Backgrounds. Adventures. Anything.

[Raxiaz]

My name is Raxiaz, and I'm from Sylph. I have four jobs at level 90 - WHM, BLU, SCH, and RDM. WHM was my first job to level 75 and it took me over a year. I did not get it to 75 from 70/71 until Treasures of Aht Urhgan was released.

My next job to 75 didn't come until much later, RDM. SCH some time after that, and then BLU was "leeched" to 80 in Abyssea.

I created my first character on September 19th, 2004.

I have Rank 10 Windurst and 6 in Bastok and San d'Oria. Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and Treasures of Aht Urhgan are completed. Wings of the Goddess is too backasswards in plot development and story arcs so I have no interest in completing them - even for the atma/gear they reward.

Now, how 'bout you guys?

[Korpg]

As to hope that this won't get changed, from the other thread:

I come from Bastok, having saved all three nations, Jeuno, Aht Urhgan, the past, and Abyssea, I decided to settle back at my home in Bastok Markets, living in a nice two story house. I generally throw parties, but of the more mature kind, usually involving pudding and Mithras.

My turnons are Summoners who melee in those sexy staves that they get with that nice Myrkr weaponskill on it, and my turnoffs are Mithras who think for themselves.

You can generally see me by myself killing hydras or Ironclads for fun, although I do help out my friends in my little social group on occasion.

I also generally bathe in the blood of my enemies, Galkas, and sometimes a big jar of pudding.

[Darkshade]

My name is Darkshade.

I'm a Dragoon.

I wish I had some vicodin.

[Arcon]

Good move.

My name is Arcon. I'm from San d'Oria. I'm here to help.

I started playing in early 2005, I didn't have any friends or anything and my English sucked even more than now. Which is why it took me a while to get started properly and I played on and off for ages. I idled around and just explored stuff, leveled a few jobs here and there, never past 50. I learned how to play in my first linkshell, SinsOfEnmity. Unfortunately the shell just kinda faded out, and that same summer I found my new home, and the greatest linkshell I've ever been in, ShadowRavenloft.

After about three years of idling around and exploring the game by myself, I decided to give the game a real go, and got PLD to 75 and started doing endgame. Back then I did Dynamis with a shell called BrosBeforeHoez, but some hoe must have reported us and we had to /breaklinkshell and reform. After that interest in Dynamis (at least in that shell) kinda waned, so we just went our own ways.

I went back to my social LS (ShadowRavenloft) and stayed there. It worked out fine, because at that point we just got a few new people and started doing endgame again. Doing endgame with a social was great, all of the fun, none of the drama. Sure, we may not have been as efficient as some other endgame LS (although far better than most), but I've always had more interest for the social aspect of the game anyway. It was nice bringing other people up to speed while progressing yourself. And who can't say a death house wipe every now and then doesn't make them chuckle.

I enjoyed playing a lot at that point, leveled WAR and THF, my two other favorite jobs, tried to perfect my grasp of the game and my ability to play it during that time. And missions. I absolutely loved missions and quest and always completed everything I could. I tried to achieve almost everything, even crafting, although that didn't last very long. I'm not the most patient guy. I wanted to get Woodworking and Fishing up, but couldn't be bothered with it at some point. It's still my eventual goal, somewhere down the line, but not of any kind of importance right now. I also love blue numbers. All my skills are capped on every job, except healing on PLD and Archery/Throwing on WAR and THF. I tried to be perfect in every aspect, which is why my PLD had 109 pieces of gear, WAR 76 and THF 95. Situational gear kinda broke my inventory and it was really hard to play after that point. Still, it was great to play, I loved all events, I loved my linkshell, I loved my character, I really loved the game at that point.

That was an awesome time. It was a great ride, right up to the point when Abyssea came and ruined the game for me. Now I really just idle around again, log on to help people and that's it. Now I spend more time on these forums than in the game, arguing with people and, as usual, trying to help.

If you happen to be on Leviathan and need some help with anything, let me know.

[Sparthos]

Wall 'o text for you!

