My Final Fantasy Thesis

Friday, October 3, 2014

Day #511 Recap

Current Game(s): Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI

Current Play Time(Final Fantasy X-2): 77:11
Current Play Time(Final Fantasy XI): 53:18 (+)
Total Play Time - 1,149:03 (+)

Current Game Overs(FF X-2) - 4
Current Deaths(FF XI) - 14
Total Game Overs: 67

Where I Currently Am(FF X-2): Chapter 5!!! Completing some episodes.(88% Complete, Bestiary 73% Complete)

Where I Currently Am(FF XI): Windurst Mission 3-3!!!!! Hooray!!!! Current Levels are RDM 48/THF 24

Stuff Did Today (FF X-2): Visited Mushroom Rock Road where the Youth League was blowing off some steam by having a battle tournament... and if their performance was any indication, they wouldn't have lasted very long in a real battle. After winning the tournament. Lucil gave us a sphere which showed Nooj talking about his half machina body... apparently he was never able to reconcile him living in such a state.

Over in Djose, the Al Bhed were bored without Gippal around, so they decided to create an unbeatable machina. Unfortunately for them it was very beatable... especially in this state. We gave them a repair manual, and we'll eventually find some parts so they can spruce it up a bit.

In Guadosalam, the Macalania musicians were playing a sped up version of the anti-prelude... okay. Oh, and the Guado are back. Apparently the melody gave them the strength to return home. They unanimously voted to bring the musicians with them, which apparently doesn't happen very often. Anyway, Trommell lets us into their store room where the guado memories are held and we find a sphere of Baralai pledging himself to Seymour after the Crimson Squad thing doesn't work out... bastard.

On Mt. Gagazet, Garik is mad because Kimahri won't tell him what to do with himself. Meanwhile, Lian and Ayde finally return home without finding a way to fix Kimahri's horn... they have inspired Kimahri though. He confronts Garik and beats him up and tells him he needs to find his own path instead of relying on Kimahri. He then gets in front of all the Ronso, and proves himself to be a good leader. There's a statue of him too. Great.

In Bikanel, there's lots of fiends! Including a huge one... we need to erect the cactuar barrier... but we still have 4 guardians to find... the 7th one is annoying as anything, until I finally looked in the bottom-right corner for the command to jump to the treetops... sigh... I actually beat him in the little mini-game too, sweet.

Stuff Did Today (FF XI): After grinding all the way up to 48, I left the game for the day... then I decided to log on real quick in the evening and give what I figured would be a futile attempt to get my mission done. Amazingly someone (THANK YOU YOSHIRO) agreed to bring me down and open the gate for me!

Down behind the sealed gate, were a couple of King Cardians who were guarding the key fragment that seals the shadow lord or something. Ajiro-Marujido showed up, and we told him about the Star Sibyl collapsing after witnessing something and how frightened she was... he decided to go investigate at Full Moon Fountain.

Status & Notes:

Unbelievable, I had really resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be levelling all the way to 60, just to be able to get that mission done. I am so happy that I don't have to do that. Joining this Linkshell apparently is going to be a very very good thing. Now, I have a long line of missions I will be able to do solo. I'm even already high enough level to do a good few of them! I do plan on just finishing up the last couple levels to cap though, because why not, it'll give me access to another couple spells and probably another trait or ability... and as I've said many times, you really completely separate your levelling from your questing... doesn't matter if you are 10 or 40 levels above the quest monsters, as long as you can do it.

Over in Spira, I've cleared out all the story episode conclusions I can for now, which means its time for some side quests! The first one I'm going to finish up is the cactuar sidequest. This will mostly be just to unlock the cave which is the trigger to capture some arena monsters. Once this is done, I'm going to do my walk around Spira to get the remaining PR points. I can then finally get into the Calm Lands and will have the shops completely unlocked... I can then get back to the Chocobo cave and finally get some more greens... yeah, I screwed that up pretty good. I'll catch the last few chocobos I need and unlock that side cave... more monsters to catch. I figure at this point I can get the last few cups unlocked in the arena.

Would like to talk just a short bit about the whole episode layout of the game. There are certainly a lot of little stories throughout the game, and I'm very happy they take the time to tie up all the loose ends. Of course, this is only if you've gone through and get everything right as you play the game. The first time I played X-2 I probably only got like 4 or 5 Episode Completes. I can't imagine playing this game without a walkthrough anymore, there are just so many things that are missable and it is not the type of game that always leads you exactly where you need to go in each area.

