Happy Rising! Let's look back.

[Jeibird]

Figured I'd invite y'all to take a moment with me and reflect on where we began and where we are now.

I started as a catboy drg main and true to my flaky nature I've switched to Hyur male, hyur female, back to hyur male, and back to catboy through the span of my 3 years on this game.

I got invited to a tight knit fc because of a bad pun and I've since become an omnicrafted who cleared Rath Ex 12 ilevels under just because I've fought rathalos for the last 8 years and I'm an okay scholar. I started out with no idea on how to make lots of gil and despite being a master crafter I still am not rich. No business sense.

Feel free to share Your Story, maybe even include the very first screenshot you ever took of your character if you still have it.

Happy Rising again all! May you continue to walk in the light of the crystal

[hynaku]

I know I enjoyed 1.0 a lot more than have stormbloods content and eureka. I loved in 1.0 how big the cities were and now there so small.

[Ramesses]

Yeah... this Rising event has made me develop an overload of emotions when I look back.

Below was one of my earliest images when I returned to the game after Yoshi took over. As we all know, several aspects of 1.0 was a mess when it released in September 2010 and by October or early November, I quit in frustration.

I think I first returned in April 2011 for a couple months then returned full time by end of the year after I started seeing improvements... a lot of us were VERY vocal with our suggestions back then, but the Devs patiently kept hearing us out and making changes. Plus, SE let us play for free while we constantly helped with feedback.

Game-wise, I had initially started out as a lancer in Gridania on the Mysidia server and it's a shame I still can't find my first images I took from my first day in the game (during 1.0 beta final phase--or early access? Darn, I forget which).

Anyway, if I remember correctly, by the time I returned (or was it after?), Mysidia server would eventually merge into the Gungnir server. That was where I ran into old friends and made a LOT of new friends from Japan (many of whom also played FFXI). Back then the community were so much more excellent towards one another.

That said, I selected several of these images at random because it turns out I have at least three thousand of them for 1.0 alone. They include:

• Fighting Primals for the first time (Ifrit, King Moogle and Garuda)
• Joining the Maelstrom (and later images shown swearing allegiance to our lovely Admiral),
• Rescuing Hildibrand from Dalamud (or something like that---by the way, last time I checked, I believe he still has Nael's weapon).
• Leveling my various jobs (paladin was funniest because you started with a really crappy shield made of wood scraps)... loved leveling Dragoon best.
• Wandering to the cliffs where you could only see Ishgard from afar.
• Doing the pilgrimage of the 12 stones of the Twelve... I think the quest was called "Living on a Prayer"
• Running errands for Sensei Louisoix
• The last few images is of how Dalamud looked in the sky towards the end of days... and Legatus Gaius constantly flying ominously over our heads.

Yeah... good times... fantastic times indeed.

[Nandalowell]

I was a little lala wandering around the VAST expanse that was Thanlan back in the day when some random player asked if I wanted to join his linkshell (we didn't have these fancy FC's back then); Being as lonely as I was I accepted and for the next three years they became my second family.. I was even in a relationship for a time (a cute elezen <3).

Fights back then were tough; It took us almost a month to learn the Ifrit fight and even then farming wasn't a 100% success. I have fond memories of running DZ and everyone deciding if it was gonna be worth it to attempt the optional last boss and how much fun we had screaming at each other as we made stupid mistakes and ran out of time.

Power leveling and farming Sentinel's Gauntlets was another favorite past time; Spent so much time in Natalan I got sick of it! .. But I miss the Coerthas that wasn't covered in snow.. I miss all the beautiful places that used to exist.


Then 2.0 came out and I've been flying solo ever since. Don't really need friends though, DF let's random strangers carry me through content and the FC I don't talk to gives me all the buffs I need.

I'm glad 2.0 gave everyone the game they wanted.. I really am! I just wish it didn't mean the end of the one I loved; So when I have bad days like today I'd have something to look forward to, people to come home to..

On a lighter note, my character's 8th "birthday" is one week from today! That's a freaking quarter of my life! Holy crap!

[Ramesses]

More images...The last few images is of how Dalamud looked in the sky towards the end of days... and Legatus Gaius constantly flying ominously over our heads.

[Final-Fantasy]

I would take 1.0 over this any day, it only needed a reworked UI that wasn't server based with horrific lag, and the awful combat. It needed work yes, but hey that's what you get for sending out an open beta and calling it finished product!

[Rogatum]

I will say this 1.0 was a great looking game.

[Ramesses]

I will say this 1.0 was a great looking game.

Yes it was... for its time, it was gorgeous in its own way. I'll find time to dig out my screenshots from the final days at Ul'Dah and post them tomorrow or so... some good visuals.

Speaking of which, the GMs trolled us pretty darn hard by gradually increasing the stats of the mobs... it was hillarious lol.... sometimes we couldn't keep up even after they gave us relics under our beds at the inn.

[Nandalowell]

Mind if I add a few?

Speaking of pretty scenery, this was one of my favorite views in Thanalan ( I just loved cresting the hill and seeing the ocean in the distance):



I think the skydome was five thousand times prettier in 1.0, this pic doesn't even do it justice:



Some Dalamud shots:




And a very small part of the Great Goobue Wall that took place after the Server March:



Bonus shoutout to a couple of the friends I lost to the calamity:





I miss you morons.

[Canadane]

This isn't my very first screenshot, but it's the first one I took when I got my friend and girlfriends to play with me.
I rerolled my character to start with them.





We'd do a lot together.


Getting our Gobbues from the Wandering Minstrel was one of our first goals.


We'd craft together. We all worked on our specialties to help one another!




Always time for play.



Before you knew it, we were max level and doing speedruns in dungeons for the 5th chest.
Dungeons were a lot more fun back then.

One still plays with me to the day, the other just sometimes. One's lost to the aether, but I still have her on the old Linkshell you see there, just in case...
In fact, if you check the linkshell today, it's still just us!



Stuffs linkshell will always be my /l1
I'll never forget the memories we made together. Hearts and Meilin, hope you both appreciate the time as I did. :3