Krog gets Tryp high O.o

With the release of ToAU rapidly approaching many adventurers are trying to complete as many CoP quests and missions as possible. Krog happened to be loafing around Vana Diel and asked if I wanted to check out Mt. Parradamo in Attohwa Chasm. I decided to take a break from my relentless advance of leveling SMN to take a hike.

Attowah Chasm is a CoP area accessed thru the maze of Shakrami. When you enter the zone you find yourself on the ledge of large canyon half way down, there are natural extentions to cross the canyon and some caverns that twist and wind thru the walls of the canyon. After navigating these tunnels we exit to a large arid area with a few over grown plants sparsely spread around, off in the distance I spot large mound.

"That is where we're headed" says Krogenar as he points toward the mound.

Since I don't have a map of this area I follow Krog as we head towards the mound....but this was no mound, the closer we got to it the taller it loomed.

"We're going to the top"Krog explained.

But to the naked eye there was no path. As we reached the based of Mt Parradamo this "large mound" became a towering mountain. Krog acted as my sherpa guide up the sheer cliff wall, the path was difficult due to the narrowness of it, one wrong step and you would find yourself falling all the way back down to the base of the mountain. But Krog was a good sherpa guide and we made to the top.

Pirates of Vana Diel: Dead Man's Coffer

Blue Mage was the first new job class announced that will be available with the new expansion pack, the second new job class to be revealed is Corsair (Pirate)!

Descendants of the dauntless pirates that once scourged the seas of the Near East, corsairs rely on the “Hexagun,” a multi-barreled revolver, and elaborate luck-based abilities to alter the stakes of battle.

Unearthing More Treasures

The next expansion to FFXI is a little over a month from release and the info is really starting to flow in now!

Here's what SE has shared with us so far...

A new mob for Aht Urghan: Mamool Ja

The Mamool Ja are a group of beastmen that hold dominion over the Mamool Ja Savagelands, a land hostile to the Near Eastern Aht Urhgan Empire.Referring to themselves as the Mamool Ja, meaning "brethren of the shining scale," the inhabitants of the Savagelands are organized into four biologically different classes that consist of warriors, aquatics, sages, and knights. The Mamool Ja have been paying tribute to the Aht Urhgan Empire since ages past, and are known for their republican form of government. Their nation is ruled by a council of four overlords, one selected from each class. The Savagelands' recent uprising against the empire seems connected to the emergence of a prominent leader known as the "The Autarch."

Meet a core NPC named Naja Salaheem

President of the mercenary company "Salaheem's Sentinels," Naja Salaheem has a quick eye for profit and gives constant attention to her company's earnings. "Gil makes the world go 'round" is her motto.

Here we see another new mob a Qiqirn

These diminutive beastmen reside together with the civilized races of Vana'diel. Most Qiqirn make their home in a city located in the heart of the Aht Urhgan Empire's western half. They tend to have an easygoing and cheerful personality, but have difficulty speaking the common language due to their unusual vocal cords. Even so, it is not uncommon to hire a Qiqirn as a shop or guild assistant, thanks to their reliability and surprisingly quick wits. Some Qiqirn have even made use of their sharp sense of smell to become extremely wealthy in the production of fragrances. According to their oral tradition, the ancestors of the Qiqirn lived a nomadic life in the northern lands. Even today, remnants of the Qiqirn's ancient lifestyle may be seen in their unique customs, such as their sheep-led wagon homes, their leather clothing, and their habit of carrying their valuables with them at all times.

Lamia

A bewitching race of beastmen with an upper body like that of a Hume woman and a lower body resembling that of a venomous serpent.The Lamiae are few in number compared to the other beastmen inhabitants of the Near East. However, they have ensorceled the bones of fallen soldiers, creating an undead army of considerable size to defend their reef settlements.Lamiae are known to sneak into towns in the depths of night, wielding powerful bows and hunting humans to replenish their armies; hence the Near Easterners' dread of sunset.According to rumor, Lamiae are not technically a race of beastmen, but actually a form of organic weapon (also known as a chimera), created by alchemists fusing the parts of multiple organisms.

Imp

A diminutive species of demon, frequently sighted in the Near East in recent times.Though skilled in the use of elemental and dark magic, these natural-born cowards are not considered a threat when encountered alone. They do, however, carry a horn, from which they produce a deafening noise of a scale completely out of proportion to their tiny bodies, warning their allies and startling enemy forces.In the time of the Great War, imps were given the roles of scouts and messengers in the Shadow Lord's armies, and are thus well known to veteran soldiers even on the continent of Quon.

Qutrub

These corpse-eating ghouls wrap themselves in bandages to slow the decomposition of their rotting bodies. Unlike the shambling undead that are afflicted with a curse after dying, the qutrub are beings that have succumbed to the charms of the Lamiae while still alive. Through dark rituals, they willfully attain an undead existence in order to serve their foul mistresses for eternity. Seemingly still afflicted by the desires of the living, the qutrub hoard valuable trinkets, and feast on the dead to maintain the traces of flesh and blood remaining to them. It is said that the blade carried by each qutrub is infused with their discarded life essence.

Finally the Empress of Aht Urhgan. Shrounded in secrecy...Nashmeira II

Empress of Aht Urhgan, 16th ruler of the Majaab Dynasty.Nashmeira proclaims herself to be the Empire--the very embodiment of the nation. She is rarely seen in public; however, her militaristic statements are the cause of much concern for Aht Urhgan's neighboring countries.Ignoring the views of her advisors, Nashmeira has recently ordered a large-scale recruitment of mercenaries to deal with the barbaric races inhabiting the lands that surround the Imperial capital.

