Dynamis only. If I got rid of all that stuff if would clear up a LOT of space. But, it wouldn't make me gimp. I'd still do the same in Exp\Merits, or on ZNMs\Gods, etc. etc.

So, getting back to the very original point of this topic -- in the long run I'd like to get most jobs to 75. I've actually made a list of the Jobs I'd like to level and those that I really have no interest in (but, at some point would still like to try.) So, with a bit of patient and planning over the next couple years it's my plan to level the following to at least 37...

White Mage, Red Mage*, Bard, Dancer, Scholar, Ninja*, Blue Mage.

And the following to 75...
Thief*, Black Mage*, Ranger, Monk, Dragoon, Warrior, Corsair, Beastmaster, Paladin, Summoner, Puppetmaster, Samurai, Dark Knight.

* denotes that it's already finished.

Now! To finish I just want to mention a few more things that I think the above covers or should be assumed to cover but that some people might still bring up.

"But Kallo! You have to realize a lot of jobs have JSE type armor thats the best or R\E armor thats the best for its job. That takes up a lot of space."

Yes it does. And it's part of making those sacrafices. JSE or R\E might be the best, but that doesn't mean there isn't other gear that will suffice in it's place.

"But Kallo! What about all the junk we collect? All those Quest Items! The chest\coffer keys! Egads man! There is so much junk!"

Then throw it out. =P

That's it! Just wanted to post something today that didn't require me use any pictures. I hate pictures.

Bits and Pieces...

2009-02-13T20:29:00.000-08:00

So, I've come to the realization that most of my blog posts are very scattered and more then inform I think they just sum stuff up. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but I'd also like there to be a bit more substance to it then just "This is what I've done lately!" So, in the future I'm going to attempt that. For now...I'm going to sum up the past few weeks =)

Potpressure got himself a Duelist's chapeau and an Argute mortarboard! Both from my TH =) And I can say MY TH because at the time I was the ONLY thief inside of Dynamis-Xarcabard! Grats Potty. =)
Here you can see my THK worked wonders on SSR for once. That 35 Usu Body went to Blaize. Grats =) And Celestria made this comment...
Because I'm so awesome! <3 This here is the fruits of our (Foxy and I) labor in the ENM brothers!
These feet went to Sene so her Dragoon would actually have something...even remotely decent to TP in...yea...well it's better then what she had. =) Grats Seney! And the Sickle went to Aniero.
I got these for my brother in Xarcabard. =) They dropped of Raum just like mine! He's been kind to us lately =) Congratulations Keemie!Theres a picture of our drop pool at one point. =)
Mr. Hiryo finally got his Usu Boots made! Congrats Hiryo! ^_^

I do Dynamis and Einherjar with Obsidian. Now, we've done Odin three times -- two of which I was present for. Here are some pictures of the Beast himself, as well as the drops we got this time around.

Yep. Prince of Thieves > Odin. So, I don't know what I think of Odin. Do I think he's easy? Mm...I don't think just any Linkshell can take him down. I think he's challenging if you have challenges in your Linkshell. However, for a Linkshell with thier shit together (i.e. Obsidian), yea I think it's a bit easier for us. As Thf in the main alliance I didn't have much to do. My first run I was in the kite team -- I felt like I had more to do in that party. Anyhow, fun times!

WAIT! Hold it! Stop right now! I have to intterupt my normally scheduled blog post for...your daily dose of Izman.
Isn't he cute? =)

Back on topic! Now we're going to talk about important things. Also known as, what I've been getting! It's not too much. Here's a few things...
First up! Boxer's mantle! Thank you Teila =) had it not been for the coins you donated to me I probably wouldn't have this yet! I'd still be a few away, in fact. Next on my list is my Loq. Earring for BLM. =)
Suzaku's Sune-ate! Thank you Versus =) I'll make sure to put these use on RNG, hopefully. =D
Wait...what?
That's right! I've finally compelted my first Salvage piece! Yeeeaaaah! =D
Thank you, thank you, thank you CiB Salvagable People! And also Cel and Blaize too! ^_^

And now I leave you with some infinite cuteness...
I know, it'd be more cute if I wasn't wearing a creepy mask...shut up.

Love, Actually.

2009-02-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

I'm going to give credit to Darkdawn for this title, he used the same allusion to the same movie in his blog. However, I think my post warrants it a bit more...I will be talking about Versus most recent date with Jailer of Love -- however, dear Reader, I must warn you some of the quotes you see past these words are going to be of the...risky type...so for those of you under 13, and for Izman, you've been warned.

Why don't we start off with one of these quotes, eh?

So, lets continue with today's theme...Love! Salvage finally put out. And she put out long and hard for us. Namely, for Hiryo -- but also a little bit for Illius and Darkdawn. We had ventured into Bhafalu thickets with hopes of landing Hiryo some long awaited 35 Feet for his Usukane. We whittled away at the Bees that buzzed out and very early in the Ramparts life, it spit out a Skirmish Pephredo. With hopes high and my THK still in Overdrive...
Congratulations Mr. Hiryo! I expect to see those new shoes VERY soon as I was hoping to have a picture for this post! =P

But! That wasn't all! Bhaflau saw fit to give us...not one...but TWO more Pephredos! Could we have gotten more? Perhaps. But trust me...two was all we needed.
Congratulations to Darkdawn and Illius! Both of whom are missing a few other pieces, but we'll see them on thier feet in no time. =)

Now, for the transition into our next Lovely Encounter...
Oh, Omoi.../grin

Glacian had me visit Gustav Tunnel with him and Crlmsonking for a very special meeting with a Wyvernpoacher who proved to be a bit greedy the last couple times Glacian played with him. However, with a kind little nudge from my THK...
I believe at this time Glacian has passed Level 70 and will msot assuredly beat me to 75 Ranger. =) Congratulations Glacian!
And thank you. =)

Next! Mount Zhayolm was kind enough to offer this to me as a token of her appriciation.
Only 47 more to go!

Lastly...and perhaps the biggest of all these announcements if of course, our encounter with Jailer of Love. This is actually only my second time fighting her, which, I suppose is something I should be thankful for considering most people go far, far longer without seeing many Torques. As far as Versus goes (that's I've seen) we're 100% on the Torque. =) Our drops were as follows...
Congratulations Glacian on the Halberd and Shanelle on her MAB Earring!

...and yes, of course...GO ME! WOO! THIEVES FOR LIFE FOOL! =D

Finally got my hands on this beauitful, sexy, awesome, neck piece.../drool! It's so hot! So, so, so, so hot! /loves his Torque! THANK YOU VERSUS! ^.^ <3<3<3<3

And! Now...to leave you with a few more pieces of affection...

<3 Always Yours <3
--Kallo

Certified Treasure Hunter

2009-02-01T17:29:00.001-08:00

"And as he raised his THK thus! An ethereal sound resounded throughout the lands of Vana'diel! When thy chosen Rogue brandishes his sacred dagger and in the grip of his blessed gloves -- the righteous shall be presented with bountiful goods and the wicked shall receive none." ~ The Book of Kallo.

Finally! I've attained the last piece (and very arguably the best!) piece of Thief Relic there is. This, of course, makes me 6\6. But! More importantly, it makes me TH4 certified. Now, in the past couple days there has been irrefutable proof as to the existence and inner workings of Treasure Hunter Kallo (THK).

Firstly! I give you...Iceblazek, the Rewarded.
It was actually Iceblazek who got me my Assassin's Armlets. And, as you can clearly see here...I returned the favor in kind.

But! The real proof of faith is that which happened in Dynamis-Beaucidine with my Linkshell Obsidian. Myself? I was hoping for Black Mage Coat and as many Ranger Boots as possible, so that I would have a chance at lotting them. Of course, the first thing that dropped in zone was a Sorcerer's Coat. Later, a second dropped. Katlina, Domi and I were all eligible to lot and Katlina walked away with it -- Congrats Kat. =) We also got two Scout's Socks. Next time I beleive they will be free lot for me. I also, for the hell of it, put 4 points on Wyrm Mail. Which, of course...dropped.

Ceri, a cute little Tarutaru in our Linkshell left this Commet for us as she went AFK for Family Matters...
THK saw to it that FOUR Warrior Pants dropped. =)
Also, this...Mwahaha!

Now! Perhaps the biggest show of THK's power...was the miracle that befell Versus today at Kirin. For the past 6 or so months, Versus has had no luck with Neptunal Body drops...ever since Izman got his Wyrmal Legs. Once he set his eyes on N Body...the Curse began.

Well! Let me tell you something Izman N Body Curse! There is only ONE Izman curse on this goddamn server! And thats my curse on his capped EXP! So I made sure, with the help of THK, that this N Body shortage, would be made...short work of. (Zing!)
So, congratulatons Izman. And as you can see here, nothing is ever good enough for Aniero. Tsk tsk.

So! That's that. Here's just a few more little snippets of news and images for you to peruse.

I started doing ENMs with Foxy a bit. We're Duo\Trio'ing a few of them with RDM and BLMs. Sene helped us out the other day and much to my expectations...Sene can't climb.
It took her a good five minutes just to get up this little ledge right here.
There she goes! Yay!

And finally, I leave you with two more pictures. One is of my favorite view in the Boyahda Tree and the other is a cool picture of me and one of my favorite little Taru RDM\THF (75s, not sub job) Illius. =)

Cleaning out the Closet

2009-01-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

You know, I take a LOT of Screen shots in-game in hopes of using them on my blog. Which, I love writing, but I can be lazy. Which is why a lot of those screen shots don't even get used! First I have to put them into Photoshop to resize them, then come here and go through the pain of uploading\organizing on the blog page...just so much work.

But! Today I did that. I went back and cleaned out my super long, overfilled screen shot folder and I've got a few stories to tell and pictures to explain today. =) So let's get started shall we?

This is Whmrock. As you can clearly see. Now, why is Whmrock significant? Because he has just recently joined Versus and he was actually the very first Level 75 player I ever saw, way, way, way back in the days of being a Level 12 Monk with no sub job, on a completely different character when I was from San d'Oria! Eew! But, I wanted to give him his just deserts he's a pretty swell little Tarutaru. =)

Here we have Opal pulling a Tea bagging Hat Trick! I wasn't aware Canadian's had such big mouths. =P Credit to Iz and Ten for squezzing in with me.

Following suit...here we have an after salvage Gang Bang on the Mighty Quigglypus! Thats...Ring, Me, Iz and Blaize all dipping in while Celestria puts a foot up his ass.

This one I was going to send to Omoi for her Out of Context Quotes...but for reasons you'll see later, I'm using it for myself! Mwahaha!

This is just a cool shot of me and Izman I got. I use .dat mods because my awesome gear is ugly. His awesome gear is not. ; ;

Now as most of you know, I use to have this little gimmick where I would post pictures of all the people I Tea bag. Well, I still Tea bag, I'm just too lazy to post pictures. But this...this was too precious to pass up...

Ring is such a doll, I told him he didn't have to dress for the ocassion. But, you know how old fashion he is. (Zing!)

Now, there has always been a long standing Dark Knight verse Thief rivalry on Limit Break Radio. Well, today we break that rivalry as I have finally proven who the better is. You see, I always talk about PvP with Aniero -- but no, I have something even better! In Versus is this very, very well geared and very, very skilled Dark Knight, Jess. Well, in the case of Kallo verse Jess...I have emerged the Victor.

Moving on...I've finally started taking steps towards ungimping my Black Mage. I've been asked to come to a more then a few events as Black Mage now, so I thought it time. First, I've acrew a list off all the gear I'd like to have -- some is easily obtainable, some is not. I've like to thank Celestria for answering all my newb questions time and time again. Other then gear, of course, is the matter of my sub job. Which, at the time of writing this is 2,000 Experience to 32! I have several people to thank for that...well, actually only two...so here they are!

Thank you Herra! You're the one who got me going a bit more hard core for my Sub with Fields of Valor! I'm a bit a head of your Thief now, so we'll have to Sync down for more Qufim Crab Removal. =)

And to Shrew! It's been a long while since I've seen you in game and even longer since we've hung out. So I've really enjoyed the last two days! =D Don't be a stranger, kiddo.

Here is a conversation that was had awhile back when I was in a Merit Party with Miryoku, Akeem, Motai, Frice, Some Bard and myself. Other then being humorous (if you know the parties involved) there's something else I would like to explain and thats the evolution of Motai's name.

For those of you who do not know, his full name is Momototaisai McTarutaruson.

It happened like this...his name is Motai. Now, Tarutaru names can get complicated sometimes, but some have repeated syllables such as Momo. And since there's a T in his name, Momoto. Because it both ryhmes with his name and because he is very magically inclined, he also got the nickname of Taisai. Motai is a Taisai, see? Put all that together and you get Momototaisai. And as for his last name...well, thats obvious, duh.

It just makes sense.

Now, with that out of the way...I bring you the latest injustive done against my esteemed personage. I present you with a quote from Ringthree that I had intended on using for black mailing purposes, but alas, it is much more powerful in this case.

Omoi is indeed, an evil, scheming little english Dragoon! I've been nothing but faithful and just to Versus and to her, and she tries to pull things such as this..../disgust.

I had come Black Mage to sky, and since my Red Mage sub is a bit better now I subbed that for the MP boost. So, I have no Stoneskin, Phalanx and of course no Shadows. I have Blink, sure but thats not 100%. I had a Curtana...and she had plotted to get ME killed! Fortunately, my boy Lguapo gots my back.

Thief for life, fools!

As for Miss Omoikitte! You watch your back Missy...because the dagger shall fall...and the dice pay good fortune that it's your back that be the target! /ominous music!

Also, as always, LolDragoon. <3

Clothes to go BOOM.

2009-01-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

S0, I've come up a bit with my future Black Mage gear plans. Since Thief is my main, and I don't intend on using Black Mage as whole lot (only when necessary) I was just planning on having a Nuking Set and a hMP Set, and of course a couple other select few, such as full Relic, maybe the AF +1 that are worth it. A few pieces to get my Elemental\Enfeeble Skill High for Gods\NMs, ect. But, really I want to focus more on a generalized Nuke Set. So, here's my proposed set up. Anyone who knows anything about gear or whatever, please give me some input. *CoughCelestriaCough*

...wait...

*CoughRing Have Celestria Read My BlogCough*

Anyhow! Here's the plan...

