BST Advice

[Jerseyprophet]

I can google or allakhazam guides, what I'm looking for is a few good sources of general BST advice and tips.

Im currently 26 and growing. I love the job, but it can be either A. slow or B. difficult.

But, all in all, playing it for 26 levels in the course of a few days has made me fall in love with this game all over again. The playstyle is what I truely enjoy.

The questions I'm looking to have answered are;

GOOD leveling locations (not just places you COULD grind);
Good gear/food/etc advice
General playing tips

Thank you in advance!

[The Stig]

Beastmaster - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki

The bunch of guides at the bottom..

[Jerseyprophet]

ty

edit; TY alot! Great guides here, especially the cooking for BST. I could use this, since zeta food is 5k a stack.

[Arcanesoul]

There's some nice info in http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/67641...ml#post2419168 . Choice of subs, charm gear, playstyle, etc.

wiki has two guides with some nice hunting grounds, however not all levels have nice camps, and there are some you will just have to grind through.

On food, most bst I know don't use it, unless it's an event or party. If you really want to there's stuff like Chamomile tea (+2 chr for 3hrs), tav. taco (+4chr, 30 mins), and tuna sushi (+5chr, 30mins) (last two at higher levels) if you really need the chr. If you want DD food there's always the bog standard Rice dumplings, mithkabobs or sushi, but again save for later levels when hate is easier to control. The hhp or hmp cookies might be worthwhile too.

Since you're on Bahamut, look up Untamed or Council of Wisdom. (Opiate and Mijjaam are their respective leaders).
Untamed is a pet linkshell with a majority of bst. Jug burns seem to be a regular thing for them among other things which can be a lot of fun besides soloing.
Council of Wisdom is a mixed shell, where the remnants of a shell called Petropolis / Petropia (pet linkshells) ended up. A good portion of the shell are bst and we still occasionally do things the bst way, but also mix things up a bit.

[Jerseyprophet]

Thank you, I'll look up both. The one thing I've been reading on any guide Ive found is that the amount of deaths is normal

Egh, makes me feel a little better. Definately nothing at all like the other jobs Ive played.

Ill look for Opiate online. Im logging back in for 26 to 28 tonight, in about an hour.

[Raineer]

The guides on the wiki made low levels on BST a joy to me (along with FoV), and I'm not even to Leave yet lol.

[Jerseyprophet]

Me either, and I dont really do the "ghetto leave" either. I just pet food em and use the same pet to chain as much as I can. EM or less seems to be a 100% charm rate at +18CHR and I only need to recharm every 2 or 3 fights briefly.

About 80-120 exp a kill, but its fast. (In korroloka tunnel atm)

[Tomiko]

I just got to 35 recently and Qufim is really nice when it's not crowded (dunno what its like on your server). Having access to FoV is what makes it great. At 32 I would do page 5 (5 Arcophiles, 4 Gigas, 1 Pugil) for 770 exp. What makes it faster is charming the Kraken then using 2hr to just plow through everything. I was usually able to clear page 5 twice by the time Familiar wore. Plus you still get good exp from killing those mobs and any others. Just watch out for aoe moves with Sic, mainly elementals. Other stuff is survivable with pet food since it kills stuff so fast.

[Arcanesoul]

Qufim on Bahamut used to be good before FoV. Now though the area is generally quite full. There is a new bst my shell who goes there, and has trouble finding pets and prey if he manages to get a pet. The area is full of both standard parties and manaburns most days.

However there are brilliant camps for a lot of levels. The ones I usually use are these since I /bst a lot.

