When did you start ffxiv, and why?

I started playing in early 2017, mostly because I was growing tired of some others games I’ve been playing a lot (Star Wars The Old Republic, Elder Scrolls Online, Diablo 2&3, World of Warcraft) and I was looking for something else. In particular I was hoping to find a more social environment and a guild where I felt home and I could say I’m friends with people. All other guilds/communities I’ve been part of were either very business-like or quickly became inactive. I had IRL friends playing some of these games but we never managed to find time to actually play together. I struggled to find an FC too and played FFXIV mostly alone for a few years, then joined one that was already dead at that point, stayed there for way too long because of one person I didn’t want to just abandon but then finally jumped the ship and joined Dragons early 2021.

What does your character name mean, if anything?

I like trees but I also like fish. I actually have 2 characters – Dashing Nemophilist (the very first character I created) and Dash Nemo which is now my main. Why two characters that I have to keep up to date with MSQ, crafters and so on? Simple — I enjoy pain and I cannot decide on the race and looks. This resulted in the many faces of Dash over the years.

Tell us a memorable experience in ffxiv!

Probably the most memorable would be my FC wedding event. I put up an ad in Discord that I want to marry for loot and lols because I want a new dress and Mojo responded that he wants the chocobo. It was a great party with a silly theme and I was blown away how many people turned up. But there so many other moments that I will remember fondly. The launch of Endwalker, it was bananas. First Casual Wednesday with Dragons in voice chat. Making friends like complimenting someone’s luscious hair and then exchanging letters in game. 🙂 Helping a friend to learn to tank.

What else do you play right now or in general?

I still come back to Elder Scrolls Online everytime there’s a new expansion or I just feel like relaxing and gathering or fishing. I play it as a mostly single-player game though. Apart from that for the last few years I haven’t had much time to play games other than FFXIV. There’s just too much to do in this game.

What do you enjoy doing in ffxiv?

I play very casually — I run a lot of dungeons but I don’t raid. Previously because I was playing alone, right now because I have tennis elbow and also can’t commit to a schedule. I love helping others though, especially to overcome tank and healer anxiety as it’s something I struggled with in the past.

I enjoy tanking and healing, crafting and gathering, PvP, roulettes with friends or really just doing anything with friends. I spend way too much time on making glams and lately — taking screenshots. I enjoy getting deep in the lore but I get very frustrated with it too.

I can answer a lot of questions about many aspects of the game, just not the endgame.

What are you missing in ffxiv?

A better social system, improvements to Gpose (some things there are really clunky) and a better glam system. More and better PvP.

Is ffxiv your first mmo? If not, what was your first mmo?

No, my first MMO was Star Wars The Old Republic. I started playing SWTOR at launch in 2012 with my friends who were playing even before that. As a fan of Star Wars lore and aesthetic I loved that game, mostly for the story, not the group content that was often lacking. I played a ton of PvP there too. I ended up leveling all classes and playing through all stories, sometimes more than once. For the longest time I mained a Sith Inquisitor (healer/DPS) but then switched to a Sith Warrior to tank. Peace is a lie.

What are your RL activities that you enjoy?

“My hobbies include eating, sleeping, and taking the easy way out.” I like knitting, historical sewing/historybounding, drawing, music, dancing, cooking and baking, weightlifting, amateur windowsill gardening. Too many hoobies, too little time.

What songs do you enjoy from ffxiv?

Too many to choose from. I usually run instances with music off since I get overstimulated too fast but I listen to a lot of ffxiv music on Spotify. Looking at my likes and playlists: “Oblivion” and “Return to oblivion”, Twinning theme is the classic banger, “Insatiable”, “Endcaller”, “With hearts aligned”, “Scream”, “Who brings shadow”, “Freshly glazed porxie”, “And love you shall find”, all version of Brute Justice theme, all iterations of “Under the weight”.

Its vacation time! 1 Week in any zone of ffxiv of your choosing, which zone do you choose, and why? Yes, the background music keeps playing.

Probably Eastern La Noscea — coursing between Costa Del Sol and Wineport and having way too many fancy drinks. Plenty opportunities for swimming, bathing and fishing.

Do you have any pets?

No, sadly I’m allergic. But I love cats. ^._.^ <3

Anything else?

I’m a meme afficionado and I awkwardly try to be everyone’s friend. When I was young I wanted to be cool like Rei Hino but as I get older I realized I’m actually more like Usagi Tsukino.