Can You Do Me a Quick Favor?

The life of a budding adventurer can be pretty dangerous, what with all the risk taking, monster slaying, and such. Still, it's surprising how often the local populace gets their big chance to request a favor from me, the dashing and uber-powerful hero, only to squander it by asking me to perform some menial task. These tasks, which the game calls "quests" in a hilarious attempt to make common chores sound heroic, can be shockingly trivial. Take this woman for instance:

She had quite a dilemma on her hands, one that needed my immediate attention. You see, she's cooking a meal and she's missing an ingredient to complete the dish. That's right, she needs me to go get some groceries. Let's just say that I wasn't bragging about my successful delivery in the tavern later that evening.

I've also been asked to perform such astounding feats as delivering a wife's message to her husband (something about what did he want her to cook after work), bringing flint stones to help restart a family's kitchen fire, and collecting stamps in a child's book. Why do I put up with this crap? Well, the rewards can be pretty substantial. As an example, the woman above pays top dollar for fairly common ingredients, and armor doesn't come cheap. Completing quests also helps you earn fame and good will around town, which results in lower prices from the merchants and access to higher level quests.


It's just good to remember that in FFXI, you start on the bottom of the ladder and work your way up one rung at a time.