FFXI update 3: Cooking up some progress!

Since we last left our brave catgirl, she's been quite busy! For starters, she's packed her bags and made the move over to Asura, THE server to be on nowadays, it seems. Right away I noticed a difference: OTHER PEOPLE! In an MMO, what a concept! It's not so crowded that it becomes a disadvantage, which is a good thing. It just feels more... alive. Ragnarok was a pretty fun place, but I'll be needing help with some upcoming content, so it's nice to know the support is there if I need it! If you see Kittywoo scampering around on Asura, be sure to say hi.

At least I've got a nice view!

This month's progress has been a variety of odds and ends. I finished up the (amazing) Treasures of Aht Urhgan storyline, and have spent the rest of my time split between grinding levels and grinding... crafting levels! One of the achievements is to get one craft to 100, and I decided early on that Cooking would be my jam, pardon the pun. There's currently a double crafting skill gain event going on, so I plan to take full advantage of it and push on to level 100. The last event got me from 1 to 49, so I'm hopeful I can get it done and over with this month!

My crafting method is pretty much to burn through it as quickly as possible, spending quite a bit of gil in the process instead of farming up my own materials and crystals. It's not the ideal way to do things, but I've got so much else to accomplish before March! Plus, the truth of the matter is, I don't have much else to spend my gil on anyway.

I never want to see one of these ever again.

Luckily, FFXI has greatly simplified the crafting process. Once you use a recipe once, it gets stored in your "History" tab under crafting. From here, it's just a matter of clicking... over... and over... oh, and refilling ingredients when necessary. Cue hours of me doing this while watching videos or playing 3DS, among other things! Definitely one of the more monotonous tasks I've had to do thus far for my goal, but it's a nice break from the usual, I suppose.

Job level-wise, I've recently gotten Paladin to level 75, and Dark Knight is soon to follow. (Hey, it's Final Fantasy IV's 24th anniversary, maybe I was feeling nostalgic?) This month's EXP bonus isn't quite as good as before, since it's basically just doubling the chain EXP bonuses and EXP boost from ring items, as opposed to doubling the base EXP from enemies. Still, I have quite a bit of leveling left to do, and we just don't know what future campaigns are planned, so I intend to take advantage of any kind of bonus.

Storyline-wise, I just have Wings of the Goddess left of the major scenarios, although it's quite lengthy. I'd say I'm roughly 1/3 of the way through it as of now. I also have to change nations and get through the San d'Oria and Bastok missions, although these should probably go quickly on a level 99 character with all the relevant Home Points unlocked!

Wings of the Goddess: the funny cat video of the FFXI storyline?

That's all until next time... oh, be sure and take part in the FFXIV/FFXI crossover event if you play! It's quite a treat for FFXI players, plus you get Iroha's swanky outfit if you finish it. The event goes on until December 31, so there's plenty of time to celebrate.