Therese

May I ask a little bit about Pathfinder? I have honestly never heard anything about it!

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've been here. So, I'm looking for a new FC for my Au Ra main! She's an adopted Gridanian that has spent the past six years looking for her tribe. She's a bit shy, but has had extensive experiences as a wanderer, hunter, gatherer, and tradeswoman with the Beastman tribes. She's currently seeking a place to call home, and is looking for a good-aligned FC with perhaps an interest in adventuring and using her skills in a way that is beneficial for Eorzea. Some other points to know: - She was adopted to a family of fishers south of Fallgourd Float - She has three brothers and two sisters whom she loves dearly - She has secluded herself away from the 5 races and is a bit timid around them at first, but opens up when she feels comfortable and certain they won't kill her for being part-dragon - She is a very good-aligned character, and has a strong sense of morality and appropriate behavior, but also understands that survival frequently trumps pleasantries - She has a tendency to whisper her thoughts, not being used to actually having people around to hear her - Skill-wise she has done plenty of odd jobs such as bodyguarding, hunting, and very (very) basic tailoring, tanning, and carpentry. Her most proficient skills are surviving off of the land and trading Thank you for looking and I hope to see you in the world soon.

Well, I do encourage you to go ahead and explore the options the other people have presented here as good ones. It seems you are on the right track, anyway. I would also add that just because your character can do something in-game does not mean they necessarily need to be able to do it in-character. I do like being able to tie in other aspects of my character to mine, but I also recognize that there is only so much I want my character to be ABLE to do... even if I myself play all the things. As an example, my character is a Brawler. This means that she draws mainly from the Pugilist gear -- and that's all. I don't want her to be a Monk. It's a separate part of lore and story that doesn't fit with her story as a wandering vagabond. I actually makes me slightly alarmed when somebody starts to RP off of her while I'm in my AF2. I have to sputter and go "no, wait wait!" and swap out to my RP civies and feel awkward and ashamed afterward. /)._.(\ So throwing that out there too: just because your character can do things doesn't mean you have to do it in character too if you don't want to.

Well, you are contrasting two very distinct and contradictory characteristics. Heavy, froth-like anger doesn't really go with a happy and carefree personality. ^^; Though that being said, I do have a couple of songs that comes to mind: The first is just what I'd call "anxious." Nothing angry, per se, but you definitely get a sense of excitement and irritation. Things are happening and quick decisions need to be made or else something really bad is about to happen: JET98oMyl_I This second one is more in line with the music you've posted. Though the sense that I have is it's less "getting to that moment" and more "already there." But it's still a bit more lighthearted than heavy metal. 8sWLXF4kiYU Hope this helps!

