Opinion needed

[Eldelphia]

One of our ls guys has finally quit. He hasn't played much at all in the last year and to be honest most of us thought he'd gone already. He's offered the account to the shell freely, as long as someone takes over paying for it. He's definitely not talking about selling it.

The guy has a 75 NIN and a 75 BST along with a couple of 50 somethings. He also has 79 Smithing with decent cloth/goldsmithing. However the account is pretty much empty of anything useful. I think his NIN is wearing a Suppa, O hat, warwolf belt and his AF. His BST is a lot better off but would need a fair amount of work.

I'm looking at the practicalities of keeping that account running. I'm not interested in any talk of selling it etc, that's not my bag. I'm the one he's offered it to. However, I'm a mage. Whilst there are overlaps with SMN, BST and NIN seem like 2 jobs which I could find pretty rough to get to grips with. My NIN is 37. It stopped there because I found it rough. My BST is 10...

Would you keep this account going?

[Tradition]

Use the BST for farming, mining, and smithing, or whatever

[Zragnarok]

I would. Having a second account is very nice and if you get used to it, you could probably solo a few things with his NIN and your WHM. If you don't know how to play NIN, you'll learn. It would be the same if you had an account with NIN and BST lvled and you were given an account with the same jobs as you have. You would learn how to play them.

I don't know how hard it is to learn to play NIN and BST but if you're willing to put the time for it, go ahead. If you don't like it you could always hand the account to someone else after.

[BerenTebogo]

In the most extreme bare minimum positive light I can shed on this, you can AFK it in bastok markets desynthing quadav backplates and sell stacks of darksteel ingots.

And that to me is the least beneficial use of having it.

[Eldelphia]

Actually to be honest it's the crafting that interests me most I think I'm a bit daunted by the costs of getting a NIN up and running and the gear it might take. But maybe I can spend some time farming/synthing/desynthing and using up seals and see how it goes. I think I know more about NIN gear than I do BST tho... just because some of my closest friends are tanks and I've had to get familiar with stuff as a shell leader. I know he cleared out what limited decent stuff he had to give his friends some gil, which I totally understand.

How does BST relic/af rate? He seems to have a heap of that... and scythes. And weirdly heca harness and shura togi abjurations as well as random crap from sky.

Things I am thinking he'd need (basic, bare minimum gear):

Chiv chain (I know he gifted his PCC to a friend)
Hauby - would SH be an idea?
Bomb Core
Swift belt ( he has access and a codex) - has warwolf atm
Turban (has about 7k IS)
Fudo (has a senji)
Snipers x2? (No Rajas, he's on Sacrarium)
Another earring to go with Suppa (Brutal not an option)
Legs - arhats +1? (has no kitty pants and only crappy head/feet NIN relic)
Hands - ??? Rasetsu Tekko were suggested, would I need to camp O Kotes?
Feet - Fuma?
Back - Amemit +1? (3k NQ amemit atm)

But for BST I'm kinda lost. I realise you'd need a charm set (seems to have a heap of CHR gear for that) and then general DD gear for BST but avoiding EMN crap? Do most BST use Axe/Shield or Scythe?

[bebeci]

You have a job with a bit of fame, unlocked subjob, and limit break 5 done.
That's pretty good to have in general. It's definitely worth keeping, even if you don't intend on using the NIN or BST.

[Midnightjade]

Most BST will use axe/axe at 75, most commonly woods/maneater. Scythe is an option, more rarely used but a bit more attractive since the 2h update.

In terms of BST gear, you'll need a Charm set, TP set and WS set. For Charm set, you'd want a mixture of +CHR (increases charm success rate) and +Charm (increases charm duration - AF has lots of it). For TP set, I'd go with +Haste and +Acc, then for WS build +Acc, then +Atk, +STR in that order, pretty much. Very similar to a lot of other DD.

Once you have that gear sorted out, if you like you can think about Reward and Tame sets, but best to get the basics first.

The islands in Sky are a good place to learn BST if you're going /NIN. Just try Flamingo vs Flamingo, they don't aggro or link, and nothing else aggros except to magic. Take a RR gorget just in case you make a mistake. After a couple of hours you should get the hang of it. Remember to only WS when you know it will kill the mob, otherwise you'll end up tanking.

I could write a ton more but that's a start, hope you have fun.

[Eldelphia]

Most BST will use axe/axe at 75, most commonly woods/maneater. Scythe is an option, more rarely used but a bit more attractive since the 2h update.

