On a side note, I used Guddal, I.M. as an indicator of how far we should go. When he figured it out, he asked for tips since he was effectively acting as a doorman. Great... He's definitely related to Mugido. Show business is tough I tell you. He was happy after I gave him a few Lightning Crystals and Elshimo Uplands supplies...

Anyway, I'm beginning to think that the goblins use bombs so much because of our NPCs. With all six of us whacking on them, it's like they have an unlimited supply of bombs. One goblin tried to use Bomb Toss three times in one fight! But, it died before the third one. The shots above shows of how much a suicide Bomb Toss did to Yarga-Umiga and how much it left him with.

Whenever I try to take group screen shots now, it's like trying to organize a photo shoot for the Desperate Housewives. Edge was blocking Mugido with his body and Yarga-Umiga with his tail. I had to take multiple shots because of the latter. Yarga-Umiga was complaining that Edge's tail was smacking him on the head and that it smelled funny. Harl became camera shy and faced away from it thereby blocking Nanako's legs in the process. Meanwhile, Mugido and Nanako were arguing over Nanako's Circlet. Mugido wanted to trade his Faceguard for it because it would make him look "Princely..." Nanako wasn't having it and told him where he could shove his Faceguard.

/sigh... ;;

I told them if they didn't behave, I'd stop taking pictures all together. It was a bluff, but thankfully they bought it.

Lizard boots again... And, Mugido is like two or three kills from attaining a new level... Yarga-Umiga attained level 34 while Nanako attained 42. When Mugido reaches level 46, we're gonna have to find a new camp... ;;

August 11th, 2005 - Sorry for the lack of pictures today. It was just a run in the mill run. More goblins, more bombs, yada yada. Mugido attained level 45 though. ^^

I tried an experiment. Yesterday, I made him removed his Faceguard and xped today without it. After our session, I had him put a headgear back on hoping it will be something different. Alas, he went back to wearing Faceguard. Oh well...

However, I made a new text file of mobs you can xp your NPC on to make up for today's lack of pictures. I hope you'll find it useful.

August 12th, 2005 - Aaaaand, we're back! ^^ Because of the information I got from the xp charts and guides, we decided to try a different spot. Uleguerand Range was the most convenient to get to, so we gave it a shot. We fought Uleguerand Tigers, Variable Hares, and Cwn Annwns. Avoiding Snolls was a bit of an issue, but not much. I decided to use food here because the mobs are Easy Prey to level 75.

I thought the Cwn Annwns would give us problems, but the real trouble makers were the Variable Hares. Variable Hares have an AoE attack called Whirl Claws that does twice the damage of normal Bomb Tosses to our NPCs.

Here are the Desperate House... I mean my NPC spt again. They seemed pretty quiet today. Must be because of the new camp. Even Mugido and Nanako behaved reasonably well.

Speaking of Nanako, there was a bit of a mishap today. While fighting a Variable Hare, it used Whirl Claws on us and killed her... ;; I didn't even notice it until Harl said so. Admittedly, our NPCs are too low for these mobs, but it is such a pain to get to a camp in Altepa. And we'd have to leave there to come to Uleguerand Range after two levels anyway...

Sorry Edge and Nanako... Harl was very apologetic too.

Here's Mugido at level 46. The boots appear to be Plate Leggings. I've never seen him wear those before.

You'd think he'd be happy, but he seemed somewhat down. I wonder why... I asked, but he didn't respond. Hmm... Oh well.

See ya tomorrow!

Edit - I had finished updating the main NPC page on KA and saw this:
I am surprised that so many people visit. I just wanted to commemorate this milestone and say thanks to everyone for their support.

August 13th, 2005 - Look, Ma! No face, arms, or body!! Only feet and legs!!! And, I have signet this time too.

Mugido always hides me whenever I call him. You can only see the tips of my helm. And look! Yarga-Umiga is actually in front of Harl for once! /clap

I can see Mugido and Nanako are trying to get along better these days. He said the gear she had today complimented her...err...assets. And, Nanako nodded and said thanks to him instead of biting his head off for making a sexist remark. Maybe Mugido was just trying to be nice because she died yesterday, but it felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something.

Sometimes, I think its better when they argue. It's more entertaining and less creepy that way... /em shudders...

Mugido, you're not a Shield. You're an Attacker. Why are you acting like you can Cover me?