Weapons: Elemental Staves (HQ eventually)
Strap: INT Strap or Ice\Lightning Grip (?)
Ammo: Hedgehog Bomb (Elvaan MP /sadface)
Head: Wizard's Petasos +1
Neck: Uggy Pendant
Ear: Moldavite Earring
Ear: Novi-o\a(?) Earring (The MAB one of course.)
Body: Morrigan's Robe (/cry!) (How's the Oracle Robe look against this?)
Hands: Morrigan's Cuffs
Finger: Snow Ring
Finger: Snow Ring
Back: ???
Waist: Witch Sash
Pants: Morrigan Slops (How's Shadow Trews match against these?)
Feet: Cobra Crackows\Rostrum Pumps?

Um, I'm actually a little meh on feet equipment. I know Rostrum are like the 'endgame' feet or whatever. But, I just remember not being super impressed with a lot of feet equipment compared to other equipment, so...any advice on that would be appriciated. Same with back, I was looking at the Solitaire Cape, but I've been told it's kind of useless compared to some better INT choices, so I need a reccomendation on that.

That's all for today! Next post I get a chance at is going to be some Thief talk. So, I expect Foxy to drop his two sense in. Maybe even that Blaize guy? One can hope. That's all.

I have some DnD to get to now! /nerd away!

Redecorating and Prioritization!

2009-01-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

You see that? I can make up words too!

So, I re-did a few things on my blog. You'll notice to the right there. There is way more I want for my Thief besides that and I still want a full Skadi's set, however, I'm trying to help myself become more prioritized. Those, I think, are the things my Thief will benefit from the most whereas all the other things are things I just want. I'm also doing the same for Black Mage soon so I can get it to a point where if I need it for End Game, it's ready, otherwise it just sits there collecting dust and then I can move on to a different job or something.

I'm going to be posting soon, my plans for my 'finished end game' Thief. This way people can ponder and pursue my choices and either back up my choices or shoot me flaming out of the sky. I don't care which. I nearly expect at least one of each.

I'm going to do the same for Black Mage, now, here's the thing with Black Mage though. I really don't have any clue how to gear my Black Mage -- well, thats a lie, I have clues. But, it's not enough for me. People say, Skill > MAB > Int and expect that to be enough...but it isn't. Because if it was as easy as that, I'd have no Int on my gear because I'd be riddled with Skill and MAB first, and in some cases it might not be that beneficial. Where does Magic Accuracy come in? At what point is X amount of INT better then Y amount of MAB? I've been told I only need Skill Gear for Gods\NMs, and for Exp Mobs merits are plenty enough. It's all just one big confusing clusterfuck to me.

So, what I did was come up with a list of gear that I think is respectable. I'm going to post it here one day and everyone can give me thier opinions. Until then...

I don't know, go outside.

Nah. Fuck that. It's cold.

Treasure. Hunter. Kallo.

2009-01-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

THK. That's all you need to know. There's no strength to it. No Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and 4. I don't care about your Thief's Knife, or your Assassin's Armlets because THK does more then all those.

It gets me what I want. Number one, baby. People doubt it. People "lol" Kallo. Tell me I have negative TH. I kill drops.

/shrugs. That might be true to extent. But allow me to amend that for you.

Kallo kills YOUR drops. See, the cool thing about THK is I decide what it affects, when it affects it and how it affects it. When it comes to Numero Uno, guess what? I get the shit I want. All the time? Maybe not, but that's part of the territory. Most of the time? You can bet your goddamn britches.

Let me share a little something with you.

Got a friend, a Red Mage, also has Puppet Master, probably a couple more. Wanted Enkidu gear once upon a time. They were like 0\10 on Feet and Legs. Guess who was 1\1 on both of 'em? Thats right.

Another prime example of THK. Today in Dynamis I wanted me some Scout's Beret, right? Well, I was on Statue Duty. So the ENTIRE run I only shot statues. At one point I decided, what the hell...I'm going to WS this goblin. Guess what it did?

Scout's Beret: O

First drop of the zone. Glacian beat me on lots, that's cool. No problem. Went back to shooting Statues...we don't get many more drops, a NIN here, a WHM there, whatever.

Near the end of the run, I decided to engage another goblin. We kill it. Oh! Lo and behold ~

Scout's Beret: O

I get it, and thats it! Done for the run as far as I'm concerned.

Now, I know what some of you people are going to say..."But Kallo! Why don't you want drops for your friends?" And I do! I love you guys (most of ya) I want drops for everyone. But, LolKallo'ing is not going to get you those drops. Don't expect ME to be nice in order for you to be nice. No, no. Be the bigger person and you do it first.

Take my good man The Guapo. We were doing some Fortitude in Sea right? Mr. Illius is all "Oh, noez! Kallol is here, no drops! Hur hur hur!"

But, Guapo? He knows. He knows the power of THK. So when Fortitude fell...so did Mr. Taco's brand new Fortitude Torque.

Congratulations Gloopo.

As for all your Haters? I'll see about dropping some Ito's for you in Dynamis Bastok next week.

<3

The Art of Black Magic

2009-01-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

Some old man I know I think hit the nail on the head. Black Mage is a differen't type of job then what I'm use to. I mentioned in a previous post, that the hate element is kind of different, but it's not just that. It's how the job is actually played. You don't just hit an auto-attack and then do your WS when you can. It's...yea, just something else.

So, with that in mind, I would like to inform you of perhaps, the coolest\best geared\most awesome Tarutaru since Motai. His name is Elfaria. He hasn't been on in ages because of real life technical difficulities, or so I'm told.

When I first took up BLM, I have a very detailed discussion with him about how much INT you need in relation to Elemental Magic Skill, etc. etc. and how you should balance INT\Elemental Magic Skill\MAB.

So, my question to you people is what is a good way to balance out those three stats? At what point do I have enough Elemental Magic Skill and can focus on Int\MAB, and how much INT=MAB so I know if X INT is better than X MAB?

I've looked around a bit, but can't seem to find any BLM guides (That I understand.) I've just about finished my Thief Gear Sets (minus R\E and Salvage gear) so I'm looking to start buffing up my Black Mage gear.

That's all for now.

Also, Loldrg.

Stylet vs Sirocco

2009-01-10T10:14:00.001-08:00

Alright! So, for once, I actually have something that may be worth your while to post for! Why you ask? Because for once, I'm asking for your opinion. Now, before you get all uppity, I know you're not thieves but the question comes more so from the realm of how dual wield works, etc. etc. So you may still have some input.

So, here's my question...which would serve as a better off hand?

Or!

Now! I know the general consensus is that Sirocco Kukri is the way to go and I've never doubted that. Got my Sirocco long time ago and I've never regretted it for a single second. However, I'm not getting to the point were my gear is pretty respectable, especially my TP set. On mobs with low to moderate evasion I'm getting 100%TP+ somewhere between 30-45 seconds. I've always assumed the Sirocco was the better choice because of the 150 delay.

So, my question is, with my haste gear getting close to being capped if I switched to a Stylet offhand would my delay suffer that greatly? If not, I figure more SA\WS mods are never a bad thing.

Also, Blau Dolch is in my main hand.

So, any comments or feedback is greatly appriciated. Again, I have no idea exactly how dual wield works or how haste affects any of it. So, yea.

Also, Izman's a girl.

That one where I type a lot.

2009-01-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

Ugh! Yea, so it's been awhile since an update hasn't it? Wow! Alright...shoot, let's see, where to start, where to start...I really don't know what I have or haven't talked about and I'm to lazy to look! So let's cover a lot of the bigger things before we get into recent months, shall we? And if I leave anything out that someone thought should've been in here. Well, STFU.

I think one of my bigger accomplishments in previous months, which is sort of old is that I have indeed finally gotten Black Mage to level 75! That makes two now! Yea! I've done a tiny bit of meriting on it. I have +10 MP, +Burst II, +2 Ice\Lightning Potency and +2 Elemental\Enfeebling Magic Skill. The past couple days me and Juxta (RDM) have been going out to Mount Zhayolm and duo'ing Wamoura Princes. It's all good fun and I enjoy the solo\duo part of Black Mage as much as I ever have.

Now, even though I only have a /NIN sub for my BLM, Ringthree and Omoi have had me come to some Versus events as Black Mage -- mainly it's just been Limbus, which isn't too bad. It's basically just a bit of nuking and sleeping when needed. They had me go to an Airship fight for CoP and I really hated playing Black Mage there.

The reason, I think I don't like playing Black Mage in a party-type situation, is I have no control over the hate. As a Thief I have perfect control over it, I KNOW when I will get hate and I KNOW how to get rid of it. I know how to take it, who to give it to. I am in complete control. Even as a Ranger, I can't control it as much as I can on Thief, but I sure as hell know when I'm going to take hate. But Black Mage, I don't know...it's hard to tell and feel like your doing your job at the same time. See, on Ranger I can just ranged attacked and not take hate but still be contributing to the fight. As a Black Mage I'm afraid to nuke because I don't want to take hate. So, as a result I end up standing there until 50% HP or below before I do anything and I feel useless or like I'm not doing something right for most of it.

They're having me come Black Mage to sky on Sunday night though, which means Magic Bursts and Stun Order, so I should have some new revelations on being a Black Mage to share with you at a later time. Onward!

With Black Mage resting at 75, I've picked up my second love a second time. Since Omoi was kind enough to let me borrow her spare E-Bow, I've became a Ranger again. And goddamnit I love this fucking job so fucking much! I sync'd to level 55 and STILL hit a 1,100 Sidewinder! That's so sexy! And do you know why?! Because I don't even have Archery merits! I put all my merits into Marksmanship, imagine when I get to 67 and equip my O-Bow and get all my better gear! /glee! Aah! Things are going to drop so fast and hard.

I'll probably be that thing most of the time! But I'll go down in glory!

Versus has started back up from the Holiday season in full swing, and with them so have I! We started with Sky and I snagged some Wyrmal Hands for my Ranger (Which is currently 64), though I already have Seiryu's Kote so I don't know if I'd actually use them. I almost got Zenith Mittens from Genbu, but he was greedy. We did some Limbus as I mentioned up top a little bit and I managed to grab a supple skin to match my thread for Thief AF+1. I've already got the armlets which I'm pretty happy with. The only other piece I want is the Pants +1 for my TAWS. Even then, I don't really NEED that. So I'm going to wait until I get my Boxer's Mantle before I spend coins on it. If I get the other stuff to make more AF+1 for Thief, I might do it just for the hell of it. We'll see. I kind of want a Loq. Earring too, so I don't know.

On another note! Salvage! Salvage is...a wierd thing for me. I love Salvage, and I make it when I can -- the sad and unfortunate part is that these past few months I've been so in and out that I don't have the attendance to back my priorities (Which Ringthree forgot anyhow =P). However, I have no problem with tagging along to watch other LS Members get thier gear, not to mention, I could very well grab some of my own peices randomly along the way. The part I've been struggling with is that is seems Skadi's Gear has been stratigically placed so if you want Skadi you have to go Skadi...whereas...well! Let's take Quigglypuss as an example. =) He's been in out Shell for a very, very short time and he has even more pieces compelted then Izman I think! Q is one lucky bastard, and I think it's just been because he's been in the right runs at the right times. That's because Ares drops everywhere!

Maybe I should level Dragoon...

Anyhow! Suffice to say, sometimes even when we do a good run but get no drops I tend to get down rather hard because not only am I not getting drops -- but my friends aren't getting drops, which means it'll take longer for me to get drops. One reason for this is that while I'm busy not being around (these past couple months) it only takes a couple weeks for everyone else to do bosses and get all thier 25s. Now, all they need is 35s. So, whenever I look at my drop chart it looks so empty and is just so disheartening.

But no more! We downed that Brain Jacking Fucker in SSR last night and lo' and behold! He dropped Freya's Mask AND Freya's Jerkin! Putting me at 7\15 in one fell swoop! And, keep in mind that 2\15 of the ones I need are 100% drops. I'm missing only one 25 at this point, which is pants. And, of course, all 35s. The feet are going to straight to me provided I'm there, the pants which we've never seen are going to Foxy then Illius, then me hopefully. The Body is going to Foxy, then me I think. The hands to Illius and the mask I don't think anyone needs. The good news is that the Mask\Body drop from the same NM and since it's Bhaflau Rampart farming there's a good chance they can both drop, more then once. And once the March update comes hopefully they drop more often AND of course, SSR should drop more which means Skadi's Gloves for everyone!

Of course, I want the whole Skadi Set. I have my priorities set on Feet > Body. I'm trying to put them in an order that I'll get quicker, rather then what I need most. Body is the best WS body for Thief in the game and pants are the best TP, IMO. They have 1% less haste then Homam, but they have more Acc and they have a chunk of Store TP, so those are for sure on my list of must have for my final Thief setup.

I think all that about wraps it up. I'm going to have a LOT more time this semester\summer, so I hope to be at Salvage a lot more. Get people lots more drops, get me a few too. So! Here's hoping!

A Letter for my Linkshell

2008-11-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

"Dearest Versus, Covered in Bees...

Firstly, I'd like to express that I miss you all. Especially, Izman. I've been following the advice of the Village Sage and been diligently studying and trying as hard as I can to change my habits and do well in classes. It's paying off in it's own way.

As you all know, the play I was cast in has reached the end of it's life and I've been auditioning for other shows. Unfortunately, I was not cast in any of them. Fortunately, this should allow for much, much, much more playtime next semester.

I was, however, nominated for an Irene Ryan's award, which means I get to go and participate in my regions ACTF in January. This, along with classes, is my excuse for my prolonged absence after the play ended. Whereas most Irene Ryan nominee's get 5-6 months to prepare, I have one.

I hope this serves as a viable excuse and that one Omoikitte does not amalgamate me with tentacles. (Blast it! According to spell check that IS a word.)

So, as I end this heartfelt little love note I have to say -- I am following everyones progress the best I can through Jess' blog, the website (why hasn't my picture been replaced?) and Ring's blog.

Oh! That brings me to another point of interest, is he still alive? It's been so long I wouldn't think he'd still be walking at this point. I hope so, I even miss him a little. Him and his dated jokes and puns.

Regardless, much love, X's and O's and I'll see you all as soon as I can.

Love,
Kallo!

