FFXIV: Expert Mode Unlocked
We made a lot of progress in FFXI this weekend, starting the first stage at our attempts at earning some Eso Tomes for end game gear. But aside from even that, I’ve been knocking out a lot of side goals.
Cactuar Adventures
Aywren on Cactuar finally reached level 24 with Lancer, where that overtook my Bard levels and I was able to once again start up the main scenario to continue advancement.
The first order of business was to take on Toto-Rak, and to test whether it really is true that queues are faster for a player attempting a story dungeon for the very first time. Seemed to be working as intended as my DPS queue didn’t last but 3 mins before getting in.
It was a neat old-skool run where only two people were down-synced and only one person was higher level, but not even that high a level. Pretty fun flashback run, and everything was smooth. I dinged 25 before the end of the run and all is well. 🙂
Continuing DPS Crisis
I’m still indecisive about what class to level to 60 for Zuri. I thought I might have settled on leveling Ninja, and actually got my Rogue up to 16 this weekend. But then I saw almost everyone in my FC had decided to level Ninja for some reason… so… I may just tough it out and keep leveling Bard.
I’m still not thrilled with what I’m hearing from high-level Bard players, but it’s going to get to a point where my gathering classes can’t progress until I unlock areas through the story. I did get nudged to speed-level my Armorcrafter to 52 this weekend to contribute to the FC airship. I’ve been so very lazy about doing any high level crafting, and it doesn’t help that Zuri is totally broke. I know… I know… high level crafters and gatherers aren’t supposed to be broke, but I am. XD
Speaking of our FC, times have been real good lately. We’ve had a few new folks join just before and during Heavensward, and they’ve all turned out to be assets to our group. We’ve done a number of officer promotions this weekend, and have watched as members have gone out of their way to assist people leveling through Heavensward and unlocking end game content. There’s been a lot of good feelings going around (at least that I’m aware of), and we have a nice little FC dynamic at the moment.
Expert Roulette Unlocked!
I have a dirty secret… I never unlocked hard mode or expert roulette in 2.0 content. I never even considered the possibility of grinding tomes to cap. I probably wouldn’t have at this point, either, but dang that AF2 Dragoon armor looks nice! Plus, the FC has a pretty solid group of folks who is also running this content, so it makes it easier to learn and jump into.
Though we were nervous, Syn and I gathered a few FC groups to take on Neverreap and Fractal Continuum in order to unlock Expert Roulette. I feel like Fractal is a bit more difficult final-boss-wise of the two, though both dungeons have their particular frustrations and moments. We’ve been reassured by FC members that our skill outweighs our confidence when it comes to playing higher level content (though we still doubt ourselves), as we had few moments of tanking, DPSing or healing the floor in our runs (with the exception of that final Fractal boss… dang mechanics).
We picked up some useful ilvl 160 drops to replace the old ilvl 145 stuff, and continue to work at pushing the ilvl higher!
I got a pretty incredible run of Steps of Faith last night as well. Seems like most people are so over geared for the trial, they ignore the cannon and dragonkiller mechanics now. I did rush up the tower to strike with the first DK, but for the majority of the time, we just DPS Vishap down without a care, and much to my shock, won it easily on the first try. It’s always fun to do the Dragoon LB3.
I also got Sohm Al as my roulette dungeon, and I only mention it because this is the first time I’ve seen the catbat minion drop. My roll was low and it went to the tank… who had not been a very good tank throughout the run (wiped us in the last boss because he refused to move when tons of meteors are dropping on his head). I was pretty crushed… 😦
At the end of the day, I had enough tomes and seals to pick up the ilvl 180 Law chest piece for Tai. Doesn’t quite go with the rest of the armor… yet. I guess I’m going to have to fix that!
Operation Clean Up Old Quests Continues
I’ve also been pretty successful in my goal to clean up all the old quests while leveling Tai’s Warrior. He is officially a Warrior now, having just dinged level 35 last night. I’ve cleaned up all quests under level 34 that I’ve been able to find so far, and old maps are looking much better for it. I’m also continuing to be pleased with my Warrior, which I’ve solo-battled almost on-level FATE bosses (with chocobo heals, of course). That would have been a lot more difficult for me on other classes, but Warrior seems to have a good balance of damage and survivability.
Plus, I’m running across all sorts of quirky quests I’ve never seen before…
I’m looking forward to making Warrior my second level 60! 🙂