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The Celestia Citizen (“Wake Me Up When September Ends” Edition)

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Hello, my fellow Celestians! And welcome to another edition of the Celestia Citizen! We’ve got just a couple more weeks of summer to go before Autumn (Fall to some) sets in and starting bringing cooler temperatures and plant life begins to lull off. And let’s not forget it is also Pumpkin Spice season too! I hope everyone gets their annual fill of the niche flavor, if you do care for it!

October is still some weeks away, bringing even cooler temperatures, lots of leaves, and the joy of Halloween! Until then, we still have to weather a September. Or we can slumber through it.

Final Fantasy XIV News

First, the 10th Anniversary event is still ongoing in-game, particularly with the Moogle Treasure Trove (10th Anniversary Hunt)! There is currently no end date to this except “with the release of Patch 6.5”. While tomestones may be more plentiful in getting, there are also numerous prizes available to get, many of which are either limited to in-game events or command huge prices on the Market Board! Refer here for the current details: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/mogmog-collection/202308/1ny0ji96di

Speaking of Patch 6.5, it now has a tentative release date of “Early October 2023” (which will give focus to players who want to complete the 10th Anniversary Event and obtain all of their desired prizes). It also has a special site now posted to tease many of the upcoming details waiting to release with it. Refer here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/4eae7bf1425dbcde6dce089dffeec16c688a8c3e

Next, the Rising is now live and due to run until the release of Patch 6.5. Be sure to get this one done, as it includes a special mount for free!: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/2023/The_Rising/eykg76bc2d

The next Live Letter is scheduled for Saturday, September 23rd. Details are linked here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/0f699c77ac8fae0f73ca75ec326206313b1ea771

For the current 10th Anniversary event, a special survey is being conducted for players to write about their FFXIV experience (such as main job, what FFXIV means to a player, and so on). Based on responses, there will be a new side story and that side story may also feature a character from a previous one or from the new “Tales under the New Moon” series! Refer here for the article & survey: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/6b16d69fcbc27be1e4fc18bd884ba63654853c07

To tie into the referenced “Tales under the New Moon” series, there have been 3 stories released to date since August 25th. Here are the links to them:

First story: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/378a37193045835181833e2b297304a6ba0a10af

Second story: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/8b735439d154e2c5b2439e758144c6ea5b3a3483

Third story: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/352aef60539bbf97c631673914217d958499b3e7

Look forward to more stories in the coming weeks and months!

And lastly, the Fall Guys x Final Fantasy XIV collaborations have begun within the Fall Guys game, but the Final Fantasy XIV side is due to still occur. There will be special Gold Saucer events occurring with the Patch 6.5x series. Refer here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/fallguys/

Free Company Updates and Social Events

We are continuing to take Officer applications at our respective Discord server for:

Raid Officer (Held on Tuesdays, based on current content – Normal 8-Man & Alliance 24-Man)

Administration (documentation, such as meeting agendas/notes, spreadsheets, and announcements)

PvP (hosting PvP content – At least one/week, such as Rival Wings, The Feast, Crystalline Conflict, etc)

Social Events – Holds & organizes social events for Free Company members (at least 1 event/month)

Applications may be accepted in the FC Discord server under the #officer-directory channel.

The first thing to touch base on is Celestia’s 10th Anniversary. On August 17th, 2013, Celestia was founded. On the 19th, the Free Company celebrated with an organized march across the 3 major cities (Ul’dah, Limsa Lominsa, and Old Gridania). Gifts were then given out to our members, and we had reconvened at the FC House for a group photo to commemorate our Free Company and its members.

From Aurora Lightsnow:

From Scura Darkangel:

From Squirrel Guile:

From Aminore Vespertine:

From Karah Thrace:

And one from yours truly (Scarlette Valanorr):

And lastly, a special gift from Aurora Lightsnow to our Free Company leaders, Blessed and Scura Darkangel – A photo of the lovely couple, and a declaration:

“A little over 10 years ago two new adventurers Blessed and Scura Darkangel set forth into Eorzea, bent on world domination… errr I mean to have fun and have adventures. They created Celestia Free Company to gather minions to further their evil empire… (opps wrong narrative) to gather other adventurers to explore this strange new world, to seek out new life and kill it and boldly go where no others have gone before (hmm how did Star Trek get in here). Over the last 10 years Celestia has grown into one of the largest and oldest FCs on Hyperion, we’ve had our ups and downs and sideways, growing pains, and our share of drama but through it all we’ve always worked to make it a fun FC. We’ve laughed and cried together, made fun of one another, murdered each other… (umm darn Among Us snuck in) and generally having a good time. Please join us tonight as we celebrate Celestia’s 10 year anniversary.”

(Pictured below are physical stand-ins for Blessed and Scura’s characters)

In closing this out, I want to extend a Thank You and a Congratulations to all of our members, new and old, for helping to make Celestia the best Free Company on Hyperion server in Final Fantasy XIV! Let us strive forward for another 10 years!

The next Free Company meeting is scheduled for Saturday, September 30th at 6PM PT. Be sure to join us on Discord via “The Great Theatre”, and in-game at the communal pool near the FC house in Ishgard!

On Wednesday, September 13th, Eorzea Octopus Week will begin! This Fisher-themed series of events will occur from the 13th to the 19th, and will contain events for Fishers of all levels! There will be prizes included such as Gil, Aethersand, Glamour Items (ranging in value from 50k to 150k usually) and raffle tickets for a 1 million Gil prize (the more you participate in these events, the more raffle tickets you can earn for your chance)! Refer to the #announcements channel for the general announcement, the #general-dol-doh channel for sign-ups for the events, and be sure to also have the @DOL/DOH role on your Discord profile in-server to receive notifications!

Recently, the Free Company had done a Sightseeing event for the Stormblood expansion on August 26th. However, one component of this log was regarding one of the greatest challenges in the game to date: Jumping Puzzles. Join us on September 23rd as the grandest of these jumping puzzles, the Kugane Tower, is tackled in our next social event on Saturday, September 23rd at 2pm! You will need either the jumping ability (for climbing up the tower solo) or Blue Mage role with Self-Destruct unlocked (for resurrecting to the Sightseeing vista). Be sure to join us via the #social-event channel in our Discord server!

Beyond the Light

For our next Beyond the Light interview, our winner of this month’s draw is Gunner Thehunter! Before we go any further, please participate in our Beyond the Light interview and tell us about yourselves so you have a chance at being featured here for the Free Company newsletter! Details are on the Discord server and in our #announcements channel! Linked here is the direct interview form for your submissions: https://forms.gle/oRb3pzQEp8y1MaRQ6



What is your in-game character’s name?: Gunner Thehunter

What race are you currently in-game?: Miqo’te

What drew you into your current choice of race?: I like the look honestly and me and my Fiancée Xotika L’xia wanted to match. (Corny I know LOL)

When did you first start playing FFXIV?: August 24, 2013 (A fellow 10th Anniversary player!)

What drew you to pick up and play FFXIV?: I played FFXI and then moved to 1.0 and from there moved to ARR in closed beta.

How far have you gotten into the MSQ (Main Story Questline) of FFXIV?: I am caught up!

What was your first (job? class? role?) when you started?: Gladiator to Paladin

What motivated you to pick that first (job? class? role?)?: I played RDM in FFXI and I wanted something different and I wanted it to be tanking and then it grew on me.