P.S. There was also some trouble with my credit card, so my account has been suspended as of November 15th. But I'm remedying that soon!"

The Revolution of Company Policies and Practices by Artie Dallas.

2008-11-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

Another update on how my progress is fairing in 'The Real Life.'

The biggest time consumer at the moment is listed as the title. The Revolution of Company Policies and Practices by Artie Dallas. I feel it's important to note that Artie Dallas didn't write the play, his name is part of the title. Andrew Lewis wrote the play.

So, opening night is Thursday. Everything's going well -- we haven't started working with ALL props, but tonight should be the night we do. That would normally be scary, but it's not. We got this shit on lock down.

I haven't had a chance to get into Final Fantasy XI at all! Which is unfortunate. I miss everyone. But, if they could come see the play I think they'd all be happy knowing my time has been well spent.

Even that Old Grinch Ringthree. I think he'd especially like this show.

As for school crap -- it's under control for the time being. But, it's very easy for that to go out the window isn't it? I have two papers to write tonight which are both half done, drafts due tomorrow but final drafts not due for awhile. So, I'm not too worried about that. Yet.

I have another Audition today for Dublin Carol which is an Irish play about grave diggers and alcohol. Or so I've heard. It's a 3 person show in TOTS (Theatre on the Side) which a very small, black box theater. I love smaller, intimate shows. I feel like the audience develops a stronger connection with you.

If I don't make that show, a week from today I have Auditions for To Fool The Eye, which is being directed by one of my favorite Instructors who I've yet to work with outside of a classroom situation. Apparently this one is a romantic comedy with heightened language. I have to go read it tomorrow so we'll see how it all turns out.

Let's see what else...

I guess that's it. That's what I've been up to. Oh! I'm hoping to be back in FFXI after Company Policies (For short) is over. If I get cast in the Irish play, I'll be gone in a few weeks again. If I get cast in the romantic comedy I'll be basing my character of Izman and Ring, and I won't be gone frmo FFXI until January!

So cheers to all that!

And Congratulations Ani on his Homam Feet an Jess on his Homam Body.

IMPORTANT!

2008-10-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

Firstly, since this has been posted in quick succession of the most recent post -- make sure you read down one as well.

On to the importance. A long-time reader has posted a very dire query. I figured I should address it as soon as possible, and being as it is a question of mass importance it gets it's own post.

The question is presented as thus,

" Iz said...

Now when you say old how old is old? Like old as in a old pc or like old as in a middle age man playing a game online old?"

The Answer: 'Old as in middle aged man playing a game online' Old.

My job is done.

Not FFXI. /sad

2008-10-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

So...

I haven't been in FFXI much the past week or so. I really thought I was about to make a comeback too -- BLM went from 71-74 in a week. I farmed up over 20,000 Zeni and I am not 2\3 to a Tinnin, 1.5\3 to a Cerb and 1\3 to a Hydra.

And I hate not being there for Salvage.

It's so frustrating sometimes when you look at your schedule and you think, "Wow. I don't have anything to do for a week or two. I'm completely free."

Then somehow, the very next day it's like, "...I have no time and I have so much shit to do."

So, for the sake of it let's make a check list!

English Paper One, Un-check. Due last Wednesday.
English Paper Two, Half-Check. Due next Wednesday.
Get Off Book for my Play Next Week, Half-Check. Due last Sunday.
Memorize Monologue #3 for performance. Un-Check. Due tomorrow.
Write paper for Monologue #3. Un-Check. Due tommorrow.

Seriously, all of these could be done in one night each. Had I done them two weeks ago prior to you know, tonight. I'd be sitting golden.

I just know I'm going to get lectured by some Old Dude. Allow me to stress OLD. So, to him, yes, I know. You're right, you're usually right. Hush.

Now...this was actually a break from memorizing my monologue from Ceaser. Sorry there wasn't much FFXI in this post. I'll try to remedy that soon.

Especially considering I'm getting my new PC in a week or two. /glee.

Enkidu and Skadi

2008-10-12T23:05:00.000-07:00

So! Quite a bit has actually been going down in the last few weeks! I feel like I have a few things to report on for once. So, let's take 'em one at a time right?

Kind of what Ring tells himself every morning, "One day at a time." Before hopping on vent with me and Iz.

So! Black Mage ~ I'm currently 3k until 72. I haven't been leveling at a very quick rate. Usually Zero (Neras for those of you in-game) and I will head out to Mount Zhayolm once or twice a week and grind out 10-15k Exp. We need to get Sayl into those with us, make it go a lot faster! Thanks to Eslyn for the Weskit she's letting me borrow as well as the White Ugly Shirt-Dress thing with +5hMP. That's about it for BLM.

Zeni NMs! So, yea! These things just got a LOT easier. What I mean by that is I think the hardest thing about these was the Zeni farming. Not that it was a difficult task, but when ZNMs came out it was so very daunting to run out and take pictures and run all the way back to find out the target monster has changed! /sulk! Now, since things have calmed down Sanraku will have the same target for almost an entire IRL day. So, Izman and I have been farming like mad. In the past WEEK I've done...Cheese Hoarder Gigiroon T1, Iriz Ima T2, Vulpangue T1, Ob T1, Gotoh Zha the Redolent (haven't used this one yet) and Lil' Apkallu (haven't popped yet either). The only thing that's stopped me right now is I'm out of Jettons so I'm using Savage Prime (my Poke'mon) to battle and get some more! Even though I didn't pop my Gotoh we did fight him today and Mr. Foxy got his Enkidu Mittens, congrats! That makes me (technically) 1\1 on Boots, Subligar and Mittens! I better get mine on my Pop next week or I'll be sad. ; ; I like flawless THKs.

Next thing on my list of important to semi-important things to talk about is Salvages!

Currently this is what it all breaks down into...
Ares, 15Head, 15\25Legs, 15Feet
Usuaken, 15Head, 15Hands, 15Legs
Marduk, 15Head, 15Feet
Morrigans, 15Head, 15\25Legs, 15Feet

I would have the 25Head too but Qtipus lotted it and I passed wanting to be nice. He thought it was for Mardul...d'oh!

As for Skadi's....

We got 6 Peryton on Bhaflau 4th floor Rampart...and one Freya's Jerkin (thats the 35)! It went to Blaize, a kickass Thief to a sister-shell of our Salvage Static. That makes him 15\15 on all Skadi Gear. So Congrats to him! On the same run, I got my 25 Feet! Which makes my current count...

Skadi, 15\25Hands, 15Legs, 15\25Feet.

So! That's all going pretty good.

Oh! And to close things out...

FUCK YOU DYNAMIS XARCABARD! We got FOUR Warrior Bodies and FOUR Monk Crowns...and some other stuff ~ NONE of which were Thief or Black Mage. The ones where we could have actually used 4+.

Stupid Dynamis. Stupid Izman.

Old Ringthree.

/goes to brood.

Also! Jess is dumb! /broods more.

For a Lack of Posts

2008-10-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Clicky, I'll probably make a better one later. I didn't have many screenshots to work with.

WARNING: No Pictures.

2008-09-22T10:36:00.001-07:00

Mainly because I'm lazy. Otherly because I'm bored that's why I'm posting, so I had no pictures planned. Lawlz.

So, just a bit of an update today.

Let's see...first! Some excellent news! We did Zhayolm Remnants last night! FINALLY got Hiryo his 25 Usukane Mask =D Congrats!!! He's been getting screwed out of that thanks to double Skadi Hands or Ares Legs drops for so~ long! Glad we finally got him that! ^.^

Not that it matters, but the bitch frog with my pants didn't drop them again!

I didn't mind though because I pulled the zone nearly fucking flawlessly! 2nd floor in particular we had NO links. I think Hiryo or something accidently aggro'd a Wyvern, but we were about to zone up regardless. So, yea, made up for how much I sucked on Friday in Silver Sea when I wiped us at Powderkeg's room.

Otherwise, I've just been farming for...well, nothing inparticular. I just like to have a coushion of gil. I'm sitting on 600k right now. If I get to 1 Mil I'm locking that on my Windy Mule and then saving up for gear to actually buy. Like more AGI for my TA Boost Setup, maybe some more Evasion gear? I don't know. We'll see!

That's all. Oh! And I guess Izman is super sick? So get well, buddy! It's not cool when I kill you in IRL. There's no buffer for that. <3

Salvaging the Ruins!

2008-09-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, since my last post about me being 'back', I actually haven't been 'back' much. Rofl. Main reason being class work kind of spurred up on me. However, today I did manage to make Versus Events. We did some Sea and got Ix'Drk\Drg, so that was all good.

Headed over to Einherjar after that and got Bats\Diremites and Leeches. Was nothing, we owned 'em up pretty hard. But, the boss whose was a Golem (and seperates) needed to be given the old Romeo and Juliet treatment and we fell short on that one. So, 1,440 Ichor, but other then that nothing.

The big news! Salvage! We did an awesome run, we took down a bunch of NMs and got to the boss with PLENTY of time left. Unfortunately, we wiped at 1%...it was just, Iunno, something wasn't righ with us.

But, that was nothing compared to the fact we got both of these!

The mask went to my man BLEEP making him 3\3 on his Ares Mask -- he just needs 1.9M now. And the body went to Old Man Ringthree who only needs the 15 piece now. I almos feel sorry for Ring...he has 3\3 Usukane Head and needs to buy the O Ingots, he has 3\3 Usukane Body and needs all the Ingots for that and now he's one100% drop away from Ares Body...the guy needs a good 30 Mil? Rofl.

So! Congrats to probably the coolest couple in FFXI on the Odin Server. =) Grats guys.

Foiled! ...an explanation.

2008-09-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well. It's certainly been some time since I've updated this space. So, first, an explanation!

I believe it happens to all of us...some more frequently then others. No, Izman, I'm not talking about your ...disfunct--you know, what. Not addressing that here! Congrats on Ares Body, btw. No, I'm talking about the reason I've been away from the game for so long. Sometimes, I just get sick of the game, bored? I look at all my goals and think "What's it all for?" I don't know, it looks like a grind to me more then anything else.

But! Then, something happens...and it has nothing to do with me getting stuff. I read things like Ring's Blog or Izman's...or Ring's Blog and see everyone getting all thier stuff and being all happy. And realize it's not because of anything I've done. So, I'm reminded that I'm not just playing this game for myself. I'm playing it to help my friends.

And...as a great DRK just recently put it...no not Aniero. I said great, not Emo.

"You give out +1, you get back +2."

My first night back, I was fortunate enough to land a pair of Homam Gambieras. Even though when I first logged on and said hello, I got messages like this from my Linkshell...

Member A >> Oh, God...
Member B >> GTFO
Member C >> -.- He's back...
MemberIzmanisadouche >> HAVE MY BABIES!
MemberIzmanisadouche >> ...I mean...I too...don't like you...question mark?

I know they really care =) Because the Gambieras are a way of saying, "We missed you Kallo."

So, everyone at Versus -- I'm sorry I've been gone so long and I'll try to make it up over the next couple weeks!

As for why I was FOILED! I've been planning a massive attack on the Versus Queen Bee Omoi! I had an ENTIRE library of pictures I was going to use to slander her good Dragoon image...but alas...all the Teabagging pics were lost when my computer...suddenly, randomly...without warning...died on me.

...just you wait Omoi! Vengence shall be mine! Along with the last laugh!

Mwahaha!

The Run Around

2008-07-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Alright Class! We're going to start with Versus Events today. On our agenda we have...

-Sky
-Sea
-Salvage
-Limbus
-Assaults

Sky, days seem to be a bit far and in between -- and rightfully so. The only things we need from Sky are from Kirin. So, nearly everything goes free lot on god. Hell, I almost got my some Dryadic Legs Abj. Anyhow! We did three Byakko's. All went very well, he didn't even 2 hour the second fight. We ended up with 2 Haidates, 1 D Legs, 1 N Hand, 1 A Head and 3 B Hides. So, it was a pretty good run, Imo.

And now, a picture of Byakko's backside.

Next up we have Sea. Jailer of Justices -- Mr. Old Man Ringthree got a Justice Torque, which is like, finally. Or something. Congrats Old Man. =) Then, the other day at Faith he got his Faith Torque ~ Something tells me I may have to wait another JoL for my Torque if this keeps up. =P

Oh~! Right, I also gave Elfy a nice Teabag. He did something to deserve it...but I forgot what.

Salvage has been pretty exciting. We've been having a lot of good, clean runs -- alas, with no real drops. I did, however, attain my Njrod's Trousers which is the 15 Piece for Skadi's Pants. I'm now 1\3 on those. I've also noticed something else...

Ares Pants 2\3.

Funny, I know. Aniero thinks so too.

I think this is funny! Me shooting Izman when he was charmed in Salvage.

Oh, don't give me that look. We were wiping anyhow.

For Limbus we did Omega and I should've had Homam Feet, but I was dumb and decided to try for hands instead since I got Enkidu Feet. Homam Feet went free lot and dropped -- Grats to Coborn though. =)

Lastly, Assaults ~ I'm 12 Assaults away from Captain Rank. Omoi got me a few more wins and Ringthree took a list of all the other ones I need. So, we'll see how that goes.

Funny quote by Elfy. =) Him sneaking around a True Sight Dahak in 'Evade and Escape'.

ENMs have been kind the past two weeks -- got a Hedgehog Bomb from 'Brothers' two weeks in a row now. Here are some 'nice' little pics of Talliah being friendly and me not so much...

Also got to see this pretty little complaints manager along the way.

Been playing a lot on BLM ~ recently hit...

With the help of Sene and Akeem, since the place I was at was horrible for Solo, I duo'd with each of them in turn. I'm now less then 4k from level 70. And, Ringthree and Izman took advantage of that...

What you're seeing here is the worlds SLOWEST Marid. Seriously, WITH Gravity, you feel like your picking on a special needs kid. This guy could be kited on /walk mode. Anyhow, we killed it fairly easy, albeit with some time. No drops except the trophy, so good luck to Izzy on his Aurum Feet off Armed Gears.

I went back today with Frag (PLD), Temperance (RDM) and Opalflame (SMN) of FFVault to kill my own. Again, very easy, no drops but the Trophy. So, good luck to me on Dea and my Enkidu Subligar.

Here's a few picture of a NM I nabbed thanks to Sene while she was in a BLM Burn Party.

