Zeales in Vana'diel - "Sibling Rivalry"

I've decided to keep dates for both in game and real life stories in Earth time.

Just thought you should know.

Also.. I'm aware that this site does it for me, but I'm going to type it anyway. Sue me ^_^
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December 11, 2008 -

Today's post isn't going to be in Role Playing form, so excuse me ahead of time now before I continue.

So, today.. I decided to try to think of a goal that I really really wanted. I mean, the last goal that I remember as well as today's decision was the Moldavite Earring, as seen in an earlier post.

One thing I've always wanted to accomplish, even though it's not a done and over with goal, is to be able to have numerous means of making gil. I know that there are a thousand and one ways to do it, but I like to have a set of options that have a very slim chance of being canceled out by an update or something. So far, I have a couple or so, but I'm always looking to add more, especially when it is one that can really pay off for itself in the long run.

Today, I decided that fishing was going to be my next big goal after my recent cooking skill marathon.

Not necessarily for the fishing skill honestly.. I'm in it for something else, something that will help me feel that I really accomplished something since everything else I've been left in the dust for.

So.. the official statement is that I want to level fishing after having attained (the seemingly legendary) Lu Shang's Fishing Rod.


*click to view information*


Now I'm sure there are a number of you who are reading this who may be cringing at the idea, or memory, of jumping through hoops to get this.


For those of you who are not familiar, the Lu Shang's Fishing Rod is a fishing rod that, at one time, was considered to be the best fishing rod that any fisherman could attain.. at least I did.

I know now that there is a higher level of fishing rod excellency, but you learn to crawl before you walk.

For another number of you reading this who know that no excellent thing comes easily, well, you're right again. Even though there are some out there who will tell you that I'm making this seem like more than it is.. you might want to finish reading before you make your personal decision on the matter.

So, how does one go about getting the rod that was believed to have caught even a sea dragon?

I thought you'd never ask...

There's two ways to go about doing this, and here they are.


1.) You can assist one of the brothers in the San d'Orian quest, "The Competition", by catching and trading them a total of 10,000 Moat Carp, Forest Carp, or a combination of both as long as they add up to 10,000.

2.) If your wallet is thick enough, you're more than welcome to blow off a couple million gil or so on this rod at the auction house, provided one is being sold. The broken version, if sold, is undoubtedly going to be sold for the same amount, feel free to use the FFXI AH link to the right to further your own research.


Now that you've seen options A & B (or 1 & 2), I'll tell you just exactly how I chose, as I'm sure it's not hard for you to guess at this point.

I chose option 1..

I decided I would take the high road and technically earn my rod, even though blowing off a couple million gil is show enough that you probably earned it that way too, given you're not an RMT supporter.

Now, there are so many different ways to catch Moat Carp (forget Forest Carp for focused aim) that it's almost a mathematical nightmare trying to find the most effective way to do this without wasting time. Fortunately, there is a community of players from around the world that decided to make it common knowledge for aspiring fisherman, like myself, that Knightwell in West Ronfaure is the best place to catch Moat Carp.

Literally, it's the best place and I'll tell you why..

Here's the target location via Map



*click here for West Ronfaure information.. click image for enlarged view.*


Sorry for the quality, but that's the spot.

All you'll be needing is a fishing rod, like a Halcyon Rod as most suggest..


*click to view information*

You'll also need Balls of Insect Paste for guaranteed Moat Carp catching efficiency.


*click to view information*

With this set up at this location, you will literally hook no other fish than the Moat Carp.

Now, granted you will still hook the occasional log denoted by the "!!!"s at the end of the hook message, and you will still hook the occasional item, but in personal experience, if you can tell it's an item, reel it in anyways because if you hit escape before you do, you'll lose the bait.. whereas if you reel it in and throw it away, the bait will not be counted one because it is an item.

Unfortunately, if you snag a log, you'll have to let go, so it's a fairly rare occasion to lose bait on those.


Once you have these things, or variants of equal efficiency, you're ready to start fishing your way to a Lu Shang's.

If you're looking to skill up while doing this, please refer to here for a few guides by members of the FFXIclopedia organization for some information on how to do exactly that during your quest for fishing power.



With all of that being said, I leave you now to ease my mind so that I can keep sane while fishing my way to 10,000.


Hope to update again soon about this ^_^



*Revision editing may take place, so take care to notice any changes*
*Fishing Rods and Bait pictures were used from FFXIclopedia*
*Map Picture is used from AltanaView, and further edited by me for visual expression*


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*edit* I recently read something that hints at Rabao being another good location for moat carp, but I'll read into it further before I add anything else here about it.

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