Making Gil in FFXIV: Part 3

Over the past few posts we've I discussed several principles behind making gil in FFXIV. Of course, my methods for making the gil I have so far (up over 2.3 million on my retainer right now and an additional 170k on me) have been a little different than the basic suggestions I've offered to date.

I mentioned in an earlier post that if I had it to do all over again, I'd have specialized instead of spreading my time across multiple crafts and sub-crafts. It was great money at first, when the game was new, but over time the gap between that top 5%, who work together and churn out finished products with substantial skill required for off-skill materials, and the common player has continued to increase -- exponentially. This means that by the time the casual player has had a chance to catch up, the market has been saturated and the top tier of non-crafting players are no longer paying premiums for those goods or services.

Case in point: fish glue. This was the first major bottleneck in the craft system. Most, if not all, weapons or tools required fish glue as a primary ingredient or as an ingredient required to make an ingredient. Thus, as far as most were concerned, all paths led through fish glue. The problem was that it requires somewhere in the neighborhood of level 15 Alchemy to make the glue and fishing of 10-15, depending on your fishing pole, just to catch the dark bass reliably. Therefore, the people who began selling both fish and glue at the apex of need were able to charge extreme fees, which were passed down through the finished products and to the consumer. Those looking for the most competitive edge were willing to pay those fees rather than easier until prices naturally fell. After a few weeks others started catching on, leveling both fishing and alchemy, and made a modest profit before even more players followed suit and the bottom fell out of the synths.

There is still money to be made with fish glue, but that money is typically realized by further processing materials across multiple crafts into seldomly made finished goods. By now, most modern weapons are using horn glue. The next tier will very likely use something else.

Truth be told, my income generation as of late has been significantly reduced. I just didn't have the energy to try to spam multiple crafts and I was already too far behind the curve of the power crafters. The thing that compounded the problem the most is the fact that I really don't have any friends on the server that play regularly. So while I do have a significant stockpile of gil at my disposal, I don't really have anyone to play with on a regular basis. So what's the point? Aside from the random person willing to party for their own leves, most of my shouts and says have been ignored.

What I'm trying to say here is that making gil in this game isn't enough. You've really got to foster those in-game relationships or it's all for naught.

Since you've stuck with me so far, I'll let you know what I've been selling.

Early on I discovered that brass nuggets sold relatively well, and I could make them before I could use them reliably for skill. So I ended up selling them at 1.5k each. Yeah, no kidding, and they sold like hot cakes.

Lightning crystals have been a nice boon. When I was under the misguided impression that it would be best to level several (all) crafts to provide myself with the necessary sub-items, I started farming/saving lightning crystals for clothcraft. Even this very morning I unloaded 20 for 3k a piece via someone's bazaar. They set the price, I just delivered. Easy 60k and lightning crystals are a byproduct of farming wind shards, can't beat that.

Small items such as rings and bracelets seemed to sell well in the lower level camps. I'd load up my retainer with weapons and armor and rent a stall and then I'd pick a camp and park my character there for the night. A few quick minutes to restock my bazaar in the morning before work would help make those small profit synths add up by the time I got home and was ready to play again.

Harpoons seemed to sell well for a while, but sales are slower now and the majority of lancers are moving on to higher tier weapons.

Animal glue is a nice filler when you don't know what to put in that last bazaar slot. I sell them for 450 a piece and the random sales do add up over time.

Hempen cowls sold well at first but too many idiots are selling them for well below 10k. You can't buy them all out, so the best you could hope for is convenience shoppers outside of town. This is beyond silly because it shows that a lot of crafters aren't factoring shards + time + materials into their profit equations. Really, though, it probably boils down to powerleveling a craft on finished goods, which is stupid for a few reasons with the way the game is currently set up, and then just trying to unload. I suppose this is the reason that more complex crafts held their viability longer, they were just plain inconvenient.

To be honest, most of my gil over the past few days has come from buying under-priced items in other people's bazaars and reselling them for what I believe they are worth. Profit is realized when someone else browses my bazaar and agrees with me. On the same token, if I find someone seeking an item or repair that is profitable for me, in respect to both time and gil, I'll fulfill the request. Example: I will not sell wind shards for 200 gil a piece because I use far too many to justify that price. It would cost skill increase and/or farming time. Likewise, crystals of any type are worth more to me than the standard price I've seen of 1.5k. I can now break a crystal into 16 shards for the cost of 1 fine sand. That gives me skill and shards that I can sell, it just makes more sense to hold out.

Anyway, this is reaching ridiculous length so let's stop for now. Come back soon for more FFXIV financial discussions.

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SE Gives Extended Free Trial for FFXIV

Quote from Loadstone:

Important Notices

2010/10/15 06:30 from FINAL FANTASY XIV

FINAL FANTASY XIV Free Trial Period Extension

First of all, we would like to thank you for joining us in the realm of Eorzea, and hope you are enjoying your adventures.

Since the official launch of service on September 30, 2010, we have received a wealth of constructive feedback from the FINAL FANTASY XIV community, and the development and management teams would like to take this opportunity to express their sincerest gratitude. For those who purchased the collector’s edition and began to play one week before official service began, the month-long free play period is drawing to a close. Considering the nature of much of the feedback we received, however, and the current state of the game, we have decided to extend the free trial period for all users. Please continue reading for further details.

We would like to assure players that the world of FINAL FANTASY XIV is constantly growing and evolving, and the voices of the community are essential to that process. The development and management teams are carefully considering all player feedback, and working diligently to implement whatever changes and additions will serve to make Eorzea a better home for adventurers. We humbly ask for your continued support to this end.

Today, we have released information regarding forthcoming version updates. For further details, please view the following Lodestone Topics:
・Version Updates Coming Soon! (10/15/2010)
( http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/index.html )
・Ask the Devs! (10/15/2010)
( http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=c07a85c2f170a53057f5a39f56e6fc02b03b1184 )
・Message from the Director (10/15/2010)
( http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=f2cf790e548828eb22d3c4dff5f04bf0793632b5 )

Free Trial Extension Details

Eligibility
All users who registered a FINAL FANTASY XIV service account and purchased a character by October 25, 2010 will be eligible.

