So tired and... stuff.

[thistlechaser]

Good thing: I slept last night! Yay!
Bad thing: Grr grr bad dreams. Someone was going to chop my cat's head off with an axe, and I was trying to run to save her but had that oh so cliched "running and running but not getting anywhere" thing going on. Stupid brain.

To all the non-FFXI players reading this, assuming you still read my LJ at all. :P I know content has gotten really FFXI-heavy lately, but I expect that to be changing shortly. On (hopefully) Monday I'll be doing the very biggest event in the game (in my opinion). It's sort of like... if there was a test in RL that you had to take before you could become an adult. A test of your entire life thus far, everything you've learned, every skill you have, how hard you work, how you handle things under pressure. My entire year+ of playing FFXI has lead up to this one test, so I'm (I hope understandably) rather focused on it at the moment. (And I keep saying I need a "test", it's just a piece of paper that drops off a high level mob. You trade it to let you do this one fight.)

This is going to be an odd weekend: I'm actually going to have the whole day "off" on Saturday (assuming I'm able to get a DRK test tonight). I can't XP, I can't do anything that will make me XP. At the very most I'll be farming vines to make the last of the hi-pots I need for my Maat fight. It's sort of funny to think that I can actually do RL stuff if I want. I could do my laundry! I could, um... play WoW!

Sometime early yesterday I stopped being nervous about Maat. I feel ready. Even though Loth never got the stoneskin torque so I can't buy a charge off it for the fight, I feel ... mostly okay. It's kind of odd, but I wish Maat was a real person so I could tell him how I feel right now, to tell him what I've learned, to apologize for hurting him as much as he'll make me before he gives up or gets KOed.

I'm really, really tempted to go fight him tonight if I get a test, instead of waiting until Monday so I can level up mid-battle, but it will be smart to wait so I will wait. But I'm ready to fight him now. I'm not nervous, I'm not pacing, I'm confident in my skills as a DRK. I think I can do this, and I can't wait to try. :)

(Now won't this be embarrassing if I fail over and over and over again?)

Comments

[kelen.livejournal.com]

Need some gil to buy the torque? :)

And you'll be fine! Really. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

As much as I don't mind throwing money at Maat, I'm not sure if the torque is worth it. Just the materials to get it made are 500K (and it's GS 80, so there could be a break... plus needs a GS key item), and the finished product only has 10 charges.

I think I'm going to try it without it, and just eat my au lait before starting.

Eek, thanks! :) I printed out maps and stuff for tonight or whenever we get to go test hunting. Seems like you, me, and one other person should be safe. (People say that most jobs (other than DRK...) can solo him at 75, but I'd like at least three of us just to be safe).

[kelen.livejournal.com]

Wow. @.@ Loth couldn't make that anyway. She's boneworking, not goldsmithing. Ryunoire could though. :)

Just lemme know if I can help.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she had been intending to get a TheCraft person to do it, but "never got around to it". Oh well! Most people don't fight with stoneskin, so I'll try it that way as well. :)

Thanks!

...and man, that icon of yours is scary! That guy would be right up there on the list with "Galka".

[jehryn.livejournal.com]

no sleep = no good
Myself, I haven't had a good night's sleep in years because I have a disorder called Fibromyalgia. Basically, tired all the time, but can never actually get a good rest. I'm soo tired ALL the time, but just can't sleep. I'm lucky if I get 2 hours of total sleep a night, and that's with waking up like every 10 minutes >_>

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oooh, you're the second person I know with that! firebyrd (who I've known for years and years) has it, too.

So sucky about the lack of sleep. I can imagine how hard two hours max a night would be!

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

Hee. As soon as I started reading the comment, I thought, "Ooooh, I should answer and tell that person I have it too!" But you beat me to it. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heehee, I'm speedy today! :)

[kellios.livejournal.com]

Yay Maat!

You describing yourself feeling ready put an image in my head of an angsty shot of Thistle in all his DRK AF glory staring down some long room at the old man Maat. It was pretty badass. Thistle, the badass DRK (The other mental image I had was the same exact thing, only Thistle wearing a subligar. That was more amusing)

Good luck! You'll kick ass!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heh heh! {Subligar} {Thanks for the offer but I'll have to pass.}

Those days are long gone. And I think most people are thankful of that. :)

[gbeans.livejournal.com]

I forgot to mail tacos. I'm making myself a sticky to remember to do that when I get home x.x

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heehee, no worries! *smooch* Thanks for them!

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

I'm actually kind of interested in it all.

Though I couldn't understand why the random mage helping out on the side was a bad thing. (In Nov. 15th's entry.)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm always glad to hear when I'm not boring non-players. Always feel free to ask any questions you like! :)

Though I couldn't understand why the random mage helping out on the side was a bad thing.

Some people (poorer players, generally) wouldn't call it a bad thing, and the lazy side of me wouldn't call it bad, but in truth it really is. Power leveling is when you have someone (a higher level mage) who can heal stand there and help your party along. It's bad because it's "cheating" -- a party of six people is how the game is meant to be done, no more no less. A party should be able to stand on its own two feet (12 feet? :P ). A party should be able to live on its own and do well on its own, without outside help.

The real problem with PLing is that some people level up into their 20s or 30s or so with it, thus never learning their jobs. You end up in a party with them later and they will not have the skills to keep themselves and everyone else alive.

By the time you hit my level (high 60s, out of a total possible 75 levels) people are pretty anti-PLing because they have seen how bad the players who "grew up" with it are. Some people will even leave a party if there's a PL there, but personally I can't turn down any XP, even when it's "dirty".

:)

Hmmm, to be fair I guess I should give you the other side of the argument: By the time you're in your high 60s, one could argue that you know your job as well as you're going to. If I did nothing but XP (not counting time seeking a party) it would take me something like 10 hours of killing the same monsters over and over (each fight taking a minute or so) to make one single level. That is boring and slow, and one could call it pointless. But to me, personally, I'd rather play the game as it's intended and take the slow/accepted route.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

This makes sense. Thank you!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Welcome! :)

[draymor.livejournal.com]

apologize for hurting him as much as he'll make me

You're too nice. :p
I don't see Maat apologizing for doing enough damage to kill me 4 times :P
Be more angsty! You're a drk!! RAWR!
/gives Thistle some more angst

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heehee, everyone tells me I need to work more on that whole angst thing. :P

But he's an old man! I don't want to hurt him! (Rarrr, but I did!) :D

[http://users.livejournal.com/_orz/]

The Maat fight is one nasty, sick joke. I had to do the Maat RDM fight. I put so much money into the first two tries, went broke, and ended up getting wtfpwned by Maat both times. I don't remember all of the details, but that bastard used Chainspell + Aero3, and I died before I could say "oh shit". I didn't stand a chance.

My ego was bruised and my bank account low, but I gave it a third try just for practice. This time was a joke: Maat cast Blind, Dia, Blind, Stone2, and some other useless spells, and I won using only food items as help. I was relieved that it was over, but pissed off at how much this fight is dependant on luck alone.

So try not to stress out too much over this bad game design. Hopefully your first fight will be against gimpy Maat, but if you get stuck against a ridiculously hard Maat, try not to get discouraged.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

RDM Maat seems to be one of the hardest ones, too. I'm glad you kicked his wrinkled butt in the end! :D

Thanks!

[wanderingscribe.livejournal.com]

This is pretty late, I know, but I just wanted to second the interest about FFXI as a non-player. Reading your entries makes me able to imagine I'm playing the game alongside you and that's really fun. Good luck on beating Maat if you haven't already.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heehee, I'm glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know!

:)