Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Darksday, 5/8/1037
Crawlers' Nest. Level 51. Defeats = 0
It has been a long time since my last log entry. Truth be told, there has not been much of interest to write about. I spent the majority of the last few months hording gil to buy some equipment that I always wanted to get. That is to say, I have spent days upon days farming creatures for loot or underground in some goddess-forsaken mines. I did manage to save up enough for my afore-mentioned Apollo's Staff, as well as a Woodsman Ring, Dark Staff, and Valkyrie's Mask. I am still not done though. I still want to get another Woodsman Ring, and some other gear for when i reach level 55.
I did spend some time adventuring in good old Crawlers' Nest. One thing I recently discovered was that the entrance to the Nest is an excellent place to practice defensive skills. This was good, because my skills had fallen woefully behind. I spent a lot of time there, pulling Death Jackets (Bees) to the zone and fighting them with weapons that I wanted to skill up, such as Sword, Club, and Dagger. But I was primarily interested in building my Shield and Parry skills. With Signet and Regen, you can last a long time against each bee before stopping to rest. The nice thing about doing this as a Beastmaster is you only need one Bee. Once you have to rest, all you have to do is Charm the Bee, use Stay to have it regain health while you rest, then when you're ready, use Leave to uncharm it and immediately re-engage before it despawns. The only times I had to get another pet was when the bee inconsiderately used Final Sting (and it seems to only to do that when it is below 50% health).
I kept that up for as long as I could stand, then made my way below to gain some experience. I still needed lizard skins to help level my Smithing skill, so I went back to the Labyrinth Lizard rooms on the second floor. At level 51, these lizards are slow experience, only ranging from Decent Challenge to Even Match. However, their drop rate is so good that the camp was nice for farming and leveling at the same time. I camped in the hallway, using Witch Hazels as pets, and primarily focused on the North room. When that room was clear, I would occasionally grab a lizard from the south room as well, if it was safe to pull. The hardest thing about the camp is the initial breaking of the camp. The Lizards aggro and link and start off really close together, making it very difficult to pull them. I used Charm and Leave when I first arrived to pull Lizards away and make them despawn, thus making it easier to pull the remaining lizards. After that, the camp is very routine. As usual, you want to be a little wary about using Sic; the Sapling pets have two large area, relatively useless attacks and only one single target attack. The other thing you might have to worry about is Baleful Gaze. But the Witch Hazels are very good tanks and would very rarely lose hate. If the Witch Hazel is hit by Baleful Gaze, you can either wait it out, pet swap to the other Witch Hazel, or pet swap to a jug pet and use Snarl. The last option is he safest, so I saved it for a last resort just in case anything went wrong.
I grinded away for about an hour and a half (Earth Time) with little incident and was making good progress. Of course, this means I was destined for some bad luck. This time it came in the form of some other punk Beastmaster wearing a Gaudy Harness, also level 51, trying to muscle in on my camp. I hate when that happens. As always, I had a search comment with my camp, prey, and location, but of course it was to no avail. Apparently The Beastmaster Code is dead. (In fact, I think it's the second time that same guy came to camp on top of me. Grrrrr.) Long story short, things really slowed down from that point on. Often I would defeat one Lizard only to look up and find the second Witch Hazel pet gone, taken by the other Beastmaster. At those times, I had to resort to Lizard vs Lizard fights. The sad thing was there were almost enough lizards in the two rooms to support the two of us. Almost. Anyway, enough sour grapes. I dutifully and slowly grinded my way to level 52, and once there immediately set up camp to log out for the day. I was somewhat discouraged by the expeience. It might be a while before I adventure again.
It has been a long time since my last log entry. Truth be told, there has not been much of interest to write about. I spent the majority of the last few months hording gil to buy some equipment that I always wanted to get. That is to say, I have spent days upon days farming creatures for loot or underground in some goddess-forsaken mines. I did manage to save up enough for my afore-mentioned Apollo's Staff, as well as a Woodsman Ring, Dark Staff, and Valkyrie's Mask. I am still not done though. I still want to get another Woodsman Ring, and some other gear for when i reach level 55.
I did spend some time adventuring in good old Crawlers' Nest. One thing I recently discovered was that the entrance to the Nest is an excellent place to practice defensive skills. This was good, because my skills had fallen woefully behind. I spent a lot of time there, pulling Death Jackets (Bees) to the zone and fighting them with weapons that I wanted to skill up, such as Sword, Club, and Dagger. But I was primarily interested in building my Shield and Parry skills. With Signet and Regen, you can last a long time against each bee before stopping to rest. The nice thing about doing this as a Beastmaster is you only need one Bee. Once you have to rest, all you have to do is Charm the Bee, use Stay to have it regain health while you rest, then when you're ready, use Leave to uncharm it and immediately re-engage before it despawns. The only times I had to get another pet was when the bee inconsiderately used Final Sting (and it seems to only to do that when it is below 50% health).
I kept that up for as long as I could stand, then made my way below to gain some experience. I still needed lizard skins to help level my Smithing skill, so I went back to the Labyrinth Lizard rooms on the second floor. At level 51, these lizards are slow experience, only ranging from Decent Challenge to Even Match. However, their drop rate is so good that the camp was nice for farming and leveling at the same time. I camped in the hallway, using Witch Hazels as pets, and primarily focused on the North room. When that room was clear, I would occasionally grab a lizard from the south room as well, if it was safe to pull. The hardest thing about the camp is the initial breaking of the camp. The Lizards aggro and link and start off really close together, making it very difficult to pull them. I used Charm and Leave when I first arrived to pull Lizards away and make them despawn, thus making it easier to pull the remaining lizards. After that, the camp is very routine. As usual, you want to be a little wary about using Sic; the Sapling pets have two large area, relatively useless attacks and only one single target attack. The other thing you might have to worry about is Baleful Gaze. But the Witch Hazels are very good tanks and would very rarely lose hate. If the Witch Hazel is hit by Baleful Gaze, you can either wait it out, pet swap to the other Witch Hazel, or pet swap to a jug pet and use Snarl. The last option is he safest, so I saved it for a last resort just in case anything went wrong.