I did put up a X-2 Current Setup today, I may take the time to do one for XI today as well, this way I can have a completely updated play time for the first time in a while.

Final Fantasy X-2 Current Setup (Day #511)

Party:

Yuna - Lv 51

HP: 1357 MP: 221
Str: 13 Def: 15 Agi: 53 Eva: 6
Mag: 148 MgDef: 195 Acc: 100 Luck: 21

Equipment:
Garment Grid: Heart of Flame
Current Dressphere: White Mage
Accessories: Charm Bangle, Regal Crown

Abilities:
*Gunner*: Trigger Happy, Potshot, Cheap Shot, Enchanted Ammo, Target MP, Quarter Pounder, On the Level, Burst Shot, Table-turner, Scattershot, Scatterburst, Darkproof, Sleepproof, Trigger Happy Lv.2, Trigger Happy Lv. 3
Gun Mage: Blue Bullet, Scan
Alchemist: Mix
Warrior: Power Break
Samurai: Mirror of Equity
Dark Knight: Darkness
Berserker: Berserk
Songstress: Darkness Dance, Samba of Silence, Sleepy Shuffle, Carnival Cancan, Slow Dance, Brake-dance, Jitterbug, Dirty Dancing, Battle Cry, Cantus Firmus, Esoteric Melody, Disenchant, Perfect Pitch, Matador's Song
Black Mage: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Water
White Mage: Pray, Cure
Thief: Steal
Trainer: Holy Kogoro, Kogoro Blaze
Lady Luck: Bribe, Attack Reels
Mascot: Moogle Cure, Moogle Regen, Moogle Wall, Moogle Life
Festivalist: Fire Sandals
Psychic: Psychic Bomb
Floral Fallal: Heat Whirl, Ice Whirl, Electric Whirl, Aqua Whirl, Ribbon
Right Pistil: White Pollen, Hard Leaves, Tough Nuts, Mirror Petals, Floral Bomb, Ribbon
Left Pistil: Dream Pollen, Mad Seeds, Sticky Honey, Halfdeath Petals, Silent White, Ribbon

Rikku - Lv 52

HP: 3035 MP: 234
Str: 213 Def: 207 Agi: 39 Eva: 2
Mag: 94 MgDef: 90 Acc: 103 Luck: 10

Equipment:
Garment Grid: Undying Storm
Current Dressphere: Dark Knight
Accessories: Champion Belt, Champion Belt

Abilities:
Gunner: Trigger Happy
Gun Mage: Blue Bullet, Scan
Alchemist: Mix
Warrior: Power Break
Samurai: Mirror of Equity
*Dark Knight*: Darkness, Drain, Demi, Confuse, Break, Bio, Doom, Death, Black Sky, Charon, Poisonproof, Stoneproof, Confuseproof, Curseproof, Deathproof
Berserker: Berserk
Songstress: Darkness Dance
Black Mage: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Water
White Mage: Pray, Cure
*Thief*: Steal, Pilfer Gil, Borrowed Time, Pilfer HP, Pilfer MP, Sticky Fingers, Master Thief, Soul Swipe, Steal Will, Flee, Item Hunter, First Strike, Initiative, Slowproof, Stopproof
Trainer: Sneaky Ghiki, Ghiki Gouge, Mugger Ghiki, Ghiki Cheer
Lady Luck: Bribe, Attack Reels
Mascot: Cait Fire, Cait Thunder, Cait Blizzard, Cait Water
Festivalist: Fire Fish
Psychic: Psychic Bomb
Machina Maw: Death Missile, Bio Missile, Break Missile, Ribbon
Smasher-R: Howitzer, HP Repair, MP Repair, Homing Ray, Ribbon
Crusher-L: Howitzer, HP Repair, MP Repair, Homing Ray, Ribbon

Paine - Lv 53

HP: 3886 MP: 330
Str: 128 Def: 134 Agi: 58 Eva: 11
Mag: 194 MgDef: 200 Acc: 130 Luck: 108

Equipment:
Garment Grid: Undying Storm
Current Dressphere: Mascot
Accessories: Regal Crown, Regal Crown

