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Solitair posted:No problem. In the meantime, I found something that veteran players will appreciate: That free space isn't free with me in the party.  That said that's pretty spot on! I'm not sure what I'd replace for it but "Scholar /follows during leveling roulette" deserves a place on that board.
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Oct 2, 2016 17:03
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Considering some people have really complex names thanks to the random name gen, I don't blame people for using the job name. I feel that "no HQ on 90%+" though. It failed to HQ for me for an item I needed to get my artisan glasses 
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Oct 2, 2016 17:58
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Chapter VII: Another One Bites the Dust After helping out Summerford Farms, Baderon has another lead for me. This will take me further north along the road and eventually to Swiftperch in Western La Noscea.  There's honestly not much to say about the next short leg of the main story quest, so this is a good a time as any to do the next arcanist quest. I've been putting it off for a while. THUBYRGEIM: Yes, Freddie, the time for your next lesson is upon us. You are keeping well, I trust? Taking the occasional brisk walk? One cannot form sound thoughts if one fails to maintain a sound body. Now, assuming you have been following K'lyhia's instructions, you should be ready to face the more dangerous threats found in western La Noscea. I speak of roselings and wild jackals. And yes, I would have you vanquish three of each. 'Tis the perfect sample size: the first acts as a preliminary test case, the second to test your hypotheses, the third to perfect the tactics you've devised. Speaking of which, I trust your strategy will consist of more than simply flinging Ruin over and over again. You are not the novice you once were, and your skills in the field ought reflect that. If you find yourself wanting for other approaches, consider the efficacious combination of Aetherflow and Energy Drain. When timed appropriately, you can simultaneously restore your own waning supply of mana and deal a crippling blow to your opponent. Thubyrgeim tells me things about my class I've long since figured out, and hopefully any new player should have as well. It's kind of weird that she wouldn't mention my powerful DoT spells at all, though. Maybe they changed the order in which you learned spells some time after they finalized quest dialogue? On the other hand, some class quests are notoriously bad at teaching you how to play your class. I'm looking at you, marauder.  This is the Skylift. As many NPCs are eager to point out, the Calamity really hosed up the landscape, so this scaffolding and balloon transport system was set up to deal with the changes. Also, I like the conversation going on in chat right now.  Of course there's plenty of adventuring to be done here. Nothing glamorous, just delivering some packages and stomping on the local fauna. Killing a couple crabs should be easy, right?  OH GOD In 1.0, a lot of enemy models were really small, and this was one of many things players complained about. I think they might be overcompensating, now.  Here's one of my delivery points, the Foremast. This is actually part of Limsa Lominsa. It looks like it should be a third entrance to the city, but it's not, for whatever reason.  At level 12, I learn Virus. It doesn't do any damage, but it effectively reduces the target's physical damage output by 15%. Kind of nice in a pinch while soloing, but it sees a lot more usage in high-level duties.  The next quest leads me to Western La Noscea. You can see the massive Pharos Sirius in the distance, a great lighthouse that once stood watch over the bay. A huge chunk of corrupted aether crystal put it out of commission during the Calamity, unfortunately, and there are rumors that a siren has taken up residence there.  Swiftperch is a podunk compared to the previous towns I've visited. Unlike the other regions of Vylbrand, Western La Noscea was hit the hardest by the Calamity, with the soil turning dry and barren.  There used to be vast farms of wheat, barley, and rye for making ale, but now the farmers have to turn to other crops to make ends meet.  One of the smaller lighthouses on the coast, the Brewer's Beacon, is growing dim. Fixing it is a bit tricky, because apparently they use live bombs to power the light.  As in these guys. Whatever floats your boat, so to speak.  Unfortunately, the lighthouse furnace has been damaged, so it's off to Naldiq and Vymelli's to seek out repairs.  The corrupted crystal in the Pharos glows at night, so it kind of still serves its purpose.  Mayhap you shouldn't be using live bombs in your lighthouses?? Anyway, now that I'm back in LL, it's time to follow up on the arcanist quest. I killed the trash mobs off screen, I assure you.  THUBYRGEIM: Welcome back, Freddie. How did it feel to conquer such ferocious foes? Let us ride that wave of triumph onto an even more demanding─and dangerous─challenge. Your next training exercise will have you accompanying Foreseer K'lyhia on one of her inspections. This experience will afford you the opportunity to witness firsthand the practical application of arcanima. Pray do not tarry, Freddie─K'lyhia awaits you on the floor below with further details.  In the basement is the carbuncle training grounds.  If you ever wanted to know what a manifestation of magical math sounds like, here you go.  K'LYHIA: Our agents suspect these beastman merchants of dealing in forbidden goods. As such, I have calculated that announcing an inspection has a 60% chance of inviting physical violence. I have prepared a strategy to respond to this possible shift into hostilities, but there is an important precondition you should be made aware of before we discuss the finer points of my plan. Though I am considered gifted in the formation of tactics, I lack the reflexes and coordination necessary to employ many of those selfsame strategies on the field of battle. Pray keep this factor in mind, and adjust your perceptions accordingly. Now, should the goblins offer battle, you are to execute Combat Pattern 1345, otherwise known as “Stratagem Focus Fire.” You and your Emerald Carbuncle will concentrate your attacks on a single foe, and, one by one, the enemy will wither under the combined onslaught. Probability of victory: 95%.  K'Lyhia is full of overly verbose poo poo, as usual. Might as well get this over with.   Gobbiespeak takes some getting used to, as some of the compound words they use aren't immediately obvious. It's kind of like a literal translation of German.  Sorry, I kind of tune out whenever you're talking.  Anyway, K'Lyhia tells me that the best strategy is to "focus fire" on one goblin at a time, and like I said earlier, she's full of poo poo. Against a single target, a DoT spell has to last its full duration to get its full damage potential. You could look at Bio, for example, as a 240 potency spell with an 18 second cooldown. After applying your DoTs, all you have left is spamming Ruin. But this changes when you have multiple targets to choose from. You can spread your DoTs on each of them, which bypasses the effective cooldown. To put it another way, if I focused on one target at a time as K'Lyhia suggests, I could only do about 58 potency per second. But if I spread my DoTs around, that would be 26 potency per second per target, which would beat out the single target potency for three or more targets. That's a bit of simplification, but you should get my point. This is known as "multi-doting" and is very powerful.  Anyway, the goblins go down without much effort.  K'LYHIA: On that note, there is another question I would ask you: when it comes to improving the probable success of a strategy, do you consider it more effective to concentrate on playing to your strengths, or shoring up your weaknesses?  What weaknesses?  Whatever you choose, it's how the guildmaster would have responded. K'LYHIA: But to return to the subject of battle plans, your calculations must include an accurate assessment of your available techniques and their relative effectiveness. This requires you to be critically aware of your own limits, the limits of your allies, and the characteristics of your enemies.   THUBYRGEIM: It seems you were treated to a lecture on “knowing thyself.” That particular lesson is ordinarily taught only to intermediate practitioners. Without a sufficient store of combat experience from which to draw, it is difficult to fully appreciate the profundity of such a seemingly simple truth. Nevertheless, I feel confident that you will soon be ready for a more ambitious assignment. Keep to your studies, and maintain the razor edge of your mind. At this point, Thubyrgeim gives me permission to join other guilds, but there's no real pressing reason for it quite yet. Oh, at some point, Freddie got some sweet new glasses.  Very studious. Next time, I'll be wrapping up the Limsa Lominsa storyline. Fister Roboto fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Oct 2, 2016 |
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Oct 2, 2016 19:38
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I had either completely forgotten, or never known that you could just rent chocobos. I've been playing for three years. 