Since I'm bastokan I start out in gustaburg generally,
6-14 in South Gustaburg throwing lizards at everything if the job has low melee power.
14-20 in North Gustaburg [S] using saplings and later birds as pets, vs worms, saplings, birds. (Doing a loop around the mountain @ G-9 doing dc bird vs bird netted about 5k/hr if you don't stop and just keep throwing birds and melee along side)
15-20 I also use Buburimu Peninsula. rarabs and mandies vs same + gobs.
17-20 in Carpenters Landing (North Sandy entrance) too, everything vs Orcs.
18-22 in Meriphataud Mountains, fly + lizards.
21-23 in East Ronfaure [S] beetle vs beetle. Great if you can aspir too.
21-26 also in Buburimu using birds, crawlers, and Dhalmels vs same + gobs. I usually take crystals too. Water to convert saliva into vitriol, hides -> leather if I need it, etc.
22-26 in West Sarutabaruta [S] , crab vs crab.
27-31 in Korroloka tunnel, bats + spiders.
29-32 in Batallia Downs [S] fly + lycopodiums.
31-33 in Korroloka tunnel crabs + pugs.
33-35 in Batallia Downs [S] crabs vs crabs + birds
35-38 in Bibiki Bay Dhalmel, rarab, + eft.
35-38 in Vunkerl Inlet [S] beetle vs beetle + birds
36-40 in SSG might be viable again. bats + leech vs sahagin and leech vs skeletons 38+.
38-41 in Jugner forest [S] crabs + pugs.
42-43 in North Gustaburg [S] coppercaps.
42-46 in Western Altepa Desert , spiders vs everything.
46-48 in East Ronfaure [S] ladybug vs collibri (although gl getting a camp. People will camp on top of you even if they can see you're clearing the collibri)
48-50 in Rolanberry Fields [S] coppercaps.

50-60 has always been a crappy level range for spots, but anyway, you can fill in the rest.

There are more camps, but these are my favourites, and I never bothered to keep pets alive with food. I just run to next pet and charm mid-fight.

[Cesaria]

Although the place generally can be quite LOL... the BST job forum on Alla is actually one of the more useful places around as well for extra information. It's where I got a lot of our camp ideas from when I levelled it (the hunting grounds sticky) and generally I found it more useful than the Wiki guides as it's got different people commenting on what did/didn't work for them.

And yep... death rate is totally normal

[Keria]

chram a DC-EM-T slime in korroloka, 2hr it, rape shit and annoy SMN burns.

it doesn't get as good as that for a long time after korroloka you can go qufim or rolanberry -> purgonurgo -> garlaige upper floor skeles iirc, all the bst guides are really rather good and imo the best lower level camp is SSG ~36-44 although i levelled mostly pre-WotG. qufim was awesome but it's flooded with FoV people now so stay away lol.

the only pet food i would advising bothering with is zeta, it's really handy if it could turn the tide of a battle and let your pet survive. unless you have really high cooking, it's probably easier to ask a friend with 100 cooking to make it or buy it from AH.

in lower levels it doesn't really matter what you wear as long as you have a good charm set. still, good dd gear can potentially save your butt if a pet dies too soon and you can't charm another, but you need to be careful to control your hate while your pet is still alive. most of BST's best gear is shared by WAR or DRK so just gear like you would gear a normal DD. for charm though, apollo's staff is really useful and since you won't be WSing much while your pet is alive, it doesn't really matter about losing TP.

[Rilu]

The one thing I've been reading on any guide Ive found is that the amount of deaths is normal

Ha ha ha, yea, get used to this. You can go 20K exp straight without failing a charm, then when you are @150-200exp to level you WILL fail the next charm, and when you really NEED it not to fail as well and then will die because you have a mob hitting you along with a failed charm pet which has most likely linked with a bunch of its buddies.

Also, for lower levels (ie. 30-55ish) I would suggest finding a leveling buddy and DUO with him/her through those levels. It makes things SO much easier because you can rely on them to hold the monster while getting another pet, and since you don't have alot of your abilities yet and full range of pet ability nor full range of charm gear and +charm gear, it makes things easier on you. Also, its really nice having someone to chat with for hours on end because solo'ing can get boring (At least for me).

I duo'd from like 25-55ish, then did Garliage bombs/skele's till 60 soloish. Since then, i've solo'd and Duo'd until where i'm at now at 70.

