I was considering posting main story missions in the calendar, but I wanted to test the waters for interest, so to speak. The purpose is to allow a group of us to advance in the dungeons required for completing the main story without having to rely too heavily on the Duty Finder. I have some thoughts, and would appreciate some input as I want to keep the event as open as possible.

First subject, time. If interested in participating in the event, what date/time is best for you on the weekend? My first instinct was to set it to Saturday 9 to 11 or 12 EST. However, as this may not work for most schedules, I wanted to see the potential players' preferences. I would like to space out 2-3 hours, which will leave time for retries or to go on to the next dungeon. I was thinking the earliest start time on Saturday should be 4 pm EST with the latest being 10 pm, while Sunday should be 2 pm EST at the earliest and 7 pm as the latest start time. Time can be one of the stickiest subjects, so I will try to select a time that fits the most schedules. In the case someone is left out due to time conflicts, I would advise them to set up dungeon runs through the Calendar function on the website. This way you may be able to find others that may be able to help you if you need it. If I can, I will join if for no other reason than because I need the practice in group content in ARR. Of course, the more time you give in the posting, the better your results may be.

Next subject, cutscenes. The purpose of setting up this event is to enjoy the tale of the main story line with the ls/fc. Unless all of us have seen the cs numerous times, in case of previously failed attempts for example, then I don't believe they should be skipped. This seems to be a major point of contention on the official forums, so I wanted to make sure there was no misunderstandings here.

On the subject of loot. Again, the main purpose of the event is to advance in the story, not to enrich the coffers. If we get gear or drops along the way, I believe anybody should be free to lot on it.

On the subject of classes and jobs. What class/job would you like to play? If possible, please list any that you are willing to play. While four WHMs may be fun for novelty, we may not make it too far with that set up. Without a lot of experience with party play in ARR, I would side with the Duty Finder's suggestion of 1 tank, 1 healer, and 2 DDs. In case of overlap, someone may be asked to play a different role. Of course, different combinations may allow us to get away with some things. I am willing to try out tanking if we have a full ls/fc group, but I admit that my ability may not be up to par due to lack of experience in not only party play, but dungeon play as well. So a bit of a heads up for the learning curve, lol. Of course, that is why I would only do it for the ls/fc, where I can get some helpful advice and not some rude comments. For myself, my preferred classes/jobs are Lancer and Thaumaturge. Although I can use most of the other classes as needed. The only one I don't have fully leveled is Arcanist. Although I do have a potential issue with playing a tank that is not related to inexperience which I will cover later.

On the subject of group size. This is the issue I have been having the most difficulty with, and one of the reasons I had not posted this thread earlier. If we are very lucky, we will have four participants which can go from the first dungeon to the last. More likely, we may have two or three regulars, and we can use first the ls/fc to fill in the remaining roster spots before resorting to the Duty Finder to fill in the spaces. What I am most concerned with is what to do if we have five or six people. I can think of several ideas, although none really that satisfactory. Such as having two days, one group on Saturday, the other group on Sunday. Or having one group wait and fill out their roster spots once the first group finishes its dungeon. It may not be an issue, but I would like to have suggestions just in case.

On the subject of progress. I suggest that once we have a core group set up, we go straight to finish from that point forward. We can try to have a makeup day for the regulars that miss if they need that dungeon to advance, but unless circumstances cause the event to be cancelled, such as emergency maintenances, real life emergencies for multiple people, etc., then we should continue from the group's last completed dungeon on the next scheduled event.

On the subject of Kat Snacks. If possible, I was thinking of recording the main boss fights of the dungeons and using them in my Kat Snacks videos. I know I try to make my videos lighthearted, but I'm planning on making this a straight recording. My current plan is to do a small intro at the beginning, such as having ls/fc party member's pose briefly before entering the dungeon and then record the boss fight. Outside of the brief opening, the only music that will be used is what is found in the dungeon during the fight. I did a bit of a test and compared it with some 1.0 footage I had, and it didn't look too bad. I will probably need to delete some of that 1.0 footage, however, to make sure that space is not an issue on the hard drive.



This is one of the reasons, however, that I am hesitant to play tank. If I'm recording, I will take some lag, and that may interfere with my ability to tank. I've done enough healing over the years that I don't think it will be an issue if I'm a healer, outside the initial learning curve to get comfortable with ARR's mechanics, but I haven't done much tanking. If we are at a point to choose between me playing a tank out of need or trying to accommodate filming Kat Snacks which causes us to wait for an hour for an outside tank, then I'm choosing trying my hand at tank, as the group is the first concern. Actually, if lag in a large battle prohibits me from doing my job correctly, regardless of job, then I will not do a Kat Snacks -Boss Fight Edition-, because I don't want to mess up the group's fun.

I will review the thoughts and comments left in the messages below and will try to have a final version as well as a posting on the Calendar on Monday or Tuesday. Ideally, we can have a group up running by the 21st or 22nd of September if their is enough interest. And if it works out, we can create a mini-static until the story is cleared.

I would be willing to help with this if I can. For those who are going at a slower pace this will be nice so they do not feel presured to get it all done ASAP. Also, if you need a few days to get to the next level I am sure we can work that out as well. I will be looking into recording myself for vids for SGT, but I will be leaning more towards filling certain roles depending on the class/job you are doing.