I grinded away for about an hour and a half (Earth Time) with little incident and was making good progress. Of course, this means I was destined for some bad luck. This time it came in the form of some other punk Beastmaster wearing a Gaudy Harness, also level 51, trying to muscle in on my camp. I hate when that happens. As always, I had a search comment with my camp, prey, and location, but of course it was to no avail. Apparently The Beastmaster Code is dead. (In fact, I think it's the second time that same guy came to camp on top of me. Grrrrr.) Long story short, things really slowed down from that point on. Often I would defeat one Lizard only to look up and find the second Witch Hazel pet gone, taken by the other Beastmaster. At those times, I had to resort to Lizard vs Lizard fights. The sad thing was there were almost enough lizards in the two rooms to support the two of us. Almost. Anyway, enough sour grapes. I dutifully and slowly grinded my way to level 52, and once there immediately set up camp to log out for the day. I was somewhat discouraged by the expeience. It might be a while before I adventure again.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Iceday, 11/1/1036
Crawlers' Nest. Level 50. Defeats = 0
Garlaige Citadel. Level 50. Defeats = 0
11/1/1036 is a day I will never forget. This is the day I broke past what I thought were my limitations. It was the day I reached level 51!
I had finally managed to get my Ancient Papyrus some months ago. However, my search for the Exoray Mold was going far slower than I anticipated. I fought the Exorays in Crawlers' Nest for days on end with no good results. It was very dangerous to solo them most of the time because many of the potential pet creatures were Tough. Many creatures agro and/or link in the Nest, and a single mischarm or mid0fight charm break could easily spell disaster. I used Familiar as much as I could during this period to help deal with this issue. The days soon turned into weeks, and the weeks into months fighting countless exorays. It probably would have been faster in a party. However, I did not want to join a party while I was stuck at 7799/7800 experience points for goddess knows how long it would take. I was starting to get frustrated, but kept at it. At least the drops were good, as I got plenty of Dark Crystals and various mushrooms. (Mushrooms that I later used to get a pair of Mycophile Cuffs for Pitaya, Papaya, and myself.)
Then one day, my friend Komaru happened to be available and asked if he could help. Komaru was a Tarutaru White Mage in his high 40s, recently come out of semi-retirement. While I wanted to try the quest solo at first, by this time I was willed to take any help I could get. We made our way down, and wouldn't you know it? Exoray Mold on the first drop! I joked that Komaru must be good luck, but he just shrugged it off. Since we had made it all the way down there, I asked if he needed a mold as well. He did, and we went to find another Exoray. And guess what? Another exoray mold dropped!! I couldn't believe it. Komaru really was good luck!
Wanting to capitalize of our good fortune, I asked Komaru if he was up for a trip to Garlaige Citadel. Our target was the Explosures, which dropped the Bomb Coal we needed. Fortunately there was a party camping near Banishing Gate #1 so we could easily move to where we needed to be. When there, we found a room with several Explosures and some Droma (Magic Pots). In the tunnel leading to this large room there were a few agro Funnel Bats. The bats were Tough to me, but I wasn't as worried because if all went well, the fight would not last long enough for them to uncharm. And even if they did, I had Komaru there to back me up while I attempted a recharm. The plan of course was to throw bats at the bombs and hope that the bomb would use Self-Destruct. If it used Berserk, that was almost as good, since me and the bats could rip through a low-defense bomb very quickly. Long story short, we both had a bomb coal after only three bombs. Apparently the bomb coal was very common. Well, that and Komaru is good luck. I'll have to ask him to come camping with me more often. =^.^=
It was a long, tough road, but well worth the wait. And the best part is now I'm wearing a pimp new staff. :)
Garlaige Citadel. Level 50. Defeats = 0
11/1/1036 is a day I will never forget. This is the day I broke past what I thought were my limitations. It was the day I reached level 51!
I had finally managed to get my Ancient Papyrus some months ago. However, my search for the Exoray Mold was going far slower than I anticipated. I fought the Exorays in Crawlers' Nest for days on end with no good results. It was very dangerous to solo them most of the time because many of the potential pet creatures were Tough. Many creatures agro and/or link in the Nest, and a single mischarm or mid0fight charm break could easily spell disaster. I used Familiar as much as I could during this period to help deal with this issue. The days soon turned into weeks, and the weeks into months fighting countless exorays. It probably would have been faster in a party. However, I did not want to join a party while I was stuck at 7799/7800 experience points for goddess knows how long it would take. I was starting to get frustrated, but kept at it. At least the drops were good, as I got plenty of Dark Crystals and various mushrooms. (Mushrooms that I later used to get a pair of Mycophile Cuffs for Pitaya, Papaya, and myself.)
Then one day, my friend Komaru happened to be available and asked if he could help. Komaru was a Tarutaru White Mage in his high 40s, recently come out of semi-retirement. While I wanted to try the quest solo at first, by this time I was willed to take any help I could get. We made our way down, and wouldn't you know it? Exoray Mold on the first drop! I joked that Komaru must be good luck, but he just shrugged it off. Since we had made it all the way down there, I asked if he needed a mold as well. He did, and we went to find another Exoray. And guess what? Another exoray mold dropped!! I couldn't believe it. Komaru really was good luck!