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Oct 2, 2016 21:55
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I realize seeing this update that Aggro Crag is actually a very Roegadyn name, specifically Hellsguard (Which I believe Aggro is, judging by her skin colour). Hellsguard Roegadyn, which are pretty much all Roegadyn off of Vylbrand tend to use Adjective-Noun names that are nature based. Males tend towards animals/minerals, while females tend towards plantlife, but these are not hard rules. Of course, this is actually a translation of their actual names from the Old Language that their names (including Sea Wolves) are taken from. It's just generally Sea Wolves don't use the translation. As before, there are exceptions either way; you'll see Sea Wolves with translated names, and Hellsguard with untranslated names. Hellsguard also tend to not use their family name, which is why they are just the Adjective-Noun, vs the Sea Wolves using Adjective-Noun Adjective-Noun-relationshiptofather technically. So, Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn breaks down to Sea + Woman, Blue + Fish + Daughter. So, Sea Woman, daughter of Blue Fish. The more you know! 
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Oct 2, 2016 23:21
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Hellsguard names are almost always fantastic. There's a player on Excalibur named Yellow Snow. Perfectly lore-friendly!
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Oct 2, 2016 23:24
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I like the dude called Smydhaemr, being a vendor for the blacksmith guild. I'm guessing his parents just really wanted to make sure he stays in the family business.
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Oct 2, 2016 23:36
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I've broken my lurking habits to say that I'm so glad to see an LP of this! I never payed attention to the story when I played because I was impatient to get to the high-level stuff with my friend. Now I'm regretting it since I hear the story is actually good but I don't want to start over with a new character. I'm definitely going to keep a close eye on this thread!  apostateCourier posted:That free space isn't free with me in the party. Aw yeah, a fellow competent dragoon! 
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Oct 3, 2016 05:33
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Solitair posted:No problem. In the meantime, I found something that veteran players will appreciate: ...so despite having 15 of these ticked off, the only bingo I get is from the fourth column... Also, fun story from me when it comes to the far right central one? About getting a screenshot?  I spent those ten minutes just waiting for the sun to come up. lightace posted:I've broken my lurking habits to say that I'm so glad to see an LP of this! I never payed attention to the story when I played because I was impatient to get to the high-level stuff with my friend. Now I'm regretting it since I hear the story is actually good but I don't want to start over with a new character. I'm definitely going to keep a close eye on this thread! Honestly, the story is good enough to deserve another character to just casually walk through it, like it feels as if it's a back-to-form FF storyline (rather than whatever XIII was). If you ever do get tired of the end-game, it might be an idea to roll another person out and just play it casually, at your own pace. It's what I've had to do after several frustrating headbutts at the end-game content myself.
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Oct 3, 2016 07:39
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Fister Roboto posted:Hellsguard names are almost always fantastic. There's a player on Excalibur named Yellow Snow. Perfectly lore-friendly! My favorite story is that on some RP server there's a Roe who just minds his own business mining and gathering, but his name is "Massive Dump". Everyone keeps trying to sic the GMs on him for an inappropriate name, but the problem is, it's perfectly fine for a Hellsguard.
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Oct 3, 2016 08:00
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I feel like "Butte" has a lot of unused potential as a Hellsgaurd surname.
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Oct 3, 2016 08:07
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CrashScreen posted:
Hecatoncheirs have an older FF pedigree than XIII- they were a boss in FFIII! http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Hecatoncheir_(Final_Fantasy_III) Only had two hands there, too. He looked like a He-Man reject in a speedo and cape.
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Oct 3, 2016 08:23
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Charlett posted:My favorite story is that on some RP server there's a Roe who just minds his own business mining and gathering, but his name is "Massive Dump". Everyone keeps trying to sic the GMs on him for an inappropriate name, but the problem is, it's perfectly fine for a Hellsguard.  That is pretty inspired. I know I named one of mine Graceful Tower (and gave him a particular hairstyle for it) but I kinda want to see some of the names people have come out with now for Roegadyns.Fister Roboto posted:I feel like "Butte" has a lot of unused potential as a Hellsgaurd surname. I just checked, nobody seems to use Thunderous Butte as of right now. EDIT: Though there are some other inspired uses of the name at least. TiamosLoren fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Oct 3, 2016 |
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Oct 3, 2016 09:13
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Charlett posted:My favorite story is that on some RP server there's a Roe who just minds his own business mining and gathering, but his name is "Massive Dump". Everyone keeps trying to sic the GMs on him for an inappropriate name, but the problem is, it's perfectly fine for a Hellsguard. I've always wanted to make a Hellsguard Balmung alt named My Immersion.
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Oct 3, 2016 09:15
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Chapter XXV: What Can Go Wrong When last we left her, Aggro was hired to clear out the Copperbell Mines. There's a revolt underway and a species of giants that were trapped by their slavemasters 300 years ago are now looking for revenge. To top it off, two of three rival adventuring parties have now been wiped out. Things have gotten a little grim.  Talking to this Stone Torch employee will unlock the final tutorial dungeon in the duty finder. Accompanying me in the dungeon is once again TiamosLoren. I was tempted to try and level a healer for this run, but thought against it. I'd probably be worse at it.  Click to play: Below  The Copperbell Mines was actually a dungeon in 1.0. Much like Tam-Tara Deepcroft, the mines were an open world dungeon. In A Realm Reborn, all dungeons are now instanced.  The mines themselves actually look fairly different (and the entrance is actually in a different location too), though some features still remain. I'll show off what the original looked like in the bonus area.  Do you remember when Aggro hit level 20? Well... I didn't. As such, Aggro hasn't completed her class quest yet and hasn't seen any weapon upgrades. We're about to witness a disastrous run (for a tank) that you can expect most new tanks to face, because the odds are stacked against them to begin with anyway. This will give us a chance to look at what can go wrong.  The first group includes two Coblyns and a Spriggan. We've seen these before, and for the rest of the game their behavior will be the same. Coblyns will have a large, circular AoE and Spriggans will be able to buff themselves and have some flashy weaponskills, though I actually don't think this particular Spriggan will buff up.  QUICK! A SHINY! GRAB IT! Also that's a lot of coppers in that name. Redundancy much?  Killing this group rewards the party with a key for the blast door.  Behind the door is an elevator. Aggro has to make sure that her whole party has boarded before activating the lever, because people will be left behind. This is the first functional transport encountered in the game, and the map is a dead end, so it's easy to assume it just teleports you to another map.  The camera does get a bit personal in the lift. And the healer decides to pop a cork and let it spray. Guess she was happy to see us there. From here on, things get a bit messy for Aggro. In the party list, you'll see a gun icon below the lancer. This is the icon for Machinist, which is a job from the expansion. This Machinist will be Aggro's bane for the rest of the dungeon.  So, if your main goal isn't to acquire experience from this dungeon (and for this party it isn't), it's actually possible to skip some enemies. You can skip more than Aggro will here, but you're left with a bigger pull of two or three groups and I wasn't so sure about that at the time. Only the Machinist is capable of AoE damage in this party. Click to play: The Promise of Plunder   I told the party that I was running to the first bridge, but I was wrong. The bridge to pull to is the next one. At this point, Aggro has ran past two enemy groups.   