To date, what favorite jobs/roles/classes do you have?: PLD, NIN, Monk, One day Reaper, MIN, FSH, GLD

What kind of content do you enjoy?: MSQ, Savage Raids, Crafting/Gathering, Duty Content, Side Quests, Casual Content, Collectible Getting

What would you say is your favorite content type from above to do? And why?: To be honest it has to be the duty content, because its where the team work and party system is used the most is the Duty’s. We all log in each day and run daily’s, some have their static groups for content, so many different duty’s to be done in the game which I know I haven’t by far done nearly half of LOL. I love to do this with the FC, I like doing big raids, I love grinding for better gear in the duty’s. I like being social. MSQ is great don’t get me wrong but a lot of walking haha.

What is one thing you like about FFXIV that distinguishes them from other MMOs?: Well I with me already being a fan of FFXI It was hard not to follow the title, but I did play AION, Guild Wars, and WoW (Cartoony) and FFXIV was the beefed up FFXI on steroids with a twist. As well seeing the end of 1.0 and being apart of ARR from the start kind of Biased.

If you could make at least 1 change to FFXIV based on personal preference, what would you pick and why?: To be honest what pushed me away from FFXI was the fact they destroyed the HNMS scene. Yes I understand it was bot filled but it was fun to camp them track them and claim them. You just had to get in the right linkshell by being a dedicated player. But they did add their own variation of HNMS so the concern was answered.

What is your most memorable/favorite moment in FFXIV?: To be honest my most memorable moment for FFXIV was when it became the number 1 MMORPG, being apart of closed beta to now has really been a crazy ride and I have a lot to do in the game still, but what Yoshi P has built is legendary and is historical in my eyes and he is a pure genius I cannot wait to see what’s in store for the future with the rest of you.

Do you have any favorite visuals of your character you want to share with the FC for the newsletter?:

When did you join Celestia?: October 2013

What drew you to join Celestia? Was it a person, an advertisement, etc?: Well I was drawn to Celestia with a couple other friends who are no longer with the FC and I loved how active the FC was. As well the hang outs in voice chat to make everything easier then trying to read an understand what is being typed.

What do you like about Celestia as a Free Company?: I love the fact that no matter what happens in your life you are always welcome back to the free company, I joined the Originally the date marked above with breaks that life made me take, not at my choice so I have been in and out 3 times and this being my 4th I am back for good, and was welcomed just the same.

What is your favorite weekly event to participate in with Celestia?: Well I know for me its gonna be old content because that’s where i am at I haven’t really concentrated on anything else but leveling some jobs helping FC mate Shadowed Raven with his MSQ to get caught up to my fiancée Xotika L’xia and I so we can progress together through the old content that we are at.

Z’attania’s House Tours

Next, we have the newest presentation from our resident housing columnist, Z’attania Tsu, for her Nook and Cranny coverage in House Tours!

NOOK AND CRANNY

A House Tour with Z

Gunner’s House

Address: Goblet Ward 20, Plot 42

Three’s Company at Gunner’s House! This house is owned by Gunner, but shared with 2 other FC members: Shadowed Raven and Xotiika Thehunter. Since the house is a medium, each roommate designed a different floor and created a home that they all share together. Upstairs is a master bedroom, the main floor is a kitchen and living room, and the downstairs is another bedroom and study.

What Gunner is proudest of: how they split the floors and designed them! Shadowed Raven took the basement, Xotiika Thehunter was in charge of the master bedroom upstairs, and Gunner designed the common areas on the main floor. Gunner especially likes the basement and thinks it came out the best, and all three of them agree that fish tanks were a must!

What Z especially liked: The chocobo stable in the yard is very pretty. The oriental grass plot in front of the chocobos looks like the perfect tasty treat for hungry birds, and hiding the aetheryte shard among the grass gives a very nice blue glow.

Conclusion

We are now two-thirds of the way through 2023, and we will be nearly one-third of the way through the 2020s come end of year. It feels as if things are steadily getting worse, but they are also getting better. Remember that just because the world slowed to a crawl for a couple of years does not mean that your hopes and dreams have to, either. Be sure to reach out, seize opportunity and work to better yourself continuously (whether it is finding a better paying job, getting yourself a new house when you’ve had an apartment, getting yourself into physical or mental or vocational shape, meeting that special someone, or so on).

See you, Space Warriors of Light 🙂 .

The Celestia Citizen (“Patch My Game” Edition – Part 1)

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July 2022
Yo, WoL. We heard you wanted more patches in your patches. So we patched the patches in the patches so your patches will get patches.

Hello, fellow Celestians! Welcome to another edition of the Celestia Citizen newsletter! Fresh off of the beginning of summer is the anticipation of the next major patch for the game. However, before such an endeavor could be met, it required one remaining patch to be implemented to complete the 6.1x series. Information on this is available in the next major section of the newsletter.

Now, what is the theme we’re going for this month? With the realization that we were due to not only receive the last of the 6.1x patches this month, with 6.2 slated for late August, and the sheer amount of content we have received, it seemed as if the game was being gradually and continuously ‘pimped’. This is when I had the bright idea to use a classic meme for this month’s theme.

Pimp My Ride is an MTV (Music Television) channel television series that ran for 6 seasons from 2004 to 2007. Starring the rapper Xzibit, the theme was that every episode would deliver a car in poor condition to be restored & customized. The success of the show led to many international series being developed (within the UK, the Baltic States, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, France and others), as well as spinoffs such as Trick my Truck on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel.

Despite the show falling out before the end of the 2000s, it lives on through meme material with the infamous Xzibit meme being commonplace on the internet.

“Yo, dawg”

In addition to discussing the current patch in-game, and the upcoming one, we also have some Free Company specific content to discuss. Let us get to it!

Final Fantasy XIV News

Does your car have a flight engine built in?

First, the last 6.1x patch, Patch 6.18, released on Tuesday, July 5th. Details are listed here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/aa641701b181ebf66aaf3264896b65acdbd23850

The patch featued mainly PvP action adjustments, addition of a new Japanese data center (Meteor), new worlds within the European Data Center, implementation of the Data Center Travel System, and adjustments to the latest game raid.

The next patch, Patch 6.2, has no official details listed on Lodestone for what is to come. Instead, we will go off of the notes from the prior Live Letter that aired on July 1st. Credit for the capture of notes goes to Harliqyn Mave, as well as Scura and Blessed Darkangel.

Here are some bullet points captured from the July 1st Live Letter:

  1. Buried Memory is the name of the 6.2 Patch
  2. New Main Scenario Quests are coming
  3. Continuation of side quests “Tataru’s Grand Endeavor”
  4. “Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures” is scheduled for patch 6.25
  5. New Weapon Enhancement Quests are scheduled for patch 6.25 (these will be relevant to the latest Hildibrand content!!!)
  6. New Tribal Questline is scheduled for patch 6.25 (this will focus on Disciples of the Land aka Gathering)
  7. New dungeon – The Fell Court of Troia
  8. New trials (Normal, Extreme, and Unreal) – The Unreal trial will focus on Containment Bay S1T7
  9. New raids (Normal and Savage) – the next wing of Pandaemonium, consisting of four raids. Note that the Savage raid will be delayed by 1 week following 6.2 release, and is subject to change based on developer & community feedback
  10. Job adjustments (PvE, PvP, postponing of targeted adjustments to Dragoon and Astrologian)
  11. Stat adjustments to Critical and Direct Hit stats
  12. PvP content updates (Series Two begins, Season 3 of Crystalline Conflict begins, return of Rival Wings)
  13. MSQ duty adjustments for NPC parties (Snowcloak, The Keeper of the Lake, Sohm Al, The Aery, The Vault)
  14. MSQ quest readjustment to solo duty (The Steps of Faith)
  15. MSQ duty difficulty readjustment (Thornmarch)
  16. Variant Dungeons introduction
  17. Variant Dungeon 1 introduced “The Sil’dihn Subterrane”
  18. Another Path – Criterion Dungeons introduction
  19. Criterion Dungeon 1 introduced “Another Sil’dihn Subterrane” and “Another Sil’dihn Subterrane (Savage)”
  20. Island Sanctuary introduction
  21. Adventurer Plate and Portrait Updates
  22. Allagan Tomestones of Causality release
  23. New high item level crafted gear release
  24. Can request repairs from other players IN and OUTSIDE OF duty
  25. Combo Action Map display – This will show action progression to resolve a full combo (i.e. which button to push in order)
  26. Rare materials added to aetherial reductions for Disciples of the Land
  27. Glamour Dresser Capacity increased from 400 to 800
  28. Adjustments to “Return to Ivalice” quests (specifically, “Makin’ Bacon (Bread)” and “Wok on By”)