Since I already did my essay on the Allagan rot strategy: Here's Turn 1 ==The ADS== The first challenge is a gear check called the ADS. This is set in a narrow hallway, with some nooks and crannies but for the most part just that lone path. ADS moves: Repelling Lasers: A large AoE around the ADS. Does about 2500 damage. Line Laser: A large Line move that also does about 2500 damage. Unlike the other moves, the ADS will randomly pick one other player that is not the tank as a target. This might mean that it will move away from the melee or the tank, depending on how far away the ADS is from it's intended target. High Voltage (Silenceable): An area-wide AoE that deals about 1500 damage plus adds a 10s paralysis. An incredibly dangerous move because it works in combination with Repelling Lasers and Line Laser. This move can be prevented, however, as it is Silenceable. You will need to be sure to have at least two bards and/or paladins to do this (or one Monk that really knows what they are doing and takes a hit from Repelling Lasers). The fight: The fight starts as normal with the tank/melee dps going in and the ranged/healers stick to the opposite end. Tanks and melees need to avoid Repelling Lasers, while everyone needs to be aware of and avoid the line laser. As the fight progresses different nodes will spawn on the opposite end of the hallway: Offense Node, Defense Node, and/or Maintenance Node. These nodes need to be taken by the Off-Tank and kept away from everyone. I am not sure (as I have never seen) the moves of these nodes. But my experiences tell me that all they do is melee for about 600 to 800. Once the third node starts popping up the ADS needs to be pretty much dead or else the OT may run the risk of getting overwhelmed and then the healers will die shortly afterward. Also the OT needs to keep the nodes away from the ADS as they will apply offense, defense, or healing buffs on the ADS (you will see a tether if this happens). Now pre-2.2, most groups would struggle to bring down the ADS before the OT gets overwhelmed. It WAS a common strategy to keep running it until the LB gauge filled and then use the filled LB to drop the ADS. Nowadays most people are sufficiently geared that they can drop the ADS without needing to fill the LB gauge. ==Post ADS== Post ADS is a pretty standard dungeon romp with a lot of trash mobs. The only really major thing that you need to be aware of are the Dark Matter Slug's AoE damage + slow and the Dark Matter Pelican's cone move that petrfies. There will also be two Dark Matter Golems that do a really strong True Grit (about 3000-4000 damage cone aoe) and Obliterate (about a 2500 to 3000 unavoidable AoE to all party members). Just position them right., make sure the heals keeps the tanks from dying, and keep everybody topped off so the Obliterate doesn't wipe the group. Pretty easy. There's ALSO a Dark Matter Coeurl that guards a treasure chest in the fight. A lot of groups used to fight it on the off-chance some Allagan gear dropped from it. But since nothing does we now avoid fighting it completely. (I wonder if this will change in 2.2, though...) ==Caduceus== The boss of T1 is a snake mob called Caudeus. This guy is pretty rough and can drop most people if they aren't careful. The arena: The yellow parts of the arena will cause a debuff called bleed that will do about 200 damage per tic and give you heavy. Players need to stand on the blue hexagons in the middle of the arena if they want to avoid this. Also periodically the hexagons will glow blue. If people stay on the arena while they are blue a Dark Matter Slime will be spawned. The slime deals about 300 to 500 damage per melee attack and will explode for about 4000 if the person that spawns it gets too far away. This is an important mechanic, and should not always be avoided by all the party members... more on that later, though. Caduceus' moves: It has a cleave attack that does about 2000 to 2500 to everyone in melee range in front of it. It has a tail swipe attack that deals about 2500 to 3000 to a cone attack behind it. This move can be triggered by walking into range, and since it takes about a second to go off is a pretty decent way to take hate off the tank. This move has about a 10 second cooldown. It will spit out venom on a random player that's not a tank. This move deals about 1000 damage and will drop a debuff that deals about 200 to 300 damage per tic. Just walk out of it to avoid this. Periodically in the fight it will get a buff called which increases the damage each attack will do (it is about 1.3 to or 1.5x). This buff can be increased up to 9 times (so 1.3x, 1.6x, 2.0x, 2.3x or 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x, etc.) This can cause the cleave move to deal massive damage (I once got hit for about 12,000) and should be avoided. Near about the same time as he gets a buff parts of the arena will light up as mentioned earlier. If a player gets a dark matter slime to Caduceus, the snake will eat the slime which will remove one of it's buffs. Feeding a slime will also heal Caduceus upwards to about 8 to 10% of it's maximum health, so the slime should be worn down before feeding it to Caduceus which will decrease the amount healed. Finally at about 66% health Caduceus will split in two. Each Caduceus has about 33% of the original Caduceus' health and has all the same moves (including the buff mechanic), defense, and damage potential as the original snake. Each snake will also keep the buff state the original snake have. If the two Caduceuses get too close they will recombine and then will enrage, which goes straight to the max buff. In addition, if one of the snakes dies before the other snake, the snake that remains will also enrage, going straight to the cap. Caduceus's Strategy: Buff as normal. The ranged dps and heals should then move behind the snake and spread out to avoid the venom spit. Once the ranged are in position, the tank will pull, bringing it to the tips of the trapezoid-like shape, on the corner of three of the hexagons. The melee dps and off tank engage as normal, making sure to watch out for it's cleave. One of the melee dps or tank may also choose to trigger the tail swipe move, which will keep off damage for a little bit. This is optional, however. Once the first buff goes out one of the ranged DPS or off tank needs to move onto a glowing platform to spawn one dark matter slime. The rest of the melee, ranged dps, healer, and main tank needs to move off of the glowing platforms to make sure no more than that one slime spawns. The off tank or ranged dps then whittled down their dark matter slime and feeds it to Caduceus. This could happen two or three times depending on how long it takes to drop Caduceus down to 66%. You should also keep in mind that two of the glowing spot locations are on the far ends of the arena past a part that will make a person heavy. This could potentially make Caduceus have a buff which isn't removed. This is dangerous because once the boss splits both snakes will have the buff. If this happens you may choose to have two players get slimes, which will remove both applications of the buff. Once the snake splits the off tank takes the second caduceus to the other side of the arena. The dps then choose one of the snakes to wear down while the off tank and a healer keeps the second caduceus occupied. IN THEORY you can maintain the slime feeding strategy at this point. This would keep the buff counter down and make tanking the snake much more manageable. ...most people don't do this, however, and choose to simply focus on bringing down one snake close to death and then moving to the second snake. This forgoes the mechanic and makes the entire fight a race to bring both the snakes close to death before either of the tanks falls. Once one snake is down either DPS or Limit Break the second snake and you've finished the fight. Now, if the tank fails to keep their buffs up or if the healer fails to keep their tank up the only strategy to do at that point is to bring the two snakes together and attempt to kite it. As the biggest damage attack at this point is the cleave, this IS still a possibility but it has now become much more difficult to achieve, especially if the remainder snake has more than 10% health. The tank also needs to keep in mind that if an LB is going to be used they need to stop for 3 to 5 seconds to fire it off. This could be really dangerous however and could potentially kill the tank if they are not careful. After the boss is dropped Turn 1 is over and you can proceed to Turn 2. Hurray!

