Life at 75

Last night, a close friend of mine mentioned being bored and considering quitting FFXI. First off, this person is one of the busiest that I know in the game, doing everything from sky & sea, to dynamis, limbus, assault and finding time to go merit in between. How does someone become bored between doing all that and... well, things that you have to do to live?

Then I remembered why I had quit FFXI the first time around in the first place. There was a time when I too, was doing all of these activities, running around, camping NMs, monitoring pop windows. This rapidly became... boring... routine... people would barely talk when doing these activities because either 1. you didn't know the other people doing things that well, or 2. they were off playing with another game while waiting for things to happen. Many of these activities involve many people (64 for dynamis, usually at least 20+ for any decent HNM or endgame shell), so people would not know others that well and would be generally... quiet. You end up showing up for the same routine day-in-day-out, killing the same mobs, same strategies with minimal risk, and worst of all, you're not even chatting, joking or having much fun. The reason you're doing all of that is to get the shiny gear that these activities promise... the shiny gear that will take weeks, months, years of grinding through boring, repetitive activity...

... to the point where all you do are these activities. Every time you login, you have obligations to go to, people expecting you to show up somewhere and bugging you if you don't go... you feel the pressure to keep showing up in order to get "points" or to show your support... instead of having fun, you get bored and feel that FFXI is no longer a game, but is a chore...

Instead of focusing on the shiny gear, think about why you started playing FFXI in the first place... think about the fun that you've had doing your first mission, exploring new places, running through dangerous areas, and doing stupid things and wiping your entire alliance. Think about when you saw Lufise Meadows for the first time, or the Hall of the Gods with your friends. Think about the thrill of winning your first BCNM, or winning a hard battle for the first time. FFXI isn't about the shiny gear, it's about the experiences with your friends. It's about going out there and poking a mob you really shouldn't be poking, then seeing if you can survive. It's about getting into impossible situations, then either pulling a victory out through your skills and luck, or wiping and getting up and trying again. It's about being there for your friends when they want to do something, and them being there for you. It's about having fun and challenged!

Which is why I love AP and the little things we do together. I like it that when WoG came out, we were out there exploring, trying out the new options, campaign, experimenting with the maws, ops, getting new jobs, and as other people got the expansion, we went back and helped them through the scary zones we'd already been through. I like our weekend events when we go out and poke funny NMs, getting aggro and doing silly things on the way, joking with each other and even wiping. I like it that when we see each other campaigning, we'll go to the same zones, form a party and just hang out. I like that AP is small, and everyone is friends and we talk/joke with each other (even though some are quieter than others)

It's also why I like Assault, each a unique, challenging activity that is unlike anything else in the game. I like doing missions for their challenges, and for the storyline, and most importantly, both Assault and missions have a tangible endpoint and is not something that you'd end up doing for years on end. I know I don't have the patience to do Dynamis, and now that I know more about it, Limbus and probably Salvage, though I'd love to at least try Salvage to find out more about the challenge and defeat it.

So, at the end of the day... if you find yourself bored of FFXI, think about your experiences... figure out what you find to be fun and do that! Don't get caught doing things you'd rather not do, just for the sake of getting shiny things. There are lots of things to do in Vana'diel, and not all of it is "endgame".

BCNM40 - Under Observation

Whee... one Peacock Charm out of 4 runs! I've heard that this was an easy fight, but I didn't think it was this simple. Flayer was right, Blue Mage really does rock on BCNMs... Fast, intense fights where a BLU can shine. Screwdriver does heavy damage on these eyes, and Head Butt just disables them completely... I barely had to cast Utsusemi at all. Next rounds though, I might want to fight my eye closer to the other eye so that Claw Cyclone can hit two targets. It's a cone AoE, so it can hit multiple mobs at the same time.

Only issue with Blue Mage is... of course, MP. No problem though, one pie lasts through two fights, and I need just one bottle of Yagudo juice to keep MP up. Reserving just enough MP to Head Butt Firaga is all it takes to keep the big eye from doing any damage. The last battle, we didn't even take any damage at all!

So, of all the fights... for three fights, the big eye tried to spam Firaga, and one fight it did spam Breakga (that was a close one!) The fight it spammed Breakga was the one which a Peacock Charm dropped... wonder if there is any correlation?

Ashle won the lot on this PCC, but he's lending it to me since I'm going to be using it full time on my Dancer. Accuracy > all for Dancers xD Just 3 more charms to go. I've got just over 2 stacks of Beastmen Seals left, so that's a total of 5 runs. Deciding not to party again has been quite relaxing as it now frees up my time to do fun things like this instead of seeking party, or worse, wasting time in a party that goes nowhere!