To read up on the specifics of each major bullet point, please refer to the FC’s Discord server and to the #ffxiv-updates channel for the July 1st notes.

Free Company Updates and Social Events

Gotta get in shape for big changes this summer!

The first topic of discussion is the introduction of new Officers to Celestia. Jerilith Alrin and Rekilic Renatus will now cover PvP Content in a central fashion for the Free Company. Please be sure to welcome them, and defer to them for any PvP related questions.

The second topic of discussion is the introduction of new Artisans to Celestia: Brownie Bites, Elhana Greenwood, and Floki Seidhr. Celestia Artisans provide assistance to all members of the FC for anything crafting or gathering related. Please be sure to welcome them, and use their services for any of your DOL/DOH needs. In addition, we are always interested in recruiting additional Artisans if that aspect of the game appeals to you. For more details, inquire with Simera Yeep, or review the “Becoming an Artisan” post under our #crafting-requests channel.

The next topic of discussion for the Free Company is Officer recruitment advertisements. Currently, the Free Company is seeking interested members willing & wanting to apply for overseeing the following content:

  1. Primal Farming (mount or misc items)
  2. Hunts
  3. Blue Mage Content

All interested parties may apply on the FC Discord server via the Officer Application in #officer-directory channel.

The next topic of discussion is adjustment to the Primal Learning channel on the FC Discord server. It has been revised to Endgame Learning, and will now include learning for all endgame-related content (including Primals). There is also a demand for new recruits wanting & willing to participate in this content when scheduled.

On the Social Event front, there are two upcoming Social Events occurring during the month of July.

On Saturday, July 23rd, there will be a Lalaball tournament. It will involve a bracket based roster, with teams participating in a Best of 3 format. Requirements for this social event are to have a Blue Mage leveled to 70, and to have the Blue Mage spell “Malediction of Water” unlocked (it is spell #98, and acquired from the Swallow’s Compass duty). The FC will provide assistance to interested members in powerleveling Blue Mages, and in procuring the required spell. Please refer to the #social-events channel for details & sign up.

On Saturday, July 30th, there will be a PvP tournament. It will be a one-on-one format, and further details will be made available as the deadline approaches. Please refer to the #pvp-events channel for details & sign up.

On the Miscellaneous Business front, please keep the following in mind for FC business.

If there is a general issue that arises, requiring an Officer or Officers to intervene and assist, please be sure to capture evidence (including screenshots) and document it on a ticket that can be opened in the FC Discord server. Proceed to the #?help channel to create a ticket when needed.

Celestia also has a streaming platform available for all interested FC members. If you wish to advertise your streaming platform & channel for the Free Company, reach out to Kaladin Stormblessed to have specifics added to the FC site for your platform.

Beyond the Light

Who will be the next one on the interview block?

Good news, everyone! This month, Beyond the Light will be finalized for capturing interviews from our various FC members. Expect the form to be available with a formal announcement made on the FC Discord server as early as mid July. The objective will be for all interested FC members to participate in the form, answer some fundamental questions about themselves and their FFXIV experience, provide pictures if desired, and to be entered in for a raffle. This raffle will result in one random member having their interview picked and given a dedicated section for the monthly newsletter. More details to come.

The “Coming Soon” Section

This is a bit of an informal section. I have tapped into my profound love for video games, but moreso into the upcoming games that others may be interested in that are not of a FFXIV nature.

Here are upcoming major games that may interest you (for these are also ones I myself am interested in):

Live a Live (Nintendo Switch) – July 22, 2022
Digimon Survive (Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Playstation, PC) – July 29, 2022
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Nintendo Switch) – July 29, 2022
Soul Hackers 2 (Playstation 4 & 5) – August 26, 2022
The DioField Chronicle (Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox, PC) – September 22, 2022
Valkyrie Elysium (Playstation 4 & 5) – September 29, 2022; (PC) – November 11, 2022
Persona 5 Royal (Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC) – October 21, 2022
Star Ocean: The Divine Force (Playstation, Xbox, PC) – October 27, 2022
Harvestella (Nintendo Switch, PC) – November 4, 2022
God of War: Ragnarok (Playstation 4 & 5) – November 9, 2022
Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet (Nintendo Switch) – November 18, 2022
The Callisto Protocol (Playstation, Xbox, PC) – December 2, 2022
Dragon Quest Treasures (Nintendo Switch) – December 9, 2022
Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion (Playstation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC) – “Winter 2022/2023”
Forspoken (Playstation 5, PC) – “2023”

Discord Server “Community” Update & 2 Factor Authentication/Multi Factor Authentication

Don’t let hackers into your account, or they will find something magnificent or cool to take…

As of July 8th, the Free Company’s Discord Server switched to a Community format. A couple of benefits therein:

  1. Channels are moderated automatically – If a channel is created, certain settings (including name of channel) will be restricted normally
  2. To make adjustments via moderation, this now requires 2FA/MFA enabling on your Discord account.

Please ensure that you safeguard your Final Fantasy XIV account, and your Discord account. Below is a copy-and-paste of my prior announcement made on our Discord server:

I am making a general awareness announcement to the FC in regards to security and safety for both your FFXIV accounts and your Discord accounts. With all of the rampant account hijackings occurring in the Discord world, you may have seen other servers stressing to avoid clicking on ‘sus’ (suspicious) links and downloads, especially from fellow server-mates. We are encouraging the same behavior in Discord so nobody has their Discord accounts hijacked and endangers others. If a member from the FC here does provide suspicious links or downloads directly to you, please reach out to one of our Magistrates ASAP. But what of the FFXIV front?

It turns out that ‘Yes’, you CAN have your FFXIV account get hacked. If a hacker gets your SQEX login that has a XIV account and sub attached to it, they could log in and give you a bad day. Do your diligence and safeguard yourself through the glory of 2-Factor Authentication in both Discord AND in FFXIV.

In Discord: Follow the safe link listed here for how to setup 2FA for your Discord account (this will just require you to download a free authenticator such as Google Authenticator, or Authy): https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/219576828-Setting-up-Two-Factor-Authentication

In FFXIV: Go to your Mog Station page (where you can manage your licenses, go to the shop for buying stuff, etc) > Square Enix Account Settings > “One-Time Password” > Select your choice of “token” or authenticator (per the image attached):

Security Token (key ring type, physical token): Retails for $14.99, no software on phone to juggle

Software Token (smartphone app): No cost, and uses Square Enix’s official Software Token app

Software Authenticator (smartphone app): No cost, offers flexibility on choice of authenticator app (Google, Microsoft, IBM, Authy, etc)

As always, be safe and keep yourselves secure for full enjoyment of these wonderful services, everyone!

