Baby footsteps into HNM

Despite having played since 2004, I have never really set foot into "the endgame" or so to speak. While I've done certain events, like Limbus or Dynamis or even Salvage from time to time, they were always more on a semi-casual basis, and not something I'd regularly do (well, most of the time, anyway).

So until now, all the things I've been doing were mostly soloing. Every weekend that I got to play, I'd merit a little, I'd do a bit of crafting on the side, and maybe, I'd throw in an occasional small thing like an ENM or an Apollyon NW run here and there.

The problem arises once I can't really do much more, and I'm done with all these. :P

So I had two options: quit, or find a group. I actually seriously considered the former option (as astute readers could've probably figured out by my now very infrequent updates), but in the end, I decided to give the game (more specifically the endgame) another chance.

I considered a couple of linkshells, but in the end, decided to try TeamKANICAN again, after Ashira blogged about TK being open for recruitment. I had tried a couple times before, but it seems that each time, my schedule would get in the way. I didn't expect anything different this time around.

After about a week, my application had been deleted from the forums. Given that "[if] you've heard absolutely nothing from us at all, ever, via PM, /tell, or what have you and it's been over a week or so, then we feel you're not right for us at this time." So, I guess that was it. :/

Thus, you can imagine my surprise when one of my friends inside suddenly asked me what my schedule was like again, and asked to meet me in Al Zahbi.



I was in! :D

First assignment: Dark Ixion. XD


Surprisingly, I was asked to go WHM to this fight. Normally, I'm called to go RDM or BLM, so suffice to say, my WHM is still, to this day, unmerited. >_<

Thankfully, as you can probably tell from the picture, Ixion decided to stop by Jugner Forest [S] which made things very nice for the mages, since we can just stand on the raised platforms to avoid all of Ixion's attacks, while still being able to support the rest of the alliance.

The fight looked cool, even though it felt a little bit repetitive. It was not without a few minor incidents (including one innocent passerby who got caught in Ixion's AoE and died) but everything more or less seemed to be under control.

I took my WHM/SCH to the fight, and while I was initially apprehensive about it since I haven't taken WHM/SCH to anything before, much less a HNM fight, I was worried how things would go, but I found myself really liking it in the end, if for nothing else other than "Penury + Celerity + Raise III = much <3." I wonder though, if this means I would be expected to merit my WHM, especially if I seem to get called on it more often...

In any case, I now have "Ixion Hornbreaker" to add to my pitifully short list of HNM titles. ^^;


Now, onto some minor updates:


Goldsmithing's trundling along sloooooowly, and I'm now at GS92. It's actually fairly after you're past the gold hell stage, with Elemental beads, followed by Orichalcum Ingots, and now I'm skilling up on Scintillant Ingots, which currently sell for a slight profit, and will take me all the way to 98.

The real problem now is availability of materials, which I suspect to be true for any of the other crafts in their 90s, particularly since I'm not online that often to camp the AH for Orichalcum Ores. I will gladly accept any ores people will d-box to me, and I promise I'll pay for them! Really! {please}? XD

I'm also at the stage where I can start to think about synthing some other items. I've already got friends asking me to sign a Koenig Shield and a Sha'ir Manteel (will need to level up CC for that though -_-), and another's trying to scrounge up the materials for me to attempt my first Triumph earring. Things are starting to look up! :P


On the Ranger front, things are going fairly well- I'm taking my time leveling slowly, but strangely enough, what parties I do get have been very good so far.

I found myself into a PLD COR WHM RNG RNG WAR 64-synced party tonight. Both the PLD and RNG were 75s who wanted to merit, and the WAR brought out a Polearm for the ride. The RNG was completely pwning me in terms of damage with all the gear I would like to have, and suffice to say, we were demolishing Colibris to the point where everybody, even the Japanese were all smiles. After all, {Sidewinder}→{Slug Shot}→{Slug Shot} does take out birds extraordinarily quickly. ^^

I am now RNG65, with just a scant 7k to 66. Just over one level to my O-bow! ^^ All in all, that party was fantastic, and I would've come out of it all smiles, except for one small problem...


...I shot my Gold Musketeer's Bolt! T_T