And to finish up since I'm lazy and getting tired here's a Dynamis Picture and some Campaign stuff. And a picture of Elfy! Whose a dirty french man! Don't let the picture fool you!

Once in a Blue Moon...

2008-07-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

This isn't a game update, that'll come tomorrow or something. This is more of an update on where I am as of late.

No matter how much I love something...Orange Faygo, Cinnamon Poptarts, Final Fantasy XI -- the more I'm exposed to it for long periods of time, I start to grow sick of it and I need a small break.

Now, with FFXI, usually I freeze my account and boot up World of Warcraft and parade around on my Shadow Priest for a little while and then come back to my Thief in Vana'diel.

I don't do this very often for several reasons.

The key reason being, I have friends in Final Fantasy XI that depend me, people I like to see everyday and that I count on seeing everyday so I don't get all silly and think I have no friends or something.

Another less key reason, is that when I leave for weeks or a month, all my progess in my Linkshells fall apart and I come back like a new member and have to work extra hard to get back to where I was.

Honestly, it's probably not even the game. Sometimes I just feel like crap for days at a time and the only way to fix it is to change something. And since there are very few constants in my life right now, there's not much to change outside of FFXI.

Anyhow...things in-game haven't seemed ALL bad recently.

Last night I did some Campaign with my good, little friend Rudithina. I was on Thf\Nin of course, and she was on Brd\Whm. We ended up in Fort Karungo-Narungo for what was, seriously, the most epic fight since I tanked Suzaku.

Myself and Rudi had pulled a Shadowhand Cuirsser off to the side to fight and some other Thief came to kill it with us. As we get it to 90%, the Yagudo Ninja Unit come in behind us and two of them aggro on to me. So, with one Shadowhand on me and two Ninja's throwing stars and casting Ninjutsu I manage to keep shadows up, albeit taking quite a few Poisons, Slows, Bios and such along the way.

Eventually we had killed the Shadowhand and turned to our t Yagudo Friends. For awhile I was tanking both, then I took one and the other Thief took one. I kept putting all my WS on the other one, since it was weaker.

At once point, I had both Yagudo on me, with Bio\Poison on me and was at 2 HP trying to get shadows up. Rudithina by, whatever miraculous skills she posses managed to keep me between 50-100 HP for a good 10 seconds on what I thought was next to no MP. Finally when I was free of DoTs I used hide...

Fully intending to let that other Thief die while I rested.

Rudi popped a few high cures on me putting me back at 200-300 HP and I went back in, soon as I got in the other Thief used Hide, giving both mobs back to me -- figured she was paying me back and was going to run off. But she just used it for SA-WS.

Eventually we got the 2nd one down and killed the last one. It was nothing short of my most epic campaign yet.

Kallo's Most Epic Moments of Final Fantasy XI
1. Duo'ing Promathia's 2nd form with Prishe.
2. Tanking Suzaku with only a Sam and Rdm for support.
3. Me\Rudi\Random Thief vs. Two Yagudo Nin and Shadowhand Solider in Campaign.

Holy, Morsel Snatching, Meritable Colibris Batman!

2008-07-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

So, there's been quite a bit going on since the last post -- it's weird how when I try to write everyday it seems like nothing has happened. But when I let it all stack up, I have too much to talk about and post pictures. /sigh. So let's hop to it then, eh?

ZNMs! Well, just one actually. Ringthree had an Achamoth to pop so he wanted me to come help. After the Experimental Lamia fiasco I couldn't really say no, could I? The popping of said Moth was...unprofessional. However, it was handled professionally, I managed to pull the zone twice without dying. Once with PD and Flee, the second time with only Flee -- the zone is more then 45 seconds away, by the by. It was fun.

But we wiped anyhow, so I had to keep re-zoning the Moth while everyone rested. It was a lot of fun and I actually felt useful for once. We did end up taking it down with a little bit of difficulty, but not much. Here are some fun pics and the loot.
We also did some KS99s the other day for Versus. Highlife managed to hit the Jackpot as you'll see -- everyone else was so-so. We also took down a greedy Biast before hand. Here are you pictures since words are boring.

Except Xylophone. That's a fun one.

Did a Dynamis-Xarcabard run that was completely worthless. =( Here's some photos...

And yes, that's Omoi getting all snuggly with me. Izman was busy with Ring ; ; I was a bit jealous.

Also! I've finally reached the current highest campaign rank! Yay!
And, I think, the biggest part of this past week was the amazing, fucking Merit Party I had with Hiryo, Temperance and a few others -- allow me to let the screen shots do the talking...
I started with 2 Merits and 2,000 Limit Points and in 4 hours ended up there. And todays Quote of the Blog is...

The answer Hiryo? I may not have the best TH...I may not have the best gear and the best damage...and most of the time the entire Linkshell might be making fun of me.

But, I'm getting the last laugh, because while the guys might be mocking me -- not a whole lot of the girls do. =)

All Across The Board.

2008-07-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a few days since I've updated. And in those few days quite a bit has happened...firstly! Over a LimitBreakRadio.Com, I start a new segment called "The Rogue's Den" (Ta-da) which has me as the main host and currently Veloxe as the Co-host. The first the ten episodes will be about the 10 Assault Ranks. So, check it out.

Next on the list, is a small Salvage update! I'm pretty low on priority overall in our Salvage thing, so I've been going but we're concentrating on the other members who have been waiting longer then I have for pieces. Currently, I've got 15 Boots and 15 Hands, and just recently (a couple weeks ago) I got the 25 Hands as well! Hurrah!
We did Salvage these past two day and didn't get anything too amazing, however, Samuraisoldier did get some 35 Legs for Usukane, so congratulations.

Here's a few pictures of me and Gamer farming at his (our) favorite spot!
Moving on...went to Dynamis after a pretty long vacation from it (not by choice) and I finally, finally got my 5\6 piece of Relic. Ta-da! And, after receiving these great pieces of Steal Gear. I proceeded to not steal a damn thing. =P Go figure, huh?

Been managing to keep up with Campaign very well! I'm ranking up every 5 days, getting lots of Allied Notes, doing all my Ops! I'm close to getting my last piece of Gear from Allied Notes (5k away as of now). And as of yesterday...That puts me only a few days away from the highest current medal! Woo!

Now...onto something that's going to seem a bit serious, a bit fun, but in the end, totally worth it. The topic if which I speak...is Zeni Notorious Monsters. Experimental Lamia to be precise, one of the holders of my Enkidu's Leggings. Now, there are a few things I'm going to go over in regards to this topic. Things like the NM itself, location, strategies and, I think, most importantly, etiquette and understanding.

Now, where to begin...I suppose, we could start from the beginning and I'll just address thing as I go. There was about an hour, maybe 45 minutes until Salvage was to start when I decided to try and get people together for Experimental Lamia -- I figured that a party of 12 could handle it, after a few quick messages into LimitBreakRadio LS and CoveredinBees LS, I had 18 people...wow. I know, right?

It should also be mentioned I wasn't entirely educated on this NM (as much as I would've liked, or as much as I think I needed). And trying to co-ordinate 18 people, half of which don't know each other is very tough. Especially when Salvage was very soon and three key people for Salvage where helping me out. We had a Bard who said he knew where he was going, since I didn't really. So, I had everyone follow him -- now at this moment as we're zoning into Arrapago Reef from Dvucca Isle Staging Point...I realize I forgot the pop item. So, I go back to get it and tell people to follow the Bard.

Somehow, and I've heard different stories and I'm claiming any as true or false -- but our party got separated, aggro was taken and things began to look grim...people began to get frusterated, no one knew what was going on, no one had answers and I was starting to freak out.

Luckily, Omoi and Ringthree where both there and kept me stable and helped immensely with the situation. Here is where things began to get complicated though, internally, meaning amongst the players not something to do with the game itself.

My group of people was composed of LimitBreakRadio LS, a completely social Linkshell with players from varying degrees of background and people from CoveredinBees, players from a dedicated, very skillfull, succesful End Game Linkshell. I've known both sides for quite awhile. And let me say this overall, just because someone is giving you orders or advice and they're in an End Game LS -- that doesn't automatically make them elitist asshats. Same goes the other way, just because someone has never been in an End Game situation, doesn't make them newbs.

We managed to re-group from a real bad set back and while waiting for weakness to wear on some members so we didn't take blood aggro one of our CiB Players gave a small lecture. Afterwards, one of our LBR members made a comment that made me feel very sick to have them in my linkshell. It rude, it was uncalled for and was extremely distasteful.

When mistakes are made, either by one person, or by many -- something has to be addressed. Someone has to be embarrassed, guilty, whatever -- you have to feel some type of negative feeling for your mistake or you're just going to keep making them. The CiB member who gave the lecture knew this. By giving this lecture it reminds everyone to be more cautious, more aware and pay attention.

Now, what aggravates me even more about the player who made the comment after the lecture, was the fact that the CiB player was a lot nicer about it then he needed to be, he didn't point any fingers or name any names and whats worse, is the player that I'm disappointed in, the one who made the tasteless comment at the end...wasn't even at fault. The lecture wasn't even for them.

Another LBR member voiced a concern to me, that perhaps the CiB member was a bit excessive in his lecture. Perhaps, but you have to realize as well -- as members of a Social Linkshell the most we have to deal with is Exp Parties where we might lose some Exp, or quests, small events that can be planned and executed the day of. In End Game, there's a lot more at risk -- weeks, even months of over 18 peoples time. All of it can be gone because of one person. So, yes, lectures like that, lectures worse then that are completely necessary.

While we're on the topic...I realize you pay 15$ a month to play your way, I know that at LBR we encourage people to experiment...but, dammit people, for the love of fucking Altana -- when I've invested MY time and MY money into something and YOU fuck it up because YOU want TRY something out or play YOUR way...god, it makes me want to choke the life out of things in the IRL.

...sorry. Got a little deep there, didn't I? Anyhow...there was one person throughout this entire ordeal that I really wish would not have been there and you can bet they're on the B List now and they're never setting foot in another party, let alone alliance with me.

Moving on...and this is where strategy comes in...

We made it to the other side of Arrapago Reef where we zoned into Caedarva Mire, that's where the ??? is. If you've ever been a Merit\Exp party on Colibri's through Alzadaal, that's what this area is like. 3 levels, two zone lines. One at the top, one at the bottom and blood\sound\sight aggro alike all over the place. Now, the strat I read said to have a tank and some mages kite the mob to the zone and back because she pop 3 lesser lamia who the party needs to deal with.

The lesser lamia share hate with Experimental, but Experimental does not share hate with them. Also, you're not going to want to use the closest zone (the top), you just aren't. Here's what you do.

A. Put a WHM or RDM in a party with your main tank. I recommend a PLD\NIN as she hits HARD and FAST. This way he can cure himself and take a few hits. Also, the person popping the NM has to be in the party.

B. Everyone else allies up in another party.

C. Everyone goes south to the zone into Arrapago Reef.

D. The person who pops it...hopefully has flee, PD, Invincible, something that'll make this easier -- and runs to the zone. All the way there. Zone everything! Your tank will pick up the Lamia. Now, in our case, we had to actually do a bit of damage before she summoned her three lesser Lamia. 2 RDMs and 1 SAM, all of which use 2 hours.

E. The Melee Alliance kills the Adds while the kite alliance kites lamia. Now, this is how you kite her...shadows up, stand by the zone...when shadows are down, zone. Zone back ASAP because she moves back pretty quick and she doesn't stop at all. Soon as you can, claim her again -- repeat.

F. She has alliance hate -- so it's extremely important that the people in the melee alliance do not act upon her in any way whatsoever until the Lesser Lamia are dead.

G. When they are dead -- reform, and kill her.

We had lots of problems...we wiped after the Lessers were dead. We had some people not on their game and others were out to 'prove' something apparently. Word of advice...if you don't know what to do, and someone else starts giving orders. Follow them, or GTFO. Because by trying to do something 'you' think is right you fuck shit up. The same person I mentioned above nearly wiped us on the Lamia herself because they where just doing stupid shit.

By at least GTFO or listening to people who have dealt with these situations before -- you abstain yourself from all blame.

The people in my party who helped killed Lamia might have told you it was hard. I don't think it is. I think she's difficult yes...but in our case the difficulty came 50% from Lamia and the other 50% from one or two people being...(breaths)...(under control)...from a few other people not being smart about what they were doing.

...here are some pictures.

The first picture is us taking safe haven on the other side of the zone. I think is still in Caedarva making out with Experimental Lamia's arrows. The second picture is our victory picture...that's right. After much death, stress, frusteration, exp loss, blood, weakness, horror, etc. etc. etc. We did down her.

And let me tell you this -- there where at least 5-6 times I just wanted to say 'fuck it' and have everyone warp out. Cutting our losses. Thanks to several people though, they kept me strong and we made it through...here are the drops.
Yay! They dropped! /dance! Ringthree ended up winning the Water Grip. And those feet are NOT Pink...they're Salmon.

Anyhow! I need to give a big {Thank You} to the people in this next picture.
And and extra basket eternal gratitude to these people especially; Neelia, Sayl, Ringthree, Aniero, Godsbane, Omoi and Izman.

Aniero and Godsbane for putting their Alexander fight on hold which got cancelled

Omoi, Ringthree and Izman for sticking with me and keeping me focused and helping lead the group to recovery (and for putting Salvage on hold).

And also to Hiryo! Who didn't help, but waited patiently for us to finish so he could do his Salvage with us. =)

Alrighty! On to happier news! Evaine roped me into a static for ENMs with a bunch of clowns she found. This is how it started out (at 11am in the morning.)Yea, shut up. Anyway, our line up for the ENMs where..."Brothers", "A Sheep In Antlion's Clothing" and "Bionic Bug".

We started with "Brothers" here are some pictures and the loot we got...
And from "A Sheep In Antlion's Clothing."
And lastly, "Bionic Bug."
So, overall...not the best. But, it wasn't horrible. The Scouter's Rope is 100k, so it should even out to 20-30k a piece. Not to mention you get Exp\LP rewards too -- so, I got 9,000 LP which helped me shave another -2 Seconds off my Sneak Attack recast.

