Tag: FFXIV

A Heavy Case of FOMO

I have played FFXIV off and on since the start – and I have never been able to stick with it steadily for more than a month or two at a time. I have no idea why, on paper this is the perfect game for me. I have no issues sticking with other games (I played EQ, EQ2, and WoW almost exclusively for many years) but for whatever reason, I just can’t seem to do it. Every time I see people talking about this game I want to jump right back in. I want to do player housing. I want to explore the new Island everyone is excited about. I want to level all my crafters, classes, and harvesters. I want the cute transmog. I want to get invested in the lore.

I just cancelled my account last week. It has been open for a few months now and I think I logged in once. I have friends who actively play, and I have never been able to figure out why this game just doesn’t work for me.

If World of Warcraft would just add some player housing, I think it would have absolutely everything I want. I still continue to play and enjoy myself, but FOMO (fear of missing out) when it comes to FFXIV is *so* incredibly strong. I want to be a part of gaming communities, make friends, and expand my Twitch audience. That’s a difficult thing to do if you can’t seem to settle down anywhere.

For now I am pulling myself back and reminding myself that I do love WoW. That I do have an excellent community here. That there are people I’ve gotten to know and I look forward to interacting with each day. I need to find a way to be happy with myself and where I spend my time. It’s not like I don’t enjoy Warcraft, quite the opposite in fact. I just always wonder if the grass is truly greener on the other side (note, it’s not).

August 29, 2022 August 29, 2022 By stargrace In 2 Comments

It’s Time for a Wedding

Two friends I’ve “known” for years online decided to partake in a bonding ceremony in FFXIV – and I was invited! It was my first time ever participating, and I took so many screenshots. I really needed this moment to remind me why I love these games and why I play. It’s the stories they create, the friendships – I love everything about it.

Congratulations Jaedia & Rini! You two are wonderful.

For a while now I’ve been going through the motions of gaming without actually enjoying games the way *I* like to enjoy them. I enjoy roleplay! I enjoy stories. I’m not much of a hack and slash person – and it’s so easy to get swept up and to forget about WHY you play. In the brief stint that I was on Phoenix (EU server) I saw so many people playing out the stories of their characters, openly, where ever they were. It was INSPIRING.

I wish I had better words to convey the satisfaction of this event from a purely ‘soul healing’ level. If you get a chance to participate and help some friends out this way – I highly recommend it.

June 26, 2022 June 26, 2022 By stargrace In No Comment

Sporadic Posts – But I’m Here

Yikes, it has been over a month since I posted last, right after I made a personal decision to try to be better. Unfortunately life has been hectic, and some days my hands just don’t want to type so I have to decide between a bunch of things – and blogging has fallen a bit to the side.

I am still gaming, but it has been pretty limited and sporadic. I’ve been spending a little time all over the place (yay for restlessness) including: WoW, FFXIV, GW2, BDO, Wurm Unlimited, Wurm Online, and even LotRO. I’ve also been knitting, trying to keep up with my French, and drawing when I’m able to. My last post mentioned that I was working towards completing 52+ pieces this year, and I am on schedule for that and I can see myself improving, which really makes me smile. Back to the games!

FFXIV: I never played Endwalker when it came out, but I did pick it up. I didn’t realize the level cap went to 90 instead of 80, so I’ve just been taking my time and playing through the story. I am probably 0% into the MSQ so far, but my little bard has been having fun exploring the new areas. I still have dreams of one day owning a house, for now I still reside at an apartment.

WoW: Still my comfort game of choice. I’m playing two accounts in WoW. One is just for auction house stuff so that I can continue on my main account in the meantime and I’m not tied up reposting things all the time. I finally completed leveling 12 horde characters to 60 (one of each class) and I’m working on leveling 12 alliance characters to 60 (again, one of each class). It’s a bit of a quiet time in WoW, a lot of maintenance mode. I’m not enthralled with Shadowlands or any of the grinds Blizzard wants you to take part in (the grind in korthia feels exactly the same as the grind in zerith mortis) but it’s a comfortable and familiar game. Plus there are still some lovely people who work there and I do like to support them (of course I’m also paying for both accounts with gold, so it’s not THAT much support).

GW2: I just recently updated this game, I haven’t picked up the latest expansion yet and I have no idea what I was doing / thinking. So much has changed since I last played. Still, it has always been a game I enjoyed. There’s always so much to do. I appreciate that. I also like that there’s no subscription requirement and I can just support them here and there with store purchases if there’s something I want.

BDO: Still one of my ultimate favourite games of all time – because I can play it my way (randomly, afk, etc). The new winter zone was released (free content, might I add) as well as the new class (also free) and they’re releasing a new mount is coming out shortly. I still favour my Shai as my main and I spend a lot of time fishing, crafting, and leveling mounts. This game is beautiful and I rarely ever have anything bad to say about it. It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but it suits my playstyle perfectly.

