Zangetsu -- an all too familiar name for me.
Before I begin, I should note that I may not have the exact order of events correct. This is a 5 year time span and it isn’t exactly recorded anywhere. However, regardless of the time each event takes place, it is obvious what the end result of this massive walk down memory lane is.
I think I first met him was in ‘04, in my first ever superduper HNM/Sky LS Equilibrium. I was a level 65 bard, he helped me out with alot of shit; we both went on vent and we became friends. Basically did everything in game together for a small time, up until the linkshell's first kirin, about a month or so after I joined. At the time Zang had DRG & BLM leveled, and he wanted w.legs for his drg. My opinion on whether or not he deserved them is neither here nor there, it was a long time ago, at the time I didn't know much about the game (ex: how hax +movement speed is) and he DID attend 99% or all events leading up to this point, so when the leader said he could not lot and he left (warped out about 30 seconds prior to popping kirin, LS wiped (and most likely would have anyways), oh well). I soon after also left the shell.
At the time of Equilibrium, further referenced as EQ, Zangetsu was also a member (as was the leader of EQ) of a JP/NA Hybrid HNM/Sky shell called CoolReturnsX (CRX). Now, to the best of my knowledge, the reason the leader of EQ formed up EQ was to make a full NA shell in order to compete with BBQGold / Limitbreak.
I think EQ’s leader was also a member of BBQ, or at least she was for a good portion of time. Facts here are a little fuzzy as I never really pursued them, but it isn’t really that important overall anyways.
Needless to say, once I left EQ, I joined CRX. I was super hardcore into the endgame scene with Zang for a couple of months, and during this time the NA Leader of CRX would join us on vent. He went by the name of Stev. Now, Stev was not a bad guy. He did, however, share opposing rl viewpoints with zang, which were often the topic of conversation on vent between them. However, in game it was a different story. I would receive scours of tells from Zang telling me how much he hated Stev, along with that being reinforced on vent when Stev wasn’t around.
Now, around this time another key player joins the fray, a member of EQ who would be on vent occasionally during that brief month, and then eventually became a regular on the new CRX server, Aable. Aable is quite possibly the only person who can verify a majority of my facts up until now, as he is really the only person I am still in contact with from this saga of FFXI. At this point, I would say I knew Zang for about 6 months, and fall was approaching. Soon enough I had joined the Dynamis shell Zang was a part of, GatewayShuffle, lead by a BBQGold leader Lillath. Through this shell, we made a mutual friend in BBQ on ventrilo by the name of Baldar. Now, Baldar was a leader in BBQ (I think…he may not have been YET, but he would be soon), and he made the notion that Lillath was cheating the dynamis system (shocking, a corrupt leader?!). Flash forward a month or two, we now have solid proof that she is cheating both the dynamis system and the BBQGold system. (Note: She was a leader in BBQGold, but not
THE Leader). After confronting her about it, she soon quit the game.
In case she is reading this, however, I would like to say I do regret the way she was confronted, but the end result was needed. Personal details (no rl threats tho
) were used in the ‘attack’, and I feel kinda bad about that.
Skip forward to whenever the CoP patch where the 3 paths mission was released. I BELIEVE Zang was still in CRX at the time, however he could have already defected into BBQ (Baldar was definitely a leader in BBQ by this time, and was always complaining about the shell, but Zang would end up joining anyways after being ‘unsatisfied’ (see: different viewpoints on society) with the leadership (Stev) in CRX). Anyways, at the time of the patch, Zang, Baldar, Aable, a few others and I formed up a CoP static in order to do the missions. Bear in mind these were the times when the missions were still pretty tough, coupled with the fact that level sync wasn’t anywhere near existing so you would have to buy completely new gear in order to progress each time. I want to say we were all caught up when the airship fight was released, but I may be way off and we could have been far behind. Anyways, I stopped playing the game after winning the airship fight, but I still frequented ventrilo.
Eventually, I got the urge to play the game again. However, at this time I was still in high school, and didn’t have money to pay for my account. The ventrilo regulars (Zang, Aable, Baldar) all let me use their account when they were not on. Zang, living in a completely different time zone then me, coupled with some issues going on in his life was on the least of the 3, so I used his account the most. I got super addicted to the game again, and helped him deck out his BLM as much as possible. (I farmed the important sea obi organs, and attended BBQGold events regularly as either him or baldar, depending on time of day). At this point, Zang had just about everything for BLM, with the exception being herald’s gaiters. Now, not mentioned yet, but applicable later, is Zang’s rl friend Versailles. Versailles was a main PLD questing for an Aegis at this time, a difficult feat during this time, especially for someone with no real source of income in game. Anyways, after attending a couple of 4 hour tiamats (not all win either) as Zang, he got herald’s gaiters.