Abilities:
Gunner: Trigger Happy
Gun Mage: Blue Bullet, Scan
Alchemist: Mix
Warrior: Sentinel, Flametongue, Power Break, Armor Break
Samurai: Mirror of Equity
Dark Knight: Darkness
Berserker: Berserk
Songstress: Darkness Dance
*Black Mage*: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Water, Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, Watera, Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Waterga, Focus, MP Absorb, Black Magic Lv 2, Black Magic Lv 3
White Mage: Pray, Cure
Thief: Steal
Trainer: Carrier Flurry, HP Flurry
Lady Luck: Bribe, Attack Reels
Mascot: Dark Knife, Silence Knife, Sleep Knife, Berserk Knife, Poison Knife, Stone Knife, Stop Knife, Quartet Knife, Arsenic Knife, Auto-Shell, Auto-Protect, Black Magic
Festivalist: Blind Mask
*Psychic*: Psychic Bomb, Maser Eye, Telekenesis, Brainstorm, Express, Teleport, Time Trip, Magic Guard, Physics Guard, Excellence, Fire Eater, Ice Eater, Lightning Eater, Water Eater, Gravity Eater
Full Throttle: Aestus, Winterkill, Whelman, Levin, Wisenen, Ribbon
Dextral Wing: Venom Wing, Blind Wing, Mute Wing, Lazy Wing, Stamina, Mettle, Ribbon
Sinistral Wing: Steel Feather, Diamond Feather, White Feather, Buckle Feather, Stamina, Mettle, Ribbon

Creatures (73% Completed):

Sallet
Bicocette
Barbuta
Armet
Bascinet
Divebeak
Peregrine
Aquila

Flan Azul
Flan Amarillo

Flan Palido
Flan Blanco
Flan Rojo

Purpurea
Leucophylla
Cephalotus

Yellow Elemental

White Elemental

Red Elemental

Gold Elemental
Blue Elemental
Dark Elemental
Boris

Coyote
Wild Wolf
Killer Hound
White Fang
Canis Major
Lupus
Tindalos

Coeurl
Queen Coeurl

Gecko
Agama
Skink
Anole
Archaeothyris

Shantak
Zu
Rukh

Death Dauber
Assassin Bee
Aculeate
Ahriman

Fly Eye
Vertigo
Grim Gaze

Nashorn

Quadricorn
Balivarha
Lesser Drake
Spine Drake
Bolt Drake

Greater Drake
Iron Giant

Bomb
Detonator
Volcano
Gigas

Hrimthurs

Takouba
Barong

Bully Cap
Mycotoxin

Protochimera
Rhyos
Kukulcan
Gucumatz

Recoil
Flak Python
Viper Sniper
Battlesnake
Tonberry

Ochu
Flailing Ochu
Drowsy Ochu

Flame Dragon
Zalamander

Sahagin
Haizhe
Deep Haizhe
Xiphactinus
Dinictus
Amorphous Gel
Protean Gel

Zurvan
Varan
Haunt
Lich
Tomb
Dolmen

Daeva
Aka Manah
Aeshma
Jahi
Chocobo Eater

Stalwart
Ironside

Behemoth
Humbaba
Tentacles
Malboro
Adamantoise
Adamantortoise

Machina Ranger
Machina Hunter
Machina Soldier
Machina Leader
Scout Machina
Guard Machina
Assault Machina
Killer Machina

YAC-13
YAC-62
YAU-28
YAU-71
YSLS-99
YSLS-Zero
Pop Fry
Machina Striker
Machina Panzer

Shell Shocker
Guardian Beast
Azi Dahaka

Goon
Mr. Goon

Dr. Goon
She-Goon
Ms. Goon
Fem-Goon

Yaibal
Elma

Brother
Buddy
Chocobo

Tournaments Won:

Standard Cup x 12
Standard Cup:Hard x 5
Grand Cup x 5
Grand Cup: Hard x 6
Chocobo Cup x 59
Cactuar Cup x 0
Youth League Cup x 9

Arena Team

Tonberry - Lv 85

HP: 9999 MP: 999
Str: 248 Def: 229 Agi: 87 Eva: 6
Mag: 141 MgDef: 255 Acc: 125 Luck: 17

Equipment:
Garment Grid: Abominable
Current Dressphere: Dark Knight
Accessories: Recovery Belt, Crystal Bangle

Abilities:
Main: Darkness, Vigor,, Esuna, Full-Life
Auto: Ailment Def., Auto-Protect, First Strike, Auto-Haste, Half MP Cost, Ribbon, Auto-Regen

Chocobo - Lv 86

HP: 9039 MP: 999
Str: 156 Def: 87 Agi: 73 Eva: 27
Mag: 255 MgDef: 255 Acc: 121 Luck: 32