Wanting to capitalize of our good fortune, I asked Komaru if he was up for a trip to Garlaige Citadel. Our target was the Explosures, which dropped the Bomb Coal we needed. Fortunately there was a party camping near Banishing Gate #1 so we could easily move to where we needed to be. When there, we found a room with several Explosures and some Droma (Magic Pots). In the tunnel leading to this large room there were a few agro Funnel Bats. The bats were Tough to me, but I wasn't as worried because if all went well, the fight would not last long enough for them to uncharm. And even if they did, I had Komaru there to back me up while I attempted a recharm. The plan of course was to throw bats at the bombs and hope that the bomb would use Self-Destruct. If it used Berserk, that was almost as good, since me and the bats could rip through a low-defense bomb very quickly. Long story short, we both had a bomb coal after only three bombs. Apparently the bomb coal was very common. Well, that and Komaru is good luck. I'll have to ask him to come camping with me more often. =^.^=
It was a long, tough road, but well worth the wait. And the best part is now I'm wearing a pimp new staff. :)
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Windsday, 3/24/1036 (part 2)
Yuhtunga Jungle. Paladin Level 25, 26, 27. Defeats = 0
Yhoator Jungle. Paladin Level 27, 28. Defeats = 0
This will be a short entry because it has been months since this adventure and the details are a little foggy. I teamed up with my friends Papaya, Pitaya, and Chili in Jeuno, and we made our way to Yuhtunga Jungle. We also recruited a Ranger and a Dancer by the time we reached Kazham. We then started our adventure, starting with the Yuhtunga Mandragoras outside.
This was the first time I had ever adventured alongside a Dancer. They are pretty cool. I can see some of those abilities even being useful as a support job for my Paladin or Beastmaster. Our ranger seemed to be an experienced puller. We cut our way through the Yuhtunga Mandragoras with ease. There was little to no downtime with both a Dancer and a White Mage in the party. We also hit Chain #5 a few times, and almost always hit at least Chain #4. At times I had a little trouble holding hate when the Black Mage and Ranger would cut loose, but the vast majority of the time I held it well. We fought a few Goblins as well, but they were much more dangerous and hit way, way harder than the Mandragoras. In the future against Incredibly Tough+ monsters like that I might have to resort to using defensive food. I dislike overhunting like that, but sometimes we have no choice.
Around level 27, our Ranger had to leave, and the Dancer took off shortly thereafter. After a while, we recruited another Dancer and a Bard. I was a little concerned about the lack of direct damage on that party. However, things worked out well in the end. At the request of our new Dancer, we made our way to Yhoator Jungle this time. I gotta tell you - having a White Mage, Bard, and Dancer for support is really nice for a Paladin tank. I never lacked for any healing, my attacks would proc either drain or aspir, I got some MP refresh effects from the bard, and songs would help out our attack and accuracy in combat. In fact, since the Yhoator Mandragora's attacks are so weak, sometimes I had too much healing. That is, sometimes I could not Cure myself for hate effectively because none of us would be hurt. But in those cases I worked on dishing out the pain instead! As usual, Chili and I worked together to form skillchains, and Papaya and Pitaya would magic burst as appropriate. At level 28, I equipped my first Size 3 shield, the Kite Shield. Now that's a real shield - not some wussy buckler. For the first time, I felt like a knight! With that shield, my shield blocks would reduce the Mandragora damage down to as low as single digits, even without defense food or a lot of vitality gear. Heck, with this party I might have even used Berserk if we had reached the level to get it. Unfortunately, our adventure cut short after we hit level 29. Oh well, I need to buy a new set of armor anyway.
Next stop, level 30! And then we can do CoP missions and the advanced job quests!
Yhoator Jungle. Paladin Level 27, 28. Defeats = 0
This will be a short entry because it has been months since this adventure and the details are a little foggy. I teamed up with my friends Papaya, Pitaya, and Chili in Jeuno, and we made our way to Yuhtunga Jungle. We also recruited a Ranger and a Dancer by the time we reached Kazham. We then started our adventure, starting with the Yuhtunga Mandragoras outside.
This was the first time I had ever adventured alongside a Dancer. They are pretty cool. I can see some of those abilities even being useful as a support job for my Paladin or Beastmaster. Our ranger seemed to be an experienced puller. We cut our way through the Yuhtunga Mandragoras with ease. There was little to no downtime with both a Dancer and a White Mage in the party. We also hit Chain #5 a few times, and almost always hit at least Chain #4. At times I had a little trouble holding hate when the Black Mage and Ranger would cut loose, but the vast majority of the time I held it well. We fought a few Goblins as well, but they were much more dangerous and hit way, way harder than the Mandragoras. In the future against Incredibly Tough+ monsters like that I might have to resort to using defensive food. I dislike overhunting like that, but sometimes we have no choice.
Around level 27, our Ranger had to leave, and the Dancer took off shortly thereafter. After a while, we recruited another Dancer and a Bard. I was a little concerned about the lack of direct damage on that party. However, things worked out well in the end. At the request of our new Dancer, we made our way to Yhoator Jungle this time. I gotta tell you - having a White Mage, Bard, and Dancer for support is really nice for a Paladin tank. I never lacked for any healing, my attacks would proc either drain or aspir, I got some MP refresh effects from the bard, and songs would help out our attack and accuracy in combat. In fact, since the Yhoator Mandragora's attacks are so weak, sometimes I had too much healing. That is, sometimes I could not Cure myself for hate effectively because none of us would be hurt. But in those cases I worked on dishing out the pain instead! As usual, Chili and I worked together to form skillchains, and Papaya and Pitaya would magic burst as appropriate. At level 28, I equipped my first Size 3 shield, the Kite Shield. Now that's a real shield - not some wussy buckler. For the first time, I felt like a knight! With that shield, my shield blocks would reduce the Mandragora damage down to as low as single digits, even without defense food or a lot of vitality gear. Heck, with this party I might have even used Berserk if we had reached the level to get it. Unfortunately, our adventure cut short after we hit level 29. Oh well, I need to buy a new set of armor anyway.