Treasures from the Blue

For the last few months info has been floating around the internet about the next expansion to FFXI, titled The Treasures of Aht Urghan. The earliest rumor was about one of three new jobs to be added, Blue Mage. According to the rumors Blue Mage will learn abilities of beasts, this reminded me of a character from FFVI...




Gau "Wild Child of the Veldt"

"Draped in monster hides, eyes shining with intelligence. A youth surviving against all odds...." Gau of the Veldt, kicked out into the wild by his father he learned to live with the animals and began taking on their actions. This gave way to his rage skill, which imitates creatures that gau has tracked on the Veldt. Although his attacks are powerfull, his uncontrollable behavior while using the rage ability can make him a detriment in some battles.Gau's rage ability allows himto take on the abilities, strengths and weaknesses of enemies he's had the chance to run with in the Veldt. This gives him a wide variety of attacks but also limits his usefulness in battle. When a rage skill is selected, Gau goes into a beszerk mode where he randomly uses the selected eneemies attacksagainst whatever enemy he chooses. Once he enters rage mode you cannot change his attacks unless he is KO'd and revived.Gau can learn the abilities of nearly any enemy in the game. However he must first encounter the enemy on the Veldtand use the leap command which is only available there.When you select the leap command Gau will jump on the enemies back and the battle will end automatically. As mentioned earlier, Gau can learn to mimic nearly any creature in the game. However, you'll only encounter creatures on the Veldtthat you've already enountered elsewhere. To maximize Gau's abilities return to the Veldt often"

Game Review: MGS3 Subsistence

What, you didn't buy the PS2 game of the year, MGS3!? Well now you have no excuse, Kojima Productions is taking MGS3 a must have game and making a must have game....again. Even if you own it and finished it! Why you ask, well for starters there are those who aren't too crazy for the MGS overhead camera angle. Subsistence will include an optional 3rd person camera perspective.If the thought of buying the same game again makes you feel like you getting taken for a ride (through the woods in a sidecar) how about you also get the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear2: Solid Snake (the MSX2 version not the NES version) with a fine tuned English translation. MG2:SS will be the first time this game has been released in the US!OK that stuffs all cool and all but here's the BIG reason you'll want to buy MGS3: Subsistance.....it's online now! Not just to DL phunky camo but to actually play online, either coop or competitively. MGS3:S allows 8 friends to play 4V4 or if you think you got the skills Snake Vs 7!

All the classic Metal Gear items can be used like the always popular cardboard box, the tranq gun, and Subsistance uses the USB headset for communication among team members, just be careful not to have your radio equipment shot cause then you'll find yourself in a world of hurt all alone. Other neat extras include a demo theater to enjoy all the games excellent cinema's, and a few new Snake vs monkey levels.

Don't you hate it when you buy a DVD and a few months later it's rereleased as a "platinum" or "definitive" or "ultimate" edition! I know I do, the same goes for games, most rereleases of games have an extra level or some new oufits.....nothing major. Metal Gear Solid is not one of those games, if you've read my review of MGS3 you know it was something amazing, a game that had to be experienced. I gave it a perfect score of 10 so how can a perfect 10 get better? Hideo Kojima found a way! You're getting 4 games for the price of 1! Metal Gear, Metal Gear2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Snake Vs Monkey. The real reason everyone will be picking up MGS3: S is for the online game! There are plenty of servers, 20 in total, and each named after MGS lore:Snake, Liquid, Meryl, Ocelot, BigBoss, Eva, Mei Ling, Raiden, Otacon, Ninja, Campbell, Solidus, Outerheaven, Wolf, Mantis, Raven, Johnny, Olga, Naomi, and Rosemary.

10/10

Tryp 2 Titan & Ifrit 0

The last few days Tryp has blown over 50K gil trying to defeat prime avatars and I finally defeated Titan and Ifrit. Even with all my Ethers, Yagudo drinks, and Hi Potions it was close! When battling Titan, Carby sucessfully nuked him with Searing Light 3 times and Titan still was alive....barely. Titan had a sliver of HP left and I had 0 MP so Carby was out of the question, in desperation I took out my wand and started whacking away at him. I might as well have been using a blade of grass! Titan was pissed and started unloading on me, my HP was dropping fast but I got lucky with a critical hit and with 100 HP, Titan fell ^^

My battle against Ifrit was even tougher, thankfully Vrtra aka Littlekiller was nice enough to buy some hi-potions (2k gil ea) and ethers (6-8k gil ea) and mail them to me, otherwise I would not have survived! When the dust settled I had 46 HP left and Ifrit was now mine to summon ^^

Titan 1 Tryp 0

March 1st 2006 Krog met me in Port Bastok as I prepped for my journey to the Quicksand Caves, to the Cloister of Tremors to find the Proto-Crystal of Earth....a very dangerous place for a level 20 Summoner! Fortunately the NPC warped me to the Proto-Crystal.

After trading the mini tuning fork to the Proto-crystal I entered an alternate dimension where Titan prime awaited.

I choose to go into the fight as a SMN/WHM, things were going ok at first, Carbuncle had gotten Titans attention but his attacks were'nt doing tremendous damage. I cast Barstonra to give myself a little extra shielding against Titan Primes elemenal attacks. I then activated my 2 hour ability Astral Flow so that Carbunkle could execute his Searing Light Elemental attack, but after that my MP pool was tapped and Carby left me to fend for myself! With Carby gone Titan Prime turned on me, I drew my Decurrion dagger but my attacks were futile, and I couldn't recast Carby fast enough. So death came swiftly and next thing I knew Krog was /t "how ya doing?" while I laid on the cold ground. I needed to rethink this >.>