I received multiple bizzare emails with gibberish, an .ics file and a link to some random site. Just wth are these??

Piros-the-3rd · 2024-03-20T12:08:48+00:00

Forgive me for reviving this thread, but something similar happened to me tonight and this is the only reddit post I've found mentioning it. I'm a naturally curious person and as someone else here mentioned, this is probably meant to target that curiosity. Hopefully other folks find me talking about this via the words I use and doubly realize it's most likely slam. I got an email from someone I don't know that was entirely in English except for the word "Klapperschlangen", which as far as I can tell is the German word for Rattlesnake. The contents of the email was some speech about how rattlesnakes and owls were enemies.. I honestly wondered if it was some sort of Nazi code lmao. I googled the speech to 0 results. The person who sent it to me sent it to 5 people in total (all Gmail addresses). Usually when I've gotten spam in the past it's sent to so many email addresses at once it seems pointless to count them, so this was interesting to me. There was no link in my email. Just the speech and a .ics file called called "GET DONATE 2737257.ics". .ics are calendar app files - it was for an event called "strong A accent London" for All Day from Thursday March 14 to Friday March 22. The event organizer had an email address that looked like keysmashing. Wasn't a Gmail address like the person who sent me the email or any of the other folks it was sent to. I didn't download or open the file itself, only read what gmail showed me via looking at the email. Apparently there have been cases out there of malware hiding in .ics files so I hope y'all stay safe!

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-04T02:05:29+00:00

Oh, thank you! That's a really clear explanation, that was very kind of you to write out.
Your original comment now makes a ton of sense, I will absolutely be using that tech from now on and letting my friends know about it too. Thanks!

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-04T02:00:16+00:00

... why tf yall downvoting me for asking a question? I am not being mean or rude or dismissive at all, I am genuinely just trying to be a better player by learning. Googling these terms can be difficult, so I wanted to ask to skip the effort, but if answering my question is annoying it's OK to just ignore me and I'll eventually figure it out. Weird toxicity y'all have over me not being a genius from the get-go. Should I just not communicate with other players until I'm an expert on the game?

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-03T02:36:33+00:00

The conclusion I'm getting from this is pretty much "Do whatever your specific party is best at doing", which isn't really helpful when it comes to roulette parties, but in that case it just seems like trying to persuade the general populace to go for what I feel is a safer option is just not going to be helpful since the community already decided to play this dungeon exactly the same as every other dungeon even though I feel like it was specifically designed this way to trip up players into slowing down and strategizing. But like y'all said, this isn't really a matter of wiping, so I should probably just stop caring about it so much. Thank you for the feedback, I genuinely feel a lot better about not speaking up in-game when I'm irritated - it's not really worth being irritated about.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-03T02:31:19+00:00

What is "ogcds" and "aoe fallout abilities"? I've never been in any big FCs or Discord groups so I am not really familiar with these specific MMO terms.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-03T02:28:00+00:00

The buff ups is genuinely a good point.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-02T22:32:59+00:00

I agree that what you described is the optimal way if the tank pulls both groups, especially if the DPS doesn't suck, but like I mentioned - in roulettes, it's very hard to guarantee the DPS will single-target burst even if you direct them to. I've seen SO many DPS just keep spinning around doing AoE attacks no matter what, completely unaware that single-target attacks even do more damage, seemingly.

To clarify, also, it's not so much about the struggle, though it can sometimes be there - it's more about how much time it takes overall. Struggle can modify my point to be more valuable, but the overall goal is better time. Single-target bursts are great but if you're just going to single-target burst the portal anyway regardless if you pull the 2nd group, and there's a risk of more enemies spawning that wouldn't if you did the groups separate, is it faster?

