The Sumasu Sisters

We have created a new Free Company on Excalibur with our good friend Rubicon Vale. We've named the group Nophica's Bosom. We are hoping to start a static group to run a couple times a week doing coil and all new end-game content. If you are interested, please come stop by and let us know at http://nb.guildwork.com/.

As I mentioned, we've named the free company after the ample bosom of Nophica, but it's possible that some may not know who she is. Here is some information I've found in game and online about our patron deity.

"Nophica, tender of soils and harvests and goddess of abundance, is the guardian deity of Gridania. She commands the element of earth and is associated with the eleventh moon of the Eorzean calendar. Nophica is the daughter of Azeyma, and the younger sister of Llymlaen. She is most often depicted as a jubilant farmer holding a scythe of steel. Her symbol is the spring leaf."

From residents of Eorzea:

"The Twelveswood is a vast forest set aside just for the elementals by the Matron, Nophica. It was here long before we came, and will remain long after we are gone."

"Just as Nophica's bounty helps Her children to grow, so too does the blessing of experience help young men and women grow into noble servants of the land."

"Do you not know that hymn of Nophica? It's an old favorite among farmers and harvesters.

Sun's sweet smile and wind's cool breath♪

Both of these I send thee♪

To ripe thy fruit and spread thy seed♪

And nourish those that tend thee.♪"

In short, Nophica is a mother-figure associated with bountiful harvests, fertility, and nature…hence the tendency for artists to incorporate these themes into her appearance and…er, physique.

(Taken from http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/25284-Mistake-on-Twin-Adder-Poster?p=386119&viewfull=1#post386119)

Symbol of Nophica

There is a large rock here; it is smashed into the stump of a tree, under which adventurers pass to get to Stillglade Fane. This rock now bears the mark of Nophica, part of a seemingly divine act that recently put the marks of the twelve on stones all over Eorzea.

http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Nophica's_Altar

In the middle of the clearing is a metal basin with 6 lamps around it. It is used in ceremonies and festivals to appease the Elementals, give them thanks, and beg for forgiveness. It is said there were once ceremonies to anger the Elementals, but for obvious reasons this practice has long ended.

~ Khuja Zhwan

http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Nophica's_Altar

If you want to see more of Nophica, Google her name and look at the images. Many people have drawn her…abundant features…in all their glory.

Again, if you are interested in joining us, stop by http://nb.guildwork.com/. We'd be happy to have you!

With 2.2 rapidly approaching we thought it might be good to give an overall impression of our experiences in 2.1.

Main scenario quests have been added.

I enjoyed the continuation of the storyline and it made me curious as to what is going to happen next.
I was happy with a little progress on the storyline. I also liked that our headquarters is moved to a location that makes more sense.

Good King Moggle Mog XII

A comeback from 1.0 and the source of the most moogletastic weapons in the game. Not the hardest fight in the game but definitely the cutest!
It still makes me sad to kill moogles in any form, although they are bloodthirsty little things. I agree it is the cutest fight in the game. It also contains one of my favorite songs!

Extreme Primal Battles

We didn't get to learn these nearly as well as we would have liked. Partially our fault for not wanting to run things with strangers. Our FC Smokin' Aces got pretty good at selling them to fund our house and pad the guild bank for whatever comes next.

Hildibrand

So much fun! He is and hopefully always will be a much needed source of comic relief.

I missed out on Hildibrand the first time around, and after seeing how ridiculously entertaining he is, it is one of my only regrets about quitting 1.0. A great silly quest line!

Pharos Sirius

I was impressed that a party made up by 4 pretty darn good players managed to not even finish the first time through (we timed out) but by paying attention and figuring things out we queued up and cleared it immediately after.

This one was a challenge! I did this right away, solo, with the duty finder, and it took me three tries to get a party together that could beat it. Figuring out the mechanics was enjoyable.

Haukke Manor (Hard)

Honestly I think I like it better than the first time through. I don't know if its just having better gear or what but it didn't really feel any harder.
I didn't think it was terribly challenging, but I'm still a fan of the haunted house dungeon!

Copperbell Mines (Hard)

Oh crud, I don't think I ever did this O.o
That's just sad, sis.This one is fun! ^^ It actually feels like an entirely different dungeon. Almost nothing carries over from the original dungeon. Try it! You might like it!

Crystal Tower: Labyrinth of the Ancients

Once they make it so you can pre build your parties I might go back. It can be a lot of fun or it can be incredibly aggravating. The fights are fun and the gear that drops looks awesome and I might use some pieces for 2.2's vanity system.
I went once on my monk, just to see it. My paladin and warrior jobs don't need any gear from here, so I have absolutely no motivation to set foot in there. As Yelta mentioned, I might go back with a full ls or fc alliance, but otherwise...meh.

The Minstrel’s Ballad:Ultima’s Bane

Hehe, took a bit to figure out but is now one of my favorite fights!
Tanking this is a treat. I actually like the switch tanking in this fight, mechanics of taking on explosions from the orb thingies and airships flying overhead trying to blow you up. With a competent group, this is a great fight!