Campaigning to 75

I've started campaigning a lot more since I've basically given up partying. Back when Wings of the Goddess was released, I think I was a level 57 or 58 Blue Mage. Since then, I think I had a total of less than 5 parties from between 58 to 75... Off the top of my head, there was one good BLU-burn party that got us to level 60, one party against Puks, one party against Dhamels in Bibiki Bay, at least two parties against Imps and... that's it as far as I can remember. The rest was gathered through campaign. (BLU 75 was actually obtained using a campaign op :)

Since Saturday, I've managed to get Dancer from level 58 to 60 purely through campaign. Exp is starting to come a little easier now since there is no longer an exp penalty for being a "low level" for campaign. Sadly, this is significantly faster than the LFP -> Invite -> Move to camp -> Die due to bad players -> Get exp for 15 minutes -> Disband routine that most parties seem to have. Seems like the "newbie" levels are from 10-73 these days, not just through the Dunes.

However, exp through campaign has a few problems...
Dancer isn't Blue Mage
According to what people have figured out on campaign exp, the best way to get exp in campaign is to do damage and to take damage. Both of these do not have caps in the amount of exp you can get, only limited by how long the campaign lasts. This is in keeping with my experiences with Blue Mage.

Problem with Dancer is... 1. Daggers aren't much for damage... 2. Dancers can't take much damage (not having Cocoon, and having crappy armor doesn't help), so as soon as my shadows go down, I'm pretty much spamming Healing Waltz until I run out of TP and die. Unlike BLU, I don't have access to /WHM Reraise yet, so dying is an annoyance.

From experience with Dancer campaigns, seems like the best I can do is to either hit on fortifications and tag out once I hit the exp cap, get a new tag and repeat... or go with a group of people to one of the major battlegrounds (Meriph or Pashhow) and support them. Problem with the major battlegrounds is... more idiots who get aggro from the NMs or mobs without letting them get to the fortifications, pulling them all over the map and of course, dying RIGHT where you're fighting so that the mobs go after you next... massive, unnecessary wipes. More proof that the average FFXI player intelligence has gone down the drain.

Skill up
My dagger skill was capped at level 58... Now I'm level 60 and I haven't gained a single skill level yet xD I really do need to get some skill on Dagger, especially since Dancing Edge is coming up soon at level 62.

My throwing skill is quite underleveled too, with a skill of 144. I can just *barely* hit exp mobs at this point... Unfortunately, the skill level is still too high to get skillups off of Easy Prey mobs... Need to find some DC or EM so skill up on.

For Blue Mage, I seem to remember doing at least one party in the mid 60s, lots of skillups while farming my Blue Mage testimony, then one party just after 70, and skilling up the rest in Limbus. Not sure what the opportunities for Dancer skillups are...

So... at this point, besides the regular campaigning I'm now doing, I need some help skilling up! Anyone up for helping me? ^^;;

(Party) (No thanks)

Alright, I'm officially giving up on parties. They're just not worth the hassle of dealing with idiots. Besides the previous PLD, we now have at low level, people who say they're going to accept a party invite, make you and your party of 5 people just WAITING for you to wait 45 minutes, then promptly join another party -.-

So, no more parties for me. DNC is high enough to campaign to 75, and that's what I'll do, just like BLU. No more low level parties with random idiots, no more seeking, no more wasting food or popping an exp band to have the party disband 5 minutes later. I can merit 10k/hr soloing imps if I really want to merit, and campaign is a hell lot more fun than working with other people who go afk, don't do their jobs, or show up in a party dressed in level 1 gear.

Besides, I've got lots of other projects I want to do... Missions, quests, helping others finish their missions (Looking at you Zuzu with CoP!), Limbus and others

Job roles & flexibility

So, one interesting thing about FFXI is that many different jobs can do various roles... Besides the usual 4 roles we think about in exp parties (DD, healing, tank, support), there are various abilities and effects that you can inflict on the mob, or help your party members. Not all of them are well known, or at least, I didn't realize some of them until recently :)

Enfeebling
Things like Silence, Paralyze, Slow, etc. We typically think of these are the duty of the White Mage, Red Mage, Black Mage, or more recently Scholar... but other jobs can do it as well

Blue Mage - Silence, Slow, Gravity, Blind (Flash), Defense/Accuracy Down... Terror count?
Ninja - Blind, Slow, Paralyze by WS... any more?
Samurai - Silence by WS, + more?
Puppetmaster - Blind (Flash... I think Flashbulb?), + more? Para, Silence, Slow?
Thief - Defense down (or any job with bolts)
Dancer - Defense, Evasion down
Dark Knight - Various Absorb spells
Paladin - Blind (Flash)

Dispel
A Red Mage's staple, many other jobs can also fulfill this role

Bard - Magic Finale
Blue Mage - Blank Gaze, Geist Wall
Corsair - Dark Shot
Scholar - Dispel with Dark Arts
Summoner - I think Fenrir have a dispel move?

