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Hello everyone. As a means of taking a break from the awful Titan stuff, let's focus on that job Ginger's been rocking for the past several updates.
The receptionist over here can get us situated, so I'll let him take it away.
Ho there, adventurer. Curious about the Marauders' Guild, are ye? Any axe worth wieldin' needs two hands on the haft an' has a blade what can chop clean through a galley's mast. That's the kind o' weapon our members train to use with deceptive swiftness an' brutal force. If yer of a mind to make the marauder's art yer life's work, then our guild welcomes ye with open arms. What say ye, lass? Keen to join the ranks?
Heck yeah!
The short version is that axes are used to chop timber and so almost every sailor carries one. Eventually pirates figured out you can slash fools with an axe, and so they started doing that. The Marauders' guild was born from those teachings, but after Limsa outlawed piracy it focused entirely on axe combat.
I just condensed six paragraphs into one.
Ye've decided, then? Yer ready to join the Marauders' Guild?
*resolute nod*
Alright, then. All that needs doin' now is to speak with the axemaster himself. Sounds simple? I've seen folk slink out the door rather than put 'emselves in the path o' that unnervin' glare. That's the bloke right there in the middle o' the room. Wyrnzoen's his name. Put some steel in yer spine an' look him straight in the eye when ye talk to him, lass. Good fortune to ye.
My recording started shitting itself from just turning around. So this is the only shot I have of approaching Wyrnzoen.
Yes. I am Wyrnzoen. "Axemaster" they call me. Not the most imaginative of titles, I agree, but one should not underestimate the value of directness. I welcome your interest in our guild. The art of the marauder is used to rend, to cleave, and to destroy. It is not our way to simply outfight our adversaries; we seek to overwhelm them.
A marauder must be the most powerful and enduring presence on the battlefield; we must account for the most enemies defeated. Our role in combat is that of a steel whirlwind, dealing death and destruction without equal. No doubt the question has already been put to you by Blauthota, but once more shall I challenge your commitment: are you prepared for the bloody carnage that awaits an initiate of the Marauders' Guild?
Pictured: the face of a woman prepared to carve out a swathe of bloody carnage.
Yeah!
Very well. Your name? Attend me well, then, Ginger. Hold fast to this moment of dedication. The path of the marauder is a jagged and perilous one--the blood that spills at your feet will ofttimes be your own. I present to you this axe as a symbol of your commitment. Your first lesson shall be how to hold it. Now grip the haft with both hands and set yourself in a solid stance...
We'll just equip that axe and then get dressed back up in civvies.
I love the ROG quests dearly, but MRD here is a nice change of pace because all six quests are gonna be done with in two updates.
Aye, you cut a striking figure, Ginger. But heroic posing is unlikely to cut a swath through your enemies. You stand now as a student of the axe--let us waste no time in testing the edge of your chosen weapon. You shall wade straightway into combat as befits a novice of our discipline.
Go forth and slay the bleating, scurrying, crawling pests that plague the outskirts of Limsa Lominsa. Lost lambs, wharf rats, and little ladybugs shall be your piteous adversaries this day. Return to me once three of each creature have fallen to your blade.
MRD is all about just swinging a fuckoff-sized axe at whatever's in your way. You use your raw strength to bring the weapon to bear on whatever's in your way.
Ginger, it turns out, is quite adept at cleaving things apart with an axe.
You are returned to me a different woman. Already your face shows a harder cast; a realization of the slaughter of which you are capable. But there is much training to be done before you will wield the axe to its fullest potential. Learn well your lessons, build your strength, and make of each swing an instinctive act. Every blow of your weapon will clear another step towards the mastery of the marauder way. Implacable, relentless--such must be your momentum on both the practice grounds and the battlefield.
My recording really hitched here. So badly, in fact that it just completely skipped over the quest completion dialogue box. This is approximately the point where I swapped to recording at 720p.
Not yet, but soon.
Ginger. You approach me with a marauder's strides: determined, unswerving, and bereft of the hesitation that marked our first meeting. I am pleased. The time has come for you to begin a new stage in your training. Now, what sets the axe aside from the gladius or the dagger? It is the raw, unstoppable destruction wrought by its thick, heavy blade. And that overwhelming power can only be properly directed by extraordinary physical strength.