A wall explodes, revealing one of the Hecatoncheirs and I can see this surprising newbies running the dungeon. Remember when Aggro learned that Dolorous Bear got impatient, ran ahead, and then got his entire party killed? That was a bit of a warning for the players, and can see why now that Aggro is being ambushed by giants. Sorry Dolorous, your death was simply to add some gravity to Aggro's pulls. Anyway, Aggro ignores the lesson from that experience and keeps running. Bigger pulls means more murder.  Though that's not the case in the early dungeons. The first two groups decide to peace out by time Aggro reaches the bridge, leaving just the last Coblyn and Hecatoncheir. Most monsters only have a specific range they can travel before they have to return, though later dungeons remove this. For the returning Coblyns and Spriggans, Aggro is no longer a threat to their precious stones. Come to think of it, I wonder how Spriggans and Coblyns can coexist beside each other? Eh, whatever. One thing of note here as well is that these Hecatoncheirs don't actually just hit the one person with their swings. Their swings actually hit everyone in an arc in front of them. This often slips under the radar for a lot of people, and even I had taken a bit of damage before I remembered and shifted position.  Aggro was fine until this point, but things are starting to change. The conjurer joined in on the DPS, but was focusing on the Hecatoncheir. That was actually my fault, at first, since I got lazy on the Flash casts with the DPS focusing on the same target. I just swapped target and easily regained top enmity. Easy enough, I thought.  Then I caught them casting this three times, which seemed pretty unnecessary. Medica is an AoE heal, and this gives me a good chance to discuss it a little. I've mentioned before that healing generates 50% of the output as enmity, unlike other actions. As a healer, you're not targeting an enemy, but you generate enmity on each enemy in your target's enemy list (the previous image). Now, consider the enmity generation of an AoE heal. It can be pretty potent, so healers should be careful not to abuse this too much on low level duties. Aggro has no chance. Another thing you can't quite see here either is the fact that the healer is standing in front of the Hecatoncheir alongside Aggro. This inevitably means that it's doing more damage to us from the healer's lack of self-awareness. Ultimately, the healer was making reasons for casting Medica. I believe our bartender friend in Limsa Lominsa said something about prevention and Cure...  The next pull introduces Lightning Sprites. They're casters that rely on lightning elemental damage, shockingly enough, meaning they won't follow Aggro unless she goes out of its range. She needs to gather the rest of the enemy group on the Sprite, which gets DPS'd while she's returning. There's a small fight for it, but it's nothing too major.  Meanwhile, focusing on keeping the Sprite results in Aggro losing the attention of one of the Spriggans. A better alternative would have been to spam Flash, but...  Aggro's MP is also low. At this level, Flash costs 30 MP so she can't even fire one off right now. Almost everything that can go wrong is going wrong here, and it puts Aggro in a position that's hard to recover from as a tank. Instead, I cut my losses and leave the Machinist to deal with the Spriggan they're currently fighting with. At this level, tanking isn't the most important thing and most classes can survive a one-on-one with an enemy.  As if in an attempt to find new ways to make Aggro's job more difficult, the next pull brings up another thing to discuss. I've mentioned it before, but we've not actually seen player AoE attacks in action - beyond the painless Flash. Machinists have can do AoE damage with more resources for that than Aggro can Flash. It doesn't help that tanks get less attack power per point for their attributes than the DPS, but the job system we'll be introduced to later will provide attribute bonuses. There's actually another contributing factor, but we'll get to that shortly. Basically, Aggro fails to keep aggro here too. This is partially my fault due to the lack of marking and not waiting long enough to get MP, but honestly it's actually kind of harder to maintain aggro at a lower level than it is later. It's a weird thing to adjust to. And you honestly wouldn't be alone in that aspect.   Click to play: Below Proceeding along, Aggro finds some Firesand just nearby a room filled with monsters. Attempting to grab it will put her in the monster's range, so she grabs their attention first with a Shield Lob. It's easier to just dispose of them first. There's not really much to say about the enemy groups here. They're the same monsters we've encountered so far. Aggro continues to have a hard time with enmity too.    There's more Firesand in the next room, as well as a Powder Chamber and Blasting Device. With 12-onze of firesand in the party's collective pockets, they have to fill the powder chamber and blow up the wall to get access to the first boss room - though it's less of a boss room and more of a gauntlet room. And the healer gives no fucks about being blown up.  Monsters we've already encountered will spawn in and attempt to assault the party. Melee classes may have a hard time feeling relevant here if the ranged/caster DPS is good. Aggro already has a hard time feeling relevant, so this doesn't really help. Most enemies will go down in about two hits from any DPS. Unless you're Arcanist. Sorry, but chances are most of this will die before you manage to hit it. Click to play: A Fine Death  Occasionally, Flambeau's will spawn in. These bombs are dangerous when left alone to self-destruct, and do considerably high damage, dealing 50% of your max HP in damage. The party has to kill them ASAP.  Enemies will spawn on a timer, so killing them slowly will quickly result in the party becoming overwhelmed. Killing the monsters before the next spawn timer will also automatically trigger the next spawn. Fortunately, they're fairly manageable and hardly much of a threat. Additionally, the Machinist is able to burn them all down when they're grouped together. For reference, the Sifters take about 2 hits, the Flambeaus about 4-5 hits. Only the severely undergeared would fail here, honestly, and if you're undergeared at this stage you must be trying to do it wrong.  Eventually, the boss shows up with predictable results. With around 2,200 HP, Kottos will actually die pretty quickly.  His HP burns through pretty quickly, and the only real thing to watch out for is Immortalize. He'll attempt to use it every time he loses 25% of his max HP, and it'll reduce his damage received by 30%. Because of the speed the party burns him down, he only gets the chance to use Immortalize once and it gets immediately intercepted with a Stun. Rather than wasting time Flashing, Aggro just contributes to the DPS. No prizes for guessing who got that stun off.  Click to play: Below  Defeating the boss will reveal a key and treasure chest. The key will open access to delve deeper into the dungeon, while the chest provides Plundered Gauntlets. Copperbell Mines shares the same loot pool as the previous two dungeons.  The new gauntlets actually have less DPS, but they provide more defence for Aggro so they're somewhat more appropriate.   The next room introduces a new species of enemy, and they can be typically quite the bastard. Similar monsters to the Errant Soul will have a circular AoE that will sap either your MP or your TP depending on the breed. Fortunately, the ones in this corridor can be skipped, as they'll not follow you to the elevator. There's a treasure chest nearby too, but it only really drops items like potions.  The next room contains another powder chamber and blasting device, so you can probably figure out what you've to do here. There are two rooms located on either side of this one, each containing more monsters. It's a lot easier to clear out the first room before collecting the firesand, as the Errant Soul likes to wander between the rooms.  This time, there's a gimmick to collecting the firesand. Each of the side rooms contains a Blasting Cap, which will drop a firesand when defeated. Easy enough, provided you watch out for their self-destruct.  One of the side rooms also contains a chest that can drop new gear. These plundered earrings only provide boosts to mage class attributes, so they're of no interest to Aggro.   Blowing up the next wall will open up access to the second boss room. This boss has a particularly boring gimmick to it, but I'll admit that I loved it the first time I saw it. I still like it. It's not the everyday tank-and-spank and I like it for that.Click to play: A Fine Death  You see, this boss has an absurd amount of HP. 184, 500 HP, to be precise. That's way too much for a level 20 party to kill, but fortunately there is something nearby that they can use. The Improved Blasting Device will summon in a Blasting Cap from the molten pile on the floor. Aggro will want to make sure the Blasting Cap sticks close to the Ichorous Ire, and must not let it die. Simply using Flash should be enough here. Since Aggro is under attack, she won't be able to activate the blasting device on her own. Attempting to interact will likely result in her being interrupted. Instead, a member of the party should be on blasting device duty. For the rest, they must simply stand around and wait. Occasionally, a Spriggan Quencher will spawn and attempt to kill the Blasting Cap, so the DPS will want to make short work of it. Unfortunately, they only spawn when the bomb is actually up. It's not the most exciting boss battle. It's also kind of gross, considering its name suggests it's an angry discharge from a wound. Well, Dolorous Bear did die in this place...maybe we're fighting off the blood they spilled? ...actually, I'll just stop there. Way too soon.  