I'm in Puyallup. :)

I think that the whole pet system added an interesting economic element that allowed players to really delve into the whole economic/customer aspect of the game. Sure people tossed their pet shops everywhere but the players making the real money are placing theirs where they will be a convenience and where they will attract the most customers for their product. That and they will also have to find a way to make theirs stick out with a creative/effective message or simply by name. It allowed another element to making money besides being an effective undercutter.

I really enjoyed that aspect of the game in FFXI and If there was a simple method to ignore them I can't help but wonder why it was felt that they should be removed from the game entirely.

So does the friendly fire of being flagged remain while in an instance. I imagine most perma reds will have a difficult time finding any type of random group. Even among friends they will still face a somewhat higher degree of difficulty doing any kind of group pve will they not?

I actually found Lightning trap useful for dropping near the healer and catching any stray aggro coming their way.

Persona is a great series and I was a fan of Resonance of Fate and Eternal Sonata