New or Returning Players Discussion 2: SoA Homeless Veterans Edition

[Limlight]

I quit when seekers was released. So I have a few questions to ask before I decide to return.

Is it difficult to rank up and obtain the gear from there (i'm not sure how active people are with seeker's content still).

Until I can upgrade old weapons on my characters, will I be able to find suitable fill ins from the AH? If not maybe someplace else that's quick and easy? (still have 90 empy's and 95/99 relics to do and i'm figuring that will take awhile to farm those plutons?)

last question is about the Plutons, Is there a daily cap? (I checked the old wiki and it seems really out of date) Are there missions/etc to farm Plutons myself?

I just would like to be steered in the general right direction or linked to an up to date website and I can do my own looking.

Thanks!

[Karizo]

I quit when seekers was released. So I have a few questions to ask before I decide to return.

Is it difficult to rank up and obtain the gear from there (i'm not sure how active people are with seeker's content still).

Until I can upgrade old weapons on my characters, will I be able to find suitable fill ins from the AH? If not maybe someplace else that's quick and easy? (still have 90 empy's and 95/99 relics to do and i'm figuring that will take awhile to farm those plutons?)

last question is about the Plutons, Is there a daily cap? (I checked the old wiki and it seems really out of date) Are there missions/etc to farm Plutons myself?

I just would like to be steered in the general right direction or linked to an up to date website and I can do my own looking.

Thanks!

There are many ways to "rank up" in Adoulin content, some are solo spammable, so I wouldn't say its difficult. Obtaining the gear from the "ranks" is also done by doing solo spammable content to get the points for it.

For gearing, there is now a set of sparks gear (head/body/hands/legs/feet) and a main-hand weapon suitable for each job easily available. If you left when Seeker came out, chances are the items from other slots (accessories and capes and belts) are probably still relevant. Examples are Atheling Mantle, Epona's Ring... etc. There are some better options for certain slots, such as Asperity Necklaces being quite hard to beat compared to necklaces available prior to Adoulin. Short answer is, you should have no problem tackling current end-game content within a reasonable amount of time after you come back.

Plutons, I am unsure of the cap you speak of. There is perhaps a cap for the amount of Plutons you can receive from farming it off things that drop it, but if you're coming back, the easiest source is Record of Eminence(RoE). There is a type of RoE labeled "Vanquish X Enemies", which is killing 200/500/750 enemies which yield experience. The 200 is repeatable, while the 500/750 are a one-time completion deal. Upon completion of those two, you will receive Pluton Boxes(Cases? forgot the exact name) which will contain a random number of plutons, the range of which I forget. You can also purchase Plutons from other players via Bazaar (they behave like dynamis currencies and alexandrites, tradable but not AHable). Given the mass supply of it, prices have been dropping on Odin. Another easy resource for Pluton is slower, which are Copper A.M.A.N. vouchers, which are awarded for "Challenge" type RoEs. They are assigned at a given time each day, the first completion rewards a voucher, and can be repeated for 2 hours after assignment for EXP/Sparks (but no more vouchers). For every two vouchers you can get 1 pluton.

All this information should be readily available on bg-wiki.com

[Limlight]

There are many ways to "rank up" in Adoulin content, some are solo spammable, so I wouldn't say its difficult. Obtaining the gear from the "ranks" is also done by doing solo spammable content to get the points for it.

For gearing, there is now a set of sparks gear (head/body/hands/legs/feet) and a main-hand weapon suitable for each job easily available. If you left when Seeker came out, chances are the items from other slots (accessories and capes and belts) are probably still relevant. Examples are Atheling Mantle, Epona's Ring... etc. There are some better options for certain slots, such as Asperity Necklaces being quite hard to beat compared to necklaces available prior to Adoulin. Short answer is, you should have no problem tackling current end-game content within a reasonable amount of time after you come back.