Eventually the bomb will decide to self-destruct, splitting the Ichorous Ire into half. Unfortunately, this isn't enough and each half now has 147, 600 HP. The party must blow the Ire up two more times, until there's 8 tiny Ires. Also, for what it's worth, killing the original Ire will still split it into two halves. Even at level 60, it's worth just doing the mechanic. Though I would still strongly advise not being in the blast radius when it does explode. Obvious reasons.  The Ire will split into eight after the fourth explosion. Each piece only has 110 HP, so a couple of attacks will typically do the trick. Alternatively, get a ranged or caster to just AoE them all to death.  Another boss dead; another treasure chest open. This time, the party are rewarded with two chests. The first chest will drop an aetherial weapon, while the second will drop a belt. Neither chest drops anything of value for Aggro, but at least the party can now use some remaining firesand to proceed further into the dungeon. There's more giant murder to take care of. I actually take the belt because it's a good upgrade for me, and the training facility doesn't provide one. Click to play: Below  Typically, dungeons will be split into thirds. Each third will have a distinct environment, as well as its own set of monsters and a boss to wrap it up. The party are now entering the final third. Considering Aggro is having some tanking difficulties, it's best to just skip whatever enemies she can. There's actually two paths here: one path follows the higher road on the left with no encounters in this room; the second path takes the low ground and has a group of new monsters hanging about it. Let's skip the Hippocerf and Living Fossil for now.  The next room has a forced encounter containing one Errant Soul and one Living Fossil. Living Fossils will have an AoE known as Gas Shell which can inflict Poison for 15 seconds. This isn't too serious, and can be cleansed off if the healer has a spell like Esuna.  Behind is another group of enemies and a treasure chest. It can drop one of two aetherial equipment for either melee DPS or mage classes. Aside from Aggro, everyone in the party is better equipped than what the dungeon can provide, so Aggro skips this one. Instead, she hugs the wall to the right and escapes north.  The first enemy group she skipped is also along this path, but they can still be ignored.  Further north is a group of Pit Hippocerfs. Getting close to the wall will also spawn in a Hecatoncheir Stonebreaker, who lives up to his name by breaking down the mine walls to jump into the fray. The Hippocerfs don't really do anything interesting here, but the Stonebreaker can buff himself with Boost, which will double the damage of his Grand Slam weaponskill. With Boost, it can hit for about 210 damage which is about 1/3rd of Aggro's max HP.  One last group lurks behind some walls along the way to the final boss room. They're defending a treasure chest, but the chest itself doesn't really drop anything of value. I distinctly remember this group being avoidable, but I wasn't able to skip past them during either attempts at this run. They tend to be fickle about that. If they're both looking the other way and are far away enough to not notice you, then they can be avoided, but that requires getting everyone past them in what short time they might be in the right position to avoid. It's generally a coin toss on whether you skip them or not.  With the last group disposed off, it's a straight shot to the boss.  Down in the last chamber, the walls begin to shake and there's loud thuds. We've seen this before, and it's another Hecatoncheir trying to break through the walls.    Click to play: Nemesis  MASTERS MUST PAY! MASTERS MUST DIE! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER!And just like that, we're on the final boss. I'm starting to have some reservations about this.  Under some sort of delusion that she'll be tanking this boss, I have Aggro pull and Flash. Even with the somewhat recent changes to Savage Blade, Flash is still more enmity per second than the Savage Blade combo. Sadly, this will not be enough for Aggro.  If you're struggling to generate enmity, remember that damage buffs mean more enmity too. Sadly, that isn't enough and I have Aggro resort to Flash spamming (which, being a spell, isn't affected by the Fight or Flight buff). There's finite resources for this and it doesn't work either. The fight basically just ends up more as a battle against the Machinist than a battle against Gyges. Having less attack power is one reason. Another reason is how level sync has worked since Heavensward, but we'll get to that in a moment because Gyges is about to start the fight's gimmick.  He'll run over to the eastern wall and start attacking it. The wall, or boulder I guess, breaks after only three of Gyges' strikes. Also, you cannot stun him at all. I still use the Sweep to inflict additional damage, however.  The camera got a bit difficult to work with here. When the boulder breaks, Gyges will start attacking the party again. He has a large conal AoE called Colossal Slam that does a bit of extra damage so make sure to avoid that. Aggro has to also point him away from the party. Between the party list and the awkward angle of Gyges is a Stone Servant, which darts towards another boulder on the other side of the room. Here's what's supposed to happen: the Stone Servant will attempt to break another wall as quickly as it can. It's about a minute before he successfully breaks it, but when he does more Stone Servants will spawn in. Each hole will spawn a Servant every 30 seconds, up to a maximum of eight, making it easy for the party to be overwhelmed if they don't take care of them and stop them breaking the second wall. The idea is to have the DPS take care of a Servant each time it spawns to prevent a second breach.  Here's what really happens: gently caress that; DPS the boss. Like Sastasha, it's really easy to just ignore the mechanic and overwhelm the fight with raw damage output. He's got a really weird HP, sitting at 11, 955.  The second Stone Servant will spawn in before the first one breaks a wall, so it'll ignore the party and go help its kin. You can ignore it and continue to burn the boss. Instead, the real battle is between Aggro and the Machinist, so let's now get back to that.  In the vanilla version of A Realm Reborn, level sync was intended to just drop your character level down to a level appropriate for the duty. If your equipment would outperform any for that level, it'd also have its stats reduced to the normal quality equivalent for that level. This meant that having high quality equipment or dungeon loot appropriate to the level would actually offer Aggro a bit of an advantage. Heavensward changed the level sync functionality so that higher level equipment's stats would actually be reduced to the absolute maximum possible values for that level (provided the stats were already higher). Furthermore, there were tank adjustments in a somewhat recent patch. Those changes impacted the damage that tank roles could do, and their tank stance abilities (an ability Aggro will get later) were tweaked to improve enmity generation to make up for it. Low levels don't have that on offer.  So basically, if you're a low level tank then you're pretty hosed with a competent, high level party. Don't sweat it if you're having a hard time. For Aggro, the odds were already considerably stacked against her. Even the gear that you pick up from the training doesn't quite match up what's possible at a synced Level 20, so I had no chance of matching the Machinist either. (I was a consistent third in the emnity ratings.)  As a last note about the actual boss fight, Gyges can also use Boost to buff his next weaponskill attack. Our fight also took more than a minute after the first Servant spawned. None of this really mattered though, and the boss died before there was a single consequence. If things looked hairy, we could have also just murdered him with a limit break. It's possible for a low DPS party to get overwhelmed, so changing to the default strategy could be required after a wipe, but it really shouldn't come to that. Of course, this means I didn't get to use the Limit Break AGAIN!  Click to play: A Victory Fanfare Reborn   Gygas dies and Aggro celebrates her successful slaughter of a discriminated race, marking the end to the dungeon. Next time, Aggro will turn her sword to some Hyurs and the plot will begin to move again. I guess I'll work on the clean-up of the mess they left and join up later.  All cutscenes  I figured I'd share the duty finder description as well. CrashScreen fucked around with this message at 12:47 on Oct 9, 2016 |
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Oct 7, 2016 18:14
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Blob boss is the worst fight in the entire game. If everyone knows what to do, it's a boring time sink. If anyone doesn't know what to do, it's a frustrating, boring time sink. I once got stuck in there for over 10 minutes because someone kept killing the bombs, and obviously wasn't paying attention to party chat. Either they were an idiot or a troll, but it was not a fun experience regardless. Maybe it's a neat idea in concept, but in execution it's just terrible.