EDIT: Corrected things now with Merri's help. I did it ONCE. I can tell you right now I prefer the enrage method. Now, this is an overview of the strategy of the ADS: Each Sphere you kill on the way to the ADS removes an ability in the ADS arsenal. It also gives the ADS a permanent buff for the rest of the fight or until you reset it out. You will need to kill at least three to get the ADS, which means that three abilities get locked out and it will get three buffs. People took that in consideration which is why you have the path that most people take. What most people knock out is chain lightning and firestorm. Primarily now it's because these are the ones with the easiest mechanics to knock out. The ADS will then keep three abilities: gravity well, a water crescent, and Allagan rot. It will also keep it's stacking debuff that it applies to the tank, high voltage (which is always silencable) and it's laser ability. So the traditional set up will work as normal, silencing the high voltage and staying away from the massive aoes (mind you I played Monk so my experience varies to the mage/healers). The tanks do their swap thing while keeping a safe distance from the jackass. At about 75% it has the most infamous attack, Allagan Rot. This is what it does: The player will have a debuff that does nothing but is instead a timer that counts down (this is 15 seconds). If the person's timer drops to 0 a huge AoE explosion occurs and everyone dies. How a person gets rid of it is by physically getting close to another person. This "passes" the debuff from the first person to the next, resetting the timer (since it is a new application.) The player that passes the rot also gets a 40 second immunity debuff which means that they can't receive the rot again until those 40 seconds are up. This means that when the next person's timer drops they need to move to another person to pass it again, resetting the timer and getting the immunity. This basically makes this part of the fight a game of debuff hot potato. Since there is a little time 5 players can pass this around safely -- usually three ranged dpses and the two healers. Once it hits about 50%, it kicks in the second ability, a gravity well. This ability isn't too bad. It will randomly targets a player and that person would get heavy + a DoT debuff as long as they are in the thing. It lasts about 20-30 seconds and there will be a little cool down before the next one goes up. The primary thing that this interferes with, though, is stepping out of it's laser attacks and the Allagan rot. At about 25%, the ADS learns a water crescent move that has an atypical shape in melee-mid-length range. People that get hit with it take a couple of thousand water damage and get knocked back. Mostly this thing is surprising when it first starts and is something to keep in mind thereafter. It works horrendously with rot and screw up the cycle rotation. So how the fight works is the two tanks (and, potentially, the melee DPS) engages the ADS and starts fighting. The five (or six) ranged attackers spread out in a circle shape on the other side in preparation of the rot. They are also numbered using 1 - 2 -3 -4 - 5 Things continue as normal, with the bards/paladin silencing high voltage and everybody avoiding the area attacks. One the gravity well goes down the ranged attackers maintain the same relative formation and move away from it to accommodate for the decrease in the size of the arena. Once Allagan rot goes out, the person who receives it (if ranged) waits for the timer to tick down past 12 seconds but no more than 15. They then move to the next person in line and applies the rot debuff. That person then waits another 12 to 14 seconds before moving on to the next. This whole time they also need to keep in mind the ADS' moves and respond accordingly. It's trickier than it sounds and very easy to lose track of when you need to move. This keeps going until the end of the line in which case the 5th person moves back to the 1st to begin the cycle all over again. Another other thing to keep in mind is that the rot can apply to the tanks and melee that you have. Rather than have either of them run to the back to become a part of the rotation one of the people in the line should go TO the melee/tank to take the rot away and start the rotation from there. Also while trying to keep from getting killed with the ADS's aoes and cleaves. As you can see this is like balancing on a chair while there's a firehose trying to spray you down. The thing isn't that hard, but it requires coordination and if anybody dies the cycle is pretty much screwed.