*Character purchases must have been carried out no later than October 25, 2010 at 23:59(PDT).
*Accounts terminated due to User Agreement infractions are ineligible for extension.
*Holders of multiple service accounts may receive extensions on all accounts.

Extension Period
An additional thirty (30) days, for a combined free trial period of sixty (60) days.

*Free trial period end dates and initial billing dates will be automatically extended. Users are not required to take any action.
*Extensions will be for a period of thirty days regardless of billing cycle length. Regular billing will begin upon conclusion of the extended free trial.
*Should automatic renewal of options be disabled, the free trial will still be extended.
*Users notified by automated mail of either the end of their free trial period or the beginning of their billing period will still receive the extension.
*Extensions will be processed by the Square Enix Account Management System on or around October 19, 2010. An official announcement will be made at that time.
*Information regarding new billing period dates will be available via the Square Enix Account Management System.

Making Gil In FFXIV - Part 2

If you caught my last post about making gil in FFXIV, we covered some of the basic ideas behind making money: buy low sell high, craft for profit, inventory stagnation cost, etc. I also made a point off mentioning that in the current system, one can adequately get by using leve gil and item rewards to outfit themselves - wearing what rewards they can, selling what they can't, and purchasing or trading for items they need. Crafting things yourself can be fun, but is not necessarily necessary.

Since you're still with me, assuming that you are if you're reading this, it's probably safe to say that you're looking for more than just getting by. As of last night I was sitting just above 1.7 million gil - and while that may not impress some, it's definitely more than just getting by with the basic necessities. Even so, my character has yet to equip rings, bracelets, or other extravagances - many of which I've sold plenty of. Those things, while important to some who may be looking for top physical or magical performance, are not important to my primary goal at this point in time. That goal, of course, is to make a sizable amount of gil prior to the market normalization. I expect that this event will likely occur sometime before PS3 release and will be greatly influenced by the recent market ward system update.

Regardless, the real thing that many new players want to know is what they can sell for good profit. And while this may be different from server to server, there are some safe bets that can help you to make gil.

The first apparent need that I ran into as a new player was manifested from a lack of fire crystals. I could not find these at all when I first started out and aside from leveling my ore-based crafts strictly from leve synths, this was a major clinching point. I soon found myself farming these by killing fireflies and glowflies in the Limsa area. I later discovered that star marmots and first-tier coblins dropped them occasionally and that the second-tier of these families dropped them a bit more frequently.

It wasn't long before I realized that another deficiency was a lack of wind shards. After a little investigation I discovered that these shards could be obtained through gathering with highest points into wind resists and by killing sheep and later puks and dodos.

The biggest thing here is to pay attention to what the crafting classes need. I can tell you that selling fire shards at the blacksmith guild shop would probably net you the most sales, while lightning crystals would sell well at the weavers guild.

If SE's previous MMO, FFXI, taught us anything it was to never underestimate the power of selling to vendor. Obviously, not everything you come across in the game will be worth getting excited about, but it would be a good idea to take some time as you clear your inventory to notice which items pull in decent returns. Marmot pelts are a level 20-ish leather synth but also sell for somewhere in the ballpark of 500 gil apiece directly to vendor. This spells instant profit if you can't seem to unload at the guild overnight for increased revenue.

Listen, if you are like some players I've run into who don't check vendor prices before bazaaring, you could be making your savvy peers some easy gil simply by buying up your junk and making a quick trip to offload to an npc.

If you pick up crafting, be aware of the full cost of attempting to churn out finished products with complex or higher tier material requirements. Sometimes it really is better to sell parts to other crafters who have bought into the misconception. You'll gain skill, make gil, and won't be struggling to put things together before you can realize a profit. Another point to consider is that once the initial supply choke point is breached, the cost of shards often dissolve in the equation of undercutting. This means that at certain points of saturation, you'll actually make more by not performing the synth at all and just listing the shards themselves. This makes for very inefficient leveling of skill for the novelty of selling a finished product. While there are few things cooler in the game at this point than the concept of armies of players utilizing your weapons, armor, and jewelry, you have to be wary of being sucked in to the mindset that many other players will succumb to. If you do, these people will become your competition - your goal should be to make them your customers.

At the risk of creating a post worthy of 'too long, didn't read,' I'll end this here. You know the drill by now, stay tuned for more musings on gil making in FFXIV.


Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 1
Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 3

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Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 1

So, last post I mentioned that I've been working on ways to make gil in FFXIV. This is a pretty big topic in itself, so there's really no way to cover it in one session. Instead of trying to do that, I'll start at some of the basic principles. Of course, this may prove rudimentary to some, but stick with me and we'll get to the beef of it all soon enough.

One of the neat things about online economies, such as those in massively multiplayer online role-playing games, is that they are as dynamic as the players who populate the virtual worlds of the game itself. Within these confines we often see the same behaviors, though sometimes amplified or muted based on the interpretations of individual online personas. Generally, though, we find that those who are not savvy at handling their real-life funds also struggle in-game. Thankfully, understanding the basic concepts in-game can also translate to the outside without costing you anything more than some of your dedicated leisure time.

There are some phrases that will resonate with a certain sense of familiarity: buy low - sell high, it takes money to make money, supply and demand... Thankfully, there is more than just these principles to get us by in FFXIV, though they are the bread and butter foundation to a gil making strategy.

So far, it seems that you can get by just fine in the game by playing your standard disciple of war or disciple of magic class. You can happy do your leves, collect your cash and item rewards, and supplement the rest of your gear by shopping frugally and making connections with other players. By killing mobs, you can trade materials and shards / crystals for goods and services. Or, sell them out-right for more liquidity and less restraints with your buying power.

On top of that, it is also viable to pick up one or more crafting classes as well. Here you will need to balance your efforts to avoid the obvious, and sometimes less than obvious, time sinks. These are usually dual-purposed as gil sinks as well, so keep an eye out. The finished product is not always the one that will net you the most gil per effort or time. With so many other crafters working as peers, juniors, and seniors on the supply line, you've got to examine the synths that ail make you money. You have to keep an eye on the competition. Sometimes you'll suddenly get a break in steady sales only to discover some nimrod haas parked his retainer a few feet from yours with blow out, rock bottom prices. This devalues your product, possibly saturates the market, and leaves you in a tight spot. Do you buy him out and relist the items at the going rate or do you mark down your own items and research your next product? There are several factors to consider. How rare are the materials required? How much do you already have invested? How much can you afford to lose if things don't go according to plan? And perhaps a bit more subtle, how much will it cost you to have bazaar slots taken by items that will not move - in other words, how much potential income do you stand to lose?

