New or Returning Players Discussion 2: SoA Homeless Veterans Edition

[Eldelphia]

You can't achieve everything in Abyssea at once. So it's useful to make sure you have started the Abyssea content by talking to the NPC in Port J first so that the traverser stones which allow you to be in Abyssea start ticking up. Assuming you've done that, another easy win is to have some friends take you to Aby Konsch and help you by killing tonberries for the blue abyssite which means you get stones faster. In the process you will build some cruor.

Other things which are useful to do to make it easier on yourself to join Abyssea parties:

Make sure you've visited all the maws so you can port to them
If you have cruor, get flux 8 for Abyssea LaTheine and Abyssea Vunkerl. These are key xp spots on our server. You can also do Flux 6 for Altepa. Xp happens a bunch in Misareaux also but you can port to 00 for free and run from there.

In terms of levelling, you can either buy a spot in an xp alliance where all you are required to do is hand over some gil and afk. Then the guys selling the service will kill hordes of mobs in one go and these drop a ton of chests. These chests will have key items, time extensions, cruor and xp inside them. Xp builds up over time, so until you cap out at about 600ish you will see the xp per mob go up slowly per kill or round of kills. There are various lights which affect things (i.e. how often chests drop, what's in them etc, how quickly your xp goes up).

Once you have some cruor, you can buy Forbidden Keys. Most alliances want 1-2 key people. These are usually lower level characters (30+) who essentially exchange a bunch of cruor for xp by buying tons of keys and opening the chests that are dropped when mobs are killed for the alliance they're part of. Again, xp builds up over time and is slightly affected by level but this is fast.

Once you hit 78+ (ish) you can actively participate in some alliances in the Aby Dem/Konsch/Tahrongi.

[gaogaostegosaurus]

Sorry if this was already covered: Anyone have some advice on what gear a returned, and very poor player should pick up for MNK (and NIN, I guess, since the overlap is probably considerable) from 75-99? I'm just wondering if there are any key pieces of equipment that are low on the cost/time investment that can keep me from being utterly terrible on the way to cap. I've been seeing a lot of gear sets, but many of the "early" ones in the guides I've perused are "post-Abyssea" whereas I'll definitely be there for a while longer.

My MNK was fairly well-equipped at 75 and I have many of the pre-ToAU, non-relic exrare niceties (minus Rajas, which I'm now waiting the 27 days to replace, DAMN YOU DEREEEECK), but most of the other items were sold or returned as my account was used as a cure mule while I was gone. I do have my WHM at 99 now, with BLM and SCH at 49, but I'm trying to refrain from asking *too* many favors while paying them back isn't in visual range... lol

Basically, I'm just trying to get to 99 on MNK without showing up on that confused players thread. Yeah!

[LiquidFriend]

http://www.ffxiah.com/forum/topic/36...ch-monk-guide/

The out of abyssea gearsets would be a good start. Nothing in those sets should be too terribly difficult to get.

[gaogaostegosaurus]

That post is what I was looking at to kind of set goals, but what I'm at a loss for is what to wear in the interim. Like the relic set features prominently on that set... so what would I use before I have it? (It's not difficult per se, but it's still a lot of time in Abyssea that I don't want to be utterly gimped for.)

I've been looking at pieces of the Aurore set (I only have Osode, for instance, and the body looks like it'd be a slightly better TP piece for now), but I'm wondering if there are any other new items that would be worth picking up to replace 75 cap gear while heading to 99 and Abyssea gear.

[takethistoyourgrave]

That post is what I was looking at to kind of set goals, but what I'm at a loss for is what to wear in the interim. Like the relic set features prominently on that set... so what would I use before I have it? (It's not difficult per se, but it's still a lot of time in Abyssea that I don't want to be utterly gimped for.)

I've been looking at pieces of the Aurore set (I only have Osode, for instance, and the body looks like it'd be a slightly better TP piece for now), but I'm wondering if there are any other new items that would be worth picking up to replace 75 cap gear while heading to 99 and Abyssea gear.

