So, I’m finally coming out of hibernation—a little bit, anyway! I’m largely taking a break from FFXIV, but I’ve had enough time away that I’m ready to start dipping my toes back in. I’ve mostly just been relaxing (and playing a lot of FFXI, which I may do a post on soon), but I’ve also been experimenting here and there with glamour possibilities, with this month’s patron requests and your Patron Only Spotlight for this month foremost in my mind (and the Fantasia Spotlight, too!).

The poll came up for a Striking glamour this month, and since the last glamour I did before deciding to take a break was meant for Monk, I figured it made the most sense to do something new for Samurai instead. Even though I’ve been away from the glamour process for a little while, this one actually came together rather quickly, and was pretty fun to put together! You’ll notice from the shots that I’ve rearranged my studio a little bit, in anticipation of a more relaxed posting schedule letting me experiment more, too.

Glamour Components (Required Level: MNK/SAM 60)
Weapon: Halonic Friar’s Katana
Head: Elegant Rimless Glasses (Desert Yellow)
Body: Eikon Leather Corselet of Striking (Pure White)
Hands: Tengu Tekko
Legs: Nezha Lady’s Slops (Pure White)
Feet: Replica Allagan Sollerets of Striking (Aldgoat Brown)

More or less on impulse, I decided to try something with the Eikon Leather Corselet. While I’ve used the casting version a couple of times, I’ve never actually put the Striking version to use, and I thought it was high time I fixed that. Naturally, I defaulted to an attempt at Pure White, since that’s how I start just about every dyeable glamour. The Corselet thankfully dyes fairly well in Alahra’s chosen color, but even so, I was pretty surprised at how easily things came together from there.

For something like the Corselet, I wanted a pair of long gloves, but the Replica Allagan Gauntlets didn’t really blend right (even if I ended up using the Sollerets by the end), and I didn’t care for how the Eikon Leather Armguards left one arm mostly exposed. The Tengu Tekko—from Stormblood‘s first PvP set—matched the color scheme of the white Corselet almost exactly, even without dye, and I was immediately enamored with them. This is, as far as I can remember, only the second or third time I’ve found a use for any of the Stormblood PvP gear, which I’m actually pretty excited about!

The other pieces were all fairly standard choices. The glasses are obvious by now I’m sure, though I did consider using the Scintillant Circlet of Striking again and only settled on glasses as a means to have more metal keying off of the studs on the Corselet. The Nezha Lady’s Slops match the white and grey of the Corselet, making them a better choice than other options (like the Makai Manhandler’s Quartertights, which probably would have been too bright). The final piece, the Sollerets, won out mainly because they could be dyed to match the metal on the Corselet (much like the glasses). Other options, like the Eikon Leather Leg Guards, just didn’t really work with everything else.

As far as other glamours go, I’ve got two requests to fulfill, one for a Warrior glamour and the other for a caster or healer glamour. I’ve got a handful of ideas for both, and I’m hoping to have those up soon. For the upcoming Fantasia Spotlight for June, I’m going to have to roll some dice to decide, I think, since this month’s poll came up in a 5-way tie, and I’m not sure how to choose between the options! But I should be able to have all of those up before the end of the month, along with another post or two of my own.

As always, I appreciate all of your continued support!