Birdhouse In Your Soul

Merry Christmas

Just thought I'd stop in and say Merry Christmas to you all.
If you don't celebrate Christmas, then Happy-whatever it is you celebrate.

And for your gift, you get to see Dynamis Death second hand. Screenshots are fun.






Remember to click on it to see it all. I wasn't lying about mass death there. See if you can find Gensoden (me), and Ravenfnord (my roommate.) Hell, make it a party game. For every dead body, take a shot. Guaranteed alcohol poisoning.
As an added bonus, I'm going to show you Gensoden in his full Artifact Armor, just for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.



Happy Holidays.
~Baren.

posted by Baren @ 2:31 AM 0 comments

Report: day 20XL

Everything is...well...
Uneventful at best.

I told myself that I wouldn't turn this into a journal, and by damn I don't plan to. I'm not going to bore you with: "I woke up today and ate some Hot Pockets for lunch. They were okay." type shit. However, I seem to be lacking in material at the moment.

So, I woke up today and ate some Hot Pockets...

In other news, I got level 68 Samurai the other day, for those keeping track of my FFXI life. Gensoden is a healthy, young, POOR AS GRASS, Samurai. That's all there. I've only leveled since the Avatar quests. Nothing else.

In other other news: Cartoon Network Headquarters is located here in Atlanta. Armed with this knowledge, I'll be damned if I don't try to get SOME kind of job there. I'll be the damned Janitor, just so long as I get to hang around in Adult Swim Central.

I don't think I have anything else to say. Again, uneventful.

Until something good comes along...

~Baren.

"Happa Ichimai Areba ii"
(Long as we have one leaf on, we're doin' fine.)
Happa-Tai (Leaf Team): Yatta! (All Right!)

posted by Baren @ 6:25 PM 0 comments

Another Update Pt. 2

I promised a pt. 2, and here it is. Today we will talk about Ifrit, Ramuh and Garuda. Also, as promised, I'll unveil Dynamis. Aren't you just lucky?
Before I start, I want to let you know that today's link is special. I am treating you to a video of EVERY weapon skill in FFXI, best watched in full-screen mode. I won't go into listing the individual weapon skills, as there are many, but I will tell you the order: (Quick notes: Each weapon has 10 Weapon skills, except Archery and Marksmanship, the WS's for those remain the same until you get to the Relic Weapon Skills.) Dagger, Hand to Hand, 1 hand Sword, Greatsword, 1 hand axe, Greataxe, Polearm, Scythe, Wakizashi (Katana/Kunai), Great Katana (Tachi), Hammer (Club), Staff, Archery/ Marksmanship, and the final one is the Marksmanship Relic WS. Enjoy that movie, I needed a towel after watching it. Now, on to the story.

It came down to fighting Ifrit, and we had to travel to that middle of nowhere location of Ifrit's Cauldron. Nobody in their right mind hangs out there. Even the lvl 75's fear treading on the molten soil. (Lucky for us, we only had one o' thems.)
Sneak Oils and Prism Powders fly as we begin our decent into the Volcano. The transit was easy once nothing could neither see nor hear us. Once we made it to the Cloister of Flames, we geared up for the fight. Everyone took their food, Protect and Shell were cast, and we entered. Ifrit stood atop the winding ramp, waiting to incinerate us and piss on the ashes. We would show him otherwise.

Ifrit met us at the top and we began duking it out. The fight was going fantastic, nothing really to speak of in terms of damage. Then, Ifrit readies his 2hr.

Ifrit readies Inferno.
Here it comes...
Vorondil casts Barfira.
Yay!.
Ifrit uses Incinerate.

Seladora takes 85 damage.
Ravenfnord takes 102 damage.
Gensoden takes 65 damage.

Ha. 105 Fire Defense, you sonofabitch. I came prepared. We ended the fight quite nicely after that. Whisper of Flames was at our disposal. Now, it was time to travel to The Boyahda Tree for Ramuh.