In terms of BST gear, you'll need a Charm set, TP set and WS set. For Charm set, you'd want a mixture of +CHR (increases charm success rate) and +Charm (increases charm duration - AF has lots of it). For TP set, I'd go with +Haste and +Acc, then for WS build +Acc, then +Atk, +STR in that order, pretty much. Very similar to a lot of other DD.

Once you have that gear sorted out, if you like you can think about Reward and Tame sets, but best to get the basics first.

The islands in Sky are a good place to learn BST if you're going /NIN. Just try Flamingo vs Flamingo, they don't aggro or link, and nothing else aggros except to magic. Take a RR gorget just in case you make a mistake. After a couple of hours you should get the hang of it. Remember to only WS when you know it will kill the mob, otherwise you'll end up tanking.

I could write a ton more but that's a start, hope you have fun.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm gonna do a lot of reading, take a gorget and go play and get the poor guy killed a few times no doubt lol.. but at least in sky I can learn in private. I've done a heap of SMN soloing but of course a SMN doesn't melee alongside its pet unless farming. I think for now, I'll just mess around, build up some gear and see how it goes. I won't put others at risk! At least I can always bring my WHM up there to pick him up

[Isiolia]

How does BST relic/af rate? He seems to have a heap of that... and scythes. And weirdly heca harness and shura togi abjurations as well as random crap from sky.

BST AF/Relic is decent. Mostly you use it for the +charm, and a few pieces as macro gear on JAs.

For a quick barebones of it: CHR = accuracy, +Charm = duration.

But for BST I'm kinda lost. I realise you'd need a charm set (seems to have a heap of CHR gear for that) and then general DD gear for BST but avoiding EMN crap? Do most BST use Axe/Shield or Scythe?

Depends on what you're doing with it.

You do want a Charm set, but for most uses this isn't that complicated. Past the AF/Relic, you'll want a modest amount of CHR and a Light/Apollo's staff. I'd say for most things around +30 or so CHR at 75 is fine. Some BSTs go overboard on it.

For party play you will mostly leave the Charm set at home since generally you'll use jug pets for that. There are only a handful of XP areas where natural pets are viable. But a WS set is good then.

In either case a decent melee setup is good, but if you're just soloing/farming it really doesn't need to be much.

BSTs typically focus on Axes as we have the same A- skill in them that WARs do. We get all the WS, and the only axe we can't use is WAR AF1. Axe/Shield is pretty normal for non /NIN.

On the flip side, scythe is lower ranked for skill, we don't get the better XP WS for it, and weapon selection is rather limited (though of course there are some nice ones). With the 2h update it's much more viable than before.

To be honest, nearly anything you'd really benefit from the BST job specifically on, such as Corse NMs or something, requires little more than a decent charm set. If you're using it just where it's most advantageous, you won't need much for melee gear. BST can do decently for DD, but it takes a lot more than other jobs for the same results...better to gear NIN for that.

[Midnightjade]

You do want a Charm set, but for most uses this isn't that complicated. Past the AF/Relic, you'll want a modest amount of CHR and a Light/Apollo's staff.

Oh yes, I forgot to say that a Light or Apollo's Staff is an important part of a BST's Charm set. Light gives +10% Charm success, Apollo's gives +15%. I'm glad Isolia mentioned it.

Anyhow, best of luck.

[Eldelphia]

Thanks for all the hints and tips. I'm obviously going to miss out on a heap of experience for which there is no answer other than go out there and try it. I was aware of the light staff benefits and I know he has one. I have a heap of CHR gear for my BRD but right now I'd rather work with what he has and maybe focus on building up some melee gear.

[Therin]

I'm pretty sure you could do some amazing things with SMN and BST combo (what better way to stall the mob for a new pet than have it on Garuda after nailing a Predator Claws?).

[Silenus]

A 75 BST account, if he hasn't used them all, and it doesn't sound like he has, should have like 7 stacks of BSeals and at least 3 stacks of KSeals :D

[Toralin]

or just a mule to use to gather ToD's lots of functionality for this account

[suji]

If you do get the account (sounds like you did?), try to get the reg codes that he used to initialize that account from him and be sure to update all of the contact info to be your stuff. Otherwise if SE decides to enforce some fucking retarded password change rule, you might get locked out of the account and never be able to get it back.

ps, it's fucking retarded because they call it "secure" because it's longer but they could have solved it from the beginning without fucking people if they just let you use characters other than letters and numbers. x.x

[SephYuyX]

I have a full Charm+ set and a full CHR+ set. The Charm+ is all charm+ gear, and CHR if there is not charm+ for that slot. Same with CHR, all CHR unless theres nothing in that slot, then charm+.