Plutons, I am unsure of the cap you speak of. There is perhaps a cap for the amount of Plutons you can receive from farming it off things that drop it, but if you're coming back, the easiest source is Record of Eminence(RoE). There is a type of RoE labeled "Vanquish X Enemies", which is killing 200/500/750 enemies which yield experience. The 200 is repeatable, while the 500/750 are a one-time completion deal. Upon completion of those two, you will receive Pluton Boxes(Cases? forgot the exact name) which will contain a random number of plutons, the range of which I forget. You can also purchase Plutons from other players via Bazaar (they behave like dynamis currencies and alexandrites, tradable but not AHable). Given the mass supply of it, prices have been dropping on Odin. Another easy resource for Pluton is slower, which are Copper A.M.A.N. vouchers, which are awarded for "Challenge" type RoEs. They are assigned at a given time each day, the first completion rewards a voucher, and can be repeated for 2 hours after assignment for EXP/Sparks (but no more vouchers). For every two vouchers you can get 1 pluton.

All this information should be readily available on bg-wiki.com

thank you

[Rocl]

Since there's no RQT and I don't feel like making a new thread to ask:

but is the RoE gear really that good? it just feels so weird for it to be i117 when Delve boss/hard mode gear is i119; is it really 'second best'?

[Malithar]

Not really, no. It's got solid ilvl stat vomit, but that's about it. Many of the pieces lack very much in the way of useful stats, IE, +4 acc, +5 att, etc. The ilvl vomit, defense, HP, eva, meva, MDB, haste, etc are all enough to make it great starting back up gear. However, nearly all of it is junk beyond that.

I say nearly, as some pieces have great uses. The full Wayfarer set is the only way, or at least a far easier way, for many of those jobs to get +3 refresh. A few of the pieces have enough stats to be nice for off set pieces, such as meleeing as a mage.

Overall though, you'll get better performance out of 113 Skirmish gear, 109+ RF/RFR, 115 WKRs, even some of the 109 Bayld gear is much better. The end goal should be to gear up with specific oldschool pieces that have yet to be trumped (Empy, Aby accessories, NNI, etc), and to get set on 119s, whether through RF, RFR, Delve, AA, or Skirmish v3. It's hard to say without specifying a job where to focus your attention on, but other than role specific stats (acc, att, multi attack, MAB, etc), all of those 119 sets have very similar amounts of ilvl vomit.

Only focused on the armor above, but for the weapons, if you don't have a 119, get em. Shit's pretty OP for just how easy it is to get really. There's a few cases that could be made for using 115 WKR weapons (Ixtab on content where acc is already capped comes to mind), but for the most part, the Eminent weapons destroy other options. Example, spend 1.5 mil-ish on an Atinian Staff for Blm/Sch/Geo, or effortlessly get an Eminent Staff that's the exact same thing, except it has -10 MDmg and +10 MAcc, that's usable by Mnk(lol)/Whm/Blm/Smn/Sch/Geo.

[Damane]

Since there's no RQT and I don't feel like making a new thread to ask:

but is the RoE gear really that good? it just feels so weird for it to be i117 when Delve boss/hard mode gear is i119; is it really 'second best'?

RoE is ok if you come back and want to get okeish geared for BCNM stuff (for ilvl 109 artifact and relic upgrades)skirmish 2 and 1, WKR and maybe delve now with cut down HP. However for hardmode mission battles attempting difficult or VD or skirmish its not gonna cut it.

[OWS_Tonx]

I've been thinking about playing again. I quit somewhere around mid 2009 when my character got hacked so I ended up just selling it. I'd be starting fresh from lvl 1, but where do the majority of y'all play and do you have a LS I could join?

[Salt]

I'm wondering what the quickest way to unlock the RME upgrade quest is...? Coming back, we haven't done any of the quests to even participate in Delve, and have none of the new seals for BCNMs. I was leaning towards BCNMs, unless there is a 3rd option, but can't find any information on strategies or difficulty. Is there something that can be duo'd with RoE gear?

