Randomer Question Thread

[kayn]

I dunno if this goes here but here's my question.
Does anyone else feel the ZNM system is just a filler until SE has time to develop
the LS event activities for WotG?
It just seems like Salvage and Ein were the big events of TaoU and then the ZNM system popped up out of nowhere.

[Callisto]

I think ZNM has a rather large scale, I wouldn't consider it filler material. It has more mobs and drops than Sky and is spread out among several zones, and ranges from solo-able to alliance to impossible fights. I personally think it's good content.

[Spekkio]

I think ZNM has a rather large scale, I wouldn't consider it filler material. It has more mobs and drops than Sky and is spread out among several zones, and ranges from solo-able to alliance to impossible fights. I personally think it's good content.

i would say that it feels a lot less (and i regret using such a woefully imprecise term) robust than say salvage or einherjar. let me qualify that before you yell at me.

salvage introduced a bunch of new mechanics to the game and a totally different way of viewing how you operate. you're almost forced to work with between 6 and 12 people to accomplish anything and work together as a team, deciding who NEEDS what and who can live w/o it. it's unlike anything else i can think of in that respect.

einherjar is supremely tight on time. people have to be on their game, bringing it home as efficiently as possible. 1 blu not listening and spamming headbutt on cerb and you're done (speaking from experience. i tell them and they don't listen... *sigh*) which is quite dissimilar from dynamis. even the glass distribution must be nearly flawless if you don't want to waste 12% of your time getting in and get booted on boss.

znms on the other hand don't really have any such gimmicks or deviations from normal mobs. you pop the mobs, you kill the mobs, you pop more mobs. that's the root of most of the complaints imo. the real question i have regarding that though: what's wrong with that? how's that worse than camping against RMT for despot or spending half an hour trying to hunt down a blasted temperance pop? for photos, you can team up w/ random people you find and share the mobs you're fighting, rather than quarreling and MPKing for the NM kill for the trigger. while the new ZNM system may not have any kitchy new tricks or mechanics, it has good gear you can get quickly for the more casual players, and it offers top tier top notch drops from the 3 kings and, if we ever kill it, PW. it has an enigmatic boss that when he's not masquerading as a lvl 0 goblin is challenging and interesting to contemplate w/o giving the feeling of impossibility that AV lends to itself. sometimes you don't need new mechanics and new gimmicks to make something fun. this is one of those cases. just good, solid content w/ no surprises and is not controlled by rampant botting. i'm pretty damn happy with the system.

[Sprint]

I don't have much Salvage experience, but what would be your perfect setup for being able to farm pretty much anything? Assume exceptional people that have leet skills/gear and can learn and adapt.

Would 4xMNK, RDM, BRD do it?

I think 8 people is about the perfect number for most runs.
MNK, MNK, RDM, WHM, BRD, THF standard
BLM and/or DD for other 2 spots, depending on the run.

Can get everything done with 6, but 8 gives you a bigger margin of error and makes doing full run of all NMs and boss easier.

[Spekkio]

I think 8 people is about the perfect number for most runs.
MNK, MNK, RDM, WHM, BRD, THF standard
BLM and/or DD for other 2 spots, depending on the run.

Can get everything done with 6, but 8 gives you a bigger margin of error and makes doing full run of all NMs and boss easier.

SAMs are excellent for zhaolym frogs as they can get TP for hobaku rapidly which is an effective way to control charmga. imo, there's no team that's perfect for every situation, but most will be based off the core group mentioned above. also, if your brd doesn't have a storm fife, get out a tazer and force them to get one. makes a big difference. like toting around half a relic horn. oh, and putting your thf in the smaller, second party (the "shortbus pary" as we call it) is a good way to sneak a corsair in. mnk's roll fucks up bosses pretty bad and is just a wonderful pairing w/ a brd, not to mention them being fully online for buffing w/ nothing more than an abi cell. very handy for a zone like zhaolym where you don't see ranged until 2nd floor.

[ringthree]

I don't have much Salvage experience, but what would be your perfect setup for being able to farm pretty much anything? Assume exceptional people that have leet skills/gear and can learn and adapt.

Would 4xMNK, RDM, BRD do it?

