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Hello everyone and welcome back. The next two several updates were technically recorded before the sylph arc even started. "For Coin and Country," the quest in the upper left, is the quest where you join the Immortal Flames. But we're not here to discuss that.
Lonwoerd here guards the entrance to the Dutiful Sister of the Edelweiss.
There's naught behind these convent doors for a worldly type like you, missus. We're the Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss--all pure an' saintly, like. Now bugger off. ...Hang about. Ain't ye that lass as goes by the name o' Ginger?
*nods*
Heh, I knew it. We like to snilch all the risin' talent, an' from what I hear, yer head an' shoulders above the rest. If ye can handle yerself half as well as they say, ye might well be of use to us. ...Ah, forget all that "Sisters o' the Edelweiss" bollocks. That's just a bit o' fun to fob off the curious culls. We're a guild o' rogues, lass, an' it's mainly our marks as does the prayin'.
Me an' mine work in the shadows o' Limsa, takin' a keen edge to the rooks an' cacklers what've earned 'emselves a millin'. We don't tout for members, but every now an' again, we might offer a promisin' young cove a place in the ranks. If ye've an interest in joinin' us, tip us yer daddles an' we'll put a hilt in each one, just like the gods intended. ...So what do ye say? Fancy learnin' a new trade?
Hell yeah! Rogue is really fun, and is one of my favorite melee classes.
Good to see yer keen. But I should probably warn ye on a few points afore ye dive in. Where most guilds take pride in turnin' their members into the best bloody candlestick makers they can be, we only care about gettin' the job done. An' the job ain't pretty. Ye become one of us, an' ye'll soon be neck-deep in scum an' knife fights. So if yer lookin' to scamper across rooftops an' bilk dandies o' their blunt, ye'd best take up with a different crew. Think on that, an' come back if yer still keen.
Rogues aren't traditional thives. I'll let the guildmaster speak for himself, though. If you can understand him. This is my third time going through these quests and half the time when he speaks I just find myself staring blankly while blinking.
I didn't scare you off, then? Bene. They told me ye was a mettlesome lass, an' so it's proved. Ye'll need every onze o' that mettle soon enough. Now step inside an' have a prattle with Jacke. He's our Upright Man--the master o' the guild.
Aye, I'm the one they call "Jacke"--though I'm surprised ye've heard o' me. Perhaps ye'd be good enough to tell me yer name...along with that o' the kindly cove as told ye mine?
Ginger. And the doorman, Lonwoerd let me in.
Ahhh! The famous Ginger! Ol' Lonny Left-patch let you in, did he? Hmmm... He can't throw a blade for shite, but that one eye don't miss naught when it comes to sizin' up a dimber mort for the stallin'. Just one thing... You ain't a pirate, are ye?
*shakes her head*
Well, then, it's time ye was stalled to the rogue! Pull on yer best beater cases an' I'll swear ye in meself when yer ready. Now, I could fill yer wattles with the storied history of our guild, but that's just whids an' wind. The most important thing--the only thing--we care about is gettin' the job done. Now, most folk, an' I'm assumin' yer among 'em, know that not long after Limsa's foundin', the city was overrun by a motley collection o' pirates an' thieves.
But as wild as that lot were, it soon became clear that they'd all end up killin' each other if they didn't lay down a few rules--an unspoken code o' conduct, as it were. One, ye don't bite the purses o' yer fellow Lominsans; two, ye don't rook a crew out o' their spoils; an' three, ye don't trade culls like they was chattel. I'll admit the finer points o' the code are a mite murky, but most agree on those three, at least.
Easy enough rules, right? Don't steal from fellow inhabitants of Limsa, don't steal what privateers have already stolen, and no human trafficking.
Now, ye might be thinkin' none o' that amounts to a sack o' dilberries now the Admiral's outlawed piracy, but in the back alleys an' black markets where Merlwyb's grip ain't so tight, the code's still alive an' well. An' just as the law is enforced by the Yellowjackets, the code is regulated by us rogues. We go where the shadows are darkest, an' hand out justice to them as break the code. Some rum-soaked cove steals goods from the wrong cull, an' we steal 'em back. That's the job, my natty lass.
'Course, we don't hop the twig when bladework's called for, neither. Ye'll see there's more to our daggerplay than just stickin' culls with the pointy end. We'll weaken a mark with poison, fade away an' strike in the darkmans--whatever it takes to get the work done. Well, Ginger? What do ye say to that? Got the guts to do a rogue's job?
Sadly, poisons are long gone from the rogue's arsenal. They were just something you toggled on to deal damage and never thought about, so I understand why they're gone. But it does feel like a thematic part of the class is gone without them.