Conclusion

So, here we are. At the beginning of yet another month, where we have peaked into summer for the year, we look onward to the next half of the year with great anticipation. Anticipation on what, you may ask? The anticipation that things will get better in the world. That as we continue to improve our living, our happiness, and our love, that we realize that we have overcome trials to get here. Those who have been anticipating major content from Square Enix for Final Fantasy XIV have it to look forward to in the coming weeks. There is a saying: All good things to those who wait. The knowledge that a feature is coming, or a new piece of content is coming, always plants that little seed in one’s mind and thoughts. As it germinates, and grows, we look to it to fully blossom when it has reached its peak. We want it to come quick, and we want it to come when our anticipation is at its greatest. Anticipation can diminish, but the time to reach the end of waiting can too.

As we get closer to the next major patch, it is all a question of what else could come to our favorite MMORPG to encourage us to continue sticking with it for the foreseeable future. Personally, I just want to live out my Harvest Moon fantasies and see what Island Sanctuary has to offer.

Until the patch comes in late August, please keep your patience and your wits about you. And stay safe, healthy, and happy in the meantime. Until next time, see you space cowboys Warriors of Light!

As we ride again, to another end, where it all begins, forge ahead!

The Celestia Citizen (Here Comes The (Little) Sun Edition)

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March 2022

Hello, fellow Celestians! Welcome to yet another edition of the Celestia Citizen newsletter! We are coming into the home stretch for a few things this month: Isolationism from our fellow friends and family, winter, time lost due to illness or seasonal effect, and of course the end of Endwalker’s 6.0 patch. This whole last month has yielded some substantial information coming for the game, giving us more detail in what we can expect for the future. Within the last month, we have had not one but two Live Letters air. The second one occurred just recently, which is why the wait in publishing this newsletter was necessary.

And now here we are, March 2022. The start of the second year into a new decade is well behind us now. But not the start of the second year’s warmer weather. As we see with each new year, it takes some time to get going. But eventually, spring comes, followed by summer, then diminishes with fall and ends with winter. It is an annual cycle that carries symbolism and meaning. As human beings, we take to the idea of beginning and end. Spring represents the start of a new cycle, new life. It grows and matures into the summer, peaks, and then begins to gradually wither down during the fall until we come to the ‘winters’ of our lives. And Endwalker represents the ‘winter’ of a long cycle that began nearly a decade ago. And as the 6.0 patch closed out the end of this epic story’s cycle, so too must it acknowledge the coming of the spring, the coming of the new dawn, the ‘sun’. And with the next patch comes a new dawn, the sun…the spring that heralds a new cycle and a new tale.

In opening, please enjoy the theme of this month’s newsletter: The Beatles’ classic “Here Comes The Sun”, and the fact that Y’shtola can be ruthless towards little suns.

Final Fantasy XIV News

Soon, the warmer activities will come: Picnics, casual walks, dancing mad in the hot sun…

The first order of business is to discuss what to expect for the game in the coming months.

As you have no doubt heard or seen, there were a total of two Live Letters that had occurred within the past month. The first was dated for February 18th, and the second had occurred on March 4th.

Detailed bits of information can be located via the Discord server, under the #ffxiv-updates channel. Please be certain to check there for the capture of information streamed live from both Live Letters, as made possible by our Officer Harliqyn Mave, and our FC leaders Scura Darkangel and Blessed Darkangel.

In addition, a site has gone up to detail when to expect the first major patch, and the summary of what is coming therein. It is located here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/endwalker/patch_6_1/

The ETA on the patch is due for mid-April of 2022. Expect a more exact date to be announced within the next couple of weeks. But here are some significant bullet points to look over:

  1. New MSQ, new side quests, new Beast Tribe quests…and new Hildibrand quests!
  2. Adjustments to ARR duties/dungeons/trials/fights (Note that with how well received the Trust system was for Shadowbringers, and Endwalker, and a recognized desire for some players to enjoy the story without being completely restricted to playing with others, this option is going to be expanded upon with 6.1. This will result in virtually all of the ARR duties, dungeons, trials, and fights getting reworked so a single player can enjoy them without concern. Whether this will extend to Heavensward or Stormblood remains to be seen, but it is likely such changes will be entertained in future patches based on how well this is received).
  3. New Housing area will be live (Ishgard is the central location of the new housing area)
  4. New custom deliveries
  5. New high level duties
  6. New feature that will allow players to ‘try on’ FFXIV store items before buying (Yes, you will be able to see how outfits look on your character now without having to Google images or gamble your money on something mediocre)
  7. And more!!!

Again, please refer to the Discord server > #ffxiv-updates channel for details. For those who are interested in jumping onto Discord for the FC, please use the invite link here ->: https://discord.gg/A5qFuR667J

Next, we have a double whammy of in-game events hitting us. These were announced just as the newsletter was due to go live, and have been captured for direct reference here.

The first in-game event is Little Ladies’ Day, an annual event devoted to all females within Eorzea. It is a brief event that allows acquisition of some unique items and to participate in a fun day for the ladies. Details listed here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/2022/Little_Ladies_Day/jsuk7gn8z4

The second in-game event is the return of Moogle Tomestones for a new event. This involves running various duties, dungeons, raids, and fights to accumulate Moogle Tomestones. These Tomestones can be exchanged for uncommon and rare goods that are normally locked behind performing other, standardized content. It is an annual event, which gives players opportunities to collect items that are hard-to-get, even unique (one event yielded a rare mount that was available for a limited time to specific players, the Falcon). Details listed here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/mogmog-collection/202203/dceh8sj926

One other important bit of news is the resumation of automatic demolition. Please understand that due to the congestion and accessibility issues that plagued the game for the last couple of months, the automatic demolition was shut off. However, with vast improvements to the game’s systems and servers, and with continual improvement to resolve the game’s accessibility for all interested players, this has led the development team to re-evaluate the current state of automatic demolition. It was originally scheduled for March 9th, but has been delayed back again due to real life circumstances in the world today. Link to article: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/news/detail/edc73335fc4cf73645af505e0c8b104d6a595126

Periodically, FFXIV performs system maintenance to accommodate both minor and major patches. The next maintenance for all worlds is scheduled for March 7th at 400pm PST to March 8th at 200am PST. Details located here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/news/detail/0da93ab6eb5f0a2295b153f7d0196977a3172ba8

Now, for some merchandising news. In the coming months, there will be a series of FFXIV themed merchandise releasing. These include: soundtracks, detailed information about the Eorzean world, short stories available for personal ownership, and posters!

Encyclopedia Eorzea, Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopaedia-Eorzea-World-Final-Fantasy/dp/1646091426/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1LMGLVP7EGFL0&keywords=final+fantasy+xiv&qid=1646597009&s=books&sprefix=final+fantasy+xiv%2Cstripbooks%2C55&sr=1-2

Encyclopedia Eorzea, Volume 2: https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopaedia-Eorzea-World-Final-Fantasy/dp/1646091434/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1LMGLVP7EGFL0&keywords=final+fantasy+xiv&qid=1646597009&s=books&sprefix=final+fantasy+xiv%2Cstripbooks%2C55&sr=1-4

Final Fantasy XIV, Poster Collection: https://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-XIV-Poster-Collection/dp/1646091450/ref=sr_1_16?crid=1LMGLVP7EGFL0&keywords=final+fantasy+xiv&qid=1646597009&s=books&sprefix=final+fantasy+xiv%2Cstripbooks%2C55&sr=1-16

Final Fantasy XIV, Chronicles of Light (Short Stories): https://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-XIV-Chronicles-Light/dp/164609185X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1646597044&sr=1-27

NOTE: The collection of short stories above combines a mix of stories that were available on the FFXIV site to read, as well as some new ones from the development team.