Next stop, level 30! And then we can do CoP missions and the advanced job quests!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Windsday, 3/24/1036 (part 1)
The Eldieme Necropolis. Level 50. Defeats = 1
Crawlers' Nest. Level 50. Defeats = 1
I seem to have reached the limits of my capabilities. I have slain monster after monster, but cannot seem to reach the next level of power. Perhaps level 50 is as strong as I will ever get. No! That can't be true! I defiantly challenge that very notion! After hearing some rumors, I went to Ru'Lude Gardens in Jeuno to seek the counsel of its powerful residents. I came upon a creepy old man who calls himself Maat. He was very rude, and called me a "tiny bug" compared to the residents there! I was offended, but at the same time knew that I came to the right place. Maat claimed to be a teacher and said he knew the secret of surpassing my limits. I was to seek out items from very dangerous locations and bring them to him. I am still working of that quest now.
I went to The Eldieme Necropolis to seek out an Ancient Papyrus for Maat. My friend Pitaya came with me to lend support with spells like Sneak, Invisible, and Regen. (I went with a Thief Support Job for Treasure Hunter.) Pitaya seems to have been reincarnated into his current Tarutaru form. He says he was a Mithra in a former life! I am not so sure I believe in such things, but there is no doubt he is experienced beyond his current young level 25 White Mage form. Nevertheless we had a lot of trouble at first. The biggest problem was the lack of any natural pets in the nearby area. I was forced to use Funguar Familiar jug pets, which were much weaker than the Tough Liches we were fighting. I could solo them by calling a second Familiar mid-fight, and sometimes with just one pet and a pet food, but it was very difficult either way since I did not have the spells of my usual White Mage support job. Also, since many of the Liches were Black Mages, their area spells and TP abilities would wreak havoc. Pitaya was defeated a few times by such collateral damage, and one particularly tough Lich defeated us both. Sadly, Pitaya deleveled to 24 after one of the defeats and could not easily make it back (no Invisible anymore). We had to call in the aid of an old friend who I thought had retired from adventuring - Komaru.
Komaru was a much higher level White Mage - I think level 47. He was my first teacher in the art of adventuring and helped me get to where I am today. With his assistance, I was able to defeat the Liches far more readily. Since he could more easily heal me, I could co-tank with my pet to keep it alive for its duration. Still, we were there for over a day with no luck. I was starting to think Maat had sent me on a wild chocobo chase. Then we were contacted by a bored level 75 Monk in a another part of the Necropolis who offered his assistance. Apparently Maat sent him on the same arduous task some years ago. Even with the monk killing liches in another part of the dungeon and us continuing at our own pace, we were still there for almost another whole day. Then, suddenly, the Monk finds an Ancient Papyrus! With a cheer we thanked him for his help and he went back about his business. But I didn't want to leave just yet. I think Komaru faced the same limits as I did. I figured while we were there, we might as well try to get another papyrus in case he should decided to permanently come out of retirement one day. Fortunately, another one dropped on the very next killed Lich! Both of us were now 1/3 of the way to breaking the level 50 barrier.
I thanked Komaru and Pitaya again and bid them farewell. They had their own lives to get back to. I then went to the familiar Crawlers' Nest to seek out Maat's second requested item, an Exoray Mold. I could solo the Exorays with some difficulty. There were Tough to me, but unlike the Necropolis there were plenty of natural pets in the Nest. The basement had parties killing the Exorays there. Hence, I went to the second floor, and used Witch Hazel (Sapling) Pets against the Exorays in a small round room nearby. The problem was that the saplings were mostly Tough too, with only a few Even Match ones mixed in. I tired to convert a few, but they wouldn't despawn after Leave! It looks like they had a very large roaming area. Nevertheless, I fought the Exorays as best I could, using even using Tough Saplings as necessary. I think my new Monster Signa really helped with the Charming here. The sapling link and a mischarm would likely mean defeat. In fact, I did get one mischarm during a pet swap, and it did lead to my defeat. Other than that one time, things were rough but I got through it intact. Sadly, after countless defeated exorays I still have not seen a single Exoray Mold. I'll have to come back later. It seems my friends have need of a Paladin in Yuhtunga Jungle!
(Continued in Part 2)
Crawlers' Nest. Level 50. Defeats = 1
I seem to have reached the limits of my capabilities. I have slain monster after monster, but cannot seem to reach the next level of power. Perhaps level 50 is as strong as I will ever get. No! That can't be true! I defiantly challenge that very notion! After hearing some rumors, I went to Ru'Lude Gardens in Jeuno to seek the counsel of its powerful residents. I came upon a creepy old man who calls himself Maat. He was very rude, and called me a "tiny bug" compared to the residents there! I was offended, but at the same time knew that I came to the right place. Maat claimed to be a teacher and said he knew the secret of surpassing my limits. I was to seek out items from very dangerous locations and bring them to him. I am still working of that quest now.
I went to The Eldieme Necropolis to seek out an Ancient Papyrus for Maat. My friend Pitaya came with me to lend support with spells like Sneak, Invisible, and Regen. (I went with a Thief Support Job for Treasure Hunter.) Pitaya seems to have been reincarnated into his current Tarutaru form. He says he was a Mithra in a former life! I am not so sure I believe in such things, but there is no doubt he is experienced beyond his current young level 25 White Mage form. Nevertheless we had a lot of trouble at first. The biggest problem was the lack of any natural pets in the nearby area. I was forced to use Funguar Familiar jug pets, which were much weaker than the Tough Liches we were fighting. I could solo them by calling a second Familiar mid-fight, and sometimes with just one pet and a pet food, but it was very difficult either way since I did not have the spells of my usual White Mage support job. Also, since many of the Liches were Black Mages, their area spells and TP abilities would wreak havoc. Pitaya was defeated a few times by such collateral damage, and one particularly tough Lich defeated us both. Sadly, Pitaya deleveled to 24 after one of the defeats and could not easily make it back (no Invisible anymore). We had to call in the aid of an old friend who I thought had retired from adventuring - Komaru.