So, to end todays super long post...a quote, a note if you will...from Midgards Saskiot to me. See, I asked him to deliver a few words to the equally infamous Thief, like myself, Mii from LevelUp. And this is what she had to say...
Ooh...isn't it cute when they think they're in control with the upper hand? =)

New, Improved Kallo.

2008-07-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

.Dat Switching is Ftw.

Some REAL Updates!

2008-07-02T00:16:00.001-07:00

So here are some real updates and pictures. Seig got on here due him being Gimp and Deleveling in T2 Mamool Ja Assault. And Darkdawn tried teaming up on me with Izman. Tsk tsk. The rest are pretty explanatory.
So...I've been sort of busy. I haven't made TB'ing EVERYONE I see a priority, because it's gotten kind of old. But, I do what I can. Seig had it coming for being so gimp that he deleveled. And Skooter had it coming because he got TH4 for 11 points =

In Sky today I got some Epicz Loot! Genbu's Shield for my BLM, which is only Lv. 68 right now. And Seiryu's Kote for my RNG which is only Lv. 60 right now. I need to really step on the BLM leveling so I can move on over to RNG, though, I need my Selene's Bow or my E\V Bow first.

Also! Got back into doing some pictures for Zeni so I can get my Enkidu's Feet! And as a result, I thought I'd try Pankration to get free Jettons instead of wasting my Imperial Standing on Currency.

It's a fuck ton easier then you might think...anyone who does ZNMs I'd HIGHLY suggest getting into Pankration. You'll have Jetton out your ass for a very minimal commitment of time and be able to use the faster Soultrapper as a result -- and to be honest, I think you'll get hooked on Pankration too! The best part is - win or lose, you get Jetton and quite a bit!

I have an Apkallu Lv. 9 named Savage Prime! He's a Monk with +50 Attack Speed. I want to find the best way to turn him into a Quick Hitting TP Machine. I'm going to get him a Samurai Sub -- some Store TP, maybe Double\Triple Attack if I can. He'll be BRUTAL!

Reruns.

2008-06-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Nothing been going on. Partly, because I've been away from my PC for the past week (not my fault). But, I'm back now...doing the normal stuff...

Versus Events -- did an Omega, doing more Omega, Sea, Etc. We've started Einherjar and did very good on our first run. I wasn't present because of the aforementioned no PC access so I can't go into detail on it.

I changed up my merit plan a bit. In part because I can. In part because this makes less work and in part because 2 Dex and 2 Str are meh to me as far as one versus the other. If I really want the other 2 Str instead of Dex when I do RNG and COR -- we'll see what happens.

Other then that...I'm going to get my first Wing Commendation soon for Campaign. I also need to get my ass in gear and start snapping more pictures and storing up Zeni for T3 mobs so I can get Enkidu gear. Other then that...

A whole lot of nothing. Almost as bad as reruns.

More Notorious!

2008-06-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

So, I've had chance to mess around with the new ToA NMs today! Basically what you do is take pictures of normal Fauna (Monsters) for a new NPC in return of a currency known as Zeni! You then use Zeni to purchase items used to spawn NMs. Upon defeating the NMs you receive a 'trophy item' which you trade back to the NPC to unlock more NMs. The NMs also drop loot like we've all come to expect from Notorious Monsters. =)

Now, today I managed to down three of the NMs with some of our friends from Versus.

The first NM was Ob, who is a Automaton in Alzadaal Undersea Ruins. Myrrial used his pop item for that. We downed him 9 people. Our main strategy was going to be Nuke\DoT'ing while kiting. We had like 3-4 RDM\NINs for that. However, at 80% HP it switched to Mage Frame, so the DDs could go in and tear it apart. The only thing you have to remember is his this thing can hit Paladin with Magic Mortar for 2,000 Dmg+. I've come to believe that Magic Mortar damage can be reduced by putting distance between you and Ob since I was only hit for 450 Damage across the room. Anyhow, we ended up downing her with ease and got two attachments and the new Puppetmaster earring. Congratulations Rygar!

Secondly, we took on Lil' Apkallu in the Arrapago Reef with Potpressure's pop item. He wasn't too bad at all. He can use Hundred Fists multiple times, but we had Ninja tank who managed to survive it just fine. So, this time with 8 people we killed it with ease. =)

Third, this one we had a bit more trouble with! Elfaria wanted a new head equip for Summoner so we went to kill a Puk NM in Wajaom Woodlands. His Wind Shear hits for up to 2,000 Damage even with Baraera Spell and resistance around 108. Our first Ninja got knocked down at 30% then I fell down at around 20%, then our other Ninja fell down at 10%. So it was looking bad...Elfaria died...Evaine died...Myrrial died...Potpressure died...Rygar died...Elfaria raised. Elfaria casts Ancient Magic while weakened! The Puke dies =) And the head equip for Elfy drops! Grats Elfy!!!

I'm saving up my own Zeni so I can pop some NMs myself! Still waiting for that Antares and Enkidu gear to surface though. So, keep tuned in for some more updates!

New Fashions

2008-06-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Some people might think this is a bit early to comment on, but I've still got 2 hours to go on an update that keeps interrupting itself.

I wanted to talk about some new gear as it applies to Thief.

Overall...I'm feeling pretty good. I'm no disappointed in the gear, but I'm not going to say I'm jumping for joy either. I think we got some good upgrades, some nice alternatives. The weapons department is a bit lacking, I think. But, then again I have arguably the best combo excluding a Mandau.

We'll go through this piece by piece, every single thing in the update that Thief can wear. I ask you to keep a couple things in mind.

A. This is mostly going to be in comparison with gear I currently have, which isn't the best.
B. This is going to be based on my on preferences\play styles which may vary from your own\community opinions.
C. Izman's a girl in IRL. It's true. And he's not pretty. If he didn't make damn good pancakes, I woudn't even have slept with him.

On to the gears.

Enkidu's Harness
DEF:50 STR+5 AGI+5 Accuracy+10 Attack+10 Evasion+5 "Subtle Blow"+5
Lv. 72 MNK/THF/RNG/SAM/NIN/BLU/COR/PUP/DNC
Right now, I rock Scorpion Harness +1 for most situations, but I have a Pahluwan too if I want to hit a bit harder (The Crit Rate), but here we have STR and Attack and of course, the Accuracy same as both Pahluwan and the Scorpion Harness. Which means, Scorpion Harness is looking to be a Solo only option. Hell, depending on what you're solo'ing you might stay in this. Evasion +5 and Agi+5 against +10 Evasion? Not that far of a difference considering the STR\Attack bonus your getting and no one is ever going to complain about more Subtle Blow.

This might also make a nice alternative to the Dragon Harness for Trick Attack purposes, you're loosing out on 1 Agi, but you got 5 Str in there. I'd stick with Dragon Harness if you're stacking TA+WS though, of course.

Antares Harness
DEF:50 HP+15 DEX+8 AGI+8 Accuracy+8 Evasion+8
Lv. 71 WAR/MNK/BLM/THF/DRK/BRD/NIN/BLU/COR/PUP/DNC
Now, this piece is pretty tasty. It's a very nice alternative to Scorpion Harness, even the plus one if the old 2 Agi=1 Evasion rule holds true. And, to top it off, it could replace your Dragon Harness depending on how fond of that Attack +10 you are. +2 more Agi and Dex, and Acc instead of Attack?

Enkidu's Leggings
DEF:23 DEX+3 AGI+3 Attack+4 Ranged Attack+4 "Subtle Blow"+2 Haste+2%
Lv. 72 MNK/THF/RNG/SAM/NIN/BLU/COR/PUP/DNC
Now this is an exciting piece for a lot of reasons! Firstly, we're seeing a nice cheap, just good alternative to Dusk Ledelsens! They're better then Dragon Leggings (except the Enmity) and even when you get Heca-Feet they're great to keep for TA boost.

Enkidu's Mittens
DEF:24 STR+4 DEX+4 Accuracy+5 Ranged Accuracy+5 "Subtle Blow"+2
Lv. 72 MNK/THF/RNG/SAM/NIN/BLU/COR/PUP/DNC
I myself, don't have much use for these since I have Heca-Hands, but for a THF without Sky Access they're going to replace whatever you have. Honestly, they're what Dragon Mittens should have been. But now we get these for SA and those for TA. However! For Thieves having trouble getting TP Gloves like Dusk\Homam...toss the War Gloves and pick up these babies. =)

Cuchulain's Belt
DEF:6 HP+15 DEX+6 Attack+10
Lv. 72 WAR/BLM/THF/PLD/DRK/BST/BRD/RNG/SAM/NIN/DRG/BLU/COR/DNC
What we may have here is a final alternate option to the Warwolf Belt. The STR on the belt doesn't affect our Weaponskills as a Modifier, not like Dex does. More STR helps because it means harder hits, which we get from the Attack as well. And the Attack is going to let us hit harder then the 5 Str. If you don't need a lot of accuracy and you don't have a Swift Belt yet for Haste. This might not be a bad option to pump up your DoT a little.

Enkidu's Cap
DEF:23 DEX+3 AGI+3 Accuracy+8 Ranged Accuracy+8 "Subtle Blow"+2
Lv. 72 MNK/THF/RNG/SAM/NIN/BLU/COR/PUP/DNC
For any of you poor fools (like I was) still WS'ing in your Empress Pin at Lv. 70+, fret no more. We got the same amont of stats from this and it has some Accuracy on it. Not the best, obviously the Assassin's Bonnet or Heca-Cap a lot better. But, this is a nice solid alternative to those who can't quite reach the aforementioned yet.

Muse Tariqah
DEF:15 MND+7 CHR+7 Spell interruption rate down 10%
Lv. 74 WAR/RDM/BLM/THF/PLD/BST/SAM
This is something I'm curious about. As of now, Shield selection for Thief includes the Tatami Shield for a WS boost, Tariqah for Acc\Eva boost or Viking Shield for Atk Boost. Now, Dancing Edge uses CHR as one of it's modifiers. I can't help but wonder just how much +7 Chr might help? So, this is more of an 'I wonder' piece then anything right now.

Airy Buckler
DEF:17 CHR+2 Accuracy+2 "Store TP"+2 Haste+1%
Lv. 71 THF/PUP/DNC
Finally! Thieves can achieve Full Haste Cap on gear without needing Dusk Gloves +1. And we get some Acc and DE Mod. =) Yay!

Cuchulain's Mantle
DEF:8 STR+4 DEX+4 Accuracy+5
Lv. 74 WAR/MNK/BLM/THF/PLD/DRK/BST/BRD/RNG/SAM/NIN/DRG/BLU/COR/DNC
And wow! What have we here? A new WS Cape! Hell, this is even better then Assassin's Cape! It also saves me some money...because I'm in love with this more then Cerberus Mantle+1 now. Thank you SqaureEnix. =)

Ancient Torque
DEX+4 Accuracy+9
Lv. 74 All Jobs
Goodbye Chivalrous Chain! Helo Ancient Torque. It's like you were made for me! However...this is very obviously a great WS piece for the neck slot. It's also a great TP piece, but depending on what you're going for you might keep the Chiv. Chain for TP. Dex helps Crit Hits sure, but STR would help your overall DoT as well. So, it's a call based on what you want. Regardless, I'd pick this thing up.
Enkidu's Subligar
DEF:40 STR+4 DEX+4 "Store TP"+5 "Subtle Blow"+5
Lv. 72 MNK/THF/RNG/SAM/NIN/BLU/COR/PUP/DNC
Fuck! Yes! Thank you SE! Up until now the options for Thief WS pieces weren't very good...I mean, yes Heca-Legs are goddamn amazing, but they're a trip to get. Dragon Subligar is good, Pahluwan Legs aren't bad. Even Rogue's Culotte's +1 can pass...but now we have these! It's like they put P. Legs and Dragon Subligar together!

Oily Trousers
DEF:35 DEX+5 AGI+5 Accuracy+5 Ranged Accuracy+5 Decreases movement speed
Lv. 74 WAR/BLM/THF/PLD/DRK/BST/BRD/RNG/SAM/NIN/DRG/BLU/COR/DNC
These aren't bad either. In fact, I like 'em. New alternative to TP when you can't get Haste Gear, and they're not bad for Weapon Skilling either. If you're doing SAWS, I'd go with the Enkidu's I think, but this is great for TAWS, or a SATAWS if you're going old school.

Vajra
DMG:31 Delay:200
Lv. 75 THF
This is our Nyzul Isle Weapon. Now, there's a lot of debate\theories concerning why it's blank weapon and my guess is as good as anyone else. What I'd like to point out that I'm disappointed in the base states of the thing. DMG: 31? There's a new Jambiya added with the same DMG! And the Delay is 201. So far...I don't want this, because my Blau\Sirocco is way better. But, we'll see...my theory? Think back to FFX's Final Weapons.

Azoth
DMG:35 Delay:210 AGI+4 Accuracy+4 Evasion+4
Lv. 74 THF/DNC
Now this is an interesting one. DMG is pretty high, nice Acc on it, not to mention some Agi\Evasion. Not bad for a Solo Dagger perhaps?

Zareehkl Jambiya
DMG:31 Delay:201 Evasion+5 Latent effect: DMG:36
Lv. 71 WAR/WHM/BLM/THF/PLD/BRD/NIN/SCH
This is one high-end DMG on the latent. I mean, that's sexy. Mandau is only 39 DMG. That would make this the new Blau Maybe? Who knows, something to keep your eye on though.

Black Tathlum
DEX+1 Accuracy+4 Attack+4
Lv. 70 MNK/THF/SAM/DRG/PUP/DNC
Now, this I'm looking forward too. We don't have MUCH in the way of Ammo Slot item. When we don't have a ranged equip really it's...Bomb Core, Bomblet or...RSE Satchel. Well, here we have the THFs Bomblet, because it gives us Dex to. Yay! Use Darts for pulling, use whatever you want for smacking things (Bomb Core for me) and this for Weapon Skill! Since changing Ammo does not reset TP. =)

Now, I left out a few things. Like Cobra Stuff -- because honestly, I don't need it. There's better stuff you can get...and just yea, whatever. These are the things I'm looking forward to most as a Thief. So, we'll see what happens in the next few weeks to come.

I'm out.

Curses.

2008-06-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

Whether or not you believe in magic or voodoo, or even if your superstitious or not...I think everyone, at some time in their life due to coincidence or just plain bad luck sometimes comes to believe, even if it's just for a second, that they're cursed.

