Wednesday marks two months since the beginning of early access to Final Fantasy XIV's latest expansion, Dawntrail. After two months I finally reached the end of the content distracting me from completing the main story questline (MSQ). Unlike previous expansions, I didn't feel a need to rush out and finish the story, pick up an adorable mount, and watch the credits roll. But I'm getting to that point.
Remembering how to fight - I did begin the process of levelling my Trust characters, beginning with Thancred (tank), Estinien (melee dps) and Y'shtola (ranged magical dps) last week and the trio reached level 92. In addition to learning how to use the left thumb buttons on my mouse, I discovered I kind of forgot how to fight. On my last run through of Ihuykatumu, I died to Drowsie, the second boss, once due to failure to dodge mechanics. I need to improve my key pressing ability in order to pay more attention to the mechanics and less attention to finding abilities on the action bars. Still, my last run was the cleanest in my Trust character levelling effort, so perhaps I'm learning.
Crafting gear progress - At the beginning of last week I had only made all the crafting tools and the five left-side pieces (head, chest, hands, legs, feet). Over the course of the week not only did I complete the crafting but the overmelding as well. Choosing the mid-tier setup on Teamcraft did help cut down on costs while still meaning I could make all the items I really wanted.
Gathering gear complete - I also managed to craft and overmeld a set of gathering gear. For the initial Dawntrail gathering set I once again used the mid-tier setup on Teamcraft which relies on grade 9 & 10 materia. I ran through my limited supply of materia and then visited my island sanctuary for more. I wound up going from over 900,000 seafarer's cowries down to 697,000. By the time patch 7.1 drops I should have over 900,000 cowries again unless I decide to add gathering points to my gear. Currently I am at 855 without food and GP does help not only with node bonuses but fishing as well.
New combat equipment - After finishing overmelding my crafting gear I made a set of the Archeo Kingdom healing gear. I do like the look, especially for winter settings. However, for running around the New World, I prefer some lighter gear, at least glamour-wise. I also went to the market board and purchased grade 12 materia to socket into the available materia slots.
I did encounter one issue. Some of the materials required to make the gear require Allagan Tomestone of Aesthetics to acquire. So instead of grinding level 100 dungeons, which I hate, I instead just bought what I needed off the market board. I only spent 400,000 gil which I made up rather quickly in selling dye from my island sanctuary.
Retainer army progress - By upgrading my white mage job to iLvl 710 gear, I could use the hand-me-downs to upgrade my last white mage retainer to iLvl 670 gear. The upgrade is significant because now all my retainers can to the highest level expeditions. Well, except for my new botanist which reached level 75 this week.
Does this mean I'm done with my retainers and can put them on cruise control? Not at all. The next step is to maximize their output, which means crafting best-in-slot gear and lots of materia adding perception.
I also need to go out and harvest every type of item available in Dawntrail. Retainers can bring back specific items, but only if the player has collected the item at least once. If I can finish the task before patch 7.1 I'll be set. I hope.
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