Thus we come to the core of this day's lesson. Such strength as a marauder must possess is developed through a traditional method passed down through the generations of the guild. A method that you, too, shall be taught to employ. Present yourself to Broenbhar in the practice area downstairs, and he shall instruct you further.
The MRD and ACN guilds in Limsa have both upstairs and downstairs portions. And there's a staircase ramp in the lobby of the guild allowing access between them.
It was mentioned in the thread that Milala was meant to be a musketeer, and that this is where they can be seen practicing. I just like that there's a little training room beneath the main room of the guild. It's a small detail that makes it feel more realistic!
The axemaster told me ye'd be on yer way. Me name's Broenbhar. Good it is to meet a new marauder! Now, we axe-wielders build strength an' control by splittin' boulders. That's right-our traditional method involves smashin' a rock with yer axe. But ye can't use just any ol' swing; ye need to hit the rock just so. Rhotgeim, a fellow marauder, is waitin' just outside the Zephyr Gate, by the bridge over the Rogue River. She'll tell ye how it's done.
Our in the middle of, er, Middle La Noscea...
Greetin's, lass. Ready to split some stone, are ye? I've three nice, hard rocks for ye to build up a sweat on. Don't try nothin' fancy now, just hit 'em with a good, solid, Heavy Swing.
Now you can see what I was getting at last time! Breaking rocks for Ginger was absolutely nothing new. And it shows just how much of a fraud Trachtoum was that he couldn't even do something as simple and fundamental as that!
Anyway, there's three of them, so let's cut to the chase.
That's the way to do it, lass. Now ye've got the idea, why don't ye have at 'em a little harder with that Heavy Swing o' yers? Hold nothin' back.
It's a great way to plausibly build up your character's strength, even if it does probably dull the axe blade somewhat. Anyway, Ginger cleaves these three apart as well!
Aye, I can see yer a natural. Me head's still ringin' with the sound o' crackin' boulders. Take yerself back to Axemaster Wyrnzoen and let him know yer ready for somethin' harder.
Has the training loosened your muscles and focused your mind, Ginger? An urgent request for help has arrived from the Red Rooster Stead, and I have chosen you to respond. It appears a hostile group of megalocrabs has unwittingly elected itself the next test of your prowess. As this is your first outing on official marauder duty, you shall be accompanied by a veteran conjurer by the name of Solkwyb. She awaits you on the floor below. May devastation follow in your wake.
Back down on the lower floor we can find our partner for this series of quests, Solkwyb.
Aye, Ginger, I know who you are. My brother often has me escort his fledgling marauders on their more dangerous tasks. I suppose Wyrnzoen expects me to give you the details, then? Very well. It seems the farmers need us to clear out a megalocrab nest near the Mourning Widow in lower La Noscea. I shall trust you to find your own way there-just don't forget your axe.
Back out we go again, this time to Lower La Noscea! At least we don't have to go very far.
You can see the purple marker in the distance just ahead. We're only just down from the Limsa gate, too.
Hmph, looks as if nobody's home. Mayhap they knew we were coming...?
Aid! I need aid!
<pant> <pant> Please, it's my grandson! Them snippers've got 'im! I told Sighard not to get too close! I told 'im...
Get that weapon ready, Ginger! We need to move. Now.
A purple arena surrounding a duty marker. That means the duty will start as soon as we approach it!
Ah, bugger an' shite! Get away from me, ye bloody great bastard!
Ginger's come a long way from learning the "true" definition of courage in front of the Lord of the Bramble Patch.
The kid gets away which means...
I will soothe your wounds, Ginger! Do not stray too far from my side!
The general idea is just decimating this herd of crabs. There's no greater story to it, just trimming down a bunch of overly aggressive jerks.
A whole bunch of them keep coming too. Every one we kill is replaced by two more. That kid, if we hadn't arrived, would have been toast.
Got room for one more? Can't let the novice have all the fun!
Partway through Broenbhar shows up because he thought we were having too much fun and wanted in on that action. 
Some o' these bastards are harder than the damn boulders!