So I've been lurking around this post because this is definitely relevant to what I'm currently trying to do. :3; So I'm an i90 (just got it yesterday, woo to a successful coil run) and like all of you I've been having a HELL of a time getting groups that are willing to put up with *gasp* LEARNING. This was even more especially frustrating as I picked up the content from scratch and I got bludgeoned, landslided, deadly wheeled, and I'm pretty sure a plane hit me once. Even Mr. Happy's guides do not go over the sheer amount of carnage these fights bring to other people. And they are meant to. And that is fine. But what makes it more frustrating and if anything becomes almost as daunting with these fights is dealing with the PEOPLE that run them. I remember when I would used to brag about people being open, honest, and friendly when doing dungeon runs, FATEs and asking questions about progression. Where the heck did all those people go? Now I know and I understand that these things are hard. I know that people just want to get them done. And it does suck when a person is in the process of learning and they make mistakes: with the run that I am on, Titan EX, one failed DPS pretty much makes the entire run unwinnable... never mind a failed healer or tank. Getting caught in groups with people that consistently causes wipes is frustrating and I don't blame people for not wanting to do them. But at the same time these three strikes you're out rule (which I will agree with synaesthetic about this) is really disruptive to the learning process and if anything maintains a group of people that want to succeed ignorant and the ones that know how to fight together in their own little niches. It's this sort of behavior that I find really disgusting and makes me really disappointed in the members that make high-end PvE their thing.

Celeste would say she doesn't own a mount... but that a big Gobbue keeps following her. And she would caution ANY of you not to feed Gobbues. Because they eat a lot and you'll never get rid of them. :c

Celeste has been around the block a few times. So when she's touched, she usually deduces that the reason for it is hostile or sexual and replies quickly with a fist to the head/eye sockets/jaw/temple or a swift kick to the groin/stomach/sternum. This is usually the case 9 times out of 10. During that 1 time out of 10 it isn't any of those things, she... flips out, basically. She's used to a vagabond's lifestyle and the few people that have helped shown her affection makes her awkward and uncomfortable and she feels bad that it makes her feel awkward and uncomfortable. ;c

Not only do I think this is a good idea, I might actually make a Mountain Lala... Though I was coming here to make a crack that a Mountain lala's biggest impediment would be a rock bigger than waist-high.

So to all the people that like Dancer for Monk... PREPARE TO BE JOSSED. > Brawler Requires: Pugilist 30, Marauder 15 Role: DPS "A brutal warrior that solves his/her problems with a steel resolve and an iron will. Powerful, forceful, and completely lacking in subtly, this warrior wades through enemies with fierce bravado and unyielding spirit." Skills: Lv. 30 -- Sucker Punch -- Melee Range, 120 Damage, 160 from the flank. 80 TP. Additional effect: Applies a debuff that increases damage from all sources by 5%. 8 seconds (with diminish returns on each application). Additional effect requires Opo-Opo form. Changes stance to Raptor form. Lv. 35 -- Foot Plant -- Instant Cast, off GCD, 120s CD. Decreases damage taken by 10%. Grants immunity to knockback and draw in effects. 5 second duration. Lv. 40 -- Fists of Thunder -- Increases total critical hit % by 5 so long as Fists of Thunder is effect. Cannot be used with Fists of Wind and Fists of Earth and shares a recast timer with both. Effect ends on reuse. Lv. 45 -- Simian Smash -- Melee range, Instant Cast, off GCD, 120s recast. Deals 100 times the number of greased lightning buffs the Brawler currently has. The Brawler loses all applications of Greased Lighting afterwards. Lv. 50 -- Megatonze Punch -- Melee range, 100 damage, 180 from the front. Requires Coerul form. Applies a debuff that decreases defense by 5%. 8 seconds (no diminish returns). Additional effect: Grants Greased Lighting buff. Additional effect: Changes stance to Opo-Opo form. AF looks a bit like:

