Gaming “Chores” and Moving Preparations

On the gaming front:

In WoW, I’ve been <afk> since before Nobelgarden till last night. I was sitting at 40% on the trading post bar and decided to bang it out on my Moo Shaman. Yes, his xmog is mostly the same mog since BfA (the Heritage quest changed the helm from Headdress of the First Shaman to the heritage helm and the hidden back to the heritage totem):  Ancestral Chieftain’s Headdress, Pauldrons of the Chosen Dead, Ancestral Chieftain’s Totem, hidden chest/shirt/tabard, Earthfury Bracers, Gor’s Re-Inforced Gloves, Firearrow Belt, Orgrimmar Leggings, Earthfury Boots, Fury of the Stonemother (enhancement artifact magma-mace appearance), The Highkeeper’s Ward (elemental artifact flame-shield appearance). Unless there’s a tier set that makes me all squirrelly, I don’t see his appearance changing that much in the future. I finished filling the bar in a couple hours and got him a level and a half out of it.

I still haven’t done the Forbidden Reach content. I was toying with heading over there on my main and at least getting the glyphs, but didn’t feel like putting forth the meh-ffort to do it. I’ll get there at some point. /shrug.

In FFXIV, I’m current with all of the MSQ, but all I do is retainer ventures/market-board and stable/train my chocobo (and train any chocobos in the apartment’s stable). Occasionally, I’ll go fishing and fill out some more fish in my fishing log.

I’ll probably be more focused on gaming once my living situation is stabilized. In the meantime, I’m glad there’s something that can get me logged in to both games and make me feel like I’m doing things. How meaningful the things are is completely irrelevant to me.

On the moving front:

I took the bike to the shop yesterday for tires, brakes, and a full inspection to make sure she’s good for the trip from Portland to Denver. Should be picking her up today with a clean bill of health.

Jo and I will be riding to Denver over Memorial Day weekend. It’s approximately 1300 miles. She wants to do it in 2 days so we can go to a festival on Memorial Day. That puts it at about 650 miles a day, which is doable for only 2 days. She’s used to LOOOOOOOOONG rides in a car, so the time isn’t the issue with her. It’s more the physical whooping you get on a bike that I’m worried about. I’ll be bodily blocking most of the beating up, but it’s still going to be very different than in a car. I’m hoping to put the bulk of the time in on Saturday so that we can have a leisurely ride home on Sunday and rest up for Monday.

It’s been about 2 decades since I’ve done an interstate trip with a passenger. She’s up for long bike rides, so I’m hoping it’s not another 2 decades before my next cross-state-lines trip with a passenger on the bike.

Upcoming Journey and Gaming Hiatus

Once again, I find myself in transition. Six years ago, I was preparing for my relocation from Florida to Oregon. This time, I’m heading in the opposite direction. However, I’m not heading back to that shithole swamp. I’m heading to where I should have stopped when I was heading west. I’m headed to Colorado, where my chosen family is.

The difference between this transition and my prior transitions, is I am able to play WoW and FF XIV during the transition period. I just find myself not wanting to. Our guild has had some issues recently (combination of real life and other external forces) that have made progression a problem. We’ve decided to halt our progression so people can handle life. I’ve logged in to both games recently (multiple times) and I find myself just sitting there with no drive or direction. I loved chasing KSM the last 2 seasons. I even helped others chase it too. This season, I’m 500 io away from it and I couldn’t care any less. Maybe I’ll feel more of an urge as season 2 is announced. We’ll see.

In the mean time, I’ll likely be posting more about the scoot ride that will be happening over Memorial Day Weekend. That will be my final transition to Colorado.

Season 4… Mythic+ and Fated Raids

We’re 2 weeks into the new season and I’m sitting with a M+ score of 1990. Just 10 points away from from KSM and the grape Kool-Aid mount. I only need to time a single 15+ this coming reset and that will take me over the 2000 required for KSM. It would have been possible to already have KSM if I pushed a little harder the first week, but I don’t want to burn myself out. A couple of us have been spamming dungeons fairly regularly, even going so far as to take some alts through a few dungeons (or 4 when it’s the Mythic dungeon weekly).

I love Grimrail Depot and voted for it. Hate me if you must, but it’s sooo fun.

Final Fantasy’s True Endgame … player housing

I finally decided to get off my lazy bum and go out and become a real adult. No more staying at questionable inns, I’ve got my own address. I feel like I should link The Jefferson’s theme song due to how big a deal player housing is.

Primal DC: Exodus Server: Mist: Topmast Subdivision: Ward 4: Apt 29.