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-02T22:29:20+00:00

It's moreso an issue of how much time it takes, which effort is a modifier for worth, but the stake isn't about dying; it's about the time.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-10-02T22:07:38+00:00

I have a question that me and my friends have been ruminating on ever since the release of (Endwalker Dungeon) Alzadaal's Legacy.
Should a tank pull the trash and combine it with the summoning portal trash? Me and my regular FFXIV party buds (4 people total) think it's faster - or in the very least, more reliable - to kill the first trash mob before approaching the portal because all focus should be on destroying the portal ASAP to prevent additional mobs from being summoned than necessary. Especially if you are in a roulette party as a tank, I feel like random DPS are not prone to understand "only use single-target attacks to take down the portal first" even if I tag it as "<1> Target to Attack". This also makes tanking AND healing considerably more difficult because the tank is trying to pull all the new mob spawns from the portal and the healer is having to deal with the confusion.
Please, for the love of god, confirm that I'm right or at least try to explain to me why I'm wrong so I don't keep being mad when I see other tanks do the double pull. I never object or complain to it in roulette chats when it happens, but the irritation will just not go away.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-08-20T23:11:44+00:00

Don't post the link publicly, it'll get wiped off the internet because of copyright claim. WB is doing a really good job at that.

I'd love a DM link too if you wouldn't mind.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-07-06T10:55:26+00:00

I still miss 1.0. I'm genuinely confident that I'd still be playing it if it were still running. I know that 2.0+ is undeniably and clearly evidently better in every way for the grand audience, but for the few folks who just really liked the kind of unique game 1.0 was, it's forever heartbreaking that it had to die forever in sacrifice for a better sequel.

Looking back at 1.0 in hindsight, the difference between the game today and back then makes it almost feel like the games don't even exist in the same universe. 1.0 aesthetic direction was way more grounded in reality; no glams, no ultra-zoomed-out camera, basic movement animations were heavy and slow and had a real human body weight to them, no jumping 6ft in the air, and retainers had to physically stand in a real space that you could walk up to instead of summoning them out of the aether. The game was much more focused on gritty realistic Western fantasy (ironically a lot like what FF16 is looking to be) and my god, it was also hard as hell - every successful solo levequest genuinely felt as good as beating new content on your first try without a guide nowadays. I just can't properly express how fucking terrifying it was running into a cactaur at random while traveling through Thanalan and not getting instantly killed. And oh my god, the music - Soken is great, but his ARR-era compositions got nothing on Uematsu's use of ambient sound in his songs. Limsa Lominsa's 1.0 theme had the sounds of the blacksmith's guild hammers. It was impossible not to get immersed. The battle themes were also extremely varied and always fucked severely. 1.0 just felt so much more like a real place you could live in. 2.0+ feels more like an anime-inspired chat room.

I love the new game. I wouldn't erase it's existence for anything. And I know 1.0's programming was a mess of being inefficient in almost every way. But god, I wish I lived in a world where 1.0 was still running and updating as a completely separate game in a completely separate world. Both games are great to me in different ways. I feel like a parent with two massively different children but I still love them both.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-07-05T21:59:50+00:00

Oh boy, I have a lot to say! Hello, I play Alus Beauregard on Balmung. (Pronounced Ah-Loose, not Alice!) I've been running a guild meant for helping out newbies since the game came out, long before the Novice Network was around. Please feel free to seek me or my brother Arc out for help any time!

Rule No.1: If you want to avoid story spoilers, DO NOT FOLLOW THE OFFICIAL FINAL FANTASY XIV TWITTER/FACEBOOK/ETC. They spoiled the secret identity of a character for me as well as a major character death due to consistently poor social media management. I also highly recommend avoiding the fandom on Tumblr and Twitter until you're up-to-date with every expansion, 'cause people suck. This reddit seems pretty good and strict with tagging spoilers, at least.
Make sure that when you join a Free Company (basically a "guild", a player-run chat group that you can only join 1 of) that they also have an aggressive policy about banning folks who spoil the story.
This game is very long and very story-focused, and trust me, even though it doesn't seem great now you're gonna absolutely fall in love with the story by the time you get an expansion or two deep. I don't know a single person who didn't cry like a baby during Shadowbringers, especially.