Weeeelp, most of the ones I was going to say has already been taken (Twilight over Thanalan, Titan's Theme, Garuda's Theme, [spoiler's] Theme) so I'll just go ahead and put this up: http://myfreemp3.eu/music/Before+Meteor+FFXIV Incidentally, both the boss themes mentioned so far are there: "Nemesis" which is the standard boss music "The Dark's Embrace" which is the hard mode versions (though I thought this was just Haukke? :?) A few special recommendations: The three old City-State Themes which are all available on youtube: "Born of the Boughs" "Navigator's Glory" "The Twin Faces of Fate" The old zone songs: "On Windy Meadows" and "Freedom" was old La Noscea "Whisper of the Land" was old Black Shroud "Twilight over Thanalan" was, obviously, Thanalan "Tears for Mor Dhona" was, again obviously, Mor Dhona (an awesomely creepy one at that) And a few other various battle themes and area themes that are quite good. "Nail of the Heavens" "Quick as Silver, Hard as Stone" "Flightless Wings" "Quicksand" And a special nod to "Tempest" which was used in the first round against 1.0's final boss and is QUITE the roller coaster.

Right right, now that you mention this I definitely remember that being stated. It has honestly been a long time. Well, the only other mention of Leviathan was that the previous (Sixth) Umbral Era was called "The Sixth Umbral Era of Water." There was some people that have suggested this meant the entire world was covered by a great flood and Leviathan may have been the culprit. Though at this point that is also mostly speculation. Honestly I would argue that undoing a tempering process for another mage would be profoundly more easier than undoing the bond of a primal (since that is what it sounds like this is where it's going). As far as another mortal is concerned their ability to effect and influence the aether will never be as profound as a primal, which appear to be beings of the aether made physical manifest. I suppose you can think of it in terms of water. You have some individuals that can affect the flow of water in a very minimal way (such as dipping your hand and splashing somebody), then you have others that can affect the flow in a bigger way, (such as cupping a whole handful and throwing it at somebody). Now just as each person is endowed with their own natural body, they only have so much of that water (energy) within themselves. The transcience of life means that eventually the body will die and that energy will be returned. This is different than the primals themselves, who ARE the water. And in the above analogy with splashing and the throwing, their flow of water would be opening up a fire hose and dousing them utterly. As they are made of the stuff, they can do so without fundamentally giving away too much of themselves. Which now brings me to an interesting question. Since tempering is a fundamental change to the aether of a person's being, how would a mage temper another individual? --In theory-- (and assuming how I am conceptualizing tempering in the above analogy as really how this whole process works) this would mean that they are giving up a part of their aether into another person to make that person "of" them. While this could also work --in theory-- it also means that the person fundamentally gave a part of their own aether (aka. their own life stream) into another person. Were a mage to do this too much and without any means of restoring their own natural aether, they would essentially hollow out their own body and make themselves a lifeless husk.

