New Dalamud event: Is Alfgar supposed to vanish after a few seconds or is it a bug?

[Onizuka]

Hello again!

A few days ago I wrote this post and I would like to rectify a few things.
Certain matters of my original post (I put it under spoiler tag at the end... Oops, it didn't change the thread title...Oh well.), still applies, like the randomness of the appearance of the GMs reporters, no clue and forcing you to stay in the city-states to have a little chance to meet them.
However, that's another story and this post is actually on a more positive note , about the new event of the Lambs of Dalamud, the new cult arrived in Eorzea.

I've just completed a journal entry with a complete coverage of both events, “Escape from Mistbeard Cove” and “Escape from the Sil'dih Aqueducts” (Lodestone History Achievements), for those interested in the photos and story (be ware that it contains spoilers on the event).
As there's still not a Topic with all the info gathered together, here're the informations I've so far:

• I discovered that this new event has a very limited window, between 10-15 minutes, only at “o'clock hours” (GMT+1 approximate examples: 03.00 AM-03.15 AM; 18.00 PM-18.15 PM); so, relating to the previous post and the exact times posted, it turned out that for a huge coincidence I missed Alfgar in those 10 minutes I went to the Archers' Guild and probably didn't see Alfgar the first time because of lag.

• If there's a more specific pattern for the NPCs' appearance, I don't know yet. It appears, however, that the event happens at the same time on more than one World (not sure if on all of them at once).

• Alfgar appears in the city-states instructing about another character, the one to go to, Addison, who has a purple Aetherial Node next to him. By examining the Node, a mission can be started, the new event themed to the 7th Umbral Era.
  Speaking with Alfgar and Addison is not needed to start the mission, it's only to learn more on the cultists.

• Addison is found exactly in:
  - Limsa Lominsa's chocobo stables, where Isleen is.
  - Gridania's Adventurers' Guild, on the lower floor leading to the airship landing platform.
  - Ul'dah's Sapphire Avenue, at the very end, near the bell.

• The purple Node teleports either to the Sil'dih Aqueducts in the Copperbell Mines or the Slophouse in Mistbeard Cove, two normally closed-off places.
  Once there, they can be freely explored.

• Speaking with Milburh and accepting duty makes Lunatic Followers appear after a few minutes; after slaying them for a while, a Lunatic Priest appears. Defeating her makes a treasure chest appear (the reward includes Deaspected Crystals) and the Aetherial Node re-appear.

That's all for now. Sorry if I missed something, but it's pretty late. Tomorrow I might add some of the pictures from my journal entry.
If other adventurers have any confirmations on a possible pattern of the hours the NPCs appear, please share your ideas or discoveries!

As I said in my journal, I really appreciated that we could visit those closed-off areas and I hope we'll be able to access them again more freely in the future.

Cloudio Onizuka


__________________
Original post:

Hello, adventurers.

I open this Topic here since I don't know if it's a bug or not.

Yesterday in the quest section I read about the new event on the Seventh Umbral Era, about Alfgar appearing in Gridania with an Aetherial Gate teleporting you to the Copperbell Mines.
Apparently, you might end up in Mistbeard Cove as well, and Alfgar appears in other city-states. This way, I had no idea how I could foresee where he would appear next, so, remembering that these type of NPC-appearing events usually lasted 2 hours until the NPC disappeared, I checked the other city-states but then spent most of the time in Gridania, crafting near the Adventurers' Guild.
This is what happened in the end (screens from FRAPS with the exact time date):

Time: 02:50:15:91 – Still crafting near the Canopy. I finished the local leve 6-7 minutes later.

Time: 03:06:31:28 – I moved briefly near the Archers' Guild and did another leve there this time (I don't like to always stay in the same place, something these events force to do and that I wish they would change).

Time: 03-12-43-19 – I was about to return to the Adventurers' Guild after answering a feq questions of a new adventurer about the Garlond Goggles she couldn't find. I run down the hill and I see Lonsygg on the distance, but not Alfgar. I remember in the past that when I saw Lonsygg, I also saw Hadrian (another of those special NPCs).
So I enter the Carline Canopy, and at that time I also see Alfgar appear:



Time: 03-14-50-68

But the moment I run to him... he vanishes! No Aetherial Node in any of the floors of the Adventurers' Guild or near the chocobo stables.

So I called the Support Desk asking if it was a bug or if the event is supposed to work like this, but I got a pre-written answer, meaning the GMs didn't know.

So, there're two possibilities:

- Either Alfgar appeared in those 10 minutes I was at the Archers' Guild.