Komaru was a much higher level White Mage - I think level 47. He was my first teacher in the art of adventuring and helped me get to where I am today. With his assistance, I was able to defeat the Liches far more readily. Since he could more easily heal me, I could co-tank with my pet to keep it alive for its duration. Still, we were there for over a day with no luck. I was starting to think Maat had sent me on a wild chocobo chase. Then we were contacted by a bored level 75 Monk in a another part of the Necropolis who offered his assistance. Apparently Maat sent him on the same arduous task some years ago. Even with the monk killing liches in another part of the dungeon and us continuing at our own pace, we were still there for almost another whole day. Then, suddenly, the Monk finds an Ancient Papyrus! With a cheer we thanked him for his help and he went back about his business. But I didn't want to leave just yet. I think Komaru faced the same limits as I did. I figured while we were there, we might as well try to get another papyrus in case he should decided to permanently come out of retirement one day. Fortunately, another one dropped on the very next killed Lich! Both of us were now 1/3 of the way to breaking the level 50 barrier.
I thanked Komaru and Pitaya again and bid them farewell. They had their own lives to get back to. I then went to the familiar Crawlers' Nest to seek out Maat's second requested item, an Exoray Mold. I could solo the Exorays with some difficulty. There were Tough to me, but unlike the Necropolis there were plenty of natural pets in the Nest. The basement had parties killing the Exorays there. Hence, I went to the second floor, and used Witch Hazel (Sapling) Pets against the Exorays in a small round room nearby. The problem was that the saplings were mostly Tough too, with only a few Even Match ones mixed in. I tired to convert a few, but they wouldn't despawn after Leave! It looks like they had a very large roaming area. Nevertheless, I fought the Exorays as best I could, using even using Tough Saplings as necessary. I think my new Monster Signa really helped with the Charming here. The sapling link and a mischarm would likely mean defeat. In fact, I did get one mischarm during a pet swap, and it did lead to my defeat. Other than that one time, things were rough but I got through it intact. Sadly, after countless defeated exorays I still have not seen a single Exoray Mold. I'll have to come back later. It seems my friends have need of a Paladin in Yuhtunga Jungle!
(Continued in Part 2)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Lightsday, 10/25/1035
Crawlers' Nest. Level 49. Defeats = 0
Western Altepa Desert. Level 49. Defeats = 0
As I feared, level 49 was just as bad as level 48. Well, not quite. This time I wasn't defeated at all. But it was excruciatingly slow. This week every time I checked Labyrinth of Onzozo it was occupied, so I had to try other areas. I am not sure I wanted to go there anyway, since I really don't like getting hit by Baleful Gaze.
My first attempt was back to Crawlers' Nest. I have never had good luck here, except perhaps my first visit some ten levels ago. I tried going to the Labyrinth Lizard rooms on the second floor. This is actually a decent camp. There are lots of lizards in each of the two rooms, ranging from Even Match to Tough. There is a small corridor between rooms that is safe to pull to, only containing two Witch Hazels (Saplings), both always Tough. I would Charm an Even Match Lizard, send it at a Tough Lizard, and use Heel to pull it to the corridor to fight. The best part about the lizards is they have very good drop rates. I got lots of Lizard Eggs, Fire Crystals, and a few Lizard Skins as well. This is a good place to level and make some cash at the same time. Though it should be noted that sometimes this area is farmed by high level characters, leaving you high and dry.
There are several dangers as well. First, all of the Labyrinth Lizards both agro and link. I few times I had to use Sneak to move around safely. But keep in mind the using Charm breaks Sneak, so you have to be very careful. The Lizards have a very small agro range from what I could tell, but a large linking range. Pulling them was very hazardous. Another danger was of course, Baleful Gaze. If the lizard uses this move on you, you will almost certainly be defeated. If your pet gets hit by it, you may have to prepare for a dangerous mid-fight pet swap. On the other hand, if your lizard pet uses it, the fight becomes way easier. Another danger is the Witch Hazels in the hallway. They link, but usually leave you alone, but if you use Sic and your pet does a area TP move like Fireball, you'll be fighting both saplings as well. Lastly, since you have to drop down into the lizard room, escape from the area is all but impossible if you run into trouble.
However, with all that said, my biggest problem with this camp was that I was just a little too low level. Far too often, everything in the area would spawn as Tough. This left me with no viable pets, and would have to try to convert them. Converting agro, linking Lizards is not the most fun of experiences. The one time I came close to defeat was when I was trying to convert a pet and got a Mischarm followed by a link, and then Tame failed. I was losing health fast and didn't have enough space to safely cast Cure III. I called a Crab Familiar using Call Beast, had it fight both Lizards and used Snarl, then quickly moved away to log out. I barely made it out in time.
I had terrible luck converting the pets to Even Match that day. They kept coming back Tough every time! Soon I got fed up and decided to leave. However, I think this place would be good at level 50 or 51. It would really help to be able to use the Witch Hazels in the hallway as pets. So reluctantly I headed back to Western Altepa Desert. The plan was just to grind it out on the Desert Beetles out there. It was very slow, but very safe. I was able to easily keep my Axe skill capped due to the ridiculously long fights. In fact, I got a new Weapon Skill out here called Spinning Axe! It is only one hit, but it's pretty powerful. I think I can finally retire my trusty Raging Axe. After I capped Axe, I tried to level Scythe out there too. My Scythe skill is way behind though, and that made the fights even longer. I had to switch back to Axe against Tough Beetles, otherwise my pet might uncharm mid-fight. Occasionally, I would break up the monotony by taking on an Antican Eques or Antican Retiarius. Antica are formidable foes. They have annoying TP moves like an area Blind, area Silence, and area Petrification. Also the Antican Eques would spam Cure III like there was no tomorrow. Still it was worth it to fight them sometimes just to get away from Beetles for hours on end. All I can say is thank the Goddess for the Empress Band! In fact, as I neared level 50, I even burned a charge off my Anniversary Ring to get though those last few fights.
