So many great memories, it's gonna be a long post!

First days in Ronfaure: Well we've all been there, it was my first MMO and I didn't know exactly what it was all about, I'd been expecting FFXI for years with my best friend and the only thing I knew about the game came from a french player's blog during XI's first year. It was EU release and the game was packed with noobs. Nobody knew left from right then and the min/maxing was oh so far away. Ronfaure blew my mind, I'm a lazy guy but I remember waking up at 6am everyday to play the game and kill pugils in the river. I made a friend named Dracant then, he wanted to be a DRG and I wanted to be a DRK, and time would reunite us.

My first party in Valkurm Dunes: I was level 10 or something and I had built my own LS (damn, paying 8k then was all it took for me to go broke) and we went there cause we'd heard it was the best place to go to when you wanted to exp. So we went, 10 of us ranging from lv8 to 16, on lizards. We were all like "What? this exp is so gay!" but we stayed there for hours cause none of us wanted to walk all the way back to Sandy, and we were having a good time anyway.

My first exp chain: Oasis, anyone? My first real party as a lv14 WAR with a Great sword, killing a crab gave us 190exp, then 230, then 250, I couldn't believe it. At the end of the day I was lv20 and nobody could believe it in the LS, I was the cool kid aha

My first trip to Jeuno: I was the highest level of the LS and I didn't wanna wait so I decided to go to Jeuno alone, although I had no idea how to get there. When I was in La Theine I asked two guys for directions, they told me to go to the dunes then to Konschat Highlands because Jugner was too dangerous. When I got there I saw Quadavs, it was great but I had no map. Eventually I arrived in Passhow Marshlands and got lost, but some lv30 Galka RDM helped me. Lv30 was a big deal for most of us then... I arrived in Jeuno at 6am and had class at 8, so I called it a night, but I was proud to have arrived.

My chocobo license: Well, you all know what that's like

My Kazham Airship Pass: That right there will always be my best memory of FFXI. Dracant, the friend I mentioned, was already in Kazham and told me I needed 3 keys to join him. I started in Sandy and it wasn't easy as a WAR25/THF12 but I eventually got my key off an Orc in the upper part of Yughott Grotto.
Then I took a chocobo and went to Bastok. I'd never been to Gustaberg and since I was always broke I never had any maps, so I got lost in Konschtat again. When I arrived in Gustaberg my chocobo left me, so I had to walk. I remember standing on the rock near Leaping Lizzy where you have a view of the place near Wadi, and I stopped there a while cause I thought the place looked awesome. I eventually reached Bastok and asked around to know where Palbo Mines were. Once there I got to the second floor and fought some Quadavs, but they have insane defense and I had a link, so I was going to die. Then some WAR30 with the Eisen set came along and owned the add, saving me. That armor was the shit so I was both grateful and impressed.
He helped me for a while and I got my second key. He accompanied me to Selbina after that and then logged off cause he had to get some sleep. Before that though, he told me how to get to Giddeus, but that didn't help all that much. My first cruise was awesome, I'm sure you all remember yours.
When I stepped outside Mhaura I discovered Dhalmels and all those mobs I'd never seen before. After some time I got to Sarutabaruta and that's where the magic occured. That place looked gorgeous and I remember being sad I didn't choose Windy as my nation. I met some guy who was fishing in the river and he gave me a willow rod and some worms. I fished with him for a while, then I went to Giddeus. I got lost again cause that place was the worst maze I'd seen yet, but a THF60+ helped me get my key (I guess he was farming Yagudo necklaces for Utsu:Ichi).

Kazham and beyond: Kazham and its music were awesome. I kept using that rod the guy had given me to pass the time while waiting for invites. And you had to be careful when zoning because of the Gob trains outside. I met up with Dracant and we leveled to 30 together, then we went our separate ways to unlock DRG and DRK. For most, unlocking DRK is a pain in the ass but I was so happy to be there that I actually enjoyed whacking 100 mobs in Gustaberg. After that, I kept the promise I'd made to myself and went all the way back to Saruta to level my DRK.

After that, well, my adventure began. I could talk about so many more things but I think people have already given up on reading this lengthy post, aha. Getting DRK AF, the Airship Pass, killing the Shadow Lord with a party of 6 50's, going to Lufaise Meadows for the first time... I spent 6 months farming in Delkfutt to pay my Hauby, Assault earring, Sniper rings and Vassago scythe. After that, Labyrinth of Onzozo; dieing after using all buffs before Guillotine like a moron, and so on. And finally, I'll never forget the sunsets and the sunrises in Bibiki Bay during exp parties, and the joys of Spinning Slash back when 6k/hr groups were the bomb and going /THF was also the perfect excuse to steal Gold coins from Gobs (they were selling for like 50k then!)