I know that The Maelstrom gets a lot of hate from folks because “ew filthy derelict pirates.” Meh, I ride motorcycles. I’m used to society giving me the side eye, and I don’t care. I just click with the La Noscea zones and the grand company. I like that my GC leader is calm, cool, collected, and diplomatic; but if you cross her, or her allies, she’ll put a bullet between your eyes faster than you can blink. Also, the color red is my kryptonite. The choice for apartments was easy; I went to Mist. I love the beach and docks there.

Me and Kitty enjoying a little bit of the nighttime ocean vibes.

Mad Luck, Catnip, and the interim copium dosage

I’ve been sitting on this one for a while. I figured I’d finally add a little more to it, then button it up and toss it onto the InterVoid.

I never expect to see the holiday boss mounts drop for me, but the Headless Horseman finally handed over The Horseman’s Reins.

It was a bit of a shock to say the least. On the first day of running the dungeon, I saw a Mage get the mount in one of my groups. I pretty much figured this was going to be the closest I get this year. I’d been running random content and swapped to a server I keep lesser played toons on and realized my instance lock was up and I had a couple tanks on this server that could run it. I hopped on my Void Elf DK (that I leveled solely for the heritage armor) and queued up as a tank. This was his first time ever seeing the Headless Horseman, but I’ve got a couple DKs and their setups are all identical. Only thing this one doesn’t have is the big covenant button to press. We finish the run, he gets his Bring Me The Head of… Oh Wait achievement and I open my box and expect to leave group and log out. Imagine my surprise when I see a horse head icon flash real quick in the auto-loot window. Someone in the group whispers to me “Congrats! Just know that I might hate you a little bit over this. ;-)” and then /cheers me. Open my bags, and there it is. It is officially over, my search is done. Fate chose when I’d claim the reward. AH-HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Of course I had to put on a pumpkin head and take a pic in front of the clock tower. I will still queue up as a tank or healer each year to help folks out, because I know the DPS queue sucks. However, now I don’t have to think of it as a “farming” activity, it’s a charity event.

Of Glamours and Mogs

Today’s title is inspired by the name of a band that sings a song about people losing themselves to the voices in their heads.

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Seems all of the cool kids are posting what they are wearing in WoW and FF. I’m incredibly late to the game, guessing I’m just not as cool. /shrug

Mide and Dayan (FF XIV)

Still a better love story than Twilight!

Yes, Twilight is a wonderful work. Lots of emotion. But HOLY HELLS! I have felt more emotion from this post-Heavansward story arc than I did from my own divorces. I know I have some serious mental issues to deal with, but the writing of these stories is beyond compare. If you love the story-telling in MMORPGs, you have to play Final Fantasy XIV. Yes, I’m a WoW shill, but damn if YoshiP and his team aren’t the better story tellers. I think I feel more of a human connection with the FFXIV team than I do with Blizzard, and I’ve only been playing FFXIV for about 2-ish months and I’ve been playing WoW for well over a decade.

I still rewatch the 2021 Final Fantasy fan fest closing session often (aka I’ve watch it at least a half dozen+ times… and I don’t think I can think of a single BlizzCon event that I’ve watched more than twice). YoshiP and Soken get me choked up in ways I cannot explain. That level of connection. That level of willingness to bare themselves in front of a global stage because of the friendship they feel for each other and that sense of devotion they have to their fans. It gets me rather misty-eyed. Every! Single! Time! I want more of this visceral feeling in the games I play. I want WoW to make me feel pride / sorrow / concern / regret for the characters I get invested in. I want to feel an emotional connection with Ion and Lore and Dave and Jen. While I’m hopeful there will be some positive changes at Blizzard with everything that is happening, I think it’s going to be a long while before I feel an emotional connection to them.

Ysera feels

There are stories in WoW that will elicit a welling up of feelings. A smile here, a tear there, a “WHAT THE ACTUAL F#@%?!?!” too. However, there aren’t many in the game that get me choked up. The Vanilla questline in the Badlands regarding Rheastrasza’s clutch and the Legion questline in Val’Sharah regarding Ysera both got me quite choked up. I think I just have a soft spot for dragons. Even now, knowing what I know in Shadowlands, I still get misty-eyed.

In FF, I’m finding that the story telling is so much more immersive that I feel attachment to the characters. I have visceral responses to them. For example, I really want to junk-punch Gerolt (relic weapon smith) repeatedly because he’s an asshole. Also, Geva (leatherworker’s guild master) needs to have a chihuahua bite her ankles because she’s so rude. I get those Ysera feelings quite often.