But it was all worth it in the end. I am finally level 50!! I need to take some time off to farm up some cash to get several items, most notably an Apollo's Staff. Other items on my wishlist are Valkyrie's Mask, Spiked Finger Gauntlets, and Jaguar Mantle. But most importantly, I need to do some quests and missions and try for the mighty Gaudy Harness down the line.
Western Altepa Desert. Level 49. Defeats = 0
As I feared, level 49 was just as bad as level 48. Well, not quite. This time I wasn't defeated at all. But it was excruciatingly slow. This week every time I checked Labyrinth of Onzozo it was occupied, so I had to try other areas. I am not sure I wanted to go there anyway, since I really don't like getting hit by Baleful Gaze.
My first attempt was back to Crawlers' Nest. I have never had good luck here, except perhaps my first visit some ten levels ago. I tried going to the Labyrinth Lizard rooms on the second floor. This is actually a decent camp. There are lots of lizards in each of the two rooms, ranging from Even Match to Tough. There is a small corridor between rooms that is safe to pull to, only containing two Witch Hazels (Saplings), both always Tough. I would Charm an Even Match Lizard, send it at a Tough Lizard, and use Heel to pull it to the corridor to fight. The best part about the lizards is they have very good drop rates. I got lots of Lizard Eggs, Fire Crystals, and a few Lizard Skins as well. This is a good place to level and make some cash at the same time. Though it should be noted that sometimes this area is farmed by high level characters, leaving you high and dry.
There are several dangers as well. First, all of the Labyrinth Lizards both agro and link. I few times I had to use Sneak to move around safely. But keep in mind the using Charm breaks Sneak, so you have to be very careful. The Lizards have a very small agro range from what I could tell, but a large linking range. Pulling them was very hazardous. Another danger was of course, Baleful Gaze. If the lizard uses this move on you, you will almost certainly be defeated. If your pet gets hit by it, you may have to prepare for a dangerous mid-fight pet swap. On the other hand, if your lizard pet uses it, the fight becomes way easier. Another danger is the Witch Hazels in the hallway. They link, but usually leave you alone, but if you use Sic and your pet does a area TP move like Fireball, you'll be fighting both saplings as well. Lastly, since you have to drop down into the lizard room, escape from the area is all but impossible if you run into trouble.
However, with all that said, my biggest problem with this camp was that I was just a little too low level. Far too often, everything in the area would spawn as Tough. This left me with no viable pets, and would have to try to convert them. Converting agro, linking Lizards is not the most fun of experiences. The one time I came close to defeat was when I was trying to convert a pet and got a Mischarm followed by a link, and then Tame failed. I was losing health fast and didn't have enough space to safely cast Cure III. I called a Crab Familiar using Call Beast, had it fight both Lizards and used Snarl, then quickly moved away to log out. I barely made it out in time.
I had terrible luck converting the pets to Even Match that day. They kept coming back Tough every time! Soon I got fed up and decided to leave. However, I think this place would be good at level 50 or 51. It would really help to be able to use the Witch Hazels in the hallway as pets. So reluctantly I headed back to Western Altepa Desert. The plan was just to grind it out on the Desert Beetles out there. It was very slow, but very safe. I was able to easily keep my Axe skill capped due to the ridiculously long fights. In fact, I got a new Weapon Skill out here called Spinning Axe! It is only one hit, but it's pretty powerful. I think I can finally retire my trusty Raging Axe. After I capped Axe, I tried to level Scythe out there too. My Scythe skill is way behind though, and that made the fights even longer. I had to switch back to Axe against Tough Beetles, otherwise my pet might uncharm mid-fight. Occasionally, I would break up the monotony by taking on an Antican Eques or Antican Retiarius. Antica are formidable foes. They have annoying TP moves like an area Blind, area Silence, and area Petrification. Also the Antican Eques would spam Cure III like there was no tomorrow. Still it was worth it to fight them sometimes just to get away from Beetles for hours on end. All I can say is thank the Goddess for the Empress Band! In fact, as I neared level 50, I even burned a charge off my Anniversary Ring to get though those last few fights.
But it was all worth it in the end. I am finally level 50!! I need to take some time off to farm up some cash to get several items, most notably an Apollo's Staff. Other items on my wishlist are Valkyrie's Mask, Spiked Finger Gauntlets, and Jaguar Mantle. But most importantly, I need to do some quests and missions and try for the mighty Gaudy Harness down the line.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Darksday, 7/20/1035
Western Altepa Desert. Level 48. Defeats = 0
Labyrinth of Onzozo. Level 48. Defeats = 1
Crawlers' Nest. Level 48. Defeats = 0
Gustav Tunnel. Level 48. Defeats = 1
Goddess, I hate level 48! It took several unsuccessful attempts to find a decent place to level. Actually, I am still looking for a good place. I ended up just grinding it out in Gustav Tunnel after traveling the whole world for a better place.
My first location was way out in Western Altepa Desert. I tried leveling in the desert once before, but I didn't like how far apart the enemies were. Not much changed this time around. I headed out to Revelation Rock in the middle of the zone. The first thing I noticed were several Incredibly Tough Antica roaming around. Okaaaay, so this place might be more dangerous than I was led to believe. I then noticed Very Tough Cactuars and Incredibly Tough Scorpions also patrolling the perimeter of the rock. They were far enough apart that I could avoid agro, but the place made me nervous. As I got closer to the rock, I noticed several little valleys along its sides. In each of those, I would find two or three Decent Challenge - Tough Desert Beetles. This was pretty convenient, because in each valley I would find a pet and prey. Theoretically, I could just run around the rock over and over again killing beetles with beetles. And that is exactly what I did for about 1/3 of level 48. It was slow. Really slow. Beetles have to be amongst the worst pets in the world. While not as actively dangerous to use as Bees, beetles have high defense and evasion, but really low attack. Each fight would take forever. Worse, for the first time in a long time, I would regularly take hate from my pet when it would go on a missing streak or just hit like a pansy for a while. Even worse than that, one fight lasted so long that my Charm on an Even Match beetle actually broke mid-fight! Not being a very patient Mithra, I soon got fed up and left for new areas, hoping for a faster ride. As it turns out, I probably just should have stayed.
