Don't call it a comeback! Or... you can, whatever you prefer.

As far as comebacks go (haha, this is my 3rd comeback), this one's been awesome. I've gotten a good chunk of leveling out of the way, and I've decided that Vacious' next 75 is Warrior. I had SO much fun in an East Ronfaure (S) party on Colibri, I loved it. And I managed to get from 38 to 42 in about 2.5 hours. Not bad, hrmmm?

After getting to 42 (and deciding on a total gear rehaul), I went to complete the first Artifact quest. After arguing with myself about job selection, I went as BLM/WHM for the sake of Warp + Teleport.

It was like taking a fish to a sword fight. As the weapon, of course. *cough* They had more HP than I thought they would, and magic wasn't denting them the way I hoped. But I managed to take them down, turned in the Sword Materials, and got my Razor Axe. ♥

Ahh, nubbery is fun every single time.

Now, when it came down to the fact that I'd definitely be doing a DD job next, I really wanted to get my taruhands on the Lava's and Kusha's Rings. This, OF COURSE, meant doing one of the things I absolutely hate in this game- Notorious Monster hunting. Hours of standing, waiting, hoping that no one comes along and claims the mob you just spent your whole off day waiting for. Well, at least these two NMs have fairly small windows. Today, I had a weird twinge in my head that said, "Haaay, you should go check for Hyakinthos. He's up." And ya know, everytime I've had that little notion pop into my head, it's been right. So I suited up as SMN/WHM and headed for Sauromugue Champaign (S). I get to the spawn spot, don't see anything, run around for a minute, and then he spawns right beneath the cliff I'm on. Claim #1! No drop. Since only 1 other person had ToD, I decided to test my luck and keep checking for him. Next spawn, I claim #2. No drop. I'm the only person now with ToD. Now, I've had it in my head since Day 1 about these rings that the drop rate is awful. Hell, Eruntalo just went 1/6 and 1/17 on the Earring equivalents. But, I figure why not ride it out while I can. Third spawn window opens, I log on and wait... and wait... and wait. At the very end of his window, he pops. I get claim (Well, Yukobe got claim as me. lol. I had to go get McDonald's! But I was the only one there.), and while I'm gone (to get aforementioned McD's) Yukobe kills it, and gets the Lava's Ring! Needless to say, I was a giddy schoolgirl to have chicken nuggets AND a Lava's Ring!! Especially at a highly sexy 1/3 rate.

There's a problem here, though. When I camped this NM, when I got the ring, I made a begrudging pact with the Gods of Final Fantasy XI agreeing to camp the other NM, Lamina, and ride it out to get the other ring. I checked for Lamina before logging tonight, and everyone and their mom was waiting for the pop. Sigh. Anxiety and misery for me 'til the set is complete! NM camping leading to more NM camping... sigh.

Anyway!

I also managed to re-attain my Campaign ranks (hurray for getting Starlight Medal ∮ for the third time...), and obtained the Iron Ram Hauberk. While it's not leaps and bounds better than Gallant Surcoat, it'll come in handy. And it looks awesome on Vacious!

Since I've kind of lived in the past for a good bit now, Eruntalo, Resheph and I decided to work on some WotG quests and missions, in an attempt to get us all on the same ones. I'm absolutely loving the Windurst quest cutscenes. I'm a huge Windurst nerd. ♥ So far, the fights haven't decimated us (in fact, for A Manifest Problem, I decimated them :3 ). Now we're on A Feast for Gnats, and the BCNM is... interesting. That Fight-ish-thing didn't go so well when Eruntalo and I tried to duo by only healing the NPCs, so we'll wait and see what we can do.

And I've done quite a bit of campaign as Kiila, I need to finish Samurai (it's at 70) because I plan on doing Dancer next. I've got to get a few of her subs to 40 as well.. wooo.

Mmmmm feels good to accomplish things!

Erhm, I'd have pictures accompanying the post, but for WHATEVER REASON, the POL mail server keeps saying I can't access it. UGHGHGHGHGHGHGHHHHHH.

Workin' on gettin' the goods.

Hoi... Nice & neat Intro placed here? My brain feels like mashed potatoes.


Our mid-week Dynamis - San d'Oria went pretty well, though we did hit some snags.




Some highlights! We had some trouble with links, then the DRG's wyverns not sleeping.. which made us actually 'time out' on the Mega Boss. @_@; But we did manage to get a few AF2 and only a fraction of the usual coins.. Luck just wasn't on our side that night. However, I did manage to net my Valor Gauntlets!