I really like this duty because it's just doing come communal good while reveling in being awesome at what you do. It doesn't last much longer after Broenbhar arrives, though.
Thank ye, miss! I thought I was dead fer sure! I can't even play outside no more, what with all these scary monsters about. Me ma and me da, they was both killed by some nasty bugger not so long ago-an aurochs, big as a mountain... But I bet you could beat it! Aye, make it pay fer what it did to me folks!
You take it easy now, son-there's a whole guild full of strapping lads and lasses like Ginger here who'll be glad to do just that. All you need do is head home with your grandpa. You let us worry about that big "nasty bugger."
Consider your first duty a success, Ginger. It's time you headed back as well, before Wyrnzoen begins to worry I've left your corpse for the crabs.
So, you have shattered the shells of the megalocrabs and saved the life of a child into the bargain. Thus does our violent craft prove its merit. Well done, Ginger. Though no longer a threat to the farmers, you should know that it is unusual for such crabs to be found so near the Stead. By all accounts, the creatures were ousted from their usual feeding grounds by a more fierce beast.
The beast of which I speak is a known terror in the lands of La Noscea, ever seeking to expand its territory. And that boy's parents were but two of the many victims to fall to its rampages. It is a threat that must be dealt with ere long.
Do thoughts of vengeance flit through your mind, Ginger? Nurture those urges, but do not yet act upon them--this monstrosity is far beyond your present skills. If you would answer the lad's cry for revenge, then you must grow stronger. Become the raging behemoth this challenge demands.
This is another reason I really like the Marauders' guild! The whole storyline is Ginger training to be the best she can so she can have a duel to the death with a mad beast. There's no existential threat and no need to increment my counter, just an axe-user doing good for all of Vylbrand.
Because MRD is a new role, I can't just quick level this up to 30. Well, I could, but... The level 15 quests for tanks have skills that they will use for the rest of their career. Conversely, I'm pretty sure the level 15 DPS quests all give skills they will almost never use. Also the Hall of the Novice requires that tanks have those level 15 skills to proceed.
So here's the level 10 and 15 quests, done at a level where Ginger might slightly be endangered. She is in no danger because she has really good gear.
Ginger. I have gathered what information I could concerning the beast that young Sighard bade you slay. The tales name this creature "Kujata." Those who have witnessed Kujata in the terrifying flesh also call him the "Stampeding Mountain," such is his immense size and bulk. Again, I will not seek to dissuade you from claiming vengeance for the boy's parents. In fact, I encourage it.
But to topple this lumbering colossus, you must first become his equal in strength and ferocity. As a single step towards that distant goal, I send you to Blind Iron Mines. We have had word that folk are falling prey to the claws of the local galagos. It is your task to protect the weak from these unruly creatures. Learn to channel the rage inside you, and let your axe blade sing in righteous slaughter.
We need to kill a couple monkeys.
They're unarmed and confused, Ginger is well-armored and is carrying an axe her own size. Guess how it went.
Welcome back, Ginger. Your actions have saved many from needless injury and anguish. But though your efforts are to be commended, there is yet much work to be done. Kujata, the object of your vengeance, has trampled a farmer's wagon as he thundered through the lands of Tiller's Rest. The foodstuffs spilled from the overturned wain have attracted all manner of hungry predators. Without produce for the market, the farmers will surely suffer for coin this season. Your duty is thus clear: put down these rapacious scavengers and preserve the cargo.
The quest itself is almost nothing to mention. It's just going out and investigating and killing some things for a little story. But after the epic-length stuff as ROG, I'm quite happy with this!
Ginger just needs to kill a few raptors that are many times her size.
No biggie.
The quest is already over too! 
Once again, your capacity for carnage has been tested and proven. The creatures you defeated, however, were merely some of the many base scavengers that subsist on the scraps left in the wake of Kujata's rampages. To face Kujata himself, you yet require far more training. But do not despair, Ginger. As axemaster and fellow marauder, this I swear: I will not rest until I have taught you how to wring every last onze of power from your weapon; until the blade of your axe can slice cleanly through the thickest hide, the most knotted muscle, the densest bone. This menace will fall by your hand.
This is the quest I needed for the Hall of the Novice.