A big problem with level 48 is that the camps I know of are pretty far from my base of operations, Jeuno. For a while, I Searched zones like Gustav Tunnel and Labyrinth of Onzozo only to find Beastmasters in my level range already there. Onzozo was particularly bad because often high level farmers would kill everything in the area, making the long trip there completely pointless. Today however, I got "lucky" and found Onzozo relatively free. I made the long Chocobo ride out there and arrived to see my camp was open. At this point the goblins were a little low, so I tried to go for the Cockatrices instead. The first cockatrice I saw was Very Tough, but I had a lot of Labyrinth Leech pets to throw at it. The fight was way harder than I thought it would be. I sent pet after pet only to see the beast rip them to shreds. Finally, I got the cockatrice down to about 15% health, so I sent a fresh pet and decided to help melee it down. Big mistake. Early in the fight it used Baleful Gaze on the leech, essentially leaving me petless. Then it double attacked me mercilessly while I desperately used Call Beast to get a Crab Familiar. I used my new ability, Snarl, to allow the Crab to get the cockatrice's attention. Things looked like they were going well again, and soon I joined the frey again, hoping to finish the beast off. I had to be at less than 10% health now. My crab was getting hit hard, but between the two of us we would be able to kill it. Or so I thought. I didn't want to take hate again, so I was waiting on the Snarl timer, ready to use it as soon as it was ready. Just as I was about to hit it, the cockatrice turned on me and used Baleful Gaze! I was petrified and helpless to stop the slaughter that hen ensued. The best crushed my pet, then turned on me, beating me to a lifeless pulp. A shameful defeat.
Of course, I had no Reraise, so I had to home point all the way back to Jeuno. (/cry) I swore off Onzozo from then on. I then took a short trip to Crawlers' Nest hoping to fight some Soldier Crawlers in the basement. That hope was quickly dashed as I saw several small parties fighting down there, and a few farmers to boot. With no prey to fight there, I had to abandon that place as well. Right about now I was thinking that maybe the Desert wasn't so bad afterall. Frustrated, I took a last ditch ride to my last successful location, Gustav Tunnel.
Fortunately, I found the area free. Unfortunately, there were a lot of Decent Challenge enemies around, and only a few Toughs. I then decided to try something a little more dangerous. I went after the Goblin's Leech pets of the Goblin Shepherds in the basement. This was incredibly dangerous, because if the goblin caught me it would make short work of me. Heck, even the Goblin's Leechs were Very Tough - Incredibly Tough. While pet mobs are weaker than normal and tend to have much lower health, their attacks are still pretty nasty. Each Leech could break 100 damage pet hit on me with ease. After a very near defeat in my first fight, I decided that melee with the goblins' pets was just not worth it. I would instead just send my own pets after them until they were dead. Each Goblin's Leech usually only took two of my own to defeat it. Even better, they would regularly give 200 experience points per kill (300 with ring). However, there was bad news as well. Each goblin pet was really hard to pull. Sometimes, they were nearly impossible to pull. You have to be careful of the Goblin Alchemists and Goblin Mercenarys in the area, as well as the Robber Crabs. Agro from any of these would mean a fast demise. All this danger meant that although I would get good experience from each leech, the fights were so far apart that the overall experience was still pretty slow. Soon, I started to counteract this by fighting some weaker stuff on the top floor while waiting for the goblin pets to move into a more favorable position below.
Things were going well for a while, but it did not last. One time I got a little impatient and wandered a little further below in an attempt to get to a goblin pet. I used a prism powder to get past a Goblin Mercenary. As I approached the pet, walked near a Robber Crab and I thought: "Hmmm I wonder if those crabs agro?" Just then of course, it attacked me and broke my invisibility. Justs as I was about to send my Labyrinth Leech pet it, the Mercenary I passed on the way down saw me and joined the battle. Three hits later I was defeated. Creatures in the basement hit me for upwards of 200 damage per hit! After eating dirt for a few moments, I use my Reraise and carefully made my way back to the relative safety of the tunnel. No more going deep into the tunnels for me.
After I recovered, I went back to business as usual. Soon though, a level 75 tarutaru Ninja/Thief showed up and started killing the goblins. I guess he was a farmer, or maybe was skilling up or something. I was hoping he would leave the Goblin Shepherds so I could still level off their pets, but no such luck. While even he could not kill the goblins super fast, his farming or whatever still disrupted my camp there. For a while I could fight the pets while he fought the goblins, but eventually the area became clear of goblins. I had to abandon the area and go back to the first floor. There, I just decided to grind out the rest of the level killing almost everything is sight, Decent Challenge or not. Well, I avoided the Labyrinth Lizards most of the time because of their nasty Baleful Gaze and tendency to link, but I killed everything else. My favorite prey were the goblins and the Makara. The Empress Band made the speed of this experience grind at least tolerable. And it was ridiculously safe. Eventually, I reached level 49 with a buffer.
Hopefully 49 will be a little better, but early reports are not promising. (/sigh)
Labyrinth of Onzozo. Level 48. Defeats = 1
Crawlers' Nest. Level 48. Defeats = 0
Gustav Tunnel. Level 48. Defeats = 1
Goddess, I hate level 48! It took several unsuccessful attempts to find a decent place to level. Actually, I am still looking for a good place. I ended up just grinding it out in Gustav Tunnel after traveling the whole world for a better place.
