Raelas

Is that the 1.0 Ascian!? Awesome. Also... that Au Ra tribal lore. Its kind of awesome. Shame about one side of the naming conventions though.

Ah. I now have a second download of 5gb after re-opening the client.

I'm blessed with very fast net so... only 11mins for me =o

I've a certain Tank in my static that will be thrilled to see the size of this download.

I'm not saying it isn't but for an expansion of this size that's a very small download. More to come maybe? Heavily compressed?

Just made a thread about this! @w@ Its up! Only 4.3gb though. Hmm.

Only 4.3gb though... seems kinda small?

[video=youtube] At least I hope its new!

[video=youtube] This song, despite its lyrics, is just so sexy.

I had about 5 weeks paid holiday to use up so... 3 weeks starting today of paid time off! That and 2 more weeks in August. God bless the UK and its paid holiday goodness!

What was the original name in Japanese? I just assumed it to be a nod to Yuffie's Limit Break in FF7. Wooooow! I forgot all about that Limit Break.

I'd have to agree. Why's he doing squats, though? I'm not sure but... he's not mashing Square hard enough. He'll never beat the gym champ that way.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with asking. However, if one must respect that people RP in a place then RPers must also respect the fact it is a public place for people do whatever the hell they want within the ToS. The same applies to the real world. You don't have to like what they're doing but if they're not doing anything wrong you can't really expect them to care about what you think or what your request is. Hell, we have a blist for a reason right? Temp Blist is always a nice option. Shame that doesn't work IRL.

I think you have the right to ask people. I have asked people to stop spamming emotes for example, and sometimes they even listen. You are more than allowed to ask. You just shouldn't demand Most certainly ask in an extreme case like spamming emotes and what not... but in the case of Yve? I don't think so. Just my opinion of course but unless that person is paying my sub, bought my game, pays my electricity and internet bill and owns my computer... then you can go about telling what to do and where. It comes off as being really dickish sounding and I don't mean to imply I do dickish things but I don't like being told what I can and can't do in a public space like the quicksand. If that makes any sense.

I think its worth noting that in the case of "You're being annoying go elsewhere so I can RP." is an unacceptable request from anyone, ANYWHERE in open world, even on an RP server. Why? Because you, I, or anyone else does not have the right to tell someone who pays their sub, how and where they can do something. That just smacks of self-entitlement. I get that it can be really annoying and frustrating but lets face it, if its open to the public they have every right to be there and do in that place whatever they choose to. [EDIT] - Words and spelling. ;w;

D'ly has ways to go to master her creeping skills... Hanging out with Kahn'a and Aiyana. We were simply adding to stereotypes. And this. I didn't catch this persons name but my goodness that is the prettiest Hyur on the whole damn server.

Hm. So Greased Lightning is a lore thing. That'll be fun to play around with and there seem to be lots of ways to open up the first chakra so that's good also. I suppose its all down to my approach now. Hmmm... is there anything else? Hmmm... -thinks-

So. Much. Info! This is great! I think we've effectively hammered out every question I had. My only real question left is how easy / difficult it is to open up your first chakra and what the effects of doing that might be on someone trained and someone untrained talented. Where this swell of aether might be and the difference it would have on a person who's never encountered it before. I know it grants them additional power but how exactly? How does that translate outside of combat and training? How easy is it to put the lid back on it for everyday life? I saw a very interesting video about the Monk relic weapon Sphairai and its nods towards actually curbing their immense power and learning to strike with enough force needed and not obliterate their foes simply because they can. I'm reminded of that one scene in DBZ where Goku and Gohan keep breaking glasses while holding them because they're constantly super saiyan.

That's basically what I meant with the whole comparison to tie into MP vs. TP. Casters are expelling the aether from their Chakra to perform their magic, while a MNK's aether is not leaving the body at all. Instead, it is being used to bolster physical skills and thus is more likely to cause a physical fatigue/"out of TP" situation rather than an aetherically drained/"empty MP pool" one. And rest (or medicines/food/etc) helps recover from both. Or something. Ah! Then we're once again on the same page! It certainly would make sense when you consider Monks must train both mind and body. The body being the more emphasised in this case to be able to withstand the fatigue of whatever they're attempting to do.

And whoever is telling you that you can't do this, tell them to speak with me. Do what you want. I don't anyone is being told they can or can't do anything, simply just debating on how we think things might work. Though back to the topic of aether gathered, aether spent. I'm left wondering if when a Monk uses their chakra and aether if they actually expel it at all. Maybe it loops back around without ever leaving in the body in most cases and is un-shaped, re-purposed and joins back with the natural flow before being called on again. I suppose there are a few skills Monk posses that do unleash energy such as Rock Breaker, Arm of the Destroyer and Howling Fist but the majority of their abilities seem to use aether to internally bolster rather than externally expel. Rather than suffering from aether fatigue I think its far more likely that overcharging their bodies has a muscle fatigue like effect to act as their limitations rather than running lower on aether.