Honestly I wouldn't sweat it too much. Replace your gear with the Aurore pieces that are better. Other than that, try to get an Aethling Mantle (100% drop from an often fought nm in Aby Altepa), get that Rajas when you can, and work on your AF3+1-2 where you can. The road from 75-99 is honestly so short that interim gear isn't a huge deal. On the other hand, make sure you have as many of the good Atmas as you can (I'm not 100% sure for MNK, but maybe a combo of Razed Ruins, Apocalypse, Sanguine Scythe, Voracious Violet, and/or Gnarled Horn).

[crocop]

wonder if my char is alive somewhere after quitting in 2009. still have POL ID and pw

[Druin]

Hey there guys. Like most I am thinkin of comming back for SoA before 14 comes out and I just had a few questions. I loved COR and wanted to play it, but is it still useful/good? Also I got my NIN up to like 85 before I quit. Guessing I should finish it so I can solo most of my COR gear/stuff back?

[Buffy]

Cor is very useful on current content, although having an Armageddon is expected at this point. Who knows what changes adoulin will bring

[Buffy]

wonder if my char is alive somewhere after quitting in 2009. still have POL ID and pw

It is. Last year I recovered my friends account from 2007, all I did was reactivate and log in.

[Adajer]

Just resubb'd. First time on PC. I have all my settings set up correctly except menu resolution. I can't get it any larger. I am playing on 1080p. I set it to 1024x768 hoping it will be larger. But it stays the same and is reset whenever I go back and check it. I also would like to know which mouse option and movement settings you use that feels as natural/modern as possible. Thanks.

Also trying to figure out how to level up from 75. Googling that now.

Edit: Also, I have windower 4.

[Vendog]

Is the click and buy service down or something? It keeps saying PaymentchannelID is not usable

[gaogaostegosaurus]

Just resubb'd. First time on PC. I have all my settings set up correctly except menu resolution. I can't get it any larger. I am playing on 1080p. I set it to 1024x768 hoping it will be larger. But it stays the same and is reset whenever I go back and check it. I also would like to know which mouse option and movement settings you use that feels as natural/modern as possible. Thanks.

Also trying to figure out how to level up from 75. Googling that now.

Edit: Also, I have windower 4.

I'm playing at 1600x900 and 1280x720 menus with the non-beta Windower. It works.

Figured I'd leave a few bullets on Abyssea and visitant status (the short answer to "how to level up from 75," btw lol) that sort of tripped me up as a newly returned player. I might have glossed them over or they weren't explicitly stated where a returning player might look (I suppose it's all there if you Google it, SOMEWHERE), and I've only leveled to 99WHM, so grain of salt and such.

- You have to have a visitant stone *in your key items inventory* to unlock cruor teleports to a given maw. Unless your friends are dying to do things with you (or vice versa), it might be good to get the cutscenes from each maw before using it to actually do things in Abyssea. Otherwise, you'll have to wait the 20 hours for the next stone before you can start unlocking teleports. I spent a lot of time running to all the maws before I realized this. Then I spent a lot of time waiting, and then running to the maws AGAIN.

- The 30 minutes of visitant time isn't nearly as limiting as you would think, as certain chests (of certain types of chests) from mobs will act as 10 minute visitant time extensions. As long as the xp train in your first party gets rolling in 30 minutes (which it really should be, from what I know) you'll get more time much faster than you could ever use it, and even in other settings, you're killing enough mobs with enough lights up that chests drop with a decent regularity, you shouldn't have time troubles. (If you're doing those other things, it's probably safe to presume whoever you're going with will probably know this and try to extend your visitant time first off).

