The Adventures Of Pirotess: Exploring Patch 4.2 and Patch 4.3

 I have been a bit busy lately with running my knitting shop on Etsy and day to day things so I am combining Patch 4.2 and 4.3 for this Mother Gamer blog post. Final Fantasy XIV's latest patches of 4.2 and 4.3 are fairly big with some new adventures and new areas.

Let's start with the 4.2 patch. The big thing is the new area of Eureka Anemos. This is a huge area and it is an instance, but unlike the regular instances you can stay in here exploring for a very long time, up to 180 minutes. Up to 144 players can be in this instance and you can use the party functions in here. There are also NPC merchants and menders here as well as weather reporters. The weather reporters are important because in Eureka the elements are a challenge. You will need to increase your elemental levels. Your progress in here is saved, so when you leave and come back you can start where you left off. Be aware that Eureka is incredibly challenging and the monsters here are quite strong, so going with a party is a good idea. The leveling is different here too because you have a Magia board and magicite that controls the elements.

Pirotess in Eureka. Up top is the Magia board. 

There is main story content as well for Stormblood with Rise Of A New Sun. Here you get to see Lord Hien again and many other familiar faces. The fight with the Garlean empire isn't quite over and there is the rise of a new villain, Asahi who while not as ruthless as Zenos was is still quite the jerk.

Lord Hien meets with Asahi.

There is no specific story dungeon, but there are a couple of story instances that you have to do. They're not too difficult to do, but it is a good idea to make sure your gear level is at least 300 to ensure that you don't have too much trouble. The rest of it is a lot of cutscenes, but the story is interesting.

Pirotess battling with friends against the Garleans.

There is a side quest dungeon in Hell's Lid and again make sure your gear score is the right level so you can do it. Of course, it wouldn't be Final Fantasy XIV without a new Hildibrand quest. Yes, our favorite investigator is back for a short, but fun adventure. I enjoyed seeing him again because Hildibrand always makes me giggle and the mysteries are funny and well done.

Hildibrand is back!

Now we go into Patch 4.3 and this has more of the main story content with Under The Moonlight. The starting quest for this is Gosetsu and Tsuyu. Once that is started you get to visit with Lord Hien again and other familiar faces. 

Pirotess starts the main story quest for patch 4.3.

There is a lot of going back and forth for the cutscenes, but the story is well done. Lord Hien continues to be a very likable character for me because he is kind and genuinely cares about everyone. I of course also liked seeing Aphinaud and Alisae again as well.

Pirotess meets with Lord Hien and friends. 

Our villainous friend Asahi makes an appearance too and plays heavily in the story here. This leads up to a primal fight instance that you need to do for the story. Honestly I do not like primal fights because they are a huge pain, but thanks to all the amazing people in my Free Company we get things done. This primal fight  is quite interesting and it does add some great elements to the story. 

Asahi isn't quite as menacing as Zenos, but he is a jerk.

There is another return to Ivalice quest and there is a fight you have to do battling red chocobos. This is a simple fight, but watch out for the meteor attack because the chocobos cast it a lot. This also opens another raid that you can do with your fellow adventurers.

Pirotess battling red chocobos. 

There is also a new beastmen tribe quest you can do and this time it's with the adorable catfish people, the Namazu. The quests for them are different in the fact that you must be on a Disciple of the Land or Disciple of the Hand crafting job. There are a lot of crafting quests with them, and when you complete the quest One Size Fits All, this unlocks the Namazu vendor. 

Get daily quests from the adorable Namazu.

Another new feature for Patch 4.3 is area achievements. Complete specific achievements for these areas and you are awarded a certain amount of points for each one. You can trade some of these points for item rewards with the NPC in Gridania like fishing gear or battle accessories. I do wish you had the option to turn off the achievements pop up because it can be a little annoying the way it pops up every time you enter an area. There is also one other thing that is cool and that is cross-world linkshell. This allows you to talk to friends on other servers. The only downside is that you can have only one cross-world linkshell. Maybe later on, they will make it so you can have more. The limit to one may just be to see how it affects all the servers before they expand on it. For right now though even with just one, it is nice that you can chat with your friends on other servers.

List of achievements you can do for points. 

As you can see Patch 4.2 and 4.3 are huge with a lot of  great story content, new areas, and lots of stuff to see and do. The addition of the Namazu quests are my personal favorite because I think they are funny and adorable. I am hoping Hildibrand will make another appearance again soon because those quests are always fun. In the meantime, I'm set to go adventuring with my friends and explore more of the new content. See you at the next adventure!

Pirotess is off on another adventure.

*Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on the following platforms: PC and Playstation 4

The Adventures Of Pirotess: Crafting With Leatherworker

 Crafting in Final Fantasy XIV is a lot of fun and I have been enjoying it. Today, we're taking a look at the crafting job of Leatherworker. In order to unlock this crafting job, you need to travel to the Leatherworker's guild in Gridania.

Pirotess at the Leatherworker's Guild.

Leatherworker is useful for making armor for adventurers as well as crafting gear. Bards and monks especially benefit from having someone who is a leatherworker because they can make a lot of battlecraft gear and armor for them. To craft items, you can check your crafting log and choose an item appropriate for your level. A check mark will appear next to the item you have successfully crafted. Wind and earth shards are heavily used in leatherworker so having botanist and miner leveled will help gather those for your crafting. You can also buy basic materials at lower levels from the guild supplier. For more advanced items you will need to have certain crafting jobs and both gathering jobs unlocked. You can also shop around for needed items on the market boards. Remember, take your time when shopping on the market boards in order to get the best deal for your supplies. 

