In Quest For Artifacts

First off, you will have to forgive me i had taken some wonderful screen shots of the my adventurs these past fewdays but do to user error, they were all lost. A word of advise for ps2 users, you must use the Print Screen button to save screen shots not the R1 button on the game pad. In the future I will be including alot more screen shots.

In the past few days I got my artifact (af) feet, body and hat. The Body and Legs where the easiest. The body was a snap. I ran into Davoi and the Monastic Cavern i ran a quick search for people. Most people have there info on anon so you will not beable to see there lvl or job. I just started asking people down the list, if the could help me get me coffer key. For those who do not know, the Body and Legs are simply inside a coffer in these two areas, the other 4 pieces may need a key but are involved in a quest. I was lucky, the first person i asked said yes, a lvl 75 blm. I does not get better then that. He was hitting the mobs with thunder IV for over 1200 hp damage. WOW! after a couple of hours of waiting and one failed rescue attempt on my part to save the blm from death, I had the key. He was even kind enough to show me where the coffer was. Which by the way, the coffer pop locations can be viewed on the maps linked from my blog.

Wizard's Coat
Level: 58
Flags: Rare / Exclusive / Not NPC Sellable
Slot: Body
Type: Artifact
Jobs: BLM
Races: All
Defense: 38
Auction House Category: Armor / Body
Effects for Wizard's Coat:
MP +16
Vitality +5
Enfeebling Magic Skill +10
Enmity -3

The Legs
I actualy got the legs before the body. When i poped on in Lower Jeuno some one was doing a shout out for the coffer key party. This one is in Eldieme Necropolis. A less of fun place to visit. This area is labrymth of moving doors, trap doors, filled with high lvl undead. Having a higher lvl with knowledg of the necropolis is deffinit help. The only good news is, you mainly only need sneak to get arround.

We had seven people including a lvl 73 blm. He conserved his mp and just mainly pulled. The part dragged on and on with six of us needing a key. After about 2 hours, one finalay droped. I lotted and won. We continued on for anouther 2 more hours. Then slowly people started to drop. Finaly it was down to just two, the lvl 75 decided he wanted a tanzanian bell for a whm quest and after he got it, he took me right to the coffer. Sweet, it does not get any better then that. Come to think of it, it was one of the few times i have been in there with out dieing at least twice. lol

Wizard's Tonban
Level: 56
Flags: Rare / Exclusive / Not NPC Sellable
Slot: Legs
Type: Artifact
Jobs: BLM
Races: All
Defense: 27
Auction House Category: Armor / Legs
Effects for Wizard's Tonban:
MP +14
Evasion +5
Dark Magic Skill +15
Enmity -1

The Hat-Let the Circus Begin (The Root of the Problem)!!

Later that evening I was about to log when I heard some one doing a shout out for the AF Hat. the day before i had opened the mission and set everything up for the big fight. That is all you have to do is get a silk cloth (Provided by nukky), and goto Chumimi in Heavens Tower and get cut scene. The amusing taru's continue the story line about the sick star trees. they deside to send me into the Toraimarai Canal, yet another labrynth filled with undead. They give me a magic doll to help me in my efforts. After cut scene, i had to head to Koru-Moru in Windurst Walls. His monor is just outside of Heavon's Tower and listed on my map. I goto him and trade him the silk cloth and reiceve another cut scene. He gives me a Sluice Surveyor mark and then i am ready for the NM fight.

Fast forward to the next evening, i was about to log and some one is shouting out for help with the BLM Af hat. I was thinking, wow this is my oppertunity to get it now. So, i join up and inlist the help of Nukkyaka, a whm. To get into the canal you must have a rdm. whm, blm to open the gate. So we assemble this party of 10 peopl, 7blm's, rdm, whm, and lvl 75 galkin pld. So we are assembled at the gatway, allthe mages get on the right circles and pop the gat open and we run in, but guess what? some of the mages where left behind. So they begin to debate how they are going to get the others through. 9 peeps with escape and they are going to debate how to proceed. Finaly Nukky just disbands and joins my party, i escape us out and run bacy through to the gateway. We pop it and we all enter this time.

We bgin to search for these 2 spots where we get cutscenes. The first one is at I-9. of cources it never fails in a group that big ther is alwasy one who lets his sneak wear off. they he aggros a mob, then others attack, lossing there sneak, thus aggroing more mobs. Next thing i know we had 5-6 mobs on us the pld uis going down, so we all escape.