I see you have been diligent in your training. You need not tell me in words--it shows in your bearing; in your unwavering gaze. It is time for you to once more lift your axe in service to the guild. There have been reports of a sizable creature roaming the outskirts of Aleport in western La Noscea. This monster is no Kujata, but the threat it presents to the locals is nonetheless sufficient to warrant our attention. It should also prove a worthy foe to test your burgeoning prowess.
How to find this beast? Well, I am fortunate enough to count among my acquaintances a veteran hunter and archer by the name of Reynfred. He took up residence in Aleport some years ago, and will gladly aid you in this task. With Reynfred's assistance, you are to track down this prowling danger and provide it swift and bloody passage to the afterlife. May your axe swing true.
It's hard to overstate just how much better these quests are over the usual class stuff. And that makes it all the more a shame what will happen once we unlock the WAR stuff. But that's for another time! The point I was trying to make is that class quests are at their best when you're out there doing stuff a member of your class would be doing, not fighting for the future of the guild because the guildmasters are idiots. That plot is interesting exactly once, and so it's completely baffling that so many class questlines fall back on it.
One o' Wyrnzoen's girls, are ye? Why, I've known that sprat since he was knee-high to a-- Well, he was always kind of a big fella, was Wyrnzoen. An' now they call him "Axemaster," eh? Not a subtle lot, you marauders. So, I s'pose yer here to hunt down our "local trouble"? What ye need do, then, is take yerself northwest up towards Camp Skull Valley, and give a good whistle.
The mean bugger yer after--his name's "Patripatan," by the by--will come runnin' across the weeded plains. He'll think yer trespassin' on his territory, see, so ye better have that cleaver o' yers ready. Oschon's blessin's be upon ye.
*loudly whistles*
Our target is a coeurl. These suckers are quite deadly, so...
Vylbrand is now a little less dangerous. Let's report back to Wyrnzoen.
I have been in contact with Reynfred, and he had naught but praise for you, Ginger. Your representation of the guild has been exemplary. There is one more task I would have you complete this day--a task that will demonstrate for you just how strong you have become. Report to Skapfghim where he waits on the bank of the Agelyss River, and he shall help you unveil the untapped power of your axe.
I think that's a keyboard smash instead of a real name. 
Aye, lass, I know why you're here. And after seeing this big ol' boulder, I'd wager you know why you're here, too. Now, my rock's a bit more of a challenge than those pebbles Rhotgeim had you training on--to crack this beauty will require a relatively heavy swing. Impossible, you say? Hah, Wyrnzoen wouldn't send you out here if he didn't think you capable. Go on, then, lass. You won't shatter the damn thing just by staring at it!
This is bigger than the boulder that Ginger had to shatter last update.
She crushed it to pebbles with a single swing. 
Hah, would you look at that! And on your first attempt, too. Well, I guess it's back to the axemaster for you.
Wyrnzoen is laughing here.
I knew you would return before long--the deafening crack of shattering boulder reached me even here. This feat of strength deserves recognition, and you shall have it in the form of a new technique. Adopted and perfected by our guild forebears, the Tomahawk throw was first devised by pirates as an opening attack on closing enemy vessels. Though we primarily focus on close-quarter combat, you will no doubt find that having a powerful ranged strike at your disposal greatly expands your tactical versatility.
...I sense that the impending confrontation with Kujata weighs heavily on your mind, Ginger. But hurried swings lead to glancing blows. There is no swift road to attaining the peak of mastery you seek--only a steady, measured ascent.
Ginger looks a little dumb here. She's half in Brand New gear and part in random crap I've found on the floor. Anyway, Tomahawk is one of the most important and useful skills a MRD/WAR can learn. It's just chucking your axe at the enemy, sure, but unlike DPS classes, it has a practical use for tanks. Namely, it has a pretty decent threat bonus if I'm not mistaken.
So a great way to pull trash packs is to Tomahawk the first one and then Overpower the rest. It pretty much cements your threat lead and then you can continue pulling as desired or turn around to soak up hits. It's not an overstatement to say that Ginger will be using Tomahawk for the rest of her tanking careeer!
NEXT TIME: MRD 20-30!