New Version Update Announcement! (05/14/2010)

[Dooom]

All the abyssea mobs they've shown look like they're from Kingdom Hearts. For the record, I don't think this is a bad thing lol.

They make me think of creatures from Magic: The Gathering. Again, no bad thing! I think they're some of the most interesting mobs thus far in ffxi on first impression.

[Maurauc]

Am I the only one that thinks those mobs would fit in perfectly in sea? It just seems like the perfect place for them to be.
Either that, or SE could try some sort of hyper-Bastok, where cities are made of cogs and levers, and look quite futuristic. I hope the zones aren't just reskins.

[Fallyn]

After i cancelled my ID for not playing it for the last 3 months...

[ronin sparthos]

I really dont understand the Trial of the Magians whining. Before it, there were only a few ways of getting loot:

-The new HNM. Traditionally these get shut down by a handful of shells that then set a price and force everyone to buy at their price or go without. If you're in the shell, you win! If you aren't, you get to either camp for hours or pony up the gil.

This is of course if your shell even gives a shit about the new HNM and isn't stuck on older content.

-The new event. If it is Salvage, you have 2 drops to wait on which some people still haven't been able to obtain since the events inception. If it is Dynamis, you're double fucked between rotating runs and random droprates. Hey guys, Monster Belt again! Duelists? What the fuck is that.

-Lottery-pop Limbo. Wiki says its a 2hour lotto but ive been here 4 hours! Wait, wait.... POP! Oh fuck, no drops - back to the drawing board. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be Mee Deggi all over again ._.

At least in TOTM you make steps towards a defined goal that you can choose to start or hang up whenever you want. Some of the trials are ridiculous (Fire Weather, Apkallu lol) but its SE, whats new? When they say kill some lotto pop NM at least you do not need the drop, which makes it better than camping some NM that refuses to put out for whatever reason.

This route of clearly defined goals that you can wrap around whatever RL obligations you have is way ahead of random drops or HNMs camped by half the servers endgame population.

[Dooom]

At least in TOTM you make steps towards a defined goal that you can choose to start or hang up whenever you want.

This is the saving grace, yes. However, your list misses out things such as Assault Points and Ichor from Einherjar. While I suppose the "kill X mobs with no conditions" trials could be likened to this, as could the additional effect and WS usage ones, things like Apkallu on Fire Weather or Black Triple Stars are just pure "hnnnnngggggggghhhhhh".

This route of clearly defined goals that you can wrap around whatever RL obligations you have is way ahead of random drops or HNMs camped by half the servers endgame population.

I can't decide if this is a plus for TOTM, or a huge black mark against most of FFXI's endgame, lol.

[Hyan]

This is the saving grace, yes. However, your list misses out things such as Assault Points and Ichor from Einherjar. While I suppose the "kill X mobs with no conditions" trials could be likened to this, as could the additional effect and WS usage ones, things like Apkallu on Fire Weather or Black Triple Stars are just pure "hnnnnngggggggghhhhhh".

I'd say you're getting more for the time spent than with ichor and AP though. For most jobs that is.

[Baelorn]

At least in TOTM you make steps towards a defined goal that you can choose to start or hang up whenever you want. Some of the trials are ridiculous (Fire Weather, Apkallu lol) but its SE, whats new?

TOTM paths require lotto NMs, or drops from VNMs, or waiting an undetermined and uncontrollable amount of time for specific conditions to kill a severely limited number of mobs in a random time frame. Not needing the drop from a lotto NM doesn't make it the wait any shorter. And considering you have to kill them multiple times you usually get the drop anyway before you're done. It all sucks.

Like I said before the normal paths wouldn't be so bad without the fucking weather requirement.

[Khajit]

You're being a whiny bitch at this point.

[Baelorn]

You're being a whiny bitch at this point.

Because I prefer to play the game and not stand around and wait to play the game? k

[Khajit]

Because you're being whiny and bitchy actually.
The weather ones with actual difficulty can be done on the corresponding day instead and the easy initial weather trials work with just about any weather. It's too bad there arent npcs whom owe their existence solely towards predicting these weather patterns for us several days in advance.

[ronin sparthos]

TOTM paths require lotto NMs, or drops from VNMs, or waiting an undetermined and uncontrollable amount of time for specific conditions to kill a severely limited number of mobs in a random time frame. Not needing the drop from a lotto NM doesn't make it the wait any shorter. And considering you have to kill them multiple times you usually get the drop anyway before you're done. It all sucks.

Like I said before the normal paths wouldn't be so bad without the fucking weather requirement.

Very few conditions fall under the condition of 'oh shit, this is horrible'. I pointed out Apkallu under fire weather as being one that is ridiculous (anything under light weather is also lolwut) but for the most part the trials are doable for someone well versed in travelling around vana'diel. There is also plenty of incentive to team up to speed up kills or camp X nm for credit.