I know I can recall a few...

In High School there was this kid who always ended up dating girls 2-3 weeks after my own relationship with them had ended.

No matter how many times I go Beaucidine Glacier with high lot on Assassin's Culotte, they will only drop when I'm not present, and they will drop twice.

Or...the most recent one. Salvage Chariots.

I run Salvage with people from CiB (Versus' Social LS) and they're a stand-up group. All professionals of the highest caliber in my eyes. They've downed the Chariots on numerous occassions, it's not a difficult task. You just need to get there with enough time.

However, on all the runs I've been on...we've never downed a Chariot. It's always been a case of not having enough time. I've come to the conclusion I might be cursed! I'm a very cautious puller...and because in Salvage one mistake can mean having the entire run to do stuff, or the run ending that instant...I'm even more cautious. Put on top of that that I'm trying to remember which cells to lot...I even more careful. This leads to slow pulling...this even leads to uneeded deaths of mine which takes up time.

And today, I was at the wrong door. Hell, if wasn't even a door. It was a square in the wall where a door would have been if SquareEnix wanted to place one in the design template. We lost today by like 1-2 minutes, which I could have easily cleaned up throughout based on my performance.

Curse you Salvage Chariots...curse you...

No pictures. Again, I'm lazy. But, rest assured, I've been TB'ing Izman big time!

Notorious Death

2008-06-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

So, I logged on today and I got a /tell from a dear old newb -- err, Friend. =)

Miryoku>> Wanna make 100k?
Kallo>> Fuck yea, I do.

That was the extent of the conversation! So, I hop on out to Grauberg_S and the plan is to kill the NM Wyvern Scitalis in hopes of the Saurian Helm dropping which sells for about 700k on the Auction House.

Now, the Wiki has a few testimonials of it being trio'd, he's very similar to Ungur which can also be trio'd, even duo'd in some cases. As long as you're good at what you do and careful he's not to hard. But, it's very easy for this guy to get away from you. He uses Para\Silence like most Wyverns, has fast attacks and double attacks about 50% of the time. Also, if he lands a melee he does an extra 100 wind damage.

Our first attempt...Me, Miryoku(Thf), Frag(Pld), Rael (Whm), Scottie (BLU68). Frag ate dirt SO fast it was super funny. Me and Miry bounced hate back and forth and go him down to 20% where he wasted Miry. Then I got him to about 10-8% before I went down.

So, we got all raised up and what not. By this time Frag went AFK and Forix (DRG) and Aeredon (DRK) showed up. Well, our DDs got a little excited when we pulled...and it took Miryoku and I a moment to get hate settled. In the confusion Scitalis cleared by shadows and Fang Rushed me quick...I went down at 85% and our DDs just unloaded on him (No 2 hours or JAs) and got him to 45% before Miry ate dirt and everyone else behind her.

We got raised up again and Miry\Forix has to leave and Frag was still AFK. So we disbanded...

And then I called in some favors.

Hiryo (Mnk), Myrrial (RDM), Crlmsonking (RDM), Eminatriee (NIN) and Frag (WAR now) came back. So, we pull it...at about 85% Emi eats some gravel. Hiryo and I take turns tanking it, off and on. I die...Hiryo stays up for awhile then he dies. Then Myrrial dies, then Frag then Crlmson goes down. Myrrial reported it at 8% with Bio on it.

Now, this thing doesn't have much HP for as strong as it is. So, Myrrial uses his re-raise and goes and keeps it claimed, keeping DoT on it and gets hit again. She raises up once more and DoTs it again getting on shotted with it at 2% and a DoT. So, while weakened and at 98 HP, I put up shadows and claim it at 1% and whack it a few times -- Myrrial's DoT gets the kill.

No helm.

But fun nonetheless! I took a lot of pictures.

Too bad I'm lazy and don't want to post 'em.

P.S. Izman likes to tie ribbons in his hair.

Topics.

2008-06-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

So, I've realized I can't really keep this blog up just talking about my in-game exploits and achievements. Certain things, sure. But the big things never happen...maybe once every couple of months.

I've done a couple more Versus things -- we owned Limbus the other night. We did two JoFaiths -- wait, already talked about that.

I've been playing on Black Mage, got it to LV 68. Elfaria (Super Wizard Taru) says that when I hitLv. 71 we can duo! So I'm really looking forward to that.

Really...that's about it. I need something to talk about next time...Hmm. So, yea.

I'm done now.

Full Swing!

2008-05-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally gotten back into FFXI now. Two days have gone by and Ive done a few things, but not a whole lot. I'm lazy tonight so you don't get any pictures.

Did some Sea with Versus and killed two Jailer of Faith's and got one Torque. Congrats to Myrrial for that one. Hopefully I'll get my Love Torque since he got that after joining so soon. =P Also...Iz didn't die once...yet. But, I did unfortunately. And Ring and Iz both got me -.- Which is fine. Them 1, Me 100+. I am unaffected.

And revenge will be mine.

I've jumped back into Black Mage as well. I'm 66 now and halfway to 67. Looking into getting some new gear for it...we'll see what happens.

That's about it so far -- not a whole lot.

So, GTFO.

Sorry, sorry.

2008-04-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

So, I've been a lot under the weather and it's finals week right now. >< So I've been like, 100% MIA in game. Sorry to everyone, haven't even had a chance to tell people whats up because my bed is so safe and comfy. So...that's where I am. I'll see you all at the end of the week when I'm home -- I hope.

I Need A New Gimmick.

2008-04-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Huzzah! Here come the many, many, many money shots...I need a new gimmick I think. This is getting annoying. People die so easily!

As you can see -- there are quite a few new faces. All with a story behind them. =) However! We all know my blog wouldn't quite be my blog without our favorite Paladin who always plays Warrior...the Izman.

Whew! Ok, so that's all of the TB pictures today...I think I need to take a break. All this uploading and shit is tiring. Blogger doesn't have the best uploading\position system for pictures. Anyhow, on to other things!

Ok, so...we've done Sky, Limbus (Omega) and Merit Party!

We'll start with Merit Party stuffs. I ended up finally getting enough merits for my 2nd Str Mod. So, Base Str 72 -- you can have this. =D Also, here are just a few quick notes from the merit party; Kallo parsed the highest Accuracy with 86% wearing all Haste Gear, he parsed 26% Evasion in all Haste Gear -- and up against Izman's Warrior and Hyrio\Ringthree's Monks (Both Black Belts) I parsed at 21% damange. The highest being Ringthree at 28%. So...I don't think that's too bad considering I wasn't using Meat and I missed a good deal of Trick\Sneak Attacks @.@. So, it was a lot of fun...and I love meriting with Versus. ^_^

Limbus and Omega! Totally owned up Omega and got me one of these. So that was a nice little souvenir.

And here's a pretty cool shot of Mr. Ringthree staring down Omega!

Other the that we did some Sky and downed some Gods and did a little farming. Nothing horribly exciting and what not. No Quote for the day either because I'm lazy. No! Wait I got one for you.

...no, I'm not that mean. Go do something now losers, stop reading my damn blog.

It's boring.

Dynamis, Merits, Sky!

2008-04-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've got some interesting new shots today. First off, I got myself two new photo subjects: Jess and Akanea. However, I know by now you all are expecting to see Izman up here every time I post, so I'm not without Izzy Money Shots -- but this time, I didn't get him. I had a friend help me out. Scroll down a bit to see who assisted me in the Sac'ing of the Great Izman.
So -- on that Genbu note -- I did some real Sky with Versus. It all went really well, we farmed a little beforehand, we also did Genbu\Seiryu and Suzy. Got some decent drops -- nothing for me though since all I need N Body. =P

Also! The night prior...something extraordinary happened...

Kallo actually got a Merit Party! It was the first one he's gotten since the 2 Handed Updated way back when! Woot! I ended up with 2.6 Merits -- I think Aura Steal is next on my list since I don't merit enough for STR to be on done in a realistic fashion -- and I'm not really sold on if I want to do Enmity + or Spell Interruption Rate Down.

No screenies for you! It was so super awesome that I'm going to keep it a secret. ~.^

I also got back into doing Obsidian -- I got my account put on inactive before because of my school related problems, but Ring helped me talk to some people and I'm back in as an active member again. We did Dynamis-Beaucidine and I was second line (Along with two others) for Assassin's Culottes, but we didn't get any.

We did however get quite a haul. We ended up walking away with...BST, NIN, SMN (Grats to Rudithina), BRD, WHM, RDM (Grats to Geddoe), PLD, SMN (Again!) and WHM (Again! Grats to Potpressure.).

More importantly then all of that, though! I kirred me some Obsidianites! As you can see down here...

Which, leads me into our Quote of the Moment...

Take it for what you will. =)

Also, I think I'm going to go and post a post one of these days about my current 'gear goals', so just a warning that there's an upcoming 'boring post only Kallo cares about'. Like, more then what you see on the side there. A lot of it is going to involve Salvage Gear explanations. And, maybe a bit of ranting on Merits since I'm not 100% sure what I want to do to finish up Thief merits. Anyhow! I'm out. Jerks.

Hat Trick +1!

2008-04-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

As always, we're going to start off with the money shots...

Yes, yes, yes. I've been a very busy Thief. =) You know, it's funny. A few days prior to getting my Versus pearl I had a small conversation about our favorite Paladin and\or Warrior and\or now Beastmaster.

Kallo >> I'm really looking forward to being able to see Izman die again. ^.^
Ringthreee >> Yea. But, really he actually doesn't die as much as he use to.
Kallo >> Aww...that's kind of sad.

And today Izman said something to me along these lines...

Izman >> Man, I never use to die this much until you came into the Linkshell.

I like to think that means I'm doing my job. Not necessarily as a Thief, but as a messenger for a greater good? For sure.

Moving on, here are the past few days big highlights...and, I know to some they're not that big, but every little step is a greater stride towards the end result.

I also got a pair of Nemain's Slop which is the Lv. 15 piece for Legs for BLM\RDM\BLU. I'm not going to toss it since who knows -- maybe I can get me something for my BLM, but I'm not going to go out of my way to do so when I still need Skadi's.

Other then that montage of Izman teabagging and the Gloves, not too much has gone down. I finished my Evasion Merits and I'm getting closer to being able to my Scorpion Harness back, with a +1 attached to it. Expect in the next couple of days or so some posts dedicated specifically to people that I owe a great deal to and will likely never be able to pay them back. (Mostly in part because they never ask for help for this own things.)

And there is your Quote of the moment! Apparently she found them in the sewers? o.O

Down to Business

2008-04-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

Ok -- got a lot of stuff to cover in this post since I was to lazy to update as I went along. So, let's get down to it. So, let's begin with the important things. Izman eating dirts, and as Jeremy from PurePwnage.com would put it...Mah Ballz.

I now present, exhibit A and exhibit B.

Moving on to more important, but less entertaining things! I did my first Omega run with Versus! It went pretty damn smooth. I think we had one death and that was Ninjafox. Also! Shanelle who I originally met in STRIFE is now part of Versus. Yay! We never really talked a super lot, but she's a pretty cool lady! She was Bard tonight. I think she might have secretly trained in the ways of Thief though, because here is a picture of her dodging Omega's Lazers. Pew Pew pew!Also, since we're on the topic of Omega -- here are some more pictures! Another Lazer shot and Ringthree looking like a Badass in front of Omega! (I'd love to tell you he died shortly after, but we have some mages to support him...so he didn't.)

Now, before we conclude on the Omega-fest, drops -- we got Head for Crlmsonking, Congrats! And legs for Mikura from the Rauken shell. Grats to you as well, even though I don't know you! And my favorite shot of the night...here is another picture of Izman (because he's so cool) doing what he does best.
If you guess, "Nothing.", then you are correct! Hahah! Nah, for serious, I love Izzy. He gave me a hand farming the other day and helped me get that much closer to getting my Scorpion Harness +1. Speaking of that night!

Some friends of mine are visiting from Ragnarok server and I managed to give them both a welcoming Trick Attack! So, thanks to Tiger and Maxx for helping out as well and congratulations to tiger for his Bard Hands!

Lastly, I'd like to leave you with what I'm going to start calling..."Quote of the Moment" and this time the QotM comes from Mr. Ringthree.

You may take from this whatever you'd like.

Full Time Thief?

2008-04-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

I know I've given quite a bit of praise to Versus already. To some, it might seem like I'm just trying to kiss my way to the top, whatever. I've been playing this game for well over 5 years -- 233 days accumulatively. The only places that have ever felt like home were, one maybe two Socials. End Game Shells? Never. It's always felt like a commitment.

Versus, I've been telling people I'm happy here, which I am. However, I think it's more then that. Ringthree has, on more then one occasion now, referred to me as 'a full time thf for the shell'. Yes, we have other people who has Thieves and yes, we have other jobs who can do the things he's training me to do. However, that could be said for every job and for every person in a linkshell.

Up until now, I've never felt like I have a specific place or role in a Linkshell. I've never felt like people want me to be there, if that makes any sense? When we think of our shells, there are lots of roles that people fill...who are your tanks? Who your DDs? Who are your Mages? Leaders? Etc. I've never really fell into one of those before. But, now I feel like in Versus I'm getting to that point. Something needs to be pulled or we need a TH and people won't go..."Whose the Thief today?" or "Whose pulling today?", soon it's going to be "Where's Kallo?".

Forget the gear, forget everything else -- I think that's what I've been waiting for. I'm glad I found this shell. =)

Skurlover got both Enlil's Kolluks AND Freya's Ledelsens off Archaic Chariot on Arrapago Remnants last sunday! @.@ Congratulations on that man! Now we just need to get Izzy his so I can get mine undisputed. =P

That's another thing about Versus, I don't know what it is about the people -- but I don't mind passing on stuff I can use for other people. Like, usually it's "Ok, we both need it...let's lot. Grats to whoever." However, being around these guys makes me want to pass to others first because I know I'll get mine in due time.

Anyhow -- on to pictures!

We did North West Apollyon today. That's the King one, with all the big bosses like Faffy and Behemoth. I got to pull, wee! I pulled the boss on the first floor first, aha...but we won. No problem. Was really nervous because my enter key was spazzing out on me the entire time. But it was a good run! No, deaths on my part or anything, though I had a few links on the first floor. I got some pictures coming in a second, hold your damn horses. So, we got through alright. Got 4 ABCs putting me at 26\75 for my Boxer's Mantle. I also got my 2nd RNG AF+1 Material...so, I can get one of those if I want! Which, I will after my Mantle. I guess...that's all that happened today! Here are some pictures!