If you skimmed the text, then the short version is: rogues are vigilante justice. They do what the law can't be seen doing. They keep the peace among the pirates of Limsa, and they enforce that peace with knives in the dark. They're also accused of being Merlwyb's secret police. If she has trouble with a pirate crew, there's rumors that she sics the rogues on them. Also we say yes to this question. Duh.
All right, then! First off, we'll have to get yer kit sorted out. A rogue needs to be light on her dew beaters to stay on a mark's trail. The job might have ye fightin' across a deck or weavin' through a mob, an' the last thing ye want is a bleedin' great battleaxe what hooks itself on every rope an' post. That's why we stick to daggers-they let ye slip through the streets just as easily as they slip through a rook's ribs. Here, take these stabbers an' let's see how they look on ye. ...Just don't get so excited with yer new toys that ye forget to dress for the role. Ye'd be surprised at how many colts come back to me in their bloody smallclothes...
The rogue class was added well after the launch of the game. All the other classes were written before 2.0 launched. Rogues were introduced with patch 2.4, on October 28th, 2014. The ROG quests have a reputation of being better than the others, and that's because patch 2.4 is commonly believed to be where where the game's writing found its feet. So the animation work in these quests is better, and the writing is leagues ahead of what we've been dealing with.
Also, more importantly I think, the ROG quests were written by FFXIV's rockstar writer, Natsuko Ishikawa. She's the primary writer behind Shadowbringers, and is the reason why it everyone in 2019 was raving about how good the main story was.
There was a comic I saw a week or so back that I can't find anymore. It showed someone playing a MMO with a nude mod installed, thinking they were so clever and that they were fooling everyone else. And then it showed like three or four other players and each one was going "that person has a nude mod installed." Why do I bring it up?
I dunno, you tell me.
Luckily Ginger still has her civilian clothes in her bags, so she doesn't have to talk to Jacke while half-dressed. No, he doesn't say anything funny if you talk to him while in your "smallclothes."
Managed to strap those daggers on without cuttin' yerself? Well, we're off to a good start, I'd say. Next, ye'll want to get a feel for the weight an' speed o' yer new weapons. I reckon those bleatin' cheats in the fields outside Limsa should serve for yer first lesson. Aye, test yer blades on a few o' them lambs, then slice up some rats an' pugils for good measure. Mind that ye mill them beasties one at a time, though, lass. I know ye've served far worse in the past, but yer no dimber damber with them stabbers just yet!
It's the usual "kill this many enemies" quest for every class. The developers learned their lesson after ROG and didn't add any more classes to the game afterwards. So in the very, very distant future when I'm covering Heavensward, Mechanist, Dark Knight, and Astrologian are all jobs from the word 'go.' We still have a long ways to go before we reach that point, however!
Rogue is a lot of fun, and it's oddly simple compared to some of the other melee classes. By the time Lancer and Puglist got their job stones, both had one full combo and part of a second. Rogue is different. It has one full combo action by level 26, and it doesn't learn an alternate finisher until level 54! The complexity all comes from actions that NIN adds, but I'll cover that in greater detail later.
Believe it or not, but ROG/NIN was another thing reworked in Shadowbringers. When the LP initially started, the class was much, much different. It had three combos to juggle, on top of a bunch of actions. It actually physically hurt my wrist to play it! The first major patch after Shadowbringers lauched, in October of 2019, fixed the job up and made it a lot more streamlined.
To give you an idea of how much I enjoy playing the job, NIN is actually one of the very few jobs on Brendori that I have a completed relic weapon on. A Zeta weapon, at that. If that doesn't make sense... don't worry about it. The LP will not be covering those. Just understand that it involves grinding. So fucking much grinding.
I made myself a promise that I was never going to do another Zeta weapon and that is a promise I am never going to break. 42 speedruns of Tam-Tara Deepcroft very nearly broke me. I actually managed to get my completion time down under 2 minutes at one point. 
Anyway, eventually we return to Jacke after killing all the stuff he asked for. ...and a lot more too, but that's beside the point.
Done with yer millin', are ye? Ye can never have enough blade practice, lass. In fact, I'll even add a list o' marks to yer huntin' log. Pit yerself against the lot, an' ye'll soon learn some new steps for yer dance with the daggers. Aye, ye must think o' yerself as a dancer-not a bleedin' butcher. Ye only need so much force to ram a shortblade in to the hilt. Precision an' speed-that's how ye get the most outta yer stabbers. Bulky armor'll only have ye ploddin' about like an ungainly aurochs, so make sure yer wearin' gear what'll let ye move freely, as well. All right? Get yer bladework up to scratch, Ginger, an' I might just have a job for ye...
