Blog, Part 2 (an extended introduction)

It has come to my attention that people actually give a damn about what I have to say -- unless the number of views is some sort of conspiracy. I suppose I should have learned this from the hundred-plus forum members at my website, or perhaps the stalkers I've had over the years.

...wait, those are two completely different types of admiration.

In any case, since I already have a life-blog via xanga, I feel I now need a FFXI blog to accompany this.

Every entry after this one will be in-character, from the vantagepoint of Argentos, an Elvaan on the Alexander server. Though my next entry will be an introduction to the character himself (in autobiographical fashion), I think I should start this one by letting you know a little information about myself, the player behind the character.

My name is Cesar. Yes, that is my real name. And my father's name. And my grandfather's name. What more would you expect from a bunch of Italians? As of this entry, I am 20, coming up on 21 next February.

I have been playing FFXI since October of 2004. My playtime has been very hit-or-miss over the course of these past two years. I had problems with my old laptop overheating any time I would try to play FFXI... or any game, really. I played off and on for about a year, and started a linkshell, DeepSecond. When the overheating issues became more frustrating than the inability to play constantly, I gave up. I paid to keep my account alive, but otherwise began saving for a new laptop.

I purchased my new laptop with money from a scholarship overflow (so all the money I had been saving went into a Nintendo DS and a handful of games, as well as the ToAU expansion in April). In January of 2006, my new laptop arrived, shiny and sexy and able to play Doom 3.

Three weeks later, the modem crapped out. I was able to remain on the internet with minimal problems, but the connection would cut in and out, rendering even messengers like AIM useless to me. xfire was the only messenger I could use that didn't drop the connection.

I passed the time by attending many, many LAN parties, or using the internet for gaming online at friends' houses. I logged into FFXI once in April to get all of the ToAU updates, and once in June, to play for an hour. I kept myself busy with the typical LAN games (Counter-Strike, anyone?), and spent much more time with all of my cherished consoles.

Then, at the end of August this year, we FINALLY got a new modem... long overdue.

The first week of September, I jumped back into FFXI, and to my own surprise, everyone remembered me. That gave me warm fuzzies -- I must have done something right when I was playing the game all those months before. It took me a couple of days to readjust, but now it's like I was never gone at all.

I am the head administrator of the forums at The Final Fantasy (under the username of LocoColt04), one of the longest-running fan-based FF sites on the internet, with orgins as early as 1997. I am also the owner/webmaster/administrator at my own website, Argentos Online, a user-friendly content display site to the likes of DeviantART. It's pretty simple right now, I know, and there isn't much content... it's a work in progress. When I go to a larger server next year, we're looking to possibly do videos as well. The DeepSecond section of the webpage will also be put up eventually; for now, it has a dedicated section on the forums.



A little backstory on Argentos, and the name for the character.

I actually had a couple of Greek names in mind, which I cannot possibly remember now, but both of them were taken on the Alexander server. I was bound and determined to get into that server because I had a dozen friends who were there, so I was forced to come up with something unique on the spot.

The eventual thought process can be summarized as follows:
My father was born in Argentina. The end.

I typed the word "Argentos" into the spot, chose Elvaan, picked San d'Oria, and went along my merry way. I had every intention at the very start of the game to play Warrior until I could play Dragoon, and just be melee all the way through the game.

Well, gametime interruptions aside, I only got WAR to 31 before I picked up WHM and realized how much fun it is. I realize a lot of people hate playing WHM, and you're entitled to that opinion; however, as an Elvaan with a shitty MP pool, I love the challenge of it. Plus, the Elvaan do have the highest MND rating, so it's the ideal race for Paladin if you think about it.

I got tired of San d'Oria not only being so far away from all of my friends (most of them were Windurstians), but having only melee gear for reasonable prices when I was starting to need the mage gear. So, I finished Mission 2-2 (in January, the first time I came back), went to Windurst, changed nationality and rocketed up to Rank 5. I was getting tired of not being able to use airships.

White Mage is sitting at 37 and is currently my highest job.

I know, sad, isn't it? Two years of playing and that's all I have to show for it.

I have unlocked almost all of the jobs and played a handful of them. I don't have any of the new jobs, despite what the title of this blog may lead you to believe. I really admire Corsair though, and intend to play the job in a static with my linkshell sometime after the new year. Sometime over the course of this diary, Argentos will become a Corsair, and you truly will be reading the chronicles of such.

Well... I think I've run this introduction long enough.

For tonight, this is Cesar, signing off.

Tomorrow (or possibly in an hour, who knows?), Argentos will take over.