[Damane]

you can exchange seals at the seal npc into other seals (shamo) to attempt a very hard bcnm. all you need is aclear of one bcnm in very hard (someone correct me if i am wrong) or a delve win. none of them can be done duo and need a full pt.

[Salt]

you can exchange seals at the seal npc into other seals (shamo) to attempt a very hard bcnm. all you need is aclear of one bcnm in very hard (someone correct me if i am wrong) or a delve win. none of them can be done duo and need a full pt.

The version update page says difficult or very difficult, and we have a couple of 2-box-able characters (for a total of 4 characters), but I suppose that doesn't change the answer?

[Damane]

The version update page says difficult or very difficult, and we have a couple of 2-box-able characters (for a total of 4 characters), but I suppose that doesn't change the answer?

well 4 man could do difficult BCNM like amphibian assault, if properly done, with good gear, but as I get it you are just comeing back from the game, so I dont know. you would need someone that can hold the mobs (either pld or crowd controler like brd), a healer and 2 melees. I could see healer bard (crowd control + buffer) 2x melees work.

[Limlight]

Not really, no. It's got solid ilvl stat vomit, but that's about it. Many of the pieces lack very much in the way of useful stats, IE, +4 acc, +5 att, etc. The ilvl vomit, defense, HP, eva, meva, MDB, haste, etc are all enough to make it great starting back up gear. However, nearly all of it is junk beyond that.

I say nearly, as some pieces have great uses. The full Wayfarer set is the only way, or at least a far easier way, for many of those jobs to get +3 refresh. A few of the pieces have enough stats to be nice for off set pieces, such as meleeing as a mage.

Overall though, you'll get better performance out of 113 Skirmish gear, 109+ RF/RFR, 115 WKRs, even some of the 109 Bayld gear is much better. The end goal should be to gear up with specific oldschool pieces that have yet to be trumped (Empy, Aby accessories, NNI, etc), and to get set on 119s, whether through RF, RFR, Delve, AA, or Skirmish v3. It's hard to say without specifying a job where to focus your attention on, but other than role specific stats (acc, att, multi attack, MAB, etc), all of those 119 sets have very similar amounts of ilvl vomit.

Only focused on the armor above, but for the weapons, if you don't have a 119, get em. Shit's pretty OP for just how easy it is to get really. There's a few cases that could be made for using 115 WKR weapons (Ixtab on content where acc is already capped comes to mind), but for the most part, the Eminent weapons destroy other options. Example, spend 1.5 mil-ish on an Atinian Staff for Blm/Sch/Geo, or effortlessly get an Eminent Staff that's the exact same thing, except it has -10 MDmg and +10 MAcc, that's usable by Mnk(lol)/Whm/Blm/Smn/Sch/Geo.

to go further with this statement (thanks it was a big help) I farmed enough to get all the eminent weapons that I wanted and now i"m just waiting for my shell to run me through everything for clears, and do a few more ksnm's for AF upgrade's. Until then would it be a complete waste of time to farm the Karieyh, and Thurandaut sets? The job's i'm gearing up are main: mnk, drk, rng, mule: mnk, thf, nin, mule: whm, brd, blm.

I haven't started to yet but I was going to farm some bayld with small reive's until our ls gather day (in 2-3 days). I'm just torn on stockpiling it or getting that first tier of sets.

As for my current gear, it was pretty close to the best you could get before Seeker's came out, a mix of augmented +1's, legion, VW, abyssea, NNI, etc gear on all char's.

[Twilight Sky]

I've been wondering about something.

How is it other mages are doing all this damage with tier 1 nukes?

For example, I've read someone doing 512 with Aero I(even more than that, like 1k!). That's how much my Aero III does unresisted o_o.

[Rehn]

Stacking "magic damage+" gear.