The recording picks up the next actual day. Ginger is now a level 30 ROG. Also if you squint really hard you can see the end of a Halatali run in the chat up above.
Ho there, Ginger. I must say, yer lookin' comfortable enough with those stabbers o' yers. Aye, I reckon yer good an' ready for yer first assignment. ...Ordinarily I'd stow me whids an' let ye get on with yer work, but seein' as we only just dragged ye into the shadows, there might be a couple things what ye ain't yet familiar with. Let's build on what ye likely do know. An' that's the fact that the Admiral--gods bless her soul--has outlawed piracy in Limsa Lominsa.
So, why do ye think there're still so many soddin' pirates in this town? I'll tell ye why: it's 'cause there's still one way for 'em to loot an' pillage without incurrin' the wrath o' the law. All ye need do is apply to serve the thalassocracy as a "certified privateer." A captain with a privateer's license is free to terrorize the seas till the aldgoats come home...so long as he only targets vessels what belong to the Garlean Empire. 'Course, considerin' how bloody vast the Empire is, that's plenty o' lootin' to go around.
If you're gonna rule a nation determined to be pirates, you may as well put their pirate energy toward something good. And pillaging Imperial supply lines is pretty cut and dry! I imagine business has gotten really good, too, since Gaius returned to Eorzea.
Crews fill their holds with imperial plunder, then sail back here to Limsa to off-load the spoils. ...An' that's where this particular case went sour. See, this one crew got their fambles on a magitek device-a firin' mechanism to be precise-but was rooked out o' their haul by some heavy-handed coves.
If ye'll recall, that don't sit well with the code. If yer bold enough to rook a pirate out o' his due, then ye'd best be prepared for a visit from the rogues. Ah, an' speakin' o' visitin' rogues... Underfoot! Over here, lad!
I want the pair o' ye workin' together on this. Pass sentence on them code-defyin' rooks, and bite back that magitek part.
Underfoot doesn't look thrilled at the prospect of babysitting Ginger.
Eh!? What's the lass need me for!?
Yer in charge o' new recruits, ain't ye? It's Ginger's first assignment--yer to go along an' give her the benefit o' yer wisdom.
Since when was I in charge o' new-- Ah, bugger it... Er... So I guess we're to be partners for the now. The name's Perimu Haurimu, but most o' me fellows call me "Underfoot."
All right, then, me young rogue. Seein' as this is yer first official outin', I want to be sure yer dance steps are up to the task. With them shortblades, ye need to get in good an' close to yer mark, aye? But we ain't bleedin' swads in shinin' armor, an' the lighter kit we wear ain't much protection from a click to the gan. So if ye don't fancy spittin' blood an' teeth, yer best defense is simply not bein' there when yer mark winds up to land a nasty clout.
Slidin' 'round to a flank usually does the trick, but there's some rum fun every rogue should master: the shade shift. Clear yer mind an' trust in yer speed, an' ye can leave an axe-wieldin' brute chasin' yer shadow while ye bury yer stabbers in his guts. Right, now it's time ye put this lesson into practice against some o' those aureliae out in lower La Noscea. I hope ye was payin' attention, lass, 'cause those tentacles can pack a wallop. Enjoy!
Part 1 of the quest is more killing. We can safely assume I did it offscreen at this point. It's easier for everyone involved that way!
Done with yer practice, then? Heh heh, the sting o' them tentacled buggers'll soon teach ye to stay on yer toes, eh? Ahem. Now we've got yer blood rushin', I'd say it's time to get down to work. First things first, we need to track down them addled coves what rooked that magitek gadget.
Might be as one of our rogues has heard somethin'. The guild thrives on information, ye see, an' we've agents scattered far an' wide with their glazes keen an' their wattles to the ground. Let's pay us a visit to I'tolwann at the Drownin' Wench. Ask her for a weak ale, an' see what that gets ye. I'm not settin' ye up for a laugh, lass. Trust me!
This catgirl in a serving girl outfit is our contact.
Welcome to the Drowning Wench! What's your pleasure, miss?
A weak ale, please!
Never in all my days! We may serve some cheap grog in the Wench, but naught that was watered down. If our usual ale is too bold for your taste, mayhaps you'd like to order from the underground menu? Aye, there's quite a lot on offer for a customer with your roguish charms. Was there something in particular I could help you with?
*explains the situation*
...Ah, the trouble over that magitek loot? 'Twas not a subtle job. The gang in question is an unusual group of former pirates calling themselves the "Dainty Demolishers." They seem to be enamored of court dandy mannerisms, and have a preference for seizing Garlean machinery.