After reading your last post, I think this is getting into conceptually uncharted territories for a storyline that we're not getting as much context to as we will need to make even a decent stab at what's going on metaphysically. (Say that three times fast.) Anywhos, I'll circumvent that previous bit of information -- I honestly can't say what would happen because hellall if I understand it -- but as far as primal tempering this is how I've seen in-the game. Mentally: As we are all aware, the Primals themselves appear to possess their own unique personalities and preferences. Not all Primals are made from the same cloth. You have Ifrit, who is the poster child of aggression and domination, but then you have Titan who honestly struck me as a nurturing father that is ROYALLY PISSED at the player characters for causing harm/killing his "children," then you also have Garuda who is both proud, confident, and at the same time insecure and vindictive (though that might be my own personal interpretation). You can also see that the beastman that worship begin to take on personality traits of the Primal that they have summoned. If I recall correctly, the Amal'ja actually had peaceable trade relations with Ul'dah before they summoned their Primal. Afterwards their aggressiveness and tendency to raid caravans for aetheryte earned them the gall from the Jewel of the City. I think the best example we see are the Sylphs. The Sylphs originally had no intention of summoning Ramuh, but fear and destruction to the Shroud made them do so. After they summoned him (though we are told he did not heed their summon until he felt that his divine justice was needed), his tempering drew them toward a collective unit and they brought vengeance and retribution to those who would threaten their forest. Unlike the Amal'ja, who are destructive almost for the sake of destructiveness, the Sylphs still maintain their quizzical and playful demeanor. Only now they are using it for the service and protection of their woods rather than for fun and silliness. I think one thing that hasn't be touched on, though, is the fact that the tempering process effects the SOUL. This is a bit more severe than just touching a person in the mind -- though it appears they can do that too. This goes beyond just aligning a person's sense of what they want to do, but appears to go deeper to changing the fundamental reason a person was made to live. It is my belief that the individuals who appear shattered and broken due to this process are the ones that have had the biggest clash between what their heart and mind tells them they are and to what the change has made their soul TELL them to feel and believe. The ones that appear to handle this best are the ones that were more closely aligned to the primal in the first place. For these individuals it is not a change of their fundamental being but rather just a re-alignment of their desires and goals. Magic: I don't think you are wrong in the assumption that the Primals provide a measure of their magic to their subjects. All of the Beastman Tribes that have summoned their primal has some kind of buff and magical attack that utilizes this aspect. The Amal'ja love to use Enblaze, Blaze Spikes and Fire-based magic. The Sylphs use Enthunder and Thunder spells like they were tossing candy. The Ixal use Enaero and wind-based evasion buffs. And the Kobolds usually have a Mini Titan's Wrath move which works a lot like Titan's plumes. Now, as for right now --I don't think-- the Sahagin have been successful in summoning Leviathan --so far--. I know they are trying to, but as far as I am aware the Lord of the Whorl has yet to heed them. That being said, there is also a camp of Tempered Hyur and Lalafells just North of Zan'hraak. And I don't believe they used Fire as much as their Beastman counterparts. Communication: Of what i have seen, and if Hydaelaen is believed to be a Primal-like entity, the link between subject and primal is not two-way. I will agree wit the people that said that the communication between Primal and Tempered appears to have more in common with a one-way radio. "I will tell you what to do and you will obey." I suppose another video game analogy would be the Archdemon for the Darkspawn from Dragon Age.

A lone Hyur woman stared at this and considered the words careful. Especially to the original comments obvious conceit. "The knight hid behind Princess Petunia like a cowardly Lalafell."

Hrm. I need to go dig up that live letter, it would seem. :3;; EDIT: Okay, caught up. I can still dream, though. (At least my storyline stuff may still be a possibility...)

My character would be more than happy to be a supplier of ingredients When she's in the area/remembers that she's on this job/realizes that she needs money to eat/isn't worrying about feeding her gobbue/not feeling lazy.......

So, we are currently one month or so (give or take a couple of weeks) and I was wondering what you're thoughts are on what the new in-game content will be? Now, obviously we know tidbits of the stuff that will show up: Leviathan Hard Mode, new Coils runs, Amdapor Keep, and new Tomestomes. But what about the stuff they haven't told us about? Some of my thoughts:

Sure, I'll plan on attending: Your character’s name: Celeste Feldspar Their sex: F Race: Hyur Age: 22 A Hobby: Uh... fishing? Job: Wandering mercenary What they are seeking: (Male) Saturday or Sunday event?: (Sat) (with Sun if Sat falls through)