Stun
Besides Dark Knights and Black Mages, most jobs have this capability... Blue Mages made Head Butt spam famous and have a crazy amount of stunning capability...

Any club-wielding job (White Mage, Paladin, others) - Brainshaker
Any sword-wielding job (Red Mage, Paladin, Warrior, etc) - Flat Blade
Any axe-wielding job (Beastmaster, Warrior, etc.) - Smash Axe
Dark Knights - Weapon Bash
Paladins - Shield Bash
Dancer - Violent Flourish

Sleep
A Black & Red Mage spell, Bards are also famous for this for lullaby... Blue Mages have 4 sleep spells at their disposal

Corsair - Dark Shot
Any arrow-users (Warrior, Ranger, Samurai) - There's a sleep arrow?

Enhancing
Think Protect, Shell, and others... Scholar became one of the ultimate enhancers due to their Sublimation spell, and Bards are highly desired for their songs... Red Mages are wanted for Refresh and Haste... who else can do the job?

Blue Mage - Diffusion turns many spells into party spells, plus Diamondhide
Summoner - Everyone knows Aerial Armor and Stoneskinga

I'm pretty sure I didn't cover all possible ways to perform these actions... I'm not familar with all jobs, and I'd love to find out more about other ways to do these things without looking for the typical jobs!

Need help - Dancer equipment

Well, now that my Dancer is level 58 and closing in on 60, I realized that I'm using a lot of ancient equipment still! Leaping Boots, Battle Gloves, Spike Necklace... I'm looking through the other equipment I have, and I was wondering if there was anything better to use.

So, I'm looking for suggestions on items to go get! I have a few things that I already have and intend to use, but I need some help figuring out what else to get :) Please leave comments and suggestions on my equipment!

Weapons
Current: Bone Knife +1 (Level 46, Mainly for the Accuracy +5)
Future: Behemoth Knife (Level 70, nice Attack +8)
Any suggestions between now and 70?

Ranged
Current: War Hoop (DNC AF1 weapon, Chr +4)
I'll probably keep using the War Hoop since the Chr+ helps in Healing Waltz. I do have a Junior Musketeer's Chakram +1 that I use on BLU, but this +chr seems more useful

Head
Current: Voyager Sallet, Dancer's Tiara macroed in for Sambas & -enmity
Future: O-hat at 70, Walahra Turban at 75
<3>.<>Body
Current: Scorpie, or Rapparee Harness if I can hit consistently
Future: Ermm... well, the Dancer AF body will be macroed in for Waltzes... otherwise, I think these two bodies are pretty good overall! At most I can think of getting the Pahluwan Khazagand... maaaaybe

Hands
Current: Battle Gloves, Dancer's Mittens macroed in for Steps
Future: Thinking about getting the Cobra Mittens for the Accuracy +4, Store TP+3, Enmity-3. Wow, an Allied Note item that might actually be useful!
Otherwise, it's Dusk Gloves for the +3% Haste :D
Both of these are level 68 or higher though, so that's still a good 10 levels before I can use them. Any suggestions before these?

Legs
Current: Dancer's Tights (Accuracy+3, Chr+3)
Future: Erm... nothing really... I haven't figured out anything that's better except maybe the Pahluwan Seraweels (Accuracy +4, Str+3). Those are level 72... I haven't found anything better than the tights

Feet
Current: Leaping Boots, Dancer's Shoes (Attack +5, Evasion+5)
Future: Well, I do already have Marine F Boots, so those *might* be okay for the Dex & Str+3, but I don't like the Chr-3... Pahluwan Crackows for the Acc+3 and Dex+4 might be an option in the far future... Dusk Ledelsens for the +2% Haste... though that's a lot of gil >.< Neck
Current: Spike Necklace
Future: Chivalous Chain (Level 60, StoreTP+1, Accuracy +5, Str+3)
Since I don't have a Peacock Charm, this is a pretty good alternative!

Waist
Current: Life Belt, Swift Belt
Absolutely no plans to change in the future... I much prefer using the Swift Belt! In parties when I can use both the Raparnee Harness and Swift Belt, I tend to have a lot more fun and have enough TP to do more

Back
Current: Republic Army Mantle
Future: I already have a Amemet Mantle for level 61... I'm also considering getting the Bushido Cape for the Store TP+1, though I'm not sure if it is really worth it... any other suggestions?

Earrings
Current: 2x Spike Earrings on loan from Utaru!
Future: I guess Brutal + Suppanomimi... I also have a Minuet Earring for the rare time there's a Bard around...