I use the Charm+ 1st and most often, if I fail a charm, then I switch the CHR set. If youre fighting an NM or something thats important, and if you fail a charm, and you die, always use max CHR to ensure the best chance. Even if its EP or TW ill use the CHR set, because I wanna make sure I grab it.

But for the most part, farming, XPn, marits, w/e, I usually just stick to Charm+ because if I fail a charm, it's usually no big deal.

[MarkM.]

If you decide to keep this character and aren't going to do anything big with it as mention above in previous post, you can get by with pretty crappy gear. One advantage of having bst leveled is its a money making machine. I solo'd to 65, duo'd from 65 to 70, solo'd the rest. Hence I still have 6 stacks of BS seals. Along with that @ 75 you can go to the b. tree go upstairs and charm an even match Korrigan and proceed to ass-rape goobbue (spelling maybe). They drop cuttings, wisteria lumber, moss, and seals. This is pretty much all I use bst for along with random add control for Tiamat, and a few other things. Another thing that bst is incredibly retarded @ is farming too weak mobs. Go pop any 75 capped jug pet in Zitah and watch your jug pet hit the damage cap for just about every hit. And pretty much ur just standing there.

[Sylphet]

The most useful mules are either mage jobs or THF. Unfortunately this guy has neither. You really should determine based on your own time available whether or not you'll use this account. BST as mentioned before can be fun to play around with and is decent for farming however with no TH, the viability of that for earning is limited. NIN can be pretty good for farming when you combine it with a mage job (which you have) so you might want to beef up his NIN and practice some 2 boxing.

Second accounts can be useful for all sorts of things though (like someone else mentioned it's nice for camping NMs when you want to do something else on your main) and whether it's worth it to you or not likely depends on your RL finances. I personally pay for three accounts however many people don't like the idea of forking out ~$45 a month for FFXI.

As far as crafting goes, you should realize that the overwhelming majority of money put into getting a craft to 100 is from 85-100. You'll spend a lot more getting him to 100 than he spent getting himself to 79. I haven't looked into the details of getting crafts to 100 recently but unless there have been major changes since I got wood to 100 that rule is likely to still apply.

In the end, I'd recommend trying the account on for size and seeing if you enjoy it/make use of it. If so, then you can decide if you want to invest time and/or gil into it. You can always cancel the account or give it to someone else if it's not your cup of tea. Personally I'd hold off on the crafting though since that can take a LOT of gil.

[Thorny]

Judging by the sounds of it, the NIN would require ridiculous amounts of effort to make it usable endgame.. my advice would be to either grab a gilseller-standard eva build and use it to 2box NMs or scrap it completely and stick to using the acc on BST.
Example gear:
Senj/mamushito(+1 if you want)-self explanatory, cheap/easy to get
Ungur Boomerang/Fen Stone, probably the most effort of anything but nin + whm can duo Ungur(or Fenrir for that matter) and its usually ready to be popped.
Ohat, Eva Torque, dodge/velocity/elusive earrings-all cheap
Scorp, Rasetsu hands, w.e rings(Wivre, Snipers, jaeger, whatever)
Corse Cape, Scouter's Rope, AF legs, Rasetsu Sune-Ate
Really depends what you want to use it for, but a setup like that is more than good enough to dual box most nin+whm duoable things. I'd assume you aren't overly interested in meritting it and dualboxing dynamis is gross so I don't see any huge benefit to having a DD build. If you are going to use it to merit/dynamis/kill weaker things with, the DD build you listed is pretty decent, though RK breeches are better for legs, and a minuet earring is a good option for 2nd ear. Dusk gloves are by far the best hands, but again I'd assume you don't care enough about the character to buy a pair.

I was in a similar situation with a RDM character, I ended up leveling brd to 75 on it and finishing CoP from promies because it grew on me really fast <_<

[Eldelphia]

Well so far I've been having more fun messing around as a BST+SMN duo or using him to farm/desynth. Gonna keep the char on for a month or so and see how I feel. Sylphet, I tend to concur with a lot of what you've said, I'm more than familiar with the costs of cafting at higher levels and smithing looks worse than cloth gets until 99.