Edit: Oh, I did actually get an invite into a normal party in the early 60's, where I was asked to be SATA partner using jug pet and "Snarl" to lose the hate I got. It surprisingly worked extremely well, and with my above average gear, and merits from my warrior, I was doing more damage than the other melee in the group as well. I wouldn't recommend this unless you are a more advanced player, because parties will most likely not invite a Bst into their group, but it is a decent option if you invite the right bst.

Couple tips:

1. Always carry a stack of pet food with you, to help in those binds where you might not have another mob to charm nearby, and that extra few hundred pet HP will save you.
2. Always carry a stack or more of jug pets with you, in case something happens to your charmed pet supply and you get in a bind.
3. Have some friends as high level whm's to come raise you, because after a while R3 will be a lifesaver.


Hope something there helped!

[arshesney]

Also, for lower levels (ie. 30-55ish) I would suggest finding a leveling buddy and DUO with him/her through those levels. It makes things SO much easier because you can rely on them to hold the monster while getting another pet, and since you don't have alot of your abilities yet and full range of pet ability nor full range of charm gear and +charm gear, it makes things easier on you. Also, its really nice having someone to chat with for hours on end because solo'ing can get boring (At least for me).

This. Even at mid-high levels many camps will net you much more xp (and fun) duo (Garlaige, Attowha in the high 50's, ToAU camps in general).

[Absolutely Virtue]

As for general advice- it might seem obvious, but don't be afraid to run. You can get overconfident on BST quickly, because you'll be humming along destroying everything. Then suddenly you'll get your ass handed to you, and you'll either end up a) begging someone in your LS to come raise you (don't be that guy) or b) eating a homepoint.

If it looks like you're not gonna make it, put a pet on the mob and just run like hell for the zone line. Or, if you think you can survive that long, just type /logout. The 100xp you'll get if you survive is not worth the headache and downtime you'll endure if you die.

And Arcanesoul said this:

"50-60 has always been a crappy level range for spots, but anyway, you can fill in the rest."

Couldn't disagree more. This range includes 2hr charms on slimes under Sandy, and bombs in Garlaige. Some of the most fun I ever had on BST.

[Cesaria]

A BST duo is like an indestructible force, cuts down so many deaths and is much more fun - I went to 75 with my fiance and we had a great time.

Other places I loved exping (pre WOTG this is)
Garliage behind the banishing gate is awesome,
Carpenter's Landing
Sea Serpents Grotto
Attowha Chasm
The Tree when it's not packed
Sky (hope to god FoV doesn't trash that spot)
Toramai Canal
Ulegerand Range (if Satan had a pet... it would be a white bunny)

[Arcanesoul]

And Arcanesoul said this:

"50-60 has always been a crappy level range for spots, but anyway, you can fill in the rest."

Couldn't disagree more. This range includes 2hr charms on slimes under Sandy, and bombs in Garlaige. Some of the most fun I ever had on BST.

I meant there isn't the variety as there once was at earlier levels. I only mention my favoured camps, but if you look at the various possibilities, there are loads pre-50 and a reasonable amount of camps 60-70. There are just those few places 50-60, and from a /bst perspective it's a lot harder. Some jobs don't have the same chr options ruling out slimes and so on. Some camps are only viable because you have leave, which is why I find that stretch bad, because options are severely limited compared to exping as bst main. Granted I realise this post is about bst, but it just means the /bst places are that much easier. If I want to play bst or /bst I want to go to a camp that's empty, because I hate being camped on, and I won't camp on someone else, be they bst or party.

From a bst main perspective though, some of the camps are great fun in that they offer a different style of playing, while others are just plain boring. I love using slimes in Toraimarai Canal, and just about everyone loves bombs, but I don't like Crawlers Nest at all.

[Jerseyprophet]

Wow, I woke up to all of these great posts. Thanks for the advice all. I read and digested all you said.

The good part of it is, as frustrating as BST can be (comparring it to other party jobs), its also alot of fun. Moreso than the others! I'll grind it out at the camps you listed. Made it to 27 last night, 8 levels until hopefully it gets a bit easier.

[Soa]

I leveled BST way back in the day (well I was 69 when ToAU was released) so I never did any WoTG camps, but here is where I leveled (starting from 27).

