FFXI update 4: Cleaning up the new year!

Happy 2016! ... err, yeah, I'm a bit late with that one, but I'm also late with this update, so at least I'm consistent!

The outfit of the now! I worked hard for that crown...

I got a bit distracted towards the end of December with the holidays and all, and what I really mean by that is, "I got a bunch of cool video games for Christmas so I didn't play FFXI as much". However, I was still able to finish up the Wings of the Goddess storyline and get a few more jobs to 75!

January brought with it a lot more progress: so far I've managed to complete both San d'Oria and Bastok storylines to rank 10. These were super easy and I could've probably done them in a day each. Having all the appropriate warps unlocked (plus being an invincible level 99 job...) made things zip by incredibly fast. Now I can return to being a Windurstian, as it should be!

One of the areas of content I hadn't touched up until very recently was Limbus. It's unlocked via Chains of Promathia progress and features dungeons where you can acquire key items to... access more dungeons! And at the very end you can unlock fights with both Omega and Ultima Weapons. Turns out each of those bosses are necessary for achievements, lucky me!

One of the reasons I hadn't touched it yet was due to the fact that Trusts aren't usable there (yet). I wasn't sure how easy it would be to solo, or whether I should wait to see if Trusts would be added in later, much how they were to Dynamis.

However, my Twitter friend and fellow FFXI player @MoombaB just so happened to scrounge up the items for the bosses, so teaming up sounded like a plan! As it turns out... I probably could've easily soloed both bosses, as well as farm the items needed myself without too much hassle. Still, it was fun to party with someone for once! Big thanks to Mumba of Asura for the help!

Bang, zoom, kapow! Other sound effects!

With Limbus down, I don't have too many achievements left to unlock! The current remaining list is:

Top Assault / Mercenary Rank

Value: 40 points

How to unlock: Earned the Top Assault / Mercenary Rank.

Assault hasn't been Trust-ified and there are a couple tricky/luck-based missions, especially if you're solo, but overall it's not SO bad. I like Aht Urhgan's town music so that'll be a treat to revisit.

Gold Ballistar

Value: 30 Points

How to unlock: Earned the title "Gold Ballistar."

Hoo boy... this is the toughie. Ballista isn't really played much (or at all) anymore from what I can tell, which might actually be an advantage. The Gold Ballistar title is earned from having the top Ballista score in a zone over the last 10 matches, which equates to roughly 60 real hours.

... so really, I just need to get 5 other people who don't mind letting me win! I'm definitely up for gil rewards or something for helping me out, since this is a pretty awkward achievement to get, and technically the only one I can't do solo!

Official Soul Reflector

Value: 5 Points

How to Unlock: Obtained an Official Soul Reflector.

This has to do with Pankration, which is a minigame where... you use monsters to fight other monsters and... maybe it's like Pokemon or something? Sadly, like much of FFXI's side content, nobody really does this.

That's okay though, because this achievement seems to be part of the quest to unlock access to Pankration... in other words, it's easy and I can solo it, so woohoo!

Medal of Altana

Value: 30 Points

How to unlock: Obtained the key item "Medal Of Altana"

This involves Wings of the Goddess' Campaign content. Basically, it's the highest rank of Campaign, so I'll have to warp back to the past and beat up a lot of beastmen to rank up! I haven't touched Campaign yet but from what I've read, ranking up is pretty easy.

Insert a bunch of jobs I don't have to 75 yet

Value: A lot

How to unlock: GRRRRINNNDDD

Uh, yeah. I have a number of jobs I still need to level up to 75. Corsair is the only one still stuck at level 1, though, and many of my jobs are in the 40s/50s/60s. I'll just have to get my grind on and finish things up!

... and that'll be it! I'm projecting I'll be done by sometime in February, which will be well ahead of the March 31st deadline. Of course, there's content not covered by achievements that I could experience, and the game itself isn't going anywhere. However, my assumption is that I'll be taking a well-deserved break from the game once that last achievement pops! But I shouldn't get ahead of myself, there's still plenty to do. See you on Asura!

Until we meet again... wait, there's no time to take it easy!