I'm going to throw in my own wrinkle into this mix. Now, I should sat at the onset that I roll a Monk. And I am (in my personal opinion), a damn good one. The Monk skill set has a lot of utility and potential. While there have been classes that have out damaged me (usually BLM, though sometimes I do run across a DRG or a BRD that gets higher on the aggro meter), the point is that right now I'm at a skill level where not being the top DPS doesn't bother me too much -- the other DPS just happened to be a little bit better and that's that. To the topic, I think that quite a few players take on the casting rolls because of their utility and their survivability. Sure, they get torn through as quickly as a tissue paper in the wash cycle, but the way the game mechanics are set up, if they fail it is entirely the mage's fault. They didn't notice the ability proccing. They didn't run out of the gaol. And nine times out of then when they do that, they die. We are also under the same constraints (and depending on the fight, we're also stepping aside and watching our melee range get swiped from under us), but 1) we actually do have a little bit more survivability than other classes (we can take one aoe to the face and survive -- not that I recommend it), and echoing what has been said 2) our dps is a constant and reliable source of damage. With the way the game is set up, we may not necessarily see the net benefit of our class. Since mobs are intended to take time to kill, it is the combined combination of multiple classes that finally falls the mob. The final result is that the contributions of each individual class (that is dealing damage) is harder to determine. In fact, it is easiest to notice a DRG or a MNK playing badly because it's taking that much longer for the thing to die... Now, here's my wrinkle. I'm a Monk. I am damn good at it. It's my class and I love it. But I also have an appreciation for the other classes, especially if they are melee, and have been giving DRG a shot. Currently I just hit 36 and I am bored. to. tears. I'm not sure if it's this level, or if it's the class itself, but the damage output and the effort I have been putting into it just doesn't seem significant. Worse, because there is no greased lightning effect, I feel like my DRG is plodding at the lowest gear and stuck there. I see things that are coming -- Disembowel looks amazing. And there are a couple more Jumps down the pike. But, and please forgive me from saying so, I can't help but feeling like DRG is a class that is for people who don't want to bother with the mechanics of MNK and get a slightly less potent dps as a compromise.

"It depends." For the most part, Eorzea is overall very tolerant of the other races. With the exception of a few handful, there really isn't one that is specifically getting the brunt of the hate. Considering the sheer variety of races, that's actually quite the feat. More than anything the blatant intolerance has more to do with the culture and society. Without knowing more about your character, I'll simply run through the cities each in turn: Gridania is, far and away, one of the least tolerant nations of the three. This is because their society is founded on the peace and tranquility of the Earth Spirits that dwell there. Bear in mind that these powerful forces prevented the entire society from entering at all for 200 years. It took the combined efforts of the Seedseers and probably even the blessing of Nophica to even get them to let them in. And when the Elementals are pissed whole villages can be wiped out. So this intolerance of outsiders is both conditioned and pragmatic. They have learned to be wary of other people who aren't versed in their ways -- because if any fool adventurer to do something they aren't supposed to they run the risk of getting everybody killed. More or less if you do that there they will pretty much disown you and let the wilds kill you for fear that something equal will happen to you as well. In addition, the Wildwood Elezen make their home there and have butt heads with the Seeker of the Moon Miqo'te, the Ala Mhigans, and the Ixal. They are fiercely territorial and even more so with a race that bears a close resemblance to themselves. (I always found this part interesting because the Padjals are all Hyur, but... details). Ul'dah actually doesn't have racism per se but that doesn't mean they aren't exclusive. They are essentially what happens in a society that values commerce and capitalism runs unchecked. The Syndicate, originally six members but are now down to a smaller number because some of them died during the calamity, ran the mining, alchemy, trade, bank, and religious temple of the entire city. Raubhan was a former member too after receiving significant fame and notoriety -- he owned the Colosseum -- but gave up his claim to become the General of the Immortal Flames. Anyways, the city runs on the axiom "whoever has the gold makes the rules." Those without, as evidence in Camp Drybone and the other refugee camps in the area suck majorly. As Duskwights have a history of being a race without a home, they may find this place especially oppressive unless their ingenuity and mercantile skills allows them the opportunity to make it rich... and be hopeful that their enterprise doesn't cross the syndicate's gaze. Limsa Lominsa is another weird case. The area boasts the greatest opportunity for freedom and opportunity but the whole area was cordoned off with martial law by Merlwyb before the end of the last era. As far as I know she's still acting as commanding Chief Admiral. This is far and away one of the biggest power grabs in the game (and something that I'm surprised nobody has called her out on), and she seems content to impose her own views and regulations on the entire island. She has control over the ship trade routes and boasts one of the most powerful navies Eorzea has seen (if not the ONLY navy Eorzea has seen...). Anyways, there is still freedoms and opportunities there... but you are going to be playing by Merlwyb's rules or not at all. A lot of pirates have been stuck trying to cultivate a land that has proven to be more or less uninhabitable in some areas (such as the struggling settlement of Poor Maid's Mill). Master Gegeruju (who appears to be a POWERFUL alchemist from Ul'dah) actually scoffs at the idea of taming the land and seems to have the right idea if you see how well cultivated he has made the Bloodshore region. So in this case instead of differences by groups or differences by wealth, you have differences by creed. The resentment and desire to go back to the sea is still seen within the pirates that are growing the crops... and full-scale revolt may come if Merlwyb doesn't find a way to make that land habitable for her people. So I'd say take the path you want with the lore and use them to work out what you want to do.

