Just got done leveling....

[Zaaku]

....for 6 1/2 hours straight.



Brought my Marauder from 30-39. My legs are sitff, my eyes a bit watery, and I beleive it is medically unsound to hold ones bladder for such a length of time. Ya know what though? It was worth it.

I got to meet a lot of new people today. Almost all of whom ended up on my friends list and I on theirs. The PT started off shaky. Was invited to a forming group and when I arrived in Ul'dahn the PT leader had disbanded. Told me he didn't want to look any longer. So I /sigh'd and began reforming a new PT. Invited the first person to shout. Turns out he just got invited not a moment before!

>Oh good for ya man! Is there room for me by chance?

Hopped into a 5/8 already outfitted with a Conjurer! I immediately suggested a friend who was looking (The old PT leader). As irony would have it these were the remains of the disbanded PT. We all gave a hearty laugh and after what I assumed was a series of apologetic /tells he got in. We set off for Copperbell not shortly after!

The EXP was flowing like honey and after a good shakedown we had the ants on the back foot. Spawning just fast enough to keep the chains alive but not able to recluster and go for the big PT wipe. All in all I must say tanking for these guys was a blast. Compliments were given all around on the much earned Level Ups and this group seemed to have one hell of a sense of humor. Naturally someone had to leave after an hour or so. So I ask'd my LS and got another buddy of mine in on the good stuff. We hadn't really played much and it gave us plenty of time to bond and banter. I feel a lot closer to Yuri after that.

The hours pasted and our PT was lacking a member we just couldn't seem to replace. Our gear was worn to the nubs and EXP was growing a bit thin. After hunting down that bastard aggro mite one last time for retribution sake. (No one snipes one of my incoming reps and gets away with it!) Then ported back to the City of Gold.

After a brief and rather pricey stop at the Market Wards and a quick shout later we were at full strength. Our Arc noticed my hands were in sad state and offered me a trade. Turns out she had some armored gauntlets right in range with a meld on it too boot. I felt humbled by the gesture and replied with a Mythril Gorget I had crafted earlier. She had not expected it so in the end we both got a little treat.

Time for the port! Set the HP, never can be too sure then ran for the camp.... in the wrong direction. I had every confidence in this PT but we had a Taru's chance in Dynamis of taking on the Far East raptor camp. North Camp was open so we began the mass extinction of the reptiles. Every dozen or so minutes was punctuated with a near wipe and close encounters of the AoE kind. Yet we seemed to just pull through. Once again I cannot understate how well we worked together. (You guys rocked! ^_^)

The sun had long past left the open sky (Not that I would have a damn clue what outside looked like today) and the raptors while conquerable were beginning to prey on our fatigue. After the 2nd PT wipe our Conjurer confessed that she had to leave. Fading in and out of consciousness and all that. There was a great round of applause for the excellent work she had done and for sticking through this entire marathon. After our healer left the search was on for a new Cure Bot! Sadly this is where our luck finally ran out.

We got the TNL's and waved goodbye to our endless supply of Raptor Leather and ported back home. The PT is disbanded now. I'm honestly sad to see them go. I know I'll see them around though. Perhaps we'll even Pt up again sometime?

Anyways I just wanted to let you know about my experience tonight. It was tense in a lot of moments. There were moments of weariness that were hard to shake off. When reps were in short supply and moral dipped it was not so simple to shrug off the feeling of slowing down. Yet in the end we pushed each other through and all made a lot of progress today. Which I am thankful for. Not only because I got to progress my own job, but because I was a part of something that help others become closer to their goals as well.

All of this. This whole night. The friends I made. The bonds I forms with once complete strangers. The satisfaction of getting one step closer to capped through my own grit and effort. None of it would have been possible if I had allowed myself to be PL'd. I truly hope you take a moment to ponder exactly what you are throwing away when you take the easy road. They ain't called "Experience points" for nothing

[Yumi_Hibiki]

grats! sounds like a nice day^~^

[Deli]

<3 good post to read ^^
nice pic, good story-telling skills

[Truce]

Enjoyed your post, man. Great read.

[Majidah]

wait wait wait, that picture shows a galka in monk AF

[Alhanelem]

Why are you putting a picture of an FFXI monk with your FFXIV storytelling?

[tymora]

The point you seem to miss over and over and over again (because your stubborn, stupid, or a troll) is that the game does not allow for pleasant party experiences, or *any* party experiences, very often.

And the OP is a lot more civil than you are.

If you think it's a grind, it's a grind no matter how fun the party actually is.

[Akumu]

The game the picture is from isn't the point.

He looks tired and worn out, but satisfied with his results at the end of a hard day. Clearly that goes with the opening of his story.

or...

He's finally taking a piss after holding it for 6 1/2 hours...

[Zahak]

Great Story! One problem: Dinosaurs are birds! D:< lol j/k!

[Galoot]

If only everyone could have a nice party experience like that. Keep plugging away on your anti-PL campaign. For most ppl the story would read more: "I stood in uldah for 5 hours looking for a pt, got an invite, stood there another 2 hours trying to recruit more members. One guy's dog crapped on the floor so he had to leave, two more members gave up and decided to hit the tavern, and I just wasted 7 hours of my life getting no experience points. Can't wait for tomorrow."

I'm glad you had a good experience though. The point you seem to miss over and over and over again (because your stubborn, stupid, or a troll) is that the game does not allow for pleasant party experiences, or *any* party experiences, very often. The only periods where partying is actually viable (as in realistic) is 30-50. The 30 range is iffy sometimes, but the influx of players make finding a 30+ party not very hard....sometimes. It just depends.

Long story short, that experience is not even close to the norm, and you can stop pretending that it is. Even if you do get in a good party, 90% of the time its boring grind (all my parties have been this way).

Oh yeah, and I've had similarly awesome experiences running Ifrit a bunch of times with strangers after getting PLed. Made a lot of friends, got in a few linkshells, had a lot of laughs....so glad I skipped the grind for that! Way better than any experience party ive ever been in. Have fun on your campaign. Just make sure to remember, a good experience can be found anywhere.

This is why I hate forums and what is wrong with gaming today. How can you call the OP a troll when all he is doing is sharing a good leveling experience and you swoop in with your trolling expertise. Obviously you're a negative person and I was glad to see that you are not on my server. I'm not going to say I haven't PL'd at all or helped some friends with leveling so that we could share some benefit of having higher classes. Your post amazes me that someone could be this much of an ass to take a great post of an experience and bring down your negative rant. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Great story Zaaku, these are the experiences I hope to have when 2.0 comes out and they fix the leveling. I remember the same feeling after a good grind session in FFXI. And no, I don't want FFXI-2, I just want that same feeling of accomplishment when good people gather together and have a good EXP PT. Good mixture of DMG, healing, and support and flowing EXP.