Rings
Current: Rajas, Jaegar, and Sniper on loan from Utaru
I think I'm pretty well set for Rings :)


So, that's basically it... Overall, not too bad... the main two pieces of equipment I'm feeling a little gimp on are my daggers (high accuracy, but low damage level 46 daggers) and my gloves (Wow, level 14 battle gloves!) Both of these I don't have any upgrades in mind until nearly level 70... any suggestions for these?

Dealing with idiots

Another horrible party last night... DRK, PLD, WHM, BLM, SMN and me on DNC. Let's see what went wrong.

• Overcamping... as usual... for some reason, we went to Aydeewa Subterrane to fight Defoliators. I've actually only been to this zone twice, once for BLU quest, and once for the COR quest. We're a level 57-58 party, going to fight level 68-71 crawlers. Lack of dispel on Cocoon generally sucks, but at least I can hit easily enough with accuracy gear + food... of course the first mob takes 7 minutes to kill, drains all the MP for all the mages, and the only reason why the party isn't dead is cos of a Dancer's infinite healing potential without the need to rest


• So, since that doesn't work, we try Puktraps. These are level 67-70 fly-type mobs. They don't hit as hard, and are a little squishier, but guess what move they have? Yup, the most powerful Blue Mage sleep spell Soporfic. There's a reason why we set this spell when we want to sleep mobs for long periods of time. It's almost as potent as Sleepga II. So of course everyone gets slept except the PLD... Since I'm sitting on over 100% TP and my heals are instant, I ask to be woken up so I can wake everyone up with a simple Divine Waltz... nope, PLD actually cures himself, then the WHM... then the WHM cures the PLD and the rest of us remain sleeping for a while longer... so down goes the PLD (no Invincible to save his own skin, guess his 2-hr was down), then the fly goes after the DRK. Just like a typical bad player, our DRK uses Blood Weapon about 1 hit before the flytrap kills him, which he does. At this point, the flytrap is going after me... It takes out my shadows and FINALLY wakes me up, and I wake up the mages with Divine Waltz. Despite not being able to get Utsusemi up, a Dancer can last a long time just blood tanking on Waltzes. With a Summoner and White Mage to back me up, well... maybe that last 15% of the Fly can be killed after all... if the BLM wasn't afk -.- Well, he ended up getting to his feet right when I died just in time to do an ES Sleep. The Summoner and Black Mage cast sneak and ran away, while the White Mage... rested... with an IT++ flytrap sitting there... I suggested that he zone, which he got up to cast sneak and promptly got one-shot by the waking flytrap


• So, at my urging, we move outside of the area and start working on Lesser Colibri. I figure that even a gimp 57-58 party should have no problems chaining these... which we don't, except that the PLD can't keep hate against either me, or the DRK. What's worse is that the DRK isn't casting a single spell... nope, zero, not a one, MP was always at full. The PLD barely used his MP at all either, at most for Flash, and was always late on the Provoke. SMN, WHM & BLM all had 75-100% MP at all times since I was handling a good portion of the curing. One of the mages had to be educated that Lesser Colibri don't reflect magic, but hey, exp is exp, right?


• Nope! Barely 15 minutes into actually getting POSITIVE exp for a change, the PLD goes "I have to go in 5 minutes". Now this hits a pet peeve of mine... I don't mind if you show up with gimp equipment, or if you're new to your job and you're trying to learn... I don't mind if you don't use food, or even have a gimp subjob, as long as you're doing your best, and you show consideration for other people! If you have less than an hour to party, TAKE YOUR FRAKKING FLAG down and don't accept party invites! It takes an average party a good 15-20 minutes to gather everyone, get to camp and start to get into a rhythm! Accepting an invite with less than 60 minutes of playtime wastes everyone's time and is criminal!

With that said, the name of this incompetent Galka Paladin is.... ask me personally if you want to know. Chances are he'll be able to gimp it to at least level 65 since there are absolutely NO tanks leveling anymore. My other exp party pet peeve is people not paying attention to what they're doing. This is very obvious in many cases... like people who don't move to keep up the mob and only auto-attack, don't use any abilities or spells.

I deal with enough idiots at work. I don't need to deal with idiots in FFXI. When I leveled BLU, I did a good portion with a trio and only formed a few limited burn-type parties instead of seeking for pickup parties. I also campaigned for most of 65-75 since that was so new and interesting. Leveling Dancer from 37-57 as confirmed one of my favorite sayings yet again... Think about the average person(player) and how intelligent they are... now keep in mind that half the people out there are dumber than the average person. Depressing, isn't it?

As such, Dancer will be the last job I level past subjob level unless it's with a static with people I know and with the necessary jobs (tank, healer, support + DD). Dealing with idiots just isn't worth it. I'd much rather do something else than have to deal with the average FFXI player. -.-