The Boyahda Tree is a beautiful place to visit, just inside an even more beautiful place known as The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah. I hang out in Zi'Tah quite often to just look at the trees and listen to the music. I can't begin to describe the beauty. The Boyahda Tree is immense. It's a large hollow tree that has another large tree growing in the center of it. it's that big. We make our way up the tree to get to the Cloister of Storms. (Again, an uneventful, if not gorgeous, run.) We prep up and go to face the Thunder God Ramuh.

Ramuh proceeds to lay into us. We're a little worried this time, because he has the terrible ability of Shock Spikes. Shock Spikes causes lightning damage when an attacker lands a hit, and has added effect: paralyze. Not fun. I think we spent 85% of this fight paralyzed, as Vorondil couldn't keep wasting MP on Paralyna. After a few paralyzed WS attempts, (I do mean attempts. If you unsuccessfully WS while paralyzed, it still drains your TP.) we finally whittle him down to the half way mark. Now, for the 2hr.

Ramuh readies Thunderstorm.
Brace for it...
Vorondil casts Barthundra.
I love that spell's name.
Ramuh uses Thunderstorm.

I won't tell you how much damage we took. It was a joke. I think 1 of us took single-digit damage. Some 2hr. Needless to say, I had my Whisper of Storms. 1 more, baby! On to Cape Terrigan!
...

...
Did I just say Cape Terrigan? *Shudder* Oh God, we're going to die.
And I did. Thrice. The first time, I died a little inside (#1) when Vor said:
Vor: "I can't fight Garuda, I still have a Whisper of Gales."
WHAT?!
Vor: "I was saving it for Fenrir, I thought you guys knew that."
It was obvious we didn't. Maybe we can quickly rememdy this.
Me: "What whispers do you need for your Moon Bauble?"
Vor: "Just Shiva's."
Me: "Sweet merciful God."
We were headed back the the 1-shot wonder. I died a little more inside. (#2)

I'll not go into detail, but we got the whisper, I survived (you thought I died again, didn't you? I had 95 Ice defence this time, fools.) and we got back to Cape Terrigan after a short trip to Windurst for Vor's Moon Bauble, and a stop in Rabao for a chicken and the Fork of Gales. (Holy run-on sentence.) I would like to say that Cape Terrigan was uneventful, but remember: I've only died twice so far. I use 2 of my remaining Silent Oils to go through Kuftal Tunnel, (With a mishap involving Raven and a Ghost) and we get to the Cape. I get the general coordinates for the zoneline, and we head out. Now, I'm on my last oil, so my plan is to Flee (Sub Job Thief. Suck it, all you cookie-cutter bastards) to the zone when my oil runs out. I know, you're thinking: "What about the White Mage? He can sneak you!"
Not when he's a full map away. Pricks. We get to within shouting distance of the 'zoneline' when my oil wears off. Right in the middle of a herd of Goblins and Velociraptors. I think I'm good and nail my flee macro. For those that don't know, Flee is just that. You run at 3x speed for 30 seconds to escape any aggro. I believe I'm in the clear until something becomes apparent: I've seen this landscape before. I just went in a damned circle. Now my Flee has worn and I have an angry pack of Raptors closing in on me. Shit, I forgot those could keep up. I hit Seigan and Third Eye and start running back towards the zone. Third Eye drops, and so do I. (#3). Ouch. Eventually, Vor catches up and Tractor's my corpse all over Terrigan just so he can Raise me safely. After much backtracking, we get to the 'zoneline' only for me to find out that it's NOT a zoneline. It's unmapped territory. (If you know your FFXI, this is exactly like Secret Beach in Valkurm) After much more walking, it was apparent that I wouldn't have made it even if I hit flee at the 'zoneline'. Stupid Silent Oils. Anyways, we get into the Cloister of Gales, I get over my Death Penalty, and we head in to see Garuda.

Yet another uneventful fight. Noone dies, and the 2hr does pansy damage. Big shocker.
(I need to save energy for typing out Dynamis, gimme a break.)

I get my Whisper of Gales, I get my Garuda summon, and now I have all 7 basic summons. I am a happly little Hume. (Only lost 1k exp all day. Thank you RaiseII & III) Oh, and we went and fought Ifrit again, just so I could get started towards my Moon Bauble. And Raven got his Ifrit Blade.

