First up, not really FFXI news but I fixed the links to episode 1 and 2. They were linking to my other podcast Serial Experiments Gaiden feed. So, I fixed those links and they now lead to the proper Looking for Party feed.
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The first bit of game news is server migration. It seems that Square is offering people on the Bahamut server the chance to move to a different server free of charge. I'm currently on the Bahamut server and too be honest, if I were playing I'd be pretty tempted to make the move. It sucks that the only choices are Pandemonium, Garuda, Kujata, Seraph, Lakshmi, Midgardsormr, Fairy, Asura, Remora and Hades. My current character is from Quetzecoatl, so, if that was offered I might have picked it. It is interesting to see Midardsormr on that list though. My first character, Parillius, is from there. It would be neat to go back there again but I'm sure I wouldn't remember anyone (nor would they remember me) and all of my real life friends who started the game with me don't play anymore. Who knows though, since I'm not currently playing and I've only been on Bahamut for a year, I may log in and find myself stuck in new world when I start playing again :/.
Probably the biggest piece of news released lately, at least to me, is the White Mage update. WOOOOOOW, in my last podcast I mentioned being on the fence about taking it to 75 but after reading about all these updates, it seems set in stone that I'm gonna level WHM when I get back. Unless of course some other job gets pimped out before then and I pick that instead. Sadly I don't understand some of the info that Square Enix has released but I'll give my thoughts on them anyway. I'm sure some of the other FFXI podcasts have explained what all this stuff means but I haven't been listening to other FFXI podcast lately because I'm saving them for my return.
Job Abilities
Two complementary new job abilities are scheduled to be added, with ability delay set low for both so that white mages can optimize their usage for the ever-changing tactical needs of the battlefield.
"- Afflatus Solace
(Lv40 Ability Delay: 1 min. Duration: 2 hrs.)
Inspires you to draw strength from the healing spells you cast.
While Afflatus Solace is activated, the amount of HP you restore via Cure spells and the job abilities Benediction and Martyr will be recorded up to a limit determined by your character’s level.
This accumulated amount will determine the bonus value granted to specific spells."
When I first read "Inspires you to draw strength from the healing spells you cast.", I thought it meant combat strength. I was like wtf, melee WHM? Nooooooo! But upon rereading it it does seem to really only effect your healing ability. I can't really say how useful this is but since it doesn't seem to have any real penalties, it should be nice. I'll be curious to see how much of a boost your healing spells get but this seems like a double edged sword. In parties WHMs usually have a backup healer (I try to avoid parties with WHM only myself) so the extra healing power might mostly go to waste. Especially if you have a PLD tanking. Secondly, there are a lot of lazy WHMs who like to toss up Cure V all the time. The extra healing power will make their cures pull even more hate and I can see that causing trouble in a lot of parties. But I still think this ability will be neat even though it'll be one more spell that you need to keep up during parties. It's a little weird that SE would make WHM more like SCH but maybe that's what it needs.
"- Afflatus Misery
(Lv40 Ability Delay: 1 min. Duration: 2 hrs.)
Inspires you to draw strength from the damage you take.
While Afflatus Misery is activated, the most recent damage you sustain will be recorded up to a limit determined by your character’s level. This damage amount will determine the bonus value granted to specific spells. Unlike Afflatus Solace, it is non-accumulative and overwriting"
This ability seems to be almost useless unless you're soloing. I'm assuming it'll effect banish and or enfeebling spells. Sure WHMs will get hit here and there in a party but if you're getting hit enough to keep Afflatus Misery charged, you are playing the job wrong. I do suppose that if my thoughts about Solace being a double edged sword prove true, it may be worthwhile to just leave Misery up encase you do pull hate.
"- Sacrifice (Lv65)
Transfers one enfeebling effect from target to yourself.
Casting Sacrifice while Afflatus Solace is activated grants a bonus to the number and variety of enfeebling effects transferred."
Now this will be extremely useful. Extremely annoying aswell but what can you do. Should be nice for if a tank gets hit by bad breath or some attack that does multiple status ailments. I just hope nobody expects WHMs to use this to take bio/dia or silence off anyone.
Spell changes and additions
"- Cure / Cure II / Cure III / Cure IV / Cure V
Casting the above Cure spells while Afflatus Solace is activated grants the target the effect of Stoneskin for a short duration.
The Stoneskin effect attained via this method is not stackable with and will not overwrite the white magic spell “Stoneskin” or Blood Pact: Ward ability “Earthen Ward.”
Awsome! I'm sure the stoneskin will probably be so weak it'll only weaken the next attack as apposed to nullifying any hits but it's still extremely nice. This should make any job that tanks happy and is bound to save the lives of party members who are one hit away from death. This will put SCHs who like to toss Stoneskin on the party and SMNs who like to use Earthen Ward out of a job but oh well. I'll be curious to see if this works on members outside of your party. Should make power leveling interesting.
"- Elemental Resistance Spells
Casting Bar- type spells while Afflatus Solace is activated grants an additional defense bonus to the associated element."
Does this mean bar spells will actually work now?
"- Holy
Casting Holy while Afflatus Solace is activated grants a potency bonus to the spell based on the amount of HP you restore. The record of accumulated HP is reset upon use."
I don't think I've even bothered to buy Holy. Boy is that spell useless. It might actually do damage with Solace activated but if negates your healing boost it isn't really worth it.
"- Cura (Lv40)
Restores HP for party members within area of effect.
Casting Cura while Afflatus Misery is activated grants a potency bonus to the spell based on the most recent damage you sustain.
The record of damage taken is reset upon use."