My next post will include a few more specific ideas on how to make gil in FFXIV, so sign up for my RSS feed or stop by again soon!

Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 2
Making Gil in FFXIV - Part 3

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FFXIV - All Things Considered.

As a purchaser of the FFXIV Collector's Edition, I've been spending a fair amount of my time in the land of Eorzea this last week. I've definitely learned a thing or two, mostly from figuring out that I had done it wrong initially. Primarily, my mistakes ended up being in the form of non-specialization and taking some of the more expensive leveling routes for some of my crafts.

It was frustrating to hit level 10 Blacksmith without having an easily recognizable finished product that I could churn out and sell for profit while a level 8 tanner (leatherworking) was able to sell me Smithy's Gloves +1 that he was able to make. What the hell? I console myself with the thought that I may see the fruit of my labors manifest in the next 5-10 levels. But this is just one of the things about new games. I could be totally oblivious to some synth out there that could help me to realize a more immediate return on my time and material investment. There just aren't any reliable guides available yet. We who go forward are the trailblazers, lighting the way for those who may follow.

******

I actually started this post a few days ago but didn't get around to finishing it. Yeah, I've been that occupied with my time in Final Fantasy 14 lately. It's been a learning process, for sure, and every day I walk away with a better understanding of the game and its many intricacies.

I'm looking forward to posting more about my adventures and shedding some light on what I've discovered so far. Most of my time has been engulfed in the creation of goods and turning a tidy profit. I'm now sitting somewhere in the neighborhood of 600k gil and I'm definitely looking to expand that to over a million while the game is still new. If you're interested in the FFXIV economy and how to make money, be sure to check back in! No, I'm not going to try to sell you a guide, I find a lot more value in an open, 2-way conversation on the ins and outs. So bookmark this blog or join my rss feed and stay tuned!

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Min Maxing and FFXIV

Stats were a very big part of FFXI and even if you didnt completely buy into the idea of spending millions of gil for the slightest edge over the rest of the community, many people did their best to manage their stats in a way that would significantly improve their performance. I wasn't a hardcore player by any means, but I must admit that I took a significant amount of satisfaction from finally being able to afford that next big ticket item. Sure, as a casual player there was a lot that was out of bounds -- based on my commitment level and the time I was willing to dedicate to the project -- yet there were still more than enough reasons to be perfectly happy without having the very best the game had to offer those with the highest level of dedication and patience.

Even so, we're talking about an environment where at one point elitests would completely refuse to group with someone who didn't have a race that complimented their chosen job based on a few points of base stats. So, yes, there were some down sides to the system as well, but those came directly from the community and were not intended by the developers.

So I suppose that takes us to our next question, what role will item optimization take in S-E's next online addition to the Final Fantasy franchise? Will FFXIV have the same emphasis on stat stacking for specific abilities, enough to warrant complex macros to swap gear for specific spells or abilities? I, for one, greatly enjoyed having that much control over my own performance in FFXI.

So far, in Open Beta, I haven't really encountered these traits. Still, the game is pre-release and people haven't really figured much of this stuff out yet. A lot of these testers haven't played FFXI, or didn't make it past the trial if they did: based on some of the comments I've been seeing on the various forums I've been reading.

But I have hope. S-E is going to have to implement something to keep hard core to slightly-above-casual players not only occupied, but satisfied. There is the culinary profession, which will need to have some kind of demand to have a viable purpose in the game -- let alone the self-supporting economic component to make it more than just a time/gil sink. Let's face it, there has to be some kind of built on reward for spending all that time leveling up the job.

And of course, there are the Notorious Monsters, or NM's, that have made a reappearance. What would be the point of killing them without some type of reward that would justify the time spent camping/killing them?

In the end, I do believe there will be some form of min/max benefit to the game. Will it take the same shape as it did in FFXI? Maybe not, but only time and the player base will tell.

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FFXIV Playstation 3 Alternative?

Well, it's time for me to go back to school again to pursue my Masters, so it wasn't too difficult to persuade myself into buying a new laptop. Sure enough, one thing led to another and I ended up with a nice ASUS gaming machine that is pure over-kill for anything a degree in Information Security and Assurance could possibly throw my way. The G73JH-A1 is a powerhouse of a laptop with a 1.6GHz Intel i7-720QM Quad-Core Processor, 8GB of DDR3 Ram, and a full terabyte of storage.

But as gamers, isn't that pretty much our nature? Besides, who wants a machine that operates at the pace of a fast snail by the time the degree program is finished? Am I right?

Anyway, the laptop arrived on Friday so after removing bloatware and creating a restore image, I loaded up the FFXIV Open Beta and used the HDMI out to send it over to my 42 inch LCD TV. That, combined with my Logitech gaming controller, turned the otherwise PC experience into something of a consoler's dream.

After a few hours in Gridania and the surrounding areas, I'm more than confident that my setup would satisfy the most ardent of console gamers desires. The laptop ran cool as a breeze and the gameplay was smooth and clean. Plus, with the bluray player and the built in storage, this beast is a competent media center monster. Of course, the price is a bit up there for someone who is just looking for that console experience at the same time as PC release as promised earlier in the year. That said, if you're in the market, this is definitely the way to go.

As for school, I suppose I'll be playing as a reward for good behavior, so here's to hard work and good grades, lounging out in my free time with the kids watching the screen while I play some MMO goodness and de-stress. Cheers!

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FFXIV - Community Anyone? Anyone? Hello?

One thing that has stricken me as odd is the shear unwillingness of a lot of the beta players to converse and share information. This isn't anything like my FFXI experience. For this reason, I can't wait until the 22nd for the Collector's Edition access to kick in. I really do think that a big part of the problem is that the beta tester population is significantly not made of people who enjoyed FFXI.

The game mechanics don't necessarily necessitate solo play, but it seems that people are very much of the mind that they just want to be left alone. Going back to the problem of locating the correct type of shards or crystals, asking in say at the camp or in shout in the city often resulted in not a single response. The same goes for asking random people if they'd like to group up to break the monotomy of grinding between levels 6-8, where it only makes sense to fight the mobs that are tough enough to make each fight a bit risky.