Favoriting this.

I knew that Garlemald happened 20 years ago, and in truth Celeste's father had been gone a long time. So long, in fact, that she was raised by a friend at the Cindalaes. This is one of the big reasons why she's wandering -- she's searching for her dad, who has been gone for a really long time (and everything else that implies...) Leomoon I had never heard this theory. o_o Also since people had the echo even before the fall of Dalamund at Cartaneau, I would say that theory is kiboshed. Ildur Well, actually... in 1.0 we did have some control over it though only incidentally. We would be provided with a scene and afterwards would have an opportunity to click on a glowing iridescent light. We'd then be prompted with the option "use the echo?" I was sort of curious with why they made that change, though it is nice that it's an ability no longer under our control. Incidentally, people are able to be made aware of the fact that you are using the echo on them. Kan-E-Senna's sister, Raya-O-Senna, got QUITE upset when she finds you in her memories. Calling you VERY rude. Lament I hope I can use it well! I am definitely aware of the possibility of really dumb people going "hur-ur-ur, tell me your backstory so I can know it too. :B" It's definitely an important consideration, though. =) General Notes: One thing I'm noticing is everybody equates the echo with the ability to enter into the past. That is only one of the abilities that is granted, and there appears to be varying degrees of being able to do that. There are other abilities that are involved with the echo -- the ability to sense other people's emotions, the ability to understand all languages, and the ability to enter the memories of those nearby. In Legacy, Minfilia led a group called The Path of Twelve, which housed a slew of Echo users. She mentions then that the people vary in their powers from being able to sense feelings, to communicating, to seeing visions -- and not all individuals had the same powers to the same degree. There was even a merchant Lalafell that found his ability to communicate with beastmen tribes was very helpful for his business. I'm pretty sure that the Sylphs were able to talk to you only because you have the Echo as well, but I'm not 100% sure if that's right. It was a long time ago...

So I've been punting around an idea in my head for my character, Celeste, and I'm just about finalized on most things. There are just a few small details that I would like to iron out... One of these is debating whether or not I should give Celeste the ability to use the Echo. Now, I know that in-game we're all "echo users," which appears to be a blessing of Hydaelen and allows the PCs to be able to do lots of incredible things, but I was wondering what the RPC thought about it as a character trait? For some context my character is one that came out of the Cindalaes in search for her father, who went home to Ala Mhigo when Garlamald attacked. She says openly she has been "touched by Oschon" which is a clever thing I came up with (if I say so myself) to mean she's a wandering vagabond. Now, one of the things that I thought would make her useful in a lot of RPs is knowing lots of different people during her travels -- from Limsa to Ishgard to Gridania. Mostly this would be in the form of casual contacts for freelance work, merchants that are honest and pay well, that sort of thing. Then it occurs to me that it may also be interesting if she had the echo to talk to the Beastmen tribes as well. This would be an added layer to her style which makes her much more open-minded (not that she needed any help there) and maybe a little strange (not that she needed any help there either). I'm mostly worried at the potential for mary sueishness though, since there are a lot of implications with possessing the echo. So what do you guys think? What could be some of the objections people might have as including this canon character trait to our RP characters?