Let it go

I don't know if it's human nature or just greed that makes us latch on to something good. Anytime we get a good thing, we milk it until there's nothing left, and then we squeeze it just a bit more to make certain.

Like Kool-aid. Oh yeah. That's some good drink. Yet, it's not something you're supposed to live off of. Too much of it and you end up with a severe case of yuck-mouth. Take it a bit at a time and enjoy it. Then go drink something else so when you return to the good stuff, you can savor the taste more than before.

Level Sync is the Kool-aid of FFXI. That's right, I went there.

Really people. The whole purpose of Level Sync was so that people didn't have to search for hours and hours just to find a party, or that friends who were high level could party with the low-level buddies and not kill the exp or feel left out. It was not meant for us to find a camp and milk that shit from 10-75 without ever leaving the zone.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for a sync party. In moderation. If you are someone that has gone from level 20 to doing your AF quests and never left Qufim Island, there's a problem. If you're level 50 and the only [S] zone you know is East Ronfure [S], you need help. Worse yet, if you're 75 with the skills of a 30, you need to quit.

I know; the exp of a sync party is freaking awesome. It's fast and it doesn't require a lot of effort. It also means that you run the risk of completely gimping yourself just for the sake of a fast level. Seriously people, let that shit go. We bitch and moan about Astral Burns, but a basic sync party is exactly the same. The difference between astral burns and a regular sync party is the rate in which you screw yourself over.

Sync parties are like drunk sex. It feels oh so right until you look back and realize what you did to yourself. Either way, you're left with an empty feeling when it's over. Your skills are lacking, you just wasted money on gear that you really didn't get the benefit of having, and you're stupid in your job to boot because you now have abilities that you haven't had the chance to use and you got them 10 levels ago.

I know it's hard to believe, but there really are more zones to party in than Valkurm Dunes, Qufim Island, and East Ronfure. Especially at 50+

Where did it all go?

Yesterday, I was trying to figure out what to do. Had some craptastic runs with that damned flaming puppy in Nyzul Isle and I just needed something else to occupy my mind for a bit.

So I decided to go back to leveling Bard. I've been calling myself a dumbass since I started because I actually looked at some of the gear expected of Bards and realized there is no way in hell that I'll have most of that stuff. Sea capes, nope. Shi'ar Manteel? Hahaha, hell no. Let's no even get into the other things that a Bard can use. Just depressing. Anyway, after having my flag up for a bit, I got an invite. Woot.

Since I was level 24, we ended up taking the party to the lovely island of Kazham. Actually, I hate that place. It's confusing for no apparent reason. Still, it's where everyone parties at that level, so off I go.

We made it the camp and now it was time for some fun. Thankfully, we had a PL, and that made life a little easier. I'm still getting use to singing my heart out and motivating the crowd with my songs, but it wasn't too bad. We had a few deaths due to a couple of stupid pull mistakes, or Goblins who were on steroids, yet we kept going.

The job I choose doesn't matter. This is how I spend most of my time until 75.

After awhile our leader loses connection, but what else would you expect? A party's not a party unless someone drops connection. When he did though, the leader defaulted to me. Have I ever told you how much I hate leading parties? If not, the answer is a lot. I'll go into that another time.

So I get more people and keep the party going. Times passes and we change camps. Then we get a few more levels and change camps yet again. By the time I looked at my clock, it was after 1 am. I had been online since mid-afternoon or so. That's a long damned party.

Now I didn't wonder where all the time went, because I didn't care. What I did notice though, is the reason why I didn't care. I was having fun. Seriously, I had a freaking blast in that party. We had two new people to the game who didn't even know where Garlaige Citadel was or what Dispel did, but that didn't matter. I sat in that party for the latter part of a day and just had fun. Yeah, people died and other craziness happened, but that was part of the fun. Everyone was laughing and making jokes, or doing /dance4 when we waited for someone to come back from an afk.

Where does all of that fun go when we reach the higher levels? We become so impatient and wrapped up in silly shit that we forget to have fun. Really, what happens to us between the low levels and endgame?

Any ideas?