Monstrosity: Acquiring Species

[Prothescar]

Harden Shell at 20, 25% Defense Boost, 1 min duration, 100 TP

lame, major nerf to the real monster version and such a poor duration

[Karbuncle]

Poor duration? Check out Crawler's "Cocoon", I sweat it lasts like 15 seconds >_>.

But yah that harden Shell is disappointing.

[Yugl]

Keep this thread about species since there is an abilities thread.

[Vriska]

Gonna power through to 50 and see if I get a Genbu quest, Byakko-style.

[Vanderleest]

Very sad to report that Opo 90 is just the instinct. It still feels out of place to me, so I'll push to 99 unless someone confirms manticore from the cats, gnole, or the Large beasts,

[Asymptotic]

This is only tangentially related, but if you hadn't noticed most of the weird subspecies forms we've been fighting in Abyssea, Voidwatch etc. all have official "names." JP have been knowledgeable about these names because their wiki keeps track of them, so I guess they're in the Famitsu guide that has a lot of inside information that we don't have access too (official food effect statements, workings of some mythics/hidden mechanics etc.)

I went through and pulled out some of the ones that most people don't really know (I tried to leave out the ones we were given through legion, official site notes etc. but I probably missed something)

Hecatonchires (Gigas such as Briareus)
Ogrebon (Orobon such as Cirein)
Arundimite (Diremite such as Resheph)
Gagana (Roc such as Bennu)
Limascabra (Uragnite such as Amphitrite)
Mitrastema (Rafflesia such as Holy Moly)
Carrier Crab (Crab such as Krabkatoa)
Boil (Fistule type slimes)
Formiceros (Antlion such as Orcus)
Veela (Pixie such as Verthrandi)
Wantonberry (Bloodeye Vileberry)
Falxitaur (Bukhis)
Midge (Blue gnats)
Blancmange (White Flan)
Tabbiyyat (light colored caturae such as Pil)
Akoman (Ahriman such as Akvan)
Danaid (Bhishani type pixie)
Sentient Tome (Books that use Exponential Burst)
Inguza (snow apkallu)
Dokkalfar (Fjalar type Dvergr)

[Yugl]

Thanks. I fucking hate how SE pulls this "JP Onry" info scheme.

[Vriska]

PLD/RDM Genbu model, 5 Genbu scraps, available at Lv50.

This is as far as I go until I get the egg.

[Asymptotic]

Thanks. I fucking hate how SE pulls this "JP Onry" info scheme.

The weird part is they have official English names that the JP side knows about and we don't!!!!

[Karbuncle]

PLD/RDM Genbu model, 5 Genbu scraps, available at Lv50.

This is as far as I go until I get the egg.

PLD/RDM? That'll be rediculously OP >_>

[Rocl]

JP wiki has Arundimite at Lv70 Diremite and it's a blue box (subspecies) and green crawler at Lv60 Crawler (subspecies) BLM/WHM; apparently it also opens up the "emerald pygmy crawler" option for infamy but wtf do you need a pygmy crawler for? Much the same you'd need a pygmy mandragora I guess

[Hitou]

Because it exists! It'd be pretty awesome/funny if you can play a crabauble sized crab when they release aquans later.

[Raelia]

JP wiki has Arundimite at Lv70 Diremite

That'd be the Abyssea-Uleg boss I'm sure.

And the Small Green Crawler would be the ones from Abyssea-Vunkerl, which have a different move I think that is an upgraded Poison Spray or whatever...

lame, major nerf to the real monster version and such a poor duration

With this precedent, I don't look forward to crab too much anymore. While PLD/RDM Genbu is less than stellar, a puny crab with just any job with Phalanx and popping Scissor Guard would be taking on anything...

[Rocl]

In case it wasn't widespread knowledge: it does appear monsters have racial differences. I sort of guessed at this before, but it's pretty obvious on chigoe. (Using my standard instinct set I get high def easy prey :s)

For comparison:
Chigoe THF/THF Lv15
HP 610 STR 13 DEX 27 VIT 13 AGI 24 INT 23 MND 10 CHR 10

Hume THF/THF Lv15
HP 231 STR 17 DEX 23 VIT 17 AGI 20 INT 20 MND 13 CHR 13

Rabbit WAR/WAR Lv1 [small]
HP 72 STR 9 DEX 9 VIT 6 AGI 8 INT 5 MND 5 CHR 6

Sheep WAR/WAR Lv1 [med]
HP 79 STR 10 DEX 8 VIT 6 AGI 8 INT 5 MND 5 CHR 6

Sapling WAR/WAR Lv1 [small]
HP 72 STR 9 DEX 8 VIT 7 AGI 8 INT 5 MND 5 CHR 6

Lizard WAR/WAR Lv1 [small]
HP 79 STR 9 DEX 9 VIT 6 AGI 8 INT 5 MND 5 CHR 6

Raptor WAR/WAR Lv1 [med]
HP 79 STR 9 DEX 8 VIT 6 AGI 9 INT 5 MND 5 CHR 6

Hume WAR/WAR Lv1
HP 39 STR 10 DEX 9 VIT 7 AGI 9 INT 6 MND 6 CHR 7
etc & adjusted for merits

[fantasticdan]

PLD/RDM? That'll be rediculously OP >_>

No? PLD is a terrible monster type. Essentially it's just a gimp version of WHM or RDM that trades most of it's spell library for defense bonus and resist sleep. What makes PLD (occasionally useful) as a player job are shields and shield based job traits, which monsters can't use (outside of some beastmen/skeletons/whatever.).

Even for just physical damage mitigation, /THF or /MNK is better than /PLD, not to mention those jobs have better damage output.

With this precedent, I don't look forward to crab too much anymore. While PLD/RDM Genbu is less than stellar, a puny crab with just any job with Phalanx and popping Scissor Guard would be taking on anything...

For what? That wouldn't get you anywhere in pvp, and for leveling, damage output/kill speed is the bottle neck, at higher levels not survivability.

[dasva]

Idk pld/rdm beetle is just wrecking stuff at higher lvls

[fantasticdan]

You aren't wrecking things because of defense bonus or resist sleep thou, you're wrecking things because of rhinowrecker + haste + dia + etc. that you get from rdm. Pretty much any other available monster job right now would be helping you notably more.

[Vriska]

You aren't wrecking things because of defense bonus or resist sleep thou, you're wrecking things because of rhinowrecker + haste + dia + etc. that you get from rdm. Pretty much any other available monster job right now would be helping you notably more.

RDM/WAR would pretty much be the best combo then? Haste/Dia/En-2/Pro/Shell/Cures wrapped up in a bundle with DA, Attack Bonus, et cetera? I can only think of Redfly offhand that is RDM/WAR. How's that handle?

[Sehrahin]

Cactuar is WAR/RDM, Haste/Phalanx/Ice Spikes/En-spell2 and chain 5-6 easy on mobs up to level 91. Can just kill whatever I want w/o fear, even with adds and rarely miss chains.

[Byrthnoth]

Rabbit was the same way on WAR/WHM. I would have trouble chain-5ing until the monsters were within about 5 levels of me, though. It has mini-embrava, though, so it hardly counts.