Equipment:
Garment Grid: Abominable
Current Dressphere: Black Mage
Accessories: Soul of Thamasa, Crystal Ball

Abilities:
Main: Vigor, MP Absorb, Meteor, Esuna, Full-Life
Auto: Auto-Protect, Auto-Haste, Life-Preserver, First Strike, Turbo Black Magic, Ribbon, Magic Booster

Battlesnake - Lv 97

HP: 9050 MP: 980
Str: 255 Def: 201 Agi: 64 Eva: 20
Mag:146 MgDef: 255 Acc: 125 Luck:17

Equipment:
Garment Grid: Abominable
Current Dressphere: Trainer
Accessories: Champion Belt, Kaiser Knuckles

Abilities:
Main: Vigot, Esuna, Full-Life, Full-Auto
Auto: Ailment Def., First Strike, Auto-Protect, Auto-Haste, Half MP Cost, Ribbon

Garment Grid List:

First Steps

Vanguard
Bum Rush
Undying Storm
Protection Halo
Hour of Need
Unwavering Guard
Valiant Lustre
Highroad Winds
Heart of Flame
Ice Queen
Downtrodder
Sacred Beast
Tetra Master
Still of Night
Mortal Coil
Raging Giant
Bitter Farewell
Selene Guard
Helios Guard
Covetous
Healing Wind
Heart Reborn
Healing Light
Wishbringer
Seething Cauldron
Stonehewn
Enigma Plate
Ray of Hope
Pride of the Sword
Samurai's Honour
Chaos Maelstrom
Black Tabard
Tricks of the Trade
Tempered Will
Salvation Promised
Unerring Path
Intrepid
Abominable

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Day #510 Recap

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Day #509 Recap

Current Game(s): Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI

Current Play Time(Final Fantasy X-2): 65:21 (+)
Current Play Time(Final Fantasy XI): 53:18 (+)
Total Play Time - 1,137:13 (+)

Current Game Overs(FF X-2) - 4
Current Deaths(FF XI) - 11
Total Game Overs: 67

Where I Currently Am(FF X-2): Chapter 5!!! Completing some episodes.(84% Complete, Bestiary 73% Complete)

Where I Currently Am(FF XI): Windurst Mission 3-2... or at least doing the prep for it... ugh... this is going to take longer than I thought

Stuff Did Today (FF X-2): Finished up some machina fiend tales... then headed back to the Thunder Plains, and to the new cave where we got to do some Math Problems!!! Yay... cleared that out... twice... then headed to Moonflow, where Tobli had put a new show together, and asked us to join in. Camera view fun! Finally, headed over to Macalania Woods where the woods are fading away and the Guado seem to be returning to Guadosalam.... and Yuna isn't ready to lose the memory of her time with Tidus at the springs... Also, O'aka and Wantz are having some brotherly feuds about the horribly placed Travel Center.

Stuff Did Today (FF XI): Was unsure for a while how to get to my next levelling area... Beaucedine Glacier... so I took some time to head into the Crystal war time and start a quest there. I went over to Rolanberry Fields and found a group of hidden Windust people. They gave me a letter with which I could join the Cobras.... Cobra Kai rules! I did have to hike all the way from there to Windurst though... and yeah, I died once along the way... lovely. Anyway, I did make it.

Next, I had figured out the way, and with my transports in the Crystal war era improved, I decided I'd go level... so I headed over to San d'Oria and into the Ronfaure, where I found Roguemont pass... here, I got slightly confused once I got to the locked door... but I figured out that one of the NPCs can open it... here, Sneak and Invisible were my friends... and I finally made it to the Snowy area... here the enemies have a lot of HP, but I was able to make it to the Survival Guide so I have a warp here in case I die... which I did... a couple times... losing EXP sucks.

Status & Notes:

Man, it takes a looong time to walk places in FF XI. Seriously. I probably spent like 2.5 hours just walking around the Crystal War era trying to get to Windurst, and yes, I died once, and that probably wasted a good 20-30 mins... but, man. At least there are a decent amount of transport options scattered about... make sure you hit all of them! My goal here is still the same, get up to about Level 40... try and see if maybe someone will help me open up the Three Mage Door... Most likely, though, it will be back out, and maybe start unlocking some advanced classes maybe...