They're also known for conspiring with goblins. Rumors say that the Demolishers visit a beastman camp in middle La Noscea to fence their goods. And those goods generally take the form of imperial technology-I imagine the goblins were rather pleased to take possession of a Mark XLIII anti-aircraft cannon firing mechanism. If you mean to steal the device back, then your trail leads to the goblin camp in Summerford.
Summerford, eh? On yer way, lass. Meet me across the river from the camp an' we'll plan our next move...
The Dainty Demolishers is a stupid name for a pirate band. It's hard to inspire fear in your foes when you're emulating men of high society.
Underfoot is waiting over in Summerford near the River...
Get yer noggin down, Ginger. I've been snilchin' the action across the way there. No sign o' the Demolishers, but I did see one o' them gambler coves stuffin' the Garlean gadget into his backpack. I knew I'tolwann would steer us aright. This is yer chance, lass-clout that gambler gobbie an' grabble that device! Er... I've lost track o' which gob it was, but I'm thinkin' it's that sod on the left. Just make sure ye dance away from any bomb blasts-twistin' an' dodgin' in the middle of a fireball ain't exactly effective.
We just need to kill goblins until one coughs up the item. Unlike WoW kill quests, I'm pretty sure the drop rate is 100% with the quest! So there's no hoof-less zebras in the Barrens or headless ogres in Alterac to deal with.
That's the way, lass. There was naught for me to do but sit on me daddles an' watch! ...So, ye've got the goods, then?
*hands over device*
Aye, this is the device, an' no mistakin'. Let's get it back to the guild, eh? We still owe them Demolisher bastards a millin', but they'll keep for the now. Here, you should be the one to deliver the prize to Jacke. It was yer hand what snatched it outta the goblins' paws, after all.
I like Underfoot. While he rushes back to tell Jacke that we're done, he lets us have the "glory" in delivering the item. Also despite him being here to babysit Ginger, he's also treating us like we've got a modicum of skill at least. It's a far cry from Papalymo and Yda looking for every excuse to not help us out.
We're being watched. Look in the background. You can just kind sorta see a blue blur. That's someone with armor and an axe spying on us.
Captain! Captain, I say! Some fiend has perpetrated violence upon our goblin colleagues whilst we sought but to wet our throats with fine libations!
This will not stand, Captain! Our finely filched loot has been pilfered from under our noses!
Blast and bother! My blood boils and bubbles at the temerity of this affront! I know not the identity of these audacious buffoons, but they shall be made to pay and pay dearly! With me, my fine fellows!
Huzzah!
Spoiler, but these guys aren't the major villains of the rogue arc. Though you could probably tell that by the reappearance of the strawman portrait.
That cat-dude on the right is a dancer! It's the simplest job in the game to play, but ironically the one that most players fuck up the hardest. Its DPS "rotation" is literally as simple as "hit the glowing icon" based on a loose priority system. DNC is what I main, and I like to think I'm at least a little skilled at it. It also kills me to see it being played badly, because it's extremely apparent if you know what you're looking for.
The DNC job quests are well outside the scope of this LP. It starts at level 60 and has quests every couple of levels until 70. So they won't be covered until--of if--we get to Stormblood at the earliest. That's, conservatively, a couple years down the line. Anyway, back to the quest in progress.
Ye manage to grabble that firin' mechanism yet, Ginger?
*hands over the firing mechanism*
Spot the important NPC.
The camera work is vastly improved compared to the normal MSQ stuff.
Ah, still in one piece, too!
The rogue NPCs are so great.
Ye've done well for yer first assignment, lass. It don't look like much, but that crew put their lives on the line to cloy this here bauble. They'll be pleased to see it snatched back from the ruffmans.
*nods*
We've yet to do for the Dainty Demolishers, Jacke... The job ain't over.
Yer right, Underfoot. It ain't. Ye break the code, ye face the consequences.
Oho! This is not at all what I expected from the inside of a convent!
...An' who might you be, sirs?
Oh dear...
Hahaha! Your ignorance is understandable! After all, our schemes are always perfect-our heists, impeccable! Shall I reveal our infamous name and drink in your delicious terror? We are deadly, dastardly, and dictionally devilish! Quail before the Dainty Demolishers!
It's really hard to not read the male roe's psych-up animation as the "suck it" motion.
Jacke isn't impressed and Underfoot is just confused. Ginger, bless her, is trying to pay attention.
Captain! Captain, I say! There's the louse who misappropriated our merchandise!
I concur! She is the selfsame simpleton whom we trailed unnoticed to this very establishment!