Now for Dynamis. We did Dynamis: Jeuno today right before we went on our Avatar Rampage. Little explaination of Dynamis: Dynamis is an alternate reality of the Major towns and areas of Vana'Diel. Essentially, this alternate realm is where the Beastmen have taken over the major cities and reside there. Our job is to clear them out and take their maps. Which is about 3-4 hours of work. With 65 People. Lvl 65+. Sound familiar to you WoW fans out there? You also get Relic Armor and weapons in Dynamis, and the appropriate currency to upgrade those items. (Truly, the entire reason to go.) Each major city drops a currency involved in it's nation's past. (1Byne Bills for Bastok for example.) You need MASS amounts of this currency to upgrade your relics. My relic weapon alone is 300 Copper Coins from San d'Oria for the 1st of 4 upgrades. The next upgrade is 1500 Whiteshells from Windurst.
Not. Easy.
You have to plan and host Dynamis. It isn't something you can just up and do. For starters, there is a 1 million gil fee for the item to start Dynamis. Hosts usually foot the bill for it. (We have 5 hosts for my Dynamis Linkshell. Each one coughs up 200k, twice a week.) As hosts foot the bill, they also get all the currency that drops. I fully believe that Dynamis is resposible for Gilbuyers. Receiving your Relic armor is based on attendace and necessity. (Rank for lots is based on attendance points. 3 points for being on time, 2 points for being a little late, 1 point for coming in half way through.) I'm up to 9 points now. Points reset for an area once you get your relic piece from it. I will be the last one in my LS to get my relic gear, only because I am the lowest lvl Samurai in the LS. That's the necessity part. Anyone of the same job that's higher lvl than you will get to lot first, unless they already have it. I'll get mine soon enough.

I'm not going to to into the battle dynamics, since it's 3 hours of 'Hack your way through mobs until you get a boss monster. Repeat until Mega Boss pops. Kill Mega Boss and win. Lot for loot along the way.' Sounds easy, but remember: 65 players, all lvl 65+. To put it in perspective: When we did Jeuno today, we had a full 4 alliance wipe near the beginning, because somebody mis-pulled. (In English: All 65 people died because 2 extra monsters came down and handed our asses to us.) Now do you get the picture? Yeah, I thought you could.

I think that's it for now. Stay tuned to see if I find anything else worth writing about in the foreseeable future.

Lates, all.
~Baren

Hoppe hoppe Reiter. Mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter.
(Up and Down, Rider. My Heart does not beat anymore.)
Rammstein: Spieluhr

posted by Baren @ 12:49 PM 0 comments

Another Update.

I'm giving you something to read today. A blog. No, not this one, you special person you. I'm sending you to someone I would love to have as a friend and fear to have as an enemy. I'm going to give you 3 guesses as to where to find the link. I'll even give you a hint: Ever notice how some of my blog titles are black and others are orange? It's not for aesthetic purposes. Go back and check a few.

I'm not kidding. Go and check. You probably missed some cool shit.
...

...

Back yet? Welcome back.

As for something to read here, I'm going to entertain you with my recent adventures in FFXI. (That's Final Fantasy XI for those who live under a rock.) I think I just heard all 3 of my readers cry out in agony.

Bear with me.

I've been having alot more fun in the game since I moved out here with Ravenfnord and Elmyr. (Pronounced El-Meer') Not that I didn't have fun at home, but now I can organize events on the fly. I did my first Dynamis last Friday. I'll get to that. I promise. I've done 4 of my 7 Avatar fights for Summoner, and I finally got lvl 66 samurai. I've also done a bunch of worthless shit to be able to do all that. It's boring, so I'll spare you details. Let's just say that I gave enough cornettes to 1 man to have every person in the entire US military play their own flute, and enough La Thiene Cabbages to another to feed said military members. But it was worth it to fight and receive my Avatars. (For those on the slow side: Avatars are AKA summons or Aeons.) Let's look at some fights, shall we? (read: You read about it and envision it. You wanna know what they look like? That's what Google is for.)

