omgwtf CoP

In what must be some kind of record, I have officially gone from CoP mission 5-3 to CoP mission 7 in the space of less than 12 hours.

It started this afternoon when Brian and I were looking for something to do. His kids had calmed down, and I wasn't getting any invites on SCH, so he asks if I wanted a merit party. I bleahed, as we've been doing a lot of that recently (I've pumped about 9 merits into Enfeebling Magic in the past week or so). I thought we should do some assaults. He countered with the suggestion that we finally get me through the Tenzen path of 5-3, something I've been procrastinating on for, oh, the past year or so.

Funny story there, actually. When CoP came out I did the Promyvions right away, but languished for months on 2-5, after several pickup parties failed miserably on it. Finally I did 2-5 with Precedence, my old LS, and went on a tear from there to getting 2/3 of 5-3 done (and all of the really hard parts). But we never did 5-3's Tenzen path, the annoying long trek through Pso'Xja, and it just kind of slipped my priorities for many months as I leveled BLM to 75 and focused on camping kings and doing events with Prec.

So he starts shouting for a party and immediately gets a hit, from a full party no less, that was planning on running through it just then but could use extra help. We hop in, me on SCH, him on BRD, and after a rocky start, pound right through it.

It turned out that I didn't have 5-3 quite complete after that, and had to finish up some of Louverance's path in Movapolis. Thankfully I had my gold key and didn't have to do any fighting. I finish up 5-3 (finally) and start running around doing the missions to take me to 6-4. Thats' just cutscenes, with a couple of fights that are duoable (for which I requisitioned Brian's help).

By then it was past ten and Camille had gone to bed. Brian was still up, and I see a guy shouting for 6-4. What the hell. I point out that I'm interesting, at which point he basically gives me the grunt work of shouting in Whitegate for a party. I get a friend, Sabine (formerly Braden) to help out on MNK, and find a random MNK that has a NIN friend. With Brian on WHM, myself on BRD, and the original party starter on BLM, we have a passable group, and head to Tavnazia to make it happen.

Now, I'm intimidated a bit by the airship fight, having heard it described in terms that never use the word "easy". Erecia's guide called it "hands down, the most difficult mission in the game." I heard horror stories of people going 0-15, of it breaking up statics, even killing linkshells. It's supposed to be tough, althouth S/E did kind of nerf it down.

We owned it. It's on a 60 minute timer (formerly 45, as per the nerfing) and we destroyed it in 26. My role was mind-numingly easy (three sets of buffs on the mages, tank, and DD, backup heal), and everyone knew their shit. The NIN tank was quite good, and Sabine knows MNK quite well. No deaths, one close call. Easy peasey.

What's sick is that ever since 2-5 I've had a perfect record on CoP missions, including a 1/1 on the Snoll fight, pre nerf, that had the people that were 0-20 cursing my name (rdm, rdm, rdm, blm, sam, rng rules!)

After the fight, Brian went immediately to bed, but I stayed up to do a few cutscenes. I'm now on 7-3, and have no fights until 7-5, the Tenzen fight. After that one, Sabine says he'll static with me through 8-1, 8-2, 8-3, and 8-4. Sounds good to me ^^

But, I don't feel like any more cutscenes tonight, as it's time for bed.