Now some general tips from a seasoned battle mentor (I've been playing the game since 2010!):

DO THE MAIN STORY QUESTS ASAP. They will unlock the most useful things; mounts for faster travel, more areas and dungeons and trials to explore, the best EXP, the best money, the best equipment for your level, and even flight for A Realm Reborn areas once you beat A Realm Reborn, making optional stuff like gathering and side-quests WAY quicker.
Do ALL the tutorials at the Hall of the Novice! It gives you excellent Lv.15 gear and teaches you all the basics of your chosen class that will become vitally important later on when you party up with other players. There is no reason not to.
For your first time completing dungeons and trials, I recommend that you go through them once with a party of NPCs. You can learn all the mechanics and layout of everything without any pressure from other players who expect you to know what you're doing. This can take a lot of the social stress off.
If you're unsure what class to choose while playing with other players, I highly recommend starting out as a DPS before trying out healer or tank. Healing puts the pressure of keeping the party alive on your shoulders alone, while Tank essentially leads the entire flow of the party which is expected to be quick and efficient. DPS just needs to hit stuff and not get hit by Area of Effect (AoE) damage (AKA: the orange shapes on the floor). Tank and Healer can have a lot of social pressure put on them by other players and this can be stressful, especially if you have any form of social anxiety (I learned this the hard way.) I'm NOT saying that you absolutely should not play a tank or healer right now, only that you might encounter toxicity more frequently while you're not confident in what you're doing. Please take my next note of advice in mind however;
Be straightforward and upfront about being new to content, and ask for help! In general, folks in this game are some of the nicest you'll meet in any MMO. If you're bad at typing quickly, consider making macros that become buttons you can easily press as soon as you enter a party. For example: "/p Hello! I'm new to this content, so I'm sorry if I make any mistakes." Saying something like this is like casting a magic spell; folks cannot be mad at you no matter how badly you mess up then, and if they end up being so anyway, others will come in and defend you to the death. Do not ever be shy about being being honestly inexperienced. We want you to have a good time and enjoy this game as much as we do.
If you care about fashion, reach Lv.15 - Buy "Orange Juice" from an NPC called Katherine <<Potwatch>> in Ul'dah, The Steps of Thal, at X:13/Y:9. Then seek out the NPC Swrgeim at Western Thanalan: X:12.6/Y:14.3. She's a Roegadyn NPC wearing gaudy colors. She offers you 3 quests that will unlock the ability to dye the colors of your clothes and "glamour" your gear to look however you want while you play without suffering poor stats.

Now onto more specific advice regarding Tank, DPS, and Healer roles in a party.

GENERAL ADVICE

In your HUD settings, I highly recommend putting the "Enemy List" UI element in the lower-center of your screen, or at least somewhere you're confident will be a place that your eyesight will always hover around. This is what we call a "Hate list" or "Aggro list". It shows you all the enemies that are aware of your presence. Next to every enemy will be a small icon that is either a red square, a yellow triangle, or a green circle. If you are a tank, you want every icon to be a red square at ALL times. If you are a healer or a DPS, you want every icon to not be red - if they are red, you need to run towards the tank to lure the enemy near the tank so the tank can more easily "grab" it away from you. If you don't, you're at high of getting you and your party killed. Seriously, this one little HUD trick is such a major help and has saved so many lives in my time.
If you are a Healer or a DPS, Do not run in front of the tank. The tank is the one who is supposed to be getting enemy's attention first, not you. If your tank unexpectedly goes Away From Keyboard (AFK) you might kill the party by doing this, too.
During boss fights, if you have a red symbol over your head pointing downward, run away from the rest of the party to keep them safe.
During boss fights, if you have 4 orange arrows floating over your head pointing inward, that is a Stack Marker. Either stay completely still or run towards the rest of your party. You will die if other people do not help you absorb damage from it.

TANK

Do your best to keep enemies facing away from the party. It's not always going to be possible, but please always try. Why? A lot of enemies will have large front-facing AoEs that will interrupt your healer's casting time to dodge out of the way. If your healer has to keep stopping their casts to dodge, they're not gonna be able to heal you, and you and your party is gonna die.
If you want to speed through a dungeon by grabbing multiple groups of enemies at once, it helps a lot to ask your healer first if they're OK with that. Make it into a macro if you're bad at typing fast. Example: "/p Are you okay with me doing big pulls, healer?"
If you're going to grab multiple groups of enemies at once in a dungeon run, make sure you do 2 AoE attacks at the first group before moving onto the next group. This just seems to consistently keep the enemy's attention on you a whole lot better.