Daily Beast Tribe Quests

I really enjoyed having some reason to log on every day and do something fairly simple. I'm liking the mounts and minions I got from these.
I haven't done nearly as much of this as I should have, as I really enjoy this kind of content. I don't have any of the mounts or minions yet, so I'm kind of sad. I might just switch to the new quests right away when they come out, and go back to these after I get the new ones. Hmmm...

The weekly limit for Allagan tomestones of mythology has been increased from 300 to 450.

This didn't really affect me but might be nice for those still working on myth gear.
I'm excited by this as I actually still have jobs to level up, and they will eventually need gear. My bard will be pimped immediately on reaching 50! ^.^

The Wolves' Den PvP arena has been added.

Went once with FC, don't see the draw but I generally don't like PVP anyway.
Haven't set foot in there. Probably won't. No interest whatsoever.

Treasure Hunt has been added.

Love treasure hunting. I like gathering the maps I like doing them solo and really like doing them in 8 man parties when everyone brings 2 maps each. Its fun and you get mats and make some Gil. It's not Extreme Primal selling Gil but more than pays for weekly repair, food and teleport costs.
I really need to get my gathering jobs up to 50...I cannot gather maps at all, but I love doing map parties! The gil, the mats, the fun! It's great to do something with a full party that's lighthearted and lends well to goofing off and just enjoying each other without needing to take things so seriously.

Free company housing has been added.

Smokin' Aces got a big ass house and it's awesome. As if that wasn't enough, they bought a small house next to it and made it into a bar. We made up a shared room in the basement and decorated it Gridanian style!

Overall I am very pleased with the options to customize and furnish the houses. They are still way too expensive... Yup yup. These prices are just...irrational.

I simply can not wait for personal housing! I should be absolutely, astonishingly excited, but, alas, I will never be able to afford a home. I spent money faster than I earn it. If you give me money, it'll be gone in a day. I cannot manage money in an MMO. It doesn't matter which one; I just can't. Pffft.

The aesthetician has been added.

The quest was funny as heck and well worth the traveling around. I did change my hair once. I'm looking forward to new options.
I agree; it was another silly quest, which I enjoy. I played with the haircuts, but it's physically impossible to make my character any more adorable, so I didn't use mine yet.

Duty Roulette has been added to the Duty Finder.

I dislike DF in general but love the ability to queue up as what is needed and help people clear content.
I really like the duty finder for many reasons. I have reservations about certain aspects of it, like not requiring you to go to the dungeon location to enter, and the fact that it is, in some ways, rewarding people for not playing with their friends, ls, or fc, but it truly has its uses. I'm enjoying the hell out of roulette. I leveled up my warrior solely using roulette and, when I was high enough level, beastmen dailies. Between the low level dungeon and the guildhests, I got a level a day until the last couple levels; then it was every other day. I'd much rather level in dungeons than in fate parties, but that's a whole other debate.

The player commendation system has been added.

I like the ability to reward a decent player. People must hate me since I never get the commendations but oh well! The rewards for getting lots of commendations are cool enough to matter but not epic enough to feel bad you don't have them.
I like this too! The idea that we're practically paying people to not be assholes is kind of absurd but it's working, so I'm not knocking it. I find it odd that Yelta doesn't get the commendations, as she's one of the most helpful players I've ever met, but I get a ton, and I'm a selfish bitch. Then again, I'm a tank, and she's usually running on her black mage, so I'm betting that has a ton to do with it.

The Vote Dismiss function has been added.

We've never used it and never been kicked, but we hope it is being used responsibly.

The Party Finder has been added.

Love, love love this! Where I hate DF I love the ability to search for and start up parties on your own server. I have many times joined relic clear parties just for the heck of it and also recruited for EX leaning parties.

The ability to set up categories and type out freeform comments describing what your party is for is really nice to match up people with the same goals.

I have never actually used this on my own. I've been in groups that have advertised using the party finder, but I've never tried it personally. That being said, it's a really great idea, and should help prevent parties that are at odds due to having differing goals, ie. I don't end up in a speed run group on my freshly level 50 undergeared job in WP. Or I don't end up with people who are practicing in my garuda extreme farming party or vice versa.

A sort function has been added to character inventory, retainer inventory, and the Armoury Chest.

A bit confusing to set up initially it is really nice to be able to sort your items as you wish. I believe we will see a UI in place of the text commands which should make it a bit more convenient.
Hmm. Now I'm curious about this. I haven't done anything except the generic right click sort so far. I haven't changed or set up anything yet. I might have to mess with that a little bit soon.

Hmm, might be time for another little guide. People in mumble chat this weekend never even knew it existed. Read the patch notes people!

Our overall impression 2.1 was an excellent first patch, filled with lots of new quests, dungeons, tools and features. If all the patches contain a similar amount of content, we should be happy little Lalafells! We cannot wait to see what they have in store for us in 2.2. What are you looking forward to most in Through the Maelstrom?