My first linkshell was obtained from a random passerby who saw me pearl-less in Upper Jeuno doing my Chocobo License quest. Being a poor naive fool, I took the linkshell under pressure that everyone had one but me. It'd turn out to be the best and worst decision of my XI career.

The linkshell I joined was fun and before I knew it, I had become a daily fixture always willing to help others. Our first events were such things as Garrison, Zilart Missions and helping with Artifact Armor but quickly things turned towards Sky as people began to hit level 75. We began making twice a week runs at Zilart Missions with our leader eventually officially announcing that within a month, our LS was to turn from social into a junior Sky linkshell.

I could barely contain my excitement.

Sky in 2005 was an area of desolation with only a handful of groups being capable of getting anything done. It was so empty that you could actually call days for your LS to go up there - and people actually listened. Our leader worked out that Saturdays would be our day to pop NMs while Thursdays would be our farming days. People were excited and after our first successful Genbu (yes, that Genbu), Linkshell morale skyrocketed, new members wanted in and an official point system and board came shortly after.

Our first Kirin took 3.5hours. Scoff at it now but that was an amazing accomplishment for the linkshell at the time.

Months would pass and I would eventually obtain equipment far beyond my expectations in the form of Byakko's Haidate, Kirin's Osode and everything a Samurai could ever want but the downsides of endgame linkshells began to show themselves as time passed.

A notable event was a member taking an item using his points and then selling it behind everyone's back. He made around ~6M then attempted to pretend as if he didn't sell the item through a mule. I had come to be friends with this individual but it was clear that greed had taken hold and there was nothing left to do but remove said person from the linkshell. When the leader delivered the bad news, I was genuinely annoyed someone would do such a thing. Up until this moment, the linkshell had worked remarkably well. People would often pass for others, were happy to farm to help others and the generosity was astounding when I think back on it.

Unfortunately for me, things would only get worse.

The original linkshell leader who I had come to respect eventually announced one day that he was quitting FFXI and leaving the linkshell leadership to one of the individuals within the inner circle. I had been friends with this individual so naturally I was happy for him to take leadership since he came across as an all around good guy. Maybe it was just the PLD AF clouding my judgement.

During this era, we had focused on progressing the LS through CoP as it was the hip and happening thing to do at the time and the linkshell had bloated to around ~90 members (between NA and EU time) at the time. Things were hectic to say the least but we had managed to stay in one piece. People were getting gear, gil was flowing and the LS was fun.

One day, the idea of doing CoP 3-5 (Diabolos) was thrown around and some LS members expressed their desire to get it done, including the LS leader. We planned a night and eventually it came time to gather up but the LS leader had not logged in so someone else in LS who had already beat 3-5 decided to come help us through since we had already dug out the level cap gear.

Ever the forum geek, I was always ready to read out strats and organize the run and after 2-3 tries we won... and then the LS leader logged in. Seeing us in The Shrouded Maw, he went ballistic when he found out we did it without him and eventually a verbal battle began between us, lasting a good hour or so. I was accused of betraying him by going and thinking of myself before the team (him) and that I convinced everyone to go. I attempted to explain that we waited as long as possible and that I didn't want to waste everyone's time but he wasn't buying it.

Even though we all offered to go again, he'd claimed that he'd been betrayed and held a grudge against me since I organized the run and explained the strategy. It didn't help we both cursed eachother out, with me using some choice words to describe someone making a huge deal out of nothing. Little did I know then that would begin a drastically different relationship between myself and the leader.

Me and two others who had attended that Diabolos would later on form a static and finish CoP together. Many fun memories.

More time passed and the LS leadership began to lean towards desiring to camp and kill 3kings. While I had always been wary of the event, hearing stories of how it was poison for linkshells (and part of why the original leader wanted nothing to do with it) I decided to stick around for the experience and to help some people.

We were pretty good initially at calling for help on NMs. I still remember the chaos of claiming Darters and wiping Fafnir in the ensuing panic. The smell of a CFH'd Aspidochelone and the panic of people trying to run it to zone. The stolen KB caused by a tank dying.