Final Fantasy XIV, Endwalker Soundtrack: https://sqex.to/5FeNr

NOTE: In addition to all of the upcoming items above, you may also try your hand at ordering available FFXIV artbooks and even cookbooks that are available to buy now. Note that many of these items, upcoming and available now, will also feature in-game bonuses in the form of different minions to collect!!!

And lastly, we are now in the last few days of the current FFXIV Online Store’s sale! It is due to end on March 10th, at 1100am PST. There are numerous mounts on sale, including the Lunar Whale and the Cruise Chaser mounts, as well as prior releases such as the Chocobo Carriage, the SDS Fenrir, and more!!! Note that numerous mounts on sale are ACCOUNT-WIDE; but there are some that are single character, so be mindful of what you buy! There are also some costumes on sale as well, including many of the recent ones released in the last few months (one of which is the Ryne outfit, which alas is NOT dyeable). The link to the Online Store and the current sale’s details are here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/5a0226acfab3191d83bc39c696120734f0f658d2

That is all that we have right now for major FFXIV news. Stay tuned over the next month to find out what else might be in store!!!

Free Company Updates and Social Events

Dance, dance, dance revolution!!! And for Officer Auction…

Things were nice and quiet on the Free Company side this past month.

The most recent event held pitted our glorious Officers at the mercy of being paid to do whatever their fellow FC mates wished…within reason, of course.

The Officer Auction saw a slew of our Officers bid upon by willing patrons to do whatever one sought for a short amount of time.

Don’t expect the Full Monty here, but it can get pretty close…

Regarding the summary of the Officer Auction event, here are the Officers and the winning bidders:

BIDDER = OFFICER

Grey Rat = Mct Windsor
Sticky Buns = Blessed Darkangel
Kipdi Kipp = Ivy Leaf
Carletta Deremora = Simera Yeep
Aminore Vespertine = Blackhawk Slater

The next social event scheduled will pit RNG against TFC (the FC) in the form of Celestia Bingo! Signups are on the Discord server via the #social-event channel. Be sure to sign up there, as the event is scheduled March 19th at 800 EST.

Also, as a general notice to our fellow Free Company members, please understand this special message. With circumstances in real life regarding certain political or military movements, please be sure to keep respectful and considerate of any of our fellow members that may, or may not, have any ties to those elements. As a Free Company, we need to be bigger and better than what the world allows for. We aim to be a respectful, considerate, and open community that welcomes all FFXIV players to join the fold on Hyperion server. Understand a very simple saying: Treat people the way you want to be treated. Always aim for the best out of people. And when all else fails, be nice.

Always be nice…until it’s time not to be nice.

The Spring Equinox, and Daylight Savings Time

One fine moment of spring beauty is the petals of a cherry blossom tree.

Beginning in March, there are two significant events to keep in mind.

The first is Daylight Savings Time. It is due to occur on Sunday, March 13th at 200am EST. This will result in clocks going forward by 1 hour, and will remain that way until Sunday, November 13th at 200am EST. At that point, clocks will go back by an hour. Per the saying “spring forward, fall back”. The concept of Daylight Savings Time is listed on the official Wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time

The whole concept of Daylight Savings Time is a very interesting read, and there are movements right now to eliminate Daylight Savings Time with regard to the continued shifting of clocks. Currently, all but two states in the United States observe the annual changes (Arizona and Hawaii do not formally recognize and use DST; the former does observe it within Native American nations), and most of Europe observes the annual changes. To date, many places in the world that used to observe Daylight Savings Time have retired the concept. Some places, such as numerous parts of Africa, many countries in the Asia and Oceania regions, have never observed Daylight Savings Time.

The other major event is the Spring Equinox (aka Vernal Equinox), due to begin on March 21st. This is when the sun moves across the equinox (the separating line that cuts from east to west on the global map AND separates the Northern hemisphere from the Southern hemisphere), and brings warmer weather to the Northern half with cooler weather in the Southern half. This usually leads to longer days and shorter nights. The next transition of the seasons will be on June 22nd, when the Summer Solstice occurs.

The reason why this is being brought up is as warmer weather opens up and allows people to interact together and go out into the world again, this will affect one’s availability to play the game. Understand that while many events are weekly and many are monthly or annually, know that you are under NO obligation to attend every event. Pick and choose the ones you want to participate in, and focus on your real life first. Our FC is very understanding. 🙂 And also know that if you ever need to abstain from the game for a period of time, be sure to let one of our Officers/Magistrates know so that you are given a fair shake on returning to the game.

Reminder: 2 Factor Authentication/Multi Factor Authentication

Don’t let hackers into your account, or they will find something magnificent or cool to take…

This is being revisited in another newsletter. And it will be vital for us to keep beating our FC members over the head with this critical news, for it is for their security that this is being done.

Please ensure that you safeguard your Final Fantasy XIV account, and your Discord account. Below is a copy-and-paste of my prior announcement made on our Discord server:

I am making a general awareness announcement to the FC in regards to security and safety for both your FFXIV accounts and your Discord accounts. With all of the rampant account hijackings occurring in the Discord world, you may have seen other servers stressing to avoid clicking on ‘sus’ (suspicious) links and downloads, especially from fellow server-mates. We are encouraging the same behavior in Discord so nobody has their Discord accounts hijacked and endangers others. If a member from the FC here does provide suspicious links or downloads directly to you, please reach out to one of our Magistrates ASAP. But what of the FFXIV front?

It turns out that ‘Yes’, you CAN have your FFXIV account get hacked. If a hacker gets your SQEX login that has a XIV account and sub attached to it, they could log in and give you a bad day. Do your diligence and safeguard yourself through the glory of 2-Factor Authentication in both Discord AND in FFXIV.

In Discord: Follow the safe link listed here for how to setup 2FA for your Discord account (this will just require you to download a free authenticator such as Google Authenticator, or Authy): https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/219576828-Setting-up-Two-Factor-Authentication

In FFXIV: Go to your Mog Station page (where you can manage your licenses, go to the shop for buying stuff, etc) > Square Enix Account Settings > “One-Time Password” > Select your choice of “token” or authenticator (per the image attached):

Security Token (key ring type, physical token): Retails for $14.99, no software on phone to juggle

Software Token (smartphone app): No cost, and uses Square Enix’s official Software Token app

Software Authenticator (smartphone app): No cost, offers flexibility on choice of authenticator app (Google, Microsoft, IBM, Authy, etc)

As always, be safe and keep yourselves secure for full enjoyment of these wonderful services, everyone!

Upcoming Newsletter Changes

“What would you say…you do here?”

This section warranted its own, in light of a couple of upcoming newsletter changes I am going to look into.

To expand the social reach of our Free Company, and give our members some interactivity with the others, one big change I am looking into will be a new section: Behind the Light

The goal of this section will be to provide our FC some social outreach at the embarassment willing participation of our officers and members.

This month, and for future months, a raffle of sorts will be held between our officers, and our FC members. At random, one officer and one member will be picked.