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Oct 7, 2016 18:27
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Fister Roboto posted:Blob boss is the worst fight in the entire game. If everyone knows what to do, it's a boring time sink. If anyone doesn't know what to do, it's a frustrating, boring time sink. I once got stuck in there for over 10 minutes because someone kept killing the bombs, and obviously wasn't paying attention to party chat. Either they were an idiot or a troll, but it was not a fun experience regardless. Maybe it's a neat idea in concept, but in execution it's just terrible. Made especially worse earlier in the game. See, a relatively recent patch when through a lot of the older dungeons and tweaked them, this boss in particular being one of them. These days there's a giant pop up in the middle of your screen to explain the fight, and now the bomb has a -lot- more HP. Before, a non-GLA could risk killing the bomb just trying to get aggro on it, as both of the other tanks do damage with their AoE generator, and may not have Flash cross-classed.
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Oct 7, 2016 19:54
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Fister Roboto posted:Hellsguard names are almost always fantastic. There's a player on Excalibur named Yellow Snow. Perfectly lore-friendly! I'm surprised I never saw a Roe Ninja named Solid Snake, come to think of it.
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Oct 8, 2016 08:53
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Obligatum VII posted:I'm surprised I never saw a Roe Ninja named Solid Snake, come to think of it. I mean, there's a canon Mad Snake complete with codec call, so the gimmick's already been done.
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Oct 8, 2016 18:59
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The latest patch introduced an NPC named Raging Ox. He's not a pugilist, though.
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Oct 8, 2016 19:11
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Fister Roboto posted:The latest patch introduced an NPC named Raging Ox. He's not a pugilist, though. He is amazing is what he is.
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Oct 8, 2016 19:22
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I like the blob fight Tank and spank gets old.
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Oct 8, 2016 20:12
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The blob fight is a neat idea but the execution is terrible. There's just nothing for people to do for the majority of it. The tank is the only one that has any real action, has to keep the blobs on them and pick up the bomb, then get out of the blast radius. The healer only needs to cast one or two heals per bomb, since the blobs do so little damage the only real danger is the self destructs. The Spriggan that pops up to kill the bomb dies in two or three hits, so the DPS have nothing to do but wait for the device to reset. Trying to figure out what we were doing the first time I did the dungeon way back in the day was neat, but once we had it figured out it's just a waste of everyone's time.
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Oct 8, 2016 20:23
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The worst part about it is that you see it so often in leveling roulettes because it's a story dungeon.
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Oct 8, 2016 21:18
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Tae posted:The worst part about it is that you see it so often in leveling roulettes because it's a story dungeon. The best part about it is that because it's a story dungeon your chances of earning the first-timer-in-party bonus are higher.
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Oct 8, 2016 22:25
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Just realised that I may have forgotten to add the soundtrack to that last update. I'm going to add it now, but for the five of you that actually listen to it and have read the update already, this is the only new track.
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Oct 9, 2016 12:36
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Chapter XVI: A Story Reborn The whole "venture into a dungeon in each region" thing has been a bit of a detour, if only to tutorial party play and dungeon content, but Aggro has finally finished the last of the three dungeons and the story is ready to progress again. Aggro must first report back to her client to tell them that the job is done. There's going to be a lot of talking in this update. On the plus, it's the start of a new arc and the actual storyline to A Realm Reborn. Click to play: Sultana Dreaming  Painted Mesa is still where we left him, given that he's been kind of out of work with the giant rampage in the mines. What's alarming is his glowing aura. No, he's not powered up or going super saiyan.  Talking to Painted Mesa will result in a cutscene and another duty. Fortunately, Aggro won't need to seek other adventurers for this one, so there will be no short notice parties in the thread today. Well, let's see what's in store for our protagonist. Soundtrack ends.  Click to play video.  Painted Mesa seems happy to see Aggro, and it looks like word has already reached his ears! Huh, I guess Aggro could have just skipped him and spoke to Momodi.  Thanks to you, our minin' operations can resume, and Ul'dah will have the materials she needs to rebuild. The entire nation's in your debt, friend. I'll share the good tidin's with Papashan the next time I see him. As for you, you'll want to report to Momodi. It'll do the woman well to see you alive and in one piece.That thought gets put on hold when an audio clip interrupts the otherwise unvoiced scene.   Outside the Quicksand, a young woman is backing away on the ground. She's not just sitting there.  Click to play: Fracture    I b-bought this - paid for it with me own coin! It looks like the woman has stolen a cut of Dodo, at least, according to this shady looking merchant.  Aggro decides to step outside and see what the commotion is. I think we can see where this is heading.  By rights, I should turn you over to the Brass Blades, you know - help keep the streets safe for law-abiding citizens. But I'm a reasonable man. If you agree to serve me in... whatever capacity I require, the authorities needn't hear of your crime. The obnoxious merchant's goons start laughing. There is also an accompanying audio clip that doesn't feel like it's part of the emote. I could be wrong though.    The unfortunate victim starts looking around for help. There's a lot of onlookers, but none of them look prepared to help, so she focuses on our unflinching Aggro.  I swear on me mother's grave, I didn't steal nothin'! I bought this with the coin I'd saved... <sob> I only wanted to treat me children to a decent meal...  Soundtrack ends. The merchant then hits his hands against each other as if he were Robin in the 1966 Batman series. I've had enough of this mummer's farce. You lot, teach them a lesson!   Click to play: Battle Theme 1.x Definitely give this a listen to. It's a remix of the Final Fantasy II battle theme and it is good.  Since we're back into the main scenario solo content, you can expect this battle to be easy to accommodate the most brittle class. Hell, you can see that the Filthy Bodyguard is a level 11 enemy in a level 17 quest. After coming out of the dungeon, the game doesn't want you struggling too much. In fact, it's pretty appropriate in the narrative for these generic street thugs to be easy for Aggro at this stage. She's gotten stronger since her travel began, but Ul'dah's miscreants are the same as ever.  The Filthy Bodyguard is nothing more than a harmless drunk. There's no mechanic to this fight or anything, so you should just be using your best DPS rotation. For Aggro, that's the use of her Riot Blade combo instead of Savage Blade, since enmity isn't a concern here.  He's not immune to anything either, so you can exploit this if you need to. Blind is kind of nice because Aggro takes almost no damage, but he couldn't even scratch her armour before anyway.  At 30% health, Aggro's street brawl gets a little bit more dangerous. The bodyguard will call in his allies, who are a level 10 Raucous Bodyguard (Thaumaturge) and a level 10 Boastful Bodyguard (Gladiator). They're both wimps.  