I camped Hovering Hotpot 4x and it never dropped Sleight Kukri... not needing the drop is everything. It makes camping an NM less about that wooden box that appears on kill and more about just getting it to pop.

Even with your complaints the system is overall better for casuals and hardcores alike. You don't have to compete for drops (your VNM, your items for instance), you can choose easier paths if you cannot do VNM and you can do it whenever you like. Yes, I know weather or elemental days can put a strain on that 'whenever you like' bit but it is still pulls ahead of a timed NM with windows that can be stuck in an impossible timezone for weeks.

I'd say you're getting more for the time spent than with ichor and AP though. For most jobs that is.

You are, in the EXP, loot, kindred and beastman seals you'll no doubt get on any 'kill X mob X number of time' trials.

I guess that could be expanded to the VNM drops as well since that also has drops that go along with collecting the 10 items for an OAT weapon.

[Baelorn]

Because you're being whiny and bitchy actually.
The weather ones with actual difficulty can be done on the corresponding day instead and the easy initial weather trials work with just about any weather. It's too bad there arent npcs whom owe their existence solely towards predicting these weather patterns for us several days in advance.

Because I didn't know that already?

I just don't like standing around for hours waiting on something that could last 5 minutes. The best alternative is to wait for a 50min window every 7 hours. Woo?

I just don't like the system. If you do that's great. Have fun with it.

[Rainewaters]

dear SE, please give me my account back already, I want to play.

[Dooom]

It's too bad there arent npcs whom owe their existence solely towards predicting these weather patterns for us several days in advance.

Sadly, those NPCs don't cover all zones, or you'd have a point which can't be argued with.

[KoD]

Sadly, those NPCs don't cover all zones, or you'd have a point which can't be argued with.

Thow this will help, i also think se needs to put minuime duration of 15-30min on weather, ive spent hours in the tree for weather to pop and depop after killing 1 or 2mobs, and the time i've spent waiting on weather effect has truned be completely off doing trial of Maragins, Thow the ones where you need to kill xxx amount of mobs dureing xxx game day i found much more enjoyable! the wait on weather and complete random duration of the weather really is a failed system, not counting sometimes there alot of people at sertain places and only sertain amount of Mobs and they don't want to team up for it...

[Priran]

Sadly, those NPCs don't cover all zones, or you'd have a point which can't be argued with.

Aside from past zones, what don't they cover?

[Khajit]

Avatar zones. I personally think covering 95% of the game areas is close enough.

[Dooom]

Aside from past zones, what don't they cover?

Are there weather NPCs for Aht Urghan zones? (serious question, idk). Even if so, not having weather NPCs for WOTG is pretty lame.

[Karbuncle]

Because I didn't know that already?

I just don't like standing around for hours waiting on something that could last 5 minutes. The best alternative is to wait for a 50min window every 7 hours. Woo?

I just don't like the system. If you do that's great. Have fun with it.

Real quick, my last trial for the Dakini (Thunder path) is kill 200 Qutrub on Thunderday/Weather, and usually before Thundersday (About 30minutes) there will be shouts for group slaughtering.

Now we're lucky with Qutrub, as Spinal Cleave and, with the Lamia around, Hysteric Barrage we can net a few BLUs wanting to learn spells.

Usually can get at least 75~ Mobs killed in 1 Game day you need and this is actually for the better if you ask me. takes 3 Game days on average, and you get breaks to do other things inbetween.

Its always easier when you have friends or other players help you, the first couple when you -have- to kill during weather only suck ass, luckily for me i got "Aquans" on thunder weather which is basically heaven on earth for Vunkerl Islet.

Not saying its a unflawed system, every system has flaws, this ones being weather requirements on some absurd mobs with only 1-2 zones where said weather even spawns, but the later trials, though limited to day/weather, can be made easier by organizing a group about ~30 minutes before day/weather and plowing them for a whole hour.

good way to make new friends too, and since most of them won't finish they'll probably be there to help you the next time around too =D


As for the Relic weapon upgrades... at least you're not limited to weather and most of them can be done in zones you can FoV in =\, cap buffer and get merits ready for the update =3

[Dooom]

Real quick, my last trial for the Dakini (Thunder path) is kill 200 Qutrub on Thunderday/Weather, and usually before Thundersday (About 30minutes) there will be shouts for group slaughtering.

Now we're lucky with Qutrub, as Spinal Cleave and, with the Lamia around, Hysteric Barrage we can net a few BLUs wanting to learn spells.

Lucky you >< I dual-boxed about a quarter of mine, only being joined later by people in LS on the same trial. I guess it was bad luck on my part that thundersday often clashed with plans my friends had/LS events, but I only ever saw one group killing Qutrubs, and never any shouts.