1st up: Shiva. Frosty Bitch. Fight went as planned at the start. Seladora (A level 71 Paladin), Ravenfnord (a level 75 Samurai and my mentor), Vorondil (A level 67 White Mage), and I (A level 65 Samurai) went into the fight expecting the worst, hoping for the best. The others had been in these fights before, but with a full party of 6. This time, it was just us 4. Anyways, Sel is tanking Shiva effectively and Raven and myself are hacking away at her HP. Things are going good, couple hits here, couple Blizzard IV's there, and about halfway through, Shiva gets the notion to 2hr. (Uber-God attack that inflicts much pain.) Diamond Dust.

Shiva Uses Diamond Dust.

Seladora takes 287 points of damage.
Ravenfnord takes 166 points of damage.
Vorondil takes 406 points of damage.
Gensoden takes 1614 points of damage.
Gensoden was defeated by Shiva.

Bitch.

We (read: they) finished the fight proper, unloading everything on her. Vengeance is gorgeous, isn't it, whore? Fight ends, we leave and I get raised. Whisper of Ice is mine. Glee.

Next is Titan. Earth God. Not a hard fight at all. In fact, if we had 1 more person, we would have broken the record on this fight. Titan's 2 hr goes off about half way through, (Seeing a pattern yet?) and we all survive with minimum damage taken.

Titan Uses Earthen Fury.

Seladora takes 65 points of damage.
Ravenfnord takes 78 points of damage.
Gensoden takes 85 points of damage.

Vorondil was out of range for this one. I was shocked that this thing's 2hr was that pathetic. We murdered him. Flat out. Whisper of Earth? All ours.

Next is Leviathan. Godlike Sea Serpent, and awesome as hell. I was thrilled to do this fight.
We start the fight with everything going cookies until...
Leviathan uses Spring Water. Leviathan regains 287 HP.
Ok, nothing we can't get rid of..
Leviathan uses Spring Water. Leviathan regains 489 HP.
Goddammit. OK, let's try this again.
Leviathan uses Spring Water. Leviathan regains 312 HP.
Screw this.

Gensoden uses Hasso.
Gensoden uses Sneak Attack.
Gensoden uses Trick Attack.
Gensoden uses Tachi: Gekko.
Leviathan takes 387 damage.

Seladora uses Swift Blade.
Leviathan takes 197 damage.
Skillchain Darkness.
Leviathan takes 197 damage.

Ravenfnord uses Warcry.
Ravenfnord uses Berserk.
Ravenfnord uses Seigan.
Ravenfnord uses Third Eye.
Ravenfnord uses Tachi: Kasha
Leviathan takes 390 damage.

Eat steel you asshat.

Leviathan readies Tidal Wave.
Aw Shit.
Leviathan uses Tidal Wave.

Gensoden takes 134 damage.
Seladora takes 97 damage.
Ravenfnord takes 100 damage.

Leviathan gets his ass handed to him on a silver platter.
That's it? Whisper of Tides? Good as ours.

I'm going to stop there because my wrists are now killing me. Next time:
Ifrit, Ramuh, and Dynamis. (And maybe Garuda [Final avatar that I can get at my level] if we go fight her tonight.) Fenrir and Diabolos require work. MUCH work. Diabolos requires that I fight him twice. Not so bad, once we get through enough Chains of Promathia storyline to fight him. To get Fenrir, on the other hand, I have to go back and fight all the avatars AGAIN. (Except Diabolos.)

Until next time.
~Baren.

"Stop Breaking the law, Asshole!"
Liar Liar

posted by Baren @ 12:00 PM 0 comments

I've completed the journey.

It took 3 boring-ass days by bus, but I have arrived in Atlanta. (Well, I'm about 2 weeks late writing this as well. Sue me.) It really is something different over here. The humidity and elevation are really fucking with my head. I don't think I've had a day where I haven't been dizzy or almost seasick. It's odd. I also seem to sleep a hell of a lot more, and dreams are something just shy of "Seek Mental Help". Adjusting sucks, but I'll have to get used to it.

My new roommates are cool. They are helping me to adjust until such time that I start my job. We are waiting for an opening, so I haven't started yet. They have been great to me, and are really patient with my situation.

I think that's all I'm going to post today. I haven't been to bed yet, and it's 10AM.

Later all.
~Baren.
"No quote. Too tired."

posted by Baren @ 10:00 AM 0 comments