They'll continue to be useless, and it's possible to ignore his friends and burn down the Filthy Bodyguard. Aggro will still need to dispatch both of the remaining bodyguards anyway, and there's no real required order here. Just take down whoever hurts the most, which in Aggro's case, is nobody because they keep missing even without Blind.  It shouldn't take you very long to clear the duty, prompting another cutscene. Soundtrack ends. Click to play video  The cutscene at least shows that Aggro doesn't straight murder them like she's been doing so far. After getting their asses handed to them, the bodyguards scatter.  That Roegadyn is loving this poo poo.    Aggro has her usual migraine after saving the day, and receives her usual echo vision. It's a surprise that she didn't get this during the dungeons, and actually, it might have been a little neat. I suppose they're pretty separate from the main plothread, though. Click to play: The Echo  This time, we're not delving into the memories of the person Aggro was talking to. Instead, we're following two Ul'dah citizens as they walk through the immigrant camp just outside the gates to the city. One of them must be somewhere in the crowd right now.  As they walk past the camp, we can see the woman from the cutscene before at a merchant's stall.   (Labelled: Concerned Citizen) And you wouldn't be mistaken. But it's been five years since the Calamity! Why are they only coming here now? But the Calamity affected the whole realm, didn't it? Is the same thing happening in other cities? If the talk is true, yes. Though perhaps our situation is more pronounced. Ul'dah has a reputation for being prosperous, so it's natural that the refugees would try their luck here first. Well, if things do take a turn for the worse, we always have the Immortal Flames. I daresay the Brass Blades would welcome their help. Impoverished and desperate as they are, you may be sure that some of the refugees will turn to crime. You know what this place is like. If you've no coin, you've no hope. Not all refugees are bad, mind you. Some are able to find employment and lead honest lives.The dialogue we just had was a bit unrelated to everything so far, but it's there to set up an Ul'dah plotline for players who hadn't started in Ul'dah. Ul'dah taking center stage in the story is actually one of the reasons I wanted to start the LP there. It'll be a long rear end time before we actually get any pay off for this, though. In the meantime, as the concerned citizen finishes off his line, the camera zooms over to the desperate damsel (who is currently not desperate).   Well, at least we've confirmed her honesty. I don't think it'd have changed that Aggro had done a good thing considering what she potentially stopped, but at least the lady won't need to be turned into the Brass Blades as well. Soundtrack ends.   Well, that's the little derail over. Back to the conflict at hand.  Fortunately, it looks like Aggro no longer collapses under the mental strain of an echo vision. Instead, she seems to just kind of zone out a little.  Aggro puts her hand out, and her body moves to suggest that she's speaking. Mute protagonist and all that. ...What? Saw her buy that meat, you say? Th-that's absurd!??? Aye, as did I! Leave the poor woman alone, you damnable vulture! Wh-who said that!?The obnoxious merchant looks around at the crowd. It'd have been neat if one of the two NPCs from the cutscene were there, but they're not. It must have been someone else. Grrr! I will overlook this... but just this once!He then runs away.  The cutscene ends with the thank you and a new one loads in, suggesting some passage of time. This is when the actual story of A Realm Reborn finally shows its face after being slowly built up, but it requires a little bit of a monologue on a specific bard's part.   Click to play: Canticle The camera pans over to reveal Thancred.  .png) You played the part of envoy to perfection - confident as a woman on a diplomatic mission should be, yet unfailing courteous to your betters. And when your travels led you into the midst of danger, you faced it without so much as a flinch. You, my lady, are quite a marvel, and I confess to being quite taken with you.Thancred, I'm flattered, but stalking isn't really cool. I guess old habits die hard. Ah, but my lavish praise continues.Most of all, I was struck by your readiness to aid those in need, even when words were all the reward you could expect to receive. Such selflessness is a rare thing in this day and age... All of which leads me to conclude that you are indeed the one whom I have been looking for - an adventurer possessed of a very rare set of qualities. Well, it just so happens that I know a woman who shares your talent, and we can help you to understand it. She and I belong to the same organization, and we should both be delighted beyond words if you would agree to join our cause.   Thancred walks off, leaving Aggro on her own. Click to play: Sultana Dreaming  That's quite the offer to consider, but we don't really know very much about the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. In either case, Aggro has to speak to Momodi anyway, so she might as well bring this up. Click to play video.  Momodi is a little bit busy with a new adventurer right now, so Aggro waits for her to be done. What's fun is that they get the same spiel that Aggro got, including the comment about gentlemen's woes with the womenfolk. Though the new adventurer straight up just walks away after she delivers the line. Oh, well. .jpg) Ah, Aggro! Sorry to keep you waitin' - I was just providin' guidance to a fresh-off-the-carriage adventurer.  Oh! I wonder who it could be? Could this be related to the person Thancred mentioned just a moment ago?    His name was Avere, and he and I were to be wed in the spring. You may not remember him, but to say that he remembered you would be an understatement. He would sing your praises from dawn to dusk. He saw you for what you are, you see - an adventurer's adventurer - and swore that he would be like you one day.Aggro's reputation among adventurers its sometimes a little hard to grasp. The game does note her rising success as she progresses the story, clearly hinting that the additional side quests she might be doing are also raising her awareness, but it doesn't feel like she's done anything huge in the public eye before the dungeons. Given that Avere is a Gladiator, it's safe to assume he was busy working in Ul'dah so it's at least not too hard to believe he'd become aware of Aggro.   And so I've decided to start again as an adventurer. I will go back to the village of my birth and begin my training anew. But I wanted to meet you first... to ask you your name. Aggro does her usual miming of the dialogue. Aggro Crag... I shan't forget. Thank you, Aggro Crag. I pray that we will meet again. Fare you well!Edda then bows towards Aggro, and departs. We will see here again, as if the unique dialogue image wasn't a hint enough. With that out of the way, almost all of Aggro's business has been taken care of. There's just that one offer that she got from Thancred left, and she turns to Momodi to do her mime act again.  They're beginnin' to move in earnest, then... Listen, Aggro - the Scions ain't no ordinary folk, and the work they do ain't no ordinary work. I know full well how capable you are, but even you would think twice about attemptin' some of the stuff they do. Knowin' that, if you're still certain you want to get involved, I'll tell you what I can. With that, Aggro completes the quest she started two updates ago. It might be hard to believe, but this entire update covers barely over ten minutes of footage. In any case, Momodi is up for telling Aggro about the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to help her decide if she wants to be a part of their organisation or not. That's great, but there's also an overdue visit to the Gladiators' Guild. Aggro will get her class quest out of the way before she returns to Momodi to get help on her decision, so I'll see you then! All cutscenes CrashScreen fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Oct 9, 2016 |
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Oct 9, 2016 19:44
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The instance here is one of my favorites in the game and the FF 2 remix is great. It's fits perfectly with this being a joke fight.