[Malithar]

to go further with this statement (thanks it was a big help) I farmed enough to get all the eminent weapons that I wanted and now i"m just waiting for my shell to run me through everything for clears, and do a few more ksnm's for AF upgrade's. Until then would it be a complete waste of time to farm the Karieyh, and Thurandaut sets? The job's i'm gearing up are main: mnk, drk, rng, mule: mnk, thf, nin, mule: whm, brd, blm.

Starting fresh on bayld, I'd prolly skip the gear and just hoard it for now. It's very likely we'll be getting at least 2 more Bayld sets, as they've been using the Houses of Adoulin for the naming scheme, and they've only use 6 of the 12 so far. Could also be +1 versions again as well. Starting fresh as well, you'll want to store up some Bayld to get a set of WKR KIs, at the least. We may also see more uses for large amounts of Bayld in the future too, as Geo and Run relic used large amounts (96k per piece) last update.

I don't think what's on offer now is worth getting if you'll be ran through the content within the next few days, though there might be a piece here and there that might be good. Karieyh +1 feet maybe for Drk? idk what their STP sets look like. I know I've seen quite a few Thurandaut Legs +1 around from the Rng bandwagon that's appeared lately, though idk off hand if RF or RFR are better. I know the Delve Bee legs are the best Snapshot legs, maybe best Str/Agi/RAtt too. Too lazy to go check, third shifts are awesome like that.

I've been wondering about something.

How is it other mages are doing all this damage with tier 1 nukes?

For example, I've read someone doing 512 with Aero I(even more than that, like 1k!). That's how much my Aero III does unresisted o_o.

As Rehn said, stacking +MDmg. The bonuses are applied directly to the base of the spell, and further multiplied by MAB. You'll see a far greater return from +MDmg on lower tier spells than you will on higher tiers, as higher tiers already have a much larger base damage. Depending on the content and your level of gear, it's fairly easy to get 1500+ out of a Stone I. Should screen shot Water I spam on Tojil during the first 25%, or Thunder I spam on Duqa the last 25%. 2.1k+ out of em every cast.

[arshesney]

New ilvl gear has a Magic Damage stat (Eminent staff for example has 170ish), that direclty increases spell base DMG. Add that to stat vomit and your Stone base damage become roughly equivalent to what you could expect tier IV base damage be back at 75 cap.
With just skirmish/wkr/RoE gear you can easily break 1k tier I nukes on world mobs and WKRs.

[Twilight Sky]

Hmm only RoE gear with that stat is the Emminent Staff, but the other ones have MAB+ so that's still great. Damn I think I'll be playing for a while.

[Lonoha]

Okay so I managed to convince an RL friend to come back with me. Since I'll be starting from scratch, he'll likely create a new char too to dual box, so with his old one that would give us three. I might even create two toons myself, since I'm gonna grind to 99 I figure I might as well.
Anyway. The plan would be to do as much as we can just the two of us. Two questions.

1. What is the typical ideal set up for 3-manning stuff?
We have THF, WAR, RNG and BLU on his old char. I'm guessing we're gonna want THF first for TH? So then we probably want a mage and a heavy DD, right? If so, could GEO do the trick for the mage part? With an appropriate sub, etc.

2. Any idea where I should look for 101 stuff, like actually used/useful sub jobs nowadays? We are way outdated on all that, like from-the-/NIN-days-outdated. I know FFXIAH forums are good place to start, but all jobs don't have the guide (like DRG)

3. How wanted are DRG and BST (i like pets.) for endgame stuff where we're gonna want to join full parties, likely from shouts for a good while?


Yeah, that was three questions.

[Heslon]

Stacking "magic damage+" gear.

can someone please post some screenshots or a video of a sch or blm nuking with new gear?

[Miltani]

Ok i managed to resub the game. I left the game when SOA was released.
I'm looking at the ROE gear and comparing to my old gear from VW and empy +2 on WHM.
Seemed like my old gears are still comparable to these new i119 gear. Am i missing something? My Arkv IV staff is still the best healing staff for whm right?

Is there a cap to healing potency?

Would appreaciate it if someone can fill me in. As i'm quite lost haha