Life in Vanadiel has been going pretty smoothly. I’ve left behind my Bastokan warrior to join an old coworker and friend on a server he’s sharing with some of his friends up in Portland. A little readjustment was necessary, as Windurst has a much different feel than Bastok. Lots of tarutaru, a lot less Quadav.

As expected, the year this game spent in the Japanese market has made for an extremely smooth US/Canada release. Luckily, the Japanese players have been living up to their national reputation for courtesy. The autotranslation dictionary is going to take me some getting used to, but I’m getting a lot of use out of some key phrases I know off the top of my head. Nihonjin desu ka? Wakarimasu. Sumimasen.

Numerous fansites and resources are available online, including Stratics, Allakhazam, and Warcry. I’ve found these to be handy with the crafting aspects of the game, but the mission and quest system has been quite well-crafted. Almost every interaction with an NPC that wants you to do something gives you at least a very strong hint as to what you need to do. My main problem has been the number of “Harutoto Ruins” you can go to in the Sarutabaruta Region, which was rather confusing while I was trying to complete my first mission for my country.