Things got ugly with regards to LS respect and friendship quickly. Loot quickly became the only thing that mattered and LS leadership began to force camps on individuals. If you were on, you were expected to show up and that as you can imagine didn't sit well. Some people left, fights over stuff like abjurations broke out and eventually I grew tired of the entire immature event that kings were and became more vocal about how shitty things had become within LS.

Naturally, leadership didn't like that.

I eventually became friends with a girl who would eventually become my girlfriend to this day. She had been treated pretty poorly being a DRG main in a linkshell that began to care less about the members and more about just gearing up. You know, lolDRG and all that jazz. Thing were platonic at first - just discussions about the sorry state of the linkshell but eventually things became more than that and we'd often skip out on kings camps to talk or farm or just plain chill.

My static eventually completed CoP and I spent most of my days helping people with CoP missions, doing Sky and our other linkshell events like Jorm/Vrtra/Tiamat. I was pretty wishy-washy with kings because windows would often be at odd hours and the leader had become hellbent on getting himself an Mbody. This isn't to say that I didn't camp sometimes but my attendance was far from what some others were putting in.

Then came the day I was booted from my LS turn HNMLS.

I'd later find out from some LS members that a thread on forums had been created in the LS leader section about my often outspoken nature against leadership - especially on matters regarding rampant greed, LS stupidity in accepting certain members (individuals who were known to be in it for themselves) and the obsession with kings that basically turned the LS from a group doing different things to kings, kings and more kings. On one hand, I was an extremely helpful individual who knew his shit but on the other hand I had become a maverick who didn't fear leadership.

The LS leader I knew had always sought a reason to get rid of me but what was interesting to me was the fact that one of my "friends" in the CoP static who had become a sackholder had been actively working against me in the LS leadership section, siding with LS leadership to save his own skin.

Eventually one day the hammer fell. The leadership too cowardly to simply tell me that I was going to be booted just sprung it on me and left me to the wolves. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel betrayed. A funny moment was when that very same friend of mine was sent to retrieve the Kirin's Osode (still worth a pretty penny back then) for the LS and refused to talk to me about why exactly I got booted or about why he refused to give me a heads up on what was going down.

It was then I found out how devious individuals could really be.

I took my Osode, what was left of my respect towards my fellow human beings, my girlfriend (who was also booted as part of the condition) and put myself back up on the open market. Many months of friendships with individuals had just gone up in smoke.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

I wish I had some vicodin.

I have tons, but you're on the wrong server.

[Leonlionheart]

Leonlionheart from Pandemonium, started playing when I was 13 in march 2004.

Got 75 MNK right after ToAU came out, was 65 before it. Then WAR to 75, which was previously 60 before ToAU. Then BLU to 75 after WotG came out. I even leveled BLU and WAR 75~80 outside of Abyssea the day the level cap was raised and no one could enter Abyssea for more than 30 minutes.

And that as they say, is that.

[Zatias]

Wall of text alert.
SKIP TO AVOID BRAIN CANSIIIR

How My Adventure Began: The Story of a Noob
I have been adventuring in Vana'diel since it came out for Xbox 360. I started in San d'Oria as a Warrior, where I slowly grew in level with the help of my boyfriend, Vivos. At level 13, he had to return to Jeuno so he could level up himself. Handing me a Flame Claymore (which I still carry today), he wished me luck and set off for Jeuno on a chocobo, promising to return whenever I needed his help. I skilled my Great Sword as I soloed, forsaking parties due to stubbornness and stupidity.

Vivos returned to aid me in getting my support job items since I had not partied and had none. We quickly got the Crab Apron and Damselfly Worm, though I could not resist to explore in Gusgen Mines and ended up dying twice. We did however get the skull, and Vivos cleared a path to the exit so I would not die again. I still am grateful he put up with my noobiness back then...