My first location was way out in Western Altepa Desert. I tried leveling in the desert once before, but I didn't like how far apart the enemies were. Not much changed this time around. I headed out to Revelation Rock in the middle of the zone. The first thing I noticed were several Incredibly Tough Antica roaming around. Okaaaay, so this place might be more dangerous than I was led to believe. I then noticed Very Tough Cactuars and Incredibly Tough Scorpions also patrolling the perimeter of the rock. They were far enough apart that I could avoid agro, but the place made me nervous. As I got closer to the rock, I noticed several little valleys along its sides. In each of those, I would find two or three Decent Challenge - Tough Desert Beetles. This was pretty convenient, because in each valley I would find a pet and prey. Theoretically, I could just run around the rock over and over again killing beetles with beetles. And that is exactly what I did for about 1/3 of level 48. It was slow. Really slow. Beetles have to be amongst the worst pets in the world. While not as actively dangerous to use as Bees, beetles have high defense and evasion, but really low attack. Each fight would take forever. Worse, for the first time in a long time, I would regularly take hate from my pet when it would go on a missing streak or just hit like a pansy for a while. Even worse than that, one fight lasted so long that my Charm on an Even Match beetle actually broke mid-fight! Not being a very patient Mithra, I soon got fed up and left for new areas, hoping for a faster ride. As it turns out, I probably just should have stayed.
A big problem with level 48 is that the camps I know of are pretty far from my base of operations, Jeuno. For a while, I Searched zones like Gustav Tunnel and Labyrinth of Onzozo only to find Beastmasters in my level range already there. Onzozo was particularly bad because often high level farmers would kill everything in the area, making the long trip there completely pointless. Today however, I got "lucky" and found Onzozo relatively free. I made the long Chocobo ride out there and arrived to see my camp was open. At this point the goblins were a little low, so I tried to go for the Cockatrices instead. The first cockatrice I saw was Very Tough, but I had a lot of Labyrinth Leech pets to throw at it. The fight was way harder than I thought it would be. I sent pet after pet only to see the beast rip them to shreds. Finally, I got the cockatrice down to about 15% health, so I sent a fresh pet and decided to help melee it down. Big mistake. Early in the fight it used Baleful Gaze on the leech, essentially leaving me petless. Then it double attacked me mercilessly while I desperately used Call Beast to get a Crab Familiar. I used my new ability, Snarl, to allow the Crab to get the cockatrice's attention. Things looked like they were going well again, and soon I joined the frey again, hoping to finish the beast off. I had to be at less than 10% health now. My crab was getting hit hard, but between the two of us we would be able to kill it. Or so I thought. I didn't want to take hate again, so I was waiting on the Snarl timer, ready to use it as soon as it was ready. Just as I was about to hit it, the cockatrice turned on me and used Baleful Gaze! I was petrified and helpless to stop the slaughter that hen ensued. The best crushed my pet, then turned on me, beating me to a lifeless pulp. A shameful defeat.
Of course, I had no Reraise, so I had to home point all the way back to Jeuno. (/cry) I swore off Onzozo from then on. I then took a short trip to Crawlers' Nest hoping to fight some Soldier Crawlers in the basement. That hope was quickly dashed as I saw several small parties fighting down there, and a few farmers to boot. With no prey to fight there, I had to abandon that place as well. Right about now I was thinking that maybe the Desert wasn't so bad afterall. Frustrated, I took a last ditch ride to my last successful location, Gustav Tunnel.
Fortunately, I found the area free. Unfortunately, there were a lot of Decent Challenge enemies around, and only a few Toughs. I then decided to try something a little more dangerous. I went after the Goblin's Leech pets of the Goblin Shepherds in the basement. This was incredibly dangerous, because if the goblin caught me it would make short work of me. Heck, even the Goblin's Leechs were Very Tough - Incredibly Tough. While pet mobs are weaker than normal and tend to have much lower health, their attacks are still pretty nasty. Each Leech could break 100 damage pet hit on me with ease. After a very near defeat in my first fight, I decided that melee with the goblins' pets was just not worth it. I would instead just send my own pets after them until they were dead. Each Goblin's Leech usually only took two of my own to defeat it. Even better, they would regularly give 200 experience points per kill (300 with ring). However, there was bad news as well. Each goblin pet was really hard to pull. Sometimes, they were nearly impossible to pull. You have to be careful of the Goblin Alchemists and Goblin Mercenarys in the area, as well as the Robber Crabs. Agro from any of these would mean a fast demise. All this danger meant that although I would get good experience from each leech, the fights were so far apart that the overall experience was still pretty slow. Soon, I started to counteract this by fighting some weaker stuff on the top floor while waiting for the goblin pets to move into a more favorable position below.
Things were going well for a while, but it did not last. One time I got a little impatient and wandered a little further below in an attempt to get to a goblin pet. I used a prism powder to get past a Goblin Mercenary. As I approached the pet, walked near a Robber Crab and I thought: "Hmmm I wonder if those crabs agro?" Just then of course, it attacked me and broke my invisibility. Justs as I was about to send my Labyrinth Leech pet it, the Mercenary I passed on the way down saw me and joined the battle. Three hits later I was defeated. Creatures in the basement hit me for upwards of 200 damage per hit! After eating dirt for a few moments, I use my Reraise and carefully made my way back to the relative safety of the tunnel. No more going deep into the tunnels for me.
After I recovered, I went back to business as usual. Soon though, a level 75 tarutaru Ninja/Thief showed up and started killing the goblins. I guess he was a farmer, or maybe was skilling up or something. I was hoping he would leave the Goblin Shepherds so I could still level off their pets, but no such luck. While even he could not kill the goblins super fast, his farming or whatever still disrupted my camp there. For a while I could fight the pets while he fought the goblins, but eventually the area became clear of goblins. I had to abandon the area and go back to the first floor. There, I just decided to grind out the rest of the level killing almost everything is sight, Decent Challenge or not. Well, I avoided the Labyrinth Lizards most of the time because of their nasty Baleful Gaze and tendency to link, but I killed everything else. My favorite prey were the goblins and the Makara. The Empress Band made the speed of this experience grind at least tolerable. And it was ridiculously safe. Eventually, I reached level 49 with a buffer.
Hopefully 49 will be a little better, but early reports are not promising. (/sigh)
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