Winds of change ... and origins of Berdain hahaha

I have been very fortunate in FFXI, met many many very kool people from all over the world. I've stayed away from many bad experiences from what others tell me. I've set some goals when I first started this game, and they're the same as the goals that I've set for all the other FF games that I've played.

- Try different races
- Try different jobs
- Explore
- Do quests

The themes that I've loved about FFXI are:

- Meet other players and interact with people who shared the love of this virtual world.
- Thrive in a world where the lines are drawn more clearly than in RL. Live by example as they say, and others will follow. There were sooooo many players that have come before me that I've learned from, and I always try my best to better my skills. Why you ask? So that others that come after me can continue the legacy that had come into this world.
- Hard work will be rewarded - in RL, this is not the case...but in FF, it certainly is. Hard work, dedication, and perserverance will pay off in the end.

What's funny is that whether players know it or not, these themes grab hold sooner or later and become a part of you, just as you spent countless amount of hours injecting yourself into a seemingly lifeless digital shell...bringing it to life...on your tv, your computer, laptop, etc...

Some of us are older(not necesarily age, but maybe wisdom?), and know that this is a game, a dangerous game because it provides a perpetual sanctuary from the harshness of real life. Some of us are clueless and basically play because they can't explain why they like the game so much...maybe uber, leet or whatever you wanna call it...to gain respect from your peers...dunno

When I first started playing, I wanted to be Elvaan above all else. Elvaan PLD as a matter of fact lol. My RL friend was lame and he didn't give me the right numbers for the world pass haha. So Validor was created on Quezacoatl and it was fun. It was my first MMORG, and I was overwhelmed. It was during February of this year, where the first generation NA players have long since moved out of the newbie zones and into Khazam, some were well onto their adv. jobs and whatnot. People were friendly, there were always Cures+Protects+Shells being throw at me and all the other low lv chars. They were genuinely courteous and even if they didn't always speak english, they would always wave or nod or /cheer your progress.

I thought I had found paradise on Quezacoatl, and levelled pretty quickly.

Then my RL friend asked me if I wanted to try world shift again...he said he would help me along and it would be fun to play together. I said, yeah, it would be great to play with someone that I actually know in RL...not realizing the implications.

So he gave me a worldpass to Fenrir (Correctly this time) and I started playing a Hume to see what it was like and in Bastok. Bastok was amazing...I've never levelled quicker in my life than in Gustaberg ... plus I didn't miss as much as an Elvaan meleer lol.

Since I played in the mornings, it was hard to PT with anyone, especially my RL friend because it turned out that he only plays the game on the weekends...plus he was already lv 19 at the time so there was no way we could PT together...*sigh*...

I levelled Berdain to 16, soloing and what not...during this time I got powerleveled by none other than Takalo the high lvl taru whm. I had no idea those little dudes can do so much...I also met Dandare that day, who turned up six months later and we became really great friends...(Berdain and Kamitaru are now in Dandare's LS, WreckingCrew)

When the PS2 NA version Launched, I knew that I wanted to try a taru mage for sure...(due to the marvelous Takalo, who probably will never remember me lol). Kamitaru was born, and I duo-leveled with him as whm and Berdain as a thf (bad bad horrible idea)...Berdain still didn't get his subjobs yet...and it was a freaking disaster with no provoke abilities...lol

We did that until lv 13, and one morning I did a suicide run thru Konschtat -> Valkurm Dunes -> La Theine -> West Ron -> Sandy. It was the most horrifying day in my life and I'm still amazed that I survived til this day.

Anyway, things were smooth sailing from there. I gave in and created a second char (Validor was already taken on Fenrir), Valius - an Elvaan Warrior. He was fun to play, and with Kami PL'ing him it was easy.

So some reason or another, probably because Berdain had more jobs levelled at the time, I grouped Kami and Berdain again after kami hit lv 16. Took them all the way to 30, got adv jobs, and got to 20 pretty quickly....but something happened along the way. Secretly I really started to hate the way berdain looks... Especially when I saw his same char type on a whm wearing holy breastplate at the Maze ... bleech. It also didn't help when Berdain's archetype is the same as the cruel master in the Chocobo License Quest Cutscenes hahaha.

It's funny how fate plays her hand....a couple of days ago, I get this gracious invite from Panq to start over on Hades....out of all the people that shifted, she was the one that hurt the most...I really missed her presence on Fenrir and her going out of my way to help Kami on her last day on Fenrir...just tore me apart...

So now I got two chars on Hades...an Elvaan and Mithra lol...and playing them made me remember how fun it was to play from the beginning, building empty shells of characters and all possibilities open to them...yeah these chars have their faults as well, but that's what I like about them...it's not about stats, but how they overcome their handicap...a wierd insight into the human condition in a video game no less, hahaha

^_^