I don't see how this is different then Curaga but maybe it costs less mp then Curaga II and heals for way more then Curaga I, which could make it useful in a pinch if the casting time is fast enough. The fact that it becomes stronger if you sustain damage makes me think it's perfect for healing a party after a goblin fight if it uses bomb toss.
"- Esuna (Lv61)
Removes one enfeebling effect from yourself and party members within area of effect.
Casting Esuna while Afflatus Misery is activated grants a bonus to the number and variety of enfeebling effects removed."
Yes please. I've never understood why WHMs didn't have this spell. Divine Veil is great but since you can only use it like once every 10 minutes it's nice to have an alternative. Esuna should make fighting imps way less annoying. That is if it doesn't take up too much MP.
"- Auspice (Lv55)
Reduces TP dealt when striking an enemy for party members within area of effect.
When cast upon a white mage for whom Afflatus Misery is activated, Auspice also adds light damage to initial attacks and bestows an accuracy bonus when target is missed."
If I'm reading this right, it's saying mobs will get less TP when they get hit if the spell is active. That's kinda neat. I've never really cared about mob TP myself. It always seems like they use their abilities whenever they want regardless of how much they've been hit. While abilities like this and subtle blow have a slight effect on most mobs, I don't see myself using this outside of a boss fight. I sure as heck won't waist MP casting this on goblins.
"- Banish / Banish II / Banish III / Banishga / Banishga II
Casting the above Banish spells while Afflatus Misery is activated grants a potency bonus to the spell based on the most recent damage you sustain.
The record of damage taken is reset upon use."
Pointless. Just like Holy.
Other Changes
"In addition to the above mentioned adjustments and additions, the following changes will also take place:
- White magic “Banish II”: Slight increase to magic accuracy. Casting time shortened from 3.75 to 2.5 seconds.
- White magic “Banish III”: Slight increase to magic accuracy. Casting time shortened from 5.5 to 3 seconds.
- White magic “Banishga II”: Slight increase to magic accuracy.
- White magic “Raise II”: MP consumption reduced from 200 to 150. Casting time shortened from 20 to 14 seconds.
- White magic “Raise III”: MP consumption reduced from 250 to 150. Casting time shortened from 20 to 13 seconds.
- White magic “Reraise”: Learning requirement reduced from Lv33 to Lv25 for WHM, and Lv40 to Lv35 for SCH.
- White magic “Reraise II”: Learning requirement reduced from Lv60 to Lv56 for WHM, and Lv75 to Lv70 for SCH. MP consumption reduced from 175 to 150. Casting time shortened from 8 to 7.5 seconds.
- White magic “Reraise III”: Learning requirement reduced from Lv75 to Lv70 for WHM. MP consumption reduced from 200 to 150. Casting time shortened from 8 to 7 seconds.
- Job ability “Martyr”: Ability range increased to be equivalent to Cure spells."
Totally sweet once again. The Banish part is rubbish but the rest of it is super useful. I love that they've reduced the amount of MP needed to cast raise spells. I just wished they'd shortened the cool down timers a bit. We'll still have to wait forever for Raise II and III to recharge whem WHMs have to raise a large group of people. With Reraise II dropping from lvl 60 to 56, I'll have to pick that up before I start leveling WHM again. Too bad I spent all my cash buying a Black Cuisses for my DRK before I logged off last.
Boy, that took some typing, lol. Next up is MOG BANAZA! I'll be back in time for this for sure! I didn't win anything last year but I intend to buy all the marbles I can this year and hopefully I'll get a treat. Looking at the list if I win it'll probably go something like this.
Rank 1: Ares's Cuirass. The Futsuno Mitama is pretty tempting but I think I'd be better served to take the Ares body since I can use it on PLD and DRK.
Rank 2: Homam Corazza is the clear winner. THF would come out of farming duties and become my job a choice again if I had a piece like that.
Rank 3: Algol would probably be my pick here. +3 triple attack for my DRK? Yes, Please. Sure I'd get myself killed but it'd still be awesome to have. The Homam Cosciales is pretty tempting too but I don't think I'd get it unless I won the Body piece to go with it. The Hauteclaire is fairly tempting with physical damage taken -7 but since it's Paladin only I don't know if it's worth it when I can get pieces that can be used by other jobs. The Seveneyes club also has some appeal with +7 conserve MP but I still think I'd go with the Algol.
Rank 4: What a difference a few years makes eh? I would have killed for some of this stuff once upon a time but now the Moldavite Earring is the only piece that I think is worth getting. I never really understood why the only alternative, leaping/bounding boots, were such a big deal myself.
Rank 5: Nothing of any value here. I guess I'd take a statue if any of them have special effects.
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I guess the last thing to comment on is the trailer for "A Crystalline Prophecy." My opinion of it is that it's pretty lame. Doesn't really show anything, it's another trailer with text that won't make sense until you play the content, and it stars another little kid. C'mon Square, would it kill you to make a main character who is old enough to drink? In Rise of the Zilart the main bad guy looked like it he was 13, in Chains of Promathia, Prishe looked about 15 at best, Nashmeira might have been an adult but since this game is Japanese I'm gonna guess she was 16, Wings of the Goddess brought a little Elvaan brat, and now A Crystalline Prophecy brings us a new little runt. Square, more characters like Tenzen, can I have it? I only watched the trailer once but I doubt my opinion will change when I see it again. It'd be nice if they introduced something cool.
Okay, that'll do it for this post. Man that was loooong. I probably spent way more time on this then was needed for something nobody will read. On the podcast front I've given up on my old mic. I may break down and pick up the cheapest one I can find at Walmart so that I can put something out but considering I'm a month behind on bills, I don't know how wise that would be :). We'll see what happens I guess. I'll try and have another blog post up if Square releases any more info that is of any interest.
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