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.

FFXI update 2: Electric Goobbue

Since I posted my original entry on the subject, I've had several people offering to help me along and even join me in trying to unlock all the Xbox 360 achievements in FFXI! It's nice to see people interested in XI, and I really do appreciate the support.

I'll most likely be transferring to the Asura server once the discount campaign begins again this month, since that seems to be the place most English-speakers have congregated in. That'll be my chance to grab the Ballista achievement (more on that later) and maybe help out some fellow adventurers!

Today we'll take a look at some of the achievements I'm after. Strap yourselves in, it's one heck of a ride. Our first set involves leveling up jobs to an appropriate level. Once you meet the requirements for an achievement, speak to a Traveling Bard while logged in on an Xbox 360 and select the "Unlock achievement" option.

No, no, I said level UP, dammit!

Bard Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Beastmaster job up to its maximum level.

Beastmaster Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Beastmaster job up to its maximum level.

Black Mage Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Black Mage job up to its maximum level.

Blue Mage Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Blue Mage job up to its maximum level.

Corsair Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Corsair job up to its maximum level.

Dancer Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Dancer job up to its maximum level.

Dark Knight Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Dark Knight job up to its maximum level.

Dragoon Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Dragoon job up to its maximum level.

Monk Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Monk job up to its maximum level.

Ninja Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Ninja job up to its maximum level.

Paladin Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Paladin job up to its maximum level.

Puppetmaster Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Puppetmaster job up to its maximum level.

Ranger Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Ranger job up to its maximum level.

Red Mage Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Red Mage job up to its maximum level.

Samurai Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Samurai job up to its maximum level.

Scholar Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Scholar job up to its maximum level.

Summoner Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Summoner job up to its maximum level.

Thief Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Thief job up to its maximum level.

Warrior Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the Warrior job up to its maximum level.

White Mage Lv. 75

Value: 30 points

How to unlock: Level up the White Mage job up to its maximum level.

... so, as you can see, we're going to need to level up a LOT in order to unlock all these babies. BUT WAIT, it's not quite as bad as you think it is.

You see, we have a couple of advantages here. The 360 achievements were added to the game quite a while ago, back when level 75 was the maximum (it's 99 now), and before two jobs (Geomancer and Rune Fencer) were introduced. This means we get achievement credit even though 75 isn't the level cap anymore, and we don't need to bother with GEO or RUN.

Getting to 75 is much, MUCH easier nowadays, since we can summon a full party of Trusts to level up with instead of waiting for EXP parties. We also have the advantage of permanent EXP boosts from the Rhapsodies of Vana'diel key item rewards; it's around 180% right now if you've caught up with the storyline. EXP loss from death has also been greatly reduced, to the point where you'll most likely never see a "LEVEL DOWN" message [shudder].

Pick an appropriate leveling camp and just smash everything you see until the FF victory music plays. I'd recommend following Fields of Valor for general ideas of what areas you should attempt based on your level. If you can summon 4 or 5 Trusts, I'd recommend focusing on Tough/Incredibly Tough monsters whenever possible for the best EXP. You may need to do a bit of traveling to find these areas at first, just make sure to click on any Home Points or Survival Guides you see to enable warping back later.

Our lord and savior, floating book thing.

While leveling might be our first 75 will be a huge pain because you'll have to finish various "limit break" quests to increase your max level, starting at level 50. They'll slow down what is otherwise a relatively quick process, but once they're done, they're done. Future leveling will be much easier without those things in the way. My recommendation is to choose a non-Aht Urghan or Wings of the Goddess job as your first 75, since those limit break quests are more straightforward and easily accessible.

We don't HAVE to level beyond 75, but I highly recommend getting at least one job to 99 in order to completely trash and humiliate every storyline battle that you encounter, and it'll also make traveling through areas much safer and quicker, too. This speeds up getting through the various storylines significantly, which takes up a large chunk of the time we'll spend getting those achievements.

My personal progress: I've gotten Samurai to 75 and Dancer to 99, along with various other jobs in the 50s and 60s, and a number that are quite a bit lower. The upcoming bonus EXP campaign in November should hopefully help me grind through the rest of them!