Last night I got into a party at about 5:30 p.m. ET. I had to work from home, so I figured I’d log in and see what I could do.  I was 10k tnl to 74 on BST. “My linkshell’s first Dynamis is on Sat., and I need to get this to 75 before then, so I can attend as BST” I told myself. This party that I made was tailored to fighting Colibri. It started out rather slow, but really picked up. People came and went, and I was able to find replacements for people that had to leave throughout the night. The party ended up disbanding at 6:30 a.m. ET the next morning.  I was not only able to get lvl 75, but also gained a 20k buffer, and a merit point for a grand total of ~82k experience. Thank Altana.

written by Steak

Last night, after we were done recording, I took my first steps in a new realm called Nyzul Isle. We really weren’t focused on climbing as we were just to fight stuff for weapon drops, but it was a blast. Opiate and I, along with Fusionx, Durrendal, and Singlebits climbed to floor 10. It was a cool experience, and I hope to create a static to further explore this vast assault, and see what awaits on the floors above.

written by Steak

Over the past year, my beautiful EVGA 6800 Ultra video card has started slowly dieing. I have started seeing weird graphical anomalies in  Finial Fantasy XI such as stretched surfaces, and missing parts of polygons in the environment. (See below)

Alas, it is now time to say goodbye to the vid card that only 4 years ago was one of the best to have. I recently purchased a card to replace her though. Starting tomorrow (9/15/08), I will be the proud owner of an EVGA GTX 260 which is a monster of a video card, and I am very proud.

How much of a graphical enhancement can I expect from my new video card? Absolutely none.

While my new video card has roughly 4 times the amount of onboard ram, and is like 4 generations advanced versus my old card, the code in Final Fantasy XI is just old. I CAN expect to not see those wierd things in FFXI anymore though.

Till next time!

written by Steak

Still rollin’ with BST, and I love it. Recently, we picked up Chocobocharmer to join us in a trio situation, and the exp just rolls in. Opiate started the BST only linkshell “Untamed” only a few weeks ago, and I am surprised how fast it is growing. It seems that BSTs in general like a place they can talk to other BSTs. There are always a bunch of people in the LS to chat with. Choocobo, Opiate, and I are now lvl 66, and halfway to 67. This will be a milestone for Opi and I as it will mark 30 lvls we have been duoing. It is also a milestone for Opiate. He has another character named Aenima which he retired because it’s a female hume character, and Opi got sick of guys hitting on him (lol). Aenima only got to lvl 66, and Opiate is excited to lvl past that mark.

Congratulations in advance Opiate, and here’s to BST75! Till next time!

Below is a pic of the 3 of us. We’re BST:DRGs lol.

written by Steak

As you have noticed we have a brand new site design! Currently it’s only active in the blogs but within the next few days it will be carried over to the main website. Below is a list of the changes made to the blogs:

• New layout with two side bars
• recent comments and posts on the right side bar
• pages, categories and archives on left side bar
• ffxi icons
• host bio moved from main site onto blog

*equipment box will be re-inserted when new host bio images are completed

written by Fusionx

W00t! LvL 60! Halfway through the game with BST! I gotta say, I’m really loving BST. As i’m sure you have all heard, i’ve reached 60 now, and i’m having just as much fun as ever. Though I have burnt through my entire Anniversary Band in less than a week, the EXP still seems to roll in. Duoing BST is probably the most fun I have had in this game. SO many LoLz, and you have someone to laugh with when weird stuff happens. Squigg helped us get our last coffer key, and Fusionx helped fight our BST pants NM with his dancing action.