Note: This will currently be restricted to those on Discord, to allow for ease of communication and documentation of exact answers to avoid any hearsay (or embellishment of genuine answers)

This Officer and this Member will have carefully vetted questions posited to ask them about their experiences both as a FFXIV player, and as a Free Company member. Do NOT expect such spicy questions as favorite underwear color or choice, or their thoughts on politics. Instead, expect more reasonable questions such as: Their general history with the game, and the FC; Their favorite jobs with simple ‘Why’ questions, as well as many others. The goal of this will be show that irregardless of one’s role within the FC, we are all fellow players and we have our own lives in-game too.

More details will follow in the next newsletter.

Even Yoshi P is curious of what secrets will be dredged up.

Conclusion

And so comes the End…as we Walk towards it…and a New Adventure

Here’s the conclusion of our newsletter. As you can tell, we’ve had quite a bit to cover with this month. New FFXIV content finally arriving with a juicy patch or two, a new Spring, the absence of sleep for an hour, new social events and newsletter tidbits, and more. I want to thank everyone for their continued support of this wonderful game and wonderful Free Company. As we venture into warmer times of the year, and we start returning to some normalcy with real life, understand that there will always be something to look forward to on the horizon.

Whether it is a new job, a new car, a new place to live, a new plan for the year, a new family, a new friend (or friends), or more, there is always room for discovery within one’s self and without. Be sure to use this year to meet new friends, reunit with loved ones, improve your life for the better, and keep things always going towards the greater good for yourself.

Have a song about bright sunshiny days. And see you, Space Warriors of Light!!!

The Celestia Citizen (Two Hearts Edition)

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February 2022

Hello, fellow Celestians! Welcome to yet another edition of the Celestia Citizen newsletter! This one comes red hot, as hot as love and as red as a beautiful heart! But what is better than one heart than TWO? Considering we’re entering into February, the month where we get to enjoy the most romantic day of the year (Valentine’s Day), it seems fitting that the theme for this month is love. Love for what, you may ask? Well, Phil Collins music is lovable. Which is why I have his upbeat classic “Two Hearts” posted here for your enjoyment. Credit goes to the Phil Collins channel on Youtube, Youtube itself, and of course the man himself, Phil Collins!

Before we get into the meat of this month’s newsletter, here’s some fun trivia: Phil Collins is a music legend in his own right, but he also has a famous daughter. Lily Collins has starred most recently in Emily in Paris on Netflix, but also has starred in some recent movies such as Mank, Extremely Wicked – Shockingly Evil and Vile, Okja, Rules Don’t Apply, and the film adaptation of the Mortal Instruments book series’ first volume (which turned instead into Shadowhunters, the TV series, starring instead Katherine McNamara).

Final Fantasy XIV News

Here’s to you, Mr Yoshi-P…

First out the gate: Live Letter TIME!!!

On February 18th, the next Live Letter, “Letter from the Producer”, will air at 600pm PST. A couple of tidbits to expect will be the typical Endwalker Q&A, as well as the rough outline for the next 10 years of FFXIV. Links to the Youtube and Twitch channels are below:

Youtube ->: https://youtu.be/WRpdIL7_NII

Twitch ->: https://www.twitch.tv/finalfantasyxiv

Next, it’s been about a week since upload. But there is a latest patch for the game in version 6.08. Details are here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/9325d2a5dae2ac34b9f970c803848e8fb1c3aaf7

There was also one patch released prior to this one during the same month, but it is also being covered here. Details on version 6.05, updated with 6.08 as latest patch, are here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/674bcc0a4da4caba1ded710a7af99389094d52a8

Next, some big news regarding the Data Centers and upcoming plans to address the congestion issues in the near-future following Endwalker’s release:
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/9a6bed5c06ae511c363ece5ead0a98a3986554a2

That’s it for major news from this time.

Free Company Updates and Social Events

I’m addicted to love (and Fantasias)….

A new approach to covering Free Company content for Celestia is merging any and all FC specific updates and social event notices into its own block here.

Let’s start off with the first of our two social events that have transpired: The Lalaball Tournament (writeup below brought to you by our resident Officer, Simera Yeep).

On Sunday January 15, four intrepid players came to the Zee Zephos Sporting Arena to compete for glory at the Celestia Lalaball Tournament : Aminore Vespertine, Fred’a Iblis, Chitee Pa’town, and Faey Baali. Donning her black and white, the ball was played by Simera Yeep. Games were played to five points, and the series were played as a best of three. 

The first series pitted Faey and Aminore against Fred’a and Chitee, and was won by the former 2 games to 1. All games were very close, but some strong defensive play by Aminore shut down the other team and was key in their game 3 victory giving them a series win.

Faey & Aminore after their game 3 win in the first series

Series 2 saw a reshuffling of teams, as Faey’s solid shooting skills made him a valuable free agent who was promptly scooped up in the off-season by Fred’a. That proved a wise investment, as the duo overcame a rough game 1 start and dominated game 2, 5-0, and winning the series 2-0. 

With most participants winded by the hard-fought struggles of punting a lala up and down a lawn, Fred’a and Faey opted to play one more exhibition match, 1 on 1. Fred’a showed what he had learned from his Series 2 teammate and won this match. 

Congratulations to all our players, and we look forward to sharing the fun with more CEL teams in the future!

The other social event that we had unfold occurred this prior weekend (January 29th), where our FC mates took to the glorious seas to appease Leviathan for generous bounties through Ocean Fishing.

As this was a casual event, there was no competitive awards to disclose or give out. Instead, this event allowed FC members to both level up their Fisherman job and to socialize with those they have not seen since the holidays.

Next, one upcoming social event is an annual tradition among many: The Officer Auction! Here’s the announcement per Blackhawk Slater, another of our resident Officers:

Hello, please join us on Saturday February 26th at 8PM EST, 5PM PST for our next FC event, Officer Auction! Every member who attends will be given a number of points to bet on winning an officer of their choice. The officers will provide the audience with the tasks they are willing to perform if you win them. The winner will then get to use that officer for some tasks for a designated amount of time. The officers are the prizes so no additional prizes will be handed out. Please let me know if you have any questions. Please sign up on the #social-event channel (on the Discord server) if you are going to attend.

In terms of any FC specific news, nothing on the grapevine as of yet. Be sure to sign up on the Discord server and look toward our #announcements channel for further major news.

Discord link to Free Company Server: https://discord.gg/celestiafc

Saint Valentine’s Valentione’s Day

Like McKayla Maroney, he is not impressed.

It isn’t often that I get to cover a holiday or extend definition and meaning behind it, but I figure with this new year, one thing we could try different is to share context behind many widely recognized holidays. And what could be among the earliest of these than the most romantic day of the year?

Saint Valentine was a Roman who was also involved with the clergy under the Christian faith. He lived during the 3rd century, having lived from 226 AD to 269 AD (42/43 years old). He was martyred on February 14th, which became associated with being known as the Feast of Saint Valentine (a Christian Feast Day). Although it is not easy to trace the exact moment that this day became known as a day of romance and love, the earliest correlation of it as a day of romance originated from one of Geoffrey Chaucer’s stories, the Parliament of Fowls (published 1382). Other correlations have been attributed to the Roman Lupercalia (a February 15th holiday where a festival is held to promote fertility and health), and to the Charter of the Court of Love (issued by Charles VI of France in 1400 to declare it as an annual celebration of love).

The modern interpretation of Valentine’s Day involves many recent traditions having become commonplace: Chocolate exchanges were the product of Cadbury in 1868, when they designed the first ‘Fancy Boxes’ – Heart shaped boxes of chocolates. Flowers, specifically red roses, were associated during the 17th century to Valentine’s Day as a remembrance to Venus/Aphrodite (Roman/Greek). One of the goddess of love’s stories involves her lover, Adonis, becoming mortally wounded. Where his tears and blood mixed and fell, that is from where the first red roses bloomed. Her son, Eros, also had summoned roses across the land when he married his love. As for greeting cards, the earliest of these was in 1797 when paper valentines had originated with red lace, ribbons, and thoughtful sketches and poems set within.