Maybe I haven't met the right beta testers, but the game right now seems to be even more solo than WoW is touted to be. That said, I've had a great leve group out at Camp Drybone, so I know it can be done. I guess that people just need time to figure out what works and what doesn't. That doesn't explain the radio silence, but what can you do?

All said, I'm looking forward to launch on the 22nd! Since the beta doesn't consist of /bug reports, I'm trying to learn as much as I can before the game goes live.

FFXIV Dude Where's My Fire Crystal!?

One of the biggest problems I've had in the Open Beta so far is the vast limits that the game imposes on growth. Starting out in Ul'dah, I have been unable to locate a mob or activity that drops or provides Fire Crystals -- which are required for even the most basic crafting recipes for Blacksmithing and Goldsmithing. How in the world am I supposed to make nuggets to turn into ingots if the only fire I can get my hands on are shards?

It seems like the only progression you'll get right off the bat is to use the guildleves to help you level your skill, but once those are done you have to grind -- just like all of the combat or caster jobs out there. Maybe I'm just having a hard time wrapping my brain about it, but I can only see this problem compounding with retail. Allowing players to start their careers as crafters is great, but you have to give them a path to progression. Should leveling when you start out be solely contingent upon leves which can't be repeated for an additional 48 hours?

Case in point, while others told me that they were able to get wind shards by mining outside of Ul'dah, I was unable to find a single one in eight skill levels. It wasn't until I road the ferry to Limsa and mined in their areas that I began getting them in my loot. Any why did I need to get my hands on wind shards? Cooking! I found a simple recipe that would finally allow me to gain skill off my crayfish -- allowing me to do something other than vendor my fish. 1 crayfish + 1 wind shard = River Sand. As long as you can get your hands on the wind shards, this makes leveling up cooking much easier to grind.

It just seems like too many things are interdependant on one another. To cook, I can't just kill things that drop meat or fish. I have to find creatures or gathering activities that provide the right kinds of shards or worse.. crystals, which are much more rare. This may depend on the area you start out in, it's quite possible. It's just a little annoying that I can get fire and earth shards by fishing, yet not air. Is this based on weather? Time of day? Did I just not fish or mine at the correct time or the right day of the game week? My only option for prey was moles, marmots, and coblyns. None of these dropped the shards I needed.

The obvious answer then seems to be that I should head to the market ward. With no search feature, you've got to check each player and retainer manually across around 10 different areas. A smart shopper would try to compare prices. Yuck! Good luck! This is something that needs to change. I don't mind being able to trade my goods for others that may be harder for me to obtain. Maybe Botany is the way to go? If I don't want to do that, I should be able to barter the items that I can gather. Help me do that with a viable search or auction system.

FFXIV Open Beta

Over the past few days, I've been deep in the throngs of open beta play with FFXIV. I actually got quite lucky, to be honest. I don't believe I would have managed it on my own, that's for sure. Chalk this one up to having a wife who's beyond awesome. She was actually the one who got me in. My luck, it would seem, was not as good as hers, and yet I suppose I lucked out for even having a wife who would do that for me in the first place.

The site was straight up hammered. With all the negative press from closed beta, you'd think that most players who were only casually interested in the game would have left it alone. Maybe it was more like passersby being drawn to stare at car wrecks on the freeway instead of just going on their merry way? Either way, imagine a large-scale distributed denial of service attack and that's pretty much what was happening behind the scenes with the servers. They just couldn't handle all the web traffic and login attempts. Hundreds of thousands of people were all trying to squeeze through a tiny pipe all at the same time and refreshing the page every thirty seconds - thus compounding the problem. But what can you do? It's not like they'd save you a spot in the beta for being nice and waiting until the initial rush has settled.

The surprising thing is that this shouldn't have taken SE by surprise. How many of you remember the fiasco that was the Wings of the Goddess expansion registration server crisis? Nothing like selling your customers a partially finished expansion and then making them wait to register it because your infrastructure isn't up to snuff to handle the requests. Metrics, what are those?

Does this seem like a bitch fest? It really isn't. More just light humor exposing certain trends with the Final Fantasy trademark as of late. You see, there is a lot to wade through when trying to garner info about FFXIV. You've got the haters, the fanboys, the dreamers, and the cynics.

The Haters - these guys hate the game pretty much because it exists and isn't what they are used to. Either that or because it's cool to rage about things on the internet and call people, products, and those who like them stupid. They may regurgitate valid points that others have made, but it's all just fodder for the war machine.

The Fanboys - These guys are equal opposites to The Haters. These guys love the game because there is no other option. All your base are belong to Square-Enix so shut up and play or go away. Logic fails on these people and if you disagree then you were obviously looking for just another WoW clone and don't have the intellect it takes to play a sophisticated MMO.

The Dreamers - easily mistaken for Fanboys, these guys are nearly blind in their sentiment that things will get better. No hardware mouse, auction house? Don't worry, all in due time! Anti-RMT measures that seem more like anti-player? It's all for a better playing experience...

The Cynics - these guys are the realists of the bunch. They want the game to be good, but they just can't help but see the glaring flaws. With the game so close to release, they are in a panic and try to spread the word -- hoping that their complaints get some recognition so a fix can be implemented. But is it too late?


I suppose there could yet be another category of player out there, The Realist. Part dreamer, part cynic, these players remember the Wings of the Goddess release and the unfinished expansion. They realize that it isn't beyond SE to release an unfinished product. They saw the affects of certain anti-RMT measures and the way they killed the economy and playstyles of legitimate players. They realize that SE is a company who prefers to dictate rather than listen. Yet, somehow they hope there is more. They hope that SE will listen, that the game will grow and evolve into something much more than it is now.

Of these, I hope the majority of us could be realists. There are some issues with the game in its current state, that's for sure. We can't make a company like Square-Enix listen to us, that's on them, but hopefully we can enjoy the game for what it is.

I look forward to posting more about my in-game experience, so stay tuned!

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Business and Pleasure

I've been playing some FFXIII lately while studying for a few of my Microsoft Server 2008 certification tests, so I haven't had the time to fully dedicate my attention to the game. All the same, it has proven to be a lot more interesting that I first thought.