Now that we’re 60, we’re taking a break while Opiate catches up with his WHM, and gets LB3 done. I’ll keep you update. See a pic below. Till next time!

written by Steak

Last night, Opiate and I meandered up to Castle Z to take on Dark Spark for our Beast Gloves.  I must mention that we first had to obtain the contents of the Crawler’s Nest Treasure Coffer.  For me, I just switch to THF, ran down there and picked the lock of the coffer, and pop! Old Gauntlets. (It was awesome not needing a key lol.  Opiate had to farm a key.  So anyway, Dark Spark comes out, and he’s like “oh, hey Steak. It’s you again. ouch ouch ouch ouch, /die”.  It was fun with PLD/NIN action. It gave me the chance to use my brand new Hauby that I bought with my…….. well anyway, it was cool! =D

BST is treating me well, and I am glad that you guys steered me in that direction. I love helping people out!  I have the ability to charm mobs that get linked to parties, take them away, and depop them, and also charm mobs that people call help on.  It’s great!  I dont think anyone respects BSTs though.  I think that we’re outcasts misunderstood and willfully ignored by the partied society.  That’s ok by me though, because the Beastmasters are all my brothers and sisters.  We look out for one another.

Till next time…

written by Steak

Dear Diary,

The past few weeks have proven really fun and exciting for me.  After my last entry, I decided that I would pickup BST again.  It had been quite a while, and I had to remake all of my macros which took a lot longer than I thought!  I had to get all new gear, weapons, accessories etc., and head back to Sea Serpent Grotto.  I was /NIN because I didn’t know any better, and I guess I was used to using NIN for shadows, so I figured it was the best way to go at the time.  I remember someone telling me a long time ago that a 2 BST duo is really fun, and makes for fast leveling.  I was alone in the grotto, and decided I would /sea all bst 36-38.  I saw one guy, Opiate, and didn’t even know if he spoke English or not.  I decided to shoot him a tell, and he seemed up for the idea of giving bst a try. (lol sounds like a hippy song “Give Beast a Channce”)

Well, needless to say, we started a pseudo static party, and have been rocking Vana’diel so hard, I’m afraid it’s going to topple over!  I guess I can’t praise BST enough. It’s a joy to level, and even more so when you know someone’s got your back.  I recommend BST to anyone who wants to light that spark of excitement that they once had when they started this Vana’diel adventure. Till Next time!

written by Steak

Dragoon or Beastmaster?  Thief or Samurai?  I can’t decide right now.  After last week’s episode, I’m being drawn toward Beastmaster.  I love BST!  I think I have had the most fun lvling BST than any other job in the game.  That’s really the only reason I need to level it right?  I think I might just to show Squigg a thing or two! >=D

Also on my mind is Thief and Samurai.  I’m not sure that I leveled THF high enough.  I love THF too, and I have invested quite a bit lvling it.  I also really had fun with SAM, but I don’t think I gave it a fighting chance.

What do you guys think?  Help me out.

written by Steak

My daughter is 4 years old now.  For Christmas, we bought her a Nintendo DS (henceforth referred to as “DS”).  Since then, I’ve noticed her playing it a lot.  Doesn’t bother me one bit. When I was her age, I was playing Space Invaders, Pitfall, Asteroids, and Missile Command ALL DAY LONG.  She plays the DS for hours at a time, and my wife has brought up a concern that she plays it too much.  I disagree, and I’ll explain why. As much as anyone wants to deny it, or fight it, video games are a part of our culture.  I was the same way when I was her age, and I like to think that I turned out OK. (Sort of.) I guess I can understand my wife’s frustrations when we have to call her name 4 times for her to respond, but hey, you gotta find a place to save! I understand the whole thing about her not playing outside as much as she should, but the truth of the matter is; kids don’t play outside as much as they used to.  The technology we have now allows us to play video games with people around the world!  I guess you could say that you sacrifice the sunlight to get the chance to socially network on a global level.  I’m not saying that playing DS is better than playing an old fashioned game of ghosts in the graveyard, I’m just saying that it seems kids these days have better things to do than going out and getting dirty.  I say, let the child do what makes them happy.  You cant force a kid to go outside and play if they don’t want to, they’ll just stand in the front yard resenting you. Video games are a part of us, and it seems that the more she plays video games, the closer we get. I played Animal Crossing with my daughter today, and it was the best quality time we had spent together in a while.

written by Steak