After I had my support job (monk) leveled, I finally forced myself to join a party. This first experience almost caused me to quit the game. I arrived at the Outpost in Valkurm Dunes, where I was asked to tank. I provoked the mob as they told me, but the other players must have been new as well because they screamed at me to "VOKE" every 10 seconds. I died because the White Mage did not cure me, and he said "You died because you weren't voking." The leader said "Hey let's not attack anyone. Though I am just kidding when I say that," and booted me from the party. I was confused and angry because they were all treating me like crap for doing exactly what they asked me to do. A kind red mage passing by the Outpost stopped to raise me, and I was able to leave the dunes without aggro.

Shortly after I was booted from that party, another new Warrior invited me to a party. Reluctantly, I accepted, but this too was a mistake. He took me and a Thief to Jugner Forest without a healer, where I died again as the Thief fled. Now, I do not easily give up, but these two experiences made me think the game was full of assholes and dumb people. I told Vivos I was going to quit and he asked me why. When I told him what happened he became angry and insisted that I had been invited to bad parties, and that not all people were like that. He even asked the names of the people who had treated me that way but I did not give them since the damage had already been done and yelling at them wouldn't give me a better gaming experience.

My boyfriend told me to get to level 20 so he could get me to Jeuno, acquire a chocobo license, and level with his Paladin, which was also level 20. Though he had always tried to get me to join parties, he told me I should solo till we could party together. "We'll always party together from now on."

By level 30, I had gained party experience with Vivos, my Kazham Keys, and Thief sub, opposed to Monk. Still, I used Great Sword over other weapons, the "right" weapons for Warrior. This stubbornness followed me all the way to 75, where I was using Ground Strike with a Martial Sword. On the way to 75 I had gotten myself and Vivos booted from several elitist parties. While annoying, this didn't persuade me to skill up Axe or Great Axe. I still wield the Great Sword with pride, though I do get ridiculed at times.

Above taken from my page on Wiki

Endgame Horrors
Got my first endgame LS (called Rush) about a month after reaching 75. Point of LS was for the mini-kings (King Arthro, Simurgh and such) and some normal kings (Behemoth, Adamantoise). For the first few months it was awesome. We outclaimed many of the "veteran" LSes, gaining a few simmy boots and many behemoth hides to sell, and eventually we got a Speed Belt to drop. This was back when it fetched a small fortune of 40M or more. While the leaders of the group passed it around for bazaaring, one of them decided he wanted it all for himself.

After learning about the missing belt, the entire Linkshell shit a brick. It became a war between the 2 main leaders, pointing fingers at who was the real thief. This also split the linkshell down the middle, with one half going to one leader while the rest stayed with the other.

My boyfriend and I had enough of it and decided to leave instead of picking sides.

We joined a dynamis LS instead, with the notorious Hibayshu as leader (yeah I said it, everyone knows about this monstrosity). Needless to say we didn't stay more than a month; he screamed at everyone for every wipe and hoarded most artifact for himself.

Shortly after we left, he took the whole LS bank and jumped servers. Shocker.

Although mostly horrible experiences with these events, I can't say there weren't ANY good times. I met my closest online friend in Hibayshu's LS and gained invaluable knowledge of Notorious Monsters and claiming techniques in Rush.

I would mention the horrors of sky greed as well, but this has become long enough to bore you, so I wont. ^^

Levels
First real main was DRK at 75.

Main now is probably RDM at 90, but my favorite is still DRK.

In a Nutshell
I am a goofy, sarcastic, sometimes perverted person who plays mainly to have fun with my close friends. I am not elitist, but I dislike seeing people completely butcher my favorite jobs, with either bad play or hugely gimp gear (ie lvl25 gear at 90!). I enjoy all the storyline of FFXI. I like helping out players as long as they aren't total assfaces, and I love M&Ms.

R.I.P. Pandemonium. I still miss you.