Wurm: My 1st ultimate favourite game of all time. I still have an active account on the regular online servers and I check in a few times a month. I did just purchase a huge deed on one of the newer servers, but now I’m thinking of dropping it as I simply don’t have the time (or desire) to play there. I prefer the older servers, and my older characters. I keep hoping they decide to merge the north and south servers together but so far that hasn’t happened after two years and I am beginning to doubt they will ever merge them (players prefer them separate, which is understandable). I also still log in and play the unlimited version on the Sklotopolis server. There is a dedicated community and amazing developers who continue to update the game despite the fact that official support from the main game ended years ago. I have a lovely deed there, and I log in to make sure it doesn’t get disbanded.

That’s what I’m up to in gaming these days – it seems like a lot, but I’ll log in to one or two games throughout the course of a day, peek around, maybe do something for a few minutes, and then I tend to log out. It’s a combination of being too sore, too tired, and restlessness. We are planning for a cross country move soon(tm) so I don’t imagine my posting will increase in any great amount, but we’ll see.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

May 15, 2022 May 15, 2022 By stargrace In No Comment

Fall, Blogging, and Comforts

In my neck of the woods, the temperature is almost at the freezing mark, geese are flying South, and I know that snow is just around the corner (in case you’ve forgotten I only have three months of the year without snow, June, July, August. The rest typically have a little or a LOT of snow). Seasons showcase my gaming habits VERY well. Every single time this fall weather comes, I start getting nostalgic for my ‘usual’ games. Hence the screenshot above that shows off Wurm Online. My ultimate favourite MMO. In the stand alone version of the game I have over 5,000 hours logged (thanks steam) and I can’t even begin to imagine the hours I must have in the base MMO version of the game. I have 12 characters, three of those are premium right now. I have two deeds that span across the newer steam-released servers and the old school servers. I’ve met some incredible people through this game that I remain friends with to this day, and it’s probably the first MMO that I played for me, and not because everyone else was playing it (in fact these days maybe only one or two people I know still play it, no one else likes it any more for a variety of reasons).

It also explains why I subscribed to FFXIV. A game that I love for so many reasons, but can’t actively devote the time to playing right this second. It’s a busy time of year for my husband and that means I’m with the kids 24/7 (no childcare where we’re at). I’m incredibly excited about the expansion coming out in a few months, but I’m not even at the part of the story I need to be. I go in with big ideas about catching up, but I don’t know if that’s feasible. I do want to remind people who are also trying to catch up that there are pay options to skip the first few expansion MSQ if that’s more to your liking. It won’t let you do that with the current / final expansion, but you can pay for both levels and MSQ unlocks in the shop.

Let’s talk about that a second. It’s obviously an option that is not for everyone, and not everyone is comfortable with doing that – but it doesn’t HURT anyone, and so if someone else has chosen to go that rout I really wish the community would rally behind them and appreciate that they’re playing at all instead of begrudging them for the fact that they skipped content. Not everyone plays the same, not everyone has the same time allowance, and allowing people to skip the MSQ on older content lets more people in the door and that is good!

Now what does all of this have to do with blogging?

Blogging for me, is comforting. This year I’ve made an effort into writing every single day, or at least posting an article up every single day and I’m really happy and proud about that. When my kids were born I found myself learning how to balance everything and I knew some things would have to take a step back especially if it was a particularly difficult week. Blaugust has been a great reminder on reassessing the balance in my life, and making time for the things I love – and that includes writing. While I still have to work on the community aspect and making time for that, it’s a start. I think each year I participate I learn a little bit more, I grow more appreciation, and I discover some amazing blogs while doing it.

It’s OK to do what’s comfortable – but there’s also something to be said for pushing yourself a bit, and growing. Whether it’s as a gamer, or a writer, or some other aspect.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

August 24, 2021 August 24, 2021 By stargrace In , No Comment

Just a Girl and her Fat Cat

It was too beautiful not to take a picture of. Lately all I’ve had time for is harvesting, I’ve been trying to get those timed nodes that pop up every so often so I can complete my mining log book. Why? Well, why not! It’s relaxing, to say the least. I’ve also made some good coin selling the materials. I know I could hang onto them and turn them into something then sell that something, but for now this is a nice easy way of generating a little income.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

August 22, 2021 August 24, 2021 By stargrace In No Comment

Let’s Harvest

I often log into an MMO not to actually do anything in particular, but just to enjoy the fact that there are other ‘people’ around. I spend a lot of time with my kids (in fact, all of my time is spent with my kids) and I need some sort of extra interaction or I just want to watch conversations float by without really being a part of them. Harvesting in FFXIV is the perfect addition to this. I’ve been going through my log book and completing harvests one at a time, marking them off of my list. I use this in conjunction with FFXIV TeamCraft which I absolutely adore.

It will display a map, and even create routes for you to travel to collect the resources that you haven’t collected yet. I’m hoping to put these items on the auction house, or even just give them to my retainer and then craft with them and put THOSE items on the market. One of the super handy features of FFXIV TeamCraft is that it will take the items you have, and tell you what recipes you can make (and even tell you which recipes are missing only one or two components to make something).