- Even after leaving Abyssea, up to 120 minutes is saved for your next visitant session. You'll probably end an xp session with about twice that if not more (or way, way more), so you can actually hit 99 on the first stone you spend and the subsequent leftover time from your parties. Also, since the rest of the time just gets tossed, you can spend some time after your exp parties getting teleports or other Abyssea things (atmas? NMs?) and not effect your next session in the slightest. As a result, a party in Abyssea Vunkerl first might be "most effective" for MP classes because you can use the leftover time to leech Durinn's atma and possibly a zone boss kill afterward. But assuming you have help I doubt it'll take 120 minutes to get it either way. That strange hollow sound is me knocking on wood.

- You'll need merits to clear the next few limit quests, but given the xp rate of most parties, that's not really a big deal. Once you have an atma done (exping is a little painful otherwise, especially as a MP job), it might be better to simply clear your merits if you think you want spend the extra time to cap exp and merits. The exp "chain" bonus and your lights reset if you leave Abyssea, so it's kind of a waste to build allllll that up, and then reset it sooner than you have to if you're coming back anyway. My slowest parties were 200k/hour, if that helps.

- On that topic, Kindred's CREST. Not Kindred's Seal. (But you can easily convert them, so whatever.)

[gaogaostegosaurus]

Oh man not this double post stuff again.

[Jakson]

Does anyone have a good guide to getting atmas and atmacite? There are lists on wiki but it would be nice if someone had an easier to harder list of atmas for the returning players. I have no desire to go around begging for help, so whatever I can get as NIN or NIN+WHM (dual boxed).

[Vendog]

Update on my little problem.... I just needed to verify the card on click and buy website. Now Valefore prepare for the return of Venomus!!!! (tomorrow ;; I still got to go to work and update the game)

[Salmijr]

Does anyone have a good guide to getting atmas and atmacite? There are lists on wiki but it would be nice if someone had an easier to harder list of atmas for the returning players. I have no desire to go around begging for help, so whatever I can get as NIN or NIN+WHM (dual boxed).

Atmas you should be able to get nin+whm no problem, but you may have to skill up your weapon skills if you haven't. Once you hit 200 skill on a weapon you should be set. If you don't have the arch weapons or pitchfork, you'll be able to hit 11/13 of the red triggers needed for atmas.

Atmacites you should get most during your voidwatch climbs since most groups try to cap red.

[ArchDizzle]

Just resubb'd. First time on PC. I have all my settings set up correctly except menu resolution. I can't get it any larger. I am playing on 1080p. I set it to 1024x768 hoping it will be larger. But it stays the same and is reset whenever I go back and check it. I also would like to know which mouse option and movement settings you use that feels as natural/modern as possible. Thanks.

Also trying to figure out how to level up from 75. Googling that now.

Edit: Also, I have windower 4.

Menu res. at 1280x720 is the best for running 1080p

[Gwynplaine]

Just resubb'd. First time on PC. I have all my settings set up correctly except menu resolution. I can't get it any larger. I am playing on 1080p. I set it to 1024x768 hoping it will be larger. But it stays the same and is reset whenever I go back and check it. I also would like to know which mouse option and movement settings you use that feels as natural/modern as possible. Thanks.

Also trying to figure out how to level up from 75. Googling that now.

Edit: Also, I have windower 4.

I think it has to do with the Official FFXI config thingy (not in game but the shortcut outside the game). If that is set to a different res sometime it will conflict or something? Seems to have been my experience. Try to set both consistantly to the same and see if it helps change things?

[Jakson]

Atmas you should be able to get nin+whm no problem, but you may have to skill up your weapon skills if you haven't. Once you hit 200 skill on a weapon you should be set. If you don't have the arch weapons or pitchfork, you'll be able to hit 11/13 of the red triggers needed for atmas.

Atmacites you should get most during your voidwatch climbs since most groups try to cap red.

By 11/13 you mean WSs that can trigger red !!s on NMs? And which should I bother going for? Gnarled Horn, Razed Ruins, and then Apoc? Or should I just try to get somebody to brew that for me? Wiki makes it sound like any dd can solo Shinryu with a brew.

[Guitarman]

gnarled horn, razed ruins and voracious violet (marlboro in konschtat).