[Urthdigger]

Brief History
I've been an adventurer in Vana'diel for some time now, when a friend of mine told me of this MMO she plays that I just had to play. So, I figured, why not. I started as a galkan in the city of Bastok, and immediately set out to explore this vast new world. Oh, I annoyed my friend so much back then... she wanted me to push myself towards endgame and do events with her, but grinding xp never really appealed to me. I would try to do every quest I could... even so far as trying to sneak through high level areas (without sneak or invis, I might add. I was both a monk, and cheap). I even refused the help of free gil from her, though that was because I had a similar experience with a friend who got me to play Ragnarok Online, and basically gave me any items I needed, any money I needed... so there was no point in anything I earned. I didn't want that experience in Vana'diel.

Over the years, I travelled through several social shells before finally winding up in the social/event shell TheAbhorrentOnes. I still have a few friends from my old socials, and wave and say Hi when I pass though. I've always been a little low key, since my drive to improve myself only extends as far as being able to help my friends better, rather than obsessively improving the sake of improving, I've never been the kind of person who just tops the parser and shatters expectations. Though, I've never been a bad player either. My one claim to fame, and perhaps the only way some of you may know me, is becoming one of the moderators on FFXIclopedia and Eorzeapedia (now combined at GamerEscape). I've always liked helping new players, so helping keep order on those premier sites was a natural progression for me.

Odd Quirks
Unlike most players, I pay quite a bit of attention to the lore of the game, not just as far as doing quests and viewing the storyline goes, but in my gear considerations as well. I consider that SE originally intended all players to melee alongside their other responsibilities (Looking at WHM's hammers, RDM's swords, and the MP restoral WS that dagger, club, and staff get for BLM), and I especially enjoy wearing job specific armor and weapons for my jobs, such as RDM rapiers, BLU scimitars, and other such things. Of course, I always carry more party-oriented weapons and armor when I'm on one of those jobs, just in case I get a party invite... though I do still try to melee on WHM and RDM if they'll let me.

Accomplishments
I pride myself on exploring Vana'diel and seeing all that she has to offer. To that end, I've attempted to do every quest and obtain every title, keeping records of them on my userpage at GamerEscape. I also attempt to solo in every zone in the game, a hobby I picked up while trying to level DNC. Along the way I went to places I never thought I'd xp in, such as Castle Zvahl and the Temple of Uggalepih. Sometimes, I found a reason why nobody trained on some mobs. Other times, I found hidden gems (Tonberries are surprisingly good if you clear hate every so often).

However, my quest hunt has run into snags as of late. Most of my remaining quests are ones where I would require assistance, but good help is hard to find. Especially when it's not to obtain some greater power, but merely because it's there. Still, I keep an eye out for opportunities, and one of these days I will finish it. Or the servers will go down, whichever happens first.

Roleplay
Bit of an unknown even to those who know me, but I do roleplay. I don't often RP in-game however, as there are rarely any opportunities where it's appropriate to do so. Most of my RP is just on forums, writing stories, and through IM with friends. Urthdigger's real name is Dobenn (Pronounced Dough Ben), he was given the hume name of Earth Digger, and when he became an adventurer he went with Urthdigger as a compromise of keeping his hume name while making it look like a galkan one. He's fond of mining and has a love for ore and stone of all kind. This has evolved into a fascination with metalworking, as well as archaeology. He especially loves the old zilartian architecture, and the strange devices in Pso'xja or the cermet structures of the crags, Fei'yin, or Ro'maeve are enough to drive him into a certain mania. Personality-wise, it depends on what job he's on, though he always keeps a kind heart. His two main jobs are pretty much polar opposites, with monk having him focus on inner reflection, acting in a calm and humble manner, while on dancer he is concerned with being the center of attention, attempting to draw the attention of friend and foe alike to his performance.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

Wanted to play thf so I did it as follows;
WHM10, BLM 15, WHM30, NIN, WAR10, NIN10, NIN18, WAR18, NIN37, THF70, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, Maat, BLM37, WHM70, Maat, THF75... I think I like whm better...
What was the steal probability supposed to be again? And if you're wondering why I leveled whm so I could play thf, back in the day people didn't help thf with anything. Unless you were already 75, it was pretty much the most ignored job in the game. Unless you were 30+ and your pld sucked.