In Spira... well, I've kind of reached the point where I really have to go off the script. At this point in the walkthrough, it has me going through Via Infinito... and, yeah, I don't want to do that yet. Things I want to do first, are finish doing the PR Mission... which does involve getting a couple more Episodes completed... such as Mushroom Rock Road, Djose Temple, and Guadosalam.... I'd also like to do the Bikanel Desert stuff, especially the Cactuar catching... and speaking of catching things, finishing up the Chocobo catching and levelling them out and sending them out is a thing too. Basically, I'd love to do as much as possible that I can do without levelling up too much, so the fiend raising will be as quick as possible.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Day #508 Recap

Current Game(s): Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI

Current Play Time(Final Fantasy X-2): 65:21 (+)
Current Play Time(Final Fantasy XI): 53:18 (+)
Total Play Time - 1,137:13 (+)

Current Game Overs(FF X-2) - 4
Current Deaths(FF XI) - 9
Total Game Overs: 67

Where I Currently Am(FF X-2): Chapter 5!!! Creature Creator Time... Part 2! (82% Complete, Bestiary 70% Complete)

Where I Currently Am(FF XI): Windurst Mission 3-2... or at least doing the prep for it... ugh... this is going to take longer than I thought

Stuff Did Today (FF X-2): Finished up a few more fiend's tales, then headed to the Thunder Plains where the show and Shinra's sphere screen seem to have attracted a bunch of Rhyos to the area. After dispatching them, we found there was a big hole by the far lightning tower. We jumped down and found Cid at the bottom.

This little excursion allowed us to capture 6 new fiends in the arena, so I did... and started training them.

Stuff Did Today (FF XI): Bought a crapload of maps to nearly bankrupt me... then went about some quests for the Rhinostery. First, I retreived a sack from Mhaura with a delivery for the little guy who can't say more than 3 words in a sentence... next I retreived some water from the back of Giddeus from the birdmen which they use to enchant the little street light flowers. Finally, the leader of the Rhinostery told us to bring him anything... interesting... we find. Well, we found someone with a Purple Ribbon that made them hear voices... that seems interesting. After bringing it to the Rhinostery, and a whole bunch of time... we found out it belonged to someone who had died who misses it very much, and we should go return it to them...

Knowing where we need to go... time to start the grinding.

Status & Notes:

As I said yesterday, the Fiend Arena in X-2 is kind of done in chunks, based on different side areas you open. There's a few, getting deeper in Via Infinito certainly helps, entering the final dungeon unlocks some. Finding the chocobo cave, the cactuar cave. There was actually more than I thought that unlock after finishing the Thunder Plains episode, thus its time for Creature Creator part 2 of Chapter 5.

In Vana'diel, as I said above, I bought all the maps I could in Windurst, thus nearly bankrupting me, but at least I don't need to worry about maps for like ever. The quests I did were pretty quick, and of course didn't involve having to kill anything. So, I was able to finally get to the big quest I talked about yesterday. If I take this path to get to the mission, I'm going to have to grind up to about level 60. I'll probably get to about 40 and hang out in Jeuno and see if anyone will be willing to help me get through the Three Mage Gate... I'm not particularly holding my breath though.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Final Fantasy XI Current Setup (Day #507)

Innis - Mithra Female

Jobs

Red Mage: 33
Thief: 30
Black Mage: 20
Warrior: 20
White Mage: 9

Stats

Red Mage 33 / Thief 16
HP: 574 MP: 280
Str: 30+2 Dex: 41 Vit: 29 Agi: 35+1 Int: 35+3 Mnd: 31 Chr: 26
Atk: 126 Def: 120
Fire: 5 Lightning: -4 Ice: 2

Combat Skills

Dagger: 90
Club: 71
Staff: 5
Shield: 46
Sword: 95
Evasion: 90
Parrying: 84

Magic Skills

Enhancing 9
Elemental: 89
Healing: 1
Enfeebling: 10

Equipment:

Weapon - Broadsword(Sword) Lv. 30 - DMG: 19 Delay: 233
Off-Hand - Fish Scale Shield Lv 14 - Def: 3 Fire +2 Water +2 Arcane -4
Head - Studded Bandana Lv. 30 - Def: 11
Neck - Pile Chain Lv 3 - HP + 3 Acc + 1
Earring - Raising Earring Lv 1 - Auto Reraise
Earring - Protect Earring Lv 9 - Auto Protect
Body - Wool Robe Lv. 28 - Def: 18
Hands - Wool Cuffs Lv. 28 - Def: 6
Ring - Sardonyx Ring Lv 14 - Str + 1, Fire + 3
Ring - Windurstian Ring Lv 1 - MP + 3, AGI + 1, INT + 1
Back - Black Cape Lv. 32 - Def: 3 Int + 2
Waist - Pinwheel Belt Lv 30 - Def: 2
Legs - Studded Trousers Lv. 30 - Def: 16
Feet - Studded Boots Lv. 30 - Def: 6