I’ve finished the MSQ and wrap up quests for Heavensward and am through the bulk of the Stormblood quests. The story writers have done a top notch job. There are so many points in the story that make me feel proud for these characters, or sadness. Someone said to me that “A Realm Reborn” was a rollercoaster of emotions. If that is the case, then Heavensward is the Do-Dodonpa (fastest rollercoaster in the world that has been shut down because of injuries involving broken bones).

Even the profession quest lines are great. I’ve completed the Fishing and Alchemy quests through to the end of Stormblood and I highly recommend them both. The alchemy brings some MSQ characters to the forefront and tells some really heartwarming and tear-jerking stories. Fishing is whimsical/comical at times and endearing at others. I’ve even done the ocean fishing repeatedly (not just for the mount, but because it’s a great source of XP). I’m having so much fun with crafting and gathering professions that there have been days that I spent the entire play session doing nothing but crafting and gathering.

Ooooh Shiney!

I feel like an ADHD squirrel running between a trove of acorns and treasure chest of sparkling baubles. I’m still very interested in Azeroth, but I’ve spent a bit of time logged out (since the #ActiBlizzWalkout Mass Logout). In the interim, I’ve been spending time in Eorzia experiencing FF XIV and getting use to the differences. I’ve been keeping up with what’s happening in WoW’s story, even though I was not experiencing it in-game. This means I’ve been getting a little antsy to spend some time there. My attention keeps flip-flopping like a politician between WoW and FF XIV.

(Knuhkles in a maw themed leather set)

I decided to screw around in the Shadowlands again for a little bit and finished leveling my Vulpera Monk. He was at level 58.8-ish so it was no big deal to ding him over with all of his rested XP. I’ve been having fun with him getting back into Mistweaver healing. A big part of his leveling was spamming dungeons as a healer through threads of fate. I made sure to fill the bars on the covenants and save them to turn in after 9.1 landed on us. Once I hit 60, I still had a little ways to fill the Ardenweald bar, so just ran a couple rares, bonus objectives, and world quests.

By the time I was told to speak to Bolvar, I was already renown 15. He geared up quickly by grabbing iLevel 200 crafted gear, 163 iLevel greens, a 230 unique-equipped crafted item, and random BoE purples that weren’t too expensive. He’s at iLevel 196. There are plans to run the Sanctum LFR on him, because I’ve wanted to raid heal on him for a while now. That will be at a later point when I can set aside a chunk of time for it. I opted to skip the Torghast and Korthia intro quests. I did my Korthia fill-the-bar quest, killed the world bosses and did some callings. He’s sitting at renown 30 and hasn’t started on his Covenant campaign (partly because I’m hoping 9.1.5 will have a covenant campaign skip since I’ve done all 4 campaigns 2 to 3 times already on other alts, but also because I don’t give a shit about soul binds and conduits on an alt that I’m just having a little fun with at the moment).

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(Elena, the overworked)

Also, because I’m a glutton for punishment, I decided I needed to add to my Final Fantasy list of things to do. I unlocked every job. EVERY! JOB! That’s 4 tanks, 3 healers, 4 melee dps, 3 ranged dps, 4 caster dps, 3 gatherers, and 8 crafters and did a couple quests as each. I’m not saying I’m proficient with all of those jobs. Hell, I’m still a mediocre Paladin main. I do plan on having a dps job that I’m decent with. Leaning towards either Machinist or Summoner. Eventually I’ll mess with healing too. The gathering and crafting jobs are an absolute treat in the game. The story line for Alchemist (levels 1 to 50) was divine. I’m only now starting the HW Alchemy quests and they are keeping my interests piqued. Fishing is also a hoot-and-a-holler. The Lalafels that run the fishing guild (levels 1 to 50) in Limsa are very much a mom-and-pop business couple in southeast Florida. The transition to Ishgarde for the the HW quests has a huge Nat Pagle feel to it.

Job levels:

• Paladin (main) – 65
• Fish – 60
• Alch – 57
• Mine and Bot – mid-30s
• Weave and Gold – mid-20s
• Carp, BS, Armor, LW, and Cook – shy of 10

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I am also enjoying how the glamour/dyes function works in game. I have a “gentlewoman” plate I use for Alchemy (don’t ask why I thought alchemy needs prim and proper clothing, just accept that is what I did). I have a Fishing plate for fishing. A hippy set (composed of a couple peaceloving items) for mining and botany. My other professions are left to whatever the items look like when I equip them.

(All work and no play makes Elena a grumpy girl)

I also have a plate for visiting raves. My partner and I have been watching twitch streams of dance parties and it’s a bit of fun to get a peak into random houses. The decorating ideas, the costuming, and music that we enjoy. It’s, quite simply, great amusement.