...

Bah! It's not your fault Nanako died yesterday. Besides, these Variable Hares would make rabbit food out of you (literally). Stand to the side. Thanks for the offer though. ^^

Scale Mail... ... Someone on Allakhazam pointed out it could also be Steam Scale Mail (level 27), but I don't think NPCs wear Rare (or expensive) equipment as a rule. I could be wrong though. Also, he seems to be wearing Mythril Leggings (level 49) which is strange since he's level 46.

On a totally unrelated note, I got my first forum signature picture today. Yay! Someone on FFXIOnline made it for me. I think he does not want his name given away so other people won't bug him for one. But, he knows I appreciate it. Here's a look:

Looks cool doesn't it? ... Wait... Who is that peeping in from the bottom-right corner? ... Mugido!! What are you doing there?? Must I be tied to you everywhere I go? /em shakes his head.

Edit - The signature picture has been edited slightly since the original one.

August 14th, 2005 - Okay. This is getting silly. I know you guys are trying to get along, but dressing alike is stretching it a bit. Mugido and Nanako are both wearing Mythril Leggings. Mugido and Yarga-Umiga are both wearing Scale Mail. What the heck is going on? It feels like I'm the headmaster of a private school or something.

Also, Mugido, what did I tell you about trying to Cover me? Get out of my way!! /sigh

Level 47 and almost all Scale gear except for the Chain Hose (level 24) or Silver Hose (level 36), and the Faceguard of course. The phrase "the further I go, the behinder I get" comes to mind...

Only three more levels (five or six days) until level 50. I'm both anxious and dreading it. I wonder what SE has in store for us, if anything at all.

August 15th, 2005 - Hi all. Gonna be a short update today. So, let's get started. Basically, Mugido and Yarga-Umiga dressed alike today. Some people are theorizing that the amount of damage NPCs deal and take determine what they wear. There is a way to quantify this. But, it involves using a chat log parser (a third party program that we're not suppose to use), so I can't recommend it. I'm still thinking SE voodoo is involved with NPC gear or SE just applied the "Discerning Eye" (airship passenger quest) randomizer to NPCs.

Somehow, Nanako despawned during our fourth battle today. I pulled a Variable Hare, but we got aggroed by a Cwn Annwn. She didn't die and Edge said he didn't click her. We usually can fight links and adds with no problems. I'm not sure what happened today.

See? SE voodoo. He had a full 20 kill session. Yet, he's wearing the exact same thing he was at the end of yesterday's session. I get the feeling that even if we used chat log parser, we'd still come up with refutable results. We may think we found a pattern, but that's only because the human mind is trained to find them. Truth be told, only a 15, 20, or 25 session trial would truly be irrefutable.

August 16th, 2005 - Cool. This is probably one of our best group pictures yet. Yarga-Umiga is starting to look non-newbish while Mugido keeps the judges at Vana'diel Idol happy and clamoring for more. Nanako is doing her own thing keeping the fan boys happy I guess... As long as she doesn't start giving fan-service, then I can keep this site nice and respectable... Even Harl joined in the equipment changing fun with her shiny new Vermillion Cloak. You go, Girl!

Finally... Mugido listened to me and stopped getting in front of me. Those 130 damage from the Uleguerand Tiger claw attacks taught him a lesson I guess. Either that or he's over his trying to be a hero phase.

Nanako and everyone else stayed until they despawned on their own today. Yarga-Umiga (it's finally easy to type that name) still only stayed for 15 kills.

Today, Mugido took about 113 damage and dealt around 2569 (missed info from three fights however). It was his 29th day and 40th call. The rewards were one-level Gloves (level 11) and Gaiters (level 11) upgrades, but a base-level Scale Cuisses retrograde. There were no new options or messages from Luto. However, he did attain level 48 after 40 kills for this level (averaged 187.5 xp per kill). Previously, it took 35 kills to attain 47 (averaged 211.43 xp per kill), 36 kills to attain 46 (averaged 202.78 xp per kill), 36 kills to attain 45 (averaged 200 xp per kill), and 36 kills to attain 44 (averaged 197.22 xp per kill). I didn't record his kills to level before level 43.

By the way, figuring out Mugido's damage output/input is more trouble than it's worth. I don't recommend it to other people for their NPCs, especially not the faint of heart.

Two more levels to 50!!