Oh! thanks for the info. Do you have any notion as to how long it would take someone to open up simply one chakra via training alone? Its an avenue I've considered except my character has never even attempted to do so. He has Pugilism training from an old Ala Mhigan Monk (Whom he has no idea is a Monk, nor does he even know Monk's exist at all). He assumed this man, who was taken in by his tribe, was simply a very capable fist fighter of some sorts. My character has innate ability as a Monk that he's completely unaware of so my real question is, training and focus aside, how likely is it for someone who is untrained but talented to stumble upon a place of power and open his fist gate without actually knowing how to or what is actually happening? [EDIT] I love that diagram! [EDIT again] The diagram suggests that chakra feed the mana pool which is then drawn upon to perform Monk feats. Is the mana pool used as a place to pull from or simply a stop off point before being re-purposed. I assume the latter as Monk skills don't require MP to use... unless im' just not reading it right.

That is a very nice way of looking at it and one happen to agree with. I like the idea if chakra being the internal aether and chakra gates being points of refinement and focus. This is actually useful to me as my character will be pretty much learning about what it mean to be and perform as a Monk on his own. There will be a Gary Oak nemesis of course but hell, she doesn't want this newbie swooping in to take her aether wellsprings! I may request that every now and again she leaves very subtle hints about what he's doing wrong or obscure instruction on what he should be doing as a sort of compass for him. In short, i'm more so seeking a philosophy for him to explore in terms of chakra, chakra gates and the flow of aether. Your explanation seems to resonate with me a lot... I might steal it. >.> [EDIT] On the subject of places of power. I wonder if the Steps of Faith will count as one after the big old battle there? It'd be really cool to have all the Monk RPers turn up to duke it out for it.

That's what I'm currently wondering. Are the Chakra points merely faster methods of getting aether to a point in the body, or do they also serve to bolster and amplify that aether - purposing it to perform a certain function? Or is one's personal aetheric well (or life energy) enough to do the feats Monks are supposedly able to perform? I feel that each opened chakra point serves as an additional refinement point for the body. Having more aether at your disposal doesn't necessarily equal to being more potent. More aether, same amount of potency. I lean towards chakra points being a foci like you suggested, the more gates you have, the more aether you can pour in and the more times you can refine before you send it on its way to be used.

There is mention to the fact that a wellspring of aether attunes to the life force of the monk present then is send all haywire for a time. This suggests it recovers for others to use further along in time. I am left wondering if every Monk who ever attuned there has a link to it and pulls from it and any other wellspring they've attuned to when they fight. At the same time, perhaps that injection of aether is simple just to open up their chakra and that's it. In regards to chakra, it would be interesting to know if certain chakra's are required to perform certain feats. Are Job skills learned as result of a corresponding chakra gate being opens and allowing the learning and use of it? I feel they could learn the forms easily enough... but performing them correctly might very well need certain chakra's or even just one. I personally like the idea that their internal aether is moved around, gathered and shaped by the chakra gates then moved to where it needs to be. Fists of Earth would be cool like that, chakra shaped aether moving to the point of damage taken in the instant it is taken to soften the blow. [EDIT] - Welp! Two posts in the time it took me to reply!

I wrote this while Melkire posted up his own quotes from the MNK quest line. Given that extra information, it sounds to me like they are drawing in that aether that is "aspected" towards combat and that is what "opens" their chakra. My theory is that they are effectively using that aether to bolster a point of power within one's own body - key points in their personal aetheric/life stream flow - into becoming the focii for their abilities. This allows them to refine their aether into physical feats. All other focii presented are external, to manifest aether on an external source. The chakra are internal focii, which is why it solely affects the user. The user then uses that internal manifestation to then cave some dude's skull in. Huh. That's a nice way of looking at it. Would you perhaps say that if that is the case they simply move aether from one place to another to augment the body? Or maybe flood it from head to toe? I personally think that they would move the aether around the body where needed in order to perform their amazing feats and stay relatively unstrained in the process. This would lend to the fact that a lot of training is needed in order to do what they do based on that assumption alone, not to mention learning the forms they use in the first place. I also wonder if each 'Fist' stance is a result of moving the aether from one place or another. Earth being full body for defense, Wind being primarily legs and Fire being anywhere that would make contact with their foe such as the fists and feet.