Use your crafting log to craft selected items.

In order to craft an item, use your set of skills. Skills such as steady hand will help you craft steadily without breaking any materials. Masters mend will repair item durability while you are crafting to ensure that you complete a finished item without synthesis failure. Leatherworker skills take time and patience, but when you do it right crafting is a cinch.

Use your skills to successfully craft.

Armor and tradecraft gear is not the only thing you can make on leatherworker. You can also make housing items such as furniture and outdoor items. Housing items are a little more difficult to make, but they are worth it because you can make quite a bit of gil on the market boards with them. Just remember to use your skills as necessary, be patient, and you will be able to craft them easily.

Craft housing items with your Leatherworker to make some extra gil.

Another thing you can do to craft is something called quick synthesis. Quick synthesis allows you to make multiples of one item as long as you have all the materials for it. For example, if you want to craft two headpieces, you can do that with quick synthesis. From your crafting log, select the quick synthesis tab and enter the amount of the item you wish to make. This is a fast way to make something, but be warned that it does not ensure that you will automatically have a high quality item and for more challenging items you may have one or two failures. 

Use quick synthesis to craft multiple items.

For all of your crafting needs, food can be a great booster. This is where culinarian comes in handy because there are a ton of dishes that can boost things such as crafstmanship and control points which can help with your crafting a lot. For my leatherworker I like to use baked onion soup because it enhances crafstmanship and I can use multiple servings depending on how long I want to craft. 

Use food like baked onion soup to enhance your crafting skills.

As with the other crafting jobs, when you hit certain levels you will be able to do a job specific quest which you get from the guild master NPC Geva. You will have to use your leatherworker skills to craft the item that she requests and present it to her. When you complete the quest, you will receive an upgraded leatherworker tool for your level and your choice of job specific gear with stats on it that help enhance your crafting skills. 

Pirotess talks to guild master Geva for her leatherworker quest.

Leatherworker is not just useful, it is fun to craft with. There is a vast variety of items you can craft ranging from armor to housing items. It complements really well with jobs like carpenter and blacksmith which opens up even more crafting options. If you're interested in trying it out, head to Gridania and visit the Leatherworker's guild and start crafting. See you at the next adventure!

Thanks for reading. See you at the next adventure!

*Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on the following platforms: PC and Playstation 4

The Adventures Of Pirotess: Crafting With Armorer

 Last time we explored the crafting job of Blacksmith. Today, we're looking at a crafting job that goes very well with Blacksmith, Armorer. Conveniently, both the Armorer and Blacksmith guild are in the same building in Limsa Lominsa so you can unlock both jobs at the same time at the receptionist desk.

Blacksmith and Armorer receptionist desk are next to each other. Convenient!

Again, having other crafting jobs unlocked and leveled such as leatherworker and blacksmith are helpful for Armorer because some crafting recipes require materials or items from those crafting jobs. In your crafting log, you will find items that you can craft according to your level. You will use ice shards and earth shards for Armorer so having gathering jobs like botanist and miner will help with that when you need to restock on them and for supplying yourself with other needed materials. Your two most important tools for your armorer are a hammer and a pair of pliers. 

You have a set of skills for armorer that will help in your crafting. Steady hand for example, helps increase the success of crafting an item without breaking. Using higher quality items and the skills that enhance the quality will help in successfully creating a high quality item which you can sell for a lot more gil on the market boards. Patience is the key because for more challenging recipes, you will have crafting failures. 

Pirotess crafts an iron shield.

You don't have to just craft armor. In your crafting log there is a tab for housing items. You can craft furniture, lamps, and windows for housing. These can also be crafted according to your level. Housing items are a little more difficult, but practice makes perfect. You can also use food to enhance your crafting skills which is very helpful. Remember to use your skills to successfully craft these housing items. You can decorate your own house or sell them on the market board for a good amount of gil to help fund your adventures. 

Craft housing items on armorer from your crafting log.

Once a recipe is completed you will get a notification that it is done and a check mark will appear in your crafting log next to the items you have crafted. This is a great way to keep track of items, levels, and things yet to be crafted. 

Crafting complete message appears. 

At certain levels like level 10 you will get a notification that you can do a job specific quest. For Armorer you talk to the guild master NPC H'naanza and you will have to craft an item and present it to her. Once the quest is finished, you get upgraded tools and your choice of gear for your armorer. 

Pirotess gets her armorer quest from H'naanza.

Armorer is a lot of fun and it's fairly easy to get materials for it when you are first starting out. Because the blacksmith's guild and armorer's guild are in the same building and right next to each other, you can easily purchase the things you need to craft from the NPC guild vendors. 

Pirotess buys supplies from the guild vendors.

For higher levels, you can either have other crafting jobs properly leveled or you can visit the market boards to get the materials you need. Do be picky about who you buy from on the market boards. It's okay to shop around for the best price. Sometimes you need to wait a few days for prices to drop and that's okay too because you want to make more gil than you spend. Once you get what you need, you can keep crafting away. 

Pirotess shops the market boards. 

Armorer is not just fun, it's useful. You can make armor, shields, and housing items for yourself, your friends, and your fellow adventurers. It's a perfect complementing job to blacksmith because you can make weapons also. It's a great crafting job and a nice break from adventuring. Head to the guild in Limsa Lominsa and check it out for yourself. See you at the next adventure, everyone! 

See you at the next adventure!

*Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on the following platforms: PC and Playstation 4