Finding the inspiration to write lately has been hard so what better way than to write about the thing I am doing pretty much every day of my life – The critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy XIV. Perhaps I should try better to marry my passion for writing and enjoyment of this video game a little more as I might have more to write then. Anyway, I have been playing since May and this game has become more than just a game to me lately, it’s become part of my social life, my weekly routine and, well, something to do that’s just for me. There is a lot to this game that I could talk about actually come to think of it but today I’m going to focus on the current progression route I’m doing which is savage raiding.
If you had asked me a few months ago, back towards the end of September if I would be part of a semi-static raid team clearing current savage content I would have 1) asked what a static was and 2) laughed and be confused. I’ve gushed before about the FC I’m in because honestly they are a great bunch of people and the ones that are most frequently online I get on with really well and that started when I joined in farming dragon mounts towards the end of last year. I have been told that during farming The Seat of Sacrifice I became Avalon 2.0 because I started playing the game better after chatting with some of the more experienced players about my rotation. Also that fight taught me a lot about different mechanics and what to pay attention to when. It’s basically when I became a good Machinist. For those that don’t know, I don’t know why you’re reading it, but it’s my preferred job to play and it’s not very complicated. Although, I was making it complicated by constantly pressing the wrong buttons. So that got fixed and then I practised and practised and practised and now I am a slightly more than mediocre machinist.
Anyway, back in December the new current raid tier Pandaemonium which is kind of like a take on hell. Literally in some ways, with inspiration from Greek mythology, which as someone that loves that kind of stuff, I find it pretty cool. There are currently four Asphodelos circles available, normal mode and, once you’ve completed those, you can unlock the savage raid tiers. This is basically the route you want to take if you currently want best in slot gear and maximum iLevel. Maximum iLevel means maximum power, and that then makes content easier to complete. Because I’ve been doing savage progression and buying new things with the weekly tomes I’ve finally got my MCH to iLevel 591 which you know what feels bloody brilliant.
We have a static team within the FC and we are currently doing the raids as a group two or three times a week. It is fun but it’s also like banging your head against a wall multiple times and not really being able to reap the rewards because there is no guarantee you will get the clear. But the absolute BEST feeling is getting that clear, finally. Honestly, the battle high you feel afterwards is fantastic, there is nothing like it in a video game when you have been working on completing something for weeks and you get it down. I’m really glad I’m doing it with the people in the FC because we all share that same team spirit and no one makes you feel bad about messing something up which is an experience you get when you’re searching through party finder for progression parties. Having discord is really helpful for me too because I can get a little overwhelmed with having to hit stuff, look elsewhere, move and avoid danger zones all at once. Having voice communication makes it so much nicer and keeps the camaraderie going.
The first fight took me about three weeks to finally get the first clear but when I did it felt amazing. I think it was actually with a PF group in the end as potentially some of us couldn’t make it. It’s just when you see that HP getting to 3% and below and you know you’ve still got three attacks incoming and you know you’re going to get it the elation rises. We were all thrilled to beat the first savage fight after many, many hours or trying to work out Intemperence and Fourfold Shackles – two mechanics that can very quickly wipe the whole raid team if they get done wrong. I’ve now cleared this fight five times because it has a weekly lockout which means that basically you can clear it once for full rewards, twice for half rewards and anything after that you get nothing. Don’t get me wrong I am sure we will have times where we wipe and do not clear it on the first run, but, we are getting better each time.
The second fight we’ve been working on for about three weeks again and I finally got my clear on Sunday which was interesting because I was pretty hungover. It was another party finder group because it was a spur of the moment choice to go in and get it done. I think it was five of the normal team, our two tanks, a healer, me and my tax wife as DPS. The second fight is very different to the first because it feels like you’ve got a big arena but you actually don’t as the whole area feels frequently with water so you end up having a really narrow platform to run around for most of the fight. We have fondly nicknamed some of the mechanics bumper cars, Fake Fundamental Synergy (a reference to Omega 12 Savage – the only other savage fight I’ve cleared), and, safety nipples. The thing is when you have a fight like this that you are progressing through and trying to learn you need to have a bit of a laugh with it or it becomes a little soul destroying. Anyway, first clear for P2S and once again the five of us that were on voice chat with each other, well, you could hear the absolute joy for each other for getting it done. We still need to get the clear for the FC static team and I think we can get it down this week. Of course that means we then have to go into the third circle and that’s a fight I don’t like on normal mode let alone savage. No doubt it will prove to be an interesting next few weeks.
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