My standard favorite is WAR, MNK, MNK, RDM, WHM, BRD, THF. I think the emphasis on MNK is a hold over from pre-Starter Crate days. The fact that you start with two weapon cells means that other jobs can now do what MNK was heavily relied on to do before the Starter Crate was added. The reason that I like WAR as main tank is simply Provoke. Often times this has been a life saver for our pullers or if someone uses an ill-timed cure. Although I think MNK can be deemphasized somewhat, it can not and should not be ignored. Counterstance on lower floors and Penance are both far too powerful to do without. Finally, other DD like SAM and DRG are excellent in Salvage, DRK and other DD's are also fine, but I have found them to be a little more needing of support than SAM or DRG without some of the additional benefits that SAM and DRG offer.

As a final thought, out of all of the jobs mentioned, THF is starting to be the job that I am finding to be most important. It is critical to drops in two zones, and critical for sac pulling in two zones. Bhaflau is the only zone where THF doesn't serve an extremely important role.

[Kirbyprime]

If there's a way of getting a COR in without sacrificing something like the only BRD in a run, do it. They're the easiest to unlock, as said needing only ability cell. If given ranged cell, Earth Shot + Light Shot provides additional debuff to Slow II / Dia II(I). Earth shot also doubles as a decent DD tool on bosses, especially along with Random Deal and Wildcard. On zones like BR where it's easy to fully unlock COR they also act as an extra ranged DD since with MNK roll, no one cares if a COR is poking the boss.

[Bakthi]

On my runs, ranged goes BRD > THF > DRG. I love fully merited Angon so much. A good DRG/SAM is a force not to be underestimated. They can also summon a wyvern before going in, so they're useful even before they get a single cell.

We've done a few runs with no MNKs at all lately, just the way it worked out. WAR/SAM, SAM/WAR, and DRG/SAM is a pretty destructive combination. WAR/NIN is fine too (depends on your goals which is better, I think). And I'd definitely go COR more often if more of our BRDs had Storm Fifes.

[Amele]

Can't imagine they would, their description seems pretty specific. Never tested it though.

indirectly they do yes; the recast timer starts counting on trigger, not when the bar finishes; so if you light your spells off sooner, the recast starts counting down sooner (12% on 8 seconds is just shy of 1 second faster)

salvage job mix

as for salvage, when using six my preferred setup is: mnk sam thf rdm brd whm. this six can beat all of salvage. the sam is like a monk that can close darkness, is interchangeable with any other DD/tank hybrid job (but should lean more DD- monk, war, etc.) and gives you a pinch voke when you need one.

additionals after that tend to be more DD - usually blm, rng, mnk or war; or more bards. I like scholar in cell heavy zones, it's cell intensive for what it does in others; would love a cor but never had one to take.


while a monk is no longer as critical as it used to be; salvage really is built to emphasize monk's strengths; from easily Counterstance tanked lower floors, to easy high hp to absorb 400+ damage per double attack hits. etc. If you have a monk bring the monk; if you don't - don't sweat it but recognize you may need to adapt some of the strategies.

[Bakthi]

Do Lullaby recast merits and JSE hands participate in the 50% recast cap, or are they independent of it, allowing you to go lower?

I have full Lullaby merits, and didn't see this answered, so here are some numbers:

"Neutral" (No fast cast or haste gear or spell): 19
21% haste (Turban, Angel Lyre, Dusk hands + feet, Swift, Haidate): 15
21% haste + 2x March: 12
21% haste + 2x March + Loq and Marduk body: 12
18% haste + 2x March + Loq + Marduk body + Sha'ir Gages: 12

Looks like 12 (50% of 24) is the hard limit. Now to figure out exactly how much haste gear I have to swap in to get it with Haste (spell) and not March. Can't see myself trying to maintain 2 marches on me, nor casting Lullaby for real with an Angel Lyre.

Edit: because someone in my LS reminded me: I was /WHM for this. My RDM is 16.