Look! A Tree!

2008-04-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

Nope! Just Ringthree! Double teamed by myself and Akanea I might add. =). So, we did Salvage again, this time we went with Zhayolm Remnants. I kind of screwed us up because I wasn't paying attention to how many cells dropped and Pots got my Weapon -- it wasn't a game breaking one...but it didn't help. We didn't get much, Akanea got his Lv. 15 Usukane Hands! Grats Aka!

Other than that...nothing really went down! OH! As usual...when you dealing wit Madame Porroggo's you have to have your obligatory "Frog Orgy" Photo, so here you are...I believe this is after we had our way with Hiyro. Heh, heh...other then that...slow day. Was going to get Juxtaposition through some Zilart Missions, but we forgot and ate Wendy's and played FF9 and 7.

Lastly! I mentioned King Vineggarron...but he never popped for us. Here's us standing around looking like we're getting something accomplished!

Bad Pull!

2008-04-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

So, last night was an interesting one! Firstly, I did some Assaults with Versus -- we just used all our Tags on 'Red Versus Blue' (Irony!) and I have 8k towards my Yigit Seraweels now. It's a pretty damn easy assault if you have two heavy DDs who take a hit or two. Also! I was awarded with this opportunity after one of the Assaults.
I love Izzy so much <3.

Anyhow, after that little fiasco we did Arrapago Remnants again! We had two more people with us this time then last. Everything went smooth just like before -- in fact! On the 5th floor Archaic Chariot we got...dun dun dun ~ Enlil's Kolluks! Congratulations to Hiryo! Was hoping maybe we'd get another Njord's Gloves to drop off the Gears on the next floor...but Kallo might've pulled too fast and wiped everyone (Except Ringthree). So, we missed the QQTH on that floor and we didn't have enough time for the Megaboss...way to go Thief >_>.

Camping King Vinegarroon right now. Doesn't drop anything I'll need unless we're allowed to lot on the Venomous Claw it's reported to drop (multiples of!). So we'll see what happens. Hopefully I can get some pictures. I love giant Scorpions.

Versus, Continued.

2008-04-03T22:26:00.001-07:00

Just finished up that Salvage Run in Arrapago Remnants! And, before you ask who that dashing gentlemen to the side is let me tell you this...he's only dashing with head equips that cover 50% or more of his head.

Now then! There are a few people I want to introduce you too while I describe my initial reactions of Versus along with my expectations coming into Versus.

Might as well start with the shortest...this is Izman. I've known Izman since I was about Lv. 30ish I think, maybe in the 40s. Akeem (my brother from another mother) introduced me to a Linkshell called MithranUnderground years ago and that's where I met Izzy. He's on WAR here, but as far as I'm concerned he'll always be a PLD. I've mentioned him on the show a couple times -- he was the guy who went through the Dunes as War\Whm and the Pld I almost beat in PvP at Lv. 6oish. Love him to death and he loves me just as much...he tries to hide it, but here is your proof!

This next dashing fellow, I've only ever met once. We were in a Merit Party together -- but Seney always talks about how awesome he is, and even though I don't 'know' him per say. I've always held him in high regards as one of the servers best DRKs (sorry Ani =X). And the one of whom I speak is Jess, the only Dark Knight whose is apparently immune to my Evisceration Macro.

Lastly, is the guy who brought me into Versus. The Boss Man, Ringthree. Originally a Dragoon -- he's a Ninja in this picture and looking slightly to the side, says it makes him seem more intellectual or something. I don't know. Anyhow, I've got limitless amounts of respect for R3. In part because we're both down with the clown! MCL! And also because...I don't know, it's hard to explain I guess. He's one of those people...that no matter how far in the game you get or how successful you are, there is always someone further then you that you look up to and idolize. R3 is one of those people for me.

Also, I teabagged him tonight at Ix'Drg, but didn't get a picture. Lame, I know.

I've always considered Versus in the upper echelon of Linkshells on Odin. Like, one of the top. They don't do HNMs, but they manage to put the lock down on Sky\Sea\Salvage\Limbus pretty effectively. I think the thing I like most about Versus and something I haven't seen in a Linkshell since my old social StrengthofOdin, is putting people before you selflessly. Maybe it's not that...but it's what I see reading around blogs and the way people act. What I mean, is when we're in Linkshells we show up even when we know we're not going to get anything...but we do it because we expect people to show up for our runs. "If other people get stronger, you get stronger too." I don't feel like everyone does it for that reason in this Linkshell. And that's kickin' rad.

Another thing -- I've never seen a Linkshell remain so calm, orderly and friendly when things are going wrong and people are dying. I'm not saying everyone gets mean -- because they don't. But usually, if things are going down hill, someone is going to be handing out orders and the situation gets really tight and nerve racking...it happens to everyone and that's understandable.

I've yet to see that with Versus. Even when things are looking like we're in a pickle -- the leaders are still extremely kind. I'm not sure how else to explain it beyond that. =)

Anyhow -- in Salvage we got a shit load of drops. Usukane Head Lv. 15x2, The RDM Pants Lv.15x2, Anu's Gagesx1, Lv. 15 Ares Legsx1, Skadi's Hands Lv. 15x1...more then I've ever seen drop. But apparently...that's nothing, because they're lol15'ers =P.

I have a lot of fun...never done so much End Game in one day. I'm extremely looking forward to becoming a bigger part of the Linkshell. =)

Me, Versus, Sea\Limbus\Salvage!

2008-04-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

You see what I did with the title there? That's a play on words because my LS is called Versus. I know, clever. Haha. Now, shut up.

So...I've spent two days with Versus now. We did Limbus last week, SW Apollyon. I got to pull the first floor which was full of Linking Fomors...kicked it's ass. Was afraid I'd screw up the first day in and they'd all laugh at me...ha! Then we got killed on the Elementals! Freak Accident, not much you can do. We only had a party of us.

So, the next day...which is Thursday. Today. We had Sea...popped and killed an Ix'Drg -- which fun. They zone it in and out of the Teleporter thing...you know that weird light\portal that just takes you to the other side of the zone? Yea, that thing. It's like a self-kiting strategy. Worked really well! I didn't die. Woot!

Then we did two Jalier of Fortitudes. Got one Torque. Yay! It'd be cool to have one eventually...but meh, don't need it. After that we went to Limbus, did the floor we fudged up on Monday. Cleared it no problem and got my 2nd Light Filament. Just need a couple more coins and a Supple Skin for AF Pants +1. Wewt, for me.

And...now we're doing Salvage! Same night! As we speak...er, as I write! Wrote. Whatever. Going in Arrapago Remnants. Should be a fun time -- I get to pull again. Sweet! Anyhow, I have some cool pictures and stuff somewhere I'll post later of the cool people in Versus and talk a little more about the shell. When I'm, you know, not in Salvage killing people.

Unpause!

2008-04-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

So, it seems I haven't used this blog in quite some time...I think I'm going to start trying to remedy that. We'll begin with a update of my current situation, since some pretty deep things have happened recently. I may\may not get flak for it, honestly, it doesn't matter either way. But, at least this way if people absolutely NEED an explanation I can point them to here.

Just a quick note before I drop this wall of text, this isn't drama. At least, I don't consider it drama. I'd say it's life, shit happens. =P We deal and get over it. Anyhow!

Last semester, in real life, I was put on Academic Probation. What this means, is that my Total GPA was under a 2.0. When put on Academic Probation you have 2 or 3, I don't remember exactly, semesters to raise your GPA to a 2.0+ or you are removed from the University. This isn't your normal 'Bye bye for this semester, come back next' it means you're gone for good and need to be re-matriculated.

This semester isn't looking so good -- two of my classes which I perform poorly in by nature were suffering even more then usual. So, I knew sacrifices needed to be taken...

So, I decided to put FFXI on hold until school was over. Just a week or so before this, I re-assumed my position as a STRIFE Officer. Things weren't going great, but they were good and shaping up and I had faith. Then, after two nights of talking with some friends and really evaluating my current state in life, I decided I had to step away...it was extremely bad timing, but I felt it was the right choice.

Also, a week prior, in fact the day AFTER I got my Pearl Sack for STRIFE, I was offered a position with Versus. I turned it down because of my commitment STRIFE.

A little over a week or so has gone by since leaving STRIFE and my decision to put FFXI on hold. It's been extremely rough...just severing ties of friendship, leaving behind the wonderful world of Vana'diel. Too make things even worse...both my roommates still play FFXI and so everyday I was exposed to how much fun they were having.

I was reviewing some classes for next semester a few days ago and upon inspecting my GPA, I was over a 2.0. Which means, I was removed from Academic Probation last semester and just didn't realize it.

So, I decided that freezing my account would've just been a waste of 10$ (Because I'd have to pay a re-activation fee the same month I'd be leaving\coming back). I'm not going to quit the game...but I am going to try to cut back until my major finals are out of the way. In the meantime, I have taken Versus up on their offer since some people were a bit sore from me leaving STRIFE.

Personally, it's seems the same if not better then it was before I became an officer. And the people claimed I didn't do anything anyhow...so, based on those two facts it shouldn't matter much that I'm with Versus now.

I still love everyone in STRIFE to death, especially my old StrengthofOdin Brothers and Sisters.

At this point, I'm just putting one chapter behind me and starting a new one. Versus has some of my really, really, really old friends in it that I'm looking forward to working with. I've got no regrets, people will get over it or they won't. If they want to continue to be sour over something like this...that's fine too, but I'm moving forward.

That's about it, that's my situation as of late. You can probably catch me in-game during Versus Events when I don't have homework and such, but other then that I'll probably be pretty scarce.

I'm out!

Back in Black!

2007-11-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

So, lately, I've been dabbling a little more in the art of Black Magic. I made a post about it some time ago, how I picked up Black Mage and how it was going pretty going good.

As of late, I am Lv. 58 (Almost 59) and I'm still loving the whole solo thing. Less newbs and morons to put up with and get me killed.

At this point the only problem\encounter I have with the idiotic in Vana'diel is when someone tries to over camp. In which case...

If they were there first...I'm a nice guy. I'll usually just wait around until they leave, or I'll just go do something else.

But, If I'm there first...and they try killing my mobs -- usually a friendly conversation to let them know, "Hey your being an asshat" and they'll kindly leave. Sometimes it's not so kindly -- but luckily I'm quicker at casting. So HA!

I did all my AF in one day. Weapon through the Lv. 60 piece...it took me about...I don't know, 5 or 6 hours. I did it more or less solo. Only time I needed help was with the doors in Garlaige and I had a bunch of people give me aid.

My lil' newb Elisen helped me quite a bit as well. But I'm sure that was more out of boredom then it was 'Kallo NEEDS help'. Nonetheless, thank you newb.

I'm not sure if I want to take it all the way to 75 or just 60 now...the original plan was to go to 75 for meriting purposes when I couldn't get a party and now I've found a GREAT farming spot that BLM could do solo that is a bit more difficult on my THF. However, BST would be even better for it...and I have given serious consideration to that being my next job to land somewhere between 60 and 75...so we'll see.

I'm out, 3k TNL 59! Woot.

Early X-Mas Presents...

2007-10-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

...From myself. =D

Firstly...Special thanks are in order...

Blau Dolch...
Elisen, for helping me farm and for giving me her Strike Subligar to sell before I completed the deal by getting her Dune Boots.
Neelia, for helping me farm in The Boyahda Tree.
Selphiie, for helping me farm in The Boyahda Tree.
Leu, for loaning me 380k until Motai sends me his donation.
Motai, for giving me 400k to get me my Dagger sooner then I would've had to farm for it!

Qiqirn Hood...
Kallo, because I'm awesome and I bought it.

Njord's Ledelsens...
Ashrah, for telling me we had Salvage this night.
Cyprias, for leading a kickass Salvage run through Silver Sea Remnants.
PlanetZebes Linkshell, for not needing Skadi's gear and letting me get the drop all for myself!

Yay for everyone! I are so happy =D

And that damage at the top was just me playing with spiders. It was my first weapon skill I went out and hit. And for all you people that just go..."Lol, Easy Prey Spider." Numbers still work the same on IT and EP...I hit the same numbers on EP that I hit on IT. So...suck mah balls!

And be happy for me damn it!

Againt All Odds!

2007-08-19T12:52:00.001-07:00

Both Aniero and myself need Hecatomb Leggings, the Feet equip, so don't get confused by the fact that it says...leggings. In order to get these you need to buy Cursed Leggings...usually 400,000 gil. Aniero has had his sitting in his Mog House for like...months. I have 250,000 gil, kind of saved up.

After you get your Cursed Leggings you need to kill one of the Sky Gods named Suzaku and get a Neptunal Abjuration: Feet, to decurse your Cursed Leggings.

For a long time when Aniero was on Titan, it seemed his Sky Shell never did Suzaku when he was on. He had the points for the N Abj. Feet, he just lucked out on when they fought Suzaku.

On my end...I've had the points for item, but it seemed like it would NEVER drop and when it did...someone else would roll a higher lot than me.

Alas, it seemed we were never destined for our Hecatomb Leggings.

When he came over to Odin, him and I were more or less the only Career Dark Knight and Thief -- which means we get priority over all other jobs...save Warrior. They have equal priority.

So, whenever a N. Abj. Feet drops it seems like, again, some other player comes out of no where and steals it from us!

So we always joke and laugh about how one day we're going to get the killing blow on Suzaku and TWO N. Abj. Feet will drop...one for both of us.

Oh, the Irony...

On Friday I had plans to hang out with a friend in real life, I didn't plan on getting on FFXI for Sky. However, my company left early so I decided to pop on. We were doing Gods that night and Suzaku happened to be the next up.

Aniero wasn't there due to real life commitments. When it came bidding time, myself and one other person, Getto (War and Thf 75) were the ONLY people to roll on N. Abj. Feet.

Our Rolls?

Kallo rolls a 248.
Getto rolls a 164.

...wow. So, I won...we fight Suzaku...

AND TWO NEPTUNAL ABJURATION: FEET DROP! OMG!

