... Dusts off the boots.

[Holydragoon]

Well, it's been about 2 years since I have logged on to FFXI. I decided to install, and update. Yes, it took forever too.
Then I did it...
I logged in...
I officially have no recollection of what I was doing. Both of my LS's appear to be dead. Maybe they've moved on, maybe they stopped playing too. I don't think I've ever felt so lonely on FFXI.

What's a lonely kitty to do...

Have you taken the long break, and then come back? What would you do?

[Shirai]

Find a good social LS with helpful people.

If you'd take my advise:

Contact Lotesse for a pearl to Getsoutthehammer

One of titan's oldest and most helpful social linkshells with members of all levels.

[Alya Mizar (Tsybil)]

I would look for old friends, and make new ones.

Hang out in Whitegate, listen to shouts, help people you can help with missions and quests, get to know them.

Get to 65 and find a Dynamis LS. Get to know the people in it.

Above all, have fun.

[Holydragoon]

I'll keep an eye out for them, I already had an offer for a sky LS once I'm settled back in. What's with all the dragoon love!!? Don't get me wrong though, I like it.

[Karou Ariyen]

I'll keep an eye out for them, I already had an offer for a sky LS once I'm settled back in. What's with all the dragoon love!!? Don't get me wrong though, I like it.

What Love? Get back to shining my boots you Loldrg

But seriously now, DRG sucks less~ Samurai got mass damage, then we got nerfed a couple weeks later.

[Alya Mizar (Tsybil)]

I'll keep an eye out for them, I already had an offer for a sky LS once I'm settled back in. What's with all the dragoon love!!? Don't get me wrong though, I like it.

What Love? Get back to shining my boots you Loldrg

But seriously now, DRG sucks less~ Samurai got mass damage, then we got nerfed a couple weeks later.

People are realizing that DRG never was as bad as their reputation. Indeed my melee kitty's now defunct Dynamis LS believed that the best damage dealers are SAM and DRG. And that was BEFORE the 2 handed upgrade / partial nerf.

The old formula for DEX and STR: 1 DEX = .5 Acc, 1 STR = .5 Att.

Revised formula: 1 DEX = 1 Acc, 1 STR = 1 Att when using 2 handed weapons.

Rerevised formula: 1 DEX = .75 Acc, 1 STR = .75 Att when using 2 handed weapons.

[Sugami]

Someone in the DRG forums will tell you it's 1:0.73 STR:Att/DEX:Acc, apparently someone managed to get STR+100 to find out he only got Att+73 from it but 4:3 ratio is a good enough estimate (that and I have no idea why SE would put such a silly ratio in).

I miss the 1:1 ratio, my WAR could get away with next to no Accuracy and still hit above 90% (possibly close to 95%)

Incidentally my DRG now has around 27 more Accuracy than before the first update in base DEX and trait alone. So can assume other 2-handed users have around 12 more Accuracy than they did previously.

[Erpalacion]

Aww... you guys are killing me.

After looking on POL.com (I shortened it, so what?) and looked at all the updates that've happened since I left mid-way through last year, I want to play.

I've quit the game so many times for being bored, varied time lengths, and I always keep coming back. I've tried WoW (before the expansion), GW, Lineage 2, and a bunch of other MMO's that you can download online (about 12 different ones total), but FFXI is the only one I constantly go back too. lol

Hearing how they're making the game better (than when I first started and last left it) is making me jumpy, excited to get back on and play again, but depressed because I can't. Mainly because this computer isn't mine... connection isn't that fast but if someone calls I'd get disconnected (darn you 25k dial-up Earthlink!), my girlfriend... her mom.

The only thing I have right now to calm that urge is FFXII... only problem is that they don't have a little Dragon that'll fly around with you, or Jumps. At least someone is able to get back on in my place... who knows, maybe when I finally get back on I wont even recognize anything that's going on because I'd be SOOOOOO far behind (like I wasn't when I was playing before hand... lol).

But me, I'd just go with whatever feels good at the moment. If none of my old friends are on I'd just go exploring and see if I'd happen on some NM's I'd be able to kill. Find people in Dunes or the Jungle and sit there and Raise or randomly Cure them, or just Solo and try for some skill ups on lower skilled weapons. Or just hand around and shout for help on some missions/quests that you have activated already. There's too many things too do in this game to count, one of my favorite is to just sit in Whitegate and make fun of the people on that server... only because I know just about everyone out there or they know I'm just joking with them. Get into a /shout fight about a stupid topic to pass-by the time while waiting for something of interest to pass by your mind or something.

I know none of these sound like a good timely start for your "career" in the game, but it's just something to think about while you get used to the feel and flow of the game again till you get your fire back and start the actual gaming process again. I don't know, those're just a couple of ideas to get your name out there so people will see you're there and be able to say "Hey, I remeber that guy/girl in [that place] doing [this]." or whatever. Who knows, they might think you're cool and ask you to go party with them or join their LS.

I can ramble on for days about this topic in anticipating what I'd do when/if I started up again, so I'll just end it here.

[Keavy]

I was in a similar situation a couple years back.

PS2 died and shortly thereafter I moved out on my own so wasn't able to afford Cable. But I persevered and before long got a roommate and a new PS2 and came back.

Now, thanks to the craptacular 360 I'm forced to take a break whenever the hardware decides life just isn't worth living.

My recommendation? Find a replacement. For me, its Final Fantasy Tactics. I have easily spent a good year of my life playing that game yet I never get tired of it.

Persevere, my friends and soon you, too will be in the sweet, loving embrace of Final Fantasy XI.

[Karou Ariyen]

I was in a similar situation a couple years back.

PS2 died and shortly thereafter I moved out on my own so wasn't able to afford Cable. But I persevered and before long got a roommate and a new PS2 and came back.

Now, thanks to the craptacular 360 I'm forced to take a break whenever the hardware decides life just isn't worth living.

My recommendation? Find a replacement. For me, its Final Fantasy Tactics. I have easily spent a good year of my life playing that game yet I never get tired of it.

Persevere, my friends and soon you, too will be in the sweet, loving embrace of Final Fantasy XI.

Or do I what I do and beat the 360 with a large pointy object that belongs to GM Dave. Now excuse me, I have to return GM Dave's Loldrg Polearm before he feeds me to jormy!

[Okuza]

Ask around and hopefully find a spot that a lot of people on your server use as a "server board". It helps immensely when just getting started again. MP is a good starting point, but it's pan-server. It can't really help you all that much on particular servers unless you get a lucky hit on a regular here.