Ginger's not panicking or reacting in any way. So far it looks like nobody in the guild has any idea what the fuck is happening.
Surprise, surprise!
Now, now, my dear dandies. Let us not be unpleasant. We should endeavor to resolve this distastefulness without resorting to insults or other less... diplomatic methods. At least not yet.
You there. Yes, the clean-cheeked errand boy. Be a good fellow, and fetch me your superior. One of your colleagues has committed a terrible crime against us. And we shall not be leaving until the proper restitution has been paid.
Are you starting to understand why I used strawman for this dipshit instead of one of my usual stable of generic portraits?
...Oho, an errand boy now, am I?
The redhead catgirl looks up at that statement.
This is one of those really good cutscenes. So I'm showing off all the cuts and camera tricks. It really stands in contrast to the early game stuff. The animations team really put their all into this cutscene!
Tell me, Captain: just what kind o' place do ye think this is, then?
Hm? This place? Why, I suppose it is some manner of convent. The one-eyed doorman named it the "Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss," or some such...
An ye've yet to realize yer mistake? Yer fate was sealed the moment ye dragged yer sorry quarron across the threshold.
...Are you threatening me, boy!? I'll have my fellows cut out that impudent tongue! We've exhausted our reserves of "dainty" today, lads! Show these fraudulent "Sisters" how the Demolishers deal with upstarts!
Ye still don't understand, do ye?
There are but three sorts o' culls what the doorman'll let pass: clients, recruits--
Yes, she just appeared behind him and took him down in a blink. The rogues aren't the sort to let idiots and hollow braggarts wander in and make demands, unlike pretty much every other job quest in the game.
Gods spit!
Boone turns to look at Underfoot for revenge.
I'll kill you all!
Underfoot panics while Boone charges him...
That's a dagger sticking out of his chest. The rogues do not fuck around.
Didn't yer mum teach ye not to interrupt a lady when she's talkin'?
Ye'd have learned that the third sort o' cull is a bollocks-for-brains mark what marches himself right into the rogues' den.
Red is guarding the exit, Underfoot and Ginger are in front of him, and there's a good half-dozen other rogues all around him. Strawman here is boned.
R-Rogues!? B-But...we were so careful! I'd heard tales in my pirate days--stories about the merciless wraiths who uphold the code. They weren't called rogues back then, though... The "Upright Thieves," they were! The knives in the shadows!
He's fucked and it's sinking in to his thick skull just how fucked he is.
Y-You can't be them... You're just trying to scare me! Well, the captain of the Dainty Demolishers is not so easily cowed! To the hells with your deceptions! Huzzah! Huzzah for my fallen comrades!
This catboy is amused.
Jacke weaves around the lumbering swing...
...and then goes for a kick to the face to bring Strawman down.
Like so.
Deceptions? Aye. Anyone ye meet could be a rogue, Captain--even a clean-cheeked errand boy.
He's still breathin'. Find some rope an' string him up someplace in town.
An' now the job's done. Quite an introduction ye had there, eh?
Here's a question to ponder... did Underfoot know that the Dainties were spying from afar and let them follow Ginger to tie everything up in a nice clean bow?
Ginger's expressions never get old. 
Welcome to Limsa Lominsa's ever-churnin' underbelly, where the thieves shed their skins an' became rogues.
I'm not much for discussin' the old days, but since it's come up I might as well clear up the confusion. It was back when piracy was at its peak. The coves what protected the code were dimber dambers--the best lads an' lasses to be had from among the pirate crews. They bit back the goods what was wrongly bitten, an' came for the guilty under cover of darkmans. "Upright Thief" became the title for these coves what dealt in sanctioned stealin' an' millin'.
But it was only those as had cut all ties with the buccaneer's life what was accepted into the ranks. Conflictin' loyalties, an' all that. They formed their own guild an' even their own way o' speakin', an' what was once pirates was pirates no more. Later on, when Merlwyb took the Admiral's chair, the Upright Thieves agreed to abide by her laws.
We became the "Rogues' Guild" to mark the change, an' altered our recruitin' policy to accept 'venturers like yerself. But although the title is different, the job remains the same: uphold the code, an' preserve the underground society what spawned us. ...Just as ye've done with this assignment. Keep up the good work, Ginger, an' ye'll go far in the shadows!
This is the end of the update and you might have noticed something. Namely that this is the end of the level 5 quest. If I continued on to the level 15 quest, then I'd be approaching one of the longest updates I've ever done period. The ROG quests are longer and better-written than the others, and now you're starting to see why.
NEXT TIME: More rogue stuff, I guess!