Adventurer Appreciation 2010

This popped up with little warning, and I have 6 charges left on my anniversary ring from last year :\

Anyways, here's the obligatory compilation of stats from previous years:

A whole lot less of everything this year, except I've managed to keep up my momentum on deaths.


We also got some fancy looking dinner jacket set, which has been given a place in my RDM idle set for the time being because it looks nice.

Now I'm going to have to start leveling SCH something fierce so I can use this anni ring up in time to get a new one.

Adventurer Appreciation

Even if it's not much compared to the mog bonanza, it's at least a nicely illustrated and extravagant way of announcing a new batch of anniversary rings.

And I was genuinely amused by this little message from Tzee Xicu:

Hark, unclean adventurers; accursed worshippers of the false Goddess.
Your wicked existence, while an affront to the true faith, strengthens the bonds of the noble Yagudo race. To you blasphemers do we owe our unfaltering unity.
May death take you and your tainted kith and kin.

Anyway, I've been doing some ACP stuff:


A level 30-capped Delkfutt's tower climb. Daunting at first, it's not at all bad if you're careful and take your time, though next time I'll do it as WHM for Reraise in case of emergency (I forgot they lowered the level requirement).


More junk from repeating the Fei'Yin fight.


Killed this guy, so I can summon all but Fenrir now on my Lv. 10 SMN!


And also spent 2 hours killing crap to learn an awesome WS that freaking explodes when you hit stuff!

Not dead.

Finally got my connection sorted so I can play on my PC at home again. Huzzah.

I managed to find my moogle stats for 2007 on an old PC in my absence, so I slapped them next to this years lot for exciting comparitive adventures:


It appears that KOs have increased drastically in the previous year in relation to anything else (possibly down to leveling/de-leveling a good number of subs to 37). Pretty low increase in kills since last year, but about 20k of those kills are probably bees in Sarutabaruta/Giddeus that I farmed almost exclusively from level 20~75. Pretty much everything else there makes sense, since 2007's lot was a few months after I got 75 and hadn't done much endgame at that point (hence why very few alliances).

Something else from last year I found that made me smile:



I decided to do a couple of Campaign ops, as Cuddles had been sitting on a mountain of tags over the past couple of weeks, and finally got to meet his hero and inspiration for choosing Monk:


Although Zazarg clearly isn't a Monk considering he's always in heavy armour, I still love him ;0.


Campaign sucks.



I managed to get MPK'd about 3 times in the same battle. I find it hard to understand how people feel that kiting dark elementals and NMs past a weakened level 59 monk who's in the middle of resting at 10% HP is going to result in anything productive. Or maybe they just hate me. Bastards.

Enhancing swords. They look nice, have nice stats and are incredibly expensive despite the fact the only job that can use them is mediocre at best for meleeing, not to mention that it really isn't viable in an optimal RDM melee set.



All things considered, I can't really complain about Benny there as he performed pretty well in Campaign, did some debuffing and helped cure and whatnot, so I won't complain. But I die a little inside when I see anyone in full RDM AF, it doesn't even look good outside of the Tabard and Chapeau. D:
Incidentally, the good looking pieces are the most useful ones.

Also, I can't fathom a single reason why any RDM would own an enlightened chain.

Two out of Three.

Paralyze II is now 2/3 (and falling, when I get more merits) to make way for Phalanx II. The latter being much more helpful for Salvage (particularily first floors, I'm hoping it might speed things up a little, although MP never really was an issue before). Naturally, during a Silver Seas run Paralyze actually starts paralyzing things that I cast it on, making me instantly regret deciding to get rid of it. After having watched Powderkeg Yanadahn be rendered immobile for a good few seconds by my spell, I complain and announce that I'm retiring RDM because Paralyze II apparantly operates in an absurd counter-logical fashion.
However it seems Yana, being a fellow RDM, felt pity for me and gave me some trousers to help make me feel better :D.


This puts me on 2/3 for Morrigan's Slops, which is all well and good, but we can't beat chariot bosses yet so it'll still be a while before I see them completed.

More Paralyze madness on some Gears NM;


It especially irritated me that this would happen when I was short of a back/waist cell as well. The gears weren't quite as sympathetic to my whinings so didn't bother dropping the legs we wanted from them. Due to the random nature of paralyze, I'll just write it off as bad luck, and Paralyze I would have performed just as adequately had I used that instead.


In other news, another Adventurer Appreciation campaign is on, which basically involves moogles being stationed around to give you some moderately interesting statistics about your character to compare with others. Also new Anniversary rings for all, which nobody can complain about.

Obligatory 'this is what the moogle says to me' picture:




This is what an anniversary ring does:


I'll be using mine on either getting DRG to a respectable level, or speed through it in Merit parties to cap Phalanx II merits ASAP. Also, the hour recast on it allows for Anniversary ring > Emperor Band > Anniversary ring goodness in merit parties.

Cuddles has got his second ring too, so MNK will take a healthy boost in EXP should I ever get a party on it. The Astral Candescence was recently stolen by the Undead Swarm, so few are going to be partying until the mystery superJP weekender team rescue it for us lazy westerners.