That’s all I had to say on this particularly red holiday.

But what of Saint Valentione’s Day? Unfortunately, there is no news yet on when this year’s event is due to happen. However, if the timing is to be proper, expect that news will come within the next couple of weeks. Be sure to check the news on Lodestone, and within the Discord server for details!

Reminder: 2 Factor Authentication/Multi Factor Authentication

Don’t let the wrong person get the key to your heart…or your account.

This is being revisited in another newsletter. And it will be vital for us to keep beating our FC members over the head with this critical news, for it is for their security that this is being done.

Please ensure that you safeguard your Final Fantasy XIV account, and your Discord account. Below is a copy-and-paste of my prior announcement made on our Discord server:

I am making a general awareness announcement to the FC in regards to security and safety for both your FFXIV accounts and your Discord accounts. With all of the rampant account hijackings occurring in the Discord world, you may have seen other servers stressing to avoid clicking on ‘sus’ (suspicious) links and downloads, especially from fellow server-mates. We are encouraging the same behavior in Discord so nobody has their Discord accounts hijacked and endangers others. If a member from the FC here does provide suspicious links or downloads directly to you, please reach out to one of our Magistrates ASAP. But what of the FFXIV front?

It turns out that ‘Yes’, you CAN have your FFXIV account get hacked. If a hacker gets your SQEX login that has a XIV account and sub attached to it, they could log in and give you a bad day. Do your diligence and safeguard yourself through the glory of 2-Factor Authentication in both Discord AND in FFXIV.

In Discord: Follow the safe link listed here for how to setup 2FA for your Discord account (this will just require you to download a free authenticator such as Google Authenticator, or Authy): https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/219576828-Setting-up-Two-Factor-Authentication

In FFXIV: Go to your Mog Station page (where you can manage your licenses, go to the shop for buying stuff, etc) > Square Enix Account Settings > “One-Time Password” > Select your choice of “token” or authenticator (per the image attached):

Security Token (key ring type, physical token): Retails for $14.99, no software on phone to juggle

Software Token (smartphone app): No cost, and uses Square Enix’s official Software Token app

Software Authenticator (smartphone app): No cost, offers flexibility on choice of authenticator app (Google, Microsoft, IBM, Authy, etc)

As always, be safe and keep yourselves secure for full enjoyment of these wonderful services, everyone!

Conclusion

Love is wherever you find it…

I think that’s enough for us to discuss from this long start of the year. As we are a month into a new year, wondering what the next few months will bring us, please remember this. Know that not every single one of us has someone there. Whether it’s a loved one, or a dear friend who is supportive and equally lonely, or a pet that we keep for company, or just shunning this holiday out of pure choice, know that everyone will go into this month and this holiday with their own plans.

But do not let yourself be confined to the mundane and the safe. If you are on the lookout for love, start by going out and looking for it. Go to your favorite hangout spots, join a forum or a website or a server (on Discord), get out and meet people. And if you cannot find someone in time for this wonderful holiday, know that it’s just a day. The world will not end for you if love cannot be found on or before this day. Love is eternal, random, powerful, and universal in its application among every one of us. While we have Thanksgiving to be thankful, Christmas to be caring, New Year’s to be hopeful, we have Valentine’s Day to be loving. Because that…is the power of love. In closing here, enjoy Huey Lewis and the News’s classic (brought to you by their channel, Youtube, and the band itself…and Back to the Future, of course).

See you, space Warriors of Light. 🙂

The Celestia Citizen (The End is Walked Edition)

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January 2020 2022
Here we go again with another year of illness, being stuck at home, getting better, and stuck with some of the things that bring us joy in life, such as FFXIV.

Hello, fellow Celestians! Welcome to yet another edition of the Celestia Citizen newsletter! This one was running a tad later than usual due to the Christmas & New Year’s holidays, and my battling last minute illness the prior weekend. Normally, I aim to get this newsletter done within the first week of the month. Apologies for the lateness. On another note, here we are in another new year. We are already 1/5th thru the new decade and have many years to go before we hit the end of it. This year brings another year where we must hope for the better, pray for the best, and support each other in our most needful of times. Be sure to continue wishing your fellow man, woman, FC member, and whomever a merry happy new year!!! And with that out of the way, let’s press on with news!

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker News

What sorts of juicy details await in the cheeseburger of XIV news?

First off, all of the major congestion issues occurring through December with the holidays, the game launch, and the influx of players back to the world of Eorzea have been MASSIVELY improved. While there are still queues to contend with, many technical issues on the backend have been addressed. Continue to expect queue times and potential waits when jumping into the game, especially during peak hours. Idle timers are still in effect until further notice, so ensure you do not leave your game unattended for too long lest you be returned to the login screen.

Secondly, the game is enjoying a wonderful winter sale on its Optional Items page. This features numerous discounts on holiday-themed items (such as outfits from prior Heavensturn events, the festive equivalent to Christmas in Eorzea, mounts, decorations, etc). There is also the addition of the Snowman mount from a prior Heavensturn event. Details on the sale: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/10d609668ba906567bd68cf539ea6e483dbfec04

Third, the Heavensturn event is underway until January 16th! It is a very brief event that will allow you to get a couple of items, a house decoration, a food item, and celebratory items! Details on the event: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/2022/Heavensturn/22lsrul3tu

Fourth, the latest patch for the game, Patch 6.05, has been implemented. Major changes include: New treasure maps with a new area (Timeworn Kumbhiraskin Maps, and the Excitatron 6000 area), new Savage raids (Pandaemonium was added in with 6.01; Savage variant added in with this patch), new mounts, minions, items, and many other skill and bug fixes. Details on the patch here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/674bcc0a4da4caba1ded710a7af99389094d52a8

Lastly, expect the next major patch, 6.1, to release in another couple of months. What could be in it? One expectation is the new housing system, which will change how new houses are acquired. This couples with Ishgard’s new housing zones, which will be available in this patch then (if you want to see what to expect, go to the Firmament in Ishgard).

Also, be sure to expect the following in the near future: additional duties, raids, more story mode content, and one major feature coming to FFXIV: Island Sanctuary. We received tidbits on this feature during Endwalker press events last year. It is to be a mode where the Warrior of Light will participate in a Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon type of mode. As to what specifics will be coming with it, it remains to be seen. But considering the success these ‘slice-of-life’ titles have for some gamers (offering simple stories, many things to do/craft/gather/harvest, and the opportunity to build up from nothing, and offer ease-of-access for someone who just wants to enjoy a casual game), having a fanbase of millions of players get to enjoy that approach in their favorite MMO is a welcome feature.

The true endgame: Retiring from world saving to farming Thavnairian Onions

Now, here’s some fun trivia: In FFXIV, there have been uses of some guest actors that have hailed from one of the largest fantasy properties to have come about in recent years: Game of Thrones, based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Please note that there will be spoilers based on where one is in the overall FFXIV story.

Game Of Thrones Joe Dempsie
Joe Dempsie (Gendry from Game of Thrones) plays Ardbert.
Spoiler 4.? 5.x?] One of the best changes in voice actors. : r/ffxiv
Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton from Game of Thrones) plays Gaius van Baelsar.
And lastly, Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy from Game of Thrones) voiced both Igeyorhm the Ascian, and returned for Endwalker to voice Ameliance (not pictured).