Fast forward a couple of months, and my account is reactivated. I’m playing again, however, no longer in CRX as they have since died. I still wear the pearl though since I had no social shell, and all the people I knew belonged to HNM shells. Not really a big deal, I wasn’t ready to be back in the endgame shell, I had taken a break from it on Zang and Baldar’s characters, and played on Aable when unforeseen circumstances removed him from the game for a couple of months. Anyways, I’m not sure why, but soon enough Zang sold all of his BLM gear to help fund Versailles’ Aegis. He sold gaiters, which violated BBQGold rules, and was promptly kicked.
Fun fact: Versailles ended up selling a bunch of currency to ‘pimp out’ his warrior, even though it still sucked nuts!
Around this time, Baldar was extremely frustrated with BBQ’s policies, so together we sought to form a new shell.
Soon enough, we pitched the idea to a friend of Baldar’s who had begun to come on ventrilo with us. His name is Elipse. Elipse has been around the block, and knows whats what. Soon enough he came telling us he found a social shell looking to emerge to the end game scene that wanted to merge with us. The name of this new shell was Orion’s Door. Now, Baldar had not left BBQ during this formation. In addition to this, Zang was never happy with any of the policies set in place (as discussed on ventrilo / voted upon by the leaders of the shell). Both Zang and Baldar had their share in the creation of the policies, even though both rarely attended any events. The time period must be around early ’06. Finally, after about 3 or 4 months, and an enormous amount of complaining, Zang and Baldar parted ways from OD, with Baldar quitting the game, and Zang rejoining BBQGold. Now, at this time, these two were the people I had spent the last 2 years playing the game with. “Outraged” (basically blinded by friendship or something, idk, to this day I can’t tell you why I proceeded with what I did), I told off Elipse, someone I had just begun establishing a real friendship with, and quit both Orion’s Door and the game.
Of course, soon enough Aable returns to the game. It should be noted that the only reason I’m really including Aable is for fact verification, since he was there through most of this too. My addiction to FFXI that I had managed to subside returned around September 2007. I reactivated my account, and went back on ventrilo and the cycle of playing every day began again. Now, Zang still frequented vent, but we did not talk as much as we used to. We had both gone through our fair share of hardship irl during this time, and we were both somewhat different people. However, I feel I got stronger during my course of events, Zang however… Anyways, eventually I pursued rejoining Orion’s Door, and was allowed back in. Zang and I begin talking again, not with much frequency or depth though.
2008 comes along, and meleeburning is now the ‘in thing’ to do. Eventually, one day there was a shout for a pick up melee-burn kirin, with everything but osode free lot. Now, I asked myself, “Why not?” I proceeded to go, along with a bunch of people I knew (Aable, Zang, Vagus to name a couple) and got up to sky. Of course we wiped, but that isn’t why I mention this story. I’m on vent with Zang at this time, but in game he sends me a tell, asking to borrow 300k. I ask him what for, and he responds that it is to pay off a debt to someone who JUST told him on ventrilo not to worry about it til he has the gil. I tell him we haven’t really talked in a while, I’m not a credit card and that he can just wait to pay off his debt when he has the gil. He proceeded to blacklist me and mute me on ventrilo. Both the blacklist and mute lasted 6 months, until he reformatted his pc and accidently unmated me. He soon came asking me for favors (usually just tips about the game, where to go and whatnot, which I answered) and then shortly after unblisted me when I had to invite him to a party.
2009, Zang still complains daily about BBQ. DRKs can now zerg AV, and BBQ / LB / TeamKanican team up to kill as Awesomeland to kill a bunch of them. Zang obtains a bellona’s ring eventually, due to having the points. Very recently, he sold off all of his gear (including the ring) after losing a bet with an in game friend to help him purchase a relic.
Versailles already had an aegis at this point, he made his own dynamis shell and just took all the currency.
I don’t know if he got kicked (again) from BBQ, but he ended up on your server applying to your shell.