[Tsuko_Asura]

I have full Lullaby merits, and didn't see this answered, so here are some numbers:

"Neutral" (No fast cast or haste gear or spell): 19
21% haste (Turban, Angel Lyre, Dusk hands + feet, Swift, Haidate): 15
21% haste + 2x March: 12
21% haste + 2x March + Loq and Marduk body: 12
18% haste + 2x March + Loq + Marduk body + Sha'ir Gages: 12

Looks like 12 (50% of 24) is the hard limit. Now to figure out exactly how much haste gear I have to swap in to get it with Haste (spell) and not March. Can't see myself trying to maintain 2 marches on me, nor casting Lullaby for real with an Angel Lyre.

Edit: because someone in my LS reminded me: I was /WHM for this. My RDM is 16.

Thanks, I guess that's a no then. =/

[XanthePandy]

Can I enable FFXI Helper on Firefox 3.0 at all? By messing with settings or something...

[shihei]

Yes, the weather npc tells you about heat spells and whatever it is for fire x2, sunny and cloudy only means no weather.

It means no weather predicted. The NPC can say sunny or cloudy for a day and it could still end up having a dust storm or heat wave on that same day.

[SamanosukeShiva]

SAMs are excellent for zhaolym frogs as they can get TP for hobaku rapidly which is an effective way to control charmga. imo, there's no team that's perfect for every situation, but most will be based off the core group mentioned above. also, if your brd doesn't have a storm fife, get out a tazer and force them to get one. makes a big difference. like toting around half a relic horn. oh, and putting your thf in the smaller, second party (the "shortbus pary" as we call it) is a good way to sneak a corsair in. mnk's roll fucks up bosses pretty bad and is just a wonderful pairing w/ a brd, not to mention them being fully online for buffing w/ nothing more than an abi cell. very handy for a zone like zhaolym where you don't see ranged until 2nd floor.

BLU is good for ZR frog stun aswell,

[Omniyoji]

Can I enable FFXI Helper on Firefox 3.0 at all? By messing with settings or something...

Yeah try reading this:

clicky

Personally I've tried it and it did work.

[Kvenh]

Is there a way for me to solo Temenos for BRD AF+1 items without relying on crazy luck?

Got 75rdm/blm/brd

[Spekkio]

Can I enable FFXI Helper on Firefox 3.0 at all? By messing with settings or something...

was an update to it the other day iirc that makes it 3.0 compatible. it might work by disabling compatibility checking, but you do that at your own risk. some things such as forecast fox worked fine w/o being updated for 3.0 since it just kinda chills out down at the bottom of the window. others w/ more heavy integration would have serious problems though.

[Vagabont]

Hey, quick question about combat skill merits.

I'm a 75 loldrg, and got both war and pld upcoming to 75. I'm trying to decide where to put my combat skill merits- great axe, axe, polearm.... I was thinking 8 gaxe and 8 axe, 4 polearm, but I've heard that putting 8 into great axe can be a waste in certain situations since the already higher skill and the 2h buff make a big difference overall. Advise me, BG. What is best?

[XanthePandy]

was an update to it the other day iirc that makes it 3.0 compatible. it might work by disabling compatibility checking, but you do that at your own risk. some things such as forecast fox worked fine w/o being updated for 3.0 since it just kinda chills out down at the bottom of the window. others w/ more heavy integration would have serious problems though.

Yeah mine's working fine now lol. Thank you anyway.

[Max™]

I wouldn't merit axe unless you just specifically enjoy it, the only situation I can conceiveably think of where you'd ever wish you had brought a 1h axe over a gaxe is doing mistral or deci for a light SC, when Frag or Darkness work for Thunder or Ice bursts anyways and are both made by stronger WSes in the SC's which are more likely to land due to higher Accuracy.

If you really enjoy 1h axes, merit em, if you're worried about versatility, capped 1h axe will do just as well as merited would ultimately.

If you have a Ridill and enjoy it, some mix of axe/sword or just straight up 8 Sword would do good because of Pld using it too.

Me, I'd probably do something like 4 Shield for Pld as it's the most useful of those three jobs, then something like 4 Gaxe 4 Polearm 8 Sword since the 4 merits for the 2hed weapons will still see them being quite viable, but 8 sword will make more of a difference as it's 1hed, and in cases where you're actually able to whack the sword it's nice to have as much acc as possible.