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Notable Final Fantasy XI column returns as part of 1up's "The Grind"
Game journalist James Mielke resumes his on-again, off-again relationship with Final Fantasy XI in the fledgling 1up blog "The Grind". Mielke's extended hiatus from his "My Life in Vana'diel" column was a blend of time constraints and some degree of burn-out as well. But it seems he missed the game, particularly after the years already spent playing it, hence his column has returned... again. On the subject of returning to the game, Mielke writes, "People ask me to this day whether FFXI is still worth investing time into it, and to that I say: Now's a better time than ever to join the game." He writes that Square Enix has implemented a number of features that reduces the grind and, hopefully for some, brings more fun back to the game. Mielke specifically points out the beauty of the level-sync feature, allowing people to party with higher level characters, and the Fields of Valor quests that have fired up his interest in FFXI once again. If you've been away from the game for a while, have a look at James Mielke's "Reboot" and see what you're missing.
My life in Vana'diel returns!
My Life in Vana'diel, one of the longest running MMO game journals we can think of, has returned to life after a long period of quiet. The journal catalogs the ongoing adventures of James Mielke, an editor at EGM and the 1up.com website, in the world of Final Fantasy XI. Milky has been keeping the journal basically since the game launched, originally writing the columns for the Ziff/Electronics Boutique magazine GMR. After he made the move online, the columns continued on the 1up.com website. The online piece details the adventures of Milky's characters and provided non-players with an in-depth look into serious MMO gameplay.After more than a year of time away from the column, Milky's FFXI gameplay has picked up again. In this latest blog entry, he outlines recent events in his Linkshell (Cloak and Dagger). Dedicated players have kept the shell going, and the well-organized group is now regularly taking on 'gods-level' content. These are some of the most challenging encounters in the game, even though they were originally added way back in the Rise of the Zilart expansion. Their group has regularly been getting the coveted Kirin's Osode drop from the Notorious Monster/god Kirin, as well as doing dynamis runs, salvage, limbuses and other high-end organized play. Make sure to read the column to get the full details and (if you have a while) go back and read through the column's archive. Fascinating reading.
