Back on FFXIV

I'm back to playing FFXIV again. Still playing Ayame Miyumi, although I used a Fantasia and she's Xaela Au Ra now instead of Raen.

I did a couple practice runs of low-level dungeons (I think I did Copperbell Mines, Tam-Tara Deepcroft, and Haukke Manor) just to get used to healing again. And then I jumped right in and did Steps of Faith because I needed to in order to continue on in the story. That went surprisingly well. The party assigned me the role of main healer while the other healer did cannons. There was only one death, and that death was me because I was dumb and stood too close to the dragon's feet. Luckily, the other healer was able to pick up the slack while I ran back. If I remember correctly, I died pretty much right at the end and the dragon died soon after I got back, so I guess I wasn't missed too much there.

Upon getting into Heavensward content, I immediately made my way over to the Astrologian guild, and I am now an Astrologian (level 32)!

I'm loving AST. Have to say. I've done a couple dungeons (Tam-Tara, Haukke Manor, and Toto Rak), and I don't feel like I'm doing horribly. Bad, certainly, but not horrible. Although that Haukke Manor run went flawlessly, just saying. Tam-Tara was a bit hard because I hadn't healed on AST yet before and was having problems with taking enmity, and Toto Rak...well, we'll talk about Toto Rak in a minute because that run was horrible and I really don't think that was my fault. I think I did great!

I enjoy Draw way more than I should. Just working on memorizing what cards do what before Royal Road comes in and messes me up! And the skill animations just feel so satisfying. I know I'm not healing any more than I am on my WHM, but the skills just feel like they have more punch to them.

Ok, Toto Rak. That run was terrible. I just want to write this out and vent about this one because this was honestly the worst run of Toto Rak I've ever done. First of all, to set the stage, the group is all melee DPS, which is rough in Toto Rak because of the poison clouds from the microchu things. Tank and a DPS are both new, which is fine, I get that. I'm patient and lenient and all that, and I know my healing can pick up the slack when need be.

Except when everything is working against me. Then my healing can't pick up the slack at all.
First of all, I get walking into the poison exploding pod things once, not knowing that they'll explode and poison you and stress out your healer, but repeatedly running into them? Constantly? Even though I'm standing behind you frantically trying to dispose of them before you get there?

So, first tank death. Tank runs face first into some exploding pods, and I stop to try to heal/remove at least one poison stack. Everyone continues running on ahead and activates one of the web walls that pops up. I get stuck behind it because I stopped moving for a second to try to keep the tank alive. No one bothers to try and help me get past the web, so I'm frantically trying to break through with my meager healer DPS while watching the tank's health lower. Make it through with just enough time to start casting a heal and he dies. DPS is able to handle the mobs while I resurrect him.

Second tank death. Tank runs straight into at least three exploding pods and then into a group of mobs. Can't keep up with the poison damage and incoming mob damage. Tank dies while I frantically try to heal.

Third, group wipe. On the final boss. Goes fine for the first half. Once the tail comes out and starts shooting poison puddles it all goes downhill. Everyone stands in the puddles because they're melee and the tank doesn't move the boss. No one bothers to attack the tail. I get boxed in by puddles and the boss spawns an exploding pod on top of me. I die. Everyone dies.

Second time through the boss we miraculously make it through despite no one attacking the tail again.

Really though, the running straight into poisonous exploding pods knowing full well that they explode and poison you and stress out your hero is a huuuuge pet peeve of mine. Toto Rak can seriously be one of the most frustrating dungeons just because no one bothers to deal with those pods properly.

Long story short / moral of the story: Don't run face first into the exploding pods in Toto Rak. It annoys your healer. If no one has a range attack feel free to wait for your healer to dispatch it because they have a ranged attack and it only takes one hit. Please.

12/1/2015 PDP Guide Update Notes

• Found out Kaguya can be fought in Eientei after defeating Mokou and Marisa and then returning.
• In the grass in Eientei, Eirin actually appears to be more rare than Kaguya, and upon consulting the wiki, I found out that Eirin is 120 cost while Kaguya is 110 cost, so I suspect that is true.