We rested and in east sabataru and discussed tactics. in the course of discussion we find out one of the players had a charm that can open the gate, all along. So we did not need the other mages!! It was late and nukky had to go, so she logged for the evening. Over and Over the allience leader kept asking, if we could all fight the same one ore fight it one at a time. I must have told him 6-8 times we could all fight the same one, but he comletly ignored me.

Did you ever get the feeling that this was all going to end badly? I have nothing against younger players, but they seem to be indisisive. One of the things the army tought me was, in some situations it is faster to just do the job then to discuss the "Best" way to do it and then do it.

So we get our second ???, get cut scene, activate my 2-hr and then get another cutscene. then we were off to find the third ??? for nm fight. In typical SE fasion, the ??? is in a room filled with mobs. We cleared the room wiith not much touble. I noticed Idid 10-30% mor damage then the other blm's. that is not bad considering 6 of them where taurus and all where my lvl or higher.

After we cleared the debating began again. Who should spawn the nm and if we had to one a time it or killing one was enough. I told them 3 more times, "We each spawn the nm, one at a time then wait til the despawn down to one, then we kill that one" but they ignored me. So they aked who was going to go first. I guess they were to chicken, so i volenteered. i figured if we kill any of them it will be the first one. I uses a reraise scroll then I spawned. The nm is called Magic Sludge a lvl 64 resembling a dark elemental. As expected, it is highly magic resistant. All 8 mages open up and unload on the nm. there was so many nukes going off it was hard to tell them apart. I am getting down to about 300 mp and i notice, no one is curing the tank. He was about half dead. i stop nukking ans start curing, i and the rmd give him a rapid hit of cure 3's and build him to full. finally we were all out of mp and the nm still had 1/4 of his hp left. We rested just long enough to build to finish the job. BTW hats off to the pld. Even with all those nukes going off, he never lost the hate. Upon its' death i got my final cut scene.

With out mp low, we rested. but our rest was to short. While resting one of the other taru's spwaned the nm again while just having 60%mp we all jumped up and began nuking once more. All was goin well we had it about 1/2 dead but our mp was at 48. The it happened. Somthing i did not even expect, the mobs that we cleared from the room began to respawn. The pld provoked the lvl 65 scorpion but then 3 lvl 63-65 undead spawned and let into the tarus. I t was a slaughter. all of them to low on mp to cast much of anything. they started to drop like flies. I was curing the pld and trying to sleep the scorp but he kept on resisting my spells. one he droped i turned and ran. The scorp and nm chased after me. Leaving the room, i had no sneak so ever mob started to aggro to me. Running on the catwalk i couls see all the mobs on the lower lvl aggro and chasing me along. I turned a corner and anouther and another then into a dead with ramp.. the mobs came up the ramp and from behind me and killed me in an instant.

When the mobs cleared I hit the reraise but a leech senced my low hp and smacked me again, for a quick death.

Once again the debaiting began again. I hp'd it and ran to the airship to return. Evidently the mage with the gate charm did not want to hp it to let in the rescue party. So they scroung up anouther whm at this point it was 1:30 am, and i said "sorry guys i got to go" they got all pissy with me. I guess they were mad becuase i got mine and was leaving but it was notlike that. I was going becuaseit was late and some, not all, but some of them were idiots and wasting my time. I agree to stay, and run out to the portal. While waiting for the calvery to arrive, one of the other players say,
"Why don't we each spawn one, then wait for them to despawn down to one and kill that one"
The Allience leader thought it was a excellent idea. I told them, "i have telling you guys that all night long!". then they invite 3 more blm's so I just logged. I was like, screw this.

The next day I ran back to Chumimi and got my hat and after that I ran to Kupipi in the office in heavon's tower for the Earth Charm. I think it might be for opening the gate, but i am not sure.

Wizard's Petasos
Level: 60
Flags: Rare / Exclusive / Not NPC Sellable
Slot: Head
Type: Artifact
Jobs: BLM
Races: All
Defense: 20
Auction House Category: Armor / Head
Effects for Wizard's Petasos:
MP +25
Intelligence +4
Resist vs. Lightning +10
Enmity -4