And here’s one more guest voice actor who isn’t Game of Thrones:

Toby Regbo (who appeared in the fictional shows Reign, The Last Kingdom, Medici: Masters of Florence, and most recently A Discovery of Witches) voiced Hythlodaeus (not pictured).

Social Events

We gonna party like it’s 1999 2020!!!

First off, we must acknowledge our prior major event: The Holiday Party and Darts Event!

This event involved jumping from the high tower in Coerthas Central Highlands in a blind direction to land as close to the resident target for the event as possible.

The following members won the Darts event by being closest to our resident target:

Secondly, there was one other event held recently: The FC Room Decorating Contest, which focused on Christmas theme this year.

The following members took home the winning spots:

Elyn Softflame – 1st Place

Kitiara Kittiana – 2nd Place

Carletta Deremora and Urbosa Vah’naboris – Tied for 3rd and 4th Places

Also, here is an image from the Holiday Party, showing all of our fellow FC members (or as many as we could fit on screen at the time…)

Our next social event coming is on Saturday, January 29th, which is the Ocean Fishing Event! Be sure to jump to Discord and check the #social-event channel for specifics, or reach out to Blackhawk Slater for details!

Sometimes, it be like that.

Buff Schedule for FC

Sometimes, you just need to get a buff or few…

Beginning with Endwalker, the FC prioritized the usage of specific buffs in order to benefit its members for gaining experience through battle, crafting, and gathering. This change was implemented at the cost of teleportation fees (which saw a tremendous buff in cost with the new expansion due to developer changes). Where teleportation fees ranged as high as 999 gil prior to Endwalker, the fees are now as high as 1500 gil per teleport (this is all based on distance from place-to-place, as well as if you are visiting another world). To mitigate this, one of a couple of options could have been implemented: Aetheryte tickets, FC mitigation, setting preferred/home locations. With Endwalker, new players would have had great difficulty managing teleportation costs with low stockpiles of Gil. However, as of January 4th, the FC has returned to its regular Buff rotation.

On 1/4, Teleport 3 buffs (40% reduction in teleport cost) will be in effect for 2 weeks (until 1/18), then will return to Teleport 2 buffs (30% reduction in teleport cost).

On 1/4 and onward, until further notice, the following buff schedule is in effect as well:

Mon – Randomized (there is a weekly poll in the #announcements channel on the FC discord)

Tues – Food

Wed – Gathering

Thurs – Crafting

Fri – Battle (3 for a couple of weeks, then 2)

Sat – MGP (this benefits the weekly Cactpot draw)

Sun – Battle (3 for a couple of weeks, then 2)

It is recommended, but not required, to take advantage of these buffs for marginal gains on whichever task you may set yourself to. That extra boost, combined with food, manuals, Well-Rested bonus, job bonuses (if you have a combat, crafting, or gathering job at a higher level than others of the same type, they will also benefit from XP boosts until they are same level as your highest), and more will all help with the climb to 90.

There is one more note regarding proprietary buffs with the Aetherial Wheels. I will explain this in the best detail that I can (these notes were provided with explanation by our resident Aurora Lightsnow 🙂 ):

The big reason why there are far more frequent Tier 1 and 2 grade buffs than Tier 3 buffs is due to the amount of resources/time needed to create the higher tiers. While Tiers 1/2 are obtainable via crafting or using FC credits from the Grand Company vendor, Tier 3 is a different monster. It requires crafted components, gathering materials to make them, and the materials are not obtainable solely through gatherers. FC airships are implemented to collect some of these resources. The airships take time to travel and gather. Once the materials are gathered, they are crafted into raw “Wheels” when finished. These wheels are naturally expensive on the market board and are always in limited supply (therefore it’s more efficient for cost to gather and craft them).

The Tier 3 wheels, being in a raw state at this point, require about 72 Real Life Hours (3 days) to charge. This leads to a maximum of two Tier 3 buffs that can be implemented in a week.

To summarize it: Tier 3 takes about 3 days at least to charge a single buff for the FC to use. Behind the scenes, it is a lot of work. Please appreciate the amount of work, time, and money that our fellow officers go through to bring this to everyone.

Want More Final Fantasy to Play on PC?

When Chaos?

Here’s a Final Fantasy related post. Aside from XIV, which Final Fantasy would you like to enjoy on PC? Well, here’s the good news: You will get to enjoy ALL of them!

Alright, not all of them in an official capacity. However, PC has the advantage of having ALL of the mainline entries available to enjoy.

This begins with the Final Fantasy “Pixel Remaster” project, whose goal is to bring some updates to the retro series of Final Fantasy games (encompassing the original thru to VI).

All 6 can be gotten through Steam (Final Fantasy VI is due for release February 2022).

Next, we have the 3D generation of Final Fantasy titles (encompassing VII thru XIII: Lightning Returns).

All of these can also be acquired through Steam.

Lastly, we have the modern generation of Final Fantasy titles: Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Part 1), and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

Final Fantasy XV is available on Steam currently. Final Fantasy VII Remake (Part 1), while on PC, is currently available through Epic Games Store (this is expected to last anywhere from 6 months to a full year due to exclusivity deals between Square Enix and Epic Games). Once the exclusivity deal wears off, it will then be available on Steam. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins (which is a modern remake of the original Final Fantasy) is expected March 18, 2022. Details here: https://square-enix-games.com/sopffo/en-us/

Final Fantasy XVI is the next mainline entry into the series expected, alongside Final Fantasy VII Remake (Part 2). However, further news on these is due to come later this year.

Better late than never.

Conclusion

Like Shadowbringers to Endwalker, it is always darkest just before the dawn…

Here we are. At the end of another year, another Final Fantasy XIV expansion…and the Final Fantasy XIV story itself, as told from 2010 with A Realm Reborn. Across a main game, and 4 expansions, we have experienced the telling of the story of Hydaelyn and Zodiark. We’ve traveled almost the entire world of Hydaelyn, and experienced a story spanning a long decade. We’ve witnessed the coming and going of many folks: players, NPCs, story characters. And despite the feels we’ve experienced along the way, none of them will hit as hard as what Endwalker has managed to do.

The reception to Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker has been met with universal acclaim. To date, Shadowbringers has a 90/100 on Metacritic with a 9.2 user rating. Endwalker currently sits at 91/100 with a 9.5 user rating. Despite the story reaching its end, it has managed to tie up things in a beautiful bow and has led to a finish line with 10+ years of payoff being rewarded. Now, we have the next 2 years to look forward to seeing what is to come for the next major story of Final Fantasy XIV.

As for the FC itself, I do wish to bring up a couple of talking points. For one, understand that despite this being the start of a new year, it is also winter time. This is where people will feel both at their best and their worst. We’ve had a long year, and there is another long year ahead. Things may not seem at their best right now, but they are not at their worst as of yet. Keep on hoping in the face of uncertainty.

We will get through this. I promise you.

Even if it’s just a fool’s hope.

Know that one of the greatest things we can have in the world right now is hope. It’s stronger than fear.

It’s deep inside of us all, where none can get to nor touch.

Despite all the terrible things that are happening, we always have to believe something good will come of it.

This is, after all, the season of perpetual hope. Just as winter comes, so will spring.

Anyways, this is turning into a wall of gifs and quotes, so I am going to cut it here. Just be sure to keep hope, and always strive to be excellent to each other. Look forward to the next newsletter, which will be expected during the first week of February. See you, space cowboys Warriors of Light.