27-29 - Qufim Island - Basically used crabs/bats/pugs vs everything but leeches. Bats destroy Skeletons so use that to your advantage.

30-31 - Korroloka Tunnel - Crab and Pug room, use against each other. Better to start here at 29.

32-33 - Eastern Altep - Spiders vs Spiders and Beetles. This place sucked, find a WoTG camp or something, maybe do Leeches in Qufim with FoV mixed in.

34-36 - Bibiki Bay - Efts, Rarabs, Dhalmel vs Birds and Dhalmel. Efts kick ass as pets.

37 - Sea Serpent Grotto - Bats and Leeches vs themselves and Sahagin

38-39 - Purgonorgo Island - Find/convert a Kraken to EM and go to town on everything EM+

40-44 - Yuhtunga Jungle - Behind the outpost (H-11 I think) using Bees and Crawlers vs Gobs. There is a bomb that spawns occassionally you can have fun with too. One of my all time favorite camps

45-46 - Yhoator Jungle - West of the teleport crystal, Crawlers vs Gobs

47-48 - Gustav Tunnel - Lizards and Leeches vs Gobs

49-50 - Camp is no longer viable after MPK patch

51-52 - Fei'Yin - Bats vs Bats and Pots in the basement

52-54 - Bostaunieux Oubliette - Slime vs Bats at the West Ronfaure entrance. Not viable after MPK patch unless you use Familiar. There is also another camp nearby but it is a bit dangerous

55-59 - Toraimarai Canal - 55-57 no longer viable due to MPK patch, 58-59 Bats vs Skeletons at entrance to Windy Walls. Slow exp but always uncamped.

60-62 - Boyahda Tree - Funguar and Spiders vs each other and Crabs. I loved this place and its almost always empty these days.

62-63 - Ifrits Cauldron - Bees, Bats, and Opo's vs Bombs. I absolutely loved this camp, Chain 7+ possible with lucky exploding bombs.

63-67 - Cape Terrigan - Lizards and Bunnies vs Gobs and Raptors. If you get a trio the Cocks are good exp.

68 - Upper Delkfuts Tower - Bats vs Pots. Stay the hell away from here, exp sucks ass. I got ToAU right after I finished this miserable camp.

69 - Aydeewa Subterrane - Crawlers and Diremites vs each other. Pretty good camp here, Crawlers tear Diremites to shreds.

70-71 - Bhaflau Thickets - The infamous Kisser camp. Be prepared to fight over this camp, probably the best BST camp there is. Leeches vs Colibri, easy easy exp.

72-73 - Ru'Aun Gardens - Birds vs Bird and Pot - Go to one of the side islands, each has 3 sets of 2 birds. Convert one from each set to EM and rotate to a new pair after each kill. At 73 if you want to stay by the main entrance kill Pots. Another one of my favorite camps which will probably be ruined once FoV gets put there.

73-75 - Mount Zhayolm - Crawlers vs Pugs - Crawlers destroy the Pugs here. Exp slows at 74 due to DC pops but still isn't too bad

There are plenty of alternatives to this (especially in ToAU areas) but its what I did. There are also many duo alternatives so don't be afraid to ask someone to exp with you.

[Cesaria]

Other advice I can give you:

Do your outpost quests - you end up in the arse end of nowhere more on BST than any other job.
Get yourself a gaudy harness when you hit that level - it's saved my ass so many times (even /NIN with rune axes).
If you don't keep reraise up - you will die. If reraise has worn and you think things have been going swimmingly - you will still die.
Don't be a twat and exp on /anon.

Oh and when exping in places like Ifrits I used to take a bunch of pickaxes and whomp mining points as I went past them - would have been rude not to.

[Absolutely Virtue]

Don't be a twat and exp on /anon.

This. If you're anon and someone shows up and jacks your camp, you deserve to have it stolen. You'll likely meet some fellow BSTs along the way, and it always helps to be courteous.

That being said. If you're not anon and someone steals your camp, just train their mobs over and over again til they leave, lol.