I also need to complete the DoH/DoL jobs that I’ve been neglecting. The only one I’ve completed is mining, and that was ages ago. Once again I’m in awe of all the things ‘to do’ in game, and I love that there are so many options, be they crafting, harvesting, adventuring, or something else.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

August 21, 2021 August 21, 2021 By stargrace In No Comment

I Want to Catch Up

A ton of my friends are playing FFXIV right now. World of Warcraft is also still being played, but it’s not boasted about as much. I’m playing EQ2 (and EQ1) and meandering my way along – but let’s face it, most of the time you want to be playing where all of your friends are playing. I love FFXIV and I was playing it a lot this year, but no one I knew was playing at the same time as me. I was on a different server (I’m not even sure why) and basically just going through the motions.

Then friends started to trickle back, and then they absolutely flooded back, especially with the announcement of a new expansion. I started getting excited too. I haven’t finished the MSQ (main story quest) yet with current tier content, I think I’m on quests around level 75 or so. I still have things to unlock, and quests to work towards. Not only that, but I absolutely love crafting in this game, so I’ve got that to work on, too. I just recently raised all of my DoH (disciple of the hand) jobs to 70+ (with one at 80) and all of my DoL (disciple of the land) jobs have been at 80 for some time. I also finally leveled a class I enjoy to 80 (bard) so that means I’ve got both bard and dancer sitting there. Next, a healer. Then maybe a tank – having one of each type of job is handy for those days when I want to play one thing or another. FFXIV caters to people like me who always have a BILLION alts – but who don’t really WANT a billion alts, we just want to be able to do it all. Now I can. Easily. Inventory is probably my greatest hold, and I recently went through and cleaned out my retainers making some hefty gil in the meantime thanks to all those new players.

Any way. The point is I WANT to catch up before Endwalker. I’ve got 90 some odd days I believe, and I’m confident that if I actually PLAY the game, I can get there. Or you know I may just continue on as I have been, dipping into all of the pots out there and just enjoying myself. Who knows.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

August 17, 2021 August 18, 2021 By stargrace In 4 Comments

What is it about FFXIV vs. WoW

If you’re involved in either the FFXIV or the WoW community these days, chances are you’ve heard a lot of ‘this game vs. this game’ videos on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and other various forms of social media. It’s hard to avoid it, and I understand why people are tearing Blizzard apart these days. Today 9.1 drops, after months (and months) of waiting – and while I’m glad it will add things like flying in Shadowlands, it also doesn’t offer a lot for players like me. I’m getting a bit tired of the constant gear grind, there’s no player housing to satisfy any non-killing adventures I might have, and features like The Maw and Torghast always leave me frustrated by the end of it. Not to mention The Maw is VERY gated, after a small handful of quests I tend to already be Rank5 with the jailer which means it won’t be long until I’m dead. Not a fun way to play.

I feel like Blizzard has spent the past few years re-hashing and then trashing their own game mechanics. It doesn’t feel inventive, revitalized, or new. I feel like they’ve been missing the mark of the players for some time, and sure things like Classic will bring people back – but for how long?

I’m still playing WoW, albeit quite casually. I don’t feel like there’s a lot of progression for me as a casual player any more, and I’ve done pretty much everything I wanted to do in Shadowlands (note, this is pre 9.1). By instinct I turned to FFXIV because so much of that game is still new to me. I adore the crafting – and it feels relevant. When was the last time I actually felt like WoW crafting meant something in game. If anything legendary crafting just made a whole lot of spam on the markets and not enough of a demand to purchase all of the pieces you need to grind out. Not to mention we can only wear one legendary, and there’s a BiS for pretty much every class that people are going to naturally gravitate towards. Pet battles are lovely, but when that’s the only reason you’re playing, you start to question some things.

Then again WoW has also just been around for many years. It’s natural that once you’ve learned all you can about it you might get a little bored. I could see that being the case in my situation as well. For now, I continue to play – but I’m also using gold to fund my account and not really putting any money into it. Were that not the case, I’m not convinced I’d still be playing.

June 29, 2021 June 29, 2021 By stargrace In No Comment

MSQ For Days

My bard has reached 76, and I’ve been working on my MSQ – one day I hope I’ll be caught up. I know I still have a lot of MSQ to go, but that’s one of the things I love about FFXIV, there’s just so much still to do.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

June 27, 2021 June 29, 2021 By stargrace In No Comment

New Mount!

To keep people busy until 5.5 releases, there are certain events you can do in game that reward a currency you spend to get neat appearance items, emotes, map travel unlocks – and mounts. It’s simple things like running the main scenario and doing the pvp frontline. I’ve been saving up for a while and I was finally able to afford this beauty! Pretty. I’m no where near ready for 5.5 since I haven’t even finished the base story yet, but I’m excited for everyone else. I’ll get there – eventually.

April 8, 2021 April 13, 2021 By stargrace In No Comment
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