Don't get me wrong, the cinema is amazing, but the first 20 hours or so really do seem to play a lot like an extended movie with interaction. This is visually appealing but left me feeling a bit left out of the playing experience.

As the game has progressed, I have really enjoyed the idea of upgrading my weapons and accessories and it makes me wonder if this is perhaps a ploy to get us ready for the new play-style and progression system that will come with FFXIV.

I'm still holding out for my Final Fantasy 14 beta invite for the PS3. I haven't even looked online to see if there are reports that they've started that phase yet. I guess I'm a bit nervous to find out that I missed the boat. I'm still keeping an eye on my email inbox, just in case!

FFXIV Beta Leaks?

So, I've been looking around the internet for more information about FFXIV, but there isn't a lot out there. Of course, that's a good sign as it means that not many people are breaking the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). One of the biggest offenders I've seen to date has been Order of the Blue Gartr. The violations haven't been from the forum moderators but from the community. The Mods have a policy of removing the screenshots and data when they locate it, but with the number of posts it's near impossible to do without the content being flagged by other members of the community. I've also read that this has been a very big problem on Slashdot as well.

While I don't advocate breaking the NDA during beta tests by any means, it's hard to resist trying to snag a hint at the latest scoop floating around the internet. I have successfully Beta tested three different times and not once did I break the NDA, but that doesn't mean I will immediately turn off my monitor and perform a reboot if I come across leaked information.

The majority of the stuff I've read has been really good. Many reports suggest that once you've played Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XI seems mundane. That's good news. FFXI has been a source of countless hours of enjoyment for me, so if this latest installment of the MMO series for Final Fantasy blows away all previous expectations... well, that will leave me being a very happy camper.

FFXI Level 20 Avatar Fight: Ramuh

For anyone interested, I originally obtained most of my avatars through the level 20 solo fights. While many players will recommend against doing this as it prohibits you from using the tuning forks for easy avatar battle travel later on, for some it is the only real option unless they want to level another job to Avatar fighting range first.

I am posting a video of this first fight for you to learn from. Sorry about the cheesy music, a friend of mine did the compilation for me back in 2006.

Taking a break from FFXI?

I haven't logged into FFXI for a few days and I haven't really missed it all that much. I was doing well with my Trial of the Magian axes, but I don't know. I guess it's been a rough week for me. I spent last night working on two of my computers and applying updates and whatnot. I just didn't feel compelled to log in.

This seems to happen from time to time when I start to question the time I spend playing online games. There seems to be so much involved in farming for in-game currency and items and consumables and the list just goes on. At times the process is fun, but other times it seems like more of a chore. To be honest, this isn't one of those times either since I just feel generally apathetic.

I am excited to see if I get in the PS3 version of the FFXIV beta. That would be pretty neat to try out. I am interested to see how well the PS3 integrates with a multi-platform MMO. I play FFXI on my 360 at times and it really isn't anything to brag about.

I'm thinking about starting up on my Master's again in May, which will take a lot of my time. I've also got another little one on the way so there's that as well. I just don't see myself devoting the time to take one or more jobs up to the new level caps. But I must admit, it is kind of nice seeing people all over again, that's definitely a plus in regard to the server consolidations. My auctions were going well too and I actually made decent profit selling bolts.

Who knows, maybe I'll give it a few days and see how I feel. I'm sort of planning on taking a few Microsoft cert tests soon and was toying with the idea of taking the first at the end of this month. If I can juggle studying with play time and spending time with the family, sure, why not?
:)

Chocobo Racing Silks - Further Discussion

I  have had a bit more of a chance to experiment with the Blue Racing Silks and the Sky Blue Racing Silks with my digging lately. The reason for this is primarily that 200 successful digs can take a while longer than I really have to spend on work nights. So, I often get about 60-70 free digs before switching to the Sky Blue Racing Silks to finish off the remaining 45 fatigue digs for the night.

Last night turned out pretty decent for my moderate level of digging skill. I netted two gold beastcoins, a handful of silver, two petrified logs, a few ebony logs, an oak log, some mythril ore and a mythril beastcoin and other miscellaneous items. Oh, the 6 danceshrooms were a nice sell-to-vendor treat. I definitely paid for my greens! The moon was 69% and a few of the zones I tried were near barren, it took a while to finally get in that haul. I'm glad I had the patience to see it through.

The Blue Racing Silks are definitely good for zones where the incidentals are beneficial. Digging in Tahrongi gets me a lot of pebbles and flint stones for my free digs with the occasional surprise. Digging in the jungle, however, brings in a nice flow of bone chips, which I send to my mule in Windy to level bonecraft. Just hit level 9 tonight and am ready to start making gelatin and glue here soon. A few years ago those stacks of chips would have sold for 10k easy, but nowadays they only go for 1k. There's really no point in trying to list them, I'd just as soon get some skill off them and keep the AH stocked with my more profitable digs.

I'm enjoying synthing the logs I get and receiving the occasional HQ. I haven't lost any of my lumber yet, which is always a risk with crafting in FFXI, but I'm sure it's bound to happen sooner or later. I suppose that's the gamble. You win some, you lose some.

I'm still not sure what the Sky Blue silks are doing for me. Is it increasing the skill of my bird temporarily to artificially boost my digging skill? That would make it easier to pull up those harder items if I get them in the treasure pool, but there's really no way for me to know client-side. I really wish these things weren't quite so ambiguous.

Chocobo Digging

Well, I picked up my FFXI chocobo digging recently and finally made it to the rank of Initiate. That means that I have slightly better accuracy than someone just starting out and I can dig every six seconds instead of every sixteen. Wahoo! My area wait time is at 50 seconds, meaning that I can't start digging until 50 seconds after I've zoned. This is down from a full minute when you start out.

I raised a digging chocobo with the Bore and Burrow abilities to increase the rate of successful digs. With maxed out discernment I'm finding that my successful dig rate is way better than I had ever encountered before and I can stay competitive in the jungles without a problem. With 67 woodworking skill, I synth the higher priced logs into lumber and have been surprised with a few HQ's that result in more lumber than logs and increase my income. At this point in the game, though, I'm still aiming to pay for my digging sessions. Anything extra is just a nice surprise.