I haven't talked to Aniero yet...he's going to be so heart broken. =(

And so the Gods would fall...

2007-08-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

Over the past month or so...STRIFE has shown exceptionally quick growth as an Endgame Linkshell in several respects. This is more noteworthy, I believe, due to the fact that more then a good handful of our team has never done Sky, nor Endgame content, until they joined STRIFE.

This past Sunday...we fought our first Kirin.

The fight took somewhere around an hour and twenty minutes. I, myself, died twice. While in the main alliance -- I do not recall seeing more then one person dead at a time. Due to being raised, switched out for a healthy member, etc. etc.

I remember see more then one person's health in the yellow or lower...one time. I have never seen a Kirin run go as smoothly as STRIFE operated on this day, and I'm extremely proud to call myself both a team member of this Linkshell, and also a friend to all those involved.

Our drops were Wyrmal Abj. Legs and Kirin's Osode, as well as Qauke and Kirin's Pole.

Congratulations STRIFE =) We've conquered Sky and toppled all five Gods.

The Art of Boom & Little Green Men.

2007-07-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Alright. So, I've been Exp'ing on Black Mage lately...for about a weeks time now. I started at level 20 and I'm now level 38. Why you ask?

Well, several reasons, actually...

A. I hate people. They're stupid. With Black Mage at 75 I can easily solo -- or duo, my Merits for Thief...and there are a lot.
B. I hate people. They're stupid. With Black Mage at 75, I can do Operation Desert Swarm with anywhere from 2-6 other Black Mages for some easy money.

Not to mention, at Lv. 40 I can do Peacock Charm runs for more gil. Oh yay.

So -- down to the point. I'm at level 38 and a half and the current camp I'm using is near the Yhoator Outpost. I'm using the Elementals that Tonberries summon.

Oh! It should mentioned, I've solo'd every single exp point since I've picked Black Mage back up. For the most part it hasn't been too bad. I've borrowed all my gear from other career mages -- and it's all HQ. So my +INT is eqaul too, it not more then my base INT. But...fucking elementals...

As Elementals chase after you -- they'll stop to cast, giving thier masters more time to turn and link and I'm at the point that they're not Ts no more -- they're even matchs...so it's hard enough sustaining chains let alone getting over 100 exp per kill anyhow.

And I can't go to the next camp unless I have a PL to take my adds and heal me for resists.

/fume.

Whatever...I'm going to go own some things on Thief...maybe that'll make me feel better.

Where has I been?

2007-07-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

Yea...

So I forgot my password and username. Just got around to finding it again, so that's cool. A couple quick little update things...

Rank 10 in Windurst.
Solo'ing BLM to 75...at 37 so far...
Blue Chocobo (hopefully) will be adolescent tomorrow...

Oh, boy -- let's see. OH! If you read 'Honor Amongst Thieves' that's going to be wrapping up in the next 3-4 weeks and the next installment...'Honor Amongst Thieves: Past Treasures' will start.

ZoMG! Another one?! Yep...and you heard it first...spread the word!

Duck, Duck, Chocobo!

2007-06-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Alright -- so, I started doing the Chocobo thing when it first went live. I like it, it's pretty cool. My first chick was a Yellow Girl, her name was Lady Lily and I loved her very much -- and she loved me in return.

When she grew up, I retired her and didn't touch another Chocobo for awhile.

You see, my goal is this...

A. Raise one Chocobo of each color. This is so I can get the colored plaques for the Moghouse.

B. Raise the ULTIMATE Gold Chocobo to get the Knights of the--...raise the ULTIMATE Green Chocobo so I can kick feathered ass in the Races and look awesome in my AF while doing it.

So far, I've raised two yellows...Lady Lily and Lunar Rose, both girls. These were the only two I actually put any money into. Then I raised a Red Boy, Lord Wild. Now, I have another girl who is currently in her adolescent stage, she's black and her name is Night Iris.

Yea, I know -- all those names have flowers in them...Lily, Rose, Wildflower and Iris. It's called a theme you Galkan bean sac.

Anyhow, with Wild and Iris, I gave the egg to the Tarutaru Lady in Windurst...and never went back until they were grown. Which, for Lord Wild...big deal, he's a guy he'll live. Make him tough, you know, put feathers on his chest.

But...I feel bad about Night Iris because I really like her name and she's a girl. Makes me sad...oh well. She should be an adult soon and I'll retire her then start my blue chocobo.

Which reminds me...I need a new name, something to do with flowers...any ideas?

...of course not. Bunch of useless mutes.

Soaring to New Heights!

2007-06-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I might have forgotten about my last promise to post about the STRIFE and Salvage thing...my bad. A lot since then has happened though, so I'll briefly talk about the Salvage Run then I want to talk more about STRIFE.

So, ImperialScouts the Salvage Linkshell.

I was impressed. I was very, very impressed. They have a very tight knit group -- cell passing\lotting went as smooth as I think it's possible to do. We had minimal deaths -- the leader Onibaku really knew his shit and we got things done. We had two Anu's Tiara drop, that was cool. Nothing else really happened, we fought other NMs but no drops. I'll most defiantly be going back, this will be the Linkshell to get me my Skadi's gear.

STRIFE...

We. Are. Awesome. We're on a huge roll here. We're claimed every NM, we've got every pop item...we're planning to do our first God on the 17th. Within a week though, we're managed to do double what the other Sky Linkshell's usually accomplish in a week.

But what makes us so special? 80% of our Linkshell...is new to Sky. Aside from the leaders, STRIFE's opening run was the FIRST time more then half of our Linkshell even stepped into Sky, let alone read up on it. It's amazing. We took down our first Faust and Mother Globe last night completing our missing God sets. Last I knew we had 2 Genbu's and two halfs, 4 Byakkos, 1 and half Seiryu, and 1 and a half Suzaku. It's our hope that within a month we'll be reliably taking down Gods and trying our hand at our first Kirin. It's been amazingly fun so far.

Last night alone we started at 8:00pm and the night went like this...

Kill Faust (Soup Abj.). Kill Ullikumi (Soup Abj.). Kill Steam Cleaner (Drink Abj, and Indra Katars) on 2nd Detector Summon. Kill Olla Grande (Drink Abj.). Get a water on first kill. Kill Olla Grande (Drink Abj.). Go find Curtana in third room we check. Kill Brigandish Blade (Soup Abj,). Then I logged and they went and killed Mother Globe. All within 2-3 hours, it was an excellent night!

I'm a little bummed out that they delayed the new Assault and Rank...but whatever, gives me more time to rank up myself. In 10 days I should max rank, but I need to hop to it! I got four assault tags burning a hole in the commissions agency as we speak!

Also, TOA Missions...DO, THEM, NOW! SqaureEnix has started trying some brand new things in both battles and cut scenes. Some of the new graphics and textures and different actions\animations they're starting to use is pimp. We're talking like...if you were to take RDM AF and THF AF...and make it into like...Thief Mage AF -- oh yea, that pimp.

Starter Wings?

2007-06-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm a bit late -- I actually had some problems and I didn't get to attend the first night of STRIFE. But, the second night, which was Saturday went pretty well, and from what I hear of the first night -- we're off to a pretty good start. Here's a quick outline...

Thur. Night, not an official run, Souel, Sene, Blaiyke, and myself as well as NPC Ashrah all went to farm some waters. I found a Curtana before they got out there and when they came we farmed up 4 Ro'Maeve waters, for Olla Grande.

Friday night -- we got ToDs on MG, SC, Zip and Despot -- but didn't claim any of them. We popped Brigandish Blade and killed him, popped two Olla Grande's and kill them. Decent for our first night. We only had 12 people.

Saturday night -- got a ToD on Despot, sent someone over to MG. We went and farmed some Diorites...well, we tried. Farmed for about 2 hours. Nothing. Missed a Despot claim -- went backto Diorites...an hour...nothing. MG pops. We all hurry over and claim her -- didn't go exactly as well as we'd hope, but it was a valiant effort with only have 2 parties of people who are mostly fighting her for the first time. We lost her at 50% and another LS beat us to the claim as we got unweakened. Oh well, it was fun.

We went back up top to Despot whose window was opening again and managed to get claim this time! Woot! Souel got one shotted by something right off the bat and hate went haywire! Luckily Cyprias got it under control (With a quick TA Shark Bite from myself.) and we take him down. We head down to Ulli since someone said they have an old Diorite. But as they were coming back from Jeuno they fell asleep. So...we farmed Diorites for another 2 and half hours...and we got nothing.

All in all -- we've got 2 Waters left, and at least one item for each god. So we're well on our way! I'm really looking forward, our Black Mages are already showing great progress. We do training Skillchains\Magic Bursts while farming and our Black Mages -- even Paladins and White Mages are hitting thier Magic Bursts 80%-100% of the time.

We got another run Monday, as well as my first Salvage run with Imperial Scouts -- so look forward to updates concerning both of those!

Take to the Sky.

2007-06-01T11:01:00.001-07:00

So today at 8EST PM an event of a lifetime will take place.

lolSTRIFE, a linkshell started my Souel, will take it's maiden farming run in Sky. Sene, Myself, Ashrah and a guy by the name of Nikup are part of the management. I don't like calling myself a co-leader...but Souel puts enough responsibility on me, not that I'm complaining. We farmed 1 Curtana and 3 Waters last night in a bout 2 and half hours or so. Anyhow, I can't give you much now but I'll try and post again after the run tonight.

We're hoping that STRIFE becomes a lot more then just a Sky Shell. We plan on forming a smaller Limbus farming static soon. Eventually touching Salvage and Sea and beyond that. However, that's way in the future.

Pillaging the High Sea!

2007-05-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

No, no, I haven't gone the way of the Pirate...yet. However, just recently I did attain access to Al'taieu, otherwise known as Sea. Now, I don't have a Sea\Limbus shell yet, but that didn't stop me from teaming up with Souel and Sene...and also, Ashrah, sort of -- Souel was controlling her, you see. Anyhow, the four of us teamed up over the past two days for a massive genocide of the monsters that inhabit the lands, or waters, of Al'taieu. We've been shredding loads of Aerns, Xzomits, Hpemde, Phaubo and a couple Yovra's in an attempt to take their organs to a girl in Tavnazia for some sort of experiments or something.

Anyhow, we've finished collecting almost all the samples we need. I personally, need one more Yovra organ before I'm finished. Today, however, I took the little scientist 10 Phuabo Organs, 5 Hpemde Organs, 1 Yovra Organ, a Gorget and a Green Chip and she made me a Breeze Gorget! Which, I'm told should increase damage when using Dancing Edge and Evisceration -- oh goody.

I'll let you know how that turns out -- anyhow, that's about it for now.

Oh! Over the next few days I'm going to try and finish out Rank 8 through 10 for Windurst. I'll keep you updated on that and also Assaults! I'm a Sergeant right now! Naja was so proud of me!

Also, I guess you want me to say some type of cool word today, eh? Ok, how about...ninny. Yea. That's a good insulting word. You don't hear it enough. It's not really dirty or vulgar like most insults nowadays, but it gets the job done. My friend Frag, a 75 PLD lost to Shiva the other night and De-leveled and didn't want to go back in...he's such a ninny.

My Merit Plan!

2007-05-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

Main Job Focus: Thief
2ndary Job Focus: Ranger and Corsair
3rd Job Focus: Red Mage

HP\MP Max 8
MP, X X X X X X X X
Attributes Max 5
STR, O X X X X
Combat Skills Max 20
Weapon Skills Max 8
Dagger, X X X X X X X X
Marksmanship, O O X X X X X X
Defensive Skills Max 4
Evasion, O O X X
Others Max 8
Critical Hit Rate, O O O O
Spell Interruption Rate, X X X X
Job Specific -- Thief
Group One Max 10
Sneak Attack Recast, X X X X X
Triple Attack Rate, O O O O X
Group Two Max 6
Assassin's Charge, O - -
Feint, O - -
Aura Steal, X - -
Ambush, X X X

Merit Points Attained, 35 (350,000 Limit Points).
Merit Levels Modified, 15

Oh, Formalities!

2007-05-30T04:22:00.001-07:00

Character Bio
Name: Kallo Landis
Server: Odin
Occupation: Level 75 Thief
Other Job(s): Level 60 Ranger
Future Job(s): Level 12 Corsair, Level 20 Black Mage
Nation: Windurst, Rank 8
Rise of the Zilart Expansion: Complete
Chains of Promathia Expansion: Complete
Treasure of Aht Urghan Expansion: Complete (So Far)
Assault\Mercenary Rank: Tier 6, Sergeant.
Linkshell(s): STRIFE for Sky\Social.
Race\Sex: Elvaan Male, Face 1-A
Interests: Theft, Loot, Pillaging, Stealing, Charming, Women, Ladies, Money, Gil, Jewelry, Women, Plundering, Booty, Other Booty, etc. etc.

There’s most of the basic stuff about me. I’m very interested in doing Salvage, which hopefully I’ll be getting into quite a bit soon. I’m also a Sacholder for lolSTRIFE. I co-host a Final Fantasy XI related Podcast known as LimitBreakRadio, you should check that out. That’s about…you want to know anything more specific. Then ask.

Just to re-iterate, I’m basically going to be using this blog to follow my achievements, goals, rants, raves, etc. etc.

So, basically, “Just another Lv. 75, here’s what I did today” blog. Yep, that’s about it. You don’t like it, you can skedaddle. However, you stick you around I promise more words like that…skedaddle. How many of those blogs use skedaddle? HA! 3 times now…oh the fun we’re going to have.

Soon to come, Merits and Merit Schedule, Oh yippee!

The Purpose.

2007-05-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

I've tried out a bunch of Blog-ish projects in the past. The most recent, and the only successful of them so far is Honor Amongst Thieves.

Honor Amongst Thieves a fictional post-by-post story-line which will soon be adapted in an illustrated form. Regardless...that's not what this blog is for. I use to do a Rant\Creative Writing blog and soon gave that up and started HAT, but I had a couple say they enjoyed reading those. So, this is my unofficial blog about stuff happening in game. I don't really like this type of stuff, so I don't know how often you'll see updates, but, whatever. Let's give it a try.

I'll post more about myself later...and for those of you confused as to what the hell I'm talking about, this will be a Final Fantasy XI oriented blog. Now you know.