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Oct 9, 2016 19:59
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CrashScreen posted:Chapter XVI: A Story Reborn And this is generally the point where, minus a few exceptions in acknowledgements, the storyline pretty much aligns through all three city-states. Even this segment is largely the same, minus one notable appearance...  If you get through as someone from Gridania, you get the duo of Yda and Papalymo, as opposed to Thancred.  Similar dialogue as well, although not entirely ad verbatim, there are variations to suit the characters who met you. CrashScreen posted:
Crash was clearly thinking of his oven at this time. What're you cooking?
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Oct 9, 2016 20:21
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It should be obvious that the Scion for your region is the one in that cutscene, but it always seemed natural that Thancred give the offer in Ul'dah so I never really realised it. That's pretty cool.
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Oct 9, 2016 21:24
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Boy howdy, people sure like to tell you how great you are a lot in this game. The ego-stroking could probably stand to be dialed back a few notches.
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Oct 9, 2016 23:44
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Schwartzcough posted:Boy howdy, people sure like to tell you how great you are a lot in this game. The ego-stroking could probably stand to be dialed back a few notches. I've got bad news for you.
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Oct 10, 2016 00:01
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I was going to get the thread to vote on crafters in the next update, but maybe I'll just pick Leatherworker.
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Oct 10, 2016 00:36
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CrashScreen posted:I was going to get the thread to vote on crafters in the next update, but maybe I'll just pick Leatherworker. Uhm...Leatherworker? Forgive my confusion here, but...wouldn't working with metals be more suited to a Gladiator? Unless you're just looking to make mad bank off some of the skins, in which case go right ahead.
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Oct 10, 2016 00:39
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TiamosLoren posted:Uhm...Leatherworker? Forgive my confusion here, but...wouldn't working with metals be more suited to a Gladiator? Unless you're just looking to make mad bank off some of the skins, in which case go right ahead. It's mostly due to the storyline for Leatherworker. But I feel Culinarian, and Armorsmith have the best storylines of the eight Disciples of the Hand. Though I have a distinct fondness for the leader of the Goldsmith's Guild and her, uh, assistant. Also, Weaver is just... fun. It honestly is. And I hope Crash uses at least GIFs for that one, at least the very end of each quest you do as part of the storyline.
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Oct 10, 2016 00:43
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TiamosLoren posted:Uhm...Leatherworker? Forgive my confusion here, but...wouldn't working with metals be more suited to a Gladiator? Unless you're just looking to make mad bank off some of the skins, in which case go right ahead. Regarding Leatherworker, the guild leader doesn't treat your work like the best thing they've ever seen, and are a lot more candid. SkyTalon2314 posted:Though I have a distinct fondness for the leader of the Goldsmith's Guild and her, uh, assistant. Goldsmith was one of my favourites. I liked the level 50 ending so much that I made Goldsmith the main crafting class to focus on. I'll also hopefully be using more gifs for the fun stuff too. I'm terrible with them, but I've been trying to put in the occasional gif where it counts lately.
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Oct 10, 2016 01:01
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TiamosLoren posted:Uhm...Leatherworker? Forgive my confusion here, but...wouldn't working with metals be more suited to a Gladiator? Unless you're just looking to make mad bank off some of the skins, in which case go right ahead. You don't need to choose crafting professions based on your combat class, like in most other MMOs. There's a lot of reasons for that. First of all, you can level every crafting and gathering class. There's no reason to limit yourself. Second, you should level every crafting and gathering class, because that makes crafting easier. Third, the gear each combat class wears doesn't always come from the same profession, like in most MMOs. Gladiators mostly wear gear made by armorsmiths, but they also wear things made by leatherworkers, goldsmiths, carpenters, blacksmiths, and even weavers. Most tank pants are made by weavers, in fact. Finally, leveling a crafting class just to gear up your very first combat class is a fool's errand. You'd spend more time leveling the crafting class than the time that crafted gear would save you.
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Oct 10, 2016 04:31
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Haven't played this in a long time. I do enjoy the endless grinds that SE provides, like in FFXI. Is there more of this, since I left after they nerfed the Atma and light(or whatever) grind for the filthy casuals. Also I am on Shiva and it always feels like the Germans won in Limsa.
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Oct 10, 2016 13:46
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Fister Roboto posted:You don't need to choose crafting professions based on your combat class, like in most other MMOs. There's a lot of reasons for that. First of all, you can level every crafting and gathering class. There's no reason to limit yourself. Second, you should level every crafting and gathering class, because that makes crafting easier. Third, the gear each combat class wears doesn't always come from the same profession, like in most MMOs. Gladiators mostly wear gear made by armorsmiths, but they also wear things made by leatherworkers, goldsmiths, carpenters, blacksmiths, and even weavers. Most tank pants are made by weavers, in fact. Finally, leveling a crafting class just to gear up your very first combat class is a fool's errand. You'd spend more time leveling the crafting class than the time that crafted gear would save you. Yeah, I know all this, but I was figuring it might've been more of a recommended starting point, rather than the only one to focus on. But Crash has his reasons and I understand why. I remember going through the Leatherworker story and...oof.
