FFXI update 5: The end, and a new beginning...

Here it is. The end of a long journey. Having stayed up a bit later than I should have to grind that last job to 75, on March 12, 2016, I unlocked the last Xbox 360 achievement in Final Fantasy XI.

I left my starting job for last. Also, yes, I stayed up til 5AM.

I did the math: that's about 1,610 hours. This probably includes quite a bit of idle time.

About a year ago, I set out to try and see if it was even possible for me to accomplish this. In the beginning, it was an ambitious "well, I'll try and see how far I get" sort of a project, but as time went on, I became more determined as the goal itself became more and more realistic. The looming deadline of March 2016 kept me motivated as I plugged away at over a decade's worth of content. I was anxious over achievements involving content I wasn't familiar with (especially Ballista), and there were times I wasn't sure I'd make it in time as the months passed into the new year.

In many ways it was a lonely sort of journey. Most players I know had long since stopped playing FFXI, even questioning why I'd go back and play it. Many others had never played the game to begin with, so talking about my latest accomplishments wasn't exactly an interesting topic to bring up with most people. Still, I knew I wasn't the only one still playing, nor was I the only one trying to unlock all the achievements. From Xbox 360 achievement forums to the FFXI subreddit and even finding friends on Twitter, I got encouragement and advice while on my quest to unlock 'em all.

Mumba and Bigbrett, indispensable allies in my quest for Ballista gold. Thanks again guys!

The achievements themselves are mostly an excuse to experience much of what FFXI has to offer, something I hadn't been able to do until recently. While one could argue that achievements themselves aren't important or worthwhile, they acted as a sort of roadmap for me to follow as I finished storyline after storyline, battlefield after battlefield. It was also nice to have "proof" that I accomplished these things, showing what I had finished and what I still needed to do.

I enjoyed a majority of the experience. FFXI is an older MMORPG with an older mindset, but I've always been comfortable with "old games" (because I remember when most of them were new), so that wasn't a negative thing for me at all. The changes made to the game in recent years made soloing most content very accessible, so most of the time, it just felt like I was playing an offline RPG with some online components.

There were certainly quests here and there with annoying requirements, there was quite a hefty level grind involved, and there were entire types of content (Assault...) that weren't very fun solo. At the end of it all, however, I was proud to have experienced FFXI in at least some form. The storylines, characters, and music will remain with me for many years to come, and as the title of this post indicates, I don't consider this the end.... not at all. The game will still continue strong on PC and eventually on mobile, and there are things I've still yet to accomplish in the game.

It's not always easy, Lovingyou...

I'll be writing up a couple more blog posts about my experiences in FFXI soon. One will detail the achievements themselves and my notes about them, and I'll probably write up my thoughts about FFXI itself as well. Stay tuned!

For now, though, I'll be taking an extended break and enjoying my newfound "freedom". When I do return, I'll take my time and enjoy what Vana'diel has to offer. Until then, this is Kittywoo of Asura, signing off!

One of my favorite areas in the game. The Blueblade Fell area in Lufaise Meadows. It seemed like a good place to take a nice long rest as I logged off.

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.