Magic

White Magic: Dia, Paralyze, Cure, Protect, Aquaveil, Shell, Sneak, Invisible, Barsleep, Protectra
Black Magic: Stone, Water, Aero, Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Blind

Abilities

Traits: Evasion Bonus, Magic Atk. Bonus, Magic Def. Bonus, Fast Cast, Treasure Hunter, Gilfinder, Clear Mind, Resist Petrify, Tranquil Heart
Job Abilities: Chainspell, Steal, Sneak Attack
Weapon Skills: Fast Blade, Burning Blade, Flat Blade

Quests

Windurst Current:
Lure of the Wildcat(Windurst)

Windurst Completed (Reputation 10):
A Pose by Any Other Name
Hat in Hand
Glyph Hanger
Food for Thought
Teacher's Pet
Reap What You Sow
The Postman Always K.O.'s Twice
Mandragora Mad
Something Fishy
To Catch a Falling Star
Truth, Justice, and the Onion Way!
Mihgo's Amigo
The All-New C-2000
Flower Child
Trust: Windurst

San d'Oria Current Quests
None

San d'Oria Completed Quests
Growing Flowers
Trust: San d'Oria

Bastok Current Quests
Lure of the Wildcat(Bastok)

Bastok Completed Quests
A Lady's Heart
Trust: Bastok

Jeuno Current Quests
Chocobo on the Loose!

Jeuno Completed Quests
Chocobo's Wounds
Pretty Little Things

Abyssea Current Quests
A Joutney Begins

Abyssea Completed Quests
None

Other Areas Completed Quests
The Old Lady
Records of Eminence

Missions

Windurst Current:

Written in the Stars (3-2)

Windurst Completed:

The Horutoto Ruins Experiment
The Heart of the Matter
The Price of Peace
Lost For Words
A Testing Time
The Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms (San d'Oria)
The Three Kingdoms (Bastok)
To Each His Own Right

Wings of the Goddess Current:

Back to the Beginning

Wings of the Goddess Completed:

Cavernous Maws

A Crystalline Prophecy Current:

The Echo Awakens (2)

A Crystalline Prophecy Completed:

A Crystalline Prophecy

Day #507 Recap

Current Game(s): Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI

Current Play Time(Final Fantasy X-2): 65:21 (+)
Current Play Time(Final Fantasy XI): 53:18
Total Play Time - 1,137:13 (+)

Current Game Overs(FF X-2) - 4
Current Deaths(FF XI) - 8
Total Game Overs: 67

Where I Currently Am(FF X-2): Chapter 5!!! Creature Creator Time... Part 1 (82% Complete, Bestiary 68% Complete)

Where I Currently Am(FF XI): Windurst Mission 3-2... or at least doing the prep for it... ugh... this is going to take longer than I thought

Stuff Did Today (FF X-2): Finished up the Fiend's Tales for Zalamander, Volcano, Tindalos, Dark Elemental, and Dolmen... then just caught the rest of the new fiends I can do before sidequests

Stuff Did Today (FF XI): Did my reputation grinding for Windurst and started the Rhinostery quest chain.

Status & Notes:

Well, this mission is going to be harder than I thought. Yeah, I found the quest you need to get past the door without using 3 mages or someone with a portal key sure... however, I missed the part where you need to go through a bit of a quest chain with the Rhinostery. The problem is, one of these quests is VERY difficult. Like I'm going to need to be somewhere in my 60s to do it. Well, the only other option is to hang out in Jeuno and see if I can get someone to help me... which I might do, I don't know. Either way. This is certainly not turning out to be the type of game where I care if I'm doing a quest or mission on level or not. Again, the questing and levelling seems to be completely separate, and as long as you are powerful enough to complete the quest that is all that matters... quite a bit of a difference from WoW.

In X-2, I was able to grind up a few monsters, about half of what I need for right now. Once I'm done, we'll do the Thunder Plains and open up the cave. I'm not planning on doing Via Infinito as early as it they have it in the walkthrough... there's nothing that really makes it mandatory to do it this early in chapter 5, and I'd much rather do all the easier stuff before I go all the way through there. The next big chunk of monsters will be after we unlock Cactuar Hollow.