I also won a free lot pair of Melee Hose. 3/5 on MNK AF2! Apparently, the Gods really want me to be a Monk.. again.
---

I randomly decided to try Escort for Hire (San d'Oria) for the first time last night. It went pretty flawlessly with Vacious as SMN/WHM, Darkcow as WHM/NIN, and The 'Talo as RDM/BLM. A quick 10,000gil and 1,310 EXP for my Bard. W00t. I plan on trying Eco Warrior (Windurst) soon, simply because I've never done 'em before. In nearly 5 years of playing, I sure haven't done a lot..
---
And, for the final piece of business for today- A 'Buy Me!' List:
Snow Ring(s): It's high time I finished upgrading my BLM, and this/these are a start. I say '(s)' because I'm hoping to get an Omega Ring before long.
Prism Cape: More INT = BLM happiness! Paying nearly 500k for one more INT = not so much.
Uggalepih Pendant: This is more of a luxury item, considering the fact that just about anytime MY HP is below 51%, I'm toasty~roasted Taru.
Phantom Earring+1?: This is another luxury item, but it IS one more INT.. I chose the Bushinomimi instead of the Abyssal Earring, because I thought it would better compliment my Taru self.. too bad I'm all *Mage thus far. I *could* redo Divine Might and get a different earring, but that's a ton of hell to go through when I can just use the Bushi on later jobs. Even if I did redo it, I'd probably just choose the Suppa anyway...
Minstrel's Ring: Yeah, it's not for BLM, but it's so good. And 75% HP latent is much easier to accomplish without me biting the dust.
Gigant Mantle: I think this would go nicely with my PLD.
Steppe Sash: If only one of these would pop on AH...

Hmm, there's probably more, but I can't think of it... and now back to your regularly scheduled program of Campaign.

Dynamis + fun + lots on the brainzzz

We did Dynamis-Qufim Sunday! Our second dreamworld win, so now Darkcow and I only need Valkurm before we have Tavnazia access. (~^_^)~
   
It was a rush; after having a few hiccups with getting the subjob ??? and nearly wiping from aggro, we finally got the mega boss within pull range.. and the "WARNING: Time remaining in Dynamis, 3 minutes." popped up. :X Thankfully we zerged him down, and we were free to farm for the next hour. We managed to get a few Accessories, fewer AF2 and very few -1. Congra-taru-lations to everyone who got their wish items!
---
After Dynamis, I went to finish the Mannequin Pumps quest; the shoes are pretty decent for any capped area, plus I can wear 'em when I level my left-over mage jobs, but the main reason I wanted to complete this was so I can pose my mannequin. ♥

I haven't completed the last quest *yet*, but I plan to soon so my little taru~waru lady can be all cute!
---
After being really emo about (BLM +) SMN buffer and how hard it was to get, I decided it was time for Carbuncle and I to revisit a place we've shared for many years- Uleguerand Range. It's a special place to me- I spent so much time there, soloing Snolls..just Carbuncle and me. It taught me how to be a *good* Summoner, and it shaped a lot of how I felt about the job.

*click for full awesome.*
I buffed myself back up to 7k+ and got almost another merit out of it. Not to shabby for one sitting~.
---
The final ingredient to this update pizza is something that just hit me like a brick wall..(well, running into one, I guess). I have played this game for over four years; March 27,2004 - present. Most things that I have ever wanted, I still don't have..most jobs I wanted to level still aren't done..and all the items I wanted 3 years ago, I still want (save 4 methinks). I think it's really because I've skipped around on characters; if I combined every character I've had or currently have, level wise, I'd have....okay, I got to 1000+ levels only counting three of the characters....so um, yeah. I'd have a fucking Maat's Cap by now if I hadn't split all of my time up. That part's my fault. However, it is becoming increasingly clear to me about the drop rates on items, the rarity of them, and how much time and soul I've really given this game. Seventeen Vulpangues, one drop? That's insane. Nearly 5 months of Dynamis (of Cow and I being with Immortality), and very few people have gotten the items they've wanted. I know SE is working on that right now, and I'm sure everyone will be happier then. It just hit me like a freight train to see what I really haven't accomplished in all this time... ;_____; I still love Vana'diel, and I wouldn't trade my experiences for the world, but yeah........that totally sucked.