I think I made a mistake by getting the Sky Blue Racing Silks. It seems, after doing some reading, that it is rather inconclusive what they do for your skill. Sure, I get the messages that my chocobo has gained knowledge from digs quite frequently, but what does that mean exactly? I still haven't found any comprehensive arguments that can say with any certainty that this is actually directly improving skillup rates to cut down the time required to level up your digging skill. Why is that so important? As an initiate I see a slightly better accuracy rate and I can dig quicker. The next rank is the first one that really starts setting you up for the big leagues. Players will often refer to the Novice rank as A45. The reason being is that, of course, your area wait time drops from 50 seconds after zoning to 45, but furthermore, this is the first rank where you receive 0 delay between digs. So, instead of waiting six seconds to dig again, you can basically do it back to back. Going on with this, each successive rank contiunes the decrease in area wait time by five seconds while maintaining the 0 delay between digs. On and on it goes until you finally reach the rank of Expert with an area wait time of 10 seconds. This rank is often referred to as A10, catching on?

Aside from the obvious benefits of ranking up your digging skill, higher ranked players also gain access to digs that would be impossible for newbs like me. We're talking about elemental ore, orichalcum ore, adaman ore, and precious metal beastcoins plus other hard to obtain items. This is where all that hard work starts to pay off. You no longer worry about whether you're going to break even on greens, now we're talking about putting the little Tarus through college. That's the idea, anyway. The problem is that after the anti-RMT actions instituted into the game, the fatigue system will only allow you to dig up 100 items a day, which resets at midnight in Japan. From everything I've read, that puts you on schedule to obtain your A10 rank after a mere 20-22 months of digging to cap every single day. That's right, no holidays, no birthdays, no anniversaries off, digging every single day to fatigue. Bleh!

I suppose that's why I had such high hopes for the Sky Blue Racing Silks. With the idea that I could shorten that time, well, I was pretty stoked. I have since learned that I may be much better off going with the Blue Racing Silks, which increase the number of successful digs per day substantially. Hmm, immediate payoff. If FFXIV weren't right around the corner I might be tempted to just stick it out and see how these Skill + silks work out, but the truth of the matter is that I really don't have the intention to stay in this game for that long. Sure, the quest for 99 sounds like it might be kind of fun, but let's face it. I have become a loner in this Final Fantasy game. My friends have moved on or only log on once in a blue moon and it gets lonely. I work full time and I've got a family and I just don't have the time to try to foster new friendships. Let's face it, in this game it's always been a crapshoot of hit or miss and generally these things include helping other people with the things they MUST have in the hope that they reciprocate later on. In my experience, I end up spending a lot of time helping others who are quick to forget the good deed. New addons or not, I think it's time for me to move on. Until then, though, I'm having fun seeing what I can dig up in my old stomping grounds.

Last night I got a few gold beastcoins and some choice pieces of ore and logs. I made more than I spent on greens and, who knows, maybe I got a few good skill increases somewhere in there. I'm already halfway to getting my new racing silks to increase my successful digs and I suppose I'll keep the others in my storage in case some new information comes to light later on down the road.

My experiences so far have left me hoping that an improved version of chocobo raising and digging find themselves in Final Fantasy XIV. I also hope that the developers find better ways to mitigate RMT activities than dictating what real players can do with their time in game. There will always be other ways around it. And really, what's to stop an RMT joint to bot up a few more mules and keep the dig botting going around the clock? All it really does is make it harder for real players to track competitors. I would much rather avoid a zone always occupied by a single player who dig bots than try to keep up with his many alts. But, alas, we digress into the topic of how Fishing and Digging have had their noses cut off to spite the face -- and that, my friends, shall be for another day.

Until then, happy digging!

FFXI and the Level Cap Increase

How do you feel about the announcement of the impending level cap increases for Final Fantasy XI? By the end of this year the max level will have raised from 75 through several increments to 99. Of course, many players will have left the game by that point if Final Fantasy XIV, the new FF MMO, releases on time. I suppose when you put it into that perspective, it will only be the die-hard XI fans that will remain. Well, I suppose those who simply have no desire to move on to the next MMO will also remain.

Will the mass exodus call for more server consolidations? I imagine that some might say, "Big deal, let them go, who cares if SE consolidates the servers? At least there will be less people sitting in town whining about lack of invites or that no one will help them." Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about this. It just brings up some interesting concerns.

For example, if only the truest of die-hard XI fans remain and they consolidate servers as they are doing this month, then players will again face an undesirable side affect that will undoubtedly come as an unpleasant surprise after the March 2010 update. The thing with having a character on a long standing MMO is that you get used to them, you develop a connection to this online persona that you have been attached to for so long. So imagine waking up one morning, driving to work, and then as you walk into the building you're given a message that indicates that you can no longer be Bob or Bill or Sam or whatever it is that you call yourself. It turns out that Accounting just merged with Outside Sales for who knows why and there already happens to be a Bob or Bill or Sam, or what have you, in their block of cubicles. Darn the luck, you now have to come up with a new name, a handle to which people will refer when desiring to communicate in your direction.


I know, to some it won't be an issue. It's just a name and your friendlist should still function just as it used to. If you're one of those guys whose account has been jacked up for who knows how long, well let's face it, you're screwed. But there are those minor annoyances. Like making sure you send mail to the right person. Wouldn't it be awful to send all your gear to the wrong Mrshineypants mule? Next thing you know some galka with a fetish for meat dishes is parading around town in YOUR underwear. Imagine the embarrassment.

The real point I'm trying to make here is that there will undoubtedly be a lot of changes in store for FFXI in the coming months and not all of them will be gameplay alone. Another thing to consider is that the folks at SE do seem to have a plan for taking FFXI into 2011 and perhaps even years longer than that. This should be great news to those fans who see the game as their long time home for gaming entertainment.

FFXIV Beta Invites - Advice for testers.

Well, the first round of Final Fantasy XIV Beta invites went out around the 1st of March. The lucky folks who were on the receiving end of those emails will start downloading the first version of the test client, which will be the first of many versions that are pushed down in the coming months of testing. As a previous Beta Tester for World of Warcraft, WoW: The Burning Crusade, and Warhammer Online, I am no stranger to the testing process. Unfortunately, I wasn't selected for this initial round, though I still have hope that my invite will come later.