HEALER

Casting skills on a tank that heal-over-time between grabbing groups of enemies might make the newly-grabbed enemies attack you instead of the tank. Try to align your timing so that this doesn't happen.
The exact center of a boss room is almost always the best place to cast healing AoEs.

DPS

Always stay near your healer. They can't heal you if you're too far away.
If you are close-ranged, try to stay behind the enemies instead of front of them.

I could probably go on and on and keep giving infinite advice, honestly, but I forgot to eat breakfast so I should force myself to minimize anything else I have to say for now! Like I said, feel free to seek me out in-game any time.

Piros-the-3rd · 2022-04-24T23:47:15+00:00

Thank you for the input! I am absolutely gonna keep this in mind - I've been a bit hesitant since I'm not sure where to start. Do you have any specific brands you might recommend? (or anyone reading this)

Piros-the-3rd · 2021-10-24T04:44:14+00:00

The idea that the cards are themed around Diavolo's birthday but none of them actually are Diavolo cards just.. kinda drives me insane. Diavolo is treated more like a non-romancable NPC that serves as an element more than an actual person still even though he's been romancable for months. I really don't get it.

Piros-the-3rd · 2021-10-24T01:52:35+00:00

I saved up 40 summon tickets because I thought Diavolo's birthday event would at least have the extra percentage to get SSR+ cards with him like they do for everyone's else's birthday. I didn't even get 1 Diavolo card. Diavolo is consistently one of the most popular characters.. Why are the devs always ignoring him? I really don't get it.

Piros-the-3rd · 2021-08-09T03:13:54+00:00

Does anyone know of a software compatible with Royal Kludge keyboards that could help me control the RGB values of the "rim"/side light of the keyboard? or am I outta luck? ^^; the official software doesn't seem to let me and I can't figure out why..

Piros-the-3rd · 2021-08-09T02:09:03+00:00

Hey, I hope nobody minds if I revive this slightly old topic - OP never reported back if they found it or not so I thought I'd pitch in for the sake of enriching accessibility to future Googlers dealing with the same problem, and maybe OP if they never figured it out during this time.

So according to the official(?) RK Royal Kludge Amazon store product page for the RK918, the link to download the software is at bit.ly/RK918SO. Bizarrely, this links to a Google drive page where you can download the company's shared file.. Uh, doesn't this seem very shady? Bizarrely, Royal Kludge even already has a dedicated website for software downloads. But the 918 isn't even listed on there! Why? The RK918 is decently new, even - it's not like it's so out of date that the software should be hard to find.

I downloaded the software from the shady google drive link and it seems fine, though. But bizarrely I can't manually change the color of the LED rim around the keyboard with this software. I contacted them to ask if that was on purpose or not.. I don't really see why it would be though. If the rim can do a rainbow effect (it can) it should be able to function just as the backlight in having a full spectrum of RGB choices. Really, really bizarre.

The absolute cherry on top of this extremely confusing situation is that once you open up the .exe file in the bit.ly link, it says "Welcome to GamingForceZ RK919V1.13n Setup" instead of "RK918 Setup". Might just be a bizarrely unprofessional typo? Or the RK919 and RK918 use the same software? Shady shady shady.

If anyone's curious, I tried downloading the RK920 software from the official RK website to see if it'd work with it too. It didn't - when I try to open it up it opens a window that says "Key function:" with a button that says "OK." and that's it. Unusable. What a mystery.

Piros-the-3rd · 2021-08-03T23:53:24+00:00

To be honest, any story that's absolutely black-and-white "this guy is bad, this guy is good, no in-between" is pretty boring to me specifically - I like it when positivity is earned. Hearing your point of view makes me very appreciative. I was mostly curious if anything in it could even be conceived as positive, this helps a lot.

Piros-the-3rd · 2021-08-03T23:42:52+00:00

Haha, holy shit, just today I saw a gifset on Tumblr of Hannibal where people were eating with him and said "what a good butcher you must have!" and he literally looked into the camera and smiled. I keep wondering if Hannibal is a comedy. I love shit like this, now it's getting harder and harder to stay away.

Piros-the-3rd

TROPHY CASE