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Oct 10, 2016 15:45
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Chapter VIII: Seaside Rendezvous It's time to begin the penultimate quest line for Limsa Lominsa. H'Naanza has some work for me down in Lower La Noscea. H'NAANZA: What say you to taking on some work from Naldiq & Vymelli's? We've a great hulking warship to build and could certainly use an extra hand for any number of tasks. For your first job, I need you to run this missive over to Ahtbyrm, the head shipwright at the Moraby Drydocks. We forge most of the ship's bits and pieces here at the Armorers' Guild, but the actual construction takes place at the docks found in the south of lower La Noscea. That's also where you'll find the main offices of Naldiq & Vymelli's. The Moraby Drydocks is one of Limsa Lominsa's most important districts─at least as far as I'm concerned─and I'm sure you'll not regret attuning yourself to the area's aetheryte. If you've no confidence in your sense of direction, you'd be best served making use of the chocobo porters. First floor of the Mizzenmast, in case you were wondering. Should you choose to make the trek on your own two feet, leave the city through the Tempest Gate and follow the road south. May the Navigator guide your steps.  Along the way, I stop to slaughter some harmless goobbues for my hunting log. A few levels ago, they could demolish me, but now I make short work of them. Every class has the "big and scary put passive" mob of their region in their log. It's a good way to show the player how far they've come.  Welcome to the Moraby Drydocks. This is where Limsa's great warships are built.  Ahtbyrm here is the foreman of this huge vessel. His name means "Eight Trees".   AHTBYRM: Freddie, is it? Well, Freddie, this proud maiden you see taking shape before you is the Victory, the first new vessel to grace the docks since the Calamity.    AHTBYRM: Yet even with such unprecedented measures, there are never enough hands to handle the abundance of tasks. Should you choose to linger at the docks for a time, there is no end of odd jobs for a hardworking adventurer. Be you fair warned─there is no place here for layabouts and troublemakers.  Well let's get down to business then! AHTBYRM: Where in the seven hells is that man!? Not once in twelve moons has he been late with a shipment, and now two whole turns of the sun without a single word. A shipwright of mine─a young man named Fyrilsmyd─recently left Candlekeep Quay to retrieve several crates of supplies ordered from Limsa Lominsa...but has yet to return. I have sent several missives to Haldbroda, but his replies are always the same. He does not recall ever seeing the wright, nor the supplies he was scheduled to collect. That man knows something, and I severely doubt he is telling me the whole truth. As I cannot leave my post, I would ask you to travel to Candlekeep Quay in my stead and inform Haldbroda that if he insists on playing these games, I will personally see that he is transferred to Turtleback Island, where he can rot alone in the middle of the sea for eternity.  I find Haldbroda ("Kind Brother") at the Quay, but he seems to be playing the fool.  Freddie gives him a piece of his mind. HALDBRODA: Turtleback Island!? He cannot do that...can he? I swear on my poor nana's grave, Navigator rest her soul, I know naught of this Fyrilsmyd, nor his precious supplies. Hells, we here at the Quay have had enough trouble these past few suns, what with the sinking of that Lominsan cargo ship off the Salt Strand. I haven't the time to take a proper piss, let alone make note of every scrag that wanders in off the Grip. A sunken cargo ship? That's kind of a big deal.  HALDBRODA: Who knows? You may just run across this Fyrilsmyd everyone seems so eager to find. Here's to hoping the Navigator hasn't found him first.  Here's the Salt Strand from above. This is one of the many impact sites of a fragment of Dalamud. The heat of the impact turned the sand to glass, and left the telltale glow of corrupted aether.  Sure enough, here's Fyrilsmyd ("Lost Smith", quite appropriate here). FYRILSMYD: Two nights past, I made the trip from the Drydocks to Candlekeep Quay, just as the foreman asked. The seas were right rough, and the cap'n of the cargo ship was wary of bringin' her too close to the cliffs, so I paid a few coins to a fisher to take me out to meet her. By the time we was halfway 'twixt shore and ship, the swells had risen to nigh on ten yalms, and 'twasn't long afore the waves had hold of us. Try as we might to steady the boat, nature's grip was too tight, and we was flung headlong into the Lominsan galley. When I awoke, both ships were gone, and the cargo I was to collect lay strewn across the Salt Strand. I's made every effort to salvage it, but the sands are crawlin' with Qiqirn, and I ain't a one with a sword. And now ye see why it is I cannot return to the Drydocks...  Nothing to do but help the fellow out. Qiqirns are rodent-like beastmen that are known for being thieves and scavengers.  FYRILSMYD: I'll deliver the supplies right away...but first I must stop by the Quay so that I might pay me respects to the widow of the brave fisher who gave his life fer a handful o' coin. Could ye tell Ahtbyrm that I'll be back at the Drydocks by nightfall? Many thanks, adventurer! I will not forget this kindness! If it's nighttime, he'll tell you that he'll be back by daybreak. It's such a minor detail, but it's there.  AHTBYRM: You see, there was no storm that day, and the seas here adjacent the Drydocks were as calm as a slumbering child. This leads me to believe that the trouble the ships encountered off Candlekeep Quay was of a less natural sort─the sort which the Sahagin have been known to conjure. Well that makes things interesting. The Sahagin attacking the Drydocks would be a disaster.  AHTBYRM: Ghimthota, head of the watch here at the Drydocks, believes that pirates may be plotting an attack on the Victory, and she requires assistance investigating a group of unsavory individuals making camp nearby. I have recommended you for the task. Despite all Limsa Lominsa endured before, during, and following the Calamity, the fact that there are still those who would turn their backs on the city–state so that they might line their pockets with a few handfuls of coin... Just the thought of it sickens me.  Ghimthota ("Modest Daughter") lets Freddie know that eyes are increasingly on him. GHIMTHOTA: And you'll be pleased to know that nothing...incriminating was found. You appear to be a model citizen. That, and the foreman seems to think somewhat highly of you...which I must admit is quite shocking. The man doesn't even trust his own mother. Very well, then. I assume Ahtbyrm informed you of what your task would entail. The pirates we believe are conspiring to raid the Drydocks were last seen making camp near an ancient stone called the mark of the Spinner. I would have you approach the men, posing as a lost adventurer, and see if you cannot somehow learn of their intentions. C'nangho stationed at the rear gates can provide you with an exact location of the camp.  Here's the stone Ghimthota spoke of, a shrine to Nymeia, the Spinner.  And here are the pirates! DISREPUTABLE PIRATE: Ye see, I's 'ad it up to me ears with yer type, roamin' the 'ills like they was yers to roam. It's gettin' to be that a man cannae enjoy a mug o' rum wivout some shite-breath outlander runnin' up askin' which is the way to the local levemete. Seven 'ells if I know! I'm a bloody pirate, godsdammit! Thal's balls! Once we 'ave me boy back, I'm puttin' this godsforsaken piss'ole of an island so far behind me, ain't no one'll remember I was ever 'ere. Come on, scrags. We's knives to sharpen. I love this guy's dialogue. All these adventurers, asking for jerbs!  GHIMTHOTA: Could it be that their target never was the Victory? Something is not right, and I won't sit by idly waiting for those pirates to make the first move. I shall order increased patrols immediately. Thank you again for your help, Freddie. It appears we were wise to put our trust in you.  GHIMTHOTA: They creep ever closer to the Drydocks, so I must assume they mean to target the Victory herself. That ship is the symbol of everything Limsa Lominsa strives to become, and I will not allow these base scoundrels to lay a single finger upon her hull. We must apprehend them before they put their plans into motion! And you, Freddie, are just the man to do it. Without your capable assistance, I fear the security of the Drydocks cannot be guaranteed. Not moments ago, my guards submitted reports of suspicious activity in the area. Pray begin your efforts by listening to one of their accounts firsthand. It matters not whom you choose to speak with, but be sure to question either Urswyrst at the front gate or C'nangho at the rear. Any suspect saboteurs you encounter during the course of your investigation are to be interrogated. Report any and all findings directly to me.  Up on the cliffs above Moraby is this suspicious fellow. I guess that pirate attack is imminent. Better report back on the double!    GHIMTHOTA: Gods below, we are not prepared for this! The pirates, soldier, how many do they number? STORM SOLDIER: Not sure... More than I could quickly count... Seemed to be carrying...explosives... GHIMTHOTA: Explosives!? Then there is no time to lose!   Freddie summons all his strength and power to cast Stoic Nodaga. The Maelstrom soldiers are all inspired by his resolve. Victory is all but assured!  A handful of pirates try to stop me, but they're no match for Freddie and Carbuncle. As a side note, I kind of regret not naming this character Paul Simon.  Ahtzapfyn ("Eight Fingers"), the pirate captain I spoke to earlier, is of course at the bottom of this. Looks like he's already got Ahtbyrm held hostage.  Da? Well that certainly explains things.     I like the shocked catgirl in the back.    Time to kick some piratical rear end!   A lot more pirates show up. C'Nangho will keep me healed through all this and Ghimthota will tank Dread Pirate Dad, so this is a perfect opportunity for Freddie to go ham. More DoTs!  Some Mamool Ja mercs show up as backup, but it's too little, too late. Eight Fingers is going down.  Sorry I killed your dad.    ...  Oh sweet, new gear!  Next time: the Limsa Lominsa storyline is concluded. Fister Roboto fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Oct 11, 2016 |
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Oct 10, 2016 21:34
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