For those of you who got in on this phase, and any subsequent phase of testing for that matter, you can probably expect download congestion, spotty connectivity to the Beta site, and people complaining about connection issues or download/client install issues or game bugs in a non-constructive manner. This is pretty much par for the course should be an expected part of the testing process. Don't get excited or stressed out, these things have a way of working themselves out and you'll be playing and offering beneficial feedback before you know it. Another thing to keep in mind is that testing usually breaks after a few days to a few weeks to load new testing content on the servers and make certain changes based on community suggestions and feedback. Once you're in, you're in for all of the remaining phases -- unless your conduct does not meet the standards expected of valuable testers as determined by the staff of the game you're testing.

If you didn't get your invite for this initial round of testing, don't worry, there will be more invites being sent out as the testing progresses. Also, I believe testing for the PC version kicks off first, so if you signed up for the PS3 version or indicated that you intend to play on that platform, it may impact when you will receive your invite. I cannot confirm that, however, it's just speculation on my part.

Another point of interest for those of you who are willing to do ANYTHING to increase your odds of getting into the Beta, Final Fantasy XIII has hit the stores and inside these first-run shipments is a product registration card that gives you a code to enter in on the Beta application form. Already applied? It's okay, when you apply again, this time indicating the code you received when you registered your copy of FFXIII, it will overwrite your previous application. The application site specifically says this, so there is no penalty for re-applying as your latest application will overwrite any previous entries.

Speculation: They were disappointed with the number of PS3 Beta applications and decided that this would be a good way of bolstering the number of players willing to test on that platform.

Another bonus that comes with registering your copy of FFXIII is that you can enter it after you purchase your retail version of Final Fantasy XIV when it comes out and you will get a special in-game item! They haven't said what that item will be, but I imagine that this may be your only chance to secure whatever it is.

Regardless of whether you got in this time or if you get in later, it is important to use your opportunity as a beta tester wisely. This can be done by experiencing many different facets of the game environment instead of just the things you enjoy doing as a part of your normal gaming routine. A good Beta tester does not view this time as a way to merely preview the game and pass judgment, he or she sees it as an opportunity to make suggestions that could forever alter the way the game plays and feels to possibly hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of players from around the globe. They report bugs with constructive comments and participate in surveys that pop up concerning quest objectives or other interactions instead of closing them to get on with playing the game.

Just remember, the rest of us are counting on you to help make this the best game it can be. Don't let us down!

Chains of Promanthia Progress!

Well, it took quite a few hours of shouting in Whitegate, but I finally put together a team to tackle the Airship fight and then Tenzen. I'll write more about these specific fights soon. Actually seeing Sea for myself left me much more impressed than I had expected. Was it worth the days of agony spent fruitlessly trying to get a group formed? Eh... I'm not sure.

I don't have a whole lot of friends in the game anymore, most of the people I interact with are closer to acquaintances. Asking for help is a joke, even though most would gladly accept any offer of my time for their own pursuits. Now that I have Sea, I really don't have much I can do in there. My BLU is now 73, just shy of 74, so it won't be long before I can solo some of the mobs there without too much issue by subbing NIN and having Utsusemi: Ichi and Ni available. Coincidentally, that's also the time when Imps become a much safer soloing option as well. I still need a few spells in the area, though, so I'll probably go hand out and try to learn them before leaving for better experience points.

With Disseverment finally in my spell list, I tried flagging up for a party the other day. Nothing. I'm not even sure where people group at 73 these days. Another issue is that BLU is one of those jobs that can just be plain amazing in a party if played right, however few players actually take the time to learn how to maximize damage and factor in party beneficials. This leaves BLU in a somewhat bad position when it comes to forming up experience points parties. People just automatically assume you're stupid.

So, instead of just sitting around town I have taken to campaign a bit, but have spent the majority of the last few days doing Fields of Valor in Sky as BLU/BST. It's odd though, I am finding that even with the same +CHR gear that I was using as RDM/BST, I am getting a noticeable increase in failed charms. Nothing too bad, yet, but it is a little annoying. Funny though, I also notice that I seem to fail more when I neglect to refresh my metallic body and zephyr mantle. Yes, it could be a statistical anomaly, or maybe the game really does hate us? ;)

I've read that the first rounds of Beta (or Alpha, as some insist) invites were sent out on the 1st of March. I am admittedly a little disappointed that I did not receive one. Now, no need to panic. There will be additional invites being sent out as the testing progresses in stages. That means that just because you or I weren't invited to the first stage, it doesn't mean that we will be precluded altogether. There is still hope!

Chains of Promanthia Mission 5-3 Complete - Finally!

I finally finished up Chains of Promanthia Mission 5-3 this weekend. For those of you familiar with the Three Paths mission, you may understand the level of work it took to get all of the various segments done. The missions themselves weren't that bad, honestly. But the time it takes to gather up a group is horrendous. By this point in the game the Chains of Promanthia expansion has been out for quite some time. Most people who play are either already done with the missions, or not too concerned with progressing down that storyline. Consequently, it can take a very long time before you find others willing to join your cause and no concession has been made to allow low-man or solo progression available.

The rewards for other players to redo the missions to help strangers or acquaintances progress don't come anywhere near the level of effort it can take to complete the fights -- most notably the next mission I am up against, 6-4 The airship fight. (Consumable items for one attempt alone can cost upwards of 50,000 gil - a far cry from the 1000 experience points you can get as a reward.)

So, yes, I suppose you could say that I am a bit more that just a little annoyed with the whole process. It's a methodology of madness that I can only pray won't make its way into Final Fantasy XIV. Another thing that would be helpful in the newest MMO installment of the Final Fantasy franchise is better objective tracking. The only way to confirm you have gotten a specific cutscene required for mission progression is to either revisit the NPC, or find another NPC designated for the area to replay custcenes that you have viewed previously in that area. Then again, I am not certain that all of the NPC interactions can be accessed in the latter method. So much for looking at your Mission status in the menu. Three Paths was particularly bad with this. On more than one occasion, and even once by myself through a bit of confusion, you will get in a party and make your way to the point where you can engage in the fight only to find out that someone missed a step somewhere along the lines. At that point you can either disband and try again another time, or wait while they traipse across the game world searching for the cutscene they missed. We're not talking a 30 minute wait, either. Some of these chains can take an hour or even hours to complete once all the travel is factored in.

