Dandelion-Utilitarian

The first night, two friends and I decided it was time we learned to fish. We found a delightful spot, in an old port, and cast our nets blindly. We expected the entire event to last all but a few minutes before we were going to get bored.

I think it was three hours later than we finally decided it was time for bed. That’s three hours and about twenty levels.

Fishing in Final Fantasy XIV is a simple thing. You stand near the edge of some water, and click the cast button. When you see an exciting exclamation mark above your head (and a quick rumble of the controller for those who are playing properly) you click the button to reel in the fish. Depending on level, bait selection, location and luck, you get a fish of varying quality, or no fish, just disappointment.

Sure, as you progress through the levels, there are more skills, bait and in some areas weather is a factor, but the basic loop never changes.

It’s strange, then, that the three of us spent a whole Sunday night doing the same thing over and over, and having a delightful time.

The second time we played (the following Sunday) was even more exciting. The Moonfire Faire event was on. This meant that there was a brightly coloured and exciting ‘pool party’ on a large wooden boat. We played with the slides and cannons and failed at the jumping puzzle before actually doing the event’s quest (to get some rather nice clothing items) and then, well, we were on a boat, over water… so, we fished.

We fished for so long that the game told us to move on because we had extracted all the little sea critters, which was fun.

While we fished, many pool party goers stopped to inspect us and occasionally clap. As odd as it seems, I think we became quite interesting to people because we were there for so long, I think some people thought we were an event attraction. ☺️

It’s moments like these which you only get in MMOs. No other genre allows for this kind of thing to happen, and it’s symptomatic as to why I keep returning to this game.

The Black Mage in the room

Since returning to Final Fantasy XIV a couple of months ago now, I have not played my most levelled job, the Black Mage. I have levelled a Summoner, Fisher, Miner and Archer to around 40 but not even cast a spell as Black Mage.

When I came back, I did so with the intent of playing with and mastering controller input rather than a keyboard and mouse. This is because my main (and only) gaming device is an ROG Ally (unless we are counting my fantastic Miyoo mini, which we should because it’s awesome!)

It felt strange to start getting familiar with the controller using a high-level character, it, oddly, felt better to do so with a level one character and skill up as I went along. This meant I was only dealing with one or two skills at a time, being added as I levelled.

Now, though, I am familiar enough with my controller input that I think it’s time I return to the mage life. It feels strange, as, in some ways, I’ve not progressed since returning to the game and switching to Black mage again is a step towards the elusive MSQ.

Happy questing.