Thank you, Brie. I think it is time to add a bit more structure. I will also post the date/time on the ls/fc calendar. If anyone is interested in joining, please make sure you reserve a spot on the calendar at http://socialgettogether.guildwork.com/schedule. If this type of event is something your interested in, but you are unable to make it this weekend, please post a comment either here or in the calendar. How long this event goes is dependent on the feedback, although I may try to stretch it out as much as possible for the ls/fc Boss Fight videos.

OK, on to the details.

• Scheduled date/time of the event: Saturday, September 21st, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. -12 a.m EST.
• Still watching cutscenes, especially the boss intros. I will be recording the boss fights, and would like to include their intro and ending, more so if the cutscenes include the full party, which is something you cannot get from the book in the inn.
• Still no restrictions on lotting for loot. Everyone is free to Need, Greed, or Pass.
• For my own class/job, I would prefer to play as something that keeps its distance, again due to Kat Snacks. This way I can keep a wider view of the battlefield for the video. Plus, I will be experiencing a little lag because of the video recording, so I don't trust my tanking as I'm not an experienced tank. If we need a healer, I'll go Conjurer/Whitemage or Scholar. If we have someone who prefers to play healer, I'll go DD with my first choice being Thaumaturge/Blackmage (just like in 1.0), or Archer/Bard. If we run into a fight where range DD is not the best choice, I'll go either Lancer/Dragoon or Marauder/Warrior (secondary tank/DD). Lancer would actually be my first overall choice, but I may not get the best view of the battlefield for the video since it is a melee DD.
• If we have more people wanting to join than space will allow, than that is a problem we will solve once we come across it. The best I can suggest at this time is that the first four (assuming the story dungeons stay at four members) to sign up on the calendar with an "Attending" status will have first dibs. Ideally, we will have a steady group to cover the story dungeons.
• We will try to take out one or two dungeons at a time if possible. If anyone from the group misses, we can try to help them catch up with a possible catch up day, possibly Sunday if it fits. Now not everyone is going to have the same schedule, so we may be more dependent on Duty Finder if that happens. But we will see what happens and paly it by ear. Also, as Brie mentioned above, if someone needs a few days to get their levels to move on to the next dungeon, we should be able to work something out.
• Kat Snacks - The intro. I may ask for a little pre-dungeon filming. Just a few seconds of video from dungeon participants in their preferred gear doing some poses, so that I can create a brief opening. Right now I'm planning on a couple of stills with text poping up that states something along the lines of "Kat Snacks Presents / The Social Get Together Boss Fights ~Story Dungeons~ (still pic of boss to be encountered)/ Starring Miqo'te Seeker of the Sun Dragoon - Katra Leviathan, <player2 intro>, <player3 intro>, <player4 intro>. Just a rough draft, so I'll try to tweak it a little. If we have to resort to Duty Finder to fill in spots, I'll probably note that in the opening credits. I don't know, maybe guess staring from the duty finder, so and so as PLD, etc, if anything at all. Still on the rough draft stage.
• Kat Snacks - Interference? If filming causes any problem with the group, then I will suspend it. I haven't tried filiming in an instance area with several people, multiple enemies, etc. If an unexpected issue comes up that causes the group some unneeded difficulty, I will hold off on the recordings. Hopefully we will be able to get something put together, since it will be fun to have a ls/fc video.

OK, so we cleared Sastasha, Tam Tara Deepcroft, and Copperbell Mines last Saturday. Thank you Maxi Celestus, Partly Cloudy, and Virsago Arkenstone for the help. I have posted the boss fights for the first two here, http://socialgettogether.guildwork.com/forum/threads/523f610fc16e4d0bdc089aa4-kat-snacks-dungeon-boss-edition?page=1#523fa2bcc16e4d70963ed2f8. I'll have Copperbell up at a later time.

Next up, Lord of the Inferno, Ifrit. I will post a sign up for the fight on the calendar at http://socialgettogether.guildwork.com/schedule, so please be sure to check this and other events out if you are interested in joining. Similar to last time, I will likely be doing a recording for Kat Snacks - SGT Boss Fights. Also, looking at a wiki, http://www.ign.com/wikis/final-fantasy-xiv/Lord_of_the_Inferno, there seems to be quite a few solo quests after this one, so this will likely be the only dungeon/boss fight tackled on Saturday.

The Lord of the Inferno has been put out. Thank you Xenus, Brielle, and Maxi for helping out. Barring anything unexpected, I should have the video of the fight up on the Boss Fight thread later today.

Next up, The Thousand Maws of Totorak. Depending on how spread out the dungeons are, I may try to set up a couple of fights next time. If, like Ifrit, there seems to be a couple of hours of solo quests a head of it, then we will limit it to only Totorak. Although, we may do a Halatai if there is interest, and/or another non story low level dungeon if it becomes available. Halatai is not for the story, but we can add it to the boss video library if we decide to go. As always, once the event is official you can sign up for it at http://socialgettogether.guildwork.com/schedule. Also, don't hesitate to create an event on the calendar yourself if you need help on something. It is free to use for members who need help with something.

We have hit the finale of 2.0's main story. I would like to thank everyone who lent a hand along the way: Maxi Celestus, Virsago Arkenstone, Partly Cloudy, Brielle Fallyn, Xenus Decimo, Berry Mccaulkiner, Liaysa Sineos, Wootzie Taru, Winter Windsong, Retto Ospin, Shells Bullet, and Gaius Outway.

Thanks again everyone.