"Yaaar!" .. really?

[Stompa]

When SE introduced ROE they did say "we don't expect you to do them all" and that is why there is no reward for having finished 800~ different RoE.

I think this applies to Anniversary ROE too. You're not supposed to do all of them, just the ones that suit you.

For example the Pirates one, which should have been called "HARRR!" btw ("your parrot flies away!"), is probably aimed at Fishing people who like to ride the ferry and catch fish.

In 2004, I got fishing 100, mostly from riding on the Ship, and in the time it took me to get that level, I was able to solo Blackbeard and Silverhook on my WHM/NIN, I solo'd them probably 50 times total, and died around 20 times. But I was able to get both clubs on whm75 solo, around 2005, and I had got fishing 100 at the same time!

Anyway, Pirates can go back to back numerous times, you can have a string of Pirates attacks, or you can have zero for entire Earth days, or any random number between those two extremes. Supposedly it is tied to seasons, and you can see the ship leaving Norg, etc. but really it seems to be random to me.

If you are multitasking FFXI and work (like me!) then there is a way to do your RL work or Netflix or w/e etc. and you can still know if your ship has pirates, without having to stand waiting on deck for the whole journey. When you watch the ship leaving port Cutscene, if pirates are going to attack, the next thing you see is your Chatlog loading, with a black screen above it. Normally your chatlog will load with the cabin and your character, but when pirates attack, you get a few seconds of black screen and chatlog loading.

This is how it was in 2004~2011, so I assume they haven't changed it since then.

And if you are multitasking, you can just ride the boat, and check that black screen chatlog, and if there's no pirates, you can just go back to your work or w/e you're doing.

On the subject of keys in general. We often hear stories about people who buy countless thousands of lottery tickets, fifty on a single day, etc. and they never win a single prize. Then there's the person who buys one single ticket and wins the biggest prize in the lottery, with their first and only ticket. This is how I approach FFXI gobbie keys. If it is "your lucky day" then you are going to obtain a really nice prize with one single key, but if it is not your lucky day, then it doesn't matter if you throw a hundred keys at it, you still won't get lucky.