Two questions I'd like answered beforeFFXI goes away forever

[babyrazor]

Here's what I want to know before this game ends forever.
Two things:

1. why are there 3 non-functioning "Strange Apprentice Machines". Why waste the design space if they don't work? Is there a secret way to activate them? I'd really, really like to know.

2. The "Clear Sword" fact or legend...back when the game came to the U.S.A. my son pretended he was a girl playing. When a player would email him for a pic he would send them a pic of his hottie girlfriend. So you can imagine he got ALOT of help. Eventually he was invited to join an all Japanese LS called "Silver" on Shiva. They were like "Whatever gear you need or rare ex...NP..just say so and we'll get it for you." Mind you he was the only non JP in "Silver", and they all thought he was a "Yankeeneechan" (hottie western girl). One day He logs on and the LS Silver has just come back from killing a NM in Ro'Maeve and it has dropped the "Clear Sword" which he sees when examining a LS member. This NM supposedly spawns once every 9 real months. If you went on line to find it there was like zero info. This led my son to believe that Silver had some of Squares designers playing and that they just made gear up for them selves. So "Clear Sword"...fact or fiction...I'd love to know. TY babyrazor@yahoo.com

[Feba]

The Strange Apparati are probably part of an abandoned quest line, or something that was intended to sell guidebooks (i.e., the FFXI Ultimania books). It's possible they were added with intent or ideas for later expansion which didn't pan out, or just to add to the world.

Story sounds like bullshit. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, it's possibly a mistranslation of another sword; i.e. Seiryu's Sword or the Caliburn. It is possible the NM spawned behind the moongates, although a "once every 9 real months" spawn is just no. Devs and GMs did have some exclusive armor and things (most famous probably being Sage Sundi at over level 80, and the various Judge's set items for GM use), but it's pretty damn unbelievable that they would play openly on official accounts, let alone give themselves equipment and so on.