- Or, the impression I had: he appeared near me and vanished a few seconds later.


Is it possible to have some official response on this? Because, if the event is really supposed to have a 10 minutes window, I don't understand. Really, in a few days billing starts, why still doing temporary story-related events with such randomness, like with Kipih, Petyr and Dural?
Unless it was really a bug or server error, but in that case wouldn't Game Masters know?

It's not really a problem to me, not the best satisfaction after looking for him the whole time yesterday and tonight, but after trying to have a good lore conversation with Petyr, Kipih or Dural since the end of August – and I met them, but they had to go soon – without success I'll just wait for him again tomorrow and the days after, but this type of behavior makes me fear that there'll be more Tumbleweeds rolling in our city-states after Januray 6th...

Well, since community reps return today, if they could shed some light on this, and also on the general Kipih Jakkya-Petyr Winsome-Dural Tharal appearing without a real pattern, it would be really appreciated.

Cloudio Onizuka

[Onizuka]

Hey there.

Just wanted to bring this Topic back up, as I've updated (re-written, actually) the first post with all the discoveries on the new event of the Lambs of Dalamud. If you also have any, please share them.

[Dreadnought]

this post and those pics make me anxious for the zone overhauls. although those areas are a nice break away from every day eaorzea, they still dont compare at all to most other games non the less what this game could potentially create (or should have had in the first place)

i loooove the mystery of it all though, so awesome!

[viion]

Neko Kun got a guide up to help anyone with it: http://xivpads.com/?-Guides&1.20a_Ac...Mistbeard_Cove

Enjoy!

[Onizuka]

I can't be 100% sure yet, but I noticed that this event often starts at 02.00 AM GMT and subsequently at 03.00 AM, although it doesn't seem to occur every day at these times.
Also after 16.00 PM GMT, according to the time on my screenshots, and looking at the Quests section it seems that many other adventurers found Alfgar and Addison during or a bit after this time.

I don't know if it's just another huge coincidence, though. It doesn't happen every day at the same hour... Could it be that it cycles through the servers, happening only on some of them at a fixed time and then moving to the next group of Worlds?

[Onizuka]

Yesterday Addisson appeared again two times straight in Limsa Lominsa at 17.00 and 18.00 PM GTM, while that same day he also previously appeared by night at 02.00 AM GTM always in Limsa.

Looking at the times in my screenshots, I'm fairly positive by now that the following hours have the highest chances to have the Aetherial Node with Addison appear in one of the city-states, with 2 runs of the event:

- Between 01.00 AM GTM and 03.00 AM GTM

- Between 16.00 PM GMT and 19.00 PM GMT

I'm not saying that it happens only at these times, though. I also have one history of this event taking place at 14.00 PM, but it's in a single occasion. All the other times, however, are usually always included in those windows I wrote.


Any other adventurer understood a more concrete pattern? The reason why at those times the event is not always happening, I though it might be because it cycles through a group of Worlds every time. Could it be possible?
What I'd really like to understand is if there's a pattern explaining which city-state will be the next one, and according to my latest Limsa Lominsa example, it seems... random...
Any ideas?

[Onizuka]

Hello again.

In the past days I did some final tests to try and understand more on the possible pattern I mentioned above. These were my results (I don't know about afternoon/evening, as I couldn't go to Eorzea at that time):

- January 10th: Aetherial Gate found in Limsa Lominsa after 03.05 AM GTM and sent to Copperbell Mines. Other adventurers informed me that this was the second run (the first happened after 02.05 AM).

- January 11th: Aetherial Gate found after 02.05 AM GMT in Gridania and sent to Mistbeard Cove. After 03.05 AM followed the usual second run.

This made me believe that the 12th the same would have happened sending to the Copperbell Mines, but...

- January 12th: Aetherial Gate nowhere to be found after 02.05 AM GMT (02.10).


So either it's really random or, like I guessed above, the event cycles through servers.
For now I'll stop trying to understand a pattern: if there's one, my limited IQ is not capable of detecting it.

Anyway, the windows I posted in red in my previous post, according to my tests, are still valid and have the highest chances to have this event happening after time xx:05, so you just have to hope it's your “World's turn”.

Good luck, adventurers!

[Mieck]

I counted two sequential pops at five past the hour in Ul'dah on Saturday 7th on Lindblum - 1.05pm GMT and 2.05pm GMT.

[Reabs]

Also on Lindblum there was two in gridania today 1/12@6&7pm pst (1/13@2&3am gmt)

[Qfox]

Anyone can provide info about special loot about this event