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Pearls in the Deep (main)
-Time to hunt some pearl moss and pearls. Pearl moss for medicine to help Cid recover, and pearls just cause Adelle is Adelle.
-GIANT ANTLION! Shades of… well, plenty of prior entries, but FFIV jumps out to me most.
-This antlion is called “Lord of the Flowsand.” She continually summons little antlions to support her.
-Victory! (Though it’s a tough fight to be sure.)
-Adelle sends Luso to dig in the sand for the pearls and pearl moss.
LUSO: “You’re not coming?”
ADELLE: “Of course not! It’s dark and damp in there!”
-Their ongoing banter is fantastic. I also like that it’s not totally one-sided. Luso says he found one much bigger pearl down there. Adelle gets psyched, digs around a bit…
ADELLE: “What’s the big – hey! It’s on my hand! Eeeeeew! Stinky!”
Beware, Adelle. Luso is learning to troll from the best (i.e. you).
-We return the pearl moss and it’s healing mixture to Cid.
-Luso speaks with Cid alone. He wonders: why was Adelle on her own so long? Does she have a family?
CID: “Everyone has a history. Everyone has their own life to lead, their own way to lead it.”
-So where to now? Luso’s only goal is more adventure. Cid suggests he try visiting the Rupie Mountains.
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Notices, Rumors, & Side Quests
-Prima Donna is a four-woman clan that sings and dances. J-Pop in Jylland!
-I wish the game did a better job of denoting which how many of my quests are only here because I’m the area champion, cause I have no idea what rewards I actually got from winning the auction. [Non-rhetorical question: is there a way to tell that I’m missing, or is it really just about getting discounts in the areas I’m champion of?]
-Ughhhh. Got my first bad escort quest, where the tomatoes I’m supposed to protect spread out and charge the enemy. I have to wait an entire in-game year to retry. I really hate that.
(At least mission failure doesn’t give a “Game Over.”)
-Y’know what? I’m not gonna stress it. I never, ever like timed shit. So I’m gonna ignore the game’s timers. Whatever quests I miss, I miss.
-Accidentally clicked on Lezaford’s house after a quest, and a thing happens. The games asks if I want to “take a rest” based on how tired I am. Uh… I pick a middle setting.
SIXTY DAYS PASS! This is how I pass time quickly.
-Unlocked juggler on my generic moogle. Her portrait is TERRIFYING.
-It doesn’t comfort me that she’s wielding a khukuri described thusly: “The fastest way to a man’s heart is his stomach. The curve of this knife’s blade makes it easy.”
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Seeq You Next Tuesday!
-New party member! Normally I wouldn’t note a generic joining up, but this is a new race: a seeq!
-This is super exciting. He can be a ranger or a berserker. There are only two locked jobs, so only four seeq job options total.
-I have six main active party members: two humans, a nu mou, a viera, a moogle. Ordinarily I’d sit one of my humans, but both humans are main party members, Luso and Adelle. I’m not dumping them.
So I think for now I’ll leave the seeq on the bench. Hopefully I can get a seeq main party member this game.
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To Be a Fighter (fighter unlock)
-A group of fighters is looking for a challenge.
-We defeat them… and they teach us their ways. WOOHOO!
-I’ve been psyched for the fighter job. I’ve found a whole mess of fighter weapons in the bazaar.
That’s my next job for Luso.
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Nu Mou Nobles (arcanist unlock)
-I bring some regents to the nu mou side of a nu mou/bangaa feud. They teach me arcanist as a reward.
-This nu mou has an epic portrait.
-I’m far away from accessing it. My nu mou needs two time mage abilities first, and she hasn’t even started it. She’s been working on the illusionist/alchemist tree for now.
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The Goug Consortium (fusilier unlock)
-This company’s “Department of Ranged Mutilation” (lol) went out to test a new gun prototype. They haven’t returned.
-The consortium is all-moogle. And super suspicious. They’re part of the Goug Consortium, and they think I’m with their rival “Zedlei Consortium.” [Later edit: I think those were the seeq I met last time who farmed monsters.]
-I have to fight them. They’re all “fusiliers.”
-We defeat them and learn the fusilier job!
-I like how job unlock quests show me the job in action. The fusiliers did low damage, but their range is huge, and they have solid crowd control. They’re basically gunners from FFTA.
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New Clan Trials
-A new round of clan trials arrives.
-My first trials requires me to kill three tonberries quickly. FUCK TONBERRIES. They can “Stalk” a party member, chasing them and landing the classic Knife or Karma once in melee range.
I just ate the damage this time. If I see more tonberries in the future, I’ll have to watch which party member get “stalked” and kite the tonberry.
-Got a new privilege I don’t understand, that increases the rate at which the “Smash Gauge” fills. Maybe that’s the name for a hidden opportunity meter.
-Most clan trials go pretty well. They’re a fun multi-task challenge mostly, dodging or dealing with enemies while doing some other objective like collecting stuff around the battlefield.
-Except the second rank “General Training” trial. It puts me up against a boss 20 levels higher than me with the restriction that I can’t deal >20 damage. Uhhhhh.
Oh, wait! I can break the law safely. I mean, I can break the law and that doesn’t end the trial. I beat the boss the second time around, at least on the lowest setting.
Hee! I’ve already maxed out ¾ of my clan talents.
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Next time: to the Rupie Mountains.