So why even bother? Really, I think the only reason that I'm even sticking around this long is to finish playing my Blue Mage. I simply love the way the class plays and I enjoy the different roles you can explore by changing your subjob. My most enjoyable experience thus far has been subbing Thief and helping with both damage and hate control. It's been over a year since I last played in a party with my Blue Mage, time enough to take several breaks and to level both Beastmaster and Red Mage to 75 and Black Mage to 60 (mainly to use for the CoP missions). My Blue Mage is at level 72, at which point I left it until I could unlock Sea access in order to obtain the most valuable spells in the Blue Mage arsenal. Without these spells, I'd only be a mockery of the potential the job offers, a gimp BLU that others snicker and laugh at, confined to Fields of Valor or Campaign.

Oh well. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

A Yellow Chocobo? Are you kidding?

Well, a few weeks ago I decided it might be fun to breed a chocobo for digging purposes in FFXI. I've got my dig delay time down to 6 seconds and I've read that digging with a raised chocobo helps to level digging skill noticeably quicker than with rented chocobos.

With this in mind, I tried to find players who had parents that had digging traits and chocobos that were of colors other than yellow. Unfortunately, not as many players have bothered with the whole chocobo raising thing this far after introduction. There are probably a few different reasons for this. I imagine that the time involved is a major contributing factor. Also, the thing that both aggravated players and burnt them out with the whole process initially has been near negated with the addition of dyes that can be used to temporarily alter the color of your raised bird.

Breeding a red male to a black female and selecting the tour de Jeuno for the female's traits gave me a chick that was born with substandard stats in all categories, but with the Burrow trait already learned. I had high hopes for this bird, as I paid nearly 40,000 gil for the vouchers for the parents that resulted in the egg. I took great care in checking in on my bird, even paying expensive internet charges to quickly log in to feed and walk the bird while on a Caribbean vacation with my family. Imagine my disgruntlement when the day came when you can first detect the color of your young bird. Yellow. So it turns out that one of the players I bought a voucher from sold me bad heritage. Perhaps Square-Enix should have implemented some kind of pedigree system. What it comes down to is that at least one of the parents had a yellow bird somewhere in its background.

Disappointing, yes, but not the end of the world. Had I been dead set on a colored bird, I could quit now and start again, but at this point I suppose I'll just go for digging stats and use this bird for digging only. I've already got a pure-bred blue chocobo, so it's not too big of a deal... I guess.

My Final Fantasy XIV Predictions

Well, I posted my FFXIV predictions to Triond the other day. I, like many, am eagerly awaiting the announcement of closed beta invites in hopes that I may be one of the select few that get to preview the game in its pre-release state.

Take a minute to check out my article to see what might be in store with the latest Final Fantasy MMO. Of course, I could end up being way off, and I do have a few more notions that I would like to put out there, but I would love to have a few more people chime in on the things I've thrown out there. Do you disagree with some of my predictions? Great, leave a comment and let me know what you think. It's all subjective at this point, but at least we can have some fun guessing about how the game will turn out while we wait.

What's Triond? Triond is an online article publication site that pays you for articles you submit. You get paid based on the number of people that visit your articles and you get a share of the ad revenue based on certain factors. From what I've found, the articles I've written with content relating to online games have done quite well. If you like to play Final Fantasy, why not get paid to write about it? If you want to know more about how the whole thing works, let me know and I'll write up a blog post to help you get started.

-Bradybones

Yay!!! CoP 5-3 Ulmia's Path Complete!

The other night I was fortunate enough to find a party to complete the second half of Ulmia's path for Chains of Promanthia mission 5-3. This is great news! I had attempted this months earlier with a party that just couldn't seem to get the damage output needed to take down the snoll. It was seriously painful. But now I am one step closer to getting Sea access so that I can once again pick up where I left BLU. It's been sitting at 71 without much hope of going any further for longer than I care to recall.

I still need to complete the two other paths, and shouting in Whitegate didn't do me any good tonight, but I've got all of the footwork done for both. It's just a matter of finding a party and getting it done. I'm really trying to have a better attitude toward this. I mean, I know it could take a while to get groups together, but I'm really not that far away from getting access to Sea. I'm not really going to try too hard this week since I'll be leaving for a vacation, but when I get back I think I might just have to park myself in Whitegate and sell Retraces until I can get into a group.

I've also been raising another chocobo. He's a cute little sucker and I was lucky enough to get a pairing with cards I bought off of other players that resulted in the little guy already knowing Burrow as soon as he cracked open his shell. That's great news! This means that my little digger chocobo is that much better than if I had to try to teach him the ability from a story. I can't tell what color he'll be yet, but with the changes they've made with the dye I don't suppose it matters much. Though, for the record, his mother was black and his father was red. I chose the option to walk around Jeuno, which resulted in him learning Burrow from his mom. We'll just have to see what happens, though I imagine he is likely to turn out black -- I've read that is the more dominant of the two genes.

Once Upon a Final Fantasy: Adventures in FFXI and Beyond

Welcome all to my Final Fantasy blog! I am currently playing Final Fantasy XI. My main character is a Taru on Asura. My handle is Bradybones, so be sure to say hello if you see me online!

I have played FFXI off and on since the first year it was released in North America. Every now and then I find it's time to take a break from the game, but somehow the magic just keeps bringing me back.

I think the hardest part for me within this game world is the dependence upon other people to truly enjoy the game. When you pull up your Friend list and most of the names have remained gray for months, a nagging sort of despair fills the room and you can't help but grow a bit saddened at the thought. Don't get me wrong, the life of the game is far from extinguished -- at least until FFXIV is released. Still, even then, I believe there will be the lingering die-hard fans who refuse to be torn from the lands of Vana'diel.

One of the most appealing parts of this game has to be the economy. I've never been overly successful at it, now mind you, but I've had my good runs. I like the crafting system and I like finding those niche opportunities before someone else discovers them and floods them to hell. It didn't happen so much back in the day, but it's somewhat of a staple in today's economy. Then again, there are ways other to make gil in FFXI than craft spamming. When you can get static groups doing things and have access